“It’s still awkward for Kendall, but last night she said he seemed different, too. She suggested maybe he has a woman in his life.” I throw my head back laughing, and Logan does too.
“What is so funny?” Theresa says with her elbow on the table and her face resting in her hands. “You guys better not be talking about us.”
Logan reaches over to her. “Love, we are always talking about you.”
She glares at him. “Yeah.”
“No love, Dane mentioned Kendall thinks Dad might have a woman in his life.”
Her eyes bright with anticipation, she says, “Kendall, spill.”
FORTY-NINE
Kendall
“When he came over, he was looking a little too relaxed, and he was smiling and laughing. He was wearing khaki shorts, a polo shirt, and loafers. Very casual.”
Theresa gasps, and her hand flies to her chest. “Unbelievable.”
“Not only that, but he even cracked a joke and laughed.” Surprise is written all over my face, my eyes wide, and my hands fly around as I animatedly tell the story.
“Next thing you’re going to tell me is he sat on the couch with his legs splayed and his hands behind his head.”
We both laugh, and it’s contagious—Logan and Dane join in.
“He did come out on the boat with us, and instead of telling Dane what to do, he was asking me questions about the salon and spa.”
Theresa glances over to the guys and says, “Kendall’s right; something’s up with him. I’m with her.” She points to me. “He has a woman in his life.”
The guys chuckle half-heartedly. Dane says, “I never imagined my dad being involved with a woman again. If he’s found somesort of happiness, then I’ll give him props. Until then, I guess we’ll wait and see what happens with this whole situation.”
Logan agrees with a nod as he sips his whisky.
The food comes out, and we eat and chat about how we need to do this again. It was a night of laughs, drinks, good food, and now we are heading back to the lake house for a sunset boat ride. The lake died down a bit with more pontoon boats out on the water, cruising around at a snail's pace.
We all head into the house and make a few drinks for the ride. Even though we ate, I made dessert that we can eat on the boat.
“It’s not apple season yet, but I made an apple crisp. You can warm it up, add a scoop of ice cream, however you want to eat it.” I dish out four servings with spoons, set out the ice cream, and we all grab a bowl.
“Let’s get moving, or we will miss the start of the sunset.” Dane moves to the slider and opens it for everyone to follow.
Settling into our seats on the boat, we cruise around the lake, which keeps the sunset right in our line of sight. We’re probably thirty minutes to an hour before it’s fully below the horizon. The light fades to orange at the top, with a bright ball in the middle and colors below that are slightly darker, featuring more orange and red tones.
Everyone is in awe of the scenery. It really doesn’t get any better than this when it comes to lake life. The sun is bright enough to shine orange through the air and on the water. You still need your sunglasses on, but soon we can remove them and enjoy it in full color to the naked eye.
The low rumbling of the motor is all you can hear in the silence. Once we are at the other end of the lake, Dane anchors the boat so it doesn’t move too much while we are out here.
“Love, this is the life we want.” Logan wraps both arms around Theresa and kisses her cheek.
“Get a room, you two,” Dane mumbles, since Logan busted us the last time he was all over me.
“You’re just jealous because you don’t have your sweetheart in your arms.” Logan with the quick comeback.
Dane finishes making sure the anchor is set and comes back over to me, pulling me close and staring into my eyes, fire blazing in his depths. And then he slinks down so he’s lying across the seat in the back of the boat and dives onto my mouth. Making a show of it—loud, sloppy, passionate, and all-consuming.
“Ew, you always have to one-up me,” Logan yells over and throws a blanket at Dane, but misses.
Dane wraps up the kiss with a couple of slow swipes of his tongue over mine, and he slowly moves up, bringing me with him. We settle into our spots, and I tuck myself into him. He grabs the blanket and covers me up.
