Page 88 of Teach Me How

She glares up at me. “I’m fine.”

“Look, Skyler, I can see you're protective of Reese and honestly? I really appreciate that.” Jonah glances down at Reese with tenderness in his eyes that he has no right to. “It makes me feel better to know that Reese has had good friends around her these last few months.”

This asshole thinks I’m nothing more than a big brother figure to Reese. I’m about to set him straight when Reese puts a hand on my forearm. My fingers had tightened into a fist, and I force them to uncurl.

“I’m fine, Skyler.” She looks up at Jonah. “He and I really should talk.”

I glare at him. “You don’t owe him that.”

She smiles, but it’s a sad expression. “I know, but he owesmethat. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Tearing my gaze away from her face, I glance at Jonah. He won the showdown, but he doesn’t look like the kind of guy who just got his way. He looks worried.

I’m feeling cagey and worried, too. Possessiveness rages through me, and I’m sorely tempted to kiss her in front of him. I want to claim her before he can recover lost ground. But she’s not mine, either. That little bird has wings, and she’s going to use them.

I’d never put her in a cage.

I glance down at her. “Call if you need me.”

She nods, looking small and brave.

I stop just to the side of Jonah, our shoulders almost brush. “Make her cry again and I’ll break every bone in your hand.”

Frowning, he closes his eyes and nods once.

It’s physically painful to walk away from them.

Every instinct is screaming to go back, to haul her off.

But that’s what she grew up with. It’s how Jonah treated her, for that matter. Mistaking her small stature for weakness.

But she’s a force to reckon with. She can make up her own mind.

And as much as I want to tell her what to do, to make those decisions for her, I know it’s not my right.

But the hardest part about walking away is knowing that she has already made her mind up about me.

It’s my fault, really.

This land is my responsibility.

My curse.

59.

Reese

Jonah’s gesture at the Harvest Festival was just about the biggest thing to happen in Silver Bend since Bo’s mom and dad shocked everyone by getting divorced.

It’s all anyone will talk about. Even people who missed the festival are in possession of the finer details. What he was wearing, ornotwearing. What I had on and what my silly, sweet face did.

They mistook my horror for shyness.

So cute, they say.

If one more person asks me if Jonah proposed, I’ll punch them in the neck.

I’ve been avoiding friends and family because I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t talk about it.