Take Me Down (The Knight Brothers 2)

“Jesus,” he muttered, climbing out of bed. He pulled on a pair of sweats and sweatshirt, went to the bathroom in the hall to take care of business, and made his way downstairs.

He heard the distinct sound of metal banging on metal from an open door leading to the basement downstairs. Curses followed and he went in the direction of the noise, finding James, wrench in hand, wrestling with the boiler.

“Come on, you son of a bitch. I can’t afford what a plumber will cost me to come fix you,” the man muttered.

“What’s going on?” Parker knelt down beside James, who was also bundled in jeans and a heavy jacket. “Damn thing is old. I think I’m going to have to call for help.”

Parker wasn’t good with machinery and groaned. “Sorry. I wish I had the know-how to help.”

They both rose to their feet.

“It’s fine,” James said with a wince. “I’ll give Timmons a call. He’s the plumber in the area. Hopefully he can get out here fairly soon. I’m sorry about this.”

“No worries for me. Let’s go have some hot coffee,” Parker said, gesturing toward the stairs for them to walk up.

A little while later, he and James were sitting at the table while he waited for a return call from the plumber, each cupping their hand over a warm mug of brew.

“I’m sorry my daughter wasn’t exactly warm and welcoming yesterday,” James said. “I’m not sure what got into her.”

Parker chuckled. “I think I just rubbed her the wrong way.”

Although he got the feeling there was more to her dislike of him than met the eye. Between her calling him city boy and thinking he was trouble, he figured maybe he reminded her of someone she knew and didn’t like. He’d have to give it more time. From his check-in with Matt a little while ago, the part would take a few days, and Parker had decided he was in no rush to return home. In fact, he felt as though he could breathe here without feeling suffocated by work and family issues.

“She’s been through a lot,” James said of his daughter. “Don’t hold it against her.”

“I won’t,” Parker assured the man. He was too interested in the attraction he felt for Emily to do that. “What’s going on with the heater? Is that typical?”

James sighed, meeting his gaze. He looked to be in his late fifties, with deep creases around his eyes that came from living life, and Parker wondered what his story was.

“Emily grew up in this town. It’s small and slow-paced. Her mom and I loved it here. I was an accountant and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. It was always my wife Ruby’s dream to open a bed-and-breakfast and we saved for that day. Emily went off to college and then settled in Chicago, and her mom and I waited for the perfect property to come up for sale. Five years ago, it did.” He stared wistfully off into space, as if remembering.

“And you bought it,” Parker said, bringing his attention back to the present.

“We did. And it needed a lot of work, which we started to put into it. But that didn’t stop Ruby from living her dream and getting guests here to stay over. She loved taking care of people and she loved being the proprietor. We did the renovations slowly even with a small loan. But then…”

He trailed off and Parker waited for him to be able to continue.

He glanced from his mug into Parker’s eyes. “Ruby got sick. Pancreatic cancer. And when the treatments didn’t work, the money we’d allotted for the inn we started to use for experimental treatments. This place was the last thing I worried about and I let things go.”

“How long has she been gone?” Parker asked softly.

“A year.” He blew out a harsh breath. “It wasn’t easy. Emily came home as often as she could, when that bastard would let her.” He muttered the last part under his breath, and Parker narrowed his gaze, not liking what his words insinuated. At all.

“Finally she returned for good and her mom passed a short time after. Which is why we don’t have the money to get this place fixed up so we can accommodate a full house of guests.”

Parker nodded in understanding, taking a sip of his coffee before answering. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

He knew both personally and from his brother what death did to people, and it was a wonder they had this place running even at partial capacity.

“I want more than anything to fulfill my wife’s dream, but in the meantime, Em is baking and selling her cakes and cookies at Harper’s Coffee Shop in town. It’s a good fit since she left her job in Chicago when–”

“Dad!” Emily’s bark of horror stopped her father from finishing his sentence, preventing Parker from learning more.