“What’s going on in here?” Kent asks. It’s obvious to hear the joy in his voice.
“Mr. Kent, we’re having a nail-hitting contest. You want to play?” Kendrix asks.
“Not right now, sweetie,” I answer before he can. “How about you and I go over to Kent’s house for a little while? Since our kitchen is messy, we’re going to make dinner at his place.”
“Yay!” she cheers. “Sketti.”
“You ready, kiddo?” Kent drops my hand and walks over to her. He opens his arms and she doesn’t hesitate to jump into them, letting him settle her on his hip. He smiles at her like she’s the light in his life. He turns to face the guys, giving each one of them a look I can’t explain, but he gets a subtle nod from all four of them.
“Ready, baby?” he asks me.
I can feel my face heat at his endearment, but I keep my head held high as I nod to him, and wave to the guys. No other words are exchanged as we load up in his truck and head toward his place.Chapter 16KentThe drive to my place is quiet. Even Kendrix is not talking, and my little girl loves to talk. It’s almost as if she can sense something big is about to happen. When we pull into the drive, I hustle to get her out of her seat and carry her into the house. Delaney is right behind me as she sets their bag on the floor.
“What’s that, Momma?” Kendrix asks, pointing to their bag. I set her on her feet and busy myself taking her coat off her. “Can we make sketti now?” she asks me.
“In a minute, sweetie. Actually, we want to talk to you about something. Come sit down.” Delaney offers Kendrix her hand, and she takes it, bouncing off to sit in the living room. Once they’re settled on the couch, I take the chair sitting across the room from them. I don’t know how she’s going to react and I don’t want to scare her. “Do you remember how Mommy told you that your daddy was away with his family?”
“Yep,” my daughter replies brightly.
“Well, things have changed, and Daddy can be with us now.”
“Oh.” Her eyes grow wide.
“Kendrix, sweetie, Kent is your daddy.” She just blurts it out like ripping off a Band-Aid. Then again, I’m not sure how else you could explain it to an almost five-year-old. We can’t tell her why I was away from them, not right now. Maybe one day, when she gets older. When she can understand the depths of her grandmother’s deception.
Kendrix gasps and her little hand covers her mouth. She stares at me, her big blue eyes wide and glassy with tears. “Mr. Kent?” she whispers.
“Princess, I promise you that if I could have been with you and your mommy, I would have been there. Every breath, every second, every minute, every hour of every day I would have been there.”
The room is silent while we give her time to process what we’re saying. I’m expecting an onslaught of questions any second now, because that’s my little girl. She’s curious and observant and so damn smart for her age. I watch her as she climbs down off the couch and makes her way toward me. She stops when she’s standing in front of me, where I sit in the chair. She doesn’t make a move to climb in my lap like she usually does so I rest my elbows on my knees, bringing myself to her level. When her tiny hands land on my cheeks and her blue eyes bore into mine, I freeze. I don’t know what’s happening.
“C-Can I call you daddy?” she whispers.
Her voice is so soft, I’m not even sure Delaney heard her. I get my answer when a sob rings out from across the room. It doesn’t faze my daughter as she keeps her hands on my cheeks, while her momma’s blue eyes remain trained on me. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Swallowing hard, I try again. “Do you want to call me daddy?”
“I’ve never had a daddy,” she replies while nodding.
My heart cracks wide open and allows her to reach in with her tiny little hands and burrow deep inside. “I’ll always be your daddy.” I want to tell her that I’m sorry, that it wasn’t my fault, that nothing would have kept me away had I known, but she’s a little girl who doesn’t need all of that. All she needs is my reassurance that I’m her dad, and she can call me whatever in the hell she wants.
“Can we make sketti now…, Daddy?” she asks, smiling.
Elation.
Happiness.
Love.
“Yes, princess, we can make spaghetti now.” She leaps into my arms, securing hers around my neck, and I hug her as tight as I can without hurting her. “Mommy,” I say, finding Delaney’s eyes. She’s openly crying, and tears coat her cheeks, but there’s a smile that greets me. It’s her smile, the one I remember. I hold one hand out for her, and she comes to us. I move Kendrix to one knee and pull Delaney down onto the other. “My girls,” I say, kissing Delaney.