Taking Chances (Blackrock Book 2) (20 page)

I
nod, grinning at her. “And sings too.” She shakes her
head in disbelief. “He does, don’t you, babe?” I
call over to him.

“Don’t
I what darlin’?”

Smiling
I say, “Love me.”

Looking
between Cara and I, he nods. “Stupid question, darlin’.”

Cara
stands up and walks over to the sink, checking Knox out on the way
and giving me a thumbs up behind his back. “So Knox, I see you
have a lot of tattoos,” she says to him.

He
looks down to see he is shirtless, and then looks over his shoulder
at her. “Yeah don’t touch.”

“Jeez,
relax I am not going to touch you. Wow.” Cara walks back to me,
sitting in the chair. “He is moody when he doesn’t get
some,” she whispers, giggling.

Walking
over to him, I rub his shoulder. “Be nice, babe. She is my
family.”

“Sorry
darlin’.”

I
make coffee and we all eat our pancakes. Cara is uncharacteristically
quiet and Knox glances at me.

“Hey
Cara, sorry for snapping at you,” he says surprising her.

“That’s
okay. I was just admiring your tat’s.”

Nodding,
he explains to her what some of them mean but not his mom’s
name or the tree one that he and Max have.

“Who’s
Annabelle?” She points to his chest.

“Okay,
that’s enough gawking at my boyfriend.”

He
winks at me, rubbing my leg under the table. “I have to leave
anyway,” he says standing.

“Where
you going?”

Standing
behind me, he wraps his arms around my shoulders and kisses my cheek.
“Have to help my dad for a bit. Don’t forget dinner at
his house tonight at six.” I nod as he leaves the room, going
back upstairs.

“So what will we do today?”
Cara asks, cleaning the dishes off the table.

“Sorry
cuz, I have a school project to do. Ryan will be here soon.”

Ryan
and I get through our project faster than I thought we would. Between
flirting with Cara and downing red bull all day, I am surprised we
even got it done at all.

“Hey,
so I will see you tomorrow.” I wave as he leaves, closing the
door.

“What now, Bailey?”

I
check my watch and reply, “Shower, get ready and go to the
Porter’s for a barbeque.”

She
frowns at me. “You are boring, Bailey. Where has the fun Bailey
gone?”

Taking
her hand, I drag her up to my rom with me. “Cara what is going
on with you? Since when do you fight with uncle Ethan?”

“Since
I told him I wanted to leave college or at least transfer out of
Grove.”

Sitting
on my bed, I look at her. “Cara why, why do you want to leave?
I thought you liked it there.”

She
shrugs. “Yeah I did, but I want to move on now. I was thinking
of applying here where you are. At least then my dad won’t be
so pissed at me because you and uncle Frank are here.”

Just by looking at her, I know
there is more that she is not telling me. “Why do you want
leave though? Yeah dad and I are here, but really dad is away a lot
so it’s just me. And why are you fighting with your dad? Cara
that has never happened before.”

“I
know Bailey, but I just need to get out on my own for a while and
here is not too far from him. I can visit when I need to. I mean, he
is my dad and I’ll miss Jen but I just need out.” This
has to be boy related but I am not going to push it right now. I
mean, I have my own shit to deal with too.

“Okay,
lets get ready for this barbeque.”

She
nods then leaves my room while I shower. After an hour I go to find
her.

“Hey
cuz, where are you?” Knocking on her door I push it open
finding her on the phone she waves me over.

“Yeah dad. I am fine. I am
with Bailey. No she is here beside me. We are in uncle Frank’s
house.” She pauses then hands me the phone.

“Hi
uncle Ethan,” I say, taking the phone from her.

He
sighs down the line. “Hi Bailey sweetheart. How are you?”
We make small talk for a minute then he asks. “Did Cara arrive
there with a guy?”

Shit,
I knew a boy was involved in this mess.

“No sorry not that I know.”

“Okay, thanks,” he
says, sounding relieved. “Are you coming home for spring
break?”

“Not
sure yet. I want to talk to my boyfriend about taking time off from
his job.”

My
uncle laughs. “Yeah, I didn’t take you for a barman kind
of girl.”

I
am going to kill my mom. Why is she talking shit about Knox? “He
is only a part time bar manager in his uncle’s bar. And he goes
to college with me so he is more than a barman.”

My
uncle laughs some more, which annoys me further Okay sweetheart. Talk
soon.” I don’t even say bye and just hand Cara her phone
and leave the room to get dressed.

I
pick Paige up on my way and we arrive at the house just before six.
Knox’s Harley is in the driveway so I park on the street.
Climbing out, I stretch before walking around the back as instructed
in a cryptic text I received from Knox about an hour ago.

“Hi!
We are here,” I call out, rounding the corner and stop, gawking
at the back deck.

Paige
bumps into me. “Jeez Bailey.”

I
smile and step aside waiting for her to cop on that Max is sitting on
a deck chair. Looking up, she freezes then runs tripping on the step
but jumping on him.

“Oh
my god! You’re home.” She jumps up and down then starts
crying.

Max
hugs her. “Yeah angel. My dad busted me out early.” I
follow Paige up the steps limping. “Hey sis.” Max grabs
me in a tight hug, kissing my cheek.

“Hey
Evil Knievel Missed you.”

He
nods at my knee. “Look who’s talking.”

I
introduce Cara to Max and their dad and take a seat on the deck,
looking around for Knox. “Where’s your other half, Max?”

He
shrugs. “He was just here.”

Standing
I walk into the kitchen to find him at the table.

“Hello babe. Not coming out
to see me?”

Standing,
he takes my hand. “Yeah darlin. Just thinking, that’s
all.”

We
walk outside and Max claps. “About time, bro.” Knox
laughs at him, grabbing a beer from the cooler.

Dinner
is nice and relaxing but I still feel like a jackass over the
business dinner.

“Hey
babe, did you talk to your dad about the other night?”

He
rubs my thigh under my skirt. “Yeah, he is fine darlin’.
He was shocked but he likes you.”

“Good
otherwise family functions would be terrible.”

He
laughs at me, kissing my shoulder. “You are cute when you’re
concerned.”

Max
looks a little zoned out, sitting across from us. I smile at him and
he makes a face then smiles back. “I think I will have to go to
bed,” he announces checking his watch, which now spins around
his wrist; he looks a lot thinner than usual. Knox moves so I get up,
allowing him to help Max into the house.

“I
think we all need to go to bed. Class tomorrow,” Paige groans
as she follows Max inside, leaving Cara and I out on the deck.

I
can just hear the ocean in the background when Cara announces she
needs to go pick up her car from outside the bar.

“What?
You left it there?”

“Yep, I will drive home in
the morning.”

Knox
joins us on the deck again. “Hey darlin’, do you mind if
I stay here tonight?” he asks, taking my hands in his.

“No
I’ll stay in my dad’s anyway.” I kiss him goodbye.
“Tell Paige I am leaving if she wants a ride back.”

Knox
walks me to my car before kissing me tenderly. “Okay darlin’.
See you tomorrow. I’ll send Paige out.” I watch him walk
backwards to the house smiling at me. Once he is inside I slide
behind the wheel.

“You’re
lucky, Bailey, finding someone like him. Your mom made it out like he
wasn’t good enough for you.” She snorts, watching as
Paige comes out of the house.

“Yeah,
you know what she is like. I wouldn’t mind but she only met him
at Christmas for a few hours.”

Paige
closes the door sighing, keeping her eyes trained on the house. Knox
waves us off as I drive out onto the road. It’s a quiet part of
Marion with only four houses on this street and the beach behind
them; it’s the kind of place you could lose yourself for a
while and forget about all your problems and bullshit. I drop Paige
off first, then we stop to get Cara’s car from outside of the
bar and she follows me home.

We
sit in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate.

“Hey,
do you have a boyfriend?” I ask, trying to be subtle but Cara
laughs at me.

“Not
anymore.” Watching her I can tell she is upset about it only
because I have been there more times in the last few weeks than I
care to think about.

“So
tell me.”

Resting
against the back of her chair, she scrubs at her face. “His
name is Quinn. We have some classes together. He is an artist and
wants to make video games when we graduate.” She shrugs; taking
a sip from her cup as if that is all there is to it.

“And
you broke up because?”

Biting
her lip, she looks at me from under her eyelashes. “Well
technically I just left town after I found him and some chick making
out at a party on Friday night.”

Nodding
I understand her plight, but I don’t have any words that would
comfort her because I went through it with Knox but I forgave him and
the circumstances were different for both of us.

“Okay, I am going to bed,
cuz. I have to get on the road early.”

We
say goodnight and I watch her leave. If I know one thing about my
cousin, she doesn’t want to talk about it yet because she never
goes to bed early and she never would make this situation blasé
if she didn’t need to sort out her feelings first. Speaking of
feelings, I have my own to deal with. Missing Knox is nothing new for
me; sometimes I wonder if there is something wrong with me because I
do miss him a lot when we are a part. Am I relying on him too much?
Should I take a step back? But even thinking that thought, I know I
will never do it.

Most
of the night is spent looking at the night sky from my bed. I can
still smell Knox on the pillow from last night and it gives me some
comfort. I never did ask him what was on the note from today. Maybe I
am better off not knowing. Grabbing my phone from the night-stand, I
check the time two in the morning, my witching hour. I decide to text
Knox just to see if he is missing me as much as I miss him.

Me:
Hi babe miss you.

Knox:
Why are you awake?

Me:
lol same to you, I don’t want to close my eyes.

Knox:
Darlin you’re killing me I want to have you in my arms.

Me:
same here.

Knox:
what are you wearing?

I
can’t help but laugh out loud at his text. Just as I am about
to reply I get bombarded with more texts from him.

Knox:?????

Knox:
something small?

Knox:
Nothing?

Knox:
give me something here darlin.

Me:
lol impatient much?

Knox:
yep!!

Me:
A black lace teddy with matching stockings and heals.

Knox:
ha ha beautiful I expect a pic.

Me:
Nope real life only, sorry.

Knox:
Thanks for the visual darlin now all I need is the real deal! How
about we go shopping tomorrow?

Me:
lol you horn dog.

Knox:
only for you so why are you awake.

Me:
don’t want to close my eyes don’t want another nightmare.

Knox:
sorry darlin I should have come back with you I miss you and my bed
is too lonely.

Me:
same here but I have your t-shirt.

Knox:
now we are getting somewhere lol I knew you’d wear it to bed.

Me:
of course.

*****

At
seven o’clock I hear my alarm sounding. Rolling onto my back, I
groan. Knox and I texted until five o’clock, then I finally
fell into a peaceful sleep. Climbing out of bed, I go in search of
Cara finding her in the kitchen all dressed ready to go.

“Hey, you going?”

She
nods. “Yeah, I want to get on the road before I hit traffic.”
We walk out to her car and hug goodbye. “You better come home
for spring break, cuz,” she warns, waving from the window. I
smile and I just wave, watching her leave wondering if maybe I should
go back there just to take a break from all the drama here.

Knox

I
can’t sleep. Even after I spent three hours texting Bailey, my
mind is still wound up about the note sent with the last bunch of
dead flowers. It’s killing me not knowing who is doing this to
her. I want to hurt somebody, I feel helpless and useless, and that,
more than anything is fucking with my head.

I’m
coming to get you it won’t be long, RIP Bailey Mortenson.

I
have read the note over and over, trying to figure out who it could
be from. Whoever it is knows her last name; something I know for sure
she never tells unless she has to. My dad freaked out earlier at my
face; he thought we had a physical fight and for a minute I thought
he was going to kick my ass because he taught us never to hit a
woman.
Just
walk away no matter how pissed or mad we are, just walk away, and
take a minute to calm down
.
Climbing out of bed, I stroll into Max who is sleeping but I don’t
care. I missed my brother and he is the only person apart from Bailey
who I trust whole-heartedly.

Climbing
onto his bed, I sit with my back against the headboard.

“What
the fuck are you doing sneaking in here?” he moans, burying his
face into the pillow.

“I
didn’t sneak, I walked quietly.”

He
cracks an eye and I grin at him. “Ok what gives?”

Holding
out the note, he takes it from my hand. Turning onto his back, he
winces then opens the white card and reads it.

“What
the fuck Knox?” he asks, looking up at me.