Tessa Teevan - Incinerate

“I’m glad you could make it, Knox. I assume she’s yours?” he asks, gesturing towards me. In the past, I’d be bristling at the comment, like I’m a possession to be owned, but the truth is, I am his. He completely owns me, and I’m more than okay with that.

“Yeah, Dad. This is my girl, Charlie,” he answers.

His dad looks at me, and squeezes my shoulder. “I know. We just met. That’s quite a woman you have, son. And I know it’s probably out of bounds for me to say this, but hold on to this one.”

Knox simply nods. “I plan on it, sir.”

His dad places his hand on his arm. “I’ve got some schmoozing to do, but I’d love a chance to talk to you at a different time, when things are less hectic. Will you come back if we set something up?”

Knox looks down at me, and I smile, nodding slightly. It’s the push he needs, and I watch in silence as Knox jots down his number and email address for him.

“It really is good to see you. I mean it, son,” his father says, and I’m shocked when Knox pulls away from me and moves into an awkward side hug with his dad.

“It’s good to be home, Dad,” Knox says, and it sounds like he means it. They pat each other’s backs and say goodbye before Mr. Wellington leaves the room.

“I think we’re going to head back to Clarksville,” Knox tells his mom and Cohen. Amelia comes over, giving him a hug, holding on a little longer than normal. He leans down and gives her a kiss on the cheek, promising to be in touch. We say our goodbyes to Cohen, but Knox doesn’t say anything to Megan or Branson until we’re almost out of the room.

Stopping at the doorway, he turns to address them. “Someone once told me that I dodged a bullet where you two were concerned. I wasn’t sure I believed it at the time, but I know now I’m fucking lucky that you two decided to get together. And you know what? I’m not angry anymore. I hope you’re actually as happy as I am now. So thank you, not for breaking my heart, but for letting me go so I could find something real.”

Megan’s eyebrows furrow, and Branson looks pissed, but Knox doesn’t seem to care. I’m proud as hell at all he’s accomplished today. Nodding to his mom and Cohen, he grabs my hand, leading me out the door and to the car. It isn’t until we’re on the highway that Knox finally lessens his grip on my hand.

“So what happened?” he asks.

I take in a deep breath. I know I need to tell him, but he’s had such an emotional day and I don’t want to pile onto it.

I decide to go the whole ‘rip the Band-Aid off’ route. “Your piece-of-crap brother decided to tell me that being with him would be so much better than being with you, which pissed me off, causing my to spill my wine on myself, pissing me off even more. He tried to clean the wine off my chest, and then your dad walked in when I had him in an arm bar with his face pressed down on the counter as I warned him never to touch me again.” Damn, that was a mouthful.

Knox looks over at me, but I can’t read him. “You had Branson’s face pressed against the counter with his arm twisted behind his back?” I nod, and a huge grin spreads over his face. “And my dad walked in?” Again, I nod, and he brings my hand to his lips.

“My fucking girl,” is all he says as he turns back towards the road. Settling in my seat, I can’t help but be proud at how cool he’s being about all of this. I know this day has been overwhelming for him, and I’m more than glad he’s letting this go. That he trusts me enough to let me be a part of it. Turning in my seat, I look out the window, finally realizing that I’m one hundred percent head over heels in love with Knox Wellington.

Knox

IT’S BEEN over a month since that day at my parents’, and Mom and I have been talking several times a week. Things have been good, and I have to admit that it’s been nice having someone to talk to about Charlie who isn’t one of the guys. We don’t get too personal, not yet, but our relationship is slowly mending. I’m grateful for this second chance.

At the same time, Charlie’s had my back, supporting me and letting me talk it out whenever I’m feeling weird about how fast everything seems to happening with my family. I don’t think I could’ve done this without her, so I’m grateful she was there to give me a push in the right direction.

I didn’t have time to meet with my dad until today, and when I reluctantly said goodbye to Charlie this morning, she gave me a sweet kiss, reminding me that everything we’ve both been through has led us here and that I need to hear him out—which is exactly what I did. Hashing things out with him was easier than with Mom. We didn’t have all the emotional stuff. We agreed to let the past be the past, and I’m completely okay with that. He filled me in on how his consulting firm is doing, while I relived the years spent in the Army for him. It was good, a step in the right direction.

As I’m waiting for the elevator after having left Dad’s office, the conversation between my father and me replays in my head. It feels a little better knowing that he didn’t specifically know what Branson had done, and after talking it out, I think we’re going to be okay. Like I told my mom, it’s not going to be perfect overnight, but I think we can be a family again.

To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought over the last eleven years. Now that I’ve seen them, I realize how much I did miss having a relationship with my parents. Even though I went down a path they hadn’t wanted for me, I think we’ll be able to find common ground. I’m happy knowing that they didn’t write me off completely.

The ping that signals the elevator’s arrival pulls me out of my thoughts. I have to suppress a groan once the doors open and I see my brother, who looks surprised to see me. Stepping onto the elevator, I nod at him before pressing the button for the ground floor, but he just smirks at me. I’ve been trying not to stew on the fact that he tried to hit on Charlie, and now that I’m face to face with him, I want nothing more than to wipe the smug smile off his lips.

We’re standing next to each other, and I can see our reflections in the elevator doors. I look completely out of place here in my jeans, t-shirt, and flip-flops, especially standing next to him in his charcoal pinstripe suit. I’ve never been happier about my decision than I am right now, because I’m getting a glimpse of the future I could’ve had. I’m pretty damn sure I’d have ended up miserable.

“You know she’s just going to end up leaving you, too,” he warns, his voice filling the elevator.

Trying to keep my cool, I breathe in and out a couple of times. “You don’t know a thing about her—or me, for that matter—so keep your assumptions to your damn self.”

Shaking his head, he lets out a low whistle. “I saw how she was looking at me, knowing a real, successful man when she saw one. Not you, an uneducated Army burnout trying to play dress-up to hang with the real men. I’m sure the uniform has its appeal for now, but one day she’ll wake up and want something, someone more. Might as well get used to it.”

I can hear Charlie in the back of my head telling me to let it go, and I’m about to until he opens his mouth again.

“I do have to hand it to you, though. You sure know how to pick them. First Megan and now this one. Megan’s beautiful, but damn, the rack on your new girl? Unbelievable.” He barely gets the last word out before I have him backed up against the side wall of the elevator. Pressing my forearm against his throat, I bring my face down so that we’re only inches apart.

“If I wasn’t already aware that my girl had your face pressed down into the granite, I’d be ripping your goddamn tongue out of your throat for talking about her like that. But the way I see it, you already got your answer from her as to how she feels about you, so I’m going to keep this short and simple.”

His face is turning red, and I relent—just a little bit. He swallows hard as he continues to watch me. “I have no fucking clue why you have a problem with me. Why you tried to ruin my life or why you had to steal Megan. At this point, I don’t really give a shit. You have your issues. You sort them out on your own. Leave me and leave my girl out of it. You may have won all those years ago, and hey, goddamn fucking congratulations. Better you than me. But this is one fight you don’t want to start, because I guarantee you’re not going to fucking win.”

Letting him go, I back away just as the elevator stops on the ground floor. As soon as the doors open, I step out and he follows behind me. Not looking back, I exit the building. I’m just about to get into my car when I hear his voice.

“You were going to take over the business,” he says.

I turn around, not understanding what he means. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He’s fondling a pair of keys, watching me. Leaning against the hood of my car, I want to leave, but a part of me wants to hear what he has to say. Sighing, he places his hands in his pockets before he continues.

“Right before I started the internship at Dad’s firm, I was going through some paperwork on his desk. Long story short, I found out our parents weren’t married when I was born. He was in his last year of college when it happened, and Mom was a summer fling. He didn’t even know about me until I was born and already fucking named. Haven’t you ever wondered how you ended up Knox the Third and not me? Not the firstborn?”

Nodding, I have to agree that it’s something I’ve always wondered about but never wanted to ask. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything? It’s just a name, Branson. You’re still a Wellington.”

Shaking his head, he disagrees. “Maybe in the Army, but here? It’s not just a name and you know it. It’s a legacy. And Dad wanted his son, his true namesake, to be running the business. It didn’t matter that I’d been interning for him every single summer of college after busting my ass the entire school year to maintain a 4.0 grade average. It’s not like I was expecting to be CEO as soon as I graduated, but when I overheard him telling his partner that he wanted you to take over the reins one day, even after you’d fucked up getting into college, I lost it. You took that from me, and I wanted to take something from you. And Megan was more than willing.”

“You did this because of a job? One I didn’t even know was being handed to me? You tried to ruin my fucking life because of my fucking name?” I seethe, incredulous that this is because of my name.

At this point, I’m not sure whether to be angry or feel pity for him. Shrugging, he pushes off the car. “I got the job and the girl, didn’t I?” he asks, apparently done with the explanation, the smug smile spreading over his face again.

Opening my car door, I’m about to slide in. I rest my arm on the top of my girl Evelyn. “Yeah, Branson, you did. And thank Christ for that, because my life’s infinitely better without either of them.”

Before he can answer, I get in my car, finished with this conversation. Pulling out of the spot, I don’t look back, and even though his reasons were shit, I’m actually relieved to finally know why he did what he did.

As I make the drive back to Clarksville, I can tell I’m on edge. I’d been apprehensive enough about seeing my dad, but running into Branson threw me off balance—more than I’d like to admit. And with the way he talked about Charlie’s breasts, I know I need to punch something.

His words replay in my head, and even though I know he’s wrong, I can’t help but wonder if he might actually be onto something. I remember her dad saying that she doesn’t date soldiers, and I’m the complete opposite of the professor. What if this is just a novelty thing for her? Something that’ll wear off when she decides she wants someone with a stable, corporate career that won’t have him away for months at a time, not ever knowing when the next deployment will be. The thought of not having her in my life hurts more than any pain Megan inflicted, and while I know Charlie has feelings for me, I can’t help but hear Branson in the back of my mind. Yeah, I really need to punch something.

Checking to make sure I have a gym bag in my back seat, I decide to head to the gym to blow off some steam. I’m not exactly worked up, but I’m on edge, and a few rounds sparring will help calm me down.

When I walk into the gym, I’m more than ready for a fight. Looking around the room, I see Charlie—with Chris. Of all the people she could spar with, she chose him, the fucking guy who’d tried to worm his way in before I could.