“Knox is better at it than I am,” Jacob claimed, as if selling the merits of his brother.He carried two different pitchers of juice.“I can get by, and Ashlee does okay—”
Ashlee deliberately bumped him, almost making him spill the drinks.
“—but Knox could be a chef.”
“Thanks,” Knox said, “but you’re still doing the dishes.”
Laylee could have been overwhelmed, especially with all of them joking and including her as one of their own, but instead she just enjoyed herself.
Toward the end of the meal, Nolan and Knox were discussing a roofing job, and Ashlee chimed in.
“Do you do roofing, too?”Laylee asked.
“I’ve pitched in, but I don’t love it the way Knox does.If I had your looks, I’d be a model.That sure seems easier.”
Nolan immediately protested.“You should know better,” he scolded.“No job, when done well, is easy.”
“I don’t know,” Laylee said.“It does seem easier than laboring in the hot sun, but you’re right, modeling does have its challenges.Long hours, forced smiles,reallyuncomfortable shoes, travel when it’s not convenient, constant criticism … Once, when I hadn’t slept well, the photographer kept complaining and asking for more and more and more makeup because I was washed out.All I wanted to do was go home and sleep.”
“I didn’t know that,” Knox said.
She shrugged.“We’ve never really discussed my work.”The idea of her modeling seemed silly sometimes.Most of the men she’d dated had made it out to be a big deal, carrying on as if they’d scored something special.But not Knox.
He definitely made her feel special, but not because of her looks, or because she modeled.
With him, she was just herself.
Knox frowned, as if lost in thought.
Nolan broke the sudden silence by saying, “I raised my daughter much like my sons.I wanted her to be self-sufficient so that she’d never ‘need’ a man.I’ll be happy when she finds a keeper, but it will be because she loves him, not for any other reason.”
“He tells me that all the time,” Ashlee said.“Mom just tells me to be happy.”
“I want you all happy,” Nolan protested.
“Happily independent,” Jacob countered.
“Stop,” Jenny said.“You’ll have her thinking we only wanted to be rid of you.”
Jacob leaned over to hug his mom.“Nah.Mom cried when I went off to college, but then Dad almost did, too.”
“Tears of happiness,” Nolan insisted.“I didn’t think you’d ever make a decision.”
From there, the mood lightened again, and they all talked for another hour.Honestly, Laylee could have stayed and visited all day, but she knew they needed to get home to the animals.Paul, awesome as he was, probably had his hands full and was ready for a break.
She’d couldn’t have been more wrong.
“A harness for a cat.”
Knox gave Laylee a hug.“Hey, I never considered it, either.”
Paul grinned at both of them, his gaze going back and forth.“I knew I was right about you two.”
Knox gave him a light shove, then laughed.“How much do I owe you?”
“Consider it a gift.I enjoyed getting to know River, and I always enjoy visiting the dogs.”
“But you’re a professional,” Laylee protested.“It’s your job, so we have to pay you.”
