One More Taste (One and Only Texas #2)(98)
“Twenty million, give or take.” A wry smile spread on his lips. “Any chance you’ve got that lying around?”
Wild, crazy hope buzzed through her. She took both his cheeks in her hands. “Knox, baby, buckle up. Do I ever have some news for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Neither Knox nor Emily currently owned a functioning vehicle. Which made their trip to Knox’s mother’s house the next morning slightly more complicated. Knox got Shayla on the job of calling for another tow truck to pull his truck out of the lake—again—while Emily summoned a Cab’d driver to take them to the resort, where they could borrow a company car.
They’d slept in a tangle of sheets and limbs in his bed, not so much making up for lost time as getting their future off to a magnificent start. Despite all the strife and pain of the day before, or perhaps because of it, they’d both woken up optimistic and ready to face their futures together. Which was a very good thing because there was much to be done that day. First, Knox needed to pay a visit to his mother, followed by an afternoon meeting with the resort’s lawyers, who were already busy composing a buyout offer, and Knox’s team of structural engineers.
But while, yesterday, he’d dreaded the confrontation with his mom, today he knew that it didn’t matter what she said or how she reacted to the news of Knox finding out the truth because he’d already forgiven her. It had been a simple choice, namely that he refused to start his life with Emily while rotting with resentment, the way his father and mother had started their marriage.
His mom met them at the door of her house before they’d even had a chance to knock. Her face was drawn, her eyes red-rimmed.
“Hey, Mom. Is everything okay?”
She pushed the door open wider. Behind her stood Ty, his expression hard as ever.
Knox’s heart sank. So much for an easy conversation. As ready as he was to forgive his mom, Knox had no idea how he felt about Ty. None at all. He wasn’t angry, per se, but he wasn’t at peace, either. The fact remained that Ty had brought Knox to the resort. As Ty had said the day before, he’d tried to do the right thing by Knox, in his own way. Knox was going to have to give that point a lot of thought.
Knox nodded at Ty, who merely blinked in response.
“You know the truth,” his mom said. Her whole body trembled with the words. All Knox wanted to do was throw his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay. Except Ty was right there, clouding Knox’s judgment. Had she loved him? Was his dad her second choice?
Instead of a hug, Knox bussed her cheek, then squeezed her hands. They were ice-cold. “You remember Emily, right?”
“I don’t think this is going to be a conversation fit for company,” his mom said, casting a worried look at Emily.
“She’s not company,” Knox said. He shot a look at Ty. “She’s family. And I’m planning to keep her by my side for a very long time, so I’d like her to be here with us today. Let’s go inside and talk, shall we?”
He took Emily by the hand and followed his mom into the house. Ty stepped aside to let them pass, but he held Knox’s glare. It’d been that way since the beginning—two alpha dogs circling, sizing each other up, planning a strategy of attack. They were so alike. In looks, in the way they came at the world with a unique Briscoe brand of brash confidence. Father and son.
Fucking hell. Who would’ve ever guessed?
His mom bee-lined for the kitchen and flitted around them, wringing her hands. “Knox, can I get you a coke? What about you, Emily? I don’t have any beer, but I could … I mean, I could run to the store, if you want.”
“Linda, sit down,” Ty said, taking a seat at the head of the table.
She did as she was told. Knox and Emily followed suit.
Knox had zero interest in distressing his mom any more. He reached across the table and captured her hands. “I love you, Mom. I’m not mad.”
Her mouth screwed up and her eyes turned glassy. “Oh, Knox,” she croaked.
“Damn it, woman, get ahold of yourself,” Ty said in a low growl.
Knox shot him a warning glare before turning his attention back to his mother. “Don’t cry, Mom. Everything’s okay.” Beneath the table, Emily set a supportive hand on his thigh. He took a fortifying breath, then continued. “I’d just like to hear some details. I’d like to know how it happened. That would help me sort everything out in my mind. But I’m not upset and I’ve already forgiven you.”
She pulled her hands away and extricated a tissue from the sleeve of her sweater. “I’m not proud of what I did. Praise God for having mercy on sinners like me because I am not worthy.”
“Mom, please.” He wasn’t sure how to move the conversation past her transgressions against God. For the whole of Knox’s life, that had been her way during times of stress and grief. She took solace in boiling a situation down to black and white, good and evil, the sins of mankind clashing with the divinity of the Holy Father. “You’re worthy. You did the best you could.”
“No, I did not. I let myself become an instrument of Satan. Your father might as well have been Job for how cruelly I tested him.”
My father Clint or my father Ty? With Ty’s eyes on him, Knox bit back the question, asking instead, “Tested him how? Please. What happened?”