One More Taste (One and Only Texas #2)(41)
“Everyone’s doing great. Ty’s daughter Carina is pregnant, due in a couple weeks.”
“Oh, how nice. Ty’s gonna be a grandpa. Hmph. I can’t imagine. Well, maybe it’ll soften that temper. How’s his wife? How’s Eloise?”
Odd, the affectation in Linda’s tone when she enunciated Eloise’s name. The loneliness vanished and stiffness entered her voice, as though she and Eloise were long-standing enemies rather than long-lost friends or neighbors, though they’d grown up in the same small town of Dulcet, in the shadow of the resort, both classmates with Clint and Ty.
“She is. As beautiful as ever.” Thanks in part to availing herself of the many services at the resort’s spa as well as the occasional cosmetic surgery down in San Antonio. “Were you two classmates in high school, as well?”
She clicked her tongue at the question, a motherly sound of disapproval. “How about Granny June. I always liked her. She’s still healthy?”
Interesting. “Healthy as a horse.”
Linda smiled. “Good for her. I hope my children inherit her longevity.”
There was an odd sort of hard-edged haunting in her tone that reminded Emily of Knox’s expression when he spoke of his family’s exile.
“With Knox as part-owner of Briscoe Ranch now, you should come visit,” Emily said. “I’d fix a great meal for the two of you. Maybe we could invite Shayla and Granny June, too. Maybe Ty’s daughters, Carina and Haylie. You’d love them.”
A slight shudder passed through Linda, though her smile remained in place. “No. That’s sweet of you, but I could never; I’m sitting fat and sassy right here in Hutchins.”
Emily’s heart sank as Linda turned onto her block at the sight of a familiar Chevy truck parked out front of Linda’s house.
“Well, glory be,” Linda said. “I thought he wasn’t coming now that he moved so far away. What a pair you two are, surprising me like this. You sure do keep a good secret, missy.”
Emily swallowed as they pulled to a stop behind the truck. “Well, I mean, I didn’t exactly tell him … he’s been busy and I…” Jesus, she couldn’t even tell a decent lie these days to save her own ass. Get her within a hundred yards of Knox Briscoe and her composure fell apart like a soggy tortilla.
Linda was unfazed. “Then God must be smiling down on us for this happy accident.” She walked from the car as Knox stepped out from the house onto the porch where several bags of groceries sat, one with a bouquet of flowers sticking out of the top. When he saw Emily, he froze, one hand reaching for a grocery bag. His gaze shifted between Emily and her car, parked in front of the neighbor’s house, which had been the only spot available at the time. Even from the street, she could see his expression morph from shock to confusion to fury.
Linda practically skipped up the front walk, her arms open wide, reaching for a hug. “Knox, honey! Bless your heart, you brought me groceries. You’re always such a good boy like that. Your daddy would be so proud.”
Emily followed Linda onto the front steps. Knox kissed his mother on the cheek and hugged her tight, but his eyes remained locked on Emily. No doubt about it, he was livid with her. On top of everything else that church had dredged up within her, she wasn’t equipped to deal with his anger, too.
“This is most unexpected, Ms. Ford.”
Ms. Ford? Shit.
Emily grabbed several bags of groceries and walked into the house, Linda and Knox on her heels. “It was supposed to be a surprise. I’ve been wanting to fix you a dish or two from your childhood, so I thought, why not go to the source? I didn’t think you’d mind.”
Emily’s shoulders stiffened in anticipation of his rebuttal. She chanced a look at Knox. He was working hard to hide his anger, probably thanks to Linda’s presence.
“Nonsense,” Linda said. “Of course, he doesn’t mind. I think it’s a capital idea. And it’s been a gas for me to have her around for the morning. She got to meet my friends at church and she’s going to help me spruce up the pot roast for supper. It isn’t every day I can get tips from a professional chef. Isn’t that delightful, Knoxy?”
“Yes, delightful,” he said mechanically.
“And now you’re here, which is another wonderful surprise. What a blessed day!” With that, Linda launched into a detailed retelling of their morning to Knox.
If Knox got his way, Emily would be gone from the house as soon as he could gracefully manage. But there was one last place she wanted to visit, to at least glean some knowledge from the trip since she’d never gotten the chance to swap recipes with Linda. Knox’s childhood bedroom. Perhaps it’d be as inspiring to her culinary imagination as his current bedroom had proven to be.
As Linda held his attention in the kitchen, Emily slipped back to the entryway. Her heart pounded against her ribs and in her ears. After a last look over her shoulder, she stole up the stairs.
Chapter Nine
Emily paused in the second-floor hallway, temporarily distracted by a row of sepia-tinted collages of old family photos behind dusty glass frames. Two rowdy boys and a tomboy sister on horseback. A teen Knox being presented with a belt buckle at a rodeo. His brother, Wade, feeding a goat at a petting zoo. The whole family clustered together on a beach, the boys with bowl cuts and Shayla in pigtails.