Page 26 of Knight's Fall

“I’ve never been very good at doing nothing,” he admitted.

“Resting is not nothing. Don’t you ever just relax with your friends?”

“Well, yeah. We hang out and play football or basketball or work out together. We have barbecues and stuff like that.”

“That’s not relaxing. That’s playing. Someone really needs to show you how to chill once in a while.”

“You offering?”

Wings couldn’t say where the suggestive question came from. He’d plan to put the brakes on any romantic ideas she may have toward him, but flirting came naturally to him when he was with a woman he liked. And he liked Courtlyn. She was easy to talk to and was probably a good time once she got over her nervousness.

“I can relax with the best of them, but I don’t relax as much as I’d like. I work a lot. And then I help out Mrs. Dobbs just down the street. She doesn’t have any family who live close, and there’s just stuff around her house or with her dog she’s not able to do anymore. But the next time my best friend Olivia and I hang out, you’re definitely tagging along.”

He carefully schooled his features to hide his surprise. Did she just put him squarely in the friend zone without any sign from him? Again, he’d misjudged the situation where she was concerned. It wasn’t often that people surprised him, and Courtlyn managed to do so twice in one visit.

He nodded his head and flashed his most charming smile. “Sounds like a plan. Just name the day and I’m there.”

“Speaking of Mrs. Dobbs, I promised her I’d make her some dessert for her Book Club tonight. I want to have it ready when I go to walk her dog for her. Thanks for the water and the pastries and for, well, for getting rid of…you know.”

He stood with her. “Thank you for the pastries and the company.”

She walked to the door, and he eyed her curiously when she paused and looked back. “If you need any help with the house, until you’re back to one hundred percent, that is, I’m more than happy to pitch in. I’ve never really done any type of home renovation, but I’m a quick study. As long as you provide the snacks and beer. I’ll definitely need beer.”

He chuckled. “I think I can handle that. I may just take you up on the offer. You might regret ever making it.”

Her smile was playful, but the look in her eyes turned serious, as if she weighed her next words before deciding to utter them. “I don’t regret anything when it comes to you.”

She left before he could respond, and he stood long after his leg started to ache, wondering just what he was getting himself into with his neighbor.

Chapter Thirteen

Courtlyn stepped on a loose pebble and wobbled on her feet before regaining her balance. Her clumsiness intensified when she was tired, and right now, she was exhausted. She’d been too keyed up from her time at Wings’ house to rest, so after she made the sugar free apple pie for Mrs. Dobbs, she cleaned her house from top to bottom until it was time for her to head to her neighbor’s. Bogie was in a particularly playful mood and drug her on a long walk through the neighborhood.

There was still enough daylight for her to walk home without the streetlamps kicking on, but that would change quickly as the hour grew later. She had not eaten anything since the pastries she shared with Wings, but she felt too tired to even prepare a quick sandwich for dinner. She just wanted to sink into her bed and sleep until her alarm woke her for her morning shift. She was already planning Belgium waffles with a fruit compote for the breakfast special.

She was almost to her front steps before she realized Wings was sitting there, his cane propped on the ground next to him. She blinked, wondering if her exhausted mind was hallucinating, but then he spoke. His deep voice resonated in the quiet, soothing her. She imagined what it would be like to fall asleep listening to the booming timbre, her body curled up next to his, all warm and safe.

“Hey. Hope I didn’t scare you.”

“No. Well, yeah, but it’s okay. I wasn’t expecting to see you on my front steps. What are you doing here?”

He raised his hand, obviously holding something securely between his thumb and forefinger. She moved closer, trying to figure out what he was holding. When she was in front of him, he reached for her hand, his touch causing her skin to tingle. He dropped something in her palm and withdrew his touch. It took her a few seconds to register what she was holding. Once she did, she gasped, her other hand raising to touch her ear where the little gold stud was supposed to be.

“I didn’t realize I had lost it.”

“I found the earring on the kitchen floor next to the chair you were sitting in. I couldn’t find the back, so I hope that’s not a big deal.”

She shook her head, tears suddenly pricking her eyes. “No. It’s the earring that’s the big deal. Thank you for returning it.”

He studied her for a moment and then patted the space on the step beside him. She sat down, still reverently staring at the jewelry in her hand.

“Special pair of earrings?”

She finally looked at him but then averted her eyes when she realized how close he was. His breath fanned her face, the warmth from his body seeping through her clothes. She swallowed against the dryness of her throat and only ended up coughing.

“Oh, um, yes. My grandmother gave them to me when I was sixteen. Most of my friends were wearing the big, bright plastic earrings that were the trend then, but she gave me these. They’re fourteen karat gold and as simple as earrings could get. But she said that sometimes, women just needed simple jewelry to remind them that it’s not the biggest and the brightest that have all the worth. Sometimes it’s the understated and simple that can be the most special.”

“She sounds like a cool lady.”

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