King Maker (King Maker 3)

“Aye. It makes the most sense. Who else has it out for yer?”

I’d made plenty of enemies along the way to my success. Plenty who’d love to see me fail. But Griffin and I’d discussed the possibilities, and this had been far too personal.

“I know you don’t want to believe it. But get yer head out of yer arse.”

“I’ll find out.”

His brows shot up. “A face to face.”

I nodded. “Eye to eye. That’s the only way.”

And I began to plan.

Thirteen

The scenery was worthy of a canvas. Too bad the car ride over rolling hills was even more awkward than being woken up on the plane and told to take my seat. It’d felt like I’d taken the walk of shame as everyone in the first cabin viewed me leaving the bedroom with Turner, not knowing nothing had happened outside of sleep.

“It’s beautiful,” I said absently, staring out the car window.

“Aye. It is,” Griffin said from the driver’s seat on the right side, which was weird in itself.

Turner and I rode with him as Kalen drove with Ainsley and Gabe because we couldn’t all fit in one. Cars were a lot smaller over here.

“Why would you want to live in New York when you live here?” I asked.

“Opportunity. Though truth be told, one takes for granted what’s right in front of them.”

“True,” I answered despite the message he could have been sending me with that statement. He was Kalen’s friend.

I decided not to overthink it and leaned my head on the glass and stayed silent the rest of the ride.

When we pulled up to a moderate-sized cottage, I found myself in love with how homey it looked. It was certainly fancier than the house I’d grown up in. But it wasn’t like a mini mansion.

The real question I had was why we hadn’t ended up at a hotel.

As I sat without moving, the door to the house opened and instantly I knew it belonged to Kalen somehow.

A woman with timeless beauty stepped into the doorway. One look at her face and it was apparent who she was. She shared some features, like the curve of her mouth, the structure of her cheekbones, and her green eyes with her son. Although her hair was a mix of gray, he’d also gotten his dark hair from her.

When Kalen got out of the car, her eyes lit up in what could only be described as motherly love.

Once the miniature version of Kalen was released from his car seat, he bounded out of his father’s car and barreled into his grandmother’s arms. Immediately, I was struck with a longing for my mother. I had to hold back tears as I remembered our all too short farewell.

“Bails,” Turner said, shaking me out of my thoughts. I wiped the corner of my eye before shifting to glance in his direction. “Are you getting out?”

Both men seemed to be waiting as Kalen’s mother turned her gaze to me. Instantly, I felt welcome. She waved me over, and it would have been rude to refuse her. Just because her son was a jerk didn’t mean she was one too. I opened the door and she met me halfway.

“So you’re Bailey. I’ve heard so much about you.” She took me in her arms and squeezed before leaning back while still holding my shoulders to look at me. “You are as bonnie as he said.” She sighed. “You may call me Isla.”

I could only hold a smile to my face, unable to come up with a response. Had Kalen really talked about me to his mother?

“Speak, lass. My son brings home a girl for the first time and I’m aching to hear your lovely voice.”

The only thing I could think to say was, “He’s not really bringing me home. Not that way, at least.”

I could tell she didn’t believe me until Turner stepped up to my side.

“Hi, I’m Turner,” he said, reaching out a hand to her in greeting.

Her eyes shifted over our shoulders for a quick second before she greeted Turner with the same fondness.

“You all must be hungry. Please come in.”

“I should be going,” I heard Griffin say from somewhere behind me.

“Don’t be silly. You will stay for dinner. If you must go, you’ll go after.”

Her command was received and not protested.

We stepped inside a small foyer with a staircase straight ahead. To the left, I glimpsed a small kitchen with an L-shaped counter and the basic appliances that didn’t look too fancy. To the right was a living room of sorts that held delicate looking furniture that appeared as though it would crumble under Kalen’s weight and he wasn’t an overly large man, at least not in girth.

His mother steered us beyond the kitchen where a table that could hold all of us was already set for dinner.

“Tea?” she asked.