“This is my . . . friend. Knox. Knox, this is Laurel.”
They shook hands. “You didn’t mention you were bringing a friend.” Laurel shot a pointed look at Briar that told him all he needed to know. She wasn’t happy he was here. She glanced down at their clasped hands and frowned. Yeah, she definitely wasn’t happy. There’d be no winning her over today.
“Well, come in. Everyone’s out back.” She plucked the bag of cookies from Knox and tugged her sister inside, effectively breaking their linked hands.
Briar shot him an apologetic look over her shoulder as her sister dragged her ahead of him into the house.
He shut the front door and followed at a sedate pace.
Yeah. This was going to be fun.
TWENTY-THREE
LAUREL WASTED NO time hauling Briar into her bedroom and shutting the door, cutting them off from the rest of the party so she could get to the bottom of Briar bringing a guy to the barbecue. “Who is he?”
Briar shrugged and glanced around Laurel’s bedroom. She ran a hand over the bed, pretending to admire her sister’s new comforter. “Is this Pottery Barn?”
“Don’t try to change the subject on me. Who is that guy? He looks a little . . .” Briar’s eyes snapped to her sister, something tight and defensive brewing inside her. “. . . rough,” Laurel finished, arching both eyebrows, daring Briar to deny that description.
“Knox and I are friends.”
“He was holding your hand.”
“We’re good friends,” she amended.
Laurel’s eyes widened and she shot a quick glance at the door before hissing, “Oh my God! You’re sleeping with him!”
A flush crept up Briar’s face. Was she that transparent?
“This is serious and you haven’t even mentioned him to me,” Laurel accused. “You haven’t slept with anyone since Beau.”
Briar rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m kind of aware of my sexual history.” Limited as it was.
Laurel cocked her head to the side and propped a hand to her hip. “Are you also ‘aware,’ or did it slip your mind, that I have a date for you here today?”
“What?” She dropped her hands to her hips, dread pooling in her stomach. “I didn’t ask you to set me up—”
“I told you Martin Ford was going to be here weeks ago. He’s been asking when you’re going to get here. I invited him for you! What am I supposed to do now that you’ve shown up with a date?”
“Tell the truth. I started seeing someone and you didn’t know.” She shrugged. “Sorry,” she added, even though she wasn’t. Laurel had created this situation. Briar refused to let it be her problem.
“Who is he?” Laurel crossed her arms over her chest and leveled Briar with one of her parent death-stares. “Where did you meet? What does he do?’
Briar sucked in a deep breath. She knew these questions were coming, but that didn’t mean she was ready to answer any of them. She edged toward the door. “Shouldn’t we get back to your guests?”
“Briar . . .” her sister said in that warning voice she used when dealing with her children.
“He doesn’t know anyone here. It’s rude to just leave him alone out there.”
“He’s a big boy. Now answer me, damn it.”
She closed her eyes in a tight blink and then focused on her sister’s face. “I met him at Devil’s Rock prison.”
Her sister paused, processing this. “He works there?” she asked with a slight flare of her nostrils, and Briar remembered that this Martin guy was an accountant. That was the type of man her sister wanted her to go out with. “What is he? One of the corrections officers?” Her top lip curled faintly, clearly thinking Briar could do better than that.
“No.”
Her sister stared at her. “Did he work in the clinic with—”
“He was an inmate, Laurel.”
Laurel staggered back a step, her arms dropping to her sides. Revulsion rippled over her face. “No.”
Briar nodded. “He served his time and he’s out now—”
“Oh my God.” She clutched her chest. “You’re just like Mom—”
“No,” Briar bit out. “He’s a good man who made a mistake and served out his sentence for his crime.”
“Are you even listening to yourself?” She nodded her head doggedly. “He went to prison! What did he do?” Laurel’s eyes burned laser-hot into her.
Briar shook her head once and looked down at her feet, unwilling to say it, knowing how it sounded. She’d thought that way at first, before she knew Knox. Before he’d saved her life and Dr. Walker and Josiah.
“Un-fucking believable.” Briar flinched. Her sister never cursed. “Whatever he did, you can’t even say it. Was it murder? Did he kill someone?”
She looked up at her sister. “You don’t understand. He never meant to kill anyone . . . and the guy he attacked did a horrib—”
“Stop! Stop it! You’re making excuses for him. You sound just like Mom. I can’t believe you even brought this man into my house, Briar.” Her eyes widened and shot to the door as though it dawned on her that this dangerous man was out there with all her friends . . . with her children.
“I really need you to have an open mind about this, Laurel, and trust my judgment,” Briar whispered. “You’re all I have for a family.” Her relationship with her parents was nonexistent. Her mom lived to serve her father, taking his abuses, weathering his temper, bowing to all his whims, even at the loss of her daughters. That would never change. It would always be that way. Her sister was all she had left.
Laurel smoothed her hands over her silky smooth Keratin-treated hair. “I’m going to go back out there and act like there isn’t some dangerous criminal in my home—”
“He’s not—”
“And then you!”—Laurel’s gaze cut her like a knife—“are going to promise me that you will never bring him around me or my family again. Go ahead. Ruin your life, Briar. I can’t stop you from being with him, but I don’t have to watch it or be around it.”
Briar nodded stiffly, frustration an aching mass in her chest. It hurt because she loved her sister and wanted her support. “I understand,” she said.
With a single stiff nod, Laurel swept out of the bedroom. Briar lingered a moment longer, blinking stinging eyes and telling herself that she wasn’t wrong in this. Last night . . . this morning, she knew what she was doing. She knew who Knox really was. Or at least she knew enough to know that he was no threat to her. No more than Beau or any other seemingly good man. He wasn’t her father and she wasn’t her mother.
Who they could be together . . . no matter what her sister thought, she wanted to find out.
SHE HAD TOLD her sister about Knox. He knew the minute Laurel emerged from the house and leveled bitter-cold eyes on him as he stood nursing the beer Briar’s brother-in-law foisted on him. That look said it all. She knew he’d done time and she thought he was scum for it.
He didn’t feel much like drinking, but he clasped his sweating bottle as he waited for Briar to return.
Laurel’s reaction didn’t surprise him, but he was surprised it still stung. He’d lived with the world’s low opinion of him for over eight years, and the only reason it didn’t destroy him was because he didn’t give a flying fuck what others thought of him. Hell, he’d been driving a vandalized truck around with the word “killer” emblazoned on the side.
He only cared what his family and the few friends he had thought of him. And Briar. He cared what she thought. Hell, he wouldn’t be here feeling so out of place if he didn’t care what she thought. Admittedly, it would be nice if her sister didn’t hate the sight of him. It would make things harder for Briar.
Kids ran around the adults, screaming and hitting each other with foam balls. The men were discussing their jobs, while the wives were talking about th
e sports their kids played. Like these kids were headed for the Olympics or some shit. Caleb was a friendly enough guy and talked to him as he flipped burgers on the grill.
After delivering him that cutting glare, Laurel made a beeline for some guy grazing at the spread of food. He held a beer in one hand and his phone in the other, as if he couldn’t be apart from the device.
Laurel beamed at him. No flinty-eyed stare for him. She talked with her hands, her gaze flickering in Knox’s direction. The smile slipped off Phone Man’s face, and Knox guessed that she was explaining that Briar had showed up with a friend.
Briar arrived then, stepping out onto the crowded patio. She scanned the people milling around. Her amber gaze lit up when she spotted him and his chest loosened like he could breathe again.
And that’s why he was here. It was the only reminder he needed.
“How long you been dating Briar?” Caleb moved some burgers, lifting them to the upper rack, and then reached for the waiting package of cheese slices.
“We met a few months back.” Not a lie precisely.
Caleb began arranging cheese on top of the burgers. “She hasn’t mentioned you.”
It was said innocently enough but it felt like an accusation. Knox looked back, only to see that Laurel had snagged Briar and was tugging her toward the food table and Phone Man.
He watched with narrowed eyes as Briar’s sister introduced them to each other with great flourish. Phone Guy shook Briar’s hand, holding on longer than necessary.
“Who’s that?” he heard himself asking Caleb.
Caleb glanced up from the grill. “That would be my boss’s son, Martin Ford. He’s a CPA. Laurel’s been trying to set them up for a while.” He took a pull from his beer and considered Knox. “Guess that’s not happening today.” He shrugged and leaned in conspiratorially to add, “Fine by me. The guy’s a prick.”
Knox nodded noncommittally, not voicing agreement but already disliking the guy just from the way he looked Briar up and down, openly assessing her in her floral print sundress like she was some buffet spread out before him. It wasn’t a flashy dress. It ended just at her knees, but Phone Man looked at her like she wasn’t wearing anything at all.
“Everyone knows it,” Caleb grumbled. “Except for my wife.” He shrugged and shot Knox a grin. “Whad’ya going to do, though?”
He nodded, fighting the urge to stay where he was and not act like a guy straight out of prison—even if he was. This was a family barbecue. Briar’s family. He didn’t need to lose his shit and embarrass her.
“You like cheese on your burger?”
He dragged his attention away from Martin Ford, who stood with his hand on Briar’s shoulder, keeping it there longer than necessary. A CPA. He was wearing khaki slacks and an immaculately pressed plaid button-down. He looked like the kind of guy that would date a nice girl like Briar.
“Yeah, thanks,” he replied.
Caleb looked toward Briar and Martin and shook his head. “How about another beer, man?”
Knox exhaled, wondering how long he could stand by like it didn’t bother him that Briar was across the patio getting pawed by some guy handpicked by her sister. “Sounds good.”
Briar looked across the distance at him, her eyes full of apology. He nodded at her like none of it was a problem—being here among these people who lived their gingerbread lives in their gingerbread houses . . . her sister hating the sight of him. He tried to look like everything was going to be okay even though he was starting to wonder if that was true.
“I’VE BEEN HEARING about you for months,” Martin said as he swirled a carrot stick in some dip. Crunching down on it, his gaze drifted back to her face almost expectantly. Briar stared at him, unsure how to respond.
Laurel had disappeared after whispering in tight warning, “Talk to him. Don’t be rude.”
“We finally meet.” He rocked back on his heels, showing off crunchy bits of orange carrots coated in white dip in his mouth.
“Yes.” She nodded awkwardly, glancing over to where Knox stood chatting with Caleb. At least her brother-in-law was being a good guy and talking to him. Unlike her sister. Laurel was probably hiding all their valuables right now.
Martin nodded, bobbing his entire head and eyeing her. “So we should go out. You know, on a date. I know this place that makes the best enchiladas.”
“Uh—”
“Oh, you’re serious about this guy you brought? Your sister said it wasn’t anything serious.”
She winced. Of course her sister would have told him that. “I’m not really interested in seeing anyone—”
“What’s he do?”
“Excuse me?”
“What’s he do?”
“For a living?” she asked.
“Yeah. Last year I cleared six figures. Bought a BMW. What’s he do?”
Oh, he was a definite prize. “I’m going to go now.” She started to turn away, but he grabbed her arm.
“Hey, I’m just kidding with you, don’t get your panties in a knot,” he cajoled. “Where’s your sense of humor? It’s called a joke.”
“Oh.” She laughed weakly.
He chuckled, still holding onto her arm.
“Hey, there.” Knox sidled up to her, slipping an arm around her waist. She practically sagged against him in her relief.
Martin looked him up and down. “Ah, is this him? The devil himself? Hi, there. I’m Martin. Looks like you beat me to the goal. I was supposed to go out with Brianna here.”
Knox reached out to shake his hand. “Her name is Briar.”
“Yeah. I said that.” He nodded, unfazed. “What’s your name, man?”
“Knox Callaghan.”
Martin held a hand up to his ear like he was imitating an old man with failing hearing. “Knox? What’s that? A nickname of some kind?”
Knox stared at him a moment before answering. “No. That’s my real name.”
“Huh.” Martin nodded as if that made sense. “Well, we were just talking about you.”
“Were you?” He glanced at Briar and then back to Martin.
“Yes, she was about to tell me what you do for a living . . . Knox.”
“I work at Roscoe’s.”
“Roscoe’s? That shithole outside town?” Martin took a deep swig of his beer.
Knox clenched his jaw, not answering.
“Yeah,” he continued. “I’ve driven by the place. Never went in, though. Figured I’d have to get my tetanus up-to-date first.” Chuckling, Martin dove a hand into a bowl of chips on the table.
“Asshole,” Briar bit out, not even caring that she had just called the guy her sister invited for her an asshole.
Laughing, Martin tossed some chips back into his mouth. “Hey, just kidding. You need to lighten up . . . You’re not offended, right?” He clapped Knox on the shoulder and jabbed a thumb at Briar. “A real firecracker, this one, huh? But you know what they say about girls with potty mouths . . .”
Briar looked around, wondering if other people were aware of the total assholery this guy was radiating.
“And what’s that?” Knox asked, his hand exerting more pressure at her waist.
“You know.” Martin brought his fist to the side of his mouth and made the motion for a blow job.
Briar gaped. Her sister actually thought she should go out with this guy? She started to leave, and she didn’t care if he insisted he was “kidding” again. She was out of here. Martin clucked his tongue. “Didn’t expect you to be so sensitive, Brianna. You’re hooking up with a guy that works at Roscoe’s. You’d have to be a little adventurous for that.”
If he was going to say anything else, the words were cut off. Knox grabbed him by the back of the neck and brought his face crashing down into the table with such savagery that chips flew up in the air
and scattered out of their bowls.
“Knox!” she cried out, horrified, her hands flying to her face.
Knox ignored her and bowed close to Martin’s ear, whispering as he mashed his face into the table, “Now in what life do you think it’s okay to talk like that?” Knox turned him slightly, still gripping his neck and forcing him to glance up at her. “You don’t get to say things like that to her. Understand?”
Martin’s eyes were dazed. Faint blood dribbled from his nostril. He didn’t look coherent enough to even process what Knox was saying. Briar doubted anyone in his entire privileged life had ever laid hands to him in such a brutal manner.
A quick look around her sister’s patio revealed everyone was as horrified as she was. Even the kids had stopped running and were watching in wonder.
“Knox,” she breathed, reaching out to grip his tightly coiled arm. He was in the prison again. Barely checked violence, ready to snap. “No, Knox, no!”
Everyone had gone silent and her words sounded almost obscenely loud. A little girl sitting at the picnic table closest to them started crying. Her mother snatched her up and hurried inside the house.
Briar tightened her grip on Knox’s arm. “C’mon. Let’s go.”
Knox released him and Martin staggered back, trying to gain his feet and failing. He fell against the table before dropping to the ground.
No one else moved. Everyone stared, looking at Knox like he might suddenly turn his fists on them.
In the sudden silence, the only thing she could hear was the hiss of the grill and the rasp of her breath. She glanced at Knox to see that he was looking, too. Watching everyone watch him with a blank expression.
With a curse so soft she barely heard it, he shoved past her and wove through everyone until he disappeared inside the house.
Briar hurried after him, her heart still hammering.
Her sister called her name right before she was about to enter the house. She sent Laurel a sharp look followed by a swift shake of her head. Laurel was the last person she wanted to talk to right now.
She caught up with Knox outside. He was waiting beside her car. One look at his face and she decided to let him cool off before they talked. And maybe she needed time to digest what just happened, too. She couldn’t get his enraged face when he’d unleashed on Martin out of her head. There was murder in his eyes.