Page 2 of Knox (Graeme #3)

Foxhound

T he morning started dark and early.

Couldn't sleep without Jasper beside me. The nagging feeling grew larger as I stared at the ceiling, straining to hear the phone vibrate in the silence. I dressed in my new work clothes, loving the lining in the cargo pants. I had two pairs of rubber boots, and one was lined, too. December here was frigid, especially before the sun rose, and I’d been wearing holey jeans and old hoodies.

Had a feeling Uncle Ian chose my stuff, because he was dressed a lot like me when I made it to the kitchen.

I met him at the back door, and we took the golf cart to the barn.

Stryder had escaped his stall again, and met us at the doors.

Ian took off on him bareback while I headed to clean the horse's stall.

Hellfire greeted me with a huff this morning.

The stallion was warming up to me, but he would still take a nip out of me if I got too close.

Jasper didn't show up for work either, and Ian came to help me after his ride. Didn't ask questions, which was good. Didn't think I could discuss it.

Who did that? Why did people do that? I knew what ghosting was, just never thought Jasper would be the one to leave me hanging as if I never mattered. Ethan? Yeah. The man didn't understand what being a father was. But Jasper, who promised to love me forever? No. Never expected it from him.

Had I ignored something? Was he bored with me and I didn't pay attention? Nothing made sense about the situation, really.

It was almost noon by the time I finished with the last stall, and as I backed out of it with the wheelbarrow, a throat cleared behind me.

Lana Daniels was the traditional Tri-County blonde with big blue eyes.

Her father was a Mac, and she was the heir.

She began speaking before I could say hello, so I closed the gate and leaned against it while she talked.

My hoodie sleeve had ridden up, the light catching the cool metal now dangling down my hand.

“Josh G-” Her eyes landed on my wrist, those lips forming a soft ‘o’ before she cleared her throat. “Josh Graeme,” she whispered. “Jasper Grayson is mine.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I took a deep breath trying to come up with a response to the old-world clan challenge.

Marcus MacGrayson didn’t think I was good enough for his brother.

Not sure why, but a line from the play popped into my head and right out my mouth.

“What’s in it for me?” I asked, and Ian stopped behind Lana, winking at me.

She cocked her head to the side and studied my face. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“About what?” I raised my eyebrows and glanced back at Ian, who smiled softly. He had my back, which I needed. If there were no witnesses to this conversation, I was screwed.

“Daddy offered MacGrayson a million and Foxhound for Jasper. Jaz and I have been talking all week.”

“Have you?” I took a deep breath, hoping the bile rising in my throat stayed down. “Again, I ask, what’s in it for me?”

“Oh,” she grumbled. “No one explained this part. Either you challenge me, which is what Jasper said you’d do, and well, I was going to race you for him. I can ride. Negotiating isn’t my thing.”

I glanced at Ian, hoping he had the words. I didn't know what happened now, either. Couldn't challenge anyone until my birthday. Just because Granpa gave me the bracelet—my rite of passage—early, didn't mean I could say anything.

"Who owns the horse?" Ian asked. I stared at him, searching for a lifeline in the mess.

“Oh, me.” She waved the air as if it didn't matter. "I don't sign it over to Grayson until the day of the ceremony."

I blinked, trying to come up with a response, but Ian stepped into the negotiations then. "Foxhound for Jasper."

She stopped and turned her head slowly to look at me. “Now, that is an idea.”

Lana held out her hand to shake on it, and Ian took it instead, turning her to face him. “Lana Daniels, we have an accord. I’ll expect Foxhound in the stables tomorrow afternoon by five.”

He let her hand go, and it flew to her lips as she looked at me. “You aren’t twenty yet!”

“No, but the deal is done,” Ian said, and she nodded.

“It is.” She turned to Ian again. “Tomorrow, MacGraeme. I’ll bring her.”

Lana walked out of the barn, a little strut in her step, as if she hadn't torn my heart from my chest and stomped on it.

Ian pulled me into a hug, and the scent of aftershave washed over me from behind as Finn joined us. He wore the suit this morning and didn't want horseshit anywhere near his long wool coat.

"What just happened?" I mumbled into Ian's neck, breathing in his scent, which reminded me of what a dad should smell like—home.

Granpa didn’t smell like home, and I never felt welcome in his house.

Hadn’t felt welcome anywhere until Uncle Ian came home and I realized he didn’t know about me.

Mom tried, but she didn’t know what to say to me, and backed down to Ethan too much.

It broke something between us. She would never have done this.

Finn’s hand pressed to the back of my head, and my eyes burned. The day was way too long, and it was only noon. Ethan would have told me men didn’t cry.

Still didn’t know what a man was based on his definition. According to Ian, a man was human with hopes and fears, and it was okay to be emotional with people you trusted and not the world.

"Are you okay?” Ian asked.

“No,” I shook my head. “I’m not. Why didn’t Jasper tell me?”

I was confused over the whole thing. Jasper could have said he wanted to marry her, and I’d have let him go.

“He didn’t know anything until Marcus told him last week, Josh,” Finn said. “MacDaniels saw you and Jasper during the play, and approached Marcus for Jasper. They’d been in negotiations for months, waiting for the horse. She’s three, and Marcus wanted to race her against Hellfire.”

Hellfire belonged to Damon, another of Finn’s brothers. Their mother, Matilda, had a lot of sons and one daughter, Bri, who was in the drama class Ian taught.

I took a deep breath and sorted out everything Finn had said.

Jasper had known for a week.

We didn't include me; it meant Lana.

He'd lied to me.

“Josh?” Ian’s eyebrows rose. “How do you feel?”

“Numb.” It was the truth. Hadn’t really hit me yet that Jasper didn’t want me. He’d been pulling away for the last few days, and I just thought we were busy. I had a new job, and he was seeing someone else. Uncle cupped my face with both hands, and my gaze met his. “What does this mean?”

“Jasper is four months older than you, Josh. You can’t officially do anything as far as the Macs are concerned until your birthday,” Finn said. “Technically, it means nothing for the public.”

“Okay.” Couldn’t handle that humiliation on top of everything else. Had enough to last a lifetime and didn’t need anymore.