“I vowed to never lie to you again. I told you I would meet you, and I did, but I was hours late, and you left. I never saw you again, you had our baby and I didn’t know. Never again will I ever break a promise to you, lie to you, and you can damn sure bet you’ll never be a secret again.”
“You’re talking like this is a sure thing. Me and you.”
“A man can dream. Besides, regardless of what happens between us, I’m her father. We’re going to be in each other’s lives and that vow, those promises, they still exist. No matter our relationship, you can count on that.”
“I wish I could remember,” I say softly.
“I know, baby. Me too,” he says, his voice just as soft.
His eyes sparkle as the endearment slips from his lips, and my heart swells. Kenton Baldwin in an incredible man. I hope with everything in me that he is indeed the father of my daughter. I pray we’re both right and that my little girl will have the presence of this man in her life.
“Momma!” Kendrix climbs to her feet and rushes toward us. Kent drops his hand from the small of my back, our moment lost but not forgotten. “Can we stay here forever and ever?” she asks, smiling up at me. Her blue eyes are shining with delight that only a child can carry, unaware of the hatred in the world.
“That’s a long time.” I chuckle.
Her little head bobs up and down while she bounces on her toes, unable to stand still. “It’s so fun, and so many friends.” She stops bouncing and looks at Kent. “Come on, Mr. Kent, we have to hammer.” She grabs his hand and begins to tug.
He follows along with her easily, letting her pull him wherever her little heart desires. He looks back at me and winks. “Forever and ever.” He grins before turning his attention back to our daughter.
“You’re good for him.”
Turning, I see Reagan standing next to me. “It’s messy.”
She laughs. “Life is messy.” She goes on to tell me about Knox’s mother, the heart condition of one of her twins, how Dawn and Mark ended up adopting Daisy, and Seth and Mara’s story, the loss of their beloved friend, and baby Ryder. I listen to everything this group of friends has gone through, and I understand even more why Kent refers to them as his family. “So you see,” Reagan says, “we get messy. It’s not something you can avoid, but love, love is something you can’t avoid, and that man, he’s done everything in his power to look the other way.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s never been serious with anyone. Never. Hell, the last few years, he’s not even dated that I’m aware of. We’re all pretty tight. The guys always have been, but after Knox was born and Kendall was brought into the fold, and my sweet baby nephew, that group expanded. It’s no longer just the guys, but the wives and kids as well. They’ve all fallen, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure Kent ever would.”
“Why do you say that?” I ask, my heart racing. My palms are sweaty as I stand here and learn things about the man who, from what I’m told, I was close to all those years ago.
“He’s always been holding back. He’s happy, loves his nieces and nephews, is always there if we need him, no matter what, but there’s still been this… quietness about him. It’s hard to explain, but I thought it was worth mentioning.”
“Can I ask why? Why mention it now? To me?” I’m confused about what she’s trying to tell me. She’s being cryptic in a sense, and I can’t seem to figure out where she’s going with all of this.
“I mention it now because it’s gone. The quietness is gone. There’s nothing there but a full heart and eyes full of hope.”
“Oh.”
She smiles. “Yeah, and you want to know when things changed for him?”
I can’t speak, and even if I could, I’m afraid my reply wouldn’t be friendly. I don’t need to know, and I don’t want to know. Not if it means that he’s moved on. Is that what she’s saying? He says differently, but damn it, what do I know? How do I know who to trust? This is all so messed up.
“The moment he found you again. You’re good for him. I hope you’re thinking about sticking around. We’d miss him, and we just lost a member of our family. I don’t know that we can go through that again.”
“What? Is he sick?”
“No, Delaney, but he’s a good man. If you leave here, if you go back to California, he’s going to follow you. And when I say follow you, I don’t mean to visit. I mean, he’s going to leave here and go with you.”