Page 109 of Knot Your Problem, Cowboy
“I didn’t think it could happen for me anymore. Not after the accident. Not with all the ways I came out of it… wrong.” My voice cracks on the last word, yet I push through. “But I think there were signs I’ve been too scared to look at.”
She blinks up at me.
I pause, swallow hard. “The pain in my hip, three years of living with it every single day, every step like broken glass under my skin. But since you got here…”
I search her face, needing her to understand.
“It’s like my body forgets to hurt. Like it eases just by being around you. You… soften it. You softenme.”
Her breath catches, eyes shining with what looks an awful lot like a realization.
“I didn’t want you to pity me,” I say, quieter now. “Didn’t want to be the one you felt obligated to bond with. Not just because you were a match with Walker and Cash.”
“Then don’t think for a second I feel sorry for you.” Her voice is rough, shaky. “You pulled me out of that river, Ridge. You saved me. Broken or not, you were the only one I wanted when I thought I was slipping under.”
A noise escapes my throat, half laugh, half sob. Like she cracked me open, a part of me I didn’t know was still breakable.
And even drenched and shivering, she’s still the most beautiful damn thing I’ve ever seen.
Tears mix with river water on her cheeks. She’s trying to say something but can’t get the words out between the coughing and tears.
She pushes herself up, facing me fully. Her eyes blaze with fierceness despite how she’s trembling.
“You’d better not ever drown on me again,” I say. “That’s an order. Now, do you need me to give you some mouth-to-mouth?” I grin.
A weak smile tugs at her lips. “Maybe you should. Might have been worth drowning for.”
My laugh comes out strangled. “Don’t tempt me.”
I stand, lifting her into my arms. She weighs nothing, feels too fragile.
“Where—”
“Getting you warm and dry. No arguments.”
She doesn’t protest, just burrows closer, and I feel that purr starting in her chest. Faint, but there. A sign of trust that threatens to undo me completely.
I carry her straight to my room, kicking the door shut behind us. My bathroom is bigger than the entire guesthouse bedroom, with a huge claw-foot tub and enough towels to dry a small army. I set her on the counter, her legs dangling, and grab towels from the cabinet.
“Let’s get you out of these wet clothes,” I say, turning to give her privacy by facing the door.
Her hand suddenly grabs my wrist. “Don’t leave me. Please.”
The raw fear in her voice stops me cold. This isn’t about modesty or propriety. This is terror, bone-deep and real.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
We stand in silence for a moment.
“Nolan tried to drown me once,” she admits softly.
The words come out in a rush, like she’s been holding them back with a dam that just broke. Her whole body starts shaking violently, teeth chattering.
“Fucking bastard.” I step nearer, wrapping my arms around her so she’s closer to my body, my warmth.
“In our pool,” she continues. “He… he held me under. Said maybe he’d be better off getting rid of me. Make it seem like an accident so he didn’t have to look at me anymore.”
Her lips pinch to the side like she’s trying to fight off sorrow, and my heart is shredded to hear her words.
