Bring a Boxer to His Knees by Lane Charlie

Author:Lane, Charlie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-28T00:00:00+00:00

Twelve

Nora stared out the window of the parlor into the dusky lavender night and ran her thumb over the edge of the folded paper, the letter to Willow telling her she’d leave on the morrow, and to expect her by week’s end if travel proved smooth.

The window reflected a scene of familial bliss—Max’s large frame laid across a settee too small for him, and his sisters and Freddy’s daughters draped over him like adoring shawls.

The letter fluttered to the windowsill, and she curled her fist into her belly, trying to banish the ghost feel of his lips on her knuckles, settled soft against her pulse.

Why had he done that? To torment her? Because she currently felt as if she were going mad. How could the world’s lightest kiss cause such chaos in her body and mind?

But the kiss was nothing compared to how he’d held her hand before that. She’d always been a daring soul, but nervousness had skipped through her limbs at the thought of Mary’s trick. No one wished to be squashed by a tumbling girl. And Max had somehow seen it, reached out, without her even having to ask, and offered strength and comfort with a hand and a steady gaze. When Mary’s body had flown above them, Nora had not been able to help it—she’d gripped his hand and squeezed her eyes tight as a corset. Darkness, the heavy sound of a body overhead, the waiting for the body to land on her, then nothing. There was cheering a breath later. And his hand was still in hers. And when she’d peeked out at the world once more, he’d still been there, grinning at her. He’d stuck his arm out to comfort her at his own possible expense and never flinched, never wavered.

And she’d not felt that sense of trust and comfort on a soul dependable as stone since childhood. She pressed another hand to her eyes where a tight and watery feeling welled too close to the surface.

Silly to feel rocked because he’d held her hand, because he’d seen her need and answered her unspoken call. Silly to feel the world had shifted upside down.

“Are you well, Miss Cavendish?” Freddy asked from near the fire.

Nora picked up her letter and whirled around. “I am. Thank you. I was just finishing up a letter to my friends. I’ll walk to the village tomorrow morning and post it.”

“A letter?” Max asked, shedding his girl-shaped shawls and sitting up straighter.

She nodded. “They are expecting me, and I must leave soon. ”

The slightest crease of skin between his eyebrows, the slightest thinning of his lips. “When will you leave?”

“The day after tomorrow if you continue to prove on the mend.”

“I’ll be ready.”

“Ready? What for?”

“To return with you.”

An orchestra of gasps filled the air with the music of shock, Nora’s among the many notes. It should not have shocked her, though. She’d brought him here, taken him away from everywhere he needed to be. She would have to return him, too.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.