CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KNOX
As requested, I wake Sloan in time to go for waffles at the Maple Tree. The kid was for real about those waffles. I will not hesitate to get her ass up early on a more frequent basis to partake again.
After breakfast, we head back to the house, each of us with our own agenda. Sloan has schoolwork to get to, Kenley blog related business to tend to, and me, I’ve got a podcast interview to hop on.
While Kenley and Sloan head for Frieda, I make my way up to the main house. With privacy limited in the small guest house, her parents were kind enough to volunteer their sunroom for my interview.
“Knock, knock,” I say, announcing myself as I step inside.
“Come on in,” Jacinda calls out from somewhere beyond the living room. “Javier went to the store, so it’s just you and me here.” I follow her voice until I find her in an office just off the hall. “Hi.” She smiles brightly when she spots me standing in her doorway.
“Hey.” I didn’t realize she worked from home. Guess I didn’t realize she worked at all. Just assumed they were both retired based on what Javier told me. “I’ll try not to bother you while I’m in here.”
“Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. I’m used to working through distractions.” She spins in her office chair to check something that just popped up on her second computer screen. “Can I get you anything before your interview?” she offers.
“No, ma’am. I’m all good to go. But thank you.” She kind of reminds me of my own mom. Never seems to matter how much she’s juggling, she never hesitates to make sure everyone’s needs are met.
She nods. Then her phone rings and I hurry up and get out of there so she can answer in peace.
The sunroom is perfect for the podcast. It’s quiet and the sofa in here faces the lake, so even if I’m stuck on the phone for the next hour, I’ll be sure to enjoy the view.
I’m just barely settled in when my phone starts to buzz. “Showtime.”
KENLEY
When I first sat down at my desk, I was pretty sure all attempts to concentrate would be for naught, but now that an hour has passed and I’ve completed two posts and fixed the formatting on three guest features that should have been sent my way ready to go but definitely weren’t, I guess my brain still has the capacity to function even with the likes of Knox Marley throwing off every other aspect of my being.
“I’m hungry,” Sloan announces, taking the two steps from her door into the one leading here.
“How can you be hungry? You ate your weight in waffles an hour ago.”
She shrugs, making the turn toward the stairs, clearly headed for the kitchen. “I don’t know. Guess doing math burned it off.” She starts walking away. A second later, I hear her call out, “I need more fuel for Social Studies. What do we have?”
I run through the mental list of things in the fridge. Then I cut out all the items I know she’ll reject. “There’s a big container of grapes on the top shelf. All washed and ready to eat.”
“That works.”
A few minutes later, I watch her walk by a second time, the entire tub in hand, as she makes her way to her room again.
I’m about to get back to work when I hear the front door open, and another distraction enters.
“All done with your interview?” I shout.
“Yep.” I can hear him pull the door shut behind him, before he proceeds to greet each of the dogs all vying for his attention.
Including Hannah, who usually takes weeks to warm up to people, sometimes years with men.
“How’s your work coming along?” he calls back, his footsteps already moving up the stairs and toward me.
“It’s coming,” I nod, wondering if now would be a good time to take a break. It feels like a good time. Even though I still have at least a dozen emails I haven’t even looked at yet. “What’s next on your agenda?” Maybe his answer will help me decide.
“I have a few calls to make.” He makes his way over to my desk to plant a kiss on the top of my head before he goes on.
“Figured I’d go sit out on the dock. It’s nice out and that way I won’t distract you.
I know trying to write with someone else’s voice in the background competing with your own isn’t always easy. ”
“Oh. Okay.” Guess that settles that. No break it is. Probably smarter anyway.
He tugs my hair gently, just enough to get me to lean back which he promptly takes advantage of by leaning in for another kiss. This one is less g-rated than the first one, but just as sweet.
Then, before I know it, I’m alone again.
Work beckons and I wind up immersed in correspondence until the next round of distractions. For this one, Sloan and Knox manage to show up simultaneously.
“I’m hungry.”
“Again?”
“I could eat.”
I see I’m going to lose this one. “Maybe it’s lunch time. Is it lunch time?” I check the clock on my computer before either of them has a chance to answer. “Alright, it’s lunch time. Let’s eat.”
Lunch turns into a drawn-out event, thanks to a wide variety of cravings between the two.
Me, I would have been fine with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today.
Not them. They want to cook. Multiple dishes.
Including one that requires from scratch dough.
Three different types of pizza pockets, one curry quinoa dish and a fruit and baked brie platter later, and everyone is stuffed beyond reason.
We’ve also taken a meal that could have been prepared and eaten in thirty minutes and turned it into a three-hour event. Not including cleanup which I notice was mostly done as they were cooking, thank God.
“That was fun,” Sloan remarks. “Can I count it as school? Knox showed me how to fold the pizza pockets to keep the cheese from oozing out, so I definitely learned something.”
“Sure,” I remark dryly, getting up to start clearing the table. “Might as well. Not like you have time for anything else now.” I’m starting to see there was a masterplan at work all along. “Better go get ready for dance. We have to leave in twenty minutes.”
“How long is dance?” Knox asks joining my efforts and grabbing the last of the dishes.
“Three hours tonight. It’s rehearsal time for their performance group.”
“Perfect.”
I turn over my shoulder to look at him. “Perfect for what?”
“There’s this thing I wanted to do with you and dance gives us the perfect window to do it in.”
I can feel my face twist up a bit. I’m not big on walking into things blindly. I like to know ahead of time what I’m doing so I can opt out with appropriate notice. “That’s very vague. Care to elaborate?”
He grins, taking the plates I’m holding and moving past me to the sink. “Nope.”
“Could you anyway?”
He responds by turning on the water and pretending he can’t hear me. A jerk move except he’s doing the dishes, so I let it slide and focus on getting the dogs settled before we all head out for the afternoon.
By the time he’s done in the kitchen, I have just enough time to prep Sloan’s thermos and yes, more snacks, before we take off for dance.
Having bonded more in their cooking adventures together, Sloan and Knox wind up chatting for the bulk of the drive. Mostly, Sloan is busy giving him the breakdown of who’s who at dance and what to expect from their performance on Tuesday.
“Oh, and there’s another girl, Leslie. We’re the same height and we kind of start to look the same on stage because we both have dark hair and wear the same type of makeup and, anyway, my dad always ends up thinking I’m her at some point.
We have loads of videos of Leslie dancing to prove it.
So, make extra sure, when you’re watching, that you’re actually watching me. ”
“Noted.” He casts a subtle glance in my direction, and I catch it even while I’m driving. He’s wondering how hard it really is to tell them apart. I give a small shake of my head letting him know it won’t be an issue for him.
“Ma!” She suddenly pulls me into the conversation. “I was supposed to tell you that backstage moms are having a quick meeting after rehearsals tonight.”
“When did you find out about this?”
“Last Monday.”
Of course. “Well, thanks for letting me know.” I don’t withhold the sarcasm. “I’ll be there.”
Speaking of being there. We are.
I’m barely into my parking spot when Sloan is swinging her door open, eager to jump out. “See you guys in a little bit.”
“Love you,” I call out just as the door is swinging shut.
I can make out an ‘I love you too’, but only based on my lip-reading skills. Then she’s running for the door to the studio and disappearing inside a second later.
“So,” I start, realizing we’ve reached the part of the afternoon where I stop knowing what’s going on. “Where to next?”
“Nah.” He shakes his head, getting out as well. Next thing, he’s at my side, opening my door. “I’ll drive. Keep the element of surprise alive for a bit longer.”
I scrunch up my nose, internally considering putting up a fight. “I don’t really care for those.”
“You’ll care for this one.” He waves for me to get moving. “Come on. Out ya go. We don’t wanna be late.”
“I might be more motivated to be on time if I know what I’m trying to be punctual for,” I point out as I vacate my spot in the driver’s seat and crawl over the center console to land in the passenger one.
Knox looks temporarily thrown, like he wasn’t expecting me to do that, but then he gets over my uncivilized ways and gets back in the truck as well.
“I’m not telling you anything.” He grins. “Consider it an exercise of trust.”
I make a face.
“Exactly.” He laughs. “We both know you need the practice.”
I’m still not impressed but then he takes my hand, squeezes, and says, “I’ll deliver. Promise.”
And I think maybe, having a little more faith won’t be a bad thing. Maybe, if I keep putting my faith in him, someday, I’ll even be good at it.
I notice we go right when he hit the main drag. Away from the ocean and toward more civilization. I usually try to go left, for obvious reasons, but I don’t voice my apprehensions about his choice to go inland. He has a reason. And I can roll with that. Well, I’m going to try anyway.
“How far away is this mystery destination?” I ask, trying to sound casual, though I’m secretly calculating driving time.
“We won’t be late picking up Sloan,” he says, apparently reading my mind.
“I wasn’t worried about that.”
“Liar.” But he laughs, so I think he forgives me.
“Fine. I’ll do the thing,” I submit to his request. “I’ll give trust a shot.” My mouth quirks at the corner while I try to fight off a smile. “I mean, you kind of continue to give me every reason to.”
“Oh, look who’s finally catching on.” He winks. “New topic. Coffee?”
“One of my favorite topics.” I’m pretty sure I’m beaming now. A gorgeous man. And coffee. It’s pretty much all I’ve ever wanted. “And yes, please.”
“Good.” He chuckles. “Because I was stopping either way.”
He must have really mapped out this trip because we’re already pulling into a coffee shop drive through, one I didn’t even know existed. I guess it pays to make a right every once in a while.
Two coffees, a giant chocolate-chocolate chunk cookie for me and a little pouch of almonds for him later and we’re back on our way toward, well, wherever it is we’re on our way to.
I’m still happily sipping along when we come to a stop. And I still have no fucking clue where we are.
“Is this someone’s house?” I ask, twisting my mouth back and forth when he shows up on my side of the truck, opening the door for me. Maybe I haven’t mentioned the extent of my introverted-ness yet. “Are there going to be a lot of people here?”
He snorts, trying not to laugh at me again. “You were hiding behind a plant the first time I met you. You think I don’t know you don’t like being thrust into a crowd of strangers?”
“A girl never wants to assume.” And this girl has never had anyone pay such close attention to her.
He just shakes his head, chuckling again. “Come on.” My hand slips into his before I can form conscious thought around the action. One of us is getting way too comfortable here. Maybe it’s both of us.
If it is someone’s house, it’s someone Knox knows, because he lets himself inside even as he’s knocking to let whoever’s on the other side know we’re coming in.
“Jared?” he calls down the dimly lit hall. “This better be your place.”
A surfer-looking dude with long black hair and a gangly, tan body pops out of a doorway leading to the left. “Back here, bro. Just getting everything set up for you.” Then he notices me. A smile brightens his already friendly face. “The legend lives.”
Knox laughs.
I’m not really following though. “Have you two not seen each other in a while or something?”
“He’s talking about you.”
Me?
Before I can ask for an explanation, Jared is coming toward us, both arms stretched out before him, hands splayed, as if I’m some sort of wonderous sight to behold. Which I am most definitely not.
“The woman that made Knox forget his guitar.” He laughs with delight. “It is an honor to meet you.”
His hand darts out toward me for a proper greeting and I take it automatically.
“Alright, alright,” Knox chides, still chuckling at his friend’s enthusiastic welcome. “Jared, this is Kenley-”
“The legend,” he hisses.
Now I’m starting to giggle myself.
“The legend.” Knox rolls his eyes though he’s agreeing to it. “Kenley, this is my buddy, Jared. He’s been a producer on a bunch of projects with me, and lucky for us, he always creates an in-house recording space wherever he goes. Including here. At his parents’ place.”
“They’re snowbirds, but like, reverse. They like the snow and love the heat. So, they’re not around right now,” Jared is quick to explain.
“Why is this lucky for us?” I’m not saying I’m not feeling lucky. I’m stupid giddy right now, a grin stretched so tight across my face, it’s starting to hurt, but I don’t actually know why. I mean, I can make some guesses, as I’m in the company of a musician, but I don’t officially know shit.
“Because,” Knox starts, his voice taking a softer tone as he leads me into the room Jared only just came out of, “it gives me a chance to invite you into my world, same as you’ve let me inside of yours.”