Beautifully Knight (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #5)

Wheelbarrows and Baskets

Later That Night

-MARIA-

Acoustic music, uproarious laughter, and happy chatter carried through the summer breeze of dusk as my few lingering curling-iron curls gave way to the wind, returning to their natural wavy and messy state as I tried to wrangle them into a ponytail and keep my mind from wandering.

"On an administrative note, the auction items have been wrapped and labeled for their respective recipients. A couple of my guys will be tasked with delivering them tomorrow. I don't know if you've gotten a chance to meet her yet, but the new secretary for the foundation, Abby, also asked me to convey that the stationary for the thank you notes is on the desk in your office with a list of exactly who gave what and a template for you to follow. She said she would be happy to type them all for you, but I told her you typically prefer to personally write the notes by hand. On the security side, all external gates and entrances have been checked. Of course all of the people on your approved list are always free to come and go from the front gate as needed, but for anybody else they'll automatically be locked out for the night. The back gate has been shut down. The ballroom and dining hall still have a few people working on cleanup, but there's security guys waiting on them to lock up. All windows and exits of the main house have also been checked. All doors are locked except for the garage."

Running my fingers over my goosebump-covered skin, I pulled my gaze from searching the crowd below for my husband's face and moved it to Vic who sat perched on the edge of the deck with his old-fashioned clipboard in hand. Tufts of his blond hair danced underneath the Knight-Holloway Estates baseball cap that matched the rest of his uniform.

"Any reason for that?"

He tapped his pencil along the edge of the clipboard and pressed his lips into a line as if contemplating if he should say anything or not.

"Let me guess, Tony isn't in his office, is he?"

Vic conceded, "He left about an hour ago. I figure he won't want to hassle with keys when he gets back. This place is pretty much Fort Knox at this point so I don't think it's a security risk to leave one door open, but if you'd like the peace of mind of the house being completely locked down after so much commotion today, I can lock it. Whatever you want, Marisa."

I sucked in a breath, taking in the faint scent of distant rain as I resisted the burn of restrained tears building in the back of my throat and blazing up towards my cheeks.

"It's fine."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure," I tucked my unruly hair behind my ears and crossed my arms tighter.

Despite his general tough-guy persona, I couldn't help noticing the sympathetic look that crossed his face.

"For what it's worth, he left a note on his desk saying he'd be back before you could miss him."

"It's already too late for that," I sighed and gestured for the clipboard. "Do I need to sign off on anything?"

"No, we're all clear," he paused as he tapped his pencil against the clipboard. "I was gonna ask—if it's fine with you, since it's just family and friends left, I'd like to go ahead and call it an evening. If you need anything, I'll be a call away over at Jace's guest house—well his and Grace's now, I guess. My parents mailed them a giant box that weighs a ton so I have to haul it over there in my truck. I can do it in the dark, but—"

"Oh, no, I mean, yeah, of course, go," I nodded. "That was kind of your parents. From everything I've heard, they sound like really sweet people. I'd love to meet them. I should've invited them today, but I didn't even think about—or Jason's parents," I tapped my forehead. "I'm sorry. You do more for us than anybody, you deserved a place at the table today as a guest too. I wasn't thinking—I'm sure they've seen all the press lately and probably think I'm purposely excluding them—and you."