Page 3 of Knox

“It’s Knox.” He stood before his face split into a grin. “It’s good to see you, Pop.”

“Fuckin’ Christ, Denver!” Mr. Knoxville pulled Knox close, and the two men clapped each other on the back heavily, sharing a chuckle and a warm embrace.

“Denver?” Luke asked, his eyes narrowing. “Dad’s older brother?” He shook his head slowly. “You’re dead.” Then he shifted his gaze back to his grandfather. “Or did you and Danny lie to us!” It was a demand instead of a question.

“He didn’t lie,” Knox said as he and Mr. Knoxville separated, still gripping each other’s shoulders as if reluctant to let go. “It’s complicated.” Then he knelt beside me again. “Better?”

I couldn’t speak. I was just trying to breathe. But yeah. I felt better so I nodded several times.

“Good.” Again, he removed the mask long enough to give me some more sips of water. “Luke, I’m in the older black Ford truck with an enclosed black trailer behind it. In the trailer you’ll find a stack of clean cloths in a clear tote. Bring a handful along with some more bottled water. It should all be just inside the door of the trailer.”

Luke looked at his grandfather before looking back at me. “I don’t know. I think I should stay with Mom while you go get whatever you want.”

“It’s all right, Luke.” Mr. Knoxville gave Luke a serious look. He wasn’t dismissing the older boy’s worries. More like reassuring him. “I’ll stay with Evelyn.”

“I don’t know…” He looked from his grandfather back to Knox again.

To his credit, Knox didn’t try to hurry Luke or in any way dissuade him. Instead, he waited patiently for Luke to make up his mind.

“Mom? Will you be all right?”

I tried my best to smile. My chest still hurt, but it was more like my insides were raw and scraped. No doubt from smoke inhalation. I nodded, pulling the mask away once more. “I’ll be fine, honey. Why don’t you take Aneshya with you? She can help you.”

That seemed to be what Luke needed, though he still looked worried. Likely he saw this as an opportunity to get his sister away from a strange man where he could find a safe place for her to wait until he could come back for me.

When the children were gone, Knox turned his full attention on me. It wasn’t a very comfortable place to be. He looked so much like Danny, but where Danny was slender and leanly built, Knox was large and thickly muscled. He had a few scars on his face. Nothing too horrible, but enough to give him an edge and make him look rugged and battle-hardened. The thing was, he could be Danny’s twin. If I remembered correctly, Denver -- Knox -- was older than Danny -- seven or eight years older. The most uncomfortable thing of all, though, was the fact that this man looked at me with a concern I’d never seen from Danny. While we got along well -- not even verbal arguments -- Danny wasn’t an overly demonstrative person. In fact, he wasn’t at home much because he worked constantly. I had my own job, but I mostly worked from home. Whatever we had never seemed to be enough for Danny. He always wanted more and worked hard to have whatever those things were.

Instantly, my gaze went to Mr. Knoxville. He knew Danny was never home. It was why he made sure we all lived so close to him. So we had someone close if we needed them. Mr. Knoxville was big on taking care of his family, and I’d been more than grateful for the help he’d given me when I’d had to be gone for short periods and he’d kept an eye on things.

“He’s not like Danny, Evie. I swear it. Denver… er… Knox… takes care of his own. That includes you and his niece and nephew, too, now that he’s back.” The older man gave his son a look that said there would be a come-to-Jesus meeting. Soon.

Knox narrowed his gaze on Mr. Knoxville. “What’re you gettin’ at, old man?”

Mr. Knoxville just shrugged. “A discussion for another time. We need to get Evelyn to the hospital.”

Knox nodded slowly, but I didn’t think he was agreeing with his father. More like he acknowledged the fact that now wasn’t the time. But I got the feeling he still intended to keep his secrets. No matter what his father wanted.

Luke and Aneshya hadn’t returned. I knew Luke had no intention of bringing his sister back until he was certain Knox wasn’t a threat to us. Knox glanced in the direction of his truck. “Fine. But the discussion will be about the kids. Can’t promise anything else.”

Knox shrugged out of his backpack and set it beside me with a heavy thump. From his pack he removed the small oxygen tank hooked to my mask and set it in my lap. I expected he’d hold out a hand to help me to my feet or something. Instead, he scooped me up -- oxygen tank and all -- and carried me toward the trailer where the children waited.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m takin’ you to the hospital.” There was a warning in his voice that said I shouldn’t argue. But I didn’t think it would be the smartest move to give in to this guy.

“If I need to go to the hospital, I’ll go later. I need to take care of my children first.”

“Evelyn.” Mr. Knoxville was gentle as he adjusted the oxygen mask on my face to free a few strands of hair. “Your lungs were hurt because you inhaled too much smoke. We need to get you checked over to make sure you don’t need additional treatment. You know that.”

“I’ll be fine. And I’m not saying I won’t see my doctor, but I need to take care of the kids first. What if they need to see a doctor more than I do? We haven’t taken stock of their injuries yet.”

“I’m pretty sure there are enough doctors in the city to go around.” Knox didn’t so much as look at me as he set me down in the cab of the truck. “I vote we take you all to the hospital to get checked out.” He glanced at Mr. Knoxville. “Including you, old man.”

Mr. Knoxville rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid, boy. I fully intend to get checked out, but you need to keep in mind we thought you were dead. You ain’t been here in fifteen years, seven months, and four days. Which means you don’t get to dictate to me. Old man or not.”

“I think you really should get seen, Mom.” Luke ignored the byplay between Mr. Knoxville and his son, focusing instead on me and his sister. “We’ll all go and you’ll be there with us.”

“I’ll take you and Aneshya. If I try to get seen too, they might put us in separate rooms. If I still feel bad after you guys are cleared, I’ll check in then. OK? Besides, we’ve still got to find Danny. He was right beside me when we realized there was a fire.”

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