Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. “Are you hoping for my blessings? Because they ain’t coming. Not ever. Not even when she is old enough to make those decisions on her own. Over my dead body.”
“It won’t be your choice soon,” he says. “I am only two years older than her. You’re being irrational.”
I clear my throat and wonder why I didn’t break his nose again when he opened his mouth. That’s right. I’m at church. “There’s no such thing as irrational. Only your ability to understand my rationale. I don’t care about the age difference. You’re a prick, and I’ll never trust you.”
“We’re just friends, man. That’s it. I wanted to see her once more before I leave for Cape Cod.” Leo glances somewhere over my left shoulder, and my gaze immediately follows. Kendall is hugging the pastor and pulls back to talk to the pastor’s wife.
“You’re seeing her right now, aren’t you? Get the fuck out of my face,” I growl, rubbing my knuckles across my mouth. “Make yourself scarce, man. That goes for me and mine.”
Leo grabs the back of his neck and rubs furiously. “At first I wanted to piss you off. I admit it. I saw Kendall down at the beach after you told me to stay away from Magnolia. The reason I first spoke with her was to be an ass, but I ended up enjoying…her company. Someone to talk to that wasn’t someone I worked with or was trying to fuck.” I step toward him, but he holds up his hand. “Just listen.” I should clock him and leave him for dead, my breaths come quicker. “She talked to me and asked for advice. I gave it.”
“Yeah, fucker, you told her to lie and break up a relationship. Some friend you are. You really are on the same wavelength as a kid, aren’t you?”
He swallows hard. “I’m telling you it’s platonic. I swear. I’m sorry for everything. Truly.”
I tell him he should have found a friend his own age, someone outside of my territory, trying to be as rational and church-like as I can possibly manage to be as infuriated as I am. Leo nods as I throw him truth bombs, and he apologizes once more before I’ve had enough.
I take a few steps back without breaking his gaze and walk up to Kendall, putting my arm around her to guide her to the car. The conversation with Leo has me shaken. He had the ability to destroy my life once, I hope he doesn’t do it again because I’ve pissed him off. Time is on my side. He’ll be gone soon. Good riddance. If I never see that fucker again, it won’t be too soon.
The ride to the hospital is crisp with the windows down. Kendall remains quiet, leaning her elbow against the open window, hanging her head halfway out. She reaches out to turn the volume down on the radio and rolls her window up. I follow suit. “Thanks for being here for me right now,” she says. “This whole situation is awful, and you and Jenny are the only things that have made not having my mom bearable.” It’s only been a few days and several car rides to and from school. I’d do far more for her. “Especially because I was wrong about you.”
I run a hand through my hair and focus on the road in front of me. “You were given wrong information. It’s fine.” I’ve dreaded this conversation. Not because I don’t want to have it, but because I’m not sure how to tackle it—the appropriate thing to say or how to talk about my feelings.
“It’s not. I made my own mother miserable because I thought you were going to leave,” Kendall says, looking at the side of my face. “Not only did you not leave, but you also proved just how much you wanted to stay.” Her voice catches. “You saved my life, Aidan. I never should have believed those things he told me.” She looks forward, and I see her cross her arms on herchest. “I’ll never talk to him again because of it.”Thank fuck,I think. “I’m so used to shitty things happening that when faced with something good and honest, I don’t want to believe it. She deserves it, though. My mom deserves a loyal man. I’m sorry I’m rambling on. I’m just sorry. For everything. The funeral got to me, and seeing Andrea’s family twisted me in knots.”
“Me too, kid. Me too. You don’t have to worry about me going anywhere. I’ll always be around,” I say. It’s a stiff promise that shocks me to the core. I won’t break it, though. “I may have trips or a deployment here or there, but I’m going to stay.” I turn to meet Kendall’s eye, and she smiles. “Be there for you and your mom.”
The smile falls quickly. “My dad will be here by now. He called and told me he wanted to visit after the fire. I told him to stay away because I didn’t want to see him. Jenny said he called her and told her he was coming anyway regardless of what I want. Not really sure what to expect. Figured you might want to know.” She shrugs as I pull into the parking lot.
“Are you okay with that? With seeing him? Your mom told me everything, so let me know if you want me to run interference or whatever,” I reply, turning off the engine.
“It’s time. We’re all starting over. I feel good. Mom, though, I hope she’s okay seeing him. With her.” Kendall closes her eyes tightly.
“Don’t worry about your mom,” I say because I think it’s what Magnolia would say. “Let me worry about her, okay? You focus on you.” I knew going into this I was going to have to talk to Paul. This scenario probably isn’t the best, and I haven’t had time to think of exactly what I’d like to say to him, but Kendall is right. This is as good a time as ever. “We’ll get through this.”
Kendall looks appreciative as we walk into the cold, sterile building and sign in at the visitor’s desk. I garner ogling looks as I’m in my uniform, but I ignore them as best I can. We getto Magnolia’s room, and I’m not sure what to expect, so I set a reassuring arm on Kendall’s shoulder. “You’re okay, kid. You got this.” I give her a pat.
She leans into the embrace as we open the door. “Thanks, Aidan. I’m sorry again,” she says, looking up to meet my gaze. Amends have been made, and it feels good. It feels official. Like nothing can stand in my way. Smooth sailing from here on out.
Paul’s gray gaze is scorching as I walk into the room with Kendall.
“What the hell is he doing here? In uniform to boot. Here to finish her off, soldier?” Paul snarls, looking back to the bed where Magnolia is sitting up, face flustered—and red. From crying. I twitch as his intonation grates when he calls me the wrong label. “Get over here, Kendall Sager. That guy is bad news.” Paul waves, trying to get his daughter away from me. Something my childhood did prepare me for was dealing with two douchebags in the same day without breaking a sweat.
I furrow my brow. “I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before,” I say. “Not sure I’m bad news either.” The smile Magnolia loves is the one I flash at Paul.
“This is Aidan, Dad. The guy who pulled me from a flaming building,” Kendall drawls, slowly, like she’s talking to someone who is hard of hearing. “Nice to see you, too. Some greeting after all this time.” Her grip tightens on my arm. Magnolia looks relieved to see me. Or Kendall. I don’t know, and it doesn’t really matter. Ignoring Paul’s next insult, I walk toward the bed in the corner and take my place in the armchair.
Kendall sits on the bed and kisses Magnolia on the forehead. “I’m sorry. We left as soon as we could after the funeral. I wanted to be here before he got here. Didn’t work out that way. I’m so sorry.”
Magnolia scoffs, smiling. “Please, I’m a pro at dealing with your father. I’m just sorry I couldn’t make Andrea’s funeral.”Her smirk falls and is swiftly replaced by sorrow. I lay a hand on her arm. “Paul, stop pacing,” Magnolia says, exasperated. “Coming here was a mistake if you only want to argue. We don’t want to. Don’t have the energy to, either.” The harrowing circles under Magnolia’s eyes add the believability to her request.
“I didn’t fight you when you wanted to move here with Kendall, Maggie. Figured it would be best for a change of scenery, but I can’t accept this.” He gestures to me, grimacing. “You traipsing around with all of these men, almost getting yourself killed, putting our daughter in danger.” Paul stops to stand at the end of the bed. He glares at us. All three of us. A united front. He shakes his head, and anger abates to make way for pain—a displaced sense of betrayal.
Magnolia lets out a long breath that I can tell rattles her chest. “Accidents happen. We’re fine. As you can clearly see. Don’t be dramatic. We love our life in Bronze Bay.”
“We do,” Kendall chimes in. It’s very obvious that seeing her father isn’t comfortable. I bet she’s envisioning what she walked in on. I hate that she has to bear that, but I’m glad that Paul seems to realize this fact, too. Fucking asshole. “We are happy here. Mom’s going to get better, and we’re going to go back to living it.”
“No,” Paul says, hands on hips. “You’re coming back with me, Kendall. I’ve been too lenient. I should have forced my hand earlier. It doesn’t matter what you saw or how you feel. I’m your father. You’ll live half the year with me and the other half with your mother. I’ll let you finish out this school year, but this summer you’re moving back home.”
