A Dark & Stormy Knight: A McKnight Romance (McKnight Romances)

by Quint, Suzie

A warm body arrived beside her. It took a physical effort for her to pull her gaze away from Daisy to glance at Daniel and his subdued daughter leaning against his other side, his arm over her shoulder.

  The moment seemed wrong to even utter a short greeting, so Georgia looked back in time to see Spitfire shift, lifting her leg, moving it forward, away from Daisy’s hand.

  Daisy grimaced. “Sol, hold her steady please.” In spite of the polite phrasing, her voice was stern.

  Sol stepped forward and took the lead from Eden. He scratched Spitfire’s forehead for a moment, speaking softly to the horse, as Daisy started unwinding the wrap.

  Eden stood a few feet back in the gap between Sol and Daisy, her arms crossed over her chest, fingers hooked over shoulder, and chin buried between her wrists.

  Daisy set the wrap aside and ran both hands down the horse’s leg. A grunt issued from her throat, and her hands zeroed in on the back of Spitfire’s leg. “Son of a bitch.” The words were spoken softly but with a vehemence that didn’t bode well. “She’s bowed a tendon.”

  The world came crashing back, but Georgia continued to ignore it, focusing instead on her daughter as Eden’s shoulders tightened. Georgia almost called to her, but Sol reached out first and pulled her to his side.

  “How bad?” Sol asked.

  Daisy bent her head back to shoot him an annoyed look.

  “Never mind. Dumb question.”

  Daniel leaned into Georgia and spoke so low, it was almost a whisper. “Why was that a dumb question?”

  Georgia answered softly, “Because it’s hard to tell by feel how bad it is. There are two tendons there. They might both be bowed—a little or a lot—but it’ll take an ultrasound to know for sure and months to heal regardless.”

  “But it will heal, right?” Daniel asked.

  Georgia caught sight of Deanne, peering from Daniel’s other side. “Sure, she will,” Georgia said, not wanting to add weight to the guilt she already saw in Deanne’s eyes. Even with a minor bowed tendon, Spitfire’s leg would never have the strength it had before. And that was the best-case scenario. Worst case? A career-ending injury for the mare.

  Daisy’s voice was grim. “I need some witch hazel or—”

  “We’ve got Absorbine, if you want it.” They’d drawn a small crowd. The man who’d offered the astringent was from the trailer parked beside them. He stepped forward and handed Daisy a white plastic bottle.

  “Thanks.” Daisy said, barely looking up before squeezing a generous amount of the liniment into her palm.

  “What’s that for?” Daniel asked.

  “It’ll help tighten things up,” Georgia said.

  After she’d finished applying the liniment, Daisy rewrapped Spitfire’s leg. The mare had been astonishingly patient throughout the procedure. When she was done, Daisy stood and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Well, that’s that,” she said. “She’s not running anytime soon. Dammit. All that time and effort shot to—”

  A short chirrup sound came from Eden a half a second before Sol barked his sister’s name. Daisy looked up at Sol then at her niece. She looked surprised to find the world outside her and the horse still existed. Then she flushed. “Sorry, hon.” Her gaze went back to Sol. They exchanged a look, some unspoken communication passing between them before Daisy looked back to Eden. “Do you want to help me load her back up?”

  Georgia nearly objected, her gut reacting as though Daisy’s offer were meant to increase Eden’s sense of guilt. She bit her tongue as her head took over. Daisy wasn’t being mean; she was trying to tell Eden she still trusted her with Spitfire.

  Eden stood with her arms wrapped around Sol’s waist and shook her head.

  The man who’d offered the liniment spoke. “I know a barrel racer who’s not riding tonight because she’s in the middle of a gall bladder attack. She’s loaned out her horse before. He’s a good, little gelding. Took first at Sweetwater last month. She’d want half the purse if you win, but if you’re interested, I can see if she’ll loan him to you.”

  It was a generous offer and exactly the sort of thing rodeo people often did for each other, but when Daisy looked at Eden with questioning eyebrows, Eden dropped her eyes to the ground and shook her head again.

  “Are you sure?” Daisy asked.

  From her protected position at Sol’s side, Eden nodded.

  Oh, God. Her lip.

  Eden’s bottom lip stuck out as if she were a sulky child, except for Eden, that lip was an impending-tear barometer.

  Georgia’s heart broke.

  Daisy took the lead from Sol and turned the horse toward the trailer. Eden buried her head against her father. Sol went down on one knee in front of his daughter. Georgia couldn’t hear what he said, but when he stood, Eden took his hand.

  “I’m going to take Eden for a snow cone. We’d like Deanne to come along.”

  Georgia felt her chin crinkle the way it did when she wanted to cry but was trying hard not to. Maybe she’d underestimated Sol’s parenting skills because he was certainly rising to the occasion. There wasn’t even a hint of the evil eye she’d expected him to lay on Daniel.

  Daniel reached for his wallet, but Sol shook his head. “It’s on me.”

  “Thanks.”

  As Sol and the girls walked away, Georgia wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. Her hand came away damp from the unshed tears.

  Daniel sighed and ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair. “Well, that wasn’t how I’d hoped this would go.”

  Georgia loosed a shaky laugh.

  He stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m sorry, Georgia. Our timing really sucked. If Deanne hadn’t—”

  “No, don’t apologize. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. You know that. Stuff happens and it’s not always good.”

  “I don’t think either one of the girls would agree with that.”

  “I know. We’re going to have a job convincing them.”

  He nodded. “So I guess the rodeo’s over for us. You’ll be heading back to Hero Creek.”

  “Yeah, but we’ve got a little time. Come on.” She tugged at his elbow. “I saw a taco truck when we pulled onto the grounds. You know I hate dealing with parenting traumas on an empty stomach.”

  They walked across the grounds until they came to the truck she had seen near the entrants’ gate. They both ordered a couple of tacos then sat at one of the nearby picnic tables.

  She devoured the first taco before saying, “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you came.”

  “Even though it turned out so badly?”

  “The one has nothing to do with the other.”

  “If you say so.”

  She shot him a warning look.

  He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay. I got it. No guilt but you know I’m not good at that.”

  “Then fake it ‘til you make it.” Like she did.

  Georgia folded the wrapper back from her second taco and wondered if Spitfire’s accident had derailed the things Daniel had come all this way to say. She felt a little guilty for still caring, but she needed something good to counter the downer the day had become. Still, it could wait until they finished their tacos. “I should warn you: Sol feels threatened by you.”

  “By me?” Daniel chuckled. “What on earth did you tell him?”

  “Nothing but the truth.” She left out what she’d accidentally implied. Daniel didn’t need to know that. “Sol’s imagination tends to fill in the rest.”

  “I always thought it would be fun to tweak Sol’s nose after some of the stuff he’s pulled on you. Any other day but today, I’d think this was my chance.”

  “You hold on to that thought.” She pointed a warning finger at him. “I made Sol promise he’d behave himself, so you have to, too. Eden doesn’t need any extra drama today and, frankly, neither do I.”

  “Darn.” Daniel snapped his fingers. “I missed my chance.”

  Bantering with him felt good, like a breath of fresh, untainted ai
r entering her lungs. It helped her let go of the stress that had culminated with Spitfire’s injury, though she did have to wonder what was wrong with all the men she knew. First Tommy, now Daniel. Both aching to confront her ex-husband. Throwing Sol together with either one was like staging a cockfight. The thought brought an unintended but extremely vivid image to mind that almost made Georgia laugh out loud.

  She tamped down the urge to giggle and focused on neatly folding the empty taco wrappers. “So what is it that’s so important you drove all the way from Dallas to talk about?”

  He took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to say, and I’ve got this whole spiel jumbled up in my head, so I hope you’ll be patient and let me get through it all.”

  Her heart kicked up a beat, and she got tingly. Goose bumps danced down her arms, but somehow, it didn’t feel quite the way she’d thought it would. In the next few minutes, her life was going to change. She could feel it looming over her as if she could reach out and touch it. Whatever she’d expected to feel, it wasn’t this sudden fear that, if she wasn’t careful, she’d make a mistake she’d regret forever. She had the urge to reach out and grab him, tell him to stop. That she didn’t want things to change. Didn’t want to risk losing his friendship for something that might not work.

  He didn’t seem to notice her nerves acting up. “Three years ago, when y’all invited Deanne to Eden’s birthday party, I had no idea my life was about to change. I never had a woman as a buddy before. You’ve taught me a lot. I wouldn’t have been half the parent I should have been without you beating me over the head and reminding me that Deanne’s a girl and how girls need different things than boys do. You’re so good with people. You listen and don’t judge when they make mistakes—when I make mistakes. I hope I’ve learned something about how to do that from you.”

  She felt a blush creeping into her cheeks. He was giving her more credit than she deserved. Nice as it was to hear, she wasn’t the paragon he was describing.

  “One of the things I value most about you,” he continued, “is how you’ve always been honest with me and told me when I was screwing up even when I didn’t want to hear it. I’m hoping you’ll do that now.” One corner of his mouth lifted, giving him a wry expression. “Of course, I’m hoping, too, that you won’t need to.”

  Flattering as it was, his words didn’t sound much like a we’ve-got-something-special-here-I-think-we-should-explore speech, but she didn’t have time to analyze it because he reached into his pocket and drew something out. She couldn’t see what until he flipped it open and held it out. On the velvet bed of the ring box, a whopper of a diamond sparkled in its white-gold setting. Her breath deserted her.

  She knew he could be impulsive, but this was the last thing she’d expected. It was too soon. Too fast. They should spend more time going out to movies and to dinner or staying in with the girls, watching TV on the couch. They should have more between them than that one night of kiss-and-grope.

  “What do you think?” Daniel asked. “Too plain? Too gaudy? Is the diamond too small?”

  Too small? She’d need the McKnights’ engine puller to lift her hand. Georgia tore her eyes away from the ring. He was looking at her with nervous expectation, but she’d been struck dumb.

  “It’s a nicer ring than the one I gave Tracy before. That one you practically had to use a magnifying glass to see the diamond.” He looked down, tipping the box, so the facets caught the light. “This one’s bigger and a lot better quality.” He looked back up to meet her gaze.

  Why was he talking about Tracy’s engagement ring? She feared she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

  “Georgia?”

  “Um. I, uh. I don’t know what to say.” This was so not going the way she’d anticipated.

  “I caught you off guard, didn’t I? I’m probably taking this way too fast. Tracy’s going to be as stunned as you are.”

  “Tracy? Why would Tracy . . . ?”

  Oh my God.

  Daniel wasn’t asking her to marry him. He was going to ask Tracy.

  How had she not known? Hell, she hadn’t even suspected.

  “You and Tracy,” she said it out load, just to see how it sounded.

  “I should have known you’d be shocked. I worked so damned hard at focusing on the negatives, the drinking and all the crap that went with it, because if I didn’t, I’d remember the good stuff, and I couldn’t afford to do that. I figured the girl I fell in love with didn’t exist anymore, but well, she’s sober now, and being around her feels so good. We talk on the phone every day. It feels like old times.”

  Part of her wanted to ask, What about us? Who’s going to help me break the family curse? But then she started laughing. She’d gotten herself all worked up, thinking he wanted to be more than friends, and all along he’d been pining for his ex-wife.

  He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. She should stop laughing and reassure him. She tried. She really did but then she realized how relieved she was that the ring wasn’t for her, and the laughter burst out again until tears ran down her cheeks.

  When he started looking hurt, she finally got a grip on herself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing, it’s just—” The laughter threatened to bubble up again. She fought it down. “When you brought out that ring—” A few squashed giggles escaped. “For a minute, I thought—I thought—”

  The concern on his face dropped away. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open. She fought to keep from bursting into another round of laughter.

  “You thought I was asking you?”

  “Only for a moment.” She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

  He chuckled. The chuckles grew into laughter. They shared a minute of mirth.

  “Now that would have been real dumb,” he said with a grin. “Proposing to a woman who’s still in love with her ex.”

  Her amusement disappeared in a flash. “What? No.” Why do people keep saying that? “I am not still in love with Sol. No. Definitely not. Whatever gave you that idea?”

  “You’re not? Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure.” Exasperation tinged her voice. In love with Sol? That was beyond ridiculous. The man made her insane.

  “Huh. I would have sworn . . .” He laughed again. “The joke’s on me, then. I thought you were. That’s why I never made a move on you until . . . Well, you know. That night. And why I backed off the next day.”

  She wanted to find a convenient wall to pound her head against. Apparently, Sol didn’t have to exert himself to drive men off. Simply existing worked.

  She didn’t want to rant about Sol, so she took the ring box from Daniel for a closer look. It wasn’t what she would have picked, but it was pretty. “Are you sure? You’re not afraid she’ll start drinking again?”

  “You know what I’ve figured out this summer?”

  “What?”

  “There are no guarantees in life. Sometimes things work out. Sometimes they don’t. But if you try to play it safe, you miss all the good stuff.” He met her eyes. “I’m tired of missing the good stuff.”

  “I guess you know what you’re doing, then. I really hope things work out for you. Only . . . be careful.”

  “I will. And thanks for being on my team. My folks won’t understand, but I knew you would, and I really need to know someone’s on my side.”

  “Of course I am.” She clasped her hand around his. “Always.” So maybe she didn’t understand why he was taking this risk, but maybe she didn’t need to. She’d always have his back whether she understood or not. That’s what friends did. “I guess Sol can quit worrying about you.”

  He laughed then sobered. “Well, as soon as you choose to tell him.”

  “Why wouldn’t I tell him?”

  “He has put you through a lot over the years.”

  She knew Daniel well enough to guess what he was thinking. Okay, so she’d been wrong about who he wanted to marry, and that was kind of a biggie, bu
t about this, she knew. She knew, too, that he was waiting for her to say something. To tell him again not to even think about tweaking Sol. That’s what she should do, but suddenly, she didn’t want to. Sol had pulled a lot of sneaky tricks on her, driving man after man out of her life, some of whom she’d really liked.

  She wasn’t going to green-light it, she decided, but she wasn’t going to forbid it either because she knew Daniel wouldn’t seek Sol out. If Sol approached him, then Sol deserved whatever Daniel dished out. And maybe Sol needed to learn there were some men he couldn’t drive off.

  Pretending not to notice the opening Daniel had left her, she brought the subject back to Tracy, and they talked for a while about how he planned to propose. When Daniel announced he should head back to Dallas, Georgia walked back with him to find Deanne.

  On the way, she said, “I’m curious. Why did you think I was still in love with Sol?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Little things, I guess.” He tipped his head as though sorting through memories. “Here’s one. Remember the spring before last when you were down with the flu?”

  “Ugh. That was a miserable week.”

  “Yeah. Eden stayed with Deanne and me that week, so you could focus on getting well. Every time we stopped by to see how you were, you were laying on the couch in those old flannel pajamas and that ratty old bathrobe you like so much with used tissue surrounding you like Indians circling a wagon train.”

  “I was sick.”

  “As a dog,” he said with a laugh. “But when I brought Eden home on Friday, so Sol could pick her up for the weekend, you were wearing a tight pair of jeans and a cute, little top—emphasis on little—that showed your cleavage.” His eyes sparkled. “And yes, I noticed. Our relationship may be platonic, but I am a guy.

  “You still sounded like you were going to hack up a lung, but your makeup was done.” He smirked as though he’d proven his point. “A woman who’s as sick as you were doesn’t go to that much trouble for a man she’s done with.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sol didn’t offer words of solace to Eden and Deanne when he took them for snow cones because the last thing he wanted was to make promises he couldn’t keep. Spitfire was hurt and Eden felt responsible. He didn’t know Deanne, but it didn’t take a wizard to see she, too, was more subdued than was normal for an eleven-year-old girl.