Page 15 of The Mountain Man's Runaway Bride

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s okay.”

He sinks into the chair across from me, fingers curling around the mug I’d set out.

“I lost my right eye in Afghanistan,” he says. “IED explosion. We were securing a village road—routine sweep. Except it wasn’t.”

I swallow.

“I was the only one injured,” he adds. “Got a medical discharge. Some hearing loss in that ear, but the eye was the main thing. No saving it.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, soft.

He gives a humorless smile. “They gave me a prosthetic. Paid out my contract. And I used that money to come here.”

“To start this life?”

“Yeah.” His eyes flick to mine. “Thought maybe I could build something that didn’t make me feel like a burden. Didn’t need to see everything to make it work.”

I nod slowly. “You’re doing a pretty damn good job of it.”

He exhales like the words land harder than they should. “Thanks.”

For a moment, neither of us speaks. The only sound is the ticking clock above the sink and the occasional crackle of the cooling skillet.

Then he says, “What about you?”

I glance up. “What about me?”

“How’dyouend up here? French toast, flannel, middle of nowhere Alaska.”

I look down at my plate, twirl the fork between my fingers. “I guess you could say I had a pretty big explosion too. Just… the emotional kind.”

He waits, not pushing. Just giving me space. Knox is good at that.

“It wasn’t cold feet,” I say quietly. “What happened. I wasn’t scared to get married. I was excited.”

He nods once.

“It was the betrayal that got me. I found out the dayofthe wedding that he’d been cheating. Not just a one-time thing or a dumb mistake. He’d had an ongoing thing with someone from work. Months.”

Knox’s jaw tightens, but he says nothing.

“It made me questioneverything,” I admit. “Not just him, but me. My judgment. How could I have missed it? How could I have planned a future with someone who clearly didn’t see one with me?”

“You didn’t miss it because you were dumb,” he says, tone low and sure. “You missed it because you trusted him. That’s not a flaw.”

My throat feels tight again. “Well, it sure feels like one.”

He nods slowly. “Still doesn’t explain how you ended uphere.”

I huff a laugh. “Fair point.”

He raises a brow.

I take a breath.

“I just… I wanted everything to stop. So I could catch my breath and process what happened.” I scoff and shake my head. “Of course, that’s the last thing possible on a person’s wedding day.”

He nods but doesn’t speak, giving me the time and space to choose my words. Knox is good at that.

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