Vale smiled at that comment, and damn, that smile was something else. Her eyes lit up when her smile was real. It was hard to look away from her when she was like that.

“I’ll be going up to visit him next weekend. You’re always welcome to come along.” I said the words before thinking about them. Her smile made my brain short out, apparently.

“I’d like that. I could go by my parents’ and get him that apple pie.”

Knox wasn’t laughing anymore, and I knew why. I really should have thought before I spoke. “You could come, too, Knox,” I added.

He shot me a look that made it obvious he was thinking about my intentions. He wasn’t so sure about me at the moment. But my uncle was dying, so I could tell he was trying to keep an open mind.

“I might do that,” he finally replied.

When we got to his truck, I was relieved. I had made the conversation awkward all because her smile got to me. Also the fact she’d been visiting Uncle D and because she truly worried about the old man. Had nothing to do with getting near me. Her blond nurse, Everly, had started acting like she cared about Uncle D and showing up in his room only when I was there, to flirt with me. I saw through that shit easy enough. It had gotten to the point I tried not to visit Knox and his family when Everly was on duty. Her flirting was obvious and annoying.

I didn’t like her using my sick uncle to get to me.

Vale was different.

And she was not my speed. She was good and kind. I had to let this fascination with her go. But first I was taking her to see Uncle D. Because … well, because she fucking smiled and made me a little crazy.

“I’ll get in the back,” Vale said when I opened the passenger side of Knox’s truck.

“I’m the tag-along—I’ll get in back,” I argued.

She shook her head and began climbing in back. Her ass in those jeans was a little more than distracting.

“Nope. I’m smallest and there’s not a lot of room back here,” she said, then thankfully sat that butt in the seat and out of my face.

“She’s stubborn. No reason to argue,” Knox told me as he got inside.

“Let’s go get some pancakes at the Pancake Haven. We talked about the place enough this summer. Need to show Vale what all the fuss is about,” Knox said.

I agreed. I missed the strawberry and cream pancakes.

“Breakfast for dinner. I like it,” Vale said from the backseat.

“I know. You’re always the reason Mom pulls out the biscuits and gravy for dinner,” Knox told her with affection in his voice.

I’d witnessed him stay in a constant state of fear and worry this summer when she’d been in a coma. He had watched her breathe … as though if he stopped watching, she might not take another breath. He said they’d been really close, and he told me stories of their childhood. Things that made him laugh, and it was good to see him smile at those times.

It was almost as if he were the parent at times. I knew just listening to him that Vale McKinley was special. The kind of special that changed a person. That made a mark in life. I didn’t like thinking she wouldn’t wake up. It was one of the reasons I went to read to her. I would talk to her, too. Tell her why she needed to open her eyes. I talked about college and how much fun she’d have. I did all I could to make her want to live.

“Mom is already texting me,” Vale said from the backseat with a soft laugh.

“Surprise. She hasn’t texted me,” Knox replied.

“She’s glad we’re going to dinner. She was worried I’d stay in the room and read all night once she found out Crawford had an away practice game.”

Knox lifted his gaze and looked at her through the rearview mirror. “That is exactly what you were going to do.”

“True … but I was going to unpack, too.”

“Trust me, the pancakes at this place are worth it. You’ll thank me after the first bite.”

Knox pulled into the parking lot and groaned. “Shit. Mia is here.”

Mia was his girlfriend for about four months last year. Until she decided to start cutting out photos of wedding dresses and shit like that. Knox had bolted. Mia had been the insane ex-girlfriend for a while. Showing up unannounced, crying, bringing him cookies … it had been a joke at the frat house by the end of the year.

“The girl from last year?” Vale asked, sounding excited.

Knox sighed. “Yeah.”

Vale giggled and clapped her hands as if that were the best news ever. “Oh, this is great. I can’t wait to meet her. Next family dinner I can fill everyone in.”

“You’re a brat and you’re not meeting her,” Knox said, opening the door to get out.

I got out, then offered a hand for Vale. She slipped her small hand into mine, completely trusting me, and I liked that a hell of a lot.

When she stepped out, she looked up at the restaurant and frowned. It wasn’t a fancy place, but I didn’t think she was one to care about that.

“Not what you expected?” I asked her.

She glanced at me, then back at the sign. “I don’t know why I had an image of this place in my head, but I thought I knew what it looked like. I didn’t.” She shook her head. “Guess I dreamed it.”

“You’ll be dreaming about these pancakes,” Knox told her, walking around the truck to meet us. “Come on, let’s go eat. And do not talk to Mia or make eye contact with her. That goes for both of you.”

Vale started laughing and I fucking soaked that shit up. Damn.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

VALE

THE TREES WERE full of fall colors, and I stood in the path with my head thrown back, staring up at the blue sky peeking through the branches. It was as if I were in a fairy-tale world out here. Beautiful and perfect. The sound of the stream running through the rocks along with the birds chirping filled the air, and I laughed and spun in a circle with my arms spread wide.

This felt like falling in love. The simple beauty of it. So detailed, yet fluid. The wind blew through my hair and I inhaled the fresh air. Then he said my name and my heart fluttered and pleasure coursed through me. I loved hearing him say my name. He was what made this perfect. Dropping my arms, I turned toward his voice.

And there he stood, so tall. His dark hair brushing his shoulders and his green eyes full of laughter from catching me dancing under the trees. He was my safe place. I hadn’t known I was lost until he found me.

Slate Allen was my hero.

* * *

MY EYES FLEW open. That was a new one. My feelings for him were stronger in that one. Like I wanted to run and hide in his arms. Know he wasn’t leaving me. This was all crazy, because Slate was not the kind of guy you had these dreams about. Crawford was.

Slate was a player. He liked women, and they liked him. That was obvious at dinner last night. He’d dated most of the females in there, it seemed. Several came over to flirt and rub up against him. Then the way Knox talked about him and his conquests being legendary, you would think my brain would register all that and stop having silly dreams about him.

It must have been something I ate. No one should eat that much whipped cream and chocolate before bedtime. It must have the same effect as pizza. Crazy dreams. I wanted these dreams to stop. Looking at him made it hard when I had these images in my head.

I glanced over at Jude, and she was sleeping soundly. All eighteen stuffed animals in bed with her—it was a packed house. Smiling at the sight she made, I got up to go to the bathroom. It wasn’t even six in the morning yet, but I was going to get a shower. I didn’t want to close my eyes again. My dreams couldn’t be trusted.