One More Taste (One and Only Texas #2)(73)
Emily blinked fast, processing. “I don’t understand. I mean, I’m happy for you. That’s … wow. But I had no idea Ty was thinking of retiring. I guess that makes sense. I knew there was a good reason he brought you in that didn’t have anything to do with the resort’s debt.”
He nodded to the bench that sat against the wall of the boathouse. “Come sit with me and I’ll start at the beginning.”
They bid goodnight to Phantom, then grabbed the bag of Fritos and walked to the bench. Once they were settled, Knox did what he’d been waiting to do all day. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her slow and deep, until she softened into him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I could see you and me necking on this bench all the time,” he said in a gruff voice once the kiss ended.
A shadow passed over her features and was gone before he had a chance to study it. Maybe she was just concerned about Ty. “I like that idea,” she said. “I never expected this, with you. I never saw it coming.”
“Ditto. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”
There was that shadow again. Could there be a chance she wasn’t feeling their connection as deeply as he was? Maybe she needed time to catch her breath. Then again, maybe after she heard the story of how he came to be CEO and controlling shareholder of Briscoe Ranch within a month of signing on as part-owner, she might not want anything to do with him. It wasn’t a matter of testing her loyalty to either Ty or him, but whether she could accept Knox, warts and all, including the thirst for justice that had plagued him for so long.
He sat back, took her hand, and then told her everything—about his father’s predictions that Ty would run the family business into the ground and his dying wish that Knox would seek justice against Ty, about how hard Knox had worked to position himself as the person Ty would turn to when he ran out of revenue, as his father had predicted. He told her about the structural and land problems plaguing the resort and about Ty’s lies and the overvaluation of the business. And then he told her about the meeting today, sparing no details.
It felt foreign, laying it all out for her like that, but he needed Emily to know. What good would it be to try to win her over if there were secrets between them?
For the most part, she listened quietly and attentively, asking clarifying questions every so often and expressing bewilderment that the resort was sliding toward the lake.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the moonlight-kissed water ripple in the breeze.
“You still plan to sell.”
“Eventually. At this point, anyway. It was the best deal I could strike for now, given that my investors were ready to shut the resort down and take the loss. At least this way, we have a few years to figure out what to do next. That’s enough time for your restaurant to establish itself. You’ve worked too hard for this. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and make Briscoe Ranch thrive, including your restaurant. We can set it up so that you’re leasing the space as a separate company, that way, if the next resort owners decide to go in a different direction, you’ll still own your brand. You can relocate or expand as you want.”
“Hmm,” she said, her eyes still on the lake.
“What does that mean?”
She shrugged. “Or maybe you won’t sell the resort at all. Maybe you’ll make it so wildly profitable that you’ll buy out the investors’ shares, too.”
His heart squeezed. She wanted him to stay. “Let’s celebrate my new job title. Unless you already made dinner. I wouldn’t want to stomp on your plans for the night.”
She clapped her hands on her knees. “I had no plans. I wasn’t sure when you’d get home tonight. What did you have in mind?”
“It’s the last Wednesday of the month.”
Emily groaned. “You want to go to Movie Night at the resort? That’s how you want to celebrate all this? I don’t even like Miracle on 34th Street. That girl is too precocious. It gets on my nerves.”
He grinned; she seemed so nettled at the idea. Just as he had been when Granny June had announced that they’d be attending. It was tempting to give in to Emily’s protests so he could spend the night alone with her, but he was trying not to rush things with her, to show her through his actions how committed he was to her and to Briscoe Ranch. He leapt to his feet and brought Emily up with him. “We can’t let Granny June or her Facebook friends down. And I want the employees to know I’m committed to them and to the resort, quell any buyout or layoff rumors that might be floating around.”
She melted into his side with a groan. “Ugh, you have too many good points. You’re going to make me go to Movie Night.”
By the time they arrived via Emily’s car to Movie Night at the resort’s open-air amphitheater, the movie had already begun, and the place was packed. Families and couples lounged on blankets and in lawn chairs amid the scents of fried chicken and chips and colas. Children ran around with friends, laughing and playing, and only about half the people there seemed to notice a movie was playing at all. Knox squeezed Emily’s hand. “See? Not so bad.”
Emily sighed through a smile. “You’re right. And I see Carina and Decker about halfway up on the left, sitting next to Granny June and Haylie.”
Looking over the faces in the crowd, Knox saw other faces he recognized. The hairdresser whom he’d seen styling Eloise Briscoe’s hair chatting with a group of women, several of the employees from human resources, and even the maintenance worker who’d once helped him push his dad’s truck to the shoulder of the road just outside the resort’s property line. The air crackled with happiness and togetherness. Love. He looked at the woman by his side as Haylie’s words the day of his first tour of the resort came back to him. This place really was magic when it came to finding love. Thank goodness Knox had convinced the investors not to sell. It would have broken his heart.