Page 61 of Find Me

A stack of flyers dropped down on the counter as Knox appeared next to me. “They probably didn’t think to invite you because it’s a given that you’d be there. You practically live with us,” he said.

“I don’t live with you. I own my own home and I sleep in it every night,” I argued.

Knox pulled a piece of paper off the stack and began reading it over. “How long will that last, I wonder?” he said distractedly.

I turned to face him fully, my irritation quickly building. “You think I come over too much?”

Knox scoffed as he began signing the paper. “What gave you that impression?” His voice dripped with sarcasm, making my heart sink.

Once he was done signing the paper, he held it out to Stephanie, who’d been quietly watching us. “Can you fax this?” he asked her. She took the paper and he put his hand on top of the stack of flyers. “These are the flyers for the mud run in October.” Stephanie nodded and went over to the fax machine at the other end of the desk.

I fought to keep from showing how his words had affected me.

Keelan frowned at his brother.

Knox noticed. “What?”

Keelan’s gaze moved to me and his brow furrowed. “He didn’t mean—”

“It’s fine,” I snapped. I bent over to pick up my bag and picnic basket. I had made lunch for the five of us to eat after Keelan and I were done sparring, but now I realized it had been wrong of me to assume they’d want to have lunch with me. I set the basket on the counter. “I made you guys lunch. Don’t feel obligated to eat it if you don’t want to.” I turned and headed for the exit.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I heard Keelan say in a low, angry voice just before I walked out of the gym.

By the time I got home I was itching for a run. The only problem was that it was over one hundred degrees out. I wasn’t in the mood for heat stroke, so that wasn’t an option. Instead, I headed to my back porch where my swing still lay in pieces, waiting to be put together. I did a quick look-around for any little creatures hanging out nearby. I didn’t want to have another encounter with any more desert wildlife. When I didn’t see any, I sat on the ground and grabbed the assembly instructions that were inside a bag of loose screws, nails, and washers. I flipped it open and glared at the first thing it said:For safety, two people are recommended for assembly.

“Well, one is just gonna have to do,” I snapped down at the instructions.

A half hour later, I let go of the two heavy pieces I was struggling to put together with a frustrated huff.

“Want some help?” a voice asked, startling me.

I looked over my shoulder, finding Knox leaning against the frame of the back-patio door. “Apparently, I need to remind Colt and Creed that the whole purpose of an emergency key is that it is supposed to be used for emergencies,” I said, my tone sharp and evident of my irritation.

“If you truly believed they’d only use it for emergencies, then you don’t know them very well.”

Of course, I’d known they’d use it. I loved that they used it. Because it meant they wanted to spend as much time with me as I wanted to spend with them. They’d even used the key last night as I’d been getting into bed. I’d received a text from them seconds before I’d heard the front door open. They’d wanted to have another sleepover. As expected, I’d had a nightmare, but Colt had gently woken me from it and held me until I’d fallen back to sleep. I didn’t know why I’d complained about my key being used. Scratch that, I did know. I was angry and I was grasping at anything I could use as ammunition against Knox.

I got to my feet and brushed dirt off the back of my leggings. “What are you doing here?”

His jaw clenched and he folded his arms across his chest. I internally scolded myself for admiring the way the muscles in his arms bulged a little, making the short sleeves of his polo stretch tight.

“What I said…” he started to say.

“It’s fine.”

Frowning, he dropped his arms to his sides and pushed off the door frame. “You’re upset.”

Feeling hot and thirsty, I walked toward the door that he was sort of blocking. “I’m fine,” I said, squeezing by him to get inside.

He followed me into the kitchen. “Stop saying ‘fine.’ Clearly, it's not,” he said as he watched me grab a glass from the cabinet.

I sighed. If I had been a dragon there would have been smoke coming out of my nostrils. I set my glass on the island harshly. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had broken it. Despite my anger puppeteering my actions at the moment, I was thankful it hadn’t. Leveling my gaze with his, I asked, “Why does it matter to you how I feel?”

He didn’t respond. Instead, the muscle in his jaw went tight as he clenched it.

Shaking my head, I picked up my glass and began filling it from the fridge’s water dispenser. “Go home, Knox, and leave my key.”

He let out a frustrated noise. “Shiloh—”