Page 60 of The Darkest Knight

“Hang on, bro. It’s a doozy…”

*****

Reese sauntered toward Seth’s cabin with one thing on her mind, to make amends. She’d come back to her cabin and spent all night rolling and wrapping her brain around her relationship with him. She’d come to one conclusion, she had to tell him how she felt. She was in love with him. Those were emotions she couldn’t run away from and she had to face them head on, no matter if he felt the same or not. She hoped he did. Believing he loved her too, she had high hopes, but being honest was a necessary step in showing him that she trusted him.

After popping him in the nose, she hoped he didn’t send her packing.

Her heart beat wildly. She would never hurt him. She hated that she had nightmares—hated that they controlled her sleep and made her do things she’d never do awake. Seth said he could handle himself, but did he really mean it? This wasn’t just an argument easily solved.

At this point, she had nothing to lose but to tell him that she wanted to be with him.

She made her way up the steps to his porch and stopped. The door was open and she could hear him talking. She started to turn around, but the gruff tone of his voice paused her. He was upset. Did it have anything to do with last night?

“She’s got another thing coming if she thinks she’s going to walk onto Landing Knight and meddle into my business. Who the hell does she think she is?” Seth said.

Reese’s throat constricted. When no one answered back, she realized he was on the phone.

“Fuck that. She’s toxic and I can’t babysit her issues. The last thing I want is to have someone here who loves causing problems, making my life harder than it needs to be,” he continued.

The heat seemed to turn up by twenty degrees as Reese felt sickened by his words. Who else could he be talking about but her? She’d come here and caused nothing but trouble for him. She’d been misled into thinking he had feelings for her. How could she have been so wrong? She took a step back, numb.

“I’m going to have a talk with her just as soon as I hang up with you and inform her how I feel. I don’t want her here.”

She’d heard enough. Reese turned and ran all the way to her cabin. Once the door was closed, she sunk down to the floor and allowed the tears to fall. She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat there crying with Abby next to her, but she finally managed to gain control, wiped the remnants of tears away, and stood up.

“I can’t face him again, Abby,” she whispered.

As if the dog understood, she whimpered.

Going straight to her suitcase stored under the bed, she pulled it out and started jamming her clothes haphazardly inside, not caring how wrinkled they would get. Her mission was to get the hell off Landing Knight before Seth was any wiser. She wouldn’t wait around for him to send her packing. That would only make this situation harder.

Grabbing her cash from a can she’d stashed in the cabinet, she dropped it into her purse. She didn’t have a plan, but she had enough money to get a ticket back home…wherever that was because it most certainly didn’t feel like Chicago was the place.

More tears threatened to fall, but she refused to crumble into a puddle of tears again. She was a strong woman and needed to stand tall and get out while leaving was good. Seth had manipulated her into believing he was a knight in shining armor, but that wasn’t true. He’d made sweet love to her every night for two weeks, making her dinner, having talks about everything, but nothing. They’d seemed to be in a routine that worked, but she’d been fooled.

Well, Seth Knight could take his money, his property and investment, and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. She’d show him!

She was tempted to call Lex or Gage to drive her into town, but she couldn’t face them either right now. She was afraid if they’d ask her, she’d have to be honest and she’d be a whimpering mess again. No, it was best for her to disappear.

Grabbing her suitcase, wiping snot from her nose and tears from her eyes, she called for Abby and together they left the cabin. Fearing that she’d run into Seth if she walked down the lane, she took a short cut. The path was overgrown and she fell on her butt several times, and she didn’t think she’d ever reach the main road, but finally she was relieved when she stepped out onto the dead end lane. Her relief didn’t last long. Where would she go? Town was far away and if she started now she might get there by midnight. She looked back over her shoulder, toward Landing Knight. No way would she go back.

“It’s just you and me again, Abs.”

The dog looked at her in a way that made Reese’s tears come again. She sat down on her suitcase and allowed the tears to run. Abby nuzzled her cheek.

Hearing tires on the gravel, Reese quickly jumped up, grabbed her suitcase and called for the dog to follow. They both darted into the edge of the woods, hiding behind brush.

A few seconds later, Seth drove by in his truck, slowly, scanning the woods.

“Get down, Abby.” As if the dog could understand…

Reese held her breath, hoping he didn’t glimpse her huddled up behind the branches. When he kept on driving, she started breathing again. She groaned, realizing she was stuck for a while until she was certain he was off the road.

And then she remembered, she had a friend on Landing Knight.

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