14. Larkin

I looked awayfrom my baby monitor positioned in the kids’ room so I could see them sleeping as headlights flooded the street ahead of me. Knox was home, thankfully, because I’d been waiting about ten minutes, hoping I might catch him after his shift, and was about to give up.

He got out of his cruiser and sent me a smile that shined even this late in the evening, barely a hint of light left in the sky. He wore a loose white shirt and jeans with cowboy boots. I found I liked those on him just as much as his other clothes. Made him seem more down to earth somehow.

“I didn’t order any of you,” he teased.

I smiled at him, standing up with the monitor in one hand and a pan of brownies in the other. “Going to return me to the store?”

“I could never.” He stepped under the glowing porch light, and the way it caught the blond strands of his hair had me so distracted.

Trying to tame the butterflies in my stomach zooming around like the June bugs outside, I said, “These are for you.” I passed him the brownies. “For babysitting the other night. I’m still getting on my feet, so I can’t afford to pay you yet, but—”

He waved his hand at me. “Don’t worry about it.” He lifted the glass pan to see underneath the foil. “Are these brownies?” He looked at them like they were the best gift he’d ever gotten.

“My mom’s recipe,” I said. “Which may or may not have come in a box.”

His low chuckle warmed my heart. “Want to share one with me? Brownies are always best with ice cream and—”

“I hope you’re going to say iced tea,” I finished. That was my mom’s magic combination.

His dark brows pulled together. “How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.” I shrugged. I knew I should go back to my place—it was safer for me to keep my distance when he seemed so wonderful. Seth had seemed great at first too and look where that ended up.

“Don’t make me eat these alone. I have a physique to maintain.” He ran his hand over his hard stomach, and the hem of his shirt lifted to reveal a strip of skin.

Damn. That was definitely my kryptonite. “If the monitor reaches inside, I can come.”

“Great.” He brushed past me, the smell of his cologne subtle but still knee-weakening, as he bent to unlock his door.

“You might be the only person in town besides me who locks their door,” I noted. I couldn’t believe people felt safe enough here to leave their vehicles running outside of stores or their homes unlocked all day.

He glanced over his shoulder at me just as the key found purchase. “Not everyone’s experienced Cottonwood Falls the way I have.”

I waited for him to explain, but he just stepped inside and turned on the light, holding the door open for me. As I walked by him, my shoulder brushed his chest, and my stomach tensed.

If my sister only knew how strongly my body was reacting to simply grazing against a man’s chest. She would have a field day and sign me up for another dating app immediately. This was making an even stronger case for me to go out with Bennett and get my hot neighbor off my mind.

“Does the monitor reach?” he asked, startling me from my thoughts.

I checked the screen, still seeing my children sleeping, and showed him the image. His lips curled into a soft smile. “They’re precious.”

“Even more so when they’re asleep,” I joked.

He chuckled. “Less pranking that way.” He nodded toward the table. “Take a seat. I’ll get you a bowl.”

I went and sat down, propping the monitor in front of me while he went about preparing the brownies. My feet were so tired from standing all day at work and then taking care of kids and cleaning up around the house, I welcomed the relaxation.

He heated up the brownies in the microwave, topped them with a scoop of ice cream, and drizzled chocolate sauce over the top. When he brought my bowl to me, looking like it had come out of a professional kitchen, my mouth was already watering.

“How did you make these look so good?” I asked.

He slid into the chair across from me. “You like?”

I nodded and dug my fork in. The taste of home instantly flooded my mouth. I closed my eyes, and it was almost like I could picture being younger, my mom pulling a batch straight from the oven.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Knox watching me.

My cheeks burned as I asked, “They remind me of my mom. Do you like them as much as I do?”

His eyes crinkled with his smile. “I sure do.” He took another bite, and as he moved his arm, I noticed the turtle again. It wasn’t a sea turtle, more like a land turtle you might find alongside the road.

“Can I ask about your tattoo?” I asked.

“Which one?”

I tapped my finger on the turtle, his skin so hot against mine, my reaction to it so strong, it took all I had not to jerk my hand away. When I met his eyes, they were dark, stormy blue. He reached for a napkin from the holder in the middle of his table and wiped his lips.

I couldn’t look away from those lips.

“You can ask,” he said, his voice low.

Despite the white noise crackling from the monitor, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, leaving space only for Knox and me. “What does it mean?” I nearly whispered, my fingertips still on his tattoo.

He covered my hand on his arm, holding us still for a moment before taking a breath. “I got it for my mom.”

My heart clenched, and even though we were so close, too close, I couldn’t pull my hand away.

His lips turned at the corners, like he was smiling at a memory. “Every summer out in the country, you see turtles crossing the road. And it’s safest to just keep driving because if you overcorrect on a dirt road, you’re at risk of rolling the car.”

I nodded, remembering my mom and Tay taking me on back country roads to practice driving when I was fourteen.

“Most people don’t even bother slowing down. But whenever my mom was driving and we saw a turtle, she’d slow down and stop. Then she’d put the car in park, turn on her hazards, get out of the vehicle and move that turtle across the road, at least a good ten yards away, even if the weeds in the ditch were waist high, so the turtle wouldn’t get a death wish and cross back over again.”

I found my own lips curving at his statement. “She seems so tenderhearted.”

He nodded. “One day, I was running late to baseball practice, and she still slowed down and stopped. I was worried about my coach making me run extra laps, kind of annoyed with her, so I asked her why she always did that, even when we had places to be. And she told me something that’s always stuck with me. ‘Someday, if I’m stuck in a bad place, even if I got myself there, I hope there will be people around to help get me out of it, even if it’s a little inconvenient for them.’” He turned those dark blue eyes on me, like he had shifted out of his memory and back to the present. “It’s funny, all the things your parents tell you. Be good. Do your homework. Hold the door. Say thank you. But it’s their actions that teach you the most.”

He glanced down, breaking the spell, and let go of my hand.

I brought it back to my own lap, coming back down to earth. He was right about actions speaking louder than words. I was a mom first, and I wanted my kids to know, to see, that I always prioritized them, even if it meant setting aside my feelings for Knox so he could be their friend without my heart getting in the way.