Kenny was usually capable of holding her own against her brothers, but right then it took everything she had not to squirm.
Fern—bless her—made a tiny little moaning sound, instantly snagging Cade’s attention. His focus swung toward his wife in an instant.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just a bit of a back ache. I should probably sit down,” Fern said, sneaking a look at Kenny. From the mischievous twinkle in the other woman’s eye, it was apparent that she’d deliberately diverted Cade.
He made atuttingsound with his tongue and steered Fern toward the patio table, his hand rubbing soothing circles in the small of her back.
“Sit down, I’ll get you a plate. Anything you don’t want?”
“I’m famished, I’ll have everything and then some,” Fern told him with a wide, dimpled smile. He stared for a second, looking a little dazed, before returning the gesture with a hesitant smile of his own.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” He squeezed her shoulder gently before striding back into the house with a distracted nod at Kenny.
“Thank you,” Kenny said and Fern nodded.
“Not a problem,” she said, still smiling. “He’s become a little protective recently.”
A little?
Fern’s gaze turned inward and her smile dimmed somewhat.
“Although I’m not quite sure what to make of that.” The words were spoken quietly, almost to herself. Kenny frowned, uncertain if it required a response. And not entirely sure what her response should be if it did.
But Fern had been so kind, Kenny felt it only fair to offer some kind of reciprocal insight.
“I think he likes you,” she said, then winced. Wishing she had something less insipid to offer.
Still, Fern’s eyes shone with something close to hope as she stared up at Kenny.
“You do?”
“Yes. Very much, actually. Also, I think you’re good for him. Thank you.”
Fern looked a little mystified.
“For what?”
“Bringing Cade back to us.”
“I’m not sure…”
“He had become so distant. Uninvolved. And I think it had a lot to do with his name?” Fern nodded at the question in Kenny’s statement. “But since marrying you…he’s more like the big brother I knew growing up. I don’t think any of us even realized how very distant he’d become until you.”
Kenny knew that she was so wrapped up in her own emotionalstuffin the years following their mother’s death that she hadn’t had time to notice what was going on with her brothers. It felt like one day she’d come up for air and Gideon was estranged, Nox was out of control, and Cade wasgone. Emotionally switched off. There but not. Yet always so quietly steadfast and reliable that it had been easy to overlook what was going on with him in favor of Gideon and Nox’s more obvious issues.
Then again, Kenny wasn’t exactly the poster child for mental and emotional health in this family. But like Cade, her own unraveling was quieter. More private. With Smith as its only casualty.
Smith.
She looked down at her feet as she tried to compose herself.
“Kenny?”
“I’m fine,” she whispered, blinking back tears and tilting her chin upward to meet Fern’s concerned eyes.
She forced a smile.
