Page 3 of Knot Falling in Love
Maisie Echolls is all grown up. I can’t believe that it’s been 18 years. She’s always been pretty, but now she is bordering on breathtakingly gorgeous, even sitting beside me looking a bit like a drowned rat. Especially now.
I’m driven to distraction by the way her cute little jean shorts are practically glued to her black leggings stretching over her generous thighs, accentuating a soft waist and gently rounded belly.
She’s also clearly still pissed at me after all this time. I’m not sure what I did, but it feels good to have her home for the weekend despite how much she hates me.
“What is this?” She lifts her foot, plucking a crumpled paper from the bottom of her shoe.
As she smooths it out on the dash, I catchthe cobalt blue background and almost throw myself into the passenger’s seat trying to grab it away.
“It’s nothing. Just some trash.”
“Trash.” She teases, holding it out of my reach, “Axel and Rodd Auto Shop. Lube jobs for $69? Who wrote this? A 12-year-old? Please tell me you didn’t actually use this ad for the circular.”
“No,” I snatch the paper, balling it and tossing it into the back seat. “We don’t exactly have the budget to hire a prestigious social media marketing specialist to consult with on our ads.”
Maisie’s expression falls, and she turns to look out the passenger side window, lifting my flannel and squeezing the ends of her hair.
I pull out onto the road, glancing over as her phone lights up with a notification, a photo of her and her boyfriend on the lock screen. A sharp pang of jealousy shoots through me.
Odd. I don't smell him on her.
With a deep inhale, all I sense is the grass and mud caked to her shoes, the cool rain clinging to her skin and the faint hint ofcinnamon.
“I can’t believe the car broke down and now I’m stuck with Elijah of all people. This day couldn’t get any worse if I tried.”
“Maybe you should have asked a bridge troll for a ride.” I mutter under my breath, trying to ignore the sting in her words.
She pins me with those rich red-brown eyes, brows furrowed, and I realize entirely too late that she hasn’t said a word.
That snarky comment played straight into my thoughts, similar to the way our pack communicates with each other. There’s no way. This cannot be happening.
Maisie is my mate.
* * *
She spends the rest of the drive to Hannah’s staring out the window and holding my flannel to her chest like a security blanket, silent except for the random thoughts that manage to filter through.
Maisie notes how the center of town is decked out in bright autumn themed decorationsahead of the festival, how she can actually smell the trees and circles back to how terrible her day is going now that she’s stuck in the car with me.
I try not to take it personally since I know she can’t control it, no one has taught her how, and I’m not sure how I’m going to explain it to her. All I can do is throw up my own mental block and keep my wolf at bay.
It figures that she’d be my mate. We all practically grew up together. I can remember the day she came home with Hannah after school. Her father had just moved to Ghostlight Falls for work, and it was that or taking a chance with the school bus.
They’re only two years younger than me, and I was never too cool to hang out with my little sister, at least not until junior year. Maybe that’s why she’s still holding a grudge. But by that time, I was busy hanging out with my friends and apprenticing at the shop.
Not that she wasn’t my friend too. Truth is, Maisie was probably one of my best friends growing up, and I’d gladly take the brunt of her anger just to see her smile at me again.
"Hold on." I jump out ofthe car and run around to the passenger side, opening the door for her.
Maisie looks at me like I've grown another head and takes my hand, "The Air Force really did a number on you."
"It tried," I incline my head and follow her up the sidewalk.
The rain has subsided just long enough for the sun to disappear for the night, and at least half of my family is waiting in Hannah's small three-bedroom home, ready for the weekend.
Maisie gets to the door before I do, leaving me to hear the chorus of excitement at her arrival, including Alexis' screaming her name and Jacob's father joking, "Oh, and look, Eli is back too."
"Ha ha." I close the door behind me and look for Hannah. Knowing her, she's still toughing it out in the kitchen, pretending the storm isn’t bothering her hip, or else she’d be in here with everyone else.
