“Hello, son,” she said, smiling warmly as she turned a cheek to accept Fox’s kiss.
Lucas came up behind her, and for a moment I was struck by the resemblance between him and Fox. Lucas had darker blond hair and hazel eyes, but they both had the height and the broad shoulders. I was sure that every woman in the restaurant was looking our way, and probably a few of the men too.
“Mom, Lucas, this is Avery and Annabelle Kent.”
“Avery, it’s wonderful to finally meet you,” Savannah said, taking my hand in both of hers.
Her genuineness put me instantly at ease. So, so different from my interactions with the Dempseys, I thought.
“It’s a pleasure Avery, Annabelle,” Lucas said in his deep voice that was so like Fox’s.
“I’m so happy to meet you both as well,” I said. “This is my daughter, Annabelle.”
“Well, hello, Annabelle! That is a beautiful dress,” Savannah told her.
“Thank you very much,” Annabelle said. She tugged on my hand. “Fox’s mama is pretty!”
“I love her immediately,” Savannah laughed. “Shall we sit?”
We ordered drinks and appetizers while Savannah told us all about her Dallas exhibit. I learned a little more about what Lucas did also, as his company provided security services for Savannah’s travel and the ground transportation of her paintings during the tour.
“Mom won’t put them on a plane,” he explained dryly, and Fox half-laughed, half-coughed into his drink.
“They want to crate them haphazardly and shove them down into the bowels of the aircraft,” Savannah said disgustedly. “I can’t allow it.”
“You’re the boss.” Lucas’ half smile around his glass was so like Fox’s when he took a sip of his scotch.
Fox snickered but Savannah ignored him. From what I knew of Fox, I assumed she was used to the constant banter between her sons.
“I wish you could come to Dallas so we could spend Thanksgiving together,” she said, changing the subject beautifully. “Beckett said you’re all working that day, though?”
It threw me for a minute to hear her refer to him by his first name but I recovered quickly. “Yes, every year we do a free meal at the diner for anyone who doesn’t have a place to go.”
My parents had started that tradition when they first took over the restaurant, and it was my favorite day of the year. Typically we got a lot of young ranch hands, the occasional group of oil riggers, some elderly folk, and often a few families that were having a rough time. Throughout the day, our regulars would trickle in with extra food from their own tables – someone always “accidentally” made a double batch of biscuits or too many pumpkin pies – and it turned into a real party atmosphere with kids running around and everyone laughing and talking.
This year, my dad and Fox were planning to cook eight huge turkeys, and they’d been talking strategy for the past few days. No matter where we ended up next year, I knew I’d come back for Thanksgiving at The Kitchen. It wouldn’t be the same anywhere else.
“That’s a wonderful thing your family does,” Savannah remarked. “I miss those intimate things about a small town.”
“My mother is from Washington state,” Fox told me. “Up near Vancouver.”
“Very rainy and cold, but I loved it,” she said, a faraway look in her eye. “After I met Carter, we traveled all over, but the Pacific Northwest still calls to me. Of course, I’m spoiled and used to the beautiful California weather now!”
I smiled at her as I tidied Annabelle’s area at the table. She was quiet as a mouse, chewing on a breadstick and listening to us talk while scribbling away in her coloring books contentedly. I smoothed her hair and kissed the top of her head. When I sat back in my chair, I saw Fox looking at me, an odd expression on his face. I raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled at me, a new smile I hadn’t seen before, almost a cross between proud and wistful.
Savannah didn’t seem like she missed much, and I could tell that she definitely noticed our exchange. I felt Fox’s hand slide onto my thigh under the table, just high enough to make me wish it was even higher. I would never get enough of that man, never ever.
“So you’re cooking now,” she said to Fox with a sly grin.
“Is it so unbelievable?” he laughed.
Lucas smirked. “It is to me.”
“Not at all.” Savannah speared Lucas with a stern look, but the amused expression on his face didn’t falter. “He can do anything he sets his mind to, Avery, and he has. Early admission to UCLA, top of his class in paramedic training, Hotshot crew leader at a young age…” she trailed off.
Fox looked around the room uncomfortably and I didn’t know what to say. We didn’t discuss his firefighting career much these days and it suddenly felt like the most important thing in the world. What was he thinking? What were his plans? Did they include us?
Annabelle picked that minute to break the ice as she piped up and asked when our food would arrive.
“Soon, baby,” I told her. “Have another breadstick.”
“Tell us about graduate school, Avery. It sounds terribly exciting.” Savannah changed the subject again with ease.
“Well,” I began. “I applied to NYU and now I’m just waiting for their response.”
“Waiting is horrible, but you’ll love New York. How fun, to be young in that city! Have you ever been?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “Not yet. I was planning on taking a trip out there once I got my acceptance.”
“It’s one of the greatest places in the world,” she said. “We loved traveling there when the boys were young. There’s always plenty to see. Of course, there’s the garbage and the traffic and the noise, but that’s all part of what makes it New York City.” Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“It sounds amazing,” I agreed. And a little overwhelming, but in a good way.
“Lucas has offices in New York, so I still find myself there frequently. Did you know that?” she asked me.
“No,” I said slowly.
Fox and Lucas exchanged an indecipherable look that piqued my curiosity, but neither of them said anything. Suddenly Fox’s enthusiasm about my potential enrollment at NYU made a little more sense.
“Carter – their father – and I visit him and then stay in Manhattan for the weekend. There’s always something to do – galleries, shopping, theatre. I know you’ll be busy with your studies but you have to find time to enjoy the city.”
“I will,” I assured her.
“Good,” she said, satisfied. “By the way, Beckett – your father is sorry to have missed you. He couldn’t get away from his consulting work.”
“Yes, the General sends his regards,” Lucas said wryly, and Fox laughed even as Savannah shushed him good-naturedly.
Waiters appeared and presented our plates with a flourish. The food was delicious, and Annabelle ate all of her chicken and even a bit of her veggie medley, so I promised her we’d have dessert.
* * *
I was halfway through my cheesecake when Savannah cleared her throat and all four of us looked over to her.
“Beckett,” she started. “I had an interesting thing happen the other day.”
Lucas’ body language immediately changed and suddenly he looked distinctly uncomfortable.
Fox raised an eyebrow at her as he took a bite of cake. “Oh?”
“Yes, I got a call from McDaniels and Sloane. Apparently they’ve been trying to contact you, and after no luck they got a bit worried.”
I glanced quickly from Fox to Savannah to Lucas, trying to read between the lines of their conversation. I wasn’t sure who McDaniels or Sloane was but I could guess. Not many people were referred to by last name only, so I assumed they were former colleagues of Fox.
“I told them not to worry, that I’d just spoken with you and you were fine,” she continued. “I gave them your phone number again to be sure, but they said they’d already left messages.”
Fox pushed his plate of cake
away. “Thanks,” he said shortly, but without heat.
Savannah said nothing, just studied him as she stirred her cappuccino. I got the distinct impression that Fox knew exactly which unreturned messages she was referring to, but neither of them planned to elaborate on the issue.
“Of course,” she said finally.
Lucas signaled the waiter and there was a heavily silent moment while our coffees were refilled and no one said anything. Fox changed the subject, another impeccably smooth transition that must’ve been spoon fed to him as a child, and we began discussing the driving conditions between here and Dallas like the previous awkward conversation never occurred.
My mind was in overdrive even as I nodded and smiled. Why would Fox be avoiding talking to his friends? Wouldn’t he want to stay connected, especially if he was planning to return?
The constant stream of questions flowed through my mind as we said our goodbyes to Savannah and Lucas and thanked them for the delicious dinner.
“You’re quite welcome, Avery.” She kissed me once on each cheek. “I am so happy to finally meet you and see that you’re every bit as lovely and charming as Beckett said, if not more.”
Lucas leaned in to brush his lips against my temple. “Don’t worry so much,” he said in a voice so low that only I could hear him. “You’re the end result in all of his equations.”
I stepped back and looked at him curiously. “Thanks,” I said softly.
“And you, precious baby,” Savannah hugged Annabelle tightly. “Thank you for coming and showing me your pretty dress and for this beautiful drawing.” She held up the crayoned paper Annabelle had given her. “I know just where I’m going to hang it.”
Annabelle beamed, and my heart felt full. So this was what it felt like to be approved of by your boyfriend’s family. I could get used to this.
* * *
“They loved you both,” Fox said in the car.
“They’re great,” I said sincerely. “Your mother is so lovely. It was a wonderful dinner.”
We’d bundled Annabelle into her car seat in the truck, where she fell asleep almost immediately, and were currently on our way back into Brancher. Fox put a low blues channel on the stereo and cranked the heat and, between my full heart and full stomach, I was tempted to take a doze myself.
I was so comfortable that I nearly forgot about the conversation regarding Fox’s colleagues, but it came rushing back to me all at once, along with a new feeling of something close to dread. As much as I didn’t want to push this issue because I was afraid of what he would reveal, I had to know.
And then there was Lucas’ comment. I felt like he was telling me the truth, that Fox was considering us in all of his decisions, but that still didn’t make anything any clearer.
“Fox, why haven’t you called your friends?” I asked softly.
His face was shadowed by the dim dashboard lights in the cab of the truck so I couldn’t completely make out his expression, but it looked like a combination of sad and conflicted. “I don’t know.”
“Will you consider it? It sounds like they really miss you.” This is what I should be encouraging him to do, I told myself. Don’t be selfish. He needs this.
He glanced over at me for just a second before turning his eyes back to the dark roads. “Yes.”
I reached for his free hand and slid it into my lap, closing both of my smaller hands around his large one. “Good.”
Chapter 22
My head was presently crammed full with too many stanzas of poetry so I wasn’t entirely sure but it sounded like there was some sort of alarm coming from Fox’s lap.
“Is your tablet ringing?” I asked.
Fox tapped the screen and amusement settled over his face. “It is. Excuse me.”
We were sitting on the couch, recovering from our marathon Thanksgiving at the diner the day before while Annabelle played with her stuffed animals and I tried to catch up on some homework. Fox was in the middle of sending emails to his parents and his brother, trying to firm up plans for the holidays. We were hoping to see them at some point before the New Year, either here in Texas or maybe even in California.
The idea of the California trip was monumental to me, because not only did it mean I’d meet Fox’s entire family, but it also sort of cemented our status as a real couple. We hadn’t discussed the Forest Service or my graduate school plans lately, and while that was mostly due to major mental avoidance on my part, I hoped naively that everything would just fall into place.
I watched curiously as he got up and headed toward my bedroom with the tablet. There could only be a handful of people who would be trying to video chat with him, and from the look on his face I had a pretty good idea of who it was. Minutes ticked by and I heard the low murmur of his voice and the occasional deep chuckle, but I was too far away to really make anything out.
Part of me wanted to sneak over and listen at the door, but the other, more sane, part of me knew that eavesdropping on Fox’s conversation was not only childish but also incredibly rude. He didn’t make a habit of hiding things from me, so I needed to trust that he would share when he was ready.
“Avery, can you come in here for a minute, please?” he called from my room.
Maybe he was going to be ready sooner than I thought. I stepped over Annabelle and headed down the hallway nervously. He met me in the doorway with bright eyes and a smile that verged halfway between a smirk and a grin. Taking my hand, he led me over to my desk where he’d propped the tablet, and I saw two men in T-shirts grinning back at us from the screen.
“Well, well, well…” one of them snickered good-naturedly. “I can see why Foxy has been MIA for so long. Hello there, darlin’.”
The other man gave him a hard shoulder nudge. “Shut up, McD.”
Fox shook his head, raising his eyes to the ceiling. “Jeremy Sloane and Trey McDaniels, this is Avery Kent. Avery, these are two of the most irritating people I’ve ever met.”
I laughed and sat down when Fox pulled out my desk chair. He grabbed the ottoman and sat next to me so he could see the screen. “Very nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, sweetheart. Thanks for taking good care of this idiot while he hopped around on that bum leg,” McDaniels said.
“It was my pleasure,” I said giving Fox a cheeky side-eye.
Sloane burst into laughter. “I like this girl, Fox.” He turned to me. “Are there more of you? Where is this little town?”
“She’s one of a kind, she’s all mine, and you probably ran a GPS on me the minute we started this call, so stop pretending like you don’t know.”
“Glad to see your sense of humor didn’t get shredded along with that leg, Foxy,” McDaniels teased.
I blanched momentarily at McDaniels’ choice of words, but it was fairly accurate. Fox put everything he had into his physical therapy. The scarring on his leg was intense, and although he’d spent a lot of time building up the muscle that he’d lost, it was still a very evident former injury. He’d had a few setbacks, but the man was very nearly a machine. Now when he ran, instead of the minute wobble, he was completely fluid and fast. And there was definitely no denying his strength.
“Now Avery,” Sloane began, changing the subject. I focused my attention on him gratefully. “Fox tells us that he’s been cooking at your family’s restaurant. I’d like to know, how many people have been poisoned so far, approximately?” He kept his face entirely straight and I laughed when McDaniels couldn’t do the same.
“He’s actually very good!” I protested. “No hospitalizations as of yet,” I said, glancing over at Fox.
“Well, I can’t believe it,” McDaniels said. “You had a hidden talent and you never told us. Where were all my fancy-ass omelets and roasts and shit?”
Fox shrugged. “You’ll eat anything, any time. I only cook for those who appreciate me.”
“Pack your knives and your blender or whatever, asshole, and get back to work out here. You’re whole now, and we miss your ugly face.�
��
I think McDaniels intended his comment to be offhand, but it had the opposite effect. My heart jumped into my throat, Sloane gave him a dirty look, and Fox sat back, running both hands through his hair. A long ten seconds passed while we all tried to look anywhere but at each other.
“It’s not that simple,” Fox said finally.
“We know,” Sloane responded quickly. “McD has a big mouth.”
“I do,” McDaniels agreed. “But I meant it.”
Fox shifted stiffly on the ottoman, and I felt distinctly uncomfortable being a part of this conversation. I made a move to get up and excuse myself, but he put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t go.”
“I should let you–” I began.
“Please stay.” Fox looked directly into my eyes and I felt my insides unclench a little.
“Shit, Foxy, I didn’t mean to start anything,” McDaniels said. “I just said the thing that we’ve been thinking since you medevacked out of here. When’s Fox coming back?”
“I know,” Fox said.
I had to hand it to McDaniels – he had the balls to say what the rest of us had been dancing around for months. It was out there now, the big question.
“We just want to know, man. We’ve all been there, felt it. Sometimes it’s hard to remember how you got here, or why.” Sloane looked down for a moment and then raised his head. The transparent conflict on his face was brief, but I caught it.
The night that Fox had been injured, the Hotshot crew lost a firefighter and a young camper. Fox told me that everyone had a hard time after that, because the loss was exponential – one of their own along with someone they were supposed to protect. Fox couldn’t go back to work immediately because of his leg, but the rest of the crew – Chase included – did. When they grieved, they did it in full fire gear.
“You want to do something else? Make movies or whatever? Open a restaurant, have some cows… I dunno, farm some shit?” McDaniels sat back. “Do it after, when we’re old.”
My mind flipped ahead forty years, to me and Fox relaxing on a porch somewhere, maybe even here in Texas. I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back someday, maybe closer to a big city, and retiring with some land of our own. But McDaniels had a point… we had time to do that when we were older.
Hey Sunshine Page 25
