A flush hit Knox’s cheekbones, and my gut tightened. Annoyance looked good on him, damn it. This meant that torturing him resulted in me torturing myself, andthatwas the most unfair thing of all.
Knox opened his mouth to retort and then shut it again. “Some of us still have work to do, Goodman,” he muttered after a beat.
“Emma saysdinner, you guys!”Aiden Sunday announced, throwing open the office door hard enough to bang against thewall behind it. “And,” he added with seven-year-old solemnity, “she said to tell Gage there’s baked beans.”
“Oooh.” I let my sandaled feet fall from the desk to the floor with a slap and resolved not to think about Kno—anyoneanymore. “Baked beans sound good.”
Aiden’s smile turned crafty. “I maybe ate some because I’m Emma’s taste tester, and they’rereallygood. She makes them with maple syrup.”
“Then I’d better go get some before you gobble them all up, huh?” I grinned as I pushed myself to my feet, then groaned and slapped a hand on the desk to steady myself when my back twinged.
“Y’okay, Gage?” Aiden demanded.
Knox snorted. “Old age stalks him.”
I wanted very desperately to flip the man off, but I couldn’t in front of Aiden. Webb seemed like a cool guy, but I didn’t think he’d enjoy me teaching his kid bad manners.
“I’m fine. Supremely youthful. Just sore from sitting still too long.” I ignored Knox and directed my remark to Aiden as I stretched my arms to the ceiling so far my hoodie rode up before bending over to touch the floor. “I need to get back to working out. Maybe get some fresh air.” I was way too young to be falling apart.
“Yeah, proba-ly.” Aiden nodded sagely. “Uncle Drew says fresh air cures all a man’s problems.” The boy turned around but paused in the doorway. “You comin’, Uncle Knox? You need fresh air, too.”
“Coming, bud.” Knox’s expression softened momentarily as he reached out a hand and ruffled his nephew’s hair. “But I already got my fresh air today. I ran a couple miles before I helped your dad milk Pattie and Muriel this morning.”
Really? Knox the Cranky Lumberjack had gone for a run, milked a cow,andgotten to his desk before 8:00 a.m., when Iknew for a fact he hadn’t closed the door to his room until eleven the night before? He was either lying or a robot who didn’t sleep.
We walked out of the office into a little hallway and then out the side door, bypassing the orchard’s gift shop, which was closed for the night. Even in the hallway, though, the air was pungent with the scent of fresh apples and cinnamon sachets, and that smell drifted out into the chilly yard. Vermont was like no place I’d ever lived before, and I both liked it… and didn’t.
The scenery was pretty but alien. And the people were a mixed bag, too.
Aiden skipped on ahead, and Knox strode quickly past me, but I walked slowly, struggling to figure out what I was feeling.
Faintly dissatisfied. Annoyed. Disappointed. I was probably genuinely hungry.
My phone chimed in my pocket, and I grinned as I pulled it out and looked at the display.
“Heya, Toby.” I wandered over to a grassy area by the weathered wood fence. This was just the distraction I needed.
“Gagelet, my precious! I was sitting by the pool waiting for the Party Planning Committee to come by, and I heard on the news that your area might be getting frost tonight. I wondered if you’d turned into an icicle yet.”
I tucked my tongue into my cheek. “Vermont weather made the Suncoast news, huh?”
“Well.” He sniffed. “It’s possible that I downloaded weather alerts for your area. It’s possible that the entire family did, in fact. It was Jay’s idea.”
I smiled, though he couldn’t see me. My brothers might annoy the crap out of me from time to time, but Rafe and Beale had done our family a solid when they picked men to fall in love with, because Jay and Toby were two of my favorite people on the planet.
“Goodman, you coming?” Knox called impatiently, like I’d once again inadvertently annoyed him with my existence.
I pressed the phone to my chest. “Call from home. I’ll catch up. Sorry about that,” I told Toby when I’d put it back to my ear. “What were you saying?”
“You okay? You sound… annoyed?” Toby’s voice was puzzled. “You’re so rarely annoyed unless Rafe’s driving you crazy. Or your dad.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “Rafe, Dad, and now you can add Knox Sunday to that list.” I watched him climb the steps to the back porch. “Cranky asshole.”
“Knox Sunday.” He chortled. “If your mother blessed you with a name like that, you might be a cranky asshole, too.”
I snorted. Maybe if I hadn’t seen that picture of him grinning, I’d believe Knox was just cranky by nature. But instead, despite his antagonism, I wondered what had happened to change the guy in that picture to the guy who wanted to lecture me over a coffee cup.
“So, what’s he done? Tell Toby everything,” he went on. “Many people say I’m an excellent advice-giver.”
