“I think that–” Sadie started before Brock came in.
“Hey. Everything okay here? I went to pick you up from the nurse, but she said you two had headed back here. How did it go? Are you okay?” He knelt next to where she was sitting, seemingly scanning her body with his eyes.
Sadie stood. “I’ll leave you two to talk. Ky, you know you can call me anytime you want, ‘k? Mr. Brock, I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Sadie. Thanks for looking after my girl,” he said without taking his eyes off Ky for a second.
His girl?
Kyra wanted to ask him about that, but he was waiting for her to answer his questions.
“Nurse Beverly was really nice. She patched me up and said it was nothing serious. My biggest worry will be what to wear on stage so the audience won’t see all the Band-Aids.”
He stood up in front of her, his big arms crossed over his chest. “You do understand you could have really been injured, Ky? What in the world possessed you to take off like that? And don’t tell me you were just upset. I know you were, and I understand why, and we can talk about that some more later, but you can’t risk yourself like that.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I really am, Rock. I know Starling could have gotten badly hurt, too.” Her eyes filled with tears and her heart clenched. She felt so guilty for getting Starling stung and worrying everyone. She hadn’t been thinking when she bolted—she’d just reacted.
“Yes, she could have. And what if she’d bucked you off when that yellowjacket nest got stirred up? You could have broken a leg, or hit your head, or who knows how bad it could have been. And for goodness sake, girl, if anything had happened to you…”
He stopped and Kyra stared at him, wide-eyed. He shook his head, then he sat down next to her on the sofa.
“Ky,” he said, his tone calmer and quieter, “if anything had happened to you I don’t know what I would have done. I can’t even stand to think about it. That moment when I spotted you racing up the trail, my damn heart was in my throat. And then when Starling reared up, these images flashed through my head… it was bad. I can’t believe I managed to catch you before you hit the ground.”
“But you did, Rock!”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.”
“Not even when you punched Richard?”
“Oh, you heard about that, did you?”
“Yes, I did. Sadie told me everything, or as much as she saw, anyway.”
“Are you angry about that? About me hitting him?”
“Are you kidding? I wish I could have punched him myself, but to be honest I’m awfully glad you did. He had it coming after what he did to me. And the way he’s treated you all this time, too. I only wish I’d been there to see it. And before you lecture me, ‘cause I can see it coming, I know it’s bad to wish anyone gets hurt, but he deserved it. He really did!”
“As long as you’re not mad at me about it. To be honest, it felt pretty good.”
“I bet it did! Thank you,” she said, her heart going all kinds of mushy in her chest. “You protected me. You always have, but this was something different.”
His expression went soft, and he reached out to touch her cheek. “I’d do anything for you, Ky. You know that, don’t you?”
Her heart was going to burst at his tender touch.
“I do know it. It’s a pretty amazing feeling, to know you’re always there.”
“But it’s more than that. More than taking care of you.”
“I think I know that, too,” she said. “At least, I think I do. And I want it to be more.”
“Do you? Are you sure you know what you’re asking?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion.
She nodded, her throat so tight with tears she wasn’t sure she could get any more words out, so she nodded even harder.
“Ky…”
He cupped her cheek in his big hand, and she closed her eyes and pressed into his palm with a small, happy sigh. A moment later she felt him leaning in closer, and when she opened her eyes he was right there, his breath warm on her skin. She blinked up at him, her emotions going a little bit wild, and as she tried to figure out from his expression what he was feeling, he inched closer, then even closer, and then he kissed her. And oh, it was so soft and sweet as his lips pressed against hers.