Her eyes swing between mine, and she nods.
“We, uh … Lolli and I are barbecuing tonight, so dinner’s covered,” I let her know as I usher her into the room.
She looks to the bed, slowly closing the door.
“Kenra.”
Dispirited eyes find mine.
“Don’t worry …”
She can’t help it, and like I knew she would, she laughs as she responds, “Be happy.”
I chuckle and grab the handle, pulling the door closed myself before she looks at me again.
Once their rooms are ready to go, I make sure everything is out for dinner. Then, I sneak out the back, making my way to Lolli’s oasis—a pergola in the sand that overlooks the ocean. She added a hammock under it for me, to the right of the swing Nate hung for her, so she and I could come out here together or on our own and just … be.
I lie back and look across the ocean at the California sky.
My sister, sixteen and pregnant. With a Vermont, no less.
And he doesn’t know. My mom doesn’t know. Payton doesn’t speak to our dad, so he and his partner, Clint, for sure don’t know.
Yet she told Kenra.
Last I knew, Payton didn’t even like Kenra. Sure, it’s because she was—is—a bratty teenage girl with a stick up her ass—not her fault necessarily. My mother raised her to be Ms. Alrick Falls—to stand taller against anyone who thinks they can see eye to eye.
Clearly, things have changed, and maybe they did a while ago. I guess I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen or talked to Payton in a year, thanks to my mother. Haven’t slept under the same roof as my baby sister in over three years since I left my mom’s to live with my dad.
But how much could have happened that would make my sister trust Kenra? Or was she just desperate? And if so, why?
And why did Kenra have to come here, stay here?
Kenra Monroe is in California. In my house.
But not as mine, not that she’d ever be.
That has been clear since day one.
“There’s a Monroe in my bed, and it’s not the one I’m fuckin’.”
My body shakes with laughter, and I turn my head to peer at Lolli as she makes her way over.
She grins and hops on top of my feet, making the hammock wobble.
“Hi, Lolli Bear.”
“Hero.” She slowly drags out her nickname for me, a single dark brow arched high.
“How was your trip to UCLA?”
She tips her head, narrowing her eyes on me. “Okay, I’ll play along, but know it’s not working. You will spill the beans. Buuut my trip was fantastic. Nate’s killin’ it out there. It’s only camp, and those coaches are practically jizzin’ in their jeans at the thought of what he can do.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Pretty sure one really wants to know what he’s got goin’ on.”
I laugh and look to the ocean.
Lolli doesn’t say anything else but watches the waves crash against the shoreline with me.
And this is why we work. She gets down; I pull her back. I lose my grip; she steadies me. She could tell I needed a minute, so she made me laugh and then gave it to me.
When I sigh, she adjusts herself, so she’s lying opposite me, our eyes locked.
“She’s in your bed because my sister’s in mine.”
When Lolli’s eyes go round, I nod. I told her all about how my mom refused to let me see or talk to Payton over the last year. She knew it wasn’t something I liked to talk about, so she never pushed.
“Payton’s pregnant.”
“Shut the hell up!”
“With a Vermont.”
Lolli’s jaw drops.
“Yep. And Kenra brought her here without telling my mom and then decided to stay along with her.” I eye Lolli, and she eyes me right back.
“Okay.” She nods, holding a hand up. “We are so talking about this Kenra thing, like, in five seconds, but holy mother of shit, Payton is pregnant with a Vermont, and your mom has no idea?”
“That’s what Payton says.”
“Think your mom will call here, looking for her?”
“Nah. She doesn’t think Payton would ever step outta line and disobey.”
“Ha! She’s a horny teenager. Course she will.”
“Not helping.”
“Wasn’t supposed to.” She laughs and nudges me with her knee, making me laugh with her.
I look to my hands, pulling off my class ring and putting it back on, my thoughts on Kenra. “I can’t have her here, Lolli Bear.”
“So, I’ll tell her to leave.”
I grin at that. Instant and complete support, no questions asked—that’s how Lolli loves. And I love her for it.
Kenra is Nate’s sister, Lolli’s future sister-in-law, but that doesn’t compare or get in the way of what she wants for me—pure and uninterrupted happiness. Now, if it came down to me and Nate, my ass would be grass, and I’m okay with that.
When I look to her, her forehead pinches, understanding dawning.
“You can’t have her here … but you don’t want her to go.”
I tilt my head, nodding.
“Shit.”
Damn straight.
Four Years Ago
“Ugh. I hate when it gets hot like this,” my best friend, Liv, complains, dabbing her arms with a towel.
“Maybe you should get in the pool then,” I tease.
Her mouth drops open as she looks at me in horror. “Seriously?” Her perfectly drawn eyebrows lift. “Half the varsity football team is here. I wouldn’t be caught dead with pool hair in front of them.”
“Then, why did you insist on a pool party? Why not let my mom have the barbecue at our house, like she wanted?”
“I swear, Kenra, it’s like you’re the youngest of our little duo.” She shakes her head and lies back against her lounger. “Sometimes, you can be so dense. Having it here meant my dad would invite Mr. Prescott, and inviting Mr. Prescott meant he’d extend the invitation to the rest of the football team.”
Ah, right.
My brother, Nate, made the varsity team as an incoming freshman, which is a huge deal in this football town. So, of course, Liv thought a party was needed for that, so here we are, in Liv’s backyard, surrounded by their friends and classmates along with some upperclassmen I’ve yet to meet, but I recognize them all the same.
Liv’s parents, who live way outside their means, have no idea what overkill is and went all out with this luau-themed party.
I shrug and look back to the others messing around in the water. Some are swimming, others are playing chicken fight in the shallow end, and some are sitting on the edge, dipping their toes in.
I jump when cold water hits my stomach, and my eyes fly to my brother, who’s cracking up from the edge of the water, a pool noodle in his hands.
“Don’t even think—”
Before I can finish my sentence, he bends and blows through one end, the water squirting me right in the face.
“Ahh!” I jump up, laughing.
When Liv shrieks beside me, I turn to her, laughing even harder.
She looks up, her eyes hard, but forces a smile when she sees it was Nate who got her wet.
“If you wanted me to get wet, Nate, all you had to do was ask.” She gives him a flirty smile, and he spins around, completely ignoring her.
For the past two years, she’s been all about Nate and trying to get him to pay any bit of attention to her. I’m glad he’s not interested; it would be so awkward for my friendship with her if he went there.
Not that I could could never tell her that though. She thinks I’m in her corner. If they were right for each other, I totally would be, but she’s ridiculously needy, and Nate’s not known for kissing anyone’s ass.
“Kenra, hand me a water. I’m dying,” Nate whines.
“Get out, and get it yourself,” I quip.
He gives me those big brown puppy-dog eyes he’s perfected over the years.
I should let Liv get
it since I know she’s dying to and seconds away from offering, but he’d hate it.
I groan and go to grab him one from the ice chest. He is my baby brother after all.
I get about two feet from the water, ready to toss it to him, when he tries to dart out and grab ahold of my legs, just like I knew he would.
Expecting his trickery, I toss the bottle in the water and hop back, laughing, but gasp when I slam into someone behind me.
A firm grip latches on to my bicep and waist, and my body freezes, goose bumps spreading across my exposed stomach despite the heat.
Scared to look but intrigued even more, I peek over my shoulder, coming nearly face-to-face with tan, smooth skin and deep blue eyes.
He stares at me for a second before the corner of his mouth turns up, showing off a small dimple on the left side of his cheek. “Hi.”
My eyes fly to his, and his grin grows.
Embarrassed, I pull away.
“Hi.” I clear my throat when my voice comes out scratchy and try again. “Hey.”
He opens his mouth to speak, closing it when my brother yells from the water, “Baylor! Where’ve you been? You were supposed to be here an hour ago!”
Baylor, as my brother called him, scratches the side of his head as he glances off. “I, uh … just stuff at home.”
“Mom bein’ a bitch again?”
“Austin!” I glare at my brother’s annoyingly obnoxious best friend, but the guy beside me simply chuckles. I’d say it sounds a bit forced, but what do I know?
“What?” Austin shrugs innocently.
Nate dunks him and then turns back to us. “Get your ass over here, man. We’re about to play volleyball. Show these seniors what’s up.”
“All right.” The guy nods.
Nate glances from him to me when neither of us makes a move to step away.
“Oh, right.” Nate rests his forearms on the edge of the pool. “Parker, this is Kenra, my little—”
“Big.”
“Sister. She’s a prude.”
“Nate!” I shriek, horrified, a flush growing up my neck because oh my God!
Parker laughs the comment off, looks my way, and then moves past me to set his stuff down on one of the loungers.
I escape quickly, walk over to the cooler once more to grab myself a cold drink, and then make my way back to Liv.
Right as I go to sit, my eyes lift just in time to see Parker reach back and pull his T-shirt over his head.
His back is facing me, and I can’t look away, my greedy gaze locked on the smooth curve of his shoulders. When his hands come down to adjust the waist of his swim trunks, my eyes follow, slowly trailing the length of his arm and neck. His hair is shaved at the sides and grown out slightly at the top with soft blond strands lying all over the place. It’s a dirty-blond, brightened by the summer sun.
As if sensing my appraisal, he turns around, catching me staring at him. When I don’t look away—because my brain forgets to tell me to—he does, his chin dropping to his chest, looking like he’s fighting a smile as he makes his way to the pool.
He—
“Seriously?”
I whip my head to the right, finding a sickened Liv.
“What?” I say too quickly, too rushed, and any hope in pretending I wasn’t ogling my brother’s friend goes out the window. I clear my throat and lower into the lounger beside her.
“Ugh,” she grumbles in disgust. “Don’t even go there, Kenra. He’s a freshman.”
“So are you.”
“Yeah, and you’re not. Besides, if you’re gonna help me climb the social ladder this year and hook up with your brother, you need to set your sights higher. Way higher.”
“I wasn’t even checking him out, so chill,” I lie, forcing my eyes to the opposite end of the pool where the varsity team has gathered, ready to play against Nate and his friends.
Kellan Vermont instantly catches my eye, like he’s been waiting for me to look his way, and winks.
I smile at him and look around to the rest of the group, but feeling his eyes still on me, I glance back. Sure enough, he’s still staring.
He’s cute with dark hair and light-brown eyes. Richer than dirt and kind of flaunty about it, he drives a shiny little convertible and takes up two spaces in the front of the school when he parks. He’s that guy—the one everyone looks at when he walks into a room.
“Now, that’s more like it,” Liv mumbles quietly, covering her mouth with her hand. “That’s exactly the type of guy you need to make the next four years worthwhile.”
As a sophomore, I only have three years left, so I can only assume she’s talking about her own high school experience. But maybe she’s right.
Maybe being seen is what I need. I laid relatively low last year, but now that my best friend will be with me in school every day, maybe we’re supposed to be the girls everyone else is dying to be.
I look back to Kellan.
If anyone could make that happen, it’s him.
“Maybe you’re right.” I stand when he waves me over. “It could be fun.” I look to Liv, who is beaming at me, giving me the courage I need to walk across the cement to the senior boy beckoning me, but on my way, my nervous eyes avoid his and shift left, colliding with Parker Baylor.
He looks at me and then cuts his gaze in the direction my feet are headed and back.
With a lick of his lips and a small pinch in his brows, he focuses back on the game.
Once at the edge of the pool, I lower myself in and take the bench seat in the deep end. Kellan floats right in front of me.
He smirks, reaching up to slide a hand through his wet, dark hair. “Hi.”
I blush instantly, and he chuckles. “Hi.”
“Why don’t you sit here and cheer me on? Be my good-luck charm?” He stares at me with those dark eyes, and I force myself to swallow.
Unable to speak with his attention focused on me, I nod, making his smirk grow before he turns his attention back to the game.
A few minutes of boys yelling and shouting pass before my eyes wander again, finding Parker leaning against the edge, talking to a pretty redheaded girl.
The girl stares at him, completely captivated, but he doesn’t seem to notice and continues chatting with her and her friends. But, after a moment, he squints, and shifts slightly, glancing toward the deep end. His eyes skim the water, stopping when they find me through the net. There’s inquisition in those blue eyes; it’s strong and overpowering, sparking an instant curiosity I’ve never known. Never felt the need to explore. I bend one knee to push off the seat, getting ready to stand, when an arm snakes around me, and I’m pulled further into the water.
Kellan grabs ahold of the diving board, pulling us beneath it.
His dark eyes roam my face before locking on mine. “Go out with me tonight.”
He’s not asking, but I guess he probably doesn’t have to.
He’s Kellan Vermont.
High schooler by day and college student by night. Future state senator, according to the rumors.
And he wants to date me?
“Okay.” I smile, and he awards me with his.
He leans in to place a soft kiss to my jaw, the dip of his shoulder allowing me to look past him and right into a pair of blue eyes staring at me in the distance.
Those blue eyes drop to the water, and for the remainder of the party, they never find their way back to mine.
“So, who’s gonna call Nate?” Lolli asks as she swings one leg over the picnic-style seat on our patio, ripping open a bag of chips.
“You know you want to.” I grin, laughing, when she sticks her food-covered tongue out at me. I close the lid on the barbecue and turn toward her. “I’ll call him, but don’t you think she should be the one?”
“Course I do. That doesn’t mean she will.”
“It’s not a big deal, Lolli Bear.”
“Ha!” She swings her other leg over and leans on her elbows, turning to look at me. “Come on, Hero.
Who are you talking to here?”
I glance off, nodding slightly. I want to explain everything, but what happens when I do? Will she understand on the level I need her to?
“Hero.”
I look back to her, and she smiles softly.
“Stop. It’s me. We can either chat … or I can whoop your ass in some sports trivia?”
When I laugh, she smiles brighter.
She’s right. I could tell her anything, and she’d still be right here with me. My Lolli Bear.
“Remember that day back in Alrick when you asked me if I messed around with Kenra? I told you she showed up at my house, drunk and crying, because of her douche boyfriend, and I let her sleep in my bed before waking up next to her.”
“I’m not sure the douche boyfriend was mentioned, but yeah, I remember that. I noticed how nervous she got when she saw you at her engagement party at their parents’ house.”
“Yeah. You’re not the most perceptive person, but you did pick up on that,” I tease.
She throws a chip at me, making me laugh.
“What?” I grin harder. “It’s true. Everyone could see Nate had it bad for you for weeks before you two made it happen. Everyone but you.”
She throws a lime this time, but I dodge it, and she laughs.
“Yeah, well, we’re talking about you right now, shithead, so don’t forget the part about your morning man’s salute to her ass.” She grins, winking to let me know she’s trying to make this easy for me. “I believe the words you used were, ‘Woke up, appreciating her ass.’” She raises a brow, and I raise one back with a smirk.
“You’ve gotta admit it, Lolli; it’s a nice ass.”
She starts laughing again, and I find myself chuckling with her.
I turn to check on the meat. “Anyway, she showed up at my house that night, but that wasn’t the first time we’d hung out.” I glance back to find Lolli giving me all her attention. “That was my junior year, her senior year.”
“Okay …”
“The first time was my freshman year. She walked by my dad’s house, alone, in the dark.”
I remember everything about that night.
It was the first time I ever felt someone was listening. Really listening. Not just to hear, but to understand. And not by force, but out of want, maybe even a deeper need than even we realized at the time. Whatever it was, she shone some light on me that night.
Defenseless Hearts (A Tender Hearts Novel Book 2) Page 2
