“Love thing?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You call melove, and you say things likeknackered, bollocks, wanker, gutted, and old nan—which I assume is some British slang you use in your family. You lived in England, didn’t you?”
He smiles as if remembering fond memories. “Yes. I did. My brothers and I lived with my grandparents for three years fromwhen I was twelve. We called my great-grandmother old nan. Although, nan is usually your mother’s mother.”
I love that he’s speaking so freely. “That’s really cool. Did you enjoy living in England?”
“I did. It was different. Freeing, I suppose.”
I’m intrigued he actually lived in England for so long, but I find it strange that he’d need to live with his grandparents when he had parents.
If memory serves me right, I believe they got divorced when Knox was twelve.
The divorce isn’t strange. What’s odd is that Knox and his brothers lived away from his parents for so long. It makes me wonder about his mother again.
Where was she in the picture?
“You’ve been to England, too,” he adds. It’s not a question. He knows. He must have gotten that intel from my files.
“I did. For college. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to work with a number of notable artists.”
“Now, that sounds cool.”
“Thanks. Over the years, I wanted to return, but something always came up.”
“How about we go together? I’m due a visit.”
“Really?” Excitement bubbles within me.
“Of course.”
“I’d love that.”
“Then we’ll do it.” He smiles with a twinkle in his eyes. “Any more questions?”
“Of course.”
“Fire away.”
“Football. Did you ever want to play pro? All the articles online raved about you. Sounded like the Monster was really good.”
He chuckles quietly. “Feels like another life that happened a lifetime ago. But yes, I was good, and I wanted to play pro. It was never going to happen, though, because I’m the eldest Vale son. It was my duty to take over from my father. Basically, I trained to be him.” Sadness creeps into his voice. It tugs on my heart.
“Couldn’t something have been arranged?”
“No. That’s not how it works. It’s part of the inheritance stipulations my great- great-grandfather left behind. I knew how important it was to follow in my father’s footsteps. Especially to him. So, I decided I’d take football as far as I could then leave when I was supposed to leave. I was lucky. I got fifteen years out of it.”
“You’re so good at being Knox Vale of Vale Global, no one would ever know you wanted to do anything else.”
“I guess I create a good illusion, love.”
“Do you ever…play? I mean, just to touch base.”
“Every month, I get together with my old teammates from college and we play.” He smiles wistfully. “Some of them are in the NFL, so they play a mean game. It’s amazing. We also run a summer camp for high school kids during the last week of the summer.”
That lifts my spirits. “That sounds like fun.”
“It is. And I guess it’s something. It feels like I didn’t completely let go.” He nods and runs a hand through his hair. “My turn to ask questions.”
