Chapter Nine
THREE MONTHS LATER
“Lens Family…I love y’all. For real.
Being here with you in Through Ken’s Lens, talking, musing, running around my favorite spots in Silverrun… It’s been special. It felt like home in a way I didn’t expect.
And as you know, I finally wrapped production on Beyond the Game. Getting to sit down with DaVinci Bryns and hear the real story behind the headlines, not the highlight reels, meant everything to me. That’s why I do this.
Life has a way of shifting on you when you least expect it, and I’ve got some new beginnings on the horizon that I’m not quite ready to share yet. But I’ll be signing off for a little bit while I transition back home.
I’m good. I’m grateful. And I’m exactly where I need to be. Keep me lifted like I keep you lifted. I love y’all. I’ll see you soon.”
Kennedi sighed as she hit upload on the vlog she’d recorded. She thought about the last thing he’d said to her before she left, his forehead pressed against hers in the back of a club, his voice dropping in a way she’d never heard from him.
“When you’re ready to stop running, I’ll be right here.”
The hoodie dress did its job, hiding the curve of her stomach that had started to announce itself whether she was ready or not.Four months pregnant. Nobody knew. Not her mama. Not her girls back home. Not the father.
She’d told herself Colorado was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Four months later, carrying his child, that lie was getting harder to maintain. Especially on nights when the baby fluttered, she was alone with it and had nobody to tell.
His last text had been at the airport. Be safe out there. She never responded. The silence settled between them like concrete.
She was carrying his baby. A baby she already loved more than she had language for. Whatever happened between them, they'd have to find their way back to each other — even if it meant nothing more than raising it together.
She told herself she could live with that.
She was lying again. But she’d gotten good at that.
“Little LA, the countdown is on to meet your daddy. Lord, he’s going to cuss me out.”
Her phone buzzed in the cupholder.
Mommy: You ain’t changed your mind, have you? I miss my baby.
Kennedi called her back before she could think too hard about it.
“I know you ain’t being shady,” Kennedi said as her mother giggled.
“I’m being honest. Girl, you will change your mind in a heartbeat. It’s my fault for being busy when I was pregnant with you. I still love you, though.”
“Ma, I’ve never heard that old wives’ tale before. But yes, I’m still coming home. You act like I’ve been gone for years.”
“That’s what it feels like, Kenny. I should throw something on the grill and invite the girls over to celebrate.”
“Mommy, no. I don’t need a big to-do. I just want to get home.”
“I know, I know. We miss you.”
“I miss y’all too. I’ll be home soon. I made it to the airport.”
She touched her stomach beneath the sweater at the gate, the reality of it still catching her off guard sometimes. A baby. Rolani's baby. A whole person she was responsible for.
One thing at a time. Home first. Then Rolani. Then the truth.
Her phone buzzed. It was Halo and Sametra on a FaceTime call together.
She answered.
