Page 69 of Knox
He was probably in the barn attending to his new baby bull.
She finished brushing her teeth and headed downstairs.
The kitchen was quiet, but a basket of freshly baked muffins sat on the counter with a note—Help yourself to a morning glory.
She grabbed a napkin and a muffin and headed outside, sliding on a pair of Birkenstocks by the door before she trekked through the yard toward the barn.
The door was open, as she suspected, and she stopped to pet a baby goat, its tongue wrapping around her hand, probably in search of crumbs.
Gordo had been let out into the pen, his stall open to the other side. Knox had herded the other bulls out to their own pastures a couple days earlier.
She headed toward the pen, expecting to see Knox sitting on a stool, bottle-feeding his bull—yet unnamed—and stopped, surprised to see Gerri with the bull nuzzled up to her, gulping down the bottle.
“Good morning,” Gerri said. She wore a work shirt and jeans, her hair tied back in a bandanna.
“Good morning.” Kelsey came up to the rail and put her foot on it. “He’s getting big.”
“These guys are born big,” Gerri said. “Only a week and this little guy already has a temper. Knox will probably release them to pasture when he gets back.”
Gets back? “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He left with Tate last night somewhere. That’s Tate—he’s always taking off. I’m not sure why he needs Knox. They’ll probably be back later today.”
Oh. She watched Gerri for a while, then headed back to the house and found Glo seated on a high-top chair. “Hey,” Glo said between muffin bites.
“Did you know Tate and Knox left last night?”
Glo frowned. “Really?”
“Yeah, and they didn’t even tell Gerri where they went.”
Glo said nothing, but she picked up her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting Tate.”
Kelsey slid onto a stool. “What if I frightened the man away?”
Glo lowered the phone. “Seriously?”
“Okay, see, there’s a pattern of crazy going on here, one that Knox can hardly ignore. The first night I met him, I practically plowed down innocent bystanders on my way out of the beer tent, as if some phantom was chasing me—”
“Um—”
Kelsey held up her hand. “Then, after the man saved my life, I couldn’t even show up to thank him personally. Instead, I floor it to Oklahoma, where I practically have a meltdown onstage.”
“That might not have been the best reaction—”
“Thanks for that.”
Glo shrugged.
“And let’s not forget last night, when the man kisses me with such…such…let’s just say it wasn’t his fault I freaked out. In fact, I’m not even sure why I freaked out.”
“I know why,” Glo said, putting down her phone. “It’s because you’re afraid that if Knox truly knows you, truly sees you and all…” She twirled her hand in front of Kelsey. “All the layers of Kelsey Jones—then he’ll…run.”
Kelsey just stared at her, and her voice dropped. “Is it that bad?”