The Billionaire's Secret Kink Box Set: Knox: Secret Alpha Billionaire Romance Bundle (Rosesson Brothers Book 1) (31 page)

"You don't have any idea at all?" Mica asked.

"No. Unless it's why she hasn't spoken for twenty years."

"Do you think she just ... chose to stop talking?" Mica said hesitantly.

Knox shook his head, his jaw clenching. "I don't know. She's always been emotionally fragile, my mom. Even before she stopped talking it was obvious. My dad saying one wrong word to her would send her to her room for days. One time, her father came over for dinner and wouldn't eat the green beans she cooked and she cried, then threw the whole pot at his head, giving him a concussion."

Mica sat back in her seat, her eyes big.

"My grandma told me she was like that even as a kid. They took her to psychiatrists and got a bunch of differing diagnoses, Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar, Emotional Intensity Disorder, they put her on medication and everything, but nothing ever helped. I always got the feeling Grandma never liked Mom much and I think that might have been part of the problem." Knox's voice dropped. "I don't know. She's sweet, you know, always has been, but she never worked or did anything for herself and she married my dad at seventeen. Her current doctor diagnosed her with Schizoaffective disorder but says it doesn't explain why she won't talk. He thinks it's a personal choice brought on by the death of the baby. He says it caused a kind of neural break in her brain that might heal, or it might not. I just keep wondering if it has healed. If maybe my mom is starting to get better. If maybe she wants to tell me that she wants to talk again."

Mica reached across the seat of the big truck and rubbed Knox's elbow. She had no idea what to say. Nervousness began to build in her belly at the thought that they would be there in just a few hours. She had no family, so had never had to deal with anything like this herself.

Knox covered her hand with one of his and smiled at her, immediately putting her at ease. She'd walk through fire for Knox. A meeting with his mother should be easy.

Mica

Mica's eyes roamed the grounds as they pulled into Sunny Acres. The place screamed luxury. The landscaping was immaculate and the large yellow and white building framed with palm trees looked nothing like a medical facility.

Knox parked the car in the shade of a dramatic weeping willow, then let the dogs out to run for a few minutes before putting them back in the truck with the windows rolled down.

"They won't let the dogs in, I've asked, but they'll be fine out here. It's barely seventy degrees out."

Mica nodded, wondering if he was nervous. His face looked calm and relaxed.

He took her hand and they walked inside. The young woman at the front desk smiled at Knox brightly, ignoring Mica completely. "Mr. Rosesson, your mother will be so happy to see you. The night crew said she didn't sleep at all last night, just kept writing away in her new journal."

Knox nodded distractedly at the woman, already pulling Mica down a bright hallway. "Thanks," he said over his shoulder.

Rooms lined each side of the hallway, looking like nothing more than regular apartments. Mica had imagined locks on the doors and doctors in white coats roaming the hallways.

Knox stopped at a door that looked like all the others and knocked on it. "Mom, it's me."

The door opened at once, as if she had been waiting for him. Knox dropped Mica's hand and hugged his mother, lifting her off her feet. "Sorry I didn't make it last Sunday, Mom. I had some business."

When he put her down, Mica got her first look at Knox's mother. She was a striking woman with a heart-shaped face, completely smooth skin, and totally white hair. She wore purple leggings and a white frock over the top of it. Mica was taken aback, not expecting the woman to look so young, or to be wearing regular clothes. She knew Knox's mother was forty-eight, but the woman in front of her looked no older than thirty-five, even with the white hair.

Knox's mother held Knox at arm's length and looked him over, her smile beaming, her hands fluttering over his face and shoulders. Mica saw the resemblance immediately. Where Knox had gotten his father's eyes, he had gotten his mother's cheekbones and the set of her lips. If his chin weren't so square, he would have had her face shape too.

The woman turned to Mica and smiled at her too, then pulled Mica into a hug. Mica hugged her back, surprised and overwhelmed at the instant acceptance. When Knox's mother released her, Knox introduced them.

"Mom, this is Mica Nichols, Mica, this is my mother, Cordelia Rosesson."

Cordelia hugged Mica again, then pointed to Knox and pointed back to Mica, then pushed her hands together and gave Knox a questioning look.

"Yes, Mom, she's my girlfriend," Knox said.

Cordelia clapped her hands together and laughed silently, then grabbed Mica's left hand and peered at it, then turned her stare on Knox again. Mica licked her lips nervously.
She wanted to know if Knox had given her a ring?

Knox chuckled. "Calm down Mom, you're gonna make her nervous. Invite us in."

Cordelia scrunched her face up and moved backwards, motioning that they should enter. Knox took Mica's hand and they walked in together.

"How about the terrace, Mom?" Knox called over his shoulder, then walked straight there, opening the sliding glass door. Mica only had a moment to look over the room, again surprised to see that it looked like an apartment on the inside too. It had a kitchenette behind a dividing bar, a dining table, a living area, and a door that must have led to a bedroom.

On the terrace, there were five chairs pulled in a circle around a tiny, square table. Knox sat down and Mica took the chair next to him. Cordelia followed a minute later with a pitcher and glasses in her hands.

"Thanks, Mom," Knox said, pouring what looked like lemonade into four glasses, giving one to his mother, one to Mica, and positioning two carefully in front of him.

Cordelia sat down and Knox focused in on her like a laser. "So what did you want to tell me, Mom? I heard that you were writing stuff down and I think that's great. I want to see what you wrote."

Cordelia shook her head no and held up a hand with the fingers pressed together. She opened and closed the fingers like her hand was a mouth, then held up one finger.

Knox leaned back in his chair. "Talk first, ok. Sure," Knox said, his voice subdued.

Cordelia held up four fingers and gave Knox a questioning look.

"Phoenix?" Knox said. "He's fine. He's still on leave but we haven't seen him much either. I don't know what his deal is. Don't worry though, he'll come to see you again before he goes back to Afghanistan. I'll make sure of it."

Cordelia nodded, beaming once more, making Mica think she didn't look very emotionally fragile now.

Cordelia held up two fingers.

"Dax is good. He's working for me this week. I've been busy, helping Mica."

Cordelia's eyebrows drew down in an exaggerated questioning look and she inclined her head.

"Nothing serious," Knox said. "Just helping her with some family stuff. He reached out and rubbed Mica's shoulder as he talked. Mica looked back and forth between mother and son, amazed at the one-sided conversation. Knox seemed to understand her every move and gesture, making it a simple thing to communicate with her.

Cordelia held up three fingers.

"Bronx is great. He aced his last two tests and is itching to run into a burning building."

Cordelia winced and pulled her shoulders down and forward.

"Don't worry, Mom. He'll be fine. Bronx is smart and strong."

Cordelia nodded sadly, then her expressive face brightened, her eyes on Knox, her hands out. Mica knew what she was asking this time.

What about you, Knox, how are you?

Knox grinned. "I'm good, Mom. Happy. Busy. Business is booming. I've got lots going on."

Cordelia laughed silently and threw her head back for a moment, then kissed her hands and flung them towards both Mica and Knox.

Amazingly, Knox and Cordelia kept up their lopsided conversation for over an hour. By the time Cordelia stood up, miming eating and holding out one finger, then retreating into the apartment, Mica felt like she could read the woman's gestures and expressions as easily as Knox could. Cordelia had expressed interest in her, and even gotten out a piece of paper, writing
Where are you from?
in a neat, sloping script.

Knox had studied the note before giving it to Mica, a skeptical look lighting his eyes.

When his mom went inside he turned to Mica. "I want to go talk to her doctor, will you be ok if I leave for a few minutes?"

"Sure," Mica said, hoping there wouldn't be any surprises.

Knox stood up and walked through the apartment, calling out to his mom. "Mom, I'm going to go talk to Dr. Sebastopol, I'll be right back."

A moment later, Cordelia reappeared, a tray of finger sandwiches in her hands. She set them down on the table and motioned to Mica.

Eat, eat.

Mica picked up a sandwich and nibbled on it, grateful for the sustenance and something to do with her hands. She didn't want to feel uneasy, but she did. She could feel Knox's mom's eyes on her.

Cordelia retrieved the pen and paper she had used before, wrote something, then held it out to Mica.

Where did you two meet?

Mica sat straight in her chair, flustered, not sure what to say. "Ah, we actually just met each other again, after many years. We first met on the Empire Builder train from Portland to Chicago a long time ago."

Cordelia's eyes narrowed and she tilted her chin to the right, confusing Mica. Did she not believe what Mica had said?

Cordelia studied her for an agonizing moment, then wrote one word on a piece of paper and held it out to Mica.

Rachel?

Mica gasped. She hadn't expected Cordelia to have ever heard the name or to remember it if she had.

"Yes, that was me," she stammered, unsure how to explain herself.

Several emotions passed over Cordelia's face, finally settling in absolute delight. She scribbled something on the paper and thrust it at Mica, then got up and walked around the tiny table to hug Mica.

When Cordelia returned to her seat, Mica read the paper.

He found you!

Mica nodded slowly. "Well, yeah, actually, I contacted him. I, ah, I needed some help and called him."

Cordelia scribbled another note and ripped it off of the notebook, handing it to Mica quickly.

I prayed and prayed he would find you. He talked about you for years, and traveled to Chicago several times looking for you.

Mica studied this note, her heart thudding powerfully in her chest. Knox had looked for her? Had told his mother about her?

The door to Cordelia's apartment opened and Knox strode in. Mica gathered the papers and thrust them onto the table, behind the sandwich tray.

Knox came out onto the terrace. "Dr. Sebastopol isn't here today. Mom, you've been writing stuff down before this, haven't you?"

Knox's mother shrugged, the corners of her mouth pulled down.

It's not important.

"I think it's important, Mom. I think Dr. Sebastopol would have liked to have known this a long time ago."

Cordelia stood up, not looking at her son. She gathered napkins and fussed over the sandwiches, then walked inside. Knox watched her go, frustration on his face.

When she came back out, she had a red notebook in her hands. She thrust it at Knox. Mica watched her face crumple and tears leak out of her eyes as she ran inside. Mica heard a door slam and realized she had run into her bedroom, probably locking them out.

Knox sighed and looked at her. "Sorry. That's my mom. She does that."

Mica nodded, no judgment in her heart.

Knox's eyes dropped to the notebook. Slowly, he flipped open the cover. He looked up at Mica once, and she saw fear in his eyes.

Then he started reading.

Mica

Mica watched as Knox's eyes flew over the page. She could see tension building in his muscles almost immediately. His jaw tightened and a vein appeared, then began to beat in his forehead. Mica watched it, fascinated and a little fearful. Not of him, but of the situation. She could feel his anger building with each word he read. The air surrounding them became stagnant with it, until he exploded from his chair.

"I'll fucking kill him!" he snarled, striding powerfully towards the screen door and ripping it open without a backwards look at Mica.

Mica stood, a lump in her throat. Before she could even move, Knox was out the front door of the apartment and gone.

Mica stood up quickly, rushing after him. The red notebook lay abandoned on the carpet of Cordelia's apartment. Mica stepped over it, wanting to grab it, but knowing she didn't have the right. She ran after Knox, carefully shutting the apartment door, and rushing out into the hallway.

The hallway stood empty.

Mica ran, full speed, glad she was wearing low heels. By the time she reached the lobby and looked out into the parking lot, Knox was only two feet from his truck. His clenched fists and lowered head told her something was very, very wrong.