She nodded. “You’re doing really well, Daniel. I’m proud of how hard you’re working to improve.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at her warmly. Then he pushed up to a standing position and stretched. He was a big man, like all his family of football players. He held out an arm. “Come on. I’ll introduce you. That’ll drive Knox crazy.”
She laughed and slipped her hand through his elbow.
They turned the corner just as Knox was coming around. He was carrying a big tray of chips and dip and he stopped to keep from bumping into them, juggling the tray — and then one of his brothers bumped into him and the tray went flying, landing on the floor, scattering chips everywhere, though the dip stayed partially in the bowl.
Knox said a bad word, but Amy just smiled and said, airily, “Oh, look — floor d'oeuvres.”
Knox looked from the mess to her and started to laugh. Two other large men came into view, mocking Knox and bumping his shoulder. “No wonder you’re not a quarterback,” one of them said.
“Or a receiver, Mr. Fumblefingers,” the other guy said.
“That’s Bobby,” Daniel said, patting her hand. “He’s a senior at Baylor and incredibly immature.”
Bobby snorted but stopped when he spotted her, looking from Daniel to Amy and back.
She attempted to pull her hand back, but Daniel shook his head. “This other big lug is Frank, who plays for the Wranglers.”
The brothers said, “Glad to meet you.”
Daniel said, “This is my therapist, Amy Kingsley. She’s working miracles with me.”
Knox was scowling at them now. She finally extricated her hand and nodded to the men. “I’m glad to meet you, too.”
Knox pushed his way to her side. “Amy is my girlfriend, so stay away.”
Amy laughed. “He’s such a kidder.”
“I’m not kidding,” he warned his brothers. “Stay away.”
Frank tossed a football gently in the air. “Wanna play football with us?”
“And what part would I play?” she asked. “The football?”
“Very funny,” Frank said, approvingly. “Let’s go.”
Frank put a hand on her elbow and turned her.
She suspected they were all trying to torture Knox, and she took pity on him. “Come on, Knox. Let’s go play football.”
“If you’re man enough,” Frank said.
Knox rolled his eyes and took her hand. “My brothers are a bad influence. I’d sit this game out if I were you.”
A woman’s voice behind them said, “Sit it out? Is your new girlfriend a wimp or something?”
Amy turned to see a young woman grinning at her, extending a hand. “I’m Katie Reid. You must be Amy Kingsley.”
Amy shook her hand. “I am.”
“I’m the younger sister of all of these guys. Don’t let them fool you. They play tough — but they’re gentle as kittens around girls.”
Daniel said, “I’m going to play today, too.”
Amy smiled at him. “I think, as your therapist, I must insist that you wait until you’ve graduated from our therapy program first.”
He frowned.
Katie put an arm around Daniel’s waist. “Come on, bro. You can do the sportscasting. I love to hear your creative brand of smack talk.”
And then Amy found herself on a football team of three, with Frank and Bobby and the Reid’s Great Dane, Benji, on the opposite side.
Katie put the ball on the ground and got ready to shoot it back to her brother.
“Hut, hut, hut,” Knox said with a grin.
Katie tossed the ball, Knox grabbed it — and Amy — and began running across the lawn.
The brothers grabbed him, pried her loose gently, and set her on the ground, then pounded Knox down. Benji barked and tugged on pant legs of anyone within reach.
From the porch swing, Daniel announced, “And the famous Ft. Knox is down, folks.”
Soon the five of them were in a pile on the ground, laughing.
Daniel announced, “And that’s the way the Reid family does football, folks. From the ground up.”
Amy laughed and rose from the ground. She reached out a hand to Katie.
The brothers rose, bumping shoulders roughly, making Amy glad they were gentle as kittens with girls.
“We need cheerleaders,” Bobby called out.
“Don’t look at me,” Amy said. “Cheerleading’s not my style.”
Knox looked at her. “I’m glad you’re not the cheerleader type. You’ve got brains.”
“Hey,” Katie objected. “I’m a cheerleader and I’ve got a 4.0 grade-point average.”
Knox grabbed his sister and gave her a noogie. “I know, Little Bit. I was just teasing you.”
Amy was glad the attention wasn’t on her as she worked to keep her cool. She never discussed that part of her life with anyone. Ever. And she would definitely not be breaking that rule with Knox Reid.
* * *
The game had shown Knox another side of Amy Kingsley — a playful side. She was surprisingly fast on her feet, too, even stealing the ball away once and running around his brothers.
“Sign her up,” Frank said, watching her go.
Knox would like to do exactly that.
They’d washed up, and now sat at the dinner table. His mother had made more Texas Trash dip and loaded more chips into a bowl. In addition, his father had grilled burgers and his mother had cooked up some beef stew and a pecan pie for dessert. Another of his favorites.
He was seated next to Amy since she was his girlfriend. Since they thought she was his girlfriend. He looked down at her and she smiled up at him. She sure felt like a girlfriend.
After his father said grace, the passing of the plates began. Knox paused with each one and held it out for Amy to take her food from before taking his own and passing it on.
His father said, “Did you see the article by your old girlfriend, Knox?”
“No. Where?”
“In the print edition, but also on the paper’s Facebook page. All about you being back home and Daniel going into treatment and you causing problems for him. There’s a photo of you two arguing outside the clinic doors.”
Knox shook his head. Darn Sylvia anyway.
“That’s not going to look good, son,” Ace said, disapproval showing on his face.
It didn’t matter to his father that Knox had given up his Italy trip to help his brother. All that mattered was the article that Sylvia had written. “Sylvia’s out to get me.”
“Of course, she is. So make sure you don’t have another argument with anyone.”
“Yes, sir.” Knox caught Amy’s glance. She was smirking at him.
“What?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you make a habit of arguing with everyone?”
He frowned. “No, just usually pesky brothers and their therapists.”
She laughed, catching him by surprise. “Do you ever win any arguments?”
He couldn’t help but smile at her cheerful face. “Not usually.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said, and poked him in the ribs.
“Ouch,” he said. “That bony elbow hurts!”
She laughed. “You bad boys are all wimps.”
“Not all of us,” Frank chimed in. “Maybe you’re just with the wrong Reid brother.”
She put up her hand to point out something, he supposed, and Knox grabbed it. She looked at him in surprise, and then surprised him by threading her tiny fingers through his large ones.
She was just pretending, but his body didn’t know the difference. His heart rate picked up and warmth swirled through his chest.
He was used to football groupies who wanted to date and marry pro football players. Women who flung themselves at the players. But none of them had ever brought a reaction like this simple hand-holding with Amy Kingsley.
* * *
There was a knock at the door, and Knox’s mother said, “I’ll get it.” Her three sons sat back down.
She returned moments later followed by Jessie and Daniel’s children, five-year-old Levi and three-year-old Sophie. As soon as they saw their father, they raced for him. He held out his arms and soon held them both, his eyes closed.
This separation must have been incredibly hard for his brother because Knox knew how much Daniel loved his kids.
His mother pulled an extra chair over by Daniel for his wife.
“Sit, please,” she said to Jessie. “Bobby, will you please go bring in a couple of other chairs for the children?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bobby said, and jumped up, returning with two folding chairs. They all shifted down and made room for the children by their parents.
Jessie and Daniel were still stiff with each other, but she at least offered her husband a smile. “Hi, Danny.”
“Hi, baby,” Daniel replied, his voice soft.
At that moment, Amy squeezed Knox’s hand. Surprised, he looked down at her, and she had an “ahhhh” look on her face. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Finally, she leaned over and said, “I’m going to need you to let go of my hand so I can finish eating dinner.”
He chuckled and let go of her right hand.
“And I’m going to go back to my place tonight. I need to go buy a cat.”
He chuckled. “Great. You can bring it over here.”
“I’m sure a cat would get along great with your parents’ Great Dane.”
“Benji’s a marshmallow.”
“Who would step on Fluffy without even realizing it. And then we’d have to hold funeral services.”
“Well, may I at least take my girlfriend out on a date this week? We have to keep up the pretend relationship, right?”
She paused and smiled. “How about Wednesday? I only work a half day then.”
He nodded. “Off in time for lunch?”
“Yes.”
“Where would you like to go?”
“I want to go to the Silos.”
“Of course, you do. Though most of the people going there are out-of-town fans of Fixer Upper.”
“I’m an in-town fan. I love Chip and Jo. I love his sense of humor. I love her sense of style. I love those metal Bakery signs they sell.”
“Do you have one of those Bakery signs in your kitchen?”
“Not yet.”
Knox could hardly object to Amy going back to her own place — but he already missed her.
That was wrong on so many levels.
And when, later, Jessie took the kids and went home without Daniel, Knox couldn’t help but think that was wrong, too. Though, the couple had started to joke and laugh with each other, so maybe Daniel was making progress there, too.
9
I’m No Notch
On Wednesday, Knox dropped by the clinic thirty minutes early to watch Daniel do his exercises.
The receptionist waved him back to the usual room. Amy looked up and shot him a big smile, which affected him far more than it should have.
Daniel didn’t even look up as he struggled to lift the weights, but even Knox could see how much better he was doing than the week before.
When Daniel paused, sweat on his forehead, she said, “You’re doing great.”
“Thanks.” Breathing hard, Daniel looked over and spotted Knox. “Hey, bro. You here to see how good I’m doing?”
“Something like that.”
“Take a short break,” Amy said, “and Vanessa will be in to help you for the rest of the day.”
After she’d left the room, Knox shook his head. “Dude, you’re talking better.”
“You admit you were wrong about this company being a scam?”
“Eating crow, right now. It tastes terrible.”
Daniel smirked.
Knox sat on one of the three chairs and leaned forward, his arms on his legs. “I thought this whole idea was a scam, like snake oil. It’s amazing what they’ve done in a little over a week. Do you feel like you’re getting close to 100 percent? You’re moving more like your old self, and you’re not slurring your words. I’m really impressed.”
Daniel shook his head and gave a resigned shrug of one shoulder. “I probably won’t ever be back to 100 percent, but I can live with this. And I’ll keep doing regular physical therapy to keep my muscles built up and my brain and body in sync.”
Knox paused not sure he should ask. “Good enough to get back on the field?”
Daniel chuckled. “No, man. I think I’m in a new phase of my life. A new adventure.”
“One that includes Jessie?”
“I sure hope so.”
“I hope so, too, dude. Call her and invite her to dinner. I’m going to call Nick and Christopher tonight and tell them about your progress. Maybe this program could help Vince, too.”
An older brunette woman entered the room. She was probably in her forties and a little plump, but she had a beautiful smile. “Hey, Daniel. Is this your brother I’ve heard so much about?”
“Yeah. Knox is the strong, silent, grouchy type.”
Knox stood and extended a hand. “Grouchy and handsome.”
“I’m Vanessa.” She shook his hand while, with her other, she waved her hand in front of her face as though she was overheating. Then she laughed. “It’s good to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
Amy poked her head in. “See you tomorrow, Daniel.” She motioned for Knox to follow her.
The other two stared at him. Daniel said, “You have a date or something with Amy?”
“Lordy, lordy,” Vanessa said, waving her hand again. “This is Amy’s lucky day.”
“It’s my lucky day,” Knox corrected and left the room.
Amy was already walking up the hallway. He strode fast to catch up.
Outside, he led her to his truck and opened the passenger door. She came in very close to him, so close he could feel the heat from her body and smell her light perfume. With a smirk, she hopped up.
Instead of snatching her up and kissing her like he wanted to do, he shut the door and circled around to the driver’s side.
“So,” he said, starting the truck. “The Silos, huh?”
She nodded. “I love going there.”
“Ever met Chip and Joanna?”
“Are you kidding? No. Though I saw them when I went to the Silobration last year.” She turned to study him. “Have you met them?”
He shrugged. “I went over to help on a project with some other football players for one of the shows. They had us all over to supper.”
“No way.”
“Way. We got to go to the farmhouse. Chip even showed us the new animals.” He grinned. “Stick with me, baby, and I’ll introduce you to them.”
She laughed. “Better drive through your favorite burger joint drive-through first. There are cupcakes and cookies at The Bakery at the Silos, but I don’t know if the food trucks will be open today. We’d better grab a burger or something first.”
“Dubl-R Old-Fashioned Hamburgers, it is, then. Would you please call ahead so they’ll have our order ready? I’d like the 4x4 with cheese and regular fries.”
She laughed. “You’re going to eat four beef patties?”
“I’m a big boy. I need enough food to fuel this precision machine I call my body.” He thumped his chest, like Tarzan, then glanced at her. “What are you going to order?”
“I guess you’ll have to wait to find out.” Then she called and ordered his 4x4, plus a regular burger. After she hung up, she said, “That ought to be enough to fuel my precision machine.”
When he pulled into their parking lot, he asked, “Want to come in and eat? Or eat in the truck?”
“Your call. How much do locals bother you when you’re out in public?”
“Depends on the day. Want to come in?”
“Nope. I’ll wait here.”
“I guess we’ll be eating in the truck, then.”
He went in and paid for their order and carried it back to the truck. Since four pe
ople stopped him inside to chat, he figured it was a good thing that they’d be eating in the truck.
She waited for him with a smile. “I saw you talking with people.”
“What can I say? I’m a popular guy.” But at this moment, he just wanted to spend time with her. Alone with her. And their burgers.
“I hope you grabbed lots of napkins to mop up your 4x4.”
He set a large stack of napkins on the bench seat between them. Handing her the regular burger and fries, he took out the colossal package containing his 4x4. He unwrapped it to reveal a huge, tall burger.
“How can you even get your mouth around that?”
“Here. Let me demonstrate the proper technique.” He took a bite, pinching the burger tight in order to fit it in. Ketchup squirted out and onto his sleeve, but he couldn’t do anything about it because he was busy trying to eat the darn thing.
“I am very impressed.” She laughed and swiped at the ketchup on his sleeve with one of the napkins.
After the food was gone — he’d also finished off the last quarter of her regular burger she left uneaten — he chucked their waste in a trash can.
It was a short drive from Dubl-R to the Silos, and he turned off 8th Street and found a parking spot.
“It’s not nearly as busy on a Wednesday as a Saturday,” she said.
He turned to her and she looked up at him, tipping her head. When he took her hand, she raised an eyebrow, obviously not knowing what to expect. He hardly knew what to expect of himself, so he plowed on. “Amy, I owe you an apology. You have done a great job with Daniel. He’s talking and walking so much better that I can hardly believe it.”
She got a twinkle in her eye. “So you admit I’m not a scam artist, after all.”
He smiled. “You’re not. You offered true hope, not false hope. He’s even realizing he won’t be playing football again. I don’t know if I can thank you enough for that or not.”
“We did have a chat about expectations.”
His heart swelled as he looked as this pretty lady who’d helped his brother so much.
“Does this mean you admit I wasn’t chasing after Daniel to ensnare him, too?” Her voice sounded super sweet, but she seemed to be enjoying this far too much. “Because I talked to him about calling Jessie.”
KNOX: An Enemies-to-Lovers Sweet Romantic Comedy Page 7