Her voice cracks on that last part, and I feel it like a weight in my chest. I didn’t mean to make Claire cry, but I know that family carries grief like it’s stitched into their bones.
My chest loosens at the warmth in her voice. “I’m glad you liked them.” I shuffle my feet for a second, not sure what else to say. The silence between us isn’t uncomfortable, but it’s new—like we’re both trying to figure out where we stand.
“I didn’t think you were still around,” Kenna adds casually, her eyes flicking over me like she’s noticing me again for the first time. “Thought you’d be off doing something...important.”
I can’t help but smile. “Nah, just trying to get back to the basics. I’ve been spending some time with the guys.”
Kenna’s eyes brighten with recognition. “Oh, Josh and Andy, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, and Gabriel. He’s married to Millie, huh? It’s hard to believe little Millie is married.”
She laughs, and I feel a little lighter, like the conversation is finally settling into something natural. “I know, right? She and Gabriel have a little girl, Aura. She just told us she is pregnant with her second baby. It’s all so exciting.”
“That’s amazing,” I say, unable to keep the grin off my face.
Kenna shrugs. “It is. My whole family is ecstatic.” She looks down for a second, then meets my eyes again.
I nod, feeling the weight of those words. “Yeah, I can only imagine how excited Claire is for a grandbaby.”
Then she says something that completely catches me by surprise. “Do you want to go for a walk with me?”
I blink. “Now?”
She shrugs, pushing off the doorframe. “I’ve got twenty minutes before my next client. I could use some fresh air.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”
We walk side by side down the quiet street, the morning sun warming the sidewalks, painting long shadows between us.
We don’t speak at first. The silence isn’t awkward—it’s full. Like both of us are waiting for the words that matter most to show up on their own.
Every few steps, I catch her glancing sideways, like she’s checking to see if I’m real. And maybe part of her still doesn’t believe I am. I don’t blame her. Some days, I don’t either.
She glances over at me eventually, her voice tentative. “Why now, Cole?”
I slow my pace, glancing down at the sidewalk before meeting her eyes. “Because I’ve spent years thinking about the day, they took me away from you. Every single one of those days, I wished I could’ve stopped it. Wished I could’ve told you it wasn’t goodbye.”
“I didn’t leave you, Sunshine,” I add, quieter now. “I didn’t want to. They took me, and everything else just…stopped.”
She exhales through her nose, that same quiet sound she used to make when she was trying not to cry. I know it too well.
“I know you didn’t choose it,” she says after a moment, voice low. “But that doesn’t mean it didn’t break something.”
I nod, my throat tight. “I get that. I do.”
Kenna stops, turning slightly to face me. The breeze pulls at the hem of her sweater and brushes through her hair. She doesn’t look angry—not exactly. But she’s guarded, eyes sharp and wounded all at once.
“I watched them put you in cuffs,” she says, her voice brittle. “As they read you your rights, I stood there in your hospital room, like you were some stranger. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
I look at her, helpless. “I never stopped thinking about you. Not once.”
She swallows hard, then shakes her head like she’s trying to dislodge the memory. “You were gone. And the world just kept moving without you. Without us.”
“I hate that it happened like that,” I whisper. “If I could change anything…”
“But you can’t,” she finishes for me.
Silence again. Thicker now.
