Page 87 of Wild King
All the times the seven of us sat in this room and ate dinner before all of us boys ran outside to play in the huge yard flash through my mind, making me smile. “He liked keeping it the same way it always had been. It was the only way Theo was traditional.”
“Are you going to keep it this way?” Salem asks.
I shrug, unsure what I want to do with this house. Until today, I couldn’t even bear the idea of coming here. There are too many memories here that threaten to haunt me. Even with Salem by my side, it’s hard to wrestle with them and know the two people who cared most for this house, my mother and Theo, are gone now.
“I don’t know what I want to do. For now, I just like thinking about that last time he and I hung out here.”
While I don’t say this to her, I wish I knew that day when I left and told him I’d see him soon that I didn’t have much time left with him. I would have said so many things I’ll never have a chance to now.
Salem walks over and takes my hand in hers. “The people we love are never really gone, Kellen. Not as long as we keep them in our hearts.”
I force a smile and sigh. “I hope you’re right because I miss him.”
She rests her head against my arm. “I know, baby. I think he’d be proud of you, though. You had a rough time this year, but you came through it, and now on New Year’s Eve, you’re here in the house he left you for the first time and getting ready to be the head of King Industries.”
I consider what she said and wonder if Theo would be proud of me. Even as I tried to be like him, he was so different from me. He may have loved this house as traditional as it is because it reminded him of our mother, but nothing else about Theo King would in any way, shape, or form be considered traditional.
“He’d probably bust my ass and say, ‘Next time you fool around, Kellen, don’t get caught. That’s where you went wrong.’ Then he’d laugh like he always did when things got serious.”
“I think if you’re going to sell this house, you have to make sure to bring little Theo here first. It seems only fitting that his namesake would get to see it,” she says before kissing my cheek.
“I should just give the place to Matthias and Ava. They love houses that look like this. My older brother is very much a fan of the same style as my mother. Then little Theo could get it when he’s old enough.”
The two of us grow quiet as I study the rooms around me and remember all the good times the five of us boys had here. Then the memory of the one year we spent New Year’s Eve here right after Ronan turned five comes flooding back into my brain. The Christmas tree was still up in the living room, and my mother had chosen to hang only white ornaments on it.
She always made sure beauty surrounded us. We didn’t notice it, but as soon as she was gone, we missed that.
Looking up at me, Salem smiles and says, “Happy New Year, Kellen. May the next three hundred and sixty-five days be the best of your life.”
I wrap my arms around her and hug her tightly to me. “Happy New Year, Salem.”
Happy New Year, Mom and Theo. I wish you were still here with us.
“What do you say I whip up something to eat?” Salem says as she walks toward the kitchen. “We’ll hang out and celebrate with snacks to ring in the new year. Sound good?”
“Sure!” I answer, pushing away all the memories filling my head tonight. “I haven’t kept much here, but we might have some microwave popcorn in the cabinet.”
She shakes her head and laughs. “You know, for a billionaire, you have some very ordinary tastes.”
I’d like to argue with her, but she’s right. That’s the way we all were brought up. We had money, but my parents made sure we understood money couldn’t buy everything. Love, friendship, and family didn’t have a price tag but were more valuable than anything else in this world.
And hanging out with the woman you love eating microwave popcorn and waiting for the clock to turn midnight is nothing short of priceless.
On my way into the kitchen, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Fishing it out, I see it’s Matthias. “Happy New Year! I still have a day until I have to be in the office, so if you’re calling to see if I’m already there, I’m not. In fact, I’m not even on the same continent as you tonight.”
Salem holds up the box of popcorn and laughs. “I found it! Any chance you have any butter to melt for it?”
I open my mouth to tell my brother to hang on so I can answer her, but in my ear I hear Matthias say in his usual serious tone, “Kellen, you need to come back. Something’s happened.”
“Maybe in the refrigerator,” I say to Salem before returning to the phone call. “I know you made me interim head of the company, and I take that very seriously. I really do. But can’t it wait until tomorrow? We’re at the house in France, and Salem and I were planning to ring in the new year with microwave popcorn and butter, assuming we can find any.”
My words are met with silence for a long moment before Matthias finally says, “Kellen, there’s been an accident. It’s Ronan. I just got the call. He’s being rushed to the hospital right now. Ava and I are going as soon as I get off the phone with you.”
My blood runs cold at the thought of my younger brother hurt. “What happened?”
“He was driving up the Taconic and a drunk driver hit him. Sent him into the median. His car flipped, and they had to cut him out. They don’t know how severe his injuries are, but it’s bad. I knew you’d want to be there for him. They’re taking him to Mercy Jefferson. Jesus, I think he was coming here, Kellen. He called me and said he wanted to stop in to see the baby. Oh, God.”
My chest contracts at the news. “He’s going to be fine. I know he is. Ronan is tough. Dealing with four older brothers forced him to be.”