Chapter Eight
G
The sun’s setting when we pull into the parking lot which is a blessing considering how hot it’s been the last couple of days.
Hearing Knox sigh for the twentieth time since we left his house, I look over, and sure enough, his jaw is still set.
He’s been quiet the entire drive here, with the exception of those harsh sighs slipping past his lips.
It’s really starting to drive me crazy. I know he’s beyond pissed, but keeping things to himself isn’t going to make anything better.
He needs to get the stuff brewing in his mind off his chest and it’s on the tip of my tongue to start prying, but whatever’s going on with his ex-wife is big and I’m not sure it’s something he wants me to get involved in.
Exhaling heavily, I turn back to the window and look around the lot as Knox pulls into a spot close to the door. Surprisingly, we seem to be the only ones here.
“Kinda odd, right?” I ask, waving my hand at the empty lot as I round the hood.
Knox scans the lot as his arm wraps around my shoulders. “Maybe, but they’re doing road work on Cedar.” He nods to the entrance at the other end of the parking lot and sure enough, it’s blocked and there’s roadwork on the other side.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
As Knox ushers us through the automatic door, I get an eerie feeling, like we’re being watched. I glance over my shoulder out of habit, but there’s nobody there.
“You okay?” Knox asks, looking behind us.
I force a smile when I look up, not wanting to add to his worries and nod. “Yeah. I’m good.”
When I spot the cart return, I duck out from under his arm and attempt to wrestle one free. Gritting my teeth, I grip the handle tight and brace my foot onto the structure, using all of my body weight. “Come! On!”
“What are you doing?” Knox laughs, grabbing me around the waist. Without breaking a sweat, he lifts me out of the way and effortlessly pulls a cart from the line.
“Show off,” I mumble under my breath.
He smiles down at me and shakes his head, letting me know he heard exactly what I said. He thinks he’s cute and damnit he is.
Rolling my eyes, I bump him with my hip and motion for him to move over. “I can handle it from here.”
“Alright. Alright.” He chuckles, raising his hands in surrender as he steps aside.
Smart man.
“Your cabinets and fridge were bare when I peeked inside.” He lifts his brow, unsure what I was getting at.
I bite my lip, wondering if I should explain or let him slowly adjust to how much shit I throw in the cart as we make our way through the store. Probably best to warn him. “If we’re lucky, we won’t end up having to get a second cart for everything you’re going to need.”
His brows furrow as he processes what I’ve just said. Oh yeah, this is going to be fun. I throw him a wink and aim my cart toward the produce section.
“G! Wait up. Exactly how much shit do you plan on getting?”
“You have three growing boys. Their mother dropped them on your doorstep with luggage, Knox. You don’t have to tell me what’s going on, but it’s not hard to put the pieces together.
She dropped them off with plans of them staying awhile.
So… You need food in the house, babe.” My eyes shoot up to his when the endearment slips out.
Babe? I don’t even know where that came from. Sure, it’s not uncommon for me to call one of the guys sweetheart, but babe? And telling him what to do in his own home? Jesus. I’m not his wife or the boy’s mom.
I need to stop; I’m getting too comfortable, and like everything else in my life, it will bite me in the ass if I’m not careful.
Just as I open my mouth to… I don’t know, apologize? Stick my foot deeper into my mouth? — something… Knox’s hand shoots out, wraps around the back of my neck, and yanks me against his chest.
“Okay, baby. I need food in the house. Now get your sexy little ass moving, and let’s fill this fucker up.”
“Wha … what?” I stammer.
“Didn’t stutter, baby.”
“Knox,” I whisper, ducking my head to escape the intensity staring down at me.
“Fucking, adorable.” Taking pity, he lifts my face to his and nods to my abandoned cart.
Right. Food.
By the time we get to the last aisle, the cart is on the verge of spilling over onto the floor. Knox keeps side eying it and me like he wants to say something, but must think better of it.
As I reach in and grab a gallon of milk, I stall. Knox has a house full of growing boys. “Is one enough?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder and looking Knox up and down. He’s a big guy, and come to think about it, Braydon and the twins are big for their age, too.
“Just grab it,” Knox finally says. Shrugging my shoulders, I do as he says.
“Hey, Knox. Can you run back to the produce section and grab a salad mix?”
“G, we don’t need any more shit.” He looks from the overflowing cart and then back at me.
“You have three growing boys, Knox. They need to eat more than just processed garbage.”
“Baby—” he starts, but I quickly cut him off.
“Please.”
“Fine.” Lips twitching, he turns on his booted feet and goes to do my bidding.
“Thank you,” I call after him, smiling when he waves me off.
He’s going to shit when we get to the checkout, and he sees how much all the stuff is going to cost. Inflation is a bitch.
He’ll have to deal. It is what it is.
After minimal complaints about the amount of stuff I bought, Knox drove us back here, and I immediately jumped into putting everything away and starting dinner.
As the aroma of my famous pasta sauce began to fill the house, the boys migrated from the kitchen table to the island, where they proceeded to catch me up on all the juicy middle school drama, and boy, is there a lot of it.
After we ate, Braydon jumped in to help with clean up even though I’d assured all four of the Knoxley men that I was more than happy to tackle the mess before I headed home. He’s been mostly quiet, but I have a feeling something’s on his mind.
“Here’s the last one.”
Braydon takes the dish after I rinse it off and slides it into the dishwasher. While he’s doing that, I quickly dry off my hands, grab the box of suds from under the sink, and hand it to him.
“Crap,” he grumbles when he overpours the powder into the open slot.
“Eh, it’s okay.” I smile, shrugging my shoulders. “A little extra soap won’t hurt anything.”
His shoulders visibly relax, making my heart hurt.
Knox pulled me aside earlier to inform me that Braydon is very hard on himself and gets agitated when something isn’t perfect.
I could tell it bothered Knox that he didn’t know how to get through to Braydon.
The more time I’ve spent with Bray, the more it’s become glaringly obvious that he’s obsessed with perfection for some reason, which is nuts.
“Bray?”
Finally, turning to face me, he jerks his head to flip the hair out of his eyes. “Hm?”
“I’m here if you ever want to talk about anything, okay?”
“Thanks for dinner, G.” I know a brush-off when I hear one, so I let it go, watching as he runs up the steps.
I look around the room, not sure what to do now.
Knox hasn’t come back down, and he’s my ride home.
I could go upstairs and see what they’re all doing.
Or… crossing my arms over my chest, I bite my lip and grin.
I could snoop around and get an idea of who Knox is when he’s dad instead of the club’s badass enforcer.
Three years or not, there was still so much I didn’t know about the man.
Taking in the open concept, it really wasn’t what I’d expected when I thought about where he laid his head down at night. An apartment, sure. Condo, maybe. But a two-story bungalow with fruit trees and an immaculate flowerbed situated out front wasn’t on my list at all.
It was gorgeous and had so much character.
Now the inside… Wrinkling my nose, I pinched the corner of a dirty sock lying on the floor and tossed it into the hamper next to the couch. As I looked around, I covered my mouth to keep from giggling — the inside was a wreck.
There were clothes, random bike parts, shoes, backpacks, and a plethora of boy stuff strewn about everywhere. And, running my finger through a few months' worth of dust, I didn’t think anyone’s done a deep cleaning in a while.
Regardless of the mess, this was a family home, and its people lived here. As I perched on the edge of the oversized sectional and stared at the mammoth television hung on the wall, it settled deep in my soul. This place, this family, it was everything I’d always dreamed of.
Glancing at the old farmhouse-style dining table, I smiled. I pictured Knox in an apron, placing a turkey at that center for his family to enjoy.
The longer I sat there looking around, the more in love I fell.
With a smile on my face, I stood and took the steps two at a time.
I followed the sounds of laughter and an epic car chase to the end of the hallway and froze.
Braydon and the twins were cocooned in their beanbags on the floor, and Knox was sprawled out on a black leather sofa.
I’d never seen a more beautiful man in all my life.
I looked away when the woman screaming on their big theater screen drew my attention. I didn’t recognize the movie, but that didn’t mean anything. I preferred to read and only really watched TV at the clubhouse when we all got together to watch Dancing With The Stars.
“What is this?” I asked, watching as a robot sailed through the air as I absentmindedly sat on the arm of the sofa.
“Transformers.” When I tilt my head toward Braydon, he’s grinning at his dad. I don’t even have time to react before Knox does an ab-curl, grabs me around the waist, and yanks.
“Eek,” I squeal when my chest lands with a thud against his.
“That’s better,” he growls, dragging me farther up his chest so my lower half falls into the gap between his spread legs.
“Caveman,” I huff, “I need you to take me home soon.”
“I will in a little bit.” The movie plays on as Knox’s hand strokes up and down my back. My eyes get heavier and heavier the more Knox rubs on my back, and before I know it, I’m out.