A Dark & Stormy Knight: A McKnight Romance (McKnight Romances) (15 page)

She swapped him for Jake then Zach and
finally Mac. She danced once more with Sol then begged off to make a trip to
the ladies’ room. Before she could enter a stall, Maddie walked in.

“Oh, no.” Maddie laughed. “They’re going
to think we planned this.”

Georgia
grinned back. “I must have sent out some psychic signal. ‘Red alert. Woman on
her way to the bathroom alone.’“

“That must be it. You don’t have to
worry. I’ve got your back.”

They continued chatting in the stalls.

“That was fun, dancing with all the guys,”
Maddie said as she headed for the sink. “I’m glad you started that.”

“Maybe we could rent them out for
parties. Our ad could say, ‘Dancing McKnights. More fun than musical chairs.’“
The idea tickled her funny bone, and Maddie laughed with her.

Maddie caught Georgia’s eyes in the
mirror as they washed their hands. “I wish you were still married to Sol. It
would be nice to have another McKnight wife to talk to. I think we’d have been
friends.”

A long-buried yearning caught Georgia off guard, and for a moment, she wished for the life she’d given up. Making dinner
for Sol every night, sleeping in the same bed with him, knowing her life was
settled, having the entire McKnight clan to lean on when she needed support.
And Maddie would laugh with her when Sol and Zach and the others did those odd
things that seemed genetically coded into men in general and the McKnight men
specifically.

“I didn’t want to be just a rancher’s
wife,” Georgia said then belatedly realized how that might sound to Maddie. “I
don’t mean that in a derogatory way.”

Maddie waved off her concern. “I know it’s
not for everyone. Most women feel the need to be more ‘liberated,’ I guess.
What did you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” Georgia’s laugh wasn’t amused. “Isn’t that a sad statement? I wanted something
more,
but I didn’t know what. I only knew what I had wasn’t it.” It wasn’t a complete
lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. She never told anyone the whole truth.

“But you’re a teacher. You could have
done that here, couldn’t you?”

“It’s not that simple.” Georgia sighed as she washed her hands. “I used to think sometimes that I should have stayed and
fought it out with Sol, then I remind myself that I was already pregnant with Eden. Even if I’d had a job, as soon as I went out on maternity leave, I’d’ve been done.
Sol would have guilted me into staying home with her. By now, I’d have five or
six kids, and this would be my life.”

“Would that really be so bad?”

Georgia
shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I’d have been happier. God knows, I sure enjoyed
sharing his bed, even if the springs did squeak something awful.”

“Maybe it’s not too late.”

“Oh, hell.” Georgia reached for the paper
towel dispenser. “Sol’s still mad at me for leaving him. That man holds a
grudge like nobody’s business.”

“Maybe he’s still mad because he still
loves you.”

“That wasn’t love. That was hormones.”
And chemistry. They’d had tons of chemistry. They still did.

“Are you sure?”

“Love doesn’t happen that fast.”

“You’re wrong. Maybe it’s a McKnight
thing. Zach and I . . . well, it took us a while to recognize
it, but it was there the first night we met. If Zach’s like Sol, and I don’t
know that he is, but if he is, when he gives his heart, he’s all in.”

Georgia
tossed the paper towel and turned to lean her butt against the sink. “You
really think Sol’s like that?” The words came out sounding more cynical than Georgia meant them to. She really was curious if Maddie thought Sol had fallen in that
forever kind of love she’d described.

“Sol’s hard to get to know. He’s . . .”
Maddie paused. “Well, ultrareserved most of the time. Zach says he’s too
concerned about his dignity.”

“His dignity? Ha!”

“Zach says that back in school, he and
Gideon used to tease Sol about the girls who liked him. Except Sol never
believed them. He thought his brothers were trying to make him look foolish. He
thought if he went after the girls they said liked him that they’d laugh at
him. As soon as his brothers figured that out, it was like a game to them. Zach
says they were drunk with power, knowing they could torpedo Sol’s love life
before it even got started.”

Georgia
stared at Maddie. She’d thought she’d known all the important stuff about Sol,
but she hadn’t known this.

Now it made sense that she’d had to kiss
him first.

She didn’t fail to notice the sentimental
twang in her chest. The one that signaled a soft spot in her heart for that
young man who’d been brash enough to suggest marriage yet so tentative she’d
had to initiate their first kiss. “It doesn’t really make a difference,” Georgia said, more to herself than Maddie, trying to harden her heart. “He was never going
to give up that damned rodeo.”

“What?”

Georgia
shook her head. “Nothing.”

The door opened and the other happily married
McKnight walked in, saving Georgia from any further conversation about her and
Sol. “Hey, why wasn’t I invited to the party?” Rachel asked.

So they kept her company until she was
done then rejoined the men, who wasted no time dragging them back onto the
dance floor.

The energy was high by then, and the
band, playing up-tempo music, kept it that way until Zach made a special
request. The band announced they were playing
Your Man
in honor of Zach
and Maddie’s first anniversary. He and Maddie took the floor for the song they’d
danced to at their wedding reception. Other couples joined them.

Before Sol could suggest they dance, too,
Georgia tugged his sleeve and tilted her head toward a corner of the bar
where they’d be able to hear each other without yelling.

The time had come to tell him, but she
still wasn’t quite ready to broach the subject of Tommy, so instead she said, “You
need to stop swearing.”

Sol took half a step back as though he
needed the distance to see her, to be sure this was really what she wanted to
discuss. “I’m careful around Eden.”

“Really? How careful?”

“Well, I . . . you know. I
slip sometimes. Once in a while. Not often.”

“Have you said, ‘son of a bitch’ in front
of her lately?”

“No. Of course not. I—” Sol flushed, his
neck then his cheeks turning a ruddy shade of red, as though he’d remembered
something he didn’t want to admit to.

Georgia
waited.

“Okay. I might’ve. She came out to the
corral, and I didn’t see her. I was talking to a bull that wouldn’t go through
the gate.”

Georgia
sighed. “Look, Sol, I know she’s going to hear it. She’s at the age where some
of her friends are starting to use that kind of language, but I don’t want her
using it. You have a lot of influence with her. If she hears it from you, she’ll
think it’s okay, so I want you to stop.”

Sol nodded. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t
hear it from me.”

“So you’ll stop swearing?”

Sol scowled. “I won’t use foul language
in front of her.”

“That’s not good enough. You have to stop
completely. She’s at the ranch full time now, and she’s bound to walk up on you
again sometime.”

Sol didn’t look happy.

“Look, you never swear in front of your
mama, so I know you can do this.”

“That’s different. I was ten when Mama
took a switch to me for cussing.”

Georgia
couldn’t help smiling at the image that painted in her head. “If you don’t stop
swearing altogether, at least while Eden’s at the ranch, I’ll ask her to take a
switch to you again.”

Sol grimaced as though he could already
feel the sting. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”

Now would be the time to tell him about
Tommy. She took a deep breath in preparation, but the pained look on his face
stopped her. “What?”

Sol rubbed his hand over his mouth, then
with forefinger and thumb, he stroked the outer edges of his mustache.

Uh-oh.
Georgia tensed. “Just tell me, Sol.”

When he stroked his mustache a couple
more times, she felt cold and her mind started making wild leaps. Eden? No. He wouldn’t be here if something was wrong with Eden, and his mother would surely
have mentioned it. His family? No. Everyone at the party was too carefree. Was
it Sol? Was he sick? Dying? Getting married? She discarded each possibility,
though the last one caused an unexpected, panicky ache in her chest.

“You said I don’t make decisions about Eden.”

Was that all? The tension sloughed out of
her shoulders. Eden probably wanted to go someplace with Sol’s siblings that Georgia would have nixed, and Sol had said okay. She could cope with that. Sol would never
let their daughter do anything truly dangerous.

She’d half expected his first decision to
be something like this. He was testing her. Seeing if she really meant it that
he should make decisions about Eden. Being supportive as he tested the
boundaries was important. She’d smile and be okay with whatever it was.

“Eden wants to ride Spitfire in a rodeo.”

“Ride Spitfire?” she repeated, her mind
responding as though he’d said something nonsensical. “Oh. You mean in the
parade?”

“No.” Sol was looking at her warily. “She
wants to run the barrels.”

All of Georgia’s good intentions evaporated.
“You told her no, didn’t you?”

Sol licked his lips. “I said she could.”

“Are you out of your ever-living-loving
mind?” She said it too loud. People turned and looked.

Sol’s eyes narrowed. “It ain’t like she’s
taking up skydiving or getting a tattoo. She wants to try this. I’m going to
let her.”

“The hell you are.”

That had been the wrong thing to say. As
uncomfortable as Sol had been about telling her, she was pretty sure she could
have talked him out of it, but her knee-jerk reaction put that stubborn look on
his face.

“Oh? You think you can stop me?” He
sounded almost amused.

She should have backpedaled, tried to
sound reasonable, but she couldn’t. “She’s not riding in a rodeo. She’s not
getting sucked into your family’s obsession. I won’t have it.”

“You won’t have it?” Sol’s tone was
incredulous. “You won’t have it.” Not a question this time. His jaw set and his
eyes sparked. “Look. You wanted me to make decisions about Eden, so I made a
decision.”

“But you knew I didn’t want her to catch
your rodeo fever. You
knew
that.”

“Oh, I see. These ain’t really supposed
to be my decisions. They’re
your
decisions coming out of
my
mouth. Is that how this is gonna be?”

“Well . . . well, no, of
course not. I want you to make decisions. Just not
this
one.”

“So which decisions can I make? Where she
lives? Oh, no. ‘Coz she lives with you, and you have to live in Dallas. She wanted a belly button ring when we were in Galveston last summer. Would that
have been okay?”

He must have read the horror on her face.

“No? How about what school she goes to,
or what she watches on TV, or who her friends are? No, wait. She’s in Dallas with you, so you get to make all those decisions. When she starts dating, will I get
a say in who she goes out with or how short she wears her skirts? Again, I won’t
be there, so you’ll get to decide. So what decisions are left for me, Georgia?”

She wished she had an answer that wouldn’t
sound trivial.

“So this is it.” He stabbed a finger in
her direction. “This is my decision. She wants to ride the barrels at the
rodeo, so she’s gonna get her shot.”

“But—”

His glare cut her off.

She was so upset, she was shaking.

He turned his back on her and started for
the table.

“Sol, wait.”

He spun on his heel, but his face was
drawn tight. He wasn’t going to listen, but she had to try.

“Please, Sol. Please don’t do this.”

“I told her she could ride. I ain’t takin’
it back. She’s going to that rodeo, and I’m paying her entry fee.” He didn’t
give her the chance to plead her case. He turned and headed back to their
table.

If he thought the subject was closed, he
was going to be sadly disappointed. She took an aggressive step forward, intent
on running him down. He was halfway across the room when Missy waylaid him and
dragged him onto the dance floor. Georgia stopped short.

She’d bet money Missy had been waiting
for her chance at Sol. They reached the dance floor at the end of one song, and
the band started a new one.

Georgia
felt as if smoke should be coming out of her ears. The fun had gone out of the
night, and they’d both need time to calm down before Sol would listen to her,
so she paid her tab at the bar and left, but this conversation was not over.
She was not going to let Eden set herself up to get her heart broken over some
rodeo cowboy like Grams had. Not as long as Georgia had breath in body.