Page 64 of Knox

And as bad timing would have it, met Knox just coming inside. Where Kelsey stood by the door.

“What’s going on?” Tate said, nearly charging Knox.

Glo caught up in time to see poor Knox’s confused expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“What did you do to her?”

Knox’s eyes widened. “Nothing—”

“Then why was shecrying?”

And now Knox looked gut punched. Turned his attention on Kelsey. “What—”

She pushed past him out the door.

Knox turned, hot on her tail. “Kelsey?”

“Leave her alone, Knox!” Tate came up on him fast.

Knox whirled around and stiff-armed. “Step back, bro. I think you’ve had too much to drink.”

Tate swiped his hand away. “All I know is that Kelsey was just fine before she went outside with you.”

And if he’d hit Knox, it probably couldn’t have affected him more. His jaw tightened, and a person would have to be blind to see how Tate’s veiled accusation stripped him.

“He didn’t do anything,” Kelsey said suddenly, standing a few feet away from them, her arms around herself. “I’m just tired. And…” Her gaze flickered to Knox, then Tate. She shrugged.

And Glo wanted to weep for her.

She walked up to Tate, put a hand on his arm. “Come on, tough guy. Your brother really doesn’t have anything to do with this. I promise.”

Tate looked down at her, blinking into her eyes. Then back at Knox. And she could nearly feel the anger shudder out of him.

Knox, however, stared after Kelsey, the pain on his face turning a knife in her chest. “Really,” Kelsey said now to Knox.

He swallowed, nodded.

Glo let Tate go and followed Kelsey to the truck. Climbed into the back seat behind her.

Put her arm around her. “At least we know they care.”

And she wondered just how she was going to stop herself from falling for a man like Tate Marshall.

8

So, Tate might be taking his job description a little too seriously.

Because if Kelsey was safe with anyone on the entire planet, it was Knox. The bad boy Marshall genes simply didn’t run through Knox the Sainted.

Even his infamous debacle with Chelsea had been mostly about his good heart. That, and yes, pure teenage boy who’d been seduced by a girl who couldn’t be trusted. But Knox blamed himself, completely.

And it clearly didn’t take much to stir up the guilt of that disaster.

Tate stood at the kitchen sink, downing a glass of cold water, trying to screw up the courage to head upstairs and let Knox take a swing at him if he wanted.

Because maybe Tate deserved that. The beerhadgone to his head, perhaps a little, because in his right mind…