“That doesn’t make it less true.”
“How did you find out?” It didn’t matter, but there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind that was curious how Kenzie had put the pieces together.
“I had dinner with Mom and Jarrod and he made a comment about something they’d done last year, but you and Mom were married last year. I asked her about it and she denied it, but I could tell by their faces, and it was like a lightning bolt. So much other stuff just clicked into place when I realized.”
He tried to not be angry that Jennifer hadn’t taken Kenzie’s question as proof their plan had been a bad one. But he felt proud that he’d raised a daughter so smart and intuitive she’d known what to ask and she’d seen the writing on the wall.
“And Dakota is cheating on Trent,” she said, sending Thomas’s heart back into the ground. “I’ve heard them on the phone and I can tell by how he’s acting. I let him stay because he said Trent threw him out, but it sounds to me like he deserved it.”
“He doesn’t deserve it,” Thomas protested, out of instinct.
“You haven’t heard him on the phone,” she said, lips pursed. “He’s…Dakota can be really mean.”
“That’s my fault.” He picked up one of the bread crusts and tore it off into smaller pieces, needing to eat even if he didn’t want to. “I should have set a better example for him.”
“You set a fine example,” she interrupted him before he could finish the thought. “I mean, I turned out all right, didn’t I?”
Kenzie gave him a sweet smile and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah. You’re pretty all right.”
“I know.” Kenzie took a sip from her drink and wiggled in her seat. “And I’m sorry, by the way. I thought it would be good for Dakota to come and be around family. I thought that maybe he would hear me out about what Mom had done to you and see how it affected you and realize what he’d done to Trent was wrong.”
“You meant well. You don’t have to apologize.”
“It wasn’t fair for me to spring that on you,” she said.
“Kenzie.” He reached across the table and patted her hand. “It’s really okay. I promise.”
“Okay.” She swallowed and shrugged like she was trying to change the subject.
“Did you want to talk about something else?”
“Please. Anything.” She looked relieved at the out.
He picked up his glass and took another swallow, ready to finish the watered-down disaster and get a fresh one. “Have at it.”
“So.” Kenzie cleared her throat. “I told you what’s going on with school. What’s going on with you? Anything exciting?”
Thomas licked his lips, phone vibrating once again in his pocket. “Actually, yeah.”
“Anything you want to tell me about?” Kenzie started in on a third piece of bread.
“Actually…” He leaned back and listened to his heart slam against his sternum, eager and scared—and ready. “Yeah.”
CHAPTER19
BEN
It tookThomas an hour to answer Ben’s texts and another hour before he showed up, looking tired and hopeful at the same time. Ben greeted him with a kiss, then let him inside.
“Sorry it took me so long,” Thomas apologized.
“You’re fine. Kids are important.”
“Well, they’re adults.”
He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. How was brunch?”
“It was…” Thomas toed off his sneakers and went into the living room. He collapsed onto the couch with a sense of ease that had something in Ben’s chest constricting. He…liked it? He liked that Thomas felt comfortable enough in his space to make himself at home that way. It was a big thing, though. He knew that much. A big feeling.
