Chapter 15 #2
Carson sighs and rubs his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “Like I said, feral.”
Knox opens the screen door. “Sorry, I wasn’t sure what door to come to and I heard voices.”
Pushing off the counter, Carson replies. “You’re good, come on in. Just leave the door open in case Jessie needs out. She isn’t quite house broken.”
Chet smothers his laugh behind his hand, but I don’t attempt to smother mine.
“Me?! That’s rich coming from you. I remember your thirty-third birthday when you—”
“Steaks are on,” my dad announces, cutting Jessie off.
Thank god, because I also remember Carson’s thirty-third birthday.
“Knox, how do you want your steak cooked? I know how the rest of you kids like it.”
“Well done, please,” is his quick reply.
The entire kitchen goes silent. I’m pretty sure Rein just whimpered from outside. It is so quiet for so long, I can hear the wind outside in the trees and—yep, that’s a cricket.
“I’m messing with you. Rare to medium rare, please.” Knox finally says with that same shit-eating grin.
Everyone talks at once.
“I was going to throw him out.”
“First the shirt, and now the steak.”
“Who invited him?”
Dad laughs while he grabs two beers out of the fridge, handing one to Carson. “Anyone else want one? We have beer or whiskey.”
“Ooh, pour some whiskey in this coffee,” Jessie says before turning to Knox. “Hi Knox, nice to see you again. I heard you don’t handle the cold well.”
Dear lord. She is about as subtle as a foghorn. Why not just say, 'Hi Knox, Kacey texted me and told me she was drooling all over you today'?
Dad picks up the whiskey to hand it to her, but Carson intercepts him. “Oh no, this is the last thing she needs.”
Knox ignores Jessie and holds out his hand. “I think I might need it.” This makes my dad and Carson laugh. It looks like Knox will be able to handle Jessie just fine.
She frowns. “Rude. I just worked a thirteen-hour shift that included an old man running down the hallway butt ass naked screaming ‘the aliens are in the ocean!’ If anyone needs that, it’s me.”
Carson and Chet talk at the same time.
“You’re an alien from the ocean,” Carson grumbles, naturally.
Chet is dead serious when he says, “There are aliens in the ocean. I watched a Netflix documentary about it.”
We all look at Chet like he’s grown another head, except for Knox, who doesn’t seem bothered while pouring himself a drink.
This, Jessie notices. “Knox, you’re pretty quiet over there. You know something about the aliens?”
“Nope, only the same thing Chet knows. My traveling partner made me watch that documentary while we were on an all-night drive. Supposedly, we have their bodies and technology, but I don’t buy it considering Southeast Oklahoma still has no cell service.”
“I wonder if they’re hot.” Jessie tilts her head, pondering.
Dad looks at Carson and says, “You were right about the whiskey,” before walking outside to flip the steaks.
Jessie and I get the side dishes ready while the boys set the table and move everything into the dining room. When we all sit down to eat, I end up sitting next to Knox after Jessie practically threw me on the floor when I tried to sit by Carson.
We’ve all started to eat when he leans over and whispers, “Is this dinner better than last night’s?”
Ha, I knew he was jealous. “Oh, I don’t know, last night was pretty good,” I say nonchalantly.
“What was pretty good?” Carson asks from across the table.
“Her dinner last night,” Knox answers him before I can.
Jessie, who apparently has elephant ears at the other end of the table, chimes in, “Oh yeah, Gran makes the best chicken and noodles. Plus, she made us cookies to go.”
“Gran made cookies, and you didn’t bring me any?” Carson says with a frown.
“Gran?” Knox questions me with an eyebrow raised.
Shit. Busted.
Thankfully, my father, who is clueless to this conversation, interrupts. “The Smiths are hosting an open rodeo next week. They’re raising money for the local women’s shelter. I figured a few of us should enter. It’s for a good cause.”
I give my full attention to my dad, purposefully not making eye contact with Knox, but I can feel his eyes on me, and I know there is a smirk on his face.
Chet swallows. “I can calf rope. Carson, Kacey, you want an afternoon off to rope?”
“Yeah, we can do that,” Carson answers for us. He knows my answer will always be yes to a roping.
What I don’t expect is Knox. “It’s been a while, but I can team rope if I’ve got a partner. Cody?”
Chet glances at him, definitely not buying what he’s selling.
However, my dad is. “We could do that. I’m best on the heels, are you good with heading?”
“Yep, I’ll turn ‘em, you heel ‘em. We should probably practice before.”
Dad chuckles. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want to ruin your rodeo star cowboy reputation.”
Now that I think about it . . . “I’m pretty sure Lainey is serving coffee and pastries at the event, so at least we’ll have good snacks.”
Carson swallows his beer down the wrong pipe and starts coughing. He must have swallowed a lot, he’s practically choking.
Dad looks at him, concerned.
Jessie laughs. “You’re supposed to drink the beer, not inhale it.”
“Who’s Lainey?” Knox asks.
I’m still watching Carson choke when I reply, “She owns Plot Twist in town. She sells coffee, pastries, and books.”
“Oh that does sound good. Sounds like it will be a fun day.”
“Shirts are required, though,” Chet quips.
Knox smirks but doesn’t reply.
Jessie snorts. Literally snorts, like a pig. “You sure know how to suck the fun out of something, don’t you, Chester? Maybe I’ll take the day off and join. Mix things up a bit for you.”
He sighs. “Please don’t.”
But she most definitely does.