Page 104 of Cruel King
Nodding, I smile as I think about how true that statement is. There isn’t a year I can remember when the King boys weren’t the biggest part of my life.
“It is. I love them like they’re my own brothers.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I cringe and quickly add, “Well, not brothers. At least not all of them. That came out weird. God, that really sounded terrible, didn’t it?”
Mick turns his head to look at me and laughs. “I knew what you meant. They’ve been like your family all your life. That’s still nice.”
“Yes, exactly. Like family,” I say, happy to agree with the way he phrases it since my way sounded oddly incestual.
Eager to change the subject, I lean over and watch him pat the soil around the newly relocated rose bush. “Do you think it’s going to do well here? I’d hate to see it die. I love yellow roses, and there aren’t any other yellow rose bushes near the house.”
“Oh, it’ll be fine. I just have to make sure I give it extra tender loving care. I’ll watch over it for a few weeks to make sure it’s taking to its new home, but I think it will be okay.”
He stands up and wipes his hands on the front of his pants, covering them in dirt. “But for now, I need to go check on the order of mums for next month. Mr. King explicitly told me that he wants as many as possible, but there must be some shortage because I’ve had to search high and low to find a nursery that has enough for what he expects.”
“Okay. I’m going to hang out here for a bit. Maybe I’ll talk to the rose bush. You know, give it a pep talk and tell it how much it’s going to love its new home.”
Mick nods like what I just said isn’t completely silly. “They say plants do better when we talk to them, and a rose bush is just a bigger plant, so why not?”
“Yeah, why not? The way you say it doesn’t sound so ridiculous, so maybe I will. Thanks!”
As the groundskeeper walks away with his shovel and tools, he calls back, “Anytime!”
I give the rose bush a big smile and whisper, “I don’t know if this is going to work, but I think you’ll love it here. I know I do. I promise to come out and see you every day, and I promise to show off your beautiful flowers inside because yellow roses are my favorite.”
A few minutes later, Matthias rounds the corner of the house and stops dead when he sees me sitting on the ground having a chat with the newest rose bush on the block. He looks upset, so I quickly jump to my feet to explain.
“This may look weird, but this is a rose bush Mick brought from out near the property line. I was just giving it some tender loving care since yellow roses are my favorite. I swear I’m not crazy. You can ask him. He agreed with me since talking to plants is so beneficial and a rose bush is technically just a big plant.”
Matthias tries to smile as I tell him what I was doing, but it’s like he can’t make himself. So instead, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him sweetly, just in case he’s having a bad day at work and needs some cheering up.
“By the way, I made reservations at Cooligan’s for eight. They didn’t have anything for seven, so I figured eight would be okay. Are you upset about something? Are you dealing with problems at work today?”
I stare up at his expression. He looks like he’s about to lash out at me. What’s happened to make him turn back into that person again?
“What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head and grabs hold of my hand. “I just got a call. Something’s happened.”
Instantly, I squeeze his hand tightly, afraid of what he’s about to say. “What? What’s happened?”
A million terrible thoughts run through my head. Is it my father? I knew living alone in that cabin on that lake was a bad idea. I should have made him change his mind.
Or is it Drew? Or the girls or his wife? They made it through that hurricane unscathed a while back, but he’s always telling me about alligators on their news down there. God, I wish he didn’t love that place so much because a state full of alligators is simply terrifying.
“Matthias, what is it? Tell me!”
Now I see nothing but utter sadness in his eyes as I wait for him to tell me what’s happened. Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, he chokes out, “There’s been an accident. Theo.”
I step back from him in horror, shaking my head. “No. I don’t believe you. You’re just saying this because you had some kind of problem at work. No.”
He takes my hands and holds them tightly in his as he follows me across the grass. “I’m sorry. It’s not anything like that, Ava.”
“No! Don’t tell me he’s gone, Matthias. I won’t believe you.”
His eyes fill with tears as he says, “It was an accident in a race. He hit a wall. His manager called me a little while ago.”
I yank my hands from his hold and pound my fists against his chest as I scream, “No! Not Theo. No! He isn’t dead. I don’t believe you! I don’t believe you!”