She hadn’t realized just how much she’d needed that until this moment, which was why she texted Sawyer and informed him she’d be home later than she thought. She needed some father-daughter time.
chapter TWENTY-FIVE
The following evening, Sawyer and Kennedy arrived at his parents’ house as everyone was pulling in for Sunday dinner. He climbed out of his car and walked around to the passenger side, opening Kennedy’s door for her and helping her out. Once she was beside him, Sawyer made his way over to Kaleb’s truck and snatched Mason from his car seat before Kaleb or Zoey even managed to climb out, making the little boy giggle.
“I’ve missed you, kid,” he told Mason, kissing him on the cheek before lifting him up above his head. “Nice boots, by the way.” Mason was decked out in a cowboy hat and Wranglers, likely Kaleb’s wardrobe contribution, and he looked just like a miniature version of his daddy.
Hoisting the little boy close to his chest, Sawyer introduced him to Kennedy as they headed for the house. He watched her more than he watched his nephew, enjoying the light that shone from her beautiful eyes as she peered over at Mason. He hoped one day he’d be carrying their son to Sunday dinner.
“Hey, buddy,” Kennedy greeted hesitantly.
Mason latched onto Sawyer’s shirt, watching Kennedy closely as though he wasn’t quite sure of her, but in a way that said he didn’t want her to go far.
Once inside, Sawyer crossed the kitchen and stopped in front of his mother, watching as her face lit up when she looked at Mason. Lorrie gave Mason a huge kiss on the lips before offering Sawyer one as well, only his was on his cheek. Mason began wiggling, anxious to get down on the floor. When Sawyer let him down near the sofa, Mason made a beeline—on shaky legs—for Curtis, clinging to Curtis’s legs and saying, “Papa!” One of the few words the thirteen-month-old could actually say.
Sawyer turned back to the others in the kitchen and made his way to Kennedy. Taking her hand, he made the rounds, introducing her to the group of women congregating as they cooked. They both greeted V and Jessie, who were chatting quietly, so he only interrupted long enough to give them both a hug before joining the others in the living room.
“Dad, you know Kennedy,” he said when they approached his father.
Curtis got to his feet and smiled. “Good to see you, young lady. How’s your father?”
“He’s well, thank you,” Kennedy answered politely.
“Good to hear. Well, make yourself at home. We’re all just family here.”
His father returned to his recliner, leaning forward so he could listen to Mason babble while holding up the truck he was clutching in his tiny fist. The little guy was growing so fast, and although he was just a little older than a year, Sawyer still couldn’t believe how big he was and how much more he seemed to be doing every time Sawyer saw him.
“Boy,” Curtis said to Sawyer, sparing him a quick glance before returning his attention to Mason. “Take a load off.”
Sawyer glanced at Kennedy, smiling. “He gets nervous when we hover over him.” Turning his attention to his father as he lowered himself to the arm of the couch, pulling Kennedy close, he said, “Pop, how’re things goin’?”
“They’re goin’,” Curtis said, his eyes tracking Mason’s hands as they moved wildly, his excitement about that little truck reflected in every move he made.
“Jared here yet?” Sawyer glanced around the room, taking note of who was there.
“Not yet, but he will be.”
“Hey.” Sawyer glanced over his shoulder to see Travis and Gage making their way over, Travis clutching his daughter in his arms.
“Hey. There she is,” Sawyer said, getting to his feet so he could look at Kate. When Travis passed her over to Sawyer, he didn’t balk, taking the little pink bundle in his arms and holding her close. Sawyer watched her. She smiled up at him and he couldn’t help but smile back.
Lowering himself to the couch, moving so Kennedy could join him, he mumbled to Kate while the others chatted around them. The noise level increased relatively quickly once all of his brothers arrived, each one greeting Kennedy as though she’d been a member of the family forever, which made Sawyer’s chest swell. If he had anything to say about it, this was the first of many Sunday dinners they’d be having with his parents and he wanted them to welcome her, to make her feel comfortable.
When Jared came in the door, his son, Derrick, headed right for Mason, watching him carefully. The kid seemed to be adjusting well to his new surroundings, and the more they were around him, the more comfortable he got.
For as long as Sawyer could remember, they’d been having family dinners at his parents’ house, even before they had all moved out. However, when each of them had headed out on their own, it became even more important for them to meet once a week to share a meal together, enforced mostly by Lorrie. Not that any of them ever argued. They were a close family, always had been, and dinner once a week was nothing in the grand scheme of things.
And having Kennedy by his side only made it that much more complete. He’d wanted to invite her for some time now, but he’d been hesitant, wanting to take things slow with her. But that ship had sailed a week ago when the brutal reality had hit him.
Although Kennedy hadn’t been hurt by Tim, the fact that she could have been changed his entire outlook on things. He was tired of taking things slow. He loved her and it was high time he made that known.
Considering he’d never been much for relationships, this was still relatively new to him, but he had to believe he was doing something right. Kennedy hadn’t kicked his ass to the curb just yet. They were getting closer by the day and it meant everything to him that his family welcomed her with open arms.
“You gonna share that little one or what?”
Sawyer looked up to see Jessie standing over him, her eyes darting back and forth from Sawyer’s face to Kate’s. Holding her up so Jessie could take her, he chuckled. “Fine,” he huffed, smiling as he did.
Jessie took Kate from his arms, cooing to the little girl before carrying her back into the kitchen with the others. Sawyer glanced over his shoulder to see all the women gathering around Jessie, admiring Kate and talking. His eyes strayed to Kennedy, who was watching everything intently, her eyes bright.
Yep, having her there was the icing on the cake.
“I heard y’all had an issue at the resort this week,” Braydon said, coming to stand in the living room, looking down at Sawyer as he spoke. “Hey, Kennedy, how’s it goin’?”
“Good. You?” she asked, looking up at Sawyer’s brother.
“Never better.” Braydon turned his attention back to Sawyer and added, “Did it get taken care of?”
“Yeah,” Sawyer stated, glancing over at Curtis.
Deciding he was better off talking about it without his father listening to the details, Sawyer got up and led Braydon across the room. “Some asshole thought it was okay to take a scene a little too far.”
“By ‘scene,’ you mean BDSM?” Braydon questioned.
“Yeah. The woman used her safe word, but he didn’t stop.”
“Who intervened?”
“Gage,” Sawyer told him. “Security keeps a close eye on those private BDSM rooms,” Sawyer explained to Kennedy. “They’re actually microphoned for safety. Gage called a halt to the scene and the guy was escorted out.”
“So he didn’t get to stay at the hotel?” Braydon asked, his eyebrows downturned.
“Nope. We have a zero-tolerance rule on that shit. We sent him on his way.”
“Did the girl go with him?”
“Yeah,” Sawyer said, shaking his head. “We told her we’d get her transportation back to the airport, but she opted to go with him.”
“Damn.”
Sawyer wasn’t into BDSM, but he had had some in-depth conversations with Xander and Mercedes, a couple who had a wealth of knowledge between them when it came to that stuff. Although they lived in Dallas and were members of Devotion—Luke Mc
Coy’s branch-off of Club Destiny—they still offered their expertise at the resort on occasion.
Xander, as well as Luke, happened to be an investor in the resort, so they tended to look to them for help in those areas since clearly Sawyer and his brothers weren’t up to speed on all things BDSM-related.
“Hopefully she’s okay,” Braydon offered.
Yeah, Sawyer hoped so too, but it wasn’t his place to interfere in that shit. As far as he was concerned, they’d intervened as much as they could. From that point on, it was the woman’s choice.
“Dinner’s ready!” Zoey called from the kitchen. “Can y’all come help put it on the table?”
Sawyer immediately fell into step with everyone else, making their way to the kitchen so they could get the food on the table, Kennedy right beside him. He was suddenly starving and looking forward to bringing Kennedy into the fold.
WHEN BRENDON ARRIVED at his parents’, he’d been surprised to see Kennedy there with Sawyer. It was like a nail in the coffin of his dark mood. Not because he didn’t like Kennedy. He did. She was good for Sawyer, but it cemented the fact that he was still alone while his brothers . . . weren’t.
As he made his way into the kitchen, he helped take things to the oversized table in the dining room. He had already made two trips and on his third time back into the kitchen, he stopped in his tracks when he came face-to-face with . . . “Cheyenne.” Her name passed his lips at the same time she came through the kitchen door, and his heartbeat picked up speed.
“Hey,” she said softly, looking around the room. “Your mom invited me. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s . . .” Brendon had no idea what to say to that, but luckily for him, everyone else noticed that she’d arrived and the women came over to greet her. He watched as his mother pulled Cheyenne in for a hug, thanking her for coming.
“No, thank you for inviting me.”
“Well, you’re gonna be spendin’ a lot of time here on Sundays. Especially since you’re movin’ here and all. Still a few months out?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m lookin’ to be here in May.”
Brendon’s ears perked up at that news. He knew that Cheyenne had bought a house, knew that Kylie was renovating it for her, but he hadn’t known exactly when she’d be moving in permanently.
As though she sensed his eyes on her, Cheyenne looked his way, a concerned glimmer in her beautiful emerald eyes. Forcing a smile, Brendon nodded and then made his way back to the dining room. Part of him wished Cheyenne had told him about her upcoming relocation, but the other part knew that was stupid. No matter how infatuated he was with her, Brendon knew that she didn’t owe him anything.
When the others joined him in the dining room, he noticed his mother had taken it upon herself to assign seats. It didn’t take long for him to realize why that was. As he pulled out his chair, Cheyenne made her way around the table to stand beside the chair next to his. When their eyes met, he saw the insecurity reflected back at him.
So it wasn’t just him? Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
Either way, he was raised to be a gentleman, so he pulled her chair out and waited for her to take a seat. The smile she gifted him with was like a shot of pure adrenaline straight into his veins.
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t just him.
A feeling he wasn’t familiar with bubbled up in his chest. As he glanced down at the table, trying to rationalize just what it was, that was the moment it hit him. That feeling, the one that had just consumed him . . . That was hope.
CURTIS SAT IN the living room, taking in everything going on around him. Sunday dinner, as always, had been incredible, but that was nothing new, because Lorrie was still the best cook in the world. Now that she was passing on some of her recipes to Zoey, Kylie, and Jessie, he was getting to enjoy more of his favorites, which he certainly couldn’t complain about.
The one thing he noticed was how loud the house was, similar to the way it had been when the boys had been growing up. He much preferred the noise to the silence that had become so familiar since they’d all moved out. Now that Jared wasn’t living in the house, rather moving to Kaleb’s old house—the one that still stood vacant since Kaleb had moved in with Zoey—with his son, Derrick, it’d gotten really quiet around there. So, yeah, he looked forward to Sunday dinners, although he did his best not to let on.
“What’re you thinkin’ about, Pop?” Sawyer asked, dropping down onto the sofa closest to him, Kennedy by his side.
During dinner, Curtis had watched the two of them. He’d known for some time that his boy was interested in the pretty veterinarian, but he hadn’t been privy to the fact that they were clearly dating. Maybe more than that, based on the way the two of them looked at one another. It was . . . refreshing to see. Sawyer was a good man, with a good heart, even if he hadn’t always known quite how to express himself.
Then again, Sawyer had always been the one to take everyone else’s burdens on himself. He was the protector, much as Curtis had always been. Of all his boys, Curtis knew Sawyer was the most like him. So, to see him so happy filled a void in Curtis’s heart where his boy was concerned.
“I’m thinkin’ y’all make an awful lot of noise,” he said gruffly, hiding his smile.
Curtis watched as Derrick and Mason played on the floor. Jared’s son had taken to Mason right off the bat after coming to live with Jared a few months ago. Although he was a year older, he didn’t have any problems being entertained by Kaleb’s boy, and they were rather amusing to watch. Especially after Lorrie had retrieved some of the toys she’d hoarded over the years, having refused to throw away some of the boys’ things and hiding them in the attic. Her theory had been that they’d have grandkids one day and she wanted to make sure that her sons’ children got to enjoy them as well. Granted, there were more toys thrown away before Zane even outgrew them because . . . well, because his boys had been a rowdy bunch since the day they were born and they hadn’t seemed to ever slow down.
“Kitchen’s all clean,” Braydon announced when he joined them in the living room, dropping to the couch beside Jessie, who was currently in the process of cooing over Kate. She was only one of many who’d spent the majority of the evening admiring the little girl.
His granddaughter.
Curtis smiled at the thought.
Having raised seven boys, having a little girl around was strange. Not in a bad way, but he had to admit, Kate made him nervous. It didn’t matter that Kylie continued to tell him that Kate was no different than any of his boys had been at that age—a baby was a baby, she said.
Well, he had to disagree. All the pink stuff made him edgy just to hold her, but he’d held his tongue, taking Kate anytime someone thrust her in his direction. Not that he would let on that he enjoyed spending even a few minutes with her. Hell, he’d ruin his reputation if anyone figured out that Kate had wrapped him around her little finger from the first time he laid eyes on her.
Granted, Lorrie knew. But then again, his wife knew everything there was to know about him. Even things he didn’t know about himself, she seemed to know.
When Lorrie joined him in the living room a moment later, sitting on the arm of his recliner as she was known to do when the house was full of people, Curtis put his hand on her leg. Funny how they’d been married for more than fifty years and he still felt as though they’d never spend enough time together. Maybe that was because of all the hardships they’d endured when they were first starting out, long before Travis came along. Regardless, just having her close always settled him in ways he’d grown accustomed to over the years.
Even when the room was full of people laughing, talking, shouting.
Especially then.
“How are things?” Kaleb asked Jared when he came over to sit beside him on the fireplace hearth.
“Good,” Jared said, his eyes on Derrick, who was in the process of getting Mason to take one of the cars he had been playing with.
“How’s the house holdin’ up
?” Kaleb asked.
“It works for us,” Jared answered.
“He’s settled well,” Sawyer stated, also watching Derrick.
“I’ve been takin’ him to see a counselor,” Jared admitted, pulling Curtis’s attention to him. “I think it’s been hard on him.”
“Of course it has,” Kaleb agreed. “Have you heard from Sable?”
“Not once,” Jared stated, his anger apparent.
Curtis would never understand what had been going through that woman’s mind when she called Jared up and pretty much handed her own kid over. Then again, Jared had been that boy’s father for all intents and purposes, even if the DNA didn’t show to be a match. As the saying went, any man could be a father, but it took a special person to be a dad. Jared was proving that.
“So, Kennedy, what do you think of the craziness that is Sunday dinner?”
Curtis glanced over to see Jessie staring at Kennedy as she waited for her to answer her question.
“It’s . . . interesting,” Kennedy said, smiling. “I’m an only child, so it’s so far out of my comfort zone, I’ve been tempted to run out the door as fast as my feet will carry me.”
Curtis fought the urge to laugh at that. He could understand her anxiety. Sort of. He came from a large family, so he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be an only child. With three brothers and two sisters, there was never much downtime at his house, either. However, he had vowed to make his house a place his children wanted to come back to, unlike his own father, who’d been a hard-ass.
Glancing up, he noticed Lorrie was paying close attention, probably wanting to ask Kennedy a few more questions of her own, but somehow managing to hold her tongue. Instead, she said, “Well, you’ve got an open invitation to every Sunday dinner.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Walker,” Kennedy replied politely.
“Call me Lorrie, or Mom,” Lorrie said to Kennedy as she winked at Sawyer.
Sawyer Page 27
