Page 87 of Knot The Only Onee

“True.” Elias took a drink of his coffee and then rubbed his hands together. “Do you want us to go over to Cedar Hills with you today?”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Yeah, I do need to do that today, don’t I? I wonder if Maverick even knows if his little brothers are doing this?”

Simon raised his brows. “What makes you think it’s the little brothers? Maybe he’s just that vindictive and did it himself. You’ve always said the blood between your families has been that bad.”

I let out a sign. I didn’t want to believe Mav was as bad as his father. But the truth was, I didn’t know.

Not anymore.

Mav could be just like Buck.

We may be technically neighbors, but we hadn’t seen each other in many years. Not since Momma died. The thought sent a wave of pain cascading through me, and I fought back a wince.

The friendship that James and I had shared with Mav and his brothers didn't exist anymore. I needed to stop holding onto nostalgia and just go over there and hash this out with them. I could play hardball if I needed to.

Now that we had Bridget, we needed to protect her. These may be small pranks now, but they'd almost injured two of our horses the other day. That was something I just couldn't stand anymore.

"You're right," I answered finally. "I don't know them anymore. They could have done this, and I'd be none the wiser. Why don't we head over there after breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan." Elias nodded his head. "We're family, Noah. We know you have our back, just like we have yours."

I nodded, once again struck by how stupid I’d been to keep everything to myself.

Alena opened the door to the cabin, a fluffy jacket wrapped around her torso. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Was wondering where you went.” Barely looking up, she sank onto Elias’ lap.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Elias kissed her forehead. “Where are the other two knuckleheads?”

“Taking a shower.” She leaned her head against Elias’s shoulder, her eyes closed.

I chuckled, figuring they were having some fun without Alena.

Alena’s eyes snapped open and focused on me. “Oh. Hi, Noah.” A delicate blush spread over her cheeks, and she adjusted the hem of her long shirt to ensure it was covering the tops of her thighs.

"Morning. Sorry for interrupting," I rose to my feet. "It's probably time for me to get back and wake everyone up. I'm sure Lucas will insist on cooking breakfast." I was thankful that he loved to cook so much because I was hopeless at it. I could brew a pot of coffee, make scrambled eggs, and fry some bacon, but anything beyond that, and I was lost.

"Shoot me a text when you want to go over to Cedar Hills." Simon stood, reaching his hand out for me to shake. Brits and their manners.

"I'm sure I’ll see you before then. Lucas will want everyone over for breakfast. You know how much he likes cooking for the crowds." A sad smile tilted the corners of my lips. I wished we'd had more guests over the past year. Lucas was growing restless. Bored, even with the small amount of people he had to cook for.

I had to keep reminding myself that we'd turn over a new leaf at Second Chance once renovations were completed. Lucas would get his opportunity to cook for more people. James would get to teach riding lessons and lead trail rides—Much to his dismay, I'm sure. I was just looking forward to not having the threat of ruin hovering over my head.

“Chin up, friend.” Elias remained seated with Alena in his lap but held his hand out for me to shake. “We’ll get this place turned around. No more loan shark. Full remodel. It’ll be the place to be, and you’ll have to hire more staff because it’ll be sold out every weekend.”

With a smile, I shook his hand and said my final goodbyes.

The smile faded as I walked away, the weight of my thoughts causing it to turn to a frown.

I needed to get my head on straight. Like Simon and Elias said, we would get back on track.

Yet, something was lingering in the back of my mind that put me on edge.

Something bad was coming, and I just didn't know what yet.

CHAPTER41

James

My eyes fluttered open as the rich aroma of coffee filled the room. I sat up carefully, blinking away the lingering sleep from my eyes. Lucas was curled around Bridget, clinging to her like a spider monkey. How she didn't wake up drenched in sweat was beyond me. Lucas ran hot. I could barely stay that close to him for more than five minutes before I was rolling over so I didn't overheat.