Chapter Chapter Eight
Knox
On Friday afternoon, I was in a very good mood.
This week has been spectacular. Despite the accident, I was feeling top-notch—even my bruises were fading.
And I’d kissed Amy. This has been a much more entertaining week than I thought it would be.
To top it off, I was going to spend the evening with Jeremy—I’d missed one-on-one time with him.
Chase, Duncan, and Wyatt were in the meeting room when I stepped in. Finn arrived as I sat down. Griffin couldn’t make it.
As Chase cleared his throat, I also realized that Duncan and Wyatt were looking at me.
“What?” I asked, and Chase shrugged.
“Nothing. We just weren’t expecting to have you back here so fast.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did none of you hear the doctor say I only needed to rest a few days because of the concussion? So long as I don’t have any lingering symptoms—and I don’t—I’m good to go.”
“You’re our brother,” Chase said. “When you’re in an accident, we’re going to worry about you. If it were any of us, you’d be worried too.”
He had a point.
“Well, I feel perfectly fine, so why don’t we get back to business? I spoke to Wyatt about this already, but I want to be more involved in the hotel side of the business.”
“Really? But your focus is on digital projects and coding,” Chase said.
“I know, but that’s running like a well-oiled machine. I’d like a bit of diversity too.”
“I always figured you would want to be more involved in the wine business,” Wyatt said.
It would have made sense for me to go that route. I’d been to Napa quite a few times before we decided to buy the vineyard. And I’d been involved in the initial negotiations regarding acquisition, branding, and so on.
“I have enough time on my hands, so I want to do something else for a change.”
“We’ll figure out the details later, but I’m eager to have you on board. Can you do next Thursday?” Wyatt asked.
“Can’t. I’m giving a speech at Amy’s school.”
“About what?” Finn asked.
“Well, actually, it’s not a speech, exactly. I’ll tell the students a bit about who I am and what I’m doing, like a career day or something like that.”
“You know, I always did think Amy was a good influence on you,” Wyatt said.
“I agree,” Duncan chimed in.
Chase frowned. “How come you remember Amy and I don’t?”
“I actually don’t remember her at all, but these two”—Duncan pointed to Wyatt and Finn—“kept me updated.”
I turned to Wyatt and Finn, who both gave me a grimace that looked a lot like Duncan’s.
“I feel like I’m missing out on something. You’ve been gossiping behind my back?”
“The point of gossip,” Finn said, “is that you always do it behind someone’s back. And yeah, obviously we have.”
“Why?”
“Before the accident, when Amy came to Mom’s house, you seemed interested in her,” Wyatt stated point-blank.
“She’s my friend.”
“More than a friend, obviously,” Wyatt said, in a way that implied he was seconds away from rolling his eyes.
I shrugged. “So what if I am?”
“What? No, come on. Mom cannot be right about this,” Finn said.
My eyes widened. “Wait, what did Mom say?”
“She thinks you and Amy really belong together, and if you pull your head out of your ass sometime soon, you’d see it.’ And she said that as soon as you’re done ‘whoring around,’ you’ll see that there’s more to this life than jumping from woman to woman.’”
For a split second, I thought he was making fun of me, but clearly not, based on everyone else’s stunned expressions.
“That’s what Mom thinks of me?” I asked.
“It’s true,” Wyatt pointed out.
“I know. It just sounds even more crass when Mom says it.”
“I agree. And she probably thinks that about all of us,” Finn went on. “When Amy came to see you at the hospital, and we all went out, Mom said, ‘Just you wait. He’ll see things differently now after the accident.’”
My first instinct was to contradict Finn, but Mom did have a point. As stupid as it sounded, that brief moment when I thought I was done for had impacted me.
“And Mom was right,” Finn said, correctly interpreting my expression. “Unbelievable.”
“Can we get back to the subject at hand?” I said. “I’ll let you know how it goes at the school, in case any of you want to do the same.”
“I ‘d like to,” Chase offered. “I always figured that young, impressionable minds could use success stories, especially coming directly from the source. You can find a lot of information online, but it’s different when someone talks about their trajectory in person.”
“I agree.”
“All right,” Chase said, clearing his throat. “We can bring you up-to-date on the comings and goings of Sterling Investments this week.”
“Not necessary. If something bad had happened in the stock market, I would have heard about it by now.”
Chase nodded. “That’s true.”
I looked at my brothers. “Anyone have ideas for new ventures?”
“Dude, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Finn said, “but I do think we have our hands full right now.”
“This is no fun,” I replied.
“Are you sure you’re not just having a weird energy surge after the crash?” Wyatt asked.
“Can you just let the accident go?” Calling it a “crash” made it sound far more serious.
“Duly noted,” Wyatt replied.
“Although I do plan to use it as an excuse to avoid Mom and Dad’s house for a while,” Finn said. “I keep telling Mom that I think their moving in together was bad luck for you.”
“What the hell?” Chase exclaimed.
“Come on. No one thinks it’s weird that our parents are back together?”
“Of course we all do,” Chase said. “But it’s their relationship, their life. They don’t owe us any explanations.”
“And we are definitely not going to make excuses to avoid going by their house,” I told Finn.
He cocked a brow, and I shook my head. “All right, let’s focus. I asked you all to meet here for a brainstorming session, not a gossiping one.”
“Oh, it’s a cold day in hell when Knox tries to get us back on track,” Duncan said.
“Well, since we don’t want to branch out any further into new things, I suggest that during these brainstorming sessions, everyone comes up with their biggest issue, and we all chime in with suggestions on how to fix it. ”
“You’re a fucking genius!” I exclaimed.
Duncan winked at me. “I already knew that.”
“Always so humble,” Finn said.
“Never,” Duncan replied. “None of us are.”
I laughed. “That’s true.”
We had many qualities, but being humble wasn’t one of them.
“By the way, let’s move the meeting permanently to Friday,” Chase suggested. “Then we can discuss the problems that came up during the week.”
“Hear, hear,” Finn said.
We all immediately checked our calendars, booking a time slot for next week.
* * *
After we were done, Wyatt and I went to meet Kinley for lunch.
I’d been shell-shocked when they became an item.
Then again, I’d somehow been shell-shocked when every single one of my brothers got into a relationship.
For the longest time, we were all single.
Then more and more significant others started to join the family. But I kind of liked it.
We went to a kabob place in the Gaslamp Quarter, similar to the bar where I’d taken Amy. It was all outdoors, but instead of high-top tables, they had long wooden tables and benches. Not very comfortable to sit on, but the food was worth it.
“Knox, Wyatt tells me that you’re serious about working with us in the hotel business,” Kinley said. “I’ve already mapped out how we could divide tasks there.”
I’d always liked Kinley. She was sharp and someone who got things done. And she was perfect for Wyatt.
“I’m all ears.”
“I assume that you can come in for weekly meetings.”
I nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“You sure?” Wyatt asked. “Who knows what you and Amy are up to with your school presentations and all that.”
Kinley looked from Wyatt to me. “Amy with the delicious pie, Amy?”
“Yes,” Wyatt and I replied at the same time, and he grinned. “She’s convinced my brother to go to her school and tell the kids how great he is.”
“It’s a one-time thing for a career day,” I informed them. “And even if it were to become a more regular thing, it’s completely separate from work. I can make time for everything.”
That had always been my credo—whenever something was important, I made time for it. Family, working out, whatever it was. I called bullshit when someone used the “not having time” excuse.
“I think that’s amazing,” Kinley said. “When I was in school, I loved looking up to role models. Why are you giving him shit about this, Wyatt? Shame on you.”
“Yeah, why, Wyatt? I want to know.” It was fun to gang up on my brother, who so deserved it.
“I just think it’s a way for him to get into Amy’s pants,” Wyatt said just as the waiter came to the table, nearly dropping the plates.
“Thank you,” I said to him as he managed to set them down.
Kinley’s face was beet red as she murmured, “Wyatt, we’re in public.”
He winced. “Yeah, I forgot that.”
Kinley was now looking at me with narrowed eyes, obviously trying to figure out the situation. “Wait, aren’t you and Amy friends?”
“Yeah, we are. “
“So, does Wyatt have a point?”
I didn’t blame Kinley. My relationship with Amy was confusing me too.
“Stop, guys. That’s not why I’m doing this,” I told them as I took a bite of my kabob.
“See how he’s not denying the ‘getting in her pants’ part?” My brother smirked.
“Oh, Wyatt,” Kinley exclaimed. “Please stop repeating that out loud. Knox, why are you not chastising him?”
“Because he’s only making a fool of himself. Look, I don’t have a problem talking about this,” I went on, “but maybe not in public.”
Poor Kinley seemed a little panicked. The tables were so long that you were always sharing them with strangers. Granted, there were three seats between the group seated at the table and us, but I was sure they could hear us. After all, we could hear them.
“Let’s focus on the hotels now and iron out the details,” she suggested.
“Sure,” Wyatt said, but I knew he was only agreeing to appease her. He wasn’t done with me.
It didn’t take long to set up a meeting schedule, and we had a full list of to-dos by the time we finished dinner.
Wyatt grinned. “All right, now that we’ve got all the business stuff out of the way, why don’t we grab some drinks, and you can tell us why, after so many years, you’re finally making a move on Amy?”
“I’d love to do that, but I’m actually spending the evening with Jeremy.”
He cocked a brow. “What if the meeting had taken longer?”
I grinned. “Not with your woman. I know how efficient Kinley is. She doesn’t like to waste time.”
Kinley looked like she was about to burst with pride.
“Thanks to both of you for meeting me, but I’ve got to run.”
After I left them, I headed over to Jeremy’s school to pick him up.
I kept thinking about my speech next week.
I wasn’t going to prepare a presentation or anything like that; I’d just freestyle it and see how the kids reacted, then adapt as needed.
I’d leave time for questions, too, since kids were always curious about things.
The most important thing was not to bore them.
Jeremy was at the gate when I got there. Every Friday, he had band practice that went until 6:00 p.m. He pointed toward me, and the security guard nodded, probably recognizing the license plate number. The school kept a tight list of who could pick kids up.
Jeremy darted toward the car, opening the door and sliding in. “What are we doing today, Uncle Knox?”
“What if we go to the beach and see if we can join a team to play basketball again?”
“Yes, I loved it last time.”
Once he was settled and buckled in, I headed toward the beach. He talked my ear off until we arrived, excited about the possibility of basketball, but no one was playing.
“Where is everybody?” Jeremy asked.
“Good question.”
“So, what are we doing now?”
“Want to grab dinner?” I asked, even though I wasn’t hungry.
“Yes, let’s have dinner! We can eat like hobbits.”
“You got it.” He was going through a Lord of the Rings phase now.
I found a nearby restaurant boasting of serving the best steak and fries in the area—a combo both Jeremy and I loved and could possibly qualify as hobbit food.
Ten minutes later, we were sitting down, waiting for our order.
Jeremy was still studying the menu, already thinking about dessert, when my phone beeped with a message from Amy.
Amy: Turns out a few hours of doing nothing was exactly what I needed. I feel fresh. Still want help prepping?
Oh yeah. I wanted to burst into her house and tell her exactly how much help I needed. But I knew deep down that it was a shit idea. I’d have to kiss her again, at the very least, and who knew what would happen then.
Damn it. Why did I suddenly have so much trouble behaving around Amy?
I might as well just accept that fact instead of questioning it and then act accordingly. Meaning I wasn’t going to see Amy until Thursday.
I snapped a photo of Jeremy and me and sent it to her. Jeremy gave the camera a full-on grin.
I loved this kid. He’d always been easygoing and happy, but since Riley had come into their lives, he was even happier. Duncan too.
I sent Amy a few selfies of us.
Knox: Can’t. I’m entertaining this little one.
She replied seconds later.
Amy: He’s adorable. Oh my God, he’s grown so much since I last saw him.
Amy: Have fun! I’ll grade some papers. I’m in the mood for something delicious, but don’t know what.
Knox: Give me your exact address. I can’t find it in my GPS memory.
Amy: Why?
Knox: I’ll send you dinner.
Amy: Knox, you don’t have to do that.
Knox: I want you to have a great Friday evening, and I know exactly what you’d love.
Amy: Is that so?
Knox: Fuck yes.
The next reply was with her address.
“Uncle Knox, aren’t you eating?” Jeremy asked. I hadn’t even realized that our food was on the table already.
“Just a second. I want to send this very important message.”
“Okay.”
I knew for a fact that ramen noodles were her comfort food. Not the broke-student type of ramen—I mean the delicious stuff that was popular in Japan. We’d had a boom of ramen places in San Diego over the past few years, and one of my favorites happened to deliver to Amy’s area.
I placed an order and then put my phone in my pocket.
“This looks delicious,” I said.
“It is!” Jeremy agreed while chewing. He’d already stuffed himself with fries.
When we were nearly done eating, Amy sent me a picture of the ramen bowl.
Amy: Holy shit, what a surprise. This took me right back to college. Though obviously this one is much, much better. You just made my Friday.
That was exactly what I’d wanted. I could just imagine her savoring it and then maybe pouring herself a glass of wine before grading papers. Was she wearing any clothes?
Wow, why had my mind gone straight there?
I almost texted to tell her I could swing by her house after dropping Jeremy off, but I thought better of it. I was going to see Amy soon enough. Tonight, it was just me and my nephew.