Page 11 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

A woman who said she was his wife in a dream was alive and real.

And.

inside.

It was time to talk through this before he went absolutely insane.

“Have you ever been in love?” he asked his friend, genuinely curious.

Graham turned.

“Pardon?” he asked, that sucker-punch to the chest reminding him that yeah, he had been in love.

Once.

D’Artangnan Graves had stolen his heart, and then broke it too. Then again, he’d done the same thing to him. Who was he kidding?

“Yeah,” he finally said, his whole being aching for the man. To that very day, every man he had sex with, and every person he touched never compared to D’Artangnan.

When he left, he took his heart.

That was the only way he could explain it.

God knew he tried to fill that hole as much as he possibly could, but that sucking hole was bottomless.

And he failed nonstop.

“I think I’m in love. How the hell did I fall in love so fast? And with someone I’ve never bet before just now?”

Graham shrugged.

“It’s your heart. You should know the answer to that. Maybe it was meant to be.”

That was a possibility.

“Plus, it’s absolutely bollocks to make me walk into that crypt and figure it out myself.”

Yeah, probably, but what was the universe going to do? Torment him?

Too late.

He was already there.

“Well, that’s for the whole ‘stealing Sarah from me in grade school’ .”

He stared at him.

“You’re gay. That meant nothing to you.”

Well, he wasn’t exactly wrong. He had a type, and it was a six-foot six, beast of a man who was a Marine. A man who disappeared off the face of the planet when he left and was likely living his best life with someone else.

God knew.

Yeah, Graham had tried to find him, but D’Artangnan Graves was gone. He was the only man he ever felt smaller than, and protected when he was with him.

He wasn’t a small man by any means, but D’Artangnan gave him that sense of security when they stood side-by-side.

Talking about D’Artangnan always made him testy—and that was why he rarely did it. It was best to not dwell on it because once he did, it was a downward spiral.

Every.

Single.

Time.

“What’s your point, Finn? I’m busy,” he said, still thinking about D’Artangnan.

“What do I do?” he asked. “She’s gorgeous, and now I can’t stop thinking about her. When Rosie left, I shut it all off to survive. Now, it’s on, and I can’t figure out why. I literally just met her.”

Graham gave the simplest answer.

“Ask her out. They’re going to be here for a few days. See if she’s interested in you. If she wants to spend time with you, then you have your solution.”

God.

This was crazy.

He’d almost forgotten that last part.

“She’s going home.”

That hung there.

Oh, and Graham knew why.

“Rosie packed up while you were at work, and she took your cat. Gabby isn’t staying forever, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a nice dinner with her, and enjoy your time. She won’t run and leave you behind. You know her game plan. It’s to go home.”

Why did he feel like the more time he gave her, the bigger a mess he was going to be in when she left? Why did he fear that?

What were the chances that he’d be able to get her to stay?

Yeah, he knew.

Slim.

To.

None.

“She’s a doctor.”

He lifted a brow.

“Okay, well, if your spleen hurts, let her take a look at it. I don’t know what to tell you, Finn.”

He punched him.

“Not that kind of doctor. Why am I so confused?” he asked.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure.

It must be nice to see someone and fall in love with them. Graham wouldn’t know what that was like.

That would never happen to him. In fact, now he was going to meet up with that guy tomorrow to forget because he had a Marine running through his head.

D’Artangnan.

“Maybe this is the universe trying to tell you that you should talk to her. You had a dream, she showed up, and she’s a captive audience. You have to babysit so babysit. What if you guys can build something worth staying for?” he asked.

That was a valid point, and he had a good idea. Only, if he was going to invest every second of the day, he knew what he needed to do.

“I need to stay here. Like sleep here.”

He laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

“You were just ready to hide in your flat. Now, you’re moving in?” he asked.

He was curious.

“Do you think the owners would mind? Can I have a room?” he asked. “Preferably a room right next to hers.”

He laughed.

“Tony is in that room. Are you kicking him out?” he asked.

Damn.

That was a problem.

Graham saw the man’s distress and took mercy on his poor, sexless soul.

He reassured him.

“Callen told me to take care of Tony and Gabby, and give them whatever they needed. They are family to the Blackhawks. If Gabby has a chance at healing…”

He stopped him.

“What do you mean, healing?” he asked, not sure what he was talking about.

Oh, boy.

Damn it.

He’d screwed up.

“Maybe that was the wrong word,” he said, trying to cover his ass on this one.

He stopped him.

“That’s bullshit. What did you mean, Laddie? Spill it. My dream told me that she’s my wife, and you know something that I don’t know. I need to know. Now.”

He laughed.

“My dude, it was a dream.”

And it felt real.

Finn was a big believer in reality, but the second he touched Gabby while he was awake, he knew.

She was the one.

“Tell me.”

Well, he hoped the man could keep his mouth shut and not say a word about this.

“Tony told me that she was divorced. Gabby was married to an abuser for a few years, and it wrecked her. She’s jumpy with men.”

That was all he had to hear.

He got angry.

REAL.

ANGRY.

“Like an abuser-abuser or…?” he asked, holding his breath.

He didn’t know why he cared, but the plain, simple truth was that he did.

The overwhelming need to protect her set something off in him.

Graham explained.

“This morning, she broke a coffee cup, and she panicked. It took her to a place, like PTSD. She was crying, her hands were shaking, and she apologized profusely.”

Oh, shit.

Now, Finn was worried.

“She almost fell into that one crypt, and when she did, I grabbed her and caught her. She looked at me like I was a ghost. Do you think that’s why?” he asked, greatly disappointed.

His heart sank into his gut.

Here, he’d hoped that she was staring at him like that because her soul recognized his too.

“I don’t know. Ask her on a date, and find out. Get to know her, and sure, you can crash here. Other than that, Finn, I’m not able to help you navigate this. If you ask me how to woo a woman, we’ve got problems.”

He laughed.

Well, he made a mental note not to ask advice on that, specifically since he heard the man was trolling for way too much sleazy dick.

On the ground, Bark was running in circles, making a goat go nuts. When Finn scooped the dog up, it licked his face.

“What if she says no?” he asked.

He shook his head.

“Well, you won’t know until you ask. Pretend she’s Sarah. You swooped in so fast…hey, I know,” he said, changing the subject. “I’ll ask her out.”

“For me?”

He busted his balls.

“No, for me. Think she’d like an ex-soldier?” he teased. “I’ll treat her right.”

That annoyed Finn to no end. The mere thought that this man would ask her out…

“You’re gay.”

He grinned.

“And to piss you off, I’d buy her dinner, take her to a movie, and be a gentleman. All of the things you aren’t, Detective,” he said, busting his ass.

He shoved him, and they both laughed.

It was good to have a friend to talk this out with, even if he liked men. Graham was a good guy.

Loyal to a fault.

“Seriously, my man. Ask the pretty lady out, but be cognizant that she has some scars too. You have abandonment issues because of Rosie, and she has men issues thanks to whoever hurt her.”

Oh, he would.

When Graham heard a noise, he focused on it. That’s when he saw Gabby heading their way.

Shoving Finn into the barn, the man looked shocked.

“We have company.”

That’s when he heard her call Graham’s name. So, like any self-respecting Detective Inspector with the Polis, he tucked himself into the corner of the barn where he could hear and see her through a slat.

God.

He was ridiculous.

Now, he was spying on the woman like he was a stalker. He’d sunk low on this one. His dream had better be right or he was getting arrested for stalking an American.

Only, now, he knew what Graham was doing. This was the same thing they did when they were young. They’d talk to the girl to get information for the guy.

He was being his wingman.

He’d kiss Graham but he’d probably like it.

“Hey, Gabby,” Graham said, pretending he wasn’t helping the slower of the species out by getting her to talk to him.

“Oh, my God! Is that a goat?” she asked, reaching for it, and it fell over like it died.

She gasped.

“Oh, no! Did I just hurt it?” she asked. “I’m so sorry!” she said, getting scared.

He reassured her by not letting her back away. It was clear her wounds ran deep. He hoped Finn saw this and knew how to navigate it.

IF he wanted to navigate it.

“That’s Jethro. He’s a fainting goat. That’s their coping mechanism, believe it or not, Lass. They wouldn’t survive a day out in the real world. They’d be passing out all over the place.”

To prove it, when he picked it up, it came back to life and went back to eating food.

She laughed so hard.

That was the cutest thing she’d ever seen in her whole life.

“Oh, that’s the last thing that I want on my conscience,” she teased. “Goat killer. What would I tell everyone back home?” she teased.

Graham gave her time so she could pet the goat. When she was done, he went there.

“So, how did the meet up with the detective go? Was he an asshole?” he asked, knowing the asshole in question was staring daggers at him.

A guy had to have some fun.

Right?

“Detective McKnight? No, he was a perfect gentleman. He actually saved me from taking a tumble into the one crypt. He wasn’t an asshole at all.”

He grinned.

“Well, that’s a first. He’s a dick to me all of the time,” he stated.

Finn was going to kick his ass.