Epilogue
Wyatt
One week later, Dad moved into Mom’s house. We all offered to help even. He’d lived in a rental and was leaving all his furniture there. Nevertheless, his clothes and other belongings filled up forty boxes.
“Thank you, boys. I don’t know what I would have done without you,” Dad said as Finn, Knox, and I carried the last of the boxes inside.
“This one go on top of the others too?” Knox asked incredulously.
“Not sure. Darling, what do you think?” Dad said.
Mom’s living room was usually very orderly, but now it looked like crap.
“We’ll start sorting everything out right away,” she replied.
Everyone hurried toward the various piles.
“We’re opening all the boxes that say ‘kitchen,’” Chase said, and Hannah agreed.
Duncan and Riley took over the boxes labeled “living room.” Griffin and Phoebe were helping them because it was the largest pile.
“How about we take everything labeled ‘garden’?” I suggested to Kinley.
“Sure. I’m up for anything.”
It felt so good to involve my woman in family activities. It was simply the way things were supposed to work.
“What’s left for us?” Finn asked, pointing between himself and Knox.
“You can help me take out my tools,” Dad told them. “I need to build a shed or something, since we don’t have a garage.”
“Oh, goodness!” Mom looked worried about the idea.
Kinley chuckled under her breath.
“What’s so funny?” I whispered.
She answered in an equally low tone. “Your mom’s not used to living with a man anymore, is she? I mean, has she been dating over the years?”
“No.” After a pause, I added, “Realistically, she probably did and just kept it from us. But she’s never lived with anyone since the divorce.”
“It’s going to take her a while to adjust to sharing her space again.”
“We can help you build it,” Knox said.
“Yes, we can. Not that we’re very good at it,” Finn added.
“Well, I didn’t have a chance to work on building stuff with you boys when you were kids.” Dad grinned. “Your older brothers were too proficient by that time, so it was just easier to have them help me. But better late than never.”
Knox and Finn both looked surprised but pleased.
That was true. There were so many of us growing up that my parents couldn’t possibly involve everyone in the same activity at the same time. And after they separated, we never all went together to Dad’s house on the weekends. The place was too small, so we took turns.
“I’ve got some lasagna in the oven,” Mom said. “It’s going to be ready in about half an hour. By the way, Amy said she’ll stop by too.”
“Who?” Chase asked.
“Come on, Chase, you know Amy,” Knox replied, a strange and exasperated look on his face.
But Chase looked as if he couldn’t place the name. I, however, did remember her, though only vaguely.
“Knox’s friend from college,” Mom reminded him.
“How come she’s dropping by?” Knox asked.
“She lives in the neighborhood. I haven’t seen her too often, but I met her at the grocers last week and told her that Bruce would be moving in. She said she’d bring a pie as a housewarming gift. We talked for quite a while. She’s still a very nice girl. I always liked her.”
“That makes no sense whatsoever,” Finn replied.
Knox elbowed him. “Dude, it’s just the way Amy is.” He turned to Mom. “I haven’t seen her in a while. How is she?”
“Well, you can ask her yourself.” She winked at him.
That was weird. Knox cocked a brow and glanced at me, clearly thinking the same thing. I just shrugged. I had no explanation.
“What’s Amy doing these days?” I asked Knox as Kinley and I started opening our boxes.
“I honestly haven’t spoken to her in about a year, I guess. Just didn’t get around to it. She’s a teacher, and the last I knew, she was very happy with that.”
“She always wanted to be a teacher,” I said. I had no idea why I remembered that particular detail about her.
From what I could recall, Amy and Knox met in their sophomore year at college. I’d already graduated by then and only saw her whenever I hung out with my younger brothers.
I looked into the boxes Kinley and I had opened and groaned. “Dad!” I yelled, because he’d gone with a box to the bedroom.
He immediately came out. “What?”
“It makes no sense to open this stuff in the house. Most of these things are full of dirt.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking bringing them inside. Honey?” He turned to Mom. “Where should we put them?”
Mom’s expression told me she’d most likely prefer to burn all the garden supplies. But she reschooled her features and said, “I guess anywhere in the back next to my existing gardening stuff would be best. Then we’ll see what we need to keep.”
Oh yeah. I could see a fight brewing, but that was none of my business. They’d sort it out. They were grown-ups, after all.
“I’ll take them,” I told Kinley, grabbing a box from in front of her. These were among the heaviest besides the ones labeled “kitchen.” There were six in total, and it took me three trips to take them out.
As I stepped back inside, I asked, “What am I working on next?”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“That would be Amy,” Mom said.
“I’ll go get her,” Knox offered.
He went to the front of the house, opening the door and then stepping aside, motioning her in.
“Hi,” Amy said, waving at us all, then turned to my brother. “Knox, hey. Long time no see! Wasn’t sure if you’d be here.”
“Hey, Amy. Moving is always a family affair with us.” He kissed her cheek, and she grinned as she entered the living room.
Amy’s hair was blonde and long, and she had these unusual violet-colored eyes. She was shorter than Kinley, maybe 5’3”-ish.
“Wow. The whole group is here.” She made a beeline for Mom and Dad. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I made you my favorite pie. If I’d known the whole clan was here, I would have made two.”
“Hey, Amy. You’re looking good, girl. Haven’t seen you in a long time,” Dad said.
“Since I heard you opened your store, I’ve always wanted to drop by but never got a chance to. Great to see you, Mr. Sterling.”
“None of that. Call me Bruce. You know about the store?” Dad asked.
“Of course.” She turned to look at Knox. “He used to keep me in the loop. Not so much lately, though.”
“I try,” Knox said proudly.
“She’s pretty,” Kinley whispered as Amy and Mom went to the kitchen.
“Is she? I haven’t noticed.”
Kinley winked at me. “But you know who did notice? Knox.”
I looked at Knox, then at Kinley. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She put her hands on her hips. “It means exactly what I said.”
I waved her off. “They’ve been friends for a long time. As far as I know, that’s all there ever was to it.”
“Uh-huh,” Kinley said. “Maybe. But I have my doubts.”
I looked at my brother intently. He’d followed Amy to the kitchen. Mom was cutting the pie, so there was no obvious reason for him to linger. He grinned at Amy and then leaned in. Maybe Kinley was right. But then why hadn’t they kept in touch? That’s the way Amy made it sound, at least.
“See? Ding, ding, ding. Light bulbs going off, right?” Kinley asked.
“What are we gossiping about?” Finn inquired with a stage whisper, joining us.
“Knox and Amy,” Kinley replied in a low voice. Now we all sounded stupid.
“Ah, yeah. Those two. I called it years ago, but nothing ever happened, so who knows?”
My eyes bulged. Boy, what did I miss? “You... What do you mean, you called it?”
“That’s his catchphrase today. Seems to have to double question everything we say,” Kinley commented.
Finn just laughed. Laughed! I needed an explanation.
“I’ll put this on several plates so we don’t all squeeze in around one,” Mom said loudly. She cut the pie into slivers and put it on the coffee table.
I looked at Knox. He was shadowing Amy again. I couldn’t pinpoint what seemed off about him until a second later. He was very much in her space, and she didn’t seem to mind.
“I love seeing you put two and two together,” Kinley teased.
I turned my head her way. “Hey. I can be slow, all right?”
“Obviously.”
The question was, why hadn’t my brother ever made a move, since they’d known each other for so long?
“We’ve got paper plates,” Dad said, taking a stash out of his kitchen boxes, “which actually works perfectly for today. I don’t like serving on china when I have guests over, so I just keep stacks of paper plates.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I would do the same.” I grabbed one from Dad and then immediately took a slice of pie. “What kind of pie is this, Amy?”
“Rhubarb. It’s my special recipe.”
Right. Should have asked before I got some. But it wasn’t polite to put it back, so I bit into it. Then I jerked my head back, eyes widening.
“This is delicious,” Kinley said.
“Thank you,” Amy replied.
I knew Kinley was just as flabbergasted as I was, but she’d covered well. I winked at her, and she blushed.
“One of these days, I’ll learn to cook better stuff than just my chicken salad,” she said.
I laughed, kissing her earlobe. “You’re perfect just the way you are, Kinley.”
“Oh, Jesus. Keep the sugar talk for when you’re alone, would you?” Finn complained.
“No one invited you to eavesdrop on our conversation.”
“Dude, I’m right next to you. I can’t turn off my ears. And you can’t keep your voice low.”
“Fair enough,” I said. On a whim, I added, “Why didn’t those two ever date?”
He cocked a brow. “When did our brother ever date period? Obviously, he didn’t want to ruin the friendship.”
“Riiiiight,” Kinley said. She sounded as suspicious as I felt.
“What are you gossiping about?” Knox asked. “Not me, I hope.”
We all stopped talking at the same time and looked at him.
“Of course not,” Kinley replied.
Knox still looked at me and Finn suspiciously. He knew us better than that, but he didn’t say anything.
“Who wants seconds?” Amy asked.
“Don’t ask them that. There’s barely any left. I was going to eat the rest,” Knox replied. “It’s truly delicious.”
“I can give you the recipe.”
“Or better still, you can come by my house sometime and teach me how you do it.”
“I could. I haven’t been to that fancy new house of yours,” Amy replied.
“I’ll be more than happy to give you a tour. You’ll love it.”
There he was again, in her space. Why was I noticing details like this?
A second later, it dawned on me. Knox was different around her. That was why everything stood out to me.
Kinley winked at me. “Oh yeah. Things are definitely going to get interesting.”
Nah. I knew she meant well, but I also knew Knox. If he’d never asked her out before, he had a good reason. He wasn’t going to change his mind now. It just wasn’t his style. My brother was an eternal bachelor, and that was more than fine.
“Let’s get a group photo,” Mom said, “to celebrate that we’re all here together.”
“I’ll take it for you,” Amy said, immediately reaching for Mom’s phone.
“Nonsense, girl. You stay right there next to Knox. It’s good to have you here with the group. I’ll just take a selfie. Everyone get behind me.”
We did as she asked. It was no small feat to get all of us in the space behind her, especially with the boxes taking up most of the living room, but we managed to squeeze in. I was holding Kinley very close and whispered in her ear, “You’re fucking sexy.”
“Don’t be shameless, Wyatt,” she murmured.
“I can’t be otherwise, babe. Not when it comes to you.”
Finn groaned. Clearly I wasn’t keeping my voice low enough once again.
“Everyone smile at the phone,” Mom said, then took several pictures.
“We can even go to my house later today if you want,” I heard Knox whisper to Amy.
“No can do. I have a date,” she responded.
“With whom?”
I’d never heard Knox use that tone of voice. Interesting.
As if on cue, Kinley whispered so low I could barely hear her, “See? He sounded a little bit territorial.”
She was absolutely right. But I still didn’t think Knox would make a move on Amy.
“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” Amy said playfully as we all dispersed throughout the room.
I glanced at Knox. He narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything else even though he clearly wanted to. That was a first. Holding back was completely unlike him. He was full of surprises today, wasn’t he?
Who knew. Maybe Kinley was right after all. Time would tell.
A few minutes ago, I would have bet all my money that Knox wouldn’t pursue Amy.
But now, I wasn’t so sure.