Dressing in my usual uniform of worn-out leggings and a long-sleeved shirt, I don my steel-toed boots and head to my barn.
Family dinner at Lennox’s cabin is upon us.
It feels like a huge milestone for Lennox, even if he is reluctantly hosting to make us less worried about him. Judging by the line of cars, I’m the last one here today. I grab the craft beer I picked up in Rosedale the other day and head inside.
“Knock, knock!” I call out.
“Out back!” Ledger yells from the sliders at the back of the house.
It’s a cooler day now that Texas’s version of fall has entered the picture, so hanging out on the back deck sounds perfect.
“Good evening, family,” I greet everyone. Ainsley and Willow stand up and rush to me with hugs. I’m not the most touchy-feely of people, but I’ll always accept hugs from these two. Ainsley started dating Ledger, and I might have interfered, but I knew the second I showed up at her house uninvited that we would be friends for life. Having her as almost a sister-in-law at this point is the cherry on top of the sundae.
“You’ve been working too hard. I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks,” Ainsley faux scolds.
“I know. I have been, but I finally caught up, so hopefully, we can get back to our weekly lunch dates,” I say.
“Good.”
I disengage from the girls and head toward Lennox, who is sitting quietly in a rocking chair I built for him when he moved in.
“Got some fancy beer. Want one?” I ask as I sit next to him.
“Sure, thanks.”
I inspect him, and he looks pretty good. The overgrown beard is starting to look rough, but he’s looking pretty healthy. A change from the first couple of weeks he was home.
We both crack our beers as the surrounding conversation continues. I catch snippets of conversation but don’t really have anything to add. I’ve been disconnected from everyone except Arlo lately, it seems.
“How are you?” Lennox asks quietly.
I sigh. “I’m … unsettled,” I finally say.
“Unsettled?”
“A lot has happened recently, as you know.” I look over at him with a smile. “And it’s made me think about a lot of things.”
He nods but doesn’t say anything.
We both silently watch Willow and Oakley hugging as he whispers in her ear. Ainsley hugs Ledger from behind as he cooks burgers on the grill, with the most content smile on her face.
“Do you think it’s possible to be that happy?” I ask Lennox quietly.
“For you? Totally. For me?” He pauses, thinking. “I’m not so sure. Maybe I’ll always be this fucked up, and then I can’t see a happy ending happening.”
My heart cracks in two, but I also have no clue what to say to make any of this better. I can only assume the events with Tennison are still very fresh for him. Nothing I say will make any of that better right now. But I try anyway because that’s what our family does.
“You may not see it now, but in time, things won’t look so bleak. If anyone can be that happy, it’s you, Lenny.”
He reaches over and grabs my hand, squeezing it as I look down and see the pink scars on his hand. I flip my hand over and squeeze his back. It’s a sort of promise that we’ll make it through this hard time. That we’ll be there for each other through it all, no matter what it takes.
“Love you, Rina,” he says softly.
“Love you too, Lenny.”
“Let’s eat!” Ledger’s powerful voice interrupts our moment as he sets a plate of burgers down on the table. Someone already put all the fixings on the table, so now all we have left is to eat.
We gather around the outdoor table and start making our plates before we go around in our usual routine.
