Chapter 3 Larkin
LARKIN
“Mommy, do you think Knox will like the whoopee cushion I got him?”
I dumped a box of pasta into the pot boiling in front of me. “I think he'll love it. Just like he loves the other five he already owns.”
The kids’ ongoing prank war with Knox had continued in our dating phase and now our engagement.
Over time, the pranks got more and more creative, but every so often, they went back to the classics.
I wouldn't trade the joy it brought for anything.
Even though sometimes I stepped on a mush banana or accidentally sat down on a toilet seat wrapped in cellophane, life was good.
Knox had hardly stayed the night at his place, opting to spend as much time as possible with us. Part of me felt guilty because I knew how much effort he'd put into purchasing his house and making it a home.
Emily said, “MOM!”
I realized I’d been lost in my own thoughts. “Sorry, hon, can you say it again?”
“Should I put it under the tree in the box?” she asked me.
“Why don't you go ahead and wrap it, Em, while I make dinner. You can draw on construction paper for the wrapping paper.” She instantly got to work, grabbing a box of crayons and pink paper from the craft cabinet.
Jackson was playing with a roll of toilet paper, which might have upset me if he wasn’t having so much fun rolling and unrolling it.
I ran a wooden spoon through the pasta to make sure it wouldn’t stick and checked the clock. Knox was still working the night shift and should be here soon. I looked forward to the new year when he’d start working days.
“Done!” Emily called.
“Let me see,” I said. She came over from the table and showed me an oddly shaped ball covered in construction paper and so much tape. I could see the outlines of two stick people on the paper with a heart between them. I smiled big and said, “Is that you and Knox?”
She nodded.
“And how much tape did you use?” I asked, laughing softly.
“All of it.” She grinned evilly. “It's going to be so hard to open.”
I chuckled. “Of course, it's another prank.”
She nodded and went to sit on the floor across from Jackson. Now they were rolling the toilet paper back and forth between them.
I smiled to myself, so thankful for them and their relationship with each other.
While they played, I took the chicken out of the oven, added sauce to the pasta, and heated green beans in the microwave.
With dinner done, I started plating it just in time for the front door to open and Knox to come inside.
I looked over my shoulder, seeing him freshly showered in a white T-shirt and a pair of sweats. I loved that he showered and was fresh for us after work. Just a little way to show he cared.
“Hey honey,” I called over the kids greeting him.
He smiled, and then I realized he was holding something wrapped in red and white paper in his hands. He held it carefully to his chest as the kids ran up to him and grabbed each of his legs.
“Oh no, Larkin,” he said, taking on a serious expression. “My legs suddenly got very heavy. Do you know why?”
I carefully inspected him, pretending I was just as confused while the kids giggled maniacally.
“I have no idea!” I finally said. “Your legs do look a little lumpy...” Emily and Jackson giggled.
“Let me see if I can massage it out.” I bent over, tickling them under the arms, and they both fell off his legs, laughing.
“Hey!” Knox said. “What are y’all doing down there?”
Emily popped up and said, “Is that present for me?”
He shook his head. “It's for your mama.”
I smiled and asked, “Can I open it now?”
He nodded. “Let's go sit down.”
We went to the living room, all of us sitting together on the couch while I tentatively pulled back the wrapping paper. Thankfully this one wasn’t tape-mageddon.
Inside the wrapping was a picture frame with a perfectly framed photo, and I stared at it with my mouth open. “How did you get this? We just took them yesterday.”
Knox nodded, “I asked her to do me a little favor.”
I carefully ran my fingertip over the glass like I had to make sure the picture was real.
It was just too perfect. The four of us looked like we belonged together.
Knox was holding me to his chest while the kids romped around us in the golden grass.
We were all smiling, surrounded by the countryside.
My eyes started watering, and I had to sniff back tears before I broke down.
“What's wrong, Mommy?” Emily asked.
I shook my head, wiping at my eyes. “These are happy tears.” I looked at Knox. “Thank you so much. I'll put this on the wall over the TV.” I pointed at a blank spot right on the living room wall.
“Actually…” He paused. “I thought, maybe it could go somewhere else.”
I looked around my home, wondering where he meant. “You think it would be better above the dining table?”
He grinned, shaking his head, “What if I found a plot of land for sale outside of town.” He took my hand, lacing our fingers together.
“And what if it has the prettiest oak tree that would make a great tire swing for Em and Jackson?
And what if there's plenty of room for a big yard, a garden, and it's just a ten-minute drive into town, so you'd be close to your work and I'd be close to mine?”
Now the tears were threatening to fall again. “What are you saying, Knox Madigan?”
“I’m saying I thought we could build a home for us, for our family, and I thought this picture could go right on the mantle when we do.”
Holding back tears was futile, especially with how they were streaming down my cheeks. “You want to build a home with me?” I asked.
“Of course.”
Emily said, “Can I see it?”
Knox said, “If it's okay with your mom.”
I nodded excitedly. “I just made dinner, but we can put it in the fridge for now. I don’t think I could eat anyway.”
We put our plates in the fridge and all loaded up into his pickup.
I held the photo on my lap as he took us out of town on a road that wound past Griffin Farms and Madigan Ranch.
And then he took us down a gravel trail, and I spotted the oak tree with the sun setting behind it.
There was a “for sale” sign nailed to a fence post.
My heart was already beating quickly as I took it in.
“Is this it?” Emily asked.
“It is,” Knox said with a smile.
“Can we get out and look?” I asked.
“I thought you'd never ask.”
I held the photo under my arm as we got out. It was an unseasonably warm night, like Mother Nature knew we were too excited and forgot our jackets at home.
Emily immediately sprinted toward the oak tree over crunching brown prairie grass. Her hair swayed behind her as she ran, the sun glinting off her locks, and I could picture it. I could picture our home here.
Like a movie playing in front of me, I could see us watching the sunrise in the mornings, getting a picture-perfect sunset behind the oak tree every night.
Grass crunched underfoot as Knox came up beside me, letting Jackson down. He toddled after his sister, and tears streamed down my cheeks as I watched them.
“What do you think?” Knox asked.
I held up the photo, imagining it on a mantle place here.
Then I looked over at Knox and said, “I think it feels like home.”