“We needed to talk, and seeing as you’re avoiding my calls, here I am.” She spread her arms wide.
“You don’t need to say anything about the other day. I’m not seeing Knox anymore.”
Her sister dropped her arms. “Oh?”
Briar snorted. “Yeah. He kind of agrees with you, actually. He doesn’t think I should date a guy like him either.”
Her sister stared at her for a moment. “And what about you? What do you think?”
“Does it matter?” She snorted. “When one person doesn’t want to see the other one, things are pretty much over.”
Laurel moved into the kitchen and examined the pies for a moment before facing Briar again. “I think you should keep seeing him.”
She narrowed her eyes on her sister. “What?”
“Date him . . . be in a relationship with him. Whatever you want to call it.” She waved a hand in the air. “The semantics aren’t important. Just give this thing with him a try. I think it’s worth pursuing.” She expelled a breath. “He’s worth pursuing.”
Briar couldn’t believe it. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”
“I know, I know. I said all kinds of judgy things, but that was before. You say he’s not some dangerous person, and I believe you. I trust you. Look, I’m sorry about Martin. I didn’t realize what a jerk he was at first, and even when I started to suspect it, I just let myself be blinded by his good job and bank account.”
“But Knox . . . he hit him at your barbecue,” Briar reminded. “Caused a big scene . . . freaked out your guests . . .”
“Yeah, because he was defending your honor. He did it for you, Briar. You’ve never had that before . . . someone willing to protect you. And for God’s sake you deserve it. You deserve someone to stand by you. I found that with Caleb, but you’ve never had that with anyone.”
Briar reached out and snagged her sister’s hand. “I had it with you.”
Laurel smiled tenderly at her and squeezed her hand back. “Yeah, and look what I did for you. Graduated, married Caleb, and never looked back. I left you in that house, Briar.” Her voice cracked. “I left you there for four more years, and I know Dad got worse. I wasn’t there for you—”
Briar pulled her into a hug. “Of course you had to go.” She patted her back.
Laurel pulled back to look into her eyes. “I was wrong. Knox is what you deserve, Briar.”
She smiled sadly and shook her head. “No.” He walked away from her when she would have given him everything. She had stood there, offering him her heart, and he turned his back on it. She deserved someone who wasn’t afraid to love her. “He’s not.”
KNOX SAT INSIDE the prison he never thought to visit again. Of course he was in the visiting room, waiting to see if North was actually going to show. He wasn’t wearing a white prison uniform. The guards hardly paid him any attention as they stood sentinel in the room.
After a week and a half in the hospital, his brother had returned five days ago. But according to the social worker, he was sent straight to segregation for his role in the riot. Knox hadn’t been able to see him until now.
What the hell happened that day? North always tried to keep a low profile. He wouldn’t have instigated a riot, but Knox knew well enough that it was war in here and you did what you had to in order to survive.
Inmates filed into the room and moved to the tables where their visitors sat. Knox tapped his thigh under the table impatiently, desperate to see his brother, to confirm that he was still whole.
Finally, he stepped through the door. Knox shot up straighter in his seat and he felt sick. He hardly recognized the North walking over to him.
He had lost weight. His features were gaunt and ashen. His white shirt hung off his shoulders. He was all leanness. A rangy wolf. He even had that feral look in his brown eyes. Those eyes landed on Knox and narrowed. It wasn’t a friendly look. His brother was definitely not happy to see him.
Deep shadows stood out like bruises beneath his eyes, and as he drew closer, Knox saw the wound on his face. A deep angry slash ran down the length of his cheek, the skin held together with butterfly strips. It started near his eye and ran the length of his cheek, ending at his jawline.
North sank down in front of him. “What are you doing here?”
“What the hell happened in here, North?” Up close, he could see that the wound was going to leave a nasty scar. His brother was never going to be that too-pretty boy again.
“Shit happens in here. You know that.”
“Never had a riot in the eight years that I—”
“Then we were overdue,” he snapped, and Knox fell silent.
The familiar guilt rose up to gnaw at him, and he looked down at his hands.
“Don’t do that,” North bit out.
Knox’s gaze shot back to his brother. “Do what?”
“Look all fucking guilty. That shit gets old. I’m in here because I wanted to go along with you that night. That bastard destroyed our cousin. He killed her.”
Knox shook his head. “It was my idea to go after—”
“Yeah. And I threw the first punch. Remember that?” North slumped back in his chair. “Look, I’m going to have a hearing—”
“For what?” Knox demanded.
North stared at him coldly, so unlike the guy he’d left in here just a few months ago. “I’m facing more time. For the riot. They’re holding me and a bunch of other guys responsible.”
“What?” His world spun and upended. No. No. No. North was supposed to get out soon. Maybe a few more months.
“How much time you looking at?” Knox asked numbly.
North shrugged. “Couple of bulls got badly injured. Three inmates dead. There has to be consequences.” He paused, his lips twisting. “Reid’s gone.”
“Gone where? Dead?”
North shook his head. “He went to the hospital with me. No one’s talking about where he is . . . if he’s coming back.” He looked sideways and leaned forward, lowering his voice. “There’s a rumor going round that he broke out. At the hospital.”
It all clicked then. The riot had been deliberate so Reid could escape. God damn him.
They stared at one another, their suspicion settling on the air between them.
“How long are you facing?” Knox asked, dread pooling in his stomach.
North answered him quietly. “Few more years maybe.”
“No.” His hands curled into fists on top of the table. “We’ll get you a new lawyer. You’re not staying in here—”
“Man, cool it. It is what it is. I’ll be fine.”
He didn’t look fine. He didn’t even look like his brother anymore. He looked hard. Like a man that didn’t expect to ever get out. Like a man who no longer cared. Knox needed to get North out of this place while there was anything of him still left.
North’s brown eyes flicked over him. He attempted a smile. “Tell me you’ve been getting laid a lot for me out there.”
Knox snorted.
His brother nodded. “Well, I don’t hear any denials. That’s good, man. I need to hear that you’re out there living and making up for lost time . . . nailing lots of ass. As soon as you leave here, go eat a big burger with a side of onion rings, too. Can you do that for me? And a nice cold beer.”
“I can do you the burger and beer, but I wouldn’t say I’ve been banging a lot of girls.” There hadn’t been anyone since Briar, and he doubted there would be any time soon. Just the thought of being with anyone else left him cold.
“Oh, no?” North arched an eyebrow and considered him for a moment. “Just one girl, then?”
Knox didn’t answer, but that seemed answer enough.
North nodded. “Good. Even better. Well, don’t wait on me for the wedding. Get on out of here and make me an uncle. By t
he time I get out, I can take the little guy to a Cowboys game.”
That idea shot an image straight to his head—of him and Briar with a little boy. Someone sweet and pure, whose hand would feel tiny and innocent in his own. The thought made him go weak in the knees and played havoc with his heart.
“Fuck. I’m not getting married. I broke up with her.” Not that they had been official or anything.
“Why?”
“Look, I don’t want to talk about this. Let’s talk about your defense for this upcoming hearing. I can talk to—”
“Shit, man. I’m not talking about that. I want to talk about you and this girl you broke up with. Why’d you dump her?”
“Do I look like a catch to you, North? I’m a fucking felon and this is a nice girl—”
“All the better. Marry her. Take her to the farmhouse. Make it a home again. Uncle Mac and Aunt Alice would love it.”
He stared at his brother in shock. “You’re serious. You think I deserve—”
“You think I don’t?” he countered, raising his voice enough for one of the guards to call out a warning. North glared at the bull and then turned his attention back to Knox. “If you don’t deserve it, then neither do I.”
An uncomfortable tightness centered in his chest. Of course his brother deserved that. He deserved everything.
North stabbed a finger in the air. “I’ve always looked up to you, but I won’t respect you for shit if you don’t grab this opportunity with both hands. Trust me, the moment I get out of here, nothing is going to stop me from living the life I want. Nothing. Now don’t be a fucking pussy.”
Heat crept up Knox’s face. “When did you start telling me what to do?”
“Apparently when you started needing someone to.” North’s gaze flicked up him and down. “You love this girl?”
He looked down at his hands again, seeing Briar’s face. Seeing her that first day in the HSU and every moment in between. Seeing her when she said she might be a little in love with him. Right before he walked out on here. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
“Then get the fuck out of here and go get her. Don’t come back again unless it’s with her. Understand? I want to meet her.”
Knox wiped at his suddenly burning eyes. He’d never spent one day of his eight years in this prison crying. Not even when the pain had been so great and he thought his body was broken forever. And now here he was, blubbering like a baby in the very place where he had never shown weakness. “Yeah. All right.”
TWENTY-SIX
BRIAR JUST FINISHED putting the last dish in the dishwasher when a knock sounded on her door. She closed the dishwasher and pushed the start button before padding barefoot to her door. A peek through the peephole had her gasping and lurching back.
Knox stood on the other side. What was he doing here?
He knocked again. Her hand moved to unlock the door and then she snatched it back. No. She wasn’t doing this again. No more. She’d offered him everything and he walked away. Because she was bad for him.
If she opened the door she would let him in, and then she’d probably let him in her bed. Because she was that weak. Because she was putty in his hands. She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t succumb. She had been working so hard to get over him. She’d even told Shelley that she would go out with her ex-brother-in-law. True, Shelley’s ex-husband was a douche but apparently he had a nice brother.
He knocked again. “Briar, please open the door. I know you’re in there.”
Her skin shivered at the sound of his voice. She’d missed him. It would be so easy to let him in. In her home. In her still raw and bleeding heart. She wouldn’t survive him leaving her the next time. This time had been hard enough.
He continued, “Look, I just came from seeing my brother at the prison . . . and hell, I know that doesn’t mean anything to you, but it got me thinking and . . . shit, I fucked up. Can you just open the door so I can see you? So we can talk face-to-face?”
She started to open her mouth several times but didn’t trust herself to speak.
She felt a soft thud and risked another peek out the door. She could still see his shoulders. It looked like he had bowed his head against the door. He said something so softly, she couldn’t quite understand him. She pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear, and when she finally did hear his whisper, her chest squeezed tightly.
I need you . . .
She closed her eyes, reaching deep inside herself for strength. She had to be strong. Nothing had changed. He was still that guy that didn’t trust himself, that felt out of control around her. And it didn’t matter what he needed. She had to consider herself and what she needed or she would, in fact, be just like her mother.
“I’ll be back, Briar.” His voice rang loud and clear again. “I’m not giving up.”
Then she heard his retreating footsteps.
She turned and slid down the length of the door, hardening her heart. She would not give in to him. He’d eventually give up. She just had to resist him until he did.
HE WAITED OUTSIDE Briar’s apartment, telling himself this wasn’t stalkerish. She still loved him. He knew she did. And he loved her. She couldn’t have forgotten all her feelings for him in so short a time. He hadn’t screwed everything up that badly.
It was barely light out. Dawn streaked the West Texas sky, but he knew she left for work this early. Sure enough, at 6:55 he spotted her coming down her stairs in her scrubs. Her hair was still damp and pulled back into a tight braid that his fingers itched to unravel.
He was out of his truck and across the parking lot, planting himself in front of her car door before she could reach her vehicle.
She came to a hard stop when she saw him there. “What are you doing?”
“I said I wasn’t giving up.”
“I don’t want to see you.”
“Then close your eyes. Just listen to me.”
She shook her head, her gaze skittering around like she was looking for an escape. “I’m going to be late for work. Please move.”
So polite. And scared. She looked terrified, but not the kind of terror that worried him. No, this was wariness. As though she didn’t trust herself. Clearly, she didn’t want him to persuade her to do anything she didn’t want to do. It gave him hope. It meant at least a part of her still wanted to be with him.
“Briar,” he breathed, stepping away from the car and closing in on her. “I love you.”
Her eyes flared. “No! Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say that!”
“It’s true.”
“I’m bad for you, remember?” she flung out, anger and hurt ripe in her voice. Again, it gave him hope.
He closed his eyes in a tight blink. “I said that and a lot of other stupid shit, yeah. But loving you will make me stronger. I know it now. I can love you like you deserve if you’ll just let me.”
She snorted and stepped around him. “I don’t have time for this.” She hit her unlock button and started to open her door.
He came behind her and shut it with the palm of his hand. “Give us a chance.” He spoke into the nape of her neck, sending tiny hairs fluttering, tickling his lips. “You said you loved me—”
“Don’t twist my words. I said I might love you a little. I was wrong.”
He turned her around, pressing his body against hers, trapping her between him and the car, concentrating on his words and struggling to ignore the distracting softness of her body. No easy task. He’d been too long from her. “Liar. You haven’t stopped loving me. You’re angry. I get that . . . and trying to protect yourself. I get that, too—”
“That’s right. I’m trying to protect myself from you. Now let me go.”
He leaned in, holding her gaze. “I love you,” he whispered . . . pleaded.
Something flashed in her eyes before disappearing. “I don??
?t love you,” she said resolutely, so firmly. For the first time dread gnawed at the edges of his heart. Could it be too late?
“No,” he growled.
Then he kissed her.
He slanted his lips over hers and poured all his heart, all his longing, into this kiss, coaxing her to respond, to soften. “Please,” he whispered over her quivering lips. “Kiss me back, Briar. Kiss me.”
With a whimper she caved, her lips yielding to him. A shudder racked him. He slid his arms around her and lifted her up off the ground and against his arousal. He let her feel what she did to him. Her hands looped around his neck and she clung to him, still kissing him back as hot and feverishly as he kissed her.
“There,” he growled, lust and satisfaction pumping through him. “You do love me.”
She stiffened and then fought to free herself from his embrace. Damn it. He let her go, barely having time to look down at her flushed face before she slapped him so hard he felt the force all the way to his teeth.
He fingered his stinging cheek, gazing down at her. Her chest heaved with emotion, eyes blazing up at him. “Stay away from me and stop manipulating me. Nothing has changed. You’re still the out-of-control animal you don’t want to be. And I do not love you.”
Her words gouged him as effectively as a swiping claw. Like she knew they would, but he had the taste of her still on his lips. Alongside the sight of her spitting rage, it was all the confirmation he needed. She still wanted him. Loved him. “Yes. You do.”
She stomped her foot and let out a muffled groan. “You’re crazy!”
“Just about you,” he returned, then in a more serious tone, he added, “I know I blew it, but I’ll wait until you realize I’m sincere. I can be patient. I spent years in prison waiting to be free. Waiting, even though I didn’t know it then . . . for you.”
An alarmed look crossed her face as she stubbornly shook her head. “You don’t mean that . . .”
“I do. And time will prove it.” He leaned in slowly, his mouth brushing her ear as he spoke, “And once you’re convinced, we’re going to hole up in your bedroom for a day at least . . . where I will convince you again and again and again . . . until neither one of us can walk.”