Page 116 of Knox Unleashed
“So am I,” he says, then takes a deep breath. “Thank you, sweetheart. Let’s get you out of here.”
I shake my head and swipe away the single tear that spilled over. “I meant what I said, though. I can’t live my life if I can’t even pop out for milk. You’re more than welcome to stay and help me finish my shopping, but I’m finishing it with or without you.”
The muscle twitches again in his jaw. “Fine. But you go more than three steps away from me, and I’m going to spank your ass when we get home.”
I blow out a deep breath and grasp for anything that might put us back on an even keel. “That sounds like fun, Knox.”
He rolls his eyes. “Come on, let’s finish the shopping, and you can tell me exactly what happened while we do.”
37
KNOX
Maren pulls in, first, and I pull in the bike alongside her before killing the engine.
I swing my leg over the bike and move to her door to open it for her.
“Out you get, sweetheart.” I guess, at some point on the ride over, the tears she’d tried to hide at the store had spilled over, because there are those nearly invisible silvery tracks of them on her face.
I cup her cheeks with my palms and brush my thumbs over them. “Don’t like that you cried without me.”
Maren drops her forehead to my chest. “I thought they might make you feel worse.”
She’s right. They do.
“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to know how you’re feeling. Don’t want you to hide being hurt or sad or unhappy from me. Can’t fix it if you do.”
Her eyes meet mine. “I had to keep telling myself I was fine.”
I run a thumb over her lower lip. “Youarefine.”
Maren sighs as I pull her close again, holding her tight. It’s quiet. Just the ticking of engines cooling, and the hum of insects dancing above the surface of the water.
“We should get the groceries and my stuff inside,” she says.
Despite the circumstances, I love the domesticity of this. It’s a dangerous fucking thought.
I remove the cover on the back of her truck. Wasn’t really paying attention when I shoved in the year and a half’s worth of groceries Maren bought, but I can see she’s brought a lot of things with her from her place too.
And I fucking love that she cared enough to do this.
I grab the heavier bags, first, the water, and a crate of canned shit that will probably last us until the next apocalypse. Maren grabs the lighter bags of produce and bread. I really hope she got meat.
When I come back down, she’s already lifting more.
“Leave it,” I tell her.
“I’m not helpless.”
“I know that,” I shoot back. “But let me carry it. You go figure out where you want to put everything. Throw out any shit you don’t want or need, to make space.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not throwing your stuff out.”
“There’s nothing in there I really care about. Do what you need to so you feel comfortable. To love it as much as you love your own place.”
She smiles and grabs another two bags anyway. “Don’t get mad at me when I toss that ugly painting in the hall.”
“If you put one of yours up in its place, then I’ll be a happy man.”
