Chapter 11
Fox leanedagainst the office wall in the back of Dare’s bar, juggling three lemons. Dare hated when he did this, but Fox needed to think. He had another story brewing in the back of his mind, even as he worked on a hundred other things having to do with the paper. Plus, by the success of his first article with Ms. Pearl, he knew he needed to do at least one more. It was all up to what she wanted to do, rather than what he needed to do.
Unlike some reporters, he knew that Ms. Pearl was the most important part of the story, and that meant if she didn’t want to do a follow-up, he wouldn’t. And though she had wanted him to come over tonight to talk more and see where the story would go, nothing was set in stone.
She never wanted to be part of the big papers and the heartbreaking news so often found in them, and that had never been part of his life. He liked what he did, and he didn’t know if he liked the fact that so many people were contacting him now that they’d gotten to know the woman who knew the famous people back in the day. He knew his town would keep Ms. Pearl safe, and he wasn’t really worried about that, but it still felt weird to have so many more eyes on his work than usual.
He really was weird, even for a writer.
And because his phone wouldn’t stop ringing at work, he had tasked his assistant with dealing with all of that, and the rest of his employees were either off working on their own stories or doing research, so he was sitting in his brother’s office, avoiding work rather than even helping out at the bar. It wasn’t yet dinnertime, so it wasn’t as if Fox’s help was needed, but he really was just avoiding everything.
“I really wish you would stop stealing the produce,” Dare said as he walked back into his office, yet another folder of paperwork in his hand. Fox thought he had to deal with enough paperwork with his own job, but both of his brothers had even more than he did most days. How all three ended up owning their own businesses, he had no idea. It wasn’t what his brothers had grown up thinking they would do. But, here they were. And if he were honest with himself, their sister had even more paperwork than the rest of them combined. She practically ran a huge business out in Colorado with her husband and his family.
“I’d make a joke about life giving me lemons or something, but I really don’t know where I would go with that.”
“Please don’t make a joke. I have a headache since both of my waitresses are working their assess off, and yet we’re getting too busy for just the two of them. We’re probably going to have to hire a third waitress or pull someone over from the restaurant side and make everybody stressed out. I think I can get Kenzie to work tonight along with me, but she’s already been working all day at the inn, and now I’m just going to have a bigger headache, and my girl is going to be exhausted.”
“I have a meeting with Ms. Pearl later, but after that, I can probably come in and help. I would cancel on her, but no one really cancels on Ms. Pearl.”
“Duly noted, and I thank you in advance. And yeah, do not cancel on Ms. Pearl. And I didn’t tell you this before, but great job on that article. Really good stuff.” Dare’s head was down as he searched through paperwork but Fox knew that his brother was sincere.
It had been a really good story, after all.
“I talked with Tabby earlier, and she said that she’s probably going to call later tonight. You might want to text her and tell her you’ll talk to her tomorrow if you’ll be in the bar all night working since we’re short-staffed. I like that she’s been calling more often since the wedding and now news of the baby, but I also hate the fact that it just reminds me that our baby sister is so far away. Now, she’s going to be a mom herself, and the baby will be a Montgomery, and all those Montgomerys just keep breeding so she will end up with like eighteen children by the time we get to see her again.”
Dare looked over his shoulder and smiled. “I don’t really think that’s how the whole pregnancy thing works. But it’s been a long time since Nate was born so I could be wrong.”
Fox laughed and stopped juggling since he could see it was getting on Dare’s nerves. He might be the little brother, but he’d long since given up the notion that his sole role in life was to annoy his two older siblings. Most of the time anyway.
“You and Kenzie thinking about having babies of your own soon? Or if that’s not a question I should ask right now, you can just look away and go back to your paperwork.”
Dare turned and leaned against his desk, folding his arms over his chest. “We’re trying. I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that or not, but our family apparently tells each other everything these days, so…yeah. We’re trying. Kenzie’s afraid that she’s getting too old to start thinking about having babies, even though she’s not even thirty yet and it’s not like she’s in that window. But we kind of want to give Nate more than one younger sibling, so that means we have to start trying earlier rather than later. And, yeah, we’re not married yet, but we like to do things backwards. It’s just how we are. But she’s my life. She is going to be it for me. So that means I get to start trying to make a baby with the person I love most in the world, I count that as a win. By the way, the whole marriage thing? I’m working on it. We both said we wanted to wait until we at least hit six months together, but I don’t know if we’ll wait that long. Knowing Kenzie, she’ll be the one to propose to me.”
Fox smiled widely, thinking about Kenzie going down on one knee for Dare and then the two raising even more kids. “The idea of you and Kenzie having kids is possibly the best thing I’ve heard all day. Thank God Kenzie is hot because Nate is a cute kid, but it all comes from his mom. Not your ugly mug.”
“You’re lucky we’re at work, or I’d kick your ass right now.” Dare shook his head, glaring at his papers. “And, once again, I don’t get why you’re here instead of in your office.”
“I think better in yours.”
“That makes no sense. My office is tiny and cramped and smells like fried food and beer, even though Kenzie and I have repeatedly tried to change that. And your office has actual windows that air out the place as much as you want. Plus, you never have family members frolicking inside because they like your office better.”
Fox set the lemons down on Dare’s desk and glared. “I did not, nor have I ever, frolicked.”
“I’m just calling it like I see it.” Dare’s eyes filled with laughter, but Fox didn’t reach out and punch his brother like he wanted to. Somehow, Kenzie or even their parents would show up just at that moment and scold them, and he’d been in trouble. He supposed the two of them—no, three since Loch was just as bad as they were—needed to grow up at some point.
“You’re cruel. And on that note, I need to head to Ms. Pearl’s. I’ll be back later though to help behind the bar.”
Dare nodded, his attention on his books again. “Thanks. I know you don’t have to help, but I appreciate it.”
Fox squeezed his brother’s shoulder on the way out the door. “You let me use your office and bar to work when I need space to think and write, and if I were the one who owned this place, you’d help out the moment I needed it—and probably before since you’d realize I needed the help. We’re family. It’s what we do.”
And on that note, Fox headed out before they got too into their feelings, and he ended up making Dare uncomfortable. His brother was getting better since he’d gotten with Kenzie, but there were still some things Dare didn’t like to talk about. Loch was even worse, and it made Fox realize why he and Tabby were so close—because Fox actually told people what he was feeling. Maybe it was the writer in him, maybe it was because he and his sister were closest in age and she never let him get away with anything. But he at least tried to be transparent.
At least until it came to Melody.
Because hell if he knew what he was doing there.
And now that he was headed to Ms. Pearl’s, he knew there was a high probability that he’d see Melody at the house. He knew Kenzie and Ainsley had been planning to stop by her studio since he’d asked them if they’d met her yet. He’d ignored their all-too-knowing looks because he’d known that Melody would need more friends than just him in this town if their hormones didn’t calm down soon. However, he had no idea if the two had actually made it to the studio or what had happened. He figured if he saw Melody, he’d find out tonight, or maybe he’d text her. And if he were too chicken to do that, he’d just ask Kenzie and Ainsley.