Take Me Down (The Knight Brothers 2)

She’d kissed her dad on the cheek, told them not to wait up, just as a car honked from the driveaway. Parker had looked up in disbelief.

“Classy,” he’d muttered, not under his breath. Even her father had chuckled. And with a look that promised retribution, she’d walked out the door to where Matt waited inside his warm truck.

“Did Matt call to say what’s wrong with the car?” Because he still didn’t have an estimated time on Parker’s rental, not that he cared. He could have called for a car and left here at any time. He wasn’t ready to do that, though.

James shook his head. “I assume he’ll tell her tonight.”

Parker scowled at the reminder of her date.

“I see that face you made,” James said, assessing him. “Can’t say I think he’s the right man for my girl, either. But I can see why she’d give him a shot.”

Parker raised his eyebrows.

“I won’t spill secrets, but since I’ve seen how you look at her and how she treats you in return, I wanted to explain a few things.”

He didn’t deny his interest in Emily. That would make him a liar. As long as her father wasn’t violating any confidences, Parker wanted to hear. “Go on.”

“Just know that her last relationship was with a man who didn’t deserve her. And he had a thing for telling her what to do, when to do it, and most importantly, he wanted to change who she wanted to be. So if you fell in here, saw a pretty girl, and decided you’d have a little fun, you can shut those thoughts off right now. My daughter has been used and manipulated enough.”

Beneath the table, his hands curled into fists at the thought of anyone trying to change the woman he was just coming to know. He didn’t know what made her tick or why she responded to him the way she did. But he knew he liked what he saw and not just the physical responses, although those were a damned good start.

He appreciated that she didn’t take his shit. She told him off when she felt like it. And now he had an inkling as to why. Because something about him reminded her of her ex and not in a good way. He stored away the little bit of ammunition her father had provided to take out and dissect later, so he could figure out how to break down Emily’s steep walls.

Leaning forward in his seat, he met her father’s gaze. “I didn’t have a father who cared like you obviously do and I’m glad your daughter has that.”

He didn’t like to think about Alexander Knight, who abdicated the parental role to his eldest son, focused instead on his company and the rotating women who came and went in his life after Parker’s mom died from cancer as he’d begun middle school. He remembered her, though, and knew she’d loved them all, had been there for them, and would have hated what their father had become and how he treated his kids.

Parker cleared his throat. “And I respect the fact that you’re letting me know how you feel. The truth is, I came here by accident but I’m staying because I want to. I feel a pull here, something that is making me want to stay.” The inn, the mountains, and the woman. It was a combination of all those things. “And the last thing I’ll do is play games with your daughter.” It was the best he could offer the man, given that he’d just met Emily yesterday and had already kissed her once. Not that her father needed to know that.

James studied him, taking his measure, then he obviously decided he liked what he saw because he nodded. “I think she’s out with Matt because he’s nonthreatening. There’s no way she’s interested in him and Matt just doesn’t want to realize it.”

“I noticed that.”

Social cues weren’t Matt’s forte, because he’d completely ignored Parker’s possessive hand on Emily’s elbow and the scowl he’d shot Matt’s way. Of course, if he’d looked out his garage office window after they’d left, he’d have seen Parker and Emily setting the street on fire with their kiss.

“So about the inn,” Parker said, changing the subject. “Emily wants you to sell. What do you want?”

James, who wasn’t an old man by any stretch of the imagination, might not be capable of manual labor, but he was more than able to take care of people who came here for a weekend, assuming he had the right kind of help.

“My daughter worries too much. She wants me in Florida like I’m an old man. If she had her way, I’d be covered in bubble wrap.” He laughed but the sound was pained. “Losing her mother hurt us both. Losing…” He cut off whatever he’d been about to say. “She’s worried about me. But I can handle the work, despite what she believes. What I don’t have is the capital to fix what needs repair. Everything about this place is old, from the boiler to the roof. If I’m going to give guests a good experience, it needs to be done all at once. It doesn’t help to have a pot filling with water on a rainy day in a guest room.”