Chapter 5

Chapter Five

K nox

The air up here on Copper Mountain is crisp, and the late afternoon sun casts a soft glow over the cabin. Inside, it's warmer, though the heat has little to do with the fire crackling in the hearth. Perry's been in the kitchen, working on some flower arrangement for a wedding this weekend, and I've been pretending to focus on fixing the front porch railing that's been bothering me for weeks. But the truth? My mind's not on the railing. It's on her.

I can hear the soft hum of her voice, low and sweet as she arranges the blooms, and it's doing things to me that I didn't think were possible anymore. It's only been a few days since she moved in, but every second of it has been a test of my willpower. The kind of test that's as much torture as it is something I look forward to failing.

I glance over at her, my hands tightening on the hammer in my grip. She's wearing one of those floral dresses she seems to love so much—light, soft, and completely out of place in my rugged cabin. But somehow, it fits. She fits.

I force myself to turn back to the task at hand, driving the final nail into the railing, when I hear footsteps crunching on the gravel outside. Laughter follows. Shit.

I already know who it is before they knock. My brothers. The kind of interruption I've been dreading. Creed, Archer, Arrow, and King this time—they've always had a way of showing up at the worst possible times.

The door swings open before they can even knock, and Creed's grinning face fills the frame. "Well, well, well. Look who's playing house," he says, stepping inside like he owns the place. He's followed by the other three, all of them smirking like they've been waiting for this.

I grit my teeth, but before I can say anything, Perry looks up from her flowers and gives them the kind of smile that has my chest tightening. She doesn't even seem fazed.

"Nice to meet you all," she says, wiping her hands on a towel. "I've heard a lot about Knox's brothers. Ya'll are famous around town."

"Nine boys, mama didn't know what she was in for with us." King quips.

"Don't believe anything you hear about us," Creed crosses his arms, grinning wider as he watches her. "Didn't know you had a ‘flower' of your own, Knox."

Perry flushes just a little at that, but her smile doesn't waver. Meanwhile, I feel the blood rushing to my ears. I clench my jaw, hard. "I wouldn't call it that," I growl, but Creed isn't one to back off so easily.

Archer slaps me on the back, laughing. "Come on, brother. You've been up here on your own for years, and now we find you shacked up with a pretty girl in your cabin? You expect us to believe nothing's going on?"

Arrow, the joker of the group, leans against the doorframe, shaking his head. "Must've been, what, ten years since we saw you let someone get this close?"

I shoot them a glare, but they just laugh. Perry's eyes flick between us, amused but clearly trying to keep things light. She's stronger than they give her credit for, and it only makes my protectiveness toward her flare hotter.

"Don't you all have somewhere else to be?" I mutter, trying to rein in my irritation.

But Perry just laughs softly, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I didn't realize I'd be causing so much drama by moving in here," she teases, her voice light, but there's an undercurrent of playfulness that doesn't escape me. She's holding her own, and damn if that doesn't make me want her more.

Her words hit me square in the chest, and for a moment, I can't think about anything other than how right she looks here. In my space. But it also terrifies me. The walls I've spent years building around myself—keeping everyone out—are cracking. She's already under my skin.

I grunt, trying to shake off the feeling. "Don't let them bother you," I say, my voice gruff. "They've got nothing better to do than stick their noses where they don't belong."

Perry's eyes meet mine, and there's a warmth there that spreads through me like wildfire. "I'm not bothered," she says, her voice soft but steady. "I'm just happy to be here."

Happy to be here. The words settle over me, wrapping around my chest like a damn noose. I'm not used to people wanting to stay. Not like this. But there she is, smiling like she's already made a home in my cabin, and I can't figure out if I want to pull her closer or push her away before I get burned.

"About time you found someone," Creed pipes up, leaning closer. "We were starting to think you'd stay up here forever, alone with your forge."

My fists clench at my sides, but I force myself to breathe. They don't understand. They can't. None of them know what it's like to care for someone and have them rip your heart out. To watch them leave and never come back.

Archer steps forward, his tone softer than before. "You're different with her, Knox. We can all see it. Just… don't screw this up."

His words hit harder than I expect, and for a second, I feel the weight of it all pressing down on me. I am different with her. I'm letting her in, even though every instinct I have is telling me to keep her at a distance. But the truth is, I'm already too far gone. And that scares the hell out of me.

Perry moves past the brothers, her light steps making their way into the kitchen. I watch her, every muscle in my body tensing. She's tough, tougher than I gave her credit for when we first met, but that doesn't mean she's safe. Not with her ex still out there, lurking like a shadow.

I have to keep her close. I've promised myself that I'll protect her, and I don't break my promises. But protecting her heart? Letting her in completely? That's a whole different story.

The brothers are still laughing, but their words fade into the background as I watch Perry move around the cabin, completely unaware of the storm brewing inside me. She's not just a distraction anymore—she's becoming everything. And I'm falling for her, hard.

Too hard.

By the time my brothers finally start to leave, the teasing comments still ringing in my ears, the cabin feels quieter. More intimate. The tension that's been simmering all day comes to a head, and I can feel it in the air between us.

Perry turns to me, her eyes soft and understanding. "Your brothers are great," she says, her voice gentle.

I grunt in response, still feeling the weight of everything they said. I step closer to her, my hand brushing against her arm as I speak. "Don't pay attention to them. They're just messing with me."

But Perry just smiles up at me, that warm, open smile that makes everything else fall away. "I know," she says softly. "But it's nice to see that side of you."

The words sink in, heavy and real, and for a second, everything else fades away—the fear, the doubt, the past. It's just us. Standing in the middle of this cabin, with the setting sun casting a warm glow over the mountains outside. The tension between us thick and undeniable.

But I know, deep down, that if I let her in completely—if I let myself fall for her—it won't just be my heart on the line. It'll be hers too. And as much as I want to protect her, I'm not sure I'm ready to trust her with everything I am.

The cabin grows quiet as I step to the window, watching the sun dip below the horizon. The light fades, but the storm inside me rages on.

I'm falling for Perry, and I don't know how to stop it. But maybe, just maybe, I don't want to.

The night deepens, and with it, so does the conflict brewing inside me. The next step is inevitable, but I'm not sure I'm ready to take it.