One More Taste (One and Only Texas #2)(101)

She teased the corner of his lips with hers as her hands roved over his body. “We might be a little late.”

“You want to christen the truck? All right, then. That would be one way to celebrate it getting fixed up after two plunges into Lake Bandit.”

Emily bolted upright, her eyes wide and a sly smile on her lips. “Forget necking. I’ve got a better idea to christen it.”

“Well, so did I. I thought we’d do a lot more than just neck.”

“No, no, no. I have a plan.” She threw off the blanket and stood.

He loved it when she got this way, so caught up with passion for a new idea that she barely remembered that the rest of the world existed. Usually, though, she only got that way about cooking, and now that she was on the verge of opening up her restaurant, Subterranean, those light bulb moments were hitting her faster than ever. “Do tell. The suspense is killing me.”

“I think we should try to roll your truck onto the resort property.”

Knox groaned and rolled his neck. “That’s your big idea? We’ve tried that. A lot. It doesn’t work.”

“We haven’t tried it since everything came out about Ty being your dad. We’ve haven’t tried it since we bought the resort. There’s something in the air tonight. I feel like this is our shot. I think your dad’s ready to stop haunting your truck.”

Knox eased up to standing, then patted the roof of the cab. “That would be a shame. I’m pretty fond of having a haunted truck.”

“Well, then, maybe it’s time your fatherly ghost knows it’s time to stop holding you back.”

He lassoed her into a hug. “I like the way you think.”

“I know.” She tapped her temple. “I like the way I think, too.”

Full of love, he took a good long look at the woman he was going to marry. “Emily, I have a question for you.”

“What?”

He pecked a kiss on her lips. “Do you want to drive or push?”

She let out a triumphant whoop of laughter. “I’ll drive.”

“You know how to start it by popping the clutch?”

She leapt over the side of the bed and onto the ground. “Done it a million times.”

All Knox could do was laugh; she was so single-minded in her enthusiasm. He jumped out of the truck and watched Emily get settled in the driver’s seat. “See if you can get it right to the edge of the hill before it dies. Sometimes it’s generous to me like that.”

She flashed him a thumbs-up and started the engine.

Knox moseyed behind the truck as she eased it to the property line and stopped. It took a second for Knox to register the chug of the engine. It hadn’t died.

Emily looked at Knox through the side mirror, a questioning look on her face. “Knox, are you seeing this?”

Hope bloomed in his chest. “Let it go forward a few more inches.”

She let up on the brake and the truck rolled forward—and remained on.

Holy Mother of God. “Keep going. The engine doesn’t seem like it wants to die.” He watched in awe as she slowly rolled the truck all the way over the property line, where she hit the brakes again.

The next time Emily looked at him through the mirror, her smile could have lit up the night. “What the hell’s going on, Knox?”

“I have no idea.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Don’t just stand there,” she called. “Get in! Come drive this truck of yours around your newly purchased luxury resort. I’ll slide over.”

Feeling like he was in a dream, Knox walked the length of the truck, listening to that chug chug chug.

He stopped at the driver’s door, but before opening it, he bent down and used the side mirror as an ear. “Thank you.”

When Knox climbed behind the wheel of the truck, his heart busting with pure joy. He didn’t realize he was crying until he felt the wetness on his cheek. A glance at Emily told him she was getting weepy, too.

“Do you think this means your dad’s gone?” she asked quietly.

His dad. For all his faults, Clint Briscoe had been Knox’s dad for thirty-two years, and he’d done the very best he could. Knox knew he’d never stop calling him Dad, just as sure as he was that his dad was watching over him from on High.

Knox’s relationship with Ty was still awkward at times, but they were working on figuring out their place in the other’s life, and in the month since the truth had come out, they’d managed to settle into a mostly comfortable peace. Really, it was impossible to stay angry with the man who’d lost his business and was in the process of what would probably be a costly divorce. Not to mention that Ty had lost a daughter, as well.

In truth, the whole family was grieving Haylie’s absence. At least she was safe. She’d called Emily a couple of times to check in, though she would never say where she was. At least the calls had managed to set the family’s minds at ease and had given Emily the opportunity to tell her that Knox had made short work of firing Wendell. The last Knox had heard, Wendell had gone to live with his mother in El Paso. Hopefully, that was far away from wherever Haylie was putting down new roots.

Knox rolled his eyes heavenward. “I don’t think my dad’s gone, but I do think it means he’s resting now. He’s at peace.”