Chapter 14 #2
“Hi!” he greeted, his head of disheveled black hair going in every direction. “Can I play with you guys?”
“Of course. This is Hunter, and this is…I’m sorry, sweetie, I haven’t asked your name.”
“Her name is Belle. She’s my neighbor,” Archer answered.
“Oh. Well, cool. I’m Birdie.” I waved to Archer and Belle.
“Birdie. I love birds. Did you know that ninety percent of birds are monogamous but only three to five percent of mammals are monogamous and mate for life?”
“I had no idea.” I grinned at him, surprised to hear words like “monogamous” coming out of the mouth of a ten-year-old.
“Archer, are you bombarding your friends with random information again?” Knox had approached and was now standing over us, his hands in his pockets.
“I’m not bombarding, her name is Birdie, and it reminded me of a cool bird fact.”
“Hey, I would rather be given some cool facts than be debated with.” I winked at Archer. Knox’s face remained stony.
“Knox, sit down. We can build a cool racetrack!” Archer looked up at Knox as he sat down with us. “Did you know the first purpose-built motor racing track was built in Australia in 1905?”
“You know a lot of really fun things, Archer,” I said.
“I like to read and know stuff. Knox always brings me books when he comes over to my house.”
“That’s really kind of him.” I smiled at Knox, trying to make eye contact with him. The way he was still avoiding my gaze reminded me of how tense his body had been when he showed me how to carve at the woodshop. Does he not want me here?
Hunter leaped up, running to his mom as she arrived to pick him up.
I turned to Archer and Belle. “Are you kids excited for Christmas?”
“Not really. I get sad at Christmas,” Archer answered, stacking another block around the makeshift racetrack he and Knox were working on.
“What makes Christmas sad?”
“I just really miss my mom and wish she could be with me at Christmas.”
My heart cracked open. “I feel the exact same way,” I said softly. I thought about all the Christmases I had spent without my mom and how much harder it must be for Archer, knowing his mom was out there and he just couldn’t be with her.
“My dad won’t be home for Christmas, and it makes me sad, too,” said a quiet voice beside me.
I looked at Belle, shocked that the girl who had yet to say a word had shared this small piece of information.
“At least your dad is doing something really cool,” Archer said. Belle’s face fell.
“Archer,” Knox cautioned sternly. “That was rude.”
“I didn’t mean to be rude! I just meant her dad has a neat job in the Royal Army.”
“You may think that, but it’s not cool that Belle doesn’t have her dad home for Christmas,” Knox reminded Archer firmly, but kindly.
Archer looked down at a red block as he turned it over and over in his hand. “I’m sorry, Belle. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m sorry your dad won’t be home for Christmas.”
“It’s okay, Archer,” Belle said, offering another block for the racetrack.
My heart melted watching Knox stand up for Belle and validate her feelings. “You know what I do to feel closer to my mom at Christmas?” I asked the kids, sneaking a glance toward Knox. I supposed he felt the same way as the kids and me since losing his own parents. “I make my mom’s favorite foods.”
“Oh!” Archer exclaimed. “My aunt said that my mom ate pickles on everything when she was pregnant with me. One night she found her in the kitchen eating them dipped in ice cream.” He scrunched up his face in disgust.
“Ewww,” Belle giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.
“I know! I don’t think I could eat that,” Archer laughed, shaking his head vigorously.
“Well, maybe you could make something with pickles and ice cream separately,” I suggested, suppressing a laugh.
“Your aunt makes a really good toffee ice cream, right?” Knox put his hand on Archer’s shoulder.
“Oh, yeah! It’s my favorite!”
“She brought us a container of it when my dad left,” Belle smiled. “It was so good.”
“I can bring over some pickles and we can make a meat and cheese tray. And for dessert we can have some of your aunt’s toffee ice cream. How’s that sound?” Knox asked, squeezing Archer’s shoulder.
“That sounds great! What were your parents’ favorite foods, Knox?”
I looked to Knox, wondering if Archer’s question had thrown him off. But all I saw on his face was quiet contemplation, like he was really trying to think.
“My dad loved bratwursts and sauerkraut, and my mom loved anything lemon. My parents grew to be good friends with King Leroy and Queen Isobel after Oliver and I became best mates, and the queen would make Mom these little lemon cakes every year on her birthday.” He smiled softly to himself, lost in his memory.
“You should bring those over, too! Do you think Queen Isobel would make them for us?”
Knox smiled ear to ear. “Yeah, I think she would.”
“Wow! Homemade treats from the queen,” Belle murmured, doe-eyed.
I loved the adoration and magic in her eyes. It made me wonder if the wife Oliver chose would have this effect on the country’s children. To spread that kind of magic was something special.
“Birdie,” Knox said, finally acknowledging me directly, “what food do you eat for your mom?”
He held my gaze, making my heart flutter and my palms sweat. I wasn’t sure if it was the look in his eyes or the unknowingly intimate question he had asked, but I was surprised to find myself so willing to answer.
“White-chocolate-covered Oreos,” I replied, holding his gaze. “She would buy a dozen boxes and hide them from us.”
The children’s laughter broke Knox’s and my gaze, but it didn’t stop the butterflies that were taking flight in my stomach. I had to get this under control. The lust I felt for this man was starting to get out of hand.
“Hey, Belle.” A girl in her teens walked up to our group.
“Sadie!” Belle jumped up and hugged her.
“Hi, Archer,” Sadie greeted.
“Hi, Sadie!” Archer smiled and went back to work building his block racetrack.
“Belle, Mom wanted me to come get you. They’re packing more food pantry boxes, and she said you wanted to help with that.”
“I do!” Belle smiled.
Realizing that the room was now nearly empty, I turned to Sadie. “Could I come with you? I’d love to help pack some boxes and see more of the school.”
“Of course! We could use all the help we can get,” Sadie replied enthusiastically.
“Knox, do you mind letting Vince and Mrs. Sallow know where I went?”
“No problem. Have fun,” he said, smiling at me for the first time in days.
The two girls and I walked through the hallways to a large gymnasium.
There were a few dozen volunteers, including Tej and Chauncey, carrying bags and baskets of clothes to tables set up along one wall.
A few other volunteers sat next to a table covered in canned goods and boxes of nonperishables with bags in hand for the shoppers.
It warmed my heart to see so many people serving the community. And better yet, everyone had a smile on their face, and the chatter was loud throughout the room as people talked and laughed together.
Sadie and Belle walked over to a woman filling a cardboard box with food.
“Hi, Mummy!” Belle said, wrapping her arms tightly around the woman’s waist.
“Hey, Bells. Want to help me finish packing this box?” She looked up and saw me standing behind the girls.
“Hi. I’m Birdie. I was hoping to help you guys.”
“Freya.” She offered her hand and shook mine. “Are you one of the royal suitors here helping with the event?”
“I am. How did you know?”
She looked me up and down and a small quirk of a smile hit her lips.
I sighed. “I told Vince I was overdressed for this. But Lord Bronson insisted I dress to impress.”
“Honey, I would dress the same way if I were vying for the prince’s attention. I don’t blame you at all. The accent also gave you away, though,” she added with a wink.
I let out a self-conscious laugh. Sometimes I still forgot that here, Knox and I were considered the ones with the accents, rather than the other way around.
As we filled box after box with canned goods and nonperishable items, I let my thoughts drift to Oliver, trying to piece together what was missing in my feelings for him.
On paper, he was perfect: Handsome with his square jaw, clean-cut look, and top-notch fashion.
Loving and protective toward his family—certainly not the type to check out at the first sign of trouble.
Passionate about his country and how he could better serve his people.
Genuinely kind, thoughtful, and a great conversationalist.
So why wasn’t I more attracted to him? It was the question I couldn’t stop asking myself. Why did Knox make my heart race and my body shiver, but Oliver didn’t?
“Birdie, I’m so glad to see you helping the Carmichaels.”
Queen Isobel had approached the opposite side of the table. Her bright red hair was knotted on top of her head. She wore a chunky black turtleneck sweater paired with fitted black pants and caramel leather knee-high boots. She exuded elegance even in casual clothes.
“Your Majesty.” I bent into a curtsy.
“Oh, none of that here,” she said kindly, motioning me up. “Freya, how are you, darling?” Queen Isobel leaned forward to kiss Freya’s cheek. “Freya and I met at a function supporting military spouses a few years ago; I just adore her and her family,” the queen noted to me.
Freya’s face lit with gratitude. “Queen Isobel. It’s wonderful to see you here. We’re doing great.”
“Freya.” The queen gave her a knowing look. “How are you really?”
Freya looked down at her hands, her fingers twined together anxiously.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, lowering her voice as she answered, “Honestly, my stomach is in constant knots. I haven’t heard from Dante in a few weeks and that always makes me worry.
These special missions are always the worst because they’re essentially no contact.
I’m not even sure when he’s going to be back, but it isn’t likely to be before Christmas.
It’s even harder on the girls because they always have questions and I don’t have answers.
And now with the holiday coming up and knowing he’s not going to be home…
” She cut off her sentence and looked at her girls, who were busy packing bags of toiletries at the far end of the table.
Her eyes misted over as she held back her tears.
Queen Isobel stepped around the table, wrapping Freya in a hug. She whispered something I couldn’t hear. Freya nodded as she withdrew from the hug.
“I know it doesn’t make up for the fact that Dante won’t be here, but I would love to have you to the palace for Christmas Eve dinner.”
“Oh, Your Majesty,” Freya said as a few tears slid down her face. “We can’t intrude, especially on the holiday.”
“You are not an intrusion. You will be a guest. Dante has done so much for this country and my husband. I want to take care of his family in return. Please, come.”
“Mum! You can’t say no to the queen!” Belle’s voice piped up, intruding on their conversation.
“My point exactly.” Queen Isobel winked at her.
“Okay then.” Freya nodded to the queen, gratitude pouring from her face.
“I’ll have my assistant get in contact with you to set up a time and find out what types of foods the girls like.”
“We have to have salted sunflower seeds!” Belle interjected.
“What? Why?” Freya questioned, her cheeks reddening at her daughter’s odd request.
“That’s Daddy's favorite thing to eat! He eats them all the time when he’s home. And Birdie said when she misses her mom at Christmas, she eats her mom’s favorite food to remember her. So, we have to have sunflower seeds!”
I looked up from the box I was packing. The queen glanced over to me, her eyes full of emotion.
It was clear she was grateful that I had tried to help Belle with her dad being gone, but I knew the look of pity just behind the gratitude.
It was the look that people gave you when they found out you had lost a parent far too young. I hated it.
“Belle, the only reason Dad eats sunflower seeds when he’s home is because it helps his anxiety to crack them open and not think about the stuff he does. It’s a distraction for him to keep his mind busy.” Sadie rolled her eyes at her little sister.
“Sadie.” Freya's tone was sharp and reprimanding.
“What? It’s true.”
“We’ve talked about this.”
“Sorry.” Sadie rolled her eyes again. Ah, to be a teenager again.
Queen Isobel stooped down to meet Belle’s eyes. “Belle, I will make sure that we have a bowl of salted sunflower seeds so we can all enjoy them and think of your dad.”
Belle smiled from ear to ear. I could only imagine Queen Isobel or Queen Mother Evelyn cracking open sunflower seeds in their formal attire at the palace’s large dining table. It took everything in me not to chuckle at the thought.