Kennedy
I watch intently as we drive down yet another unfamiliar street. I crane my neck, looking past Cole as we approach a small row of shops. Cole slows, pulling into the parking lot. I look through the windshield, noticing we are parking directly outside a small, but expensive looking jeweler. I look at Cole, then back over to the shop, and back over to Cole.
He smiles from ear to ear. “Come on, we need to collect your birthday present.”
I feel a wide smile stretch across my face as the anticipation builds inside me. I’ve never celebrated my birthday. I remember having that exact conversation with Cole about how birthdays for me were never “special” and I had never received a present, at least not the kind of normal present a child should expect to receive. If anything, birthdays were used as another damn excuse for me to get my ass beaten, or raped, for no good reason. I shudder, closing my eyes tightly, as if trying to wipe away the memories. It works, if only temporarily.
He smiles, taking my hand in his, before leading me toward the shop. The window has the most spectacular jewelry displays; the florescent lights helping to make the diamonds shine brighter than the stars in the sky. I can’t help but gasp at the beauty of it all. I look at the window, then back at Cole, and my excitement turns into guilt. If it was the other way around there’s no way I could do this for him. I have jack shit money, and I know guys aren’t really into expensive jewelry, but still, I could never do this whole grand gesture thing, even if I wanted to.
I stop moving as though my feet are suddenly glued to the ground. Cole looks back at me with sadness in his eyes.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“Nothing, it’s just um…”
“Too much?” he asks, cocking his head to the side. His eyes are downturned. He looks sad.
My mouth twists up at one side in a half sad smile. “Kinda,” I answer honestly. He pulls on my hands, wrapping them around his waist.
“At least lemme show you what I picked out.” He shrugs. “You decide you don’t like it. Fine? I understand it might all be too much. It’s not a big deal, I promise.” He bends his head, his eyesight now in line with mine. “Deal?” he asks, with a slight smile and a shrug of his eyebrows.
“I…I…I can never repay you for something like this.”
“I don’t expect you to. This is for you. This is me showing you just how much you mean to me. You’re worth more to me than diamonds and gold.”
I feel the emotion in me heighten, tears threatening to break through. I breathe in deeply, my chest pushing out as I straighten my posture, doing everything I can to keep the tears at bay.
Dammit, I don’t want to cry. A gentle hand appears under my chin, lifting it until I’m met with the sweet taste of Cole kissing me. I close my eyes as a chill runs through me, the familiar excitement I feel every time he kisses me.
He quickly breaks the kiss and I shudder at the loss of his touch.
“Come on.” He gently pulls on my hips, guiding me inside the stunning shop. As I walk inside, I glance around, taking in the splendor of this beautiful store. It is elegant, yet understated. I can totally see why Cole has chosen this quaint jeweler.
The tall, slender woman behind the counter greets us as we make our way over to her. I break away from Cole’s hold, slowly browsing the cabinets. I hear them talking, but I’m so engrossed in gawking at the bright stones, that their conversation is a blur. After a few seconds, I feel both pair of eyes boring into me as I wander through the small store, oblivious to them.
I turn, looking between the both of them and blush a little with embarrassment.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mutter, shuffling toward the counter with my head in a downward position. Shit, I’m awkward. Everything about my social skills screams ‘outcast’.
“You don’t have to apologize, Ken,” Cole reassures. “Are you ready to see what I chose for you?”
I bite the corner of my lip, nodding my head slowly in acknowledgement. In fact, I couldn’t be sure if I was ready or not. My hands shake, as I clasp them together, hoping to keep my nerves and excitement under control.
Everything about Cole’s body language screams nervous. One minute he’s touching his face, the next he’s running his hand through his hair. I reach out, taking his hand in my own, hoping we can put each other at ease in this moment. The lady reaches underneath the counter, pulling out a small box, and places it slowly in front of me on the glass counter top.
My eyes are fixed on the box as she opens it and I’m floored. In front of me is a heart shaped ring, filled with a huge sparkling diamond. I stand there, frozen, mesmerized by the spectacular beauty of this ring. I snap my head to the side. The warmth of a single tear cascades over my cheek, falling down onto the glass counter. Before I get chance to say anything, I notice the assistant walks slowly backward, through the door to the back room of the store.
“Cole, I…I…I…I don’t know what to say.”
He reaches forward, taking the ring from the box. “It’s a promise ring, Kennedy. This is my first step of showing my commitment to you, to prove that I’m in this for the long haul. Despite what happens, I will be here for you, as your best friend, as your partner. I needed something special to show you how I feel in here.” He makes a fist and starts to pat his chest. “Because, shit, I’m not good at always showing you how I feel.”
My heart pounds a thousand miles an hour, a tingle runs through every part of my body as this hunk in front of me openly declares his feelings for me. I can’t help but throw my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply, with everything I have.
He pulls back, studying my face. A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. “You like?” he chuckles.
“Oh, I do. I really do,” I gush. He holds my hand, sliding the ring carefully onto my ring finger.
“But won’t people think this is an engagement ring?” I ask confused, as I look at the placing of the ring. I’d never heard of a promise ring. The only rings I’ve ever seen on this finger were engagement and wedding rings.
“Who cares? This is about us, nobody else.”
I smile and nod, acknowledging the meaning behind his words. This is about us, and from now on, no one else matters.
“Thank you so much, Cole. This means more to me than you will ever know.” I hold out my hand, taking in the beauty of the sparkling diamond. It really is something else.
I couldn’t believe I was the one wearing this man’s ring. I never envisaged that my life would turn out this way. My life, my existence was pathetic at best. I have been through and witnessed things no child should ever see. I’ve been so close the devil, yet here I stand, so far removed from that with this angel of a man who is now my life. I look up at Cole. He’s talking to the women behind the counter who has reappeared. I hadn’t even noticed. I was so engrossed in this amazing moment of clarity.
After a short drive, we arrive back at the apartment. The whole ride home I grip a hold of Cole’s hand, my face beaming as I keep looking at the ring on my finger.
“Oh, I love it, Cole,” I coo. “Almost as much as I love you.” I lean to him, kissing him softly on his stubble covered cheek.
“If you love this, you’re going to be in for a huge surprise when we get inside.”
My eyes go wide as I gape at him. Shit, another surprise? “Really?” I question. “Something else?”
“You betcha,” he sings, jumping out of the truck, and racing around to help me down. He takes both of my hands as he helps me, momentarily stopping to stare at the ring on my finger.
“Damn, that looks good on you! Boy, I did good.” He grins, the sexy ass kind of grin. I hold my breath, taking in every inch of him. The warmth and tingle of excitement stirs within me.
“You did do good!” I reach up, sealing a kiss on his soft and full lips. He lets out the smallest of moans as he kisses me back passionately. His tongue explores my mouth as we connect as one so effortlessly, so beautifully. We break our kiss, and I breathe deeply, trying to catch the breath he has just stolen.
“Ready for surprise number two?” He raises his eyebrows, the green of his eyes appear to lighten as I stare deeply into them, as if looking into the depths of his soul.
“Sure,” I answer nervously, not quite sure what the next surprise is going to be. I suddenly stop in my tracks, remembering the grocery bags in the truck. “What about those bags?” I point back toward the truck.
“Oh, don’t worry about those.” He shrugs, leading me up the steps and into the apartment. I watch, stunned as he turns the handle to the apartment, without using his keys to unlock the door first. I don’t get chance to question before he pulls me through the threshold. I notice several pairs of shoes in the hall. I furrow my brow, confused at who’s here. I don’t recognize the shoes piled up as we walk past and through the living area toward the steps.
“What? What’s going on?” I stutter, totally confused as I search the empty room. I follow him up the stairs, my eyes roaming, searching for some clues, some sort of answers to what is going on. As we reach the top of the stairs, I hear some chatter and small banging sounds coming from the bedroom. Cole stretches his hand out, pushing lightly on the door into the spare room. He stands to the side allowing me a clear view. I gasp loudly, my hands flying to my mouth in disbelief.
The room is full of furniture.
Baby furniture.
The room is full of beautiful crisp, white furniture. I step forward ever so slightly, glancing around at the room. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. A crib, changing station, a huge dresser, a rocking chair, and footstool complete the room. It looks stunning.
I feel Cole’s hand on the bottom of my back, guiding me further inside the room.
“Surprise!” roars Ash, Pete, and Jocelyn in unison, jumping in front of me from behind of the door.
I jump, holding my hand to my chest and letting out a loud laugh. My other hand flies at Ash’s arm. I point around the room, as tears well up in my eyes, shaking my head in utter disbelief.
“You guys did this?” I choke out, looking between the three of them.
They all smile widely as I slowly walk around the room, taking in all they have done.
“Guys, this looks amazing. I can’t believe you got all this furniture up while we were out.” I glance back over at the door, noticing Cole leaning against the frame of the door, the sweetest smile on his face.
I walk back over to him. “You did this? For me and the baby?” I ask a little in shock. “You organized this whole thing?”
He nods, pulling me to him with one strong movement, my bump resting against him as he holds me tightly. I step on my toes, reaching, and kissing him quickly before breaking the hold to look around some more and chat with Ash, Pete, and Jocelyn.
This room is going to be my little slice of heaven. I slip into the rocking chair, trying it out as Jocelyn chats to me about the super cute baby bedding she’s adding into the crib. I get up to help her, everything perfectly in its place. A huge mural on the wall behind the crib.
We stand chatting while I look at all of the beautiful things in the room. The three guys head downstairs to get the groceries out of the truck.
“Thank you so much for this.” I gesture with my hands out. “This is beyond beautiful.”
“Yep, he really did well, didn’t he?”
I nod as I close the closet door.
“I really need to speak to you about something, Kennedy,” she says tentatively.
“Sure,” I answer.
“It’s nothing to worry about.” She holds out her hand for me to take. “We just need to make arrangements for you to be interviewed again by the police. They’ve finally charged Christopher, along with a few of the other senior members, with additional crimes. They need the rest of your statement sooner than later at this point. I’m not going to lie to you, Kennedy; this is one hell of a complicated case. The members of the commune involved have been charged with several different offences, some relating to you, others based on evidence they saw at the property.”
“Anytime. I’m free anytime. Just let me know when you need me to come with you and I’m there.” I smile sadly. Knowing I have to speak to the police fills me with mixed emotions. I’m happy the bastard will get what’s coming to him, but on the other hand, I have to relive the whole damn thing by telling them what happened to me over the course of my life. I have to prove what he did to me was real. I know it’s just part of the process in getting him behind bars for a long time, but it’s not something I’m looking forward to. It’s been weeks since everything happened. I knew I couldn’t go on forever, ignoring.
“I know this can’t be easy for you, sweetie. Especially, with everything else that is going on, but we have to get him locked up for good. That way he can’t hurt anymore innocent children.
“I know. It’s just the thought of reliving the whole thing, you know?”
“It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll be there for you, every step of the way. Make no mistake about that!”
I let out a quiet puff of laughter. I love this amazing woman deeply. She’s the only mother like figure I’ve ever had and the only one I will ever need. I do sometimes wonder what happened to my own parents. Were they out there somewhere? I feared that was something I would never find out. Christopher had always said I had no parents, that they died just after I was born, but that was the only bit of information I ever got from him, or at least the only bit I remember.
Jocelyn and I talk some more about the police interviews and how Mr. Peterson will be there to help me. He doesn’t normally do that type of thing, but he has a vested interest where I’m concerned.
She explains to me how he has worked with the police to help gather evidence and witness statements for the prosecution. I know from what she’d told me before he’d been away from home a lot, but I didn’t realize just how involved he has been until now.
We make our way downstairs, the raucous sound of laughter filling the apartment is like music to my ears. As we approach the bottom step, I look across the living area and into the small kitchen. The boys have food piled up all over that they can barely move.
“What on earth?” I laugh trying to work out what the hell the three of them are doing. I look up, through my laughter, and Pete’s hazel eyes lock on mine. I try to avoid the magnetism toward him and continue as if all’s okay… Who am I kidding?
I stand there gazing into space wondering if this will ever change. Will the spark between us will ever die? I love Cole and don’t want to feel this way toward Pete. I shake my head and walk into the kitchen area, bumping hips with Ash.
“Hey, Barbie.” He quickly kisses my cheek before reaching and putting some of the groceries in the cupboard.
“I knew we’d make a housewife of you!” I tease, sticking the tip of my tongue out at him.
“Girl! My skills in the kitchen are off the chart!” he sings.
I laugh a little, leaning back against the countertop, wondering if there’s anything I can do.
I look over to Cole who nods his head at me. “Here, catch this, baby.”
I hold out my hands, catching a can. “Go take a load off. We’ll be out in a sec. Here, mom,” He passes her a drink and together we make our way outside. I squint as we walk through the doors, the sun so bright it’s blinding. I fall back onto the lounger, the weight off my feet feeling like heaven. I’m so exhausted. The excitement of today mixed with the lack of sleep is knocking the shit out of me. I rest my head against the back of the chair, the warmth of the sun against my face is heavenly.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful out here.” Jocelyn walks out onto the lawn area admiring the few plants that are in bloom. “You must make sure you water these, Kennedy. They’re so beautiful, we wouldn’t want them to die.” I look up to see her bent down in front of the small section of flowers.
“Sure thing.” I smile over to her. I feel a gentle hand squeeze my shoulder. I place mine over it, turning to see who it is. The sun so bright I can barely make out who it is. I lift my free hand up to my brows, hoping to block out some of the light. As soon as I realize it’s Pete, I remove my hand from his and pick up my drink with both hands, sipping it slowly. I daren’t look up at him. Before I know it, he’s kneeling in front of me, pulling my left hand away from my drink.
“What’s this?” he whispers. My eyes flit over to Jocelyn, who is still doing something in the flower bed. I snap my hand away, tearing my eyes away from his.
“What do you want, Pete?” I whisper so quietly.
“Just asking a simple question, not breaking any rules here, am I? Friends aren’t we?” He cocks his head to the side, his eyes boring into me.
“If you really want to know,” I continue to whisper, “this is my birthday present. It’s a precious ring.”
Pete just looks at me with a confused look across his face. “You mean a promise ring?” he sniggers.
“You know what I mean, Pete,” I snap. I feel the embarrassment heating my face. I’m pretty sure my cheeks are bright red. I stand quickly, pushing back on his shoulder as I storm past. He loses the balance he had in his squat position and drops straight onto his ass. I turn around, a smug look on my face. I giggle as I walk toward Jocelyn, handing her the can she left on the table.
Once I’m away from Pete, I turn back to see him jumping to his feet. A grin spreads widely on his face as he walks back into the apartment.
The time seems to fly by and before I know it, its late afternoon and I’m beat. Hours of unpacking and trying to get everything sorted in the apartment has taken its toll on me. I collapse into the armchair, an exaggerated breath exhaling as I sit back against the soft comfort of the seat. Dammit. It feels so good to take the weight off my feet. I look over at Cole in the kitchen. He’s waving his arms around in some sort of flummoxed tantrum.
“Fuck it.” He pinches his finger over the lid of his eyes. “I have no idea where the hell I’m gonna put all of this shit.”
A shake my head to myself. “Well you did buy enough food to feed an army,” I chortle.
“We need all this food.” he pouts. “We just have nowhere to put it all.” He kicks out in anger, knocking over a bottle of something I can’t see behind the counter. “By the way,” he continues, “did Pete seem a little weird today? I just felt like he was really off.”
“No, uh, not that I noticed,” I lie.
Shit. This is the last thing I wanted to happen, for this whole shitty thing between me and Pete to affect his relationship with Cole. I feel real shitty about myself without adding this into the mix. I swallow down hard, tearing my focus away from Cole, resting my head against the chair. Closing my eyes tightly, I block out the bright afternoon sunlight.
Cole
I walk over to where Kennedy is sitting, mouth wide open, catching flies as she snoozes soundly. I feel fucking shitty about waking her, but I’d arranged to take her to visit Hope and I’m all too aware that it’s getting late and Hope’s foster parents are routine freaks. They want us to visit before Hope needs to get ready for bedtime. I extend my arm, touching her softly on the hand. She jumps out of her skin, despite my gentle attempts at waking her as to not scare her. I look at her face; her eyes are bloodshot and her hand presses against her chest. She frantically searches the room, as if to figure out where she is.
I kneel down in front of her. “It’s just me, baby,” I soothe. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare the shit out of you, it’s just we’ve somewhere we need to be.” I catch as her eyes adjust and her body language softens.
“I’m just so tired,” she croaks. “I feel like that’s the first time I’ve had any real sleep in such a long time.”
“Baby, I’m sorry.” I lean in, kissing her gently on the forehead. Shit, I feel bad, but I know she wouldn’t want to miss out on seeing Hope.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t something so important, I never would have woken you.”
“Something important?” she quizzes.
“Well someone,” I correct her.
I see her shift quickly in the seat, her eyes widening with anticipation. “Well, who then?” she asks excitedly.
“That would be telling.” I tap the side of my nose. She puts her hands on the arms of the chair, pushing herself up like an old lady before teetering off toward the stairs. She looks back at me, her eyes narrowed, and her lips together, pouting ever so slightly. She points at me before disappearing up the staircase. I move over to the breakfast bar that separates the kitchen from the living area, hopping onto one of the barstools, patiently waiting for her.
Fifteen goddamn minutes I wait, and when she finally reappears she doesn’t look any different. Her hair is the same and I’m pretty sure she has the same clothes on. I shake my head, confused at what she’s been doing up there.
We finally make our way out of the apartment and jump into the truck. Hope’s foster home is around a thirty-minute drive from our new apartment. I catch Kennedy searching out the window, trying to figure out where I’m taking her.
Eventually, she looks directly at me, the most beautiful smile adorning her face. I know she has worked it out. She turns a little in her seat, her body facing me. “We are going to see Hope,” she sings.
I shoot her a sideways smile, letting her know she’s right. I look at her and it’s like someone has ignited a fire in her. She’s totally buzzing about seeing little Hope. I can’t even begin to understand what it must be like to have that kind of bond; especially after the fucked up shit they both went through, but I’m glad something positive came out of what can only be described as the most jacked up thing I’ve ever known.
The rest of the trip there Kennedy chatters about all things Hope. Wondering whether she has settled and started school. I know that arranging this trip was the best thing possible for Kennedy. Becca and Simon, Hope’s foster parents, were so thrilled when I called to arrange our visit. I know from what mom said that she really is in safe hands.
I turn into the street where Hope is staying, leaning over the steering wheel, searching for the correct house number. I slow down the truck as I notice the house just on my left. I pull into the driveway of the small, but homely looking house.
“Oh yeah, this is the house.” Kennedy points as I park the car.
“Better late than never, yeah?” I chuckle as I hop out of the truck, racing around to help Kennedy get out. I open the door, offering my hand to her.
She looks down at me, the sweetest smile lighting her eyes as she takes my hand. “Why thank you, sir,” she sweetly chuckles.
Once down, she releases the hold on my hand, rushing to the front door. She knocks light, holding her hands behind her back, as she rocks back and forth, anxiously waiting for someone to answer the door. We hear the clicking of the bolt unlocking and the door slowly opens. Hope stands there with Becca behind her.
A loud squeal of excitement echoes through the street as Hope runs out toward Kennedy. Kennedy drops to one knee, taking Hope in a huge embrace. The sound of excitement from both of them is heartwarming and somewhat exhilarating. I look up to Becca who stands there watching and admiring the embrace between the two of them. I shuffle forward a little, extending out my arm, offering my hand to her.
“So nice to finally meet you, Cole. Come in.” Becca gestures with her hands, waving for us to enter.
I look back at the two girls. They’re chatting quietly between themselves. I try to catch Kennedy’s attention, but she’s too engrossed in her conversation with Hope. I walk over, casually placing my hand on her shoulder. She looks up to me, her face filled with happiness and adoration.
“Let’s go inside,” I offer. She smiles, as she gets back on her feet and guides Hope inside. The two of them lock hands as they bounce back into the house. I shut the door behind us, following them through the small hall and into the bright family room. Hope turns to me, stops, and studies my face for a moment.
“Hey, Cole,” she speaks loudly, holding out her hand, rolled into a fist.
“Hey, yourself,” I reply, bumping fists with her. She exaggerates the contact by making a firework sound and action with her hand. She winks at me, giggling as she turns her attention back to Kennedy.
“I have something to show you,” she says proudly, pulling Kennedy over to the small coffee table situated between the two large sofas.
“She’s so proud of herself,” Becca whispers into my ear, her hand resting on my shoulder. I smile back her, walking closer to the table to inspect Hope’s handy work. I see Kennedy’s eyes fill with impending tears as she picks up the brightly decorated cake from the table.
“Wow, Hope, this is stunning.” Kennedy holds up her hand, high fiving Hope. “This is super awesome. You really have a talent.”
“She did it all herself,” chimes Becca. “I was there to help with the washing up.” She laughs.
“Seriously, Hope, you have some talent with this baking,” Kennedy professes.
“Just wait until you taste it!” she says, rushing out of the room, before coming back with plates in her hand. Simon comes in behind with napkins, forks, and a knife.
Simon and Becca both look to be in their mid-thirties and by the expressions on their faces, they absolutely adore Hope. He smiles, raising his eyebrows. “Hey, nice to meet you.” He cocks his head to the side. “Cole, right?”
“That’s me. Nice to meet you too. Lovely home you have here.”
He purses his lips, shrugging a little. “It’s a good neighborhood, but we are going to look for something a little larger now that we have an addition to our family. Please come take a seat,” he encourages, guiding me over to the couch. I sit beside Becca. She turns and smiles at me wholeheartedly.
Hope slices the cake, with supervision from Kennedy, before handing me a plate with the sponge cake on. I try a little, and damn, it really is good. I hum in appreciation. A few mouthfuls later and I’ve managed to demolish the whole slice.
Hope looks over at me, her eyes narrowed and her lips drawn together. “You should really slow down when you’re eating,” she scolds. “You will get digestion,” she jumbles out.
The entire room fills with laughter, not only at Hope’s mistake with her words, but at her body language as she scolds me for wolfing down the cake.
“What?” she asks.
“It’s indigestion, sweetie,” Kennedy explains. “But mostly you’re just the funniest little thing we’ve ever seen.”
“Oh,” she ponders, pausing for a moment with her finger on her lip. We all watch, waiting for her to say something. “I’d love to show you my bedroom. Becca, can I please show Kennedy my room? Please,” she pleads. “She didn’t see it the last time she came.”
“Of course.” Becca nods. “Why don’t you also show Kennedy those lovely new clothes we bought you just the other day?”
“Oh yeah,” she gasps excitedly. “Come on, quickly.” Hope takes Kennedy’s hand, dragging her out of the room and upstairs.
“It was so nice of you to bring Kennedy today,” exclaims Becca. “I know her and Hope have this undeniable connection, you know, because of what they have been through.”
I nod.
“How has Kennedy been?” she asks, in a hushed voice.
“Ups and downs,” I answer honestly. “But we’re getting settled in our new apartment. I know Kennedy would love for Hope to come and stay with us for a night, if that’s something you’d consider?” I watch her reaction. Her face is screwed up somewhat. It is obvious she isn’t overly happy about my request.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” interjects Simon.
I look between them, their faces both drawn and serious. I shake my head in frustration. “Is there something going on that I don’t know about?” I look between them, anxious to know what the problem was. Was it me? Do they not trust us with Hope?
“We just need to be careful, Cole…” Becca trails off, her voice becoming so quiet. Her discomfort is obvious.
“Of what?” I ask, a little more assertive than I’d intended. I look down to my lap. Becca’s hand rests on the tip of my knee.
“Please don’t be annoyed with us, Cole. We have Hope’s best interests at heart. She has been through so much, you know?”
I smile at her sympathetically, be it a little fucking frustrated.
“Maybe we should just tell him,” chimes Simon. He looks over to the doorway, obviously checking to see if the girls have made a reappearance. He walks over, slowly and quietly closing the door. “The thing is, Cole,” I watch him intently, “we found out a little more about Hope’s family and background. It turns out she’s related to someone we believe you know.”
Chuck.
He was right all along.
“You mean Chuck? The biker guy who helped me find Kennedy?”
They both look at each other before turning back to me and nodding slowly.
“We are aware he’s a bit of an unsavory character. We are worried about Hope’s safety.”
“He would never hurt her,” I blurt out in Chuck’s defensive.
“I’m not sure we know enough about him to guarantee he’s no danger to Hope’s safety,” Simon says.
“But he’s her grandfather. Surely he’s legally allowed contact with her?”
Becca shakes her head. “Not at this stage. The authorities are going to make contact with him, notifying him of their findings.”
“You mean he doesn’t know?”
“Not yet; and we need your word that you absolutely will not leak this information to him!” Simon demands.
I smile sadly, feeling like I’m in a pretty fucking impossible position here. I know how much this will mean to him. After how long he searched for his daughter, finally finding a piece of her, his own granddaughter. It will mean the fucking world to him.
“We are serious, Cole!” Becca’s face is hard and I can see the fear in her eyes. “We could get into so much trouble for telling you this.”
I sigh heavily. “I won’t say anything. You have my word,” I say reluctantly. “But someone needs to tell him sooner rather than later. It’s only fair. He’s her biological grandparent.”
They both nod in agreement.
“Any news on Sara?” They stare at me blankly with a look of confusion. “Hope’s biological Mom,” I clarify.
“Oh,” Becca croaks. “No,” she says, shaking her head. “There’s no news there I’m afraid, but I know the investigation is ongoing.”
“My mom said the same.”
“How is Kennedy feeling about the police interviews? I can’t imagine it’s an easy thing to go through.” Becca asks, softening back up.
I shrug. “She doesn’t say much about it. I can only imagine how difficult it is for her.”
I sit for the next thirty minutes talking to Becca and Simon about all the things Ken had wondered aloud about in the car. Seems as though Hope has settled into the local school and, as expected, is super popular. Dammit, that kid really is a bright star and a real character.
It’s getting late and Simon goes and breaks the news to Kennedy and Hope. The pair make their appearance back in the room, still babbling away to each other, the laughter never fading.
“Well, thank you for making this the best birthday weekend ever,” Kennedy gushes, hugging Hope so tightly I swear she’s going to snap her in two.
“You will come again soon, won’t you?”
“Of course! You try keeping me away!”
Hope claps with excitement as Kennedy jumps back to her feet. Hope stops, holding both of her hands against Ken’s stomach. Her head gets closer and closer until her lips are just inches away from Kennedy’s baby bump. “Take care of your mommy for me, little angel,” Hope whisper shouts before planting a little kiss on the most prominent part of her bump.
The ooh’s and ahh’s fill the room. I have to admit, even as I guy, that was super sweet.
“Laters, Hope.” I reach down, sweeping her off her feet and doing a little turn before setting her feet back down on the floor.
She looks up at me, bug eyed. “You really have some muscles, don’t you?” she points out. I can’t help but let out a little laugh. She cocks her hip to the side, resting her arm against it. With the other hand, her index finger taps her pursed lips. “Tell me, do you have to work out to get muscles like those?”
The four of us laugh so hard. I can barely catch a breath.
I nod, because I can’t seem to form the words to answer her.
Hope looks at Ken, her eyes wide and her brow wiggling as she points back over to me. Hope stands on her tip toes and Kennedy bends down, meeting her halfway.
“Quite the catch, isn’t he?” Hope laughs.
Becca takes a hold of her shoulders, letting her know that we have to leave. We quickly say our goodbyes and head out to the truck to start our journey home.
Kennedy is so chatty, telling me all about her catch up with Hope. Seeing her smiling from ear to ear is such a beautiful look for her. Seriously, this beauty should only ever wear a smile, because it’s definitely the look for her.
“I’m sorry I left you downstairs for so long.” She smiles apologetically.
“Don’t say sorry, baby. This visit was for you. I don’t mind, honestly. In fact, Becca and Simon were really nice.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” I answer simply. “I found out a little secret,” I tease.
“Secret?” she exclaims.
“Yeah, but seriously, nobody can find out about this. I had to give them my word.”
“Oookaaay,” she says slowly, her eyes quizzing me, waiting for me to spill.
“Turns out Chuck was right,” I blurt out. “He really is Hope’s grandfather. But he doesn’t know yet. Neither does Hope.”
“Really?” she squawks. “I mean, seriously?”
“Yes,” I chuckle. “Seriously.”
“That is some unbelievable shit.”
“Right? I know he’s going be so fucking happy that he’s found his daughter’s daughter. Shit, that guy gave up his whole fucking life to search for Sara. Who would’ve guessed that by him helping me to find you, it actually took him on the path to finding his own flesh and blood?”
We both sit there in silence, lost in thought.
Kennedy eventually slides her hand onto my lap. I smile at her adoringly. Her head rests on my arm as she closes the small gap between us.
“Thank you for today,” she yawns, the day obviously taking its toll on her.
“Anytime,” I respond, planting a small kiss to the top of her head.