Chapter 27
Quincy
Piper and Jewel and several of our friends were hitting the Fly tonight and had invited me since I had the night off. I’d shocked them and myself by saying no. A month ago, I would’ve joined them in an instant, but tonight getting prettied up and being social for hours on end didn’t appeal.
I’d just finished feeding Juniper her early dinner when Knox came out to the kitchen grinning.
“Well?” I asked as I wiped baby carrots from Juniper’s face and hands. “How does it look?”
“It’s perfect. Even better than I was hoping for.”
“Will you show me?”
“I’d love to. It’s incredible, Quince.” His voice was chock-full of the most endearing little-boy enthusiasm.
I finished cleaning the messy princess, then lifted her out of the high chair.
“You’re about done with June Bug duty,” Knox said. “I can take her.”
“As if this is any hardship,” I said, kissing the baby’s rosy cheek. “You’re much more than just a ‘duty’ to me, aren’t you, sweet pea?”
Juniper patted my shoulder and voiced her opinion in baby babble as I followed Knox to his office.
The bookshelf he’d waited weeks for had finally been delivered an hour ago. It’d been crated up tight, so I hadn’t even caught a glimpse as he and the delivery guy had moved it in.
As I followed him into his work haven, I gasped. “It’s a work of art, Knox.”
On the wall opposite his desk stood a tall bookcase made of a dark wood with a gorgeous grain to it.
The showpiece part of it though, and the reason it’d taken more than a month to arrive, was a hand-carved dragon out of the same wood that crouched along the top, his head dipping down on the right side as if to guard his books, and his long, glorious tail trailing down the left outer side of the bookcase almost to the floor.
Built-in, blue-green lighting under the shelves added to the fantasy-novel aura of it.
I walked over to it, my mouth gaping. When I glanced at Knox, he was smiling hard, his eyes lit up.
“Wow,” I said.
“I know. It’s incredible. Better than I ever imagined. So much more so than the photos on the website could convey.” He shook his head. “It’s perfect. I can’t wait to get my special books unpacked in their new home.”
“Want some help?”
“Really? You want to pull dusty books out of boxes with me?”
“I’d love to.” I wasn’t much of a book person, but I was totally becoming a Knox person, and I loved seeing him so happy.
“Don’t you have plans with the girls?”
“I told them no, so”—I shrugged—“I’m all yours.” I kept my tone light and held my empty hand out to the side, offering myself up.
His brows shot up. “That’s a heck of an offer.”
“I know,” I said, grinning. “I don’t make it to just anyone.”
“I was planning to wait till after June Bug went to bed so I could focus on the task.”
“We can bring the playpen in and start right away. I know you’re dying to.”
“I might be dying to. The boxes are here in the closet. I’ll treat you to pizza delivery afterward.”
While he pulled multiple book boxes from the closet, I brought the playpen from the living room to the office.
Knox relieved me of the playpen and set it up out of the way, though with so many boxes of books, we were running out of space.
I set Juniper inside, then went to gather some board books and toys for her.
When I returned, she was on her knees, peering out at Knox as he cut the tape on the first box.
“She wants to get her hands on Daddy’s books,” I said.
“Someday I’ll introduce you to them, June Bug, but not today.” He pulled the flaps of the box open and removed the top books. I heard him sigh in contentment.
“These are your first babies, huh?” I asked.
Knox frowned. “Two months ago, I would’ve said yes, but now…” He looked at Juniper, love in his eyes. “There’s no comparison. These are just books. Special books. Damn good books. But just books.”
“With a bad-ass custom bookcase to call home,” I said.
“And a dragon to watch over them,” Knox said, glancing at the carving with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Just like Juniper has you. Speaking of, any luck tracking down Juniper’s mom?”
He scoffed. “She doesn’t want to be found. Once I have paperwork drawn up, I’ll hire a PI to get her to sign away her rights.”
“Do you think she will?”
“Her disappearing act says it all.”
Nodding, I sat next to him on the floor, peering down at his prized possessions. “So these are the good ones, huh?”
He took out a hardcover. “This is the first epic fantasy I ever read. My seventh grade English teacher, Mr. Crandenberry, recommended it. I’d never read anything like it.
He started feeding me fantasy recommendations, and later some hard-core sci fi, and I never looked back.
I’d stay after class to talk books with Mr. C. ”
I could so totally imagine thirteen-year-old Knox falling in love with these books with the moody, beautifully illustrated covers. The dust jackets were nearly pristine even though the books were clearly old and well loved. “I bet you were teacher’s pet.”
Knox took three more of the thick hardcovers and shelved them on the bottom row. “He was a mentor to me, almost like a father figure. Would you believe I still went to see him when I was in high school?”
“Yes,” I said, laughing. “Easily. I’m glad you had someone like that in your life. My favorite teacher ever was Mrs. Tolbert. Third grade. She picked the best books to read out loud.”
“Mr. Dawson wasn’t your favorite, huh?” Knox asked, his tone teasing.
“Mr. Dawson,” I said with a sigh. “A lot of girls had a crush on him.”
“Should I be jealous?”
I tilted my head, shooting him a flirty look. “Nah. Math is a total turn-off. I hated trig with the heat of a thousand suns.”
“He had nice things to say about you at one of our dad nights.”
I went on alert. “You guys were talking about me? At this super-exclusive single dad party?”
“Only in terms of nannying and teaching. They all agreed you’ll be a hell of a teacher.”
“Oh. That’s nice of them.” I wasn’t quite used to people praising my plans, mainly because I hadn’t had any for so long.
“They were sincere. Both Max and Chance seem to know you pretty well.”
“I’m sure they think they do. That’s life in a small town when you’ve lived here your whole life.”
“Or had your personal business posted all over the town app,” he said good-naturedly. “It still pulls me up short when I meet someone and they know all about me and my daughter and half my life story.”
“You’ll get used to it fast. How about I take the books out and hand them to you and you can put them where you want them.”
I handed him another four books after looking at the titles. All four of these had different authors, but each one had at least one dragon on the cover. “I’m starting to see where the dragon thing came from.”
As Knox took the stack from me, his phone sounded with a message. He took it out of his pocket, read the screen, and frowned.
“Everything okay?” I asked, digging another three heavy books out.
“I’m not sure.” He typed something in and waited, staring at his phone. “It’s Cash.”
“Texting you?”
He nodded, his forehead creased with concern. When another message came through, Knox stood. “Ava’s upset. Something to do with writing, and Cash has to run to Henry’s because Zinnia cut her finger badly enough she’s going in for stitches.”
“Right at dinnertime,” I said.
“He wants to know if I can come talk to Ava, see if I can calm her down.”
“Okay,” I said, also standing. “He reached out to you, Knox. Progress?”
“Maybe.” He typed again, then stuck his phone back in his pocket, then stopped short. “You have tonight off. I can take June Bug with me.”
“I told you I’m staying in. I’m happy to take care of her while you’re gone. Take your time.”
He studied me for a second, then nodded. Flashed a hint of a smile, closed the space between us, and kissed my forehead. “Thank you, Quincy.”
“Of course. We can tackle the rest of the books when you get back.”
“There’s no rush. If you get too hungry, order pizza without me. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
He kissed me again, this time on the lips, and then hurried out. It was only a short kiss, but it warmed me to my toes. He warmed me to my toes.
I went over to pick up Juniper and heard the front door shut.
“It’s just you and me, sweet pea.” I lifted her over my head, her eyes going big and that smile I loved popping up on her face.
I perched her on my hip, went over to the half-full bookcase, and ran my fingers up a few of the thick spines.
Now that several of the boxes were unpacked, the room somehow smelled even more like Knox. I breathed it in.
“You are one lucky baby girl,” I told June. “Your daddy is a special one.”
Juniper stared at me as if she was puzzling out what I said, and then she giggled and grasped on to my shirt with her fist. She rested her darling head on my shoulder.
I breathed in and closed my eyes, taking a moment to appreciate where I was, how I was feeling. Content. Comfortable in a way I hadn’t felt for…years? Ever? Maybe not since before my mom died.
My heart felt at home here, with this man and his daughter.
Knox was so quietly caring and compassionate.
He’d been counting down the days until his custom-made shelf showed up and been like a kid opening birthday presents with every book we unpacked, but when Cash texted him, when Ava needed help, he’d never once hesitated.
Just like he hadn’t truly hesitated when Juniper came into his life. He might not have admitted it to himself in the first couple of hours, but he’d accepted responsibility for this child almost immediately, long before knowing she was his. His heart was big, soft…irresistible.
Then it hit me like a rock crashing through a window—I’d fallen for Knox.
I was in love with him.
How could I not be, between that loving heart of his, the kind, intelligent, unselfish person he was, and the way he worshipped my body at night?
I. Loved. Knox.
My heart raced out of control with the realization and, grasping to Juniper, I caught my breath, leaned against the wall next to the shelf.
Because loving him wasn’t okay. It was never part of the plan. And that was a giant problem.