Page 45 of Hello Tease

I was a grown-ass woman who was already well into the process of rebuilding my life from the ground up. “Seth, you are entitled to see your children three evenings a week and take them for one weekend a month, as stated in our custody agreement. All I ask is that we plan it ahead of time so I can prepare them as to when you will or won’t show up.”

His jaw twitched. He hated this, when I took all the air out of his angry sails. He wanted to yell and fight and get me to back down so he could win.

He tried a new tactic to get me riled up. “Why am I hearing from someone, other than you, that you’re bringing strange men around my children?”

Maybe I didn’t care about Seth, but I cared about my reputation as a mother. Why were people running their mouths about me to Seth? I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead. “There have been no ‘strange men’ around our children.”

He raised his eyebrows and jerked his hairy fucking thumb over his shoulder toward the house. “Oh yeah. You’re on a date with fat-ass Bennett last night, and this morning you have Knox in the house with our kids? He was a goddamn criminal in high school. And now he’s one with a gun.”

I fought to school my expression because I didn’t know that about Knox. “Your mother herself said he’s a local hero, Seth. And if he’ssodangerous, why did you leave him alone in my house with our kids? Huh?”

He glared at me, brown eyes almost slits. “Because you wanted to waste my time talking to me.”

I shook my head at him. “You know what I think?” I stepped closer, nose to fucking nose. “I think you’re jealous. You thought when you cast me aside that you would ride off on your high horse while I lived in squalor wishing I had you back. But you want to know something? Leaving you was the best thing I ever did. It showed me that I poured so much into a relationship with a man who wouldneverdo the same. It showed our childrenexactlythe kind of coward you are. And Knox?” I lifted my chin, knowing I could land the final blow without raising a finger. “He’s shown them, and me, what a real man looks like.”

“You’re a fucking bitch, and you’ll never be anything more than a fat waste of fucking space,” he growled.

My jaw shook at his words. He’d never dipped so low before, not even in our worst fights. I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could, I heard the door open.

I turned to see Knox shut the door behind him and stride across the sidewalk, closing the gap. He put me behind him, standing chest to chest with Seth. He was a good four inches taller, and even though Seth hit the gym, Knox had the kind of muscles that matched the deadly look in his eyes.

“What did you say to her?” He glowered down at Seth, daring him to utter those words while keeping me safely behind him.

In Knox’s cocoon, I felt safe, protected, precious.

“You clearly heard me,” Seth uttered, staring up at Knox, but I could see what little mettle he had fading quickly.

Knox said, “You have two incredible children. You had a woman who’s worth the heavens and every ounce of the earth. What you did to deserve them in the first place, I’ll never know. But you have two choices. You apologize to Larkin right fucking now, then go inside and treat your babies like they deserve. Or you walk away and don’t come back until you can.”

Seth’s jaw worked, and then he spat, a thick hot glob of saliva landing on the cragged sidewalk just inches away from Knox’s shoe.

Knox didn’t so much as flinch. He reached back for me, and I took his hand, standing in his strength. In his comfort.

And then Seth turned and stormed away, getting into his car, slamming the door, and peeling away.

My pulse echoed loudly in my ears for three long beats before Knox turned and took me into his arms. I wanted to sob, to fall apart, to give into all the insecure, painful feelings threatening to pull me under. But I had two children I needed to be strong for.

I turned to face the windows, still in the safety of his arms, knowing my babies were inside. “I need to talk to them.”

Knox pressed his lips to my head, in a gesture so comforting my eyes burned with unshed tears. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I turned and looked up at him. “Thank you,” I breathed.

I didn’t know what this meant for him, but I knew I didn’t want to let him go.

25

KNOX

“She’s looking out here,”Larkin said.

I turned my gaze, still holding Larkin in my arms, to find Emily peeking through the window, her eyes wide as the Texas sky.

“I need to go to her,” she said.

I nodded. “I’ll come with you.”

She shook her head. “I need to do this on my own. I’d hate if the kids took their anger out on you. They can take it out on me.” She glanced toward the empty spot where Seth’s car used to be, and a tear slipped down her cheek. “It’s my fault.”

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