9. Knox

One day a month,my entire family went to Dallas for dinner and reserved the biggest table at our favorite steak restaurant, Rare. (Which, if you’re asking my opinion, is the best and only way to eat a steak.) Located on the north side of the city, it was the most convenient place for all of us now that one brother played for a professional football team in Dallas and my youngest brother, Bryce, went to college in Oklahoma.

We used to pile into Dad’s truck to go there, but now with Fletcher having a growing family, we took two separate cars. Fletcher, Liv, and their two in one vehicle. Hayes, Dad, and me in another.

We all got there around the same time for our reservation, and once we walked inside, the regular hostess, Rhonda, gave us a big grin. “There’re those motley Madigans!”

Liv went up with Leah on her hip and gave Rhonda a hug. Rhonda returned it with a kiss on the cheek for Liv and Leah both. “Great to see you again.”

I leaned closer to Bryce, saying, “If you’re not getting any action at college, Rhonda’ll give you a big ol’ sloppy kiss on the cheek.”

Bryce shoved my shoulder, an annoyed smile touching his lips. “Don’t you worry about me.”

I roughed his shaggy brown hair. “Killing it with the ladies?”

He rolled his brown eyes at me. “Not bribing my famous brother to help me get a girl, if that’s what you mean.”

My cheeks got hot. Okay, he might have had me there. Shaking my head, I followed everyone back to the big round table we always used and slid in the middle between Bryce and Leah. The table fit all of us, but barely.

Rhonda smiled as she handed out menus to all of us sitting there, her bright red lipstick still intact despite all the cheek-kissing. “Soon you’ll have to rent out the whole place to fit your family.”

Bryce snorted. “Not for Knox.” He ribbed my side, and I got him back.

On Bryce’s other side, Dad said, “You take your time, Bryce. The others...” He tapped his wrist where he never wore a wristwatch. “I’m waiting.”

Rhonda smiled while Ford, Hayes, and I did our best to look distracted. “You know, I have a niece who would be just—”

Hayes cleared his tattooed throat. “Rhonda. You don’t want me anywhere near your niece.”

She gave him a look, all his tattoos and lip ring on display, and swatted her hand at him. “I see through you, Mister Tough Guy. You have a secret heart of gold under all that ink.”

I swore Hayes was blushing before he hid his face behind a laminated menu.

Rhonda and Dad exchanged a friendly look, and she said, “I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.” She winked at my niece, Maya. “Extra cherries in your Shirley Temple, right, dear?”

Maya nodded happily.

As Rhonda left, we began catching up. Ford told us about the weight training he was doing. Fletcher shared about owning the medical office in town. Hayes had plenty to say about a hot girl who came into the shop. And Bryce caught us up on how his studies were going in computer science.

But then I swore I felt everyone staring at me.

Hayes gave me a shit-eating grin before breaking the silence. “How’s your new neighbor?”

“Oh shut up,” I muttered.

Of course little Leah immediately copied me. “Oh shut up. Oh shut up.”

Fletcher glared at me while Liv just laughed. “She’s heard worse from my brother Rhett.”

I felt relieved at that. “Larkin’s daughter pranked me the other morning. Put Saran Wrap on my toilet. Classic.”

Chuckles echoed around the table, and Ford said, “So when are you taking Larkin out?”

Liv spared me an answer, saying, “I’m taking her out first... if she can find a sitter.”

Dad’s thick gray eyebrows drew together. “Thought the grandparents were helping out?”

“Apparently they’re busy Friday night.”

“I’m not,” I said before I could think of what a terrible idea it would be to babysitter-zone myself before I could even ask her on a date. “I could watch the kids.”

Liv’s eyes sparked. “That sounds so fun. I’ll text her and let her know.”

“Wait, wait—”

But then Fletcher said, “The girls and I could come over too. Make it a little less creepy than a strange single man watching her kids.”

Thank you, I mouthed to Fletcher.

Hayes said, “I’ll be anywhere else.”

Everyone laughed at that, and then Rhonda came back with our drinks. Thankfully, that was enough conversation to move us on to another topic. Like how everyone in town thought Dad was dating Agatha, the waitress at Woody’s Diner.

* * *

Friday night came soonerthan I expected. Luckily, I’d had enough time to get the house ready so when the doorbell rang, I was ready for Larkin and her kids. I knew it wasn’t Fletcher because he and Maya knew they could always walk right in.

When I swung the door open, Larkin held two large bags on one shoulder and had Jackson in the stroller in front of her. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” she asked nervously. “Because if you aren’t, I can always reschedule with the girls.”

“What, you don’t trust me?” I asked with a laugh that quickly faded at the look she gave me.

“Of course I am,” I replied seriously, reaching for the bag on her shoulder. Something inside made a robotic squeaking sound, and I nearly dropped it. “Is that possessed?”

“Oh gosh, you aren’t ready for this,” Larkin said worriedly.

“It’s okay. Here, let me show you all the setup so you can feel more comfortable.” I shouldered the bag, stepping back to let them through the entryway. Emily came running past me while her mom parked the stroller and took Jackson out.

Larkin gave me a grateful look. “That would be amazing.”

So I walked them through the rest of the house more thoroughly than I had at the dinner party. They had already seen the kitchen and living room, but I pointed out discreetly to Larkin how I kept the knives and cleaning supplies up higher and out of reach of children.

Then I led them to the living room. “Look at this,” I said, walking to a chest in the corner by the bin of blankets. “You can open it, Emily.”

Emily looked up at her mom, and when Larkin nodded, the little girl pulled the lid open and gasped. “Are these all for us?”

I smiled big at her delight. “I wanted to make sure everyone had toys they liked. What do you think?”

She pulled out a PAW Patrol stuffie of a little brown dog and hugged it tight to her chest. “I love it!”

I smiled. “I even have a playroom set up. Let me show you.” We went to the other bedroom on the same level, and I pulled the door open, showing them inside.

“A BUNK BED!” Emily cried. “I’VE ALWAYS WANTED ONE OF THESE!”

I had to chuckle and smile over at Larkin, who looked happy tinged with a little bit of grief. Like she felt bad that Emily didn’t have a bunk bed of her own.

“You’re always welcome to it,” I said to Emily, “any time your mama needs a break. I also put up this sensory swing, and there’s a bookshelf with all sorts of books and a reading tent in the corner. I have a pack and play I’ll set up later for Jackson if he gets tired.”

Emily took a book off the shelf and climbed inside the purple tent. With the flaps closed, she yelled, “I love it!”

Larkin let a wiggling Jackson on the carpeted floor, and he crawled toward the tent with Emily. “Let your brother in,” Larkin said, and Emily opened the flap just long enough for him to crawl inside. Within moments, Emily started reading Brown Bear to her little brother and making all the animal sounds I was sure her mama had made a hundred times.

My heart swelled in my chest at the sight, and then Larkin placed a hand on my arm, warming me in a way I wasn’t used to.

“Thank you for this,” she said, looking up at me with big blue eyes that were hard not to get lost in. “I’m sure you had this set up for your nieces, but Emily feels like a little princess already.”

I had to clear my throat to speak. “I meant what I said. You’re all welcome over any time.”

The front door banged open, and Maya sang, “We’re heeeeeere.”

Larkin quickly dropped her hand from my arm, and the absence of her warmth felt just as palpable as her touch had been.