Chapter 12 #2
“Damnit,” she said, flustered.
“It’s okay. You just weren’t holding on tight enough. Adjust your grip.” She flexed her fingers, grazing mine as I held the wood. “It’s all in the wrist. Hold the wood firmly and just guide the knife down. You want to clear out all of the blemishes and make it as smooth as you can.”
“All right. Keep it all in my wrist.”
I guided her hand again, making a flawless, clean stroke.
“That was perfect!” I told her.
“Well, I have a good instructor,” she laughed, pleased with herself.
The door to the shop opened and I leaped back. Way to play it cool, Knox.
Vince’s face appeared around the door. “Um,” he paused, looking between Birdie and me. “Mr. Lewellen said he saw Birdie in here looking for the bathroom.”
“Yeah,” she laughed, setting down the piece of wood and my knife. “I got lost trying to find the bathroom and found Knox’s man cave here instead. He was showing me how to carve.”
“Well, everyone is getting ready to leave. I thought you might want to say goodbye to Oliver.”
“Yes, definitely.” She smiled, turning to me. “Thanks for showing me around the shop, Knox.” She waved and followed Vince back into the art room.
Shit. I sat down, suddenly shaky and glad it had only been Vince who walked through that door.
After the day we’d had, I was happy to crack open a beer and toss the red squeaky ball across the living room, watching Eugene gleefully run to catch it.
I still needed to get a few things done around the grounds, though most of them would have to wait until morning.
Everything was covered in snow, as was typical this time of year, but we liked to make sure the many statues were cleared off so they didn’t break under the weight of the ice.
The walkways from the terrace to the gardens needed to be salted and cleared, and the heater for the front fountain was on the fritz.
I enjoyed working with my hands and appreciated that leading the grounds crew made it possible for me to live on the property. I knew in my heart that Isobel and Leroy would have let me live here regardless, but I hated taking handouts. Besides, I was able to do work I loved. It all worked out.
I headed into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich and feed Eugene. If I didn’t have his dinner out by six in the evening, he became insufferable with the whining and begging. There had even been a few times when the little shit stole my meal off the counter.
As I was digging in the fridge for some sliced ham and my favorite aged cheddar, I heard my phone chime from where it was charging in the living room.
I walked over to grab it, pushing down the anxiety I felt nearly every time my phone went off.
I knew from years of therapy that it was a lingering trauma response to losing my parents, though that knowledge didn’t erase the worry I felt about the people I loved, especially Oliver and the family.
I opened my phone to a text from Vince.
Vince
So about this afternoon…
What about it? Everything seemed fine.
I’m talking about when I walked in on you and B
I should have known something was up the moment he looked at me earlier.
Nothing happened, man. I was just showing her how to whittle.
A few moments passed, Vince’s typing bubble appearing and disappearing.
Vince
Look, I know she’s hot and you guys probably made out in the closet in NYC and I don’t blame you, but you told Ollie there wasn’t anything between you two. Think about what the press would say if they caught wind of you hooking up with one of the women
There isn’t anything going on.
I rolled my eyes, aggressively slathering mustard on a piece of bread. Like I needed a reminder that Birdie was here for Oliver and not me. I was annoyed that Vince would even think I would do anything to cause a stir in the press or hurt Oliver. My phone chimed again.
Vince
OK. Just make sure nothing else happens. It’s not just you guys that would get the shit end of the deal. My family would too, you know?
My temper flared. This entire conversation was bullshit. I knew exactly what it would cost everyone if I had feelings for Birdie. I had spent the entire day thinking about what it would cost everyone.
I KNOW!
I threw the dirty knife into the sink, and it landed with a loud bang, causing Eugene’s head to jolt up from his bowl, cocking worriedly to the side. He wasn’t used to this kind of anger from me, but Vince’s words had really struck a chord. I had to get out of the house and work this energy out.
I grabbed my coat and slid on my work boots. Eugene loped up, eyes pleading to tag along.
“Of course you can come.”
He answered me with a bark as his tail thudded happily against the kitchen island.
The steps leading to the service entrance at the back of the palace were a bit icy. As soon as I got through the door, I checked the list of tasks, mentally adding salting the steps to the top of the it. Having someone slip down those was the last thing I wanted.
I grabbed the large bag of de-icing salt and took care of the steps.
Once that was done, I flipped through the clipboard with the work orders, looking for a smaller project that could be completed tonight.
Spotting an order that had come in earlier this afternoon for Rosalind’s room, I fetched my toolbox and headed upstairs.
The palace was quiet. I figured that everyone was probably finishing up dinner or already in their suites for the evening, given the busy day. If it weren’t for my agitation and need to fix something, I would probably have been in bed watching a movie.
Eugene padded behind me up the back stairwell. No one minded if I used the ornate staircase by the palace entry, but I tried to avoid it when both Eugene and I were tracking in snow and salt. No need to give anyone extra work cleaning up our footprints in the morning.
At the top of the stairs, we entered a corridor filled with doors to everyone’s offices.
Isobel had begged and pleaded with me to take one of them, but I refused every time she mentioned it.
There was no reason for me to take a royal office when I had a perfectly good desk downstairs in the basement.
The door to Leroy’s office was cracked open and I spotted a head of copper hair. Eugene and I approached to find Xavier examining the bookcase, running his fingers along the spines of the books.
I was surprised to see him in the palace at all after his absence today, much less in his father’s office. Leroy typically didn’t like anyone to be in there alone.
“Hey,” I said, trying not to startle him.
“Oh—hey, Knox.” He turned and gave me a nod. “I’m just looking for something. What are you doing here?”
I held up the pink slip with the work order on it. “Headed to Rosie’s room.”
Xavier nodded approvingly, then shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders bowing inward. “I was just looking for something. Father said I could come look through his books to find any answers.”
I made it a rule to stay out of other people’s business, but I couldn’t help but examine Xavier closely as he spoke. He had been acting strangely since his abdication. Even now, there were dark circles under his eyes, and his worried posture was a change from his normal ramrod-straight back.
“Okay. Well, I need to go finish this work order.” I turned to leave.
“And I think I found what I needed. See you later.”
I paused, knowing I was about to overstep but deciding I didn’t care. “Hey, Xavier, where were you today?”
Xavier’s eyes shot to me, guilt plastered on his face. “I had some unexpected business to take care of. Took quite a bit longer than I thought.”
“You couldn’t have texted to let anyone know?” I asked, accusation creeping into my voice.
His eyes narrowed. “You sound like Mother.”
I gentled my tone. “Oliver was upset.”
Xavier let out a breath and ran his hands through his hair. “Look, I know Oliver is pissed that I abdicated. I figured he wouldn’t care whether I was here or not.”
“You’re still his brother. Even if he’s mad, he wants your support. He’s doing this for everyone, not just himself.”
“I’ll make sure I’m there for the next event.” A few seconds passed. “Thanks for watching out for him, Knox. You’re a better brother than I am.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes. It is.”
I didn’t know what to say. I had grown up with Xavier—shit, I had idolized him when we were kids. I knew how much he loved his family, but these last few months had shown a different side of him. He was emotionally and physically absent in a way he’d never been before.
“Well, I should be going. I’ll see you around,” Xavier said, stepping past me to exit the office, stopping to give Eugene a scratch behind the ear as he closed the door.
“See you later, man,” I said.
Eugene and I continued our way down the hall and up one more flight of stairs to the royal suites. We approached Rosalind’s room, the farthest door on the left, and I knocked three times.
“Come in,” she answered softly.
I opened the door, and Eugene barreled past me, nearly knocking me over. Rosie was sitting in an overstuffed armchair with her back to the door, a book in hand. Eugene wasted no time jumping up onto the chair and licking her hands.
“Hi, Eugene!” Rosie exclaimed gleefully. She had adored Eugene from the time he was a puppy. “What are you doing here?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at me.
“Hey, squirt. I got a work order for your room. Mind if I fix it now?”
“I don’t mind. The drawer to my desk is stuck and my toilet is making a funny noise.”
“Did you clog it up with your big ol’ dookies again?”
“Knox!” she squealed. “You know it was Princess Catherine who clogged my toilet when she visited!”
I roared with laughter. I knew it hadn’t been Rosie, but Oliver and I were forever teasing her about it.
Princess Catherine had clogged the toilet so badly that it flooded the entire bathroom and ruined the ceiling of the floor below.
Catherine was so embarrassed that Rosie took the blame, but after endless amounts of teasing from Oliver and me, Rosie finally confessed that it was Catherine.
It was one of the realities of living with royals that no one wanted to talk about: Everybody shits.
“Sure it was,” I winked.
“Ugh, I should never have taken the blame for her. Brothers are the worst,” Rosie muttered under her breath.
I chuckled, my heart warming that she included me when she talked about her brothers. She had a sweet and generous spirit that made everyone adore her, and it was an honor to be one of her big brothers.
“What are you reading?” I asked as I strode to her writing desk.
“Treasure Island.” She held the book up to show me the cover. “Father said I should read the ‘classics’ and that there is some good stuff to learn from this, but I’m not getting it.”
I jiggled the drawer. It didn’t budge. “You’re telling me that you don’t like a story filled with pirates and treasure and adventure?”
Rosalind, in all her preteen wonder, rolled her eyes and slammed the book shut. She walked over to watch me work.
Moving to the floor, I looked underneath the desk to investigate and spotted something sticking out from the back of the drawer. There was just enough space to use my finger to push it back, releasing the drawer.
“I see the problem,” I said, holding up the wooden dolphin I had carved for Rosie about five years before.
“Oh no! Is it broken or anything?” She took the dolphin from my hand, giving it a careful once-over.
“No, I think it’s okay. Its nose got caught at the back of the drawer,” I answered. “Why is it in the drawer and not in the curio cabinet?”
“Well…” She blushed, looking at me and then at the wooden dolphin in her hand.
“I know you made it for my collection, but when I heard that Oliver was getting married, I decided to give it to my new sister since dolphins represent friendship and loyalty. Sort of like a welcome-to-the-family gift. I put it in the drawer so nothing would happen to it.” She wrapped her fingers around the small figurine.
My heart squeezed at her words. Rosalind had always wanted a sister. From the time she was a tiny girl, she would take turns asking Oliver and me when one of us was going to get married, because she wanted a sister and to have more girls around.
“That’s really sweet, Rosie. I think your future sister-in-law will love it.” I smiled.
“As long as it’s not that bitch Renata, I’ll be happy.”
“Rosie!” I exclaimed, surprised. I had never heard her swear before.
“What?! She is, and you know it.”
All I could do was laugh. She wasn’t wrong, although I was surprised she had picked up on just how bad Renata was. I wondered how much this little girl, with one foot in childhood and the other in adolescence, really observed when the rest of us thought she wasn’t watching.
After fixing her toilet, which turned out to be a loose valve, I checked my watch. Time to head home.
“All right, squirt. I think I fixed everything. Don’t clog any more toilets for a few more weeks, okay?”
A low huff came from the overstuffed chair.
“Let’s go home, Eugene,” I called from the door.
“He told me he wants to stay here tonight,” Rosie answered from under the dog.
“Oh, he did, huh?”
She burrowed her head into his neck and scratched his ears. Eugene let out a loud, satisfied sigh. They were insufferably cute.
“Fine. Steal my dog for the night. I’ll get him at breakfast.”