Are they right?Maybe… okay, probably.It was the precursor, but maybe I was always going to be like this.
“Kenzie?”I ask.
She nods, and I’m sure it’s taking all her courage to ask me about it.Neither of us has dug into each other’s life over the years.
A knock on the door interrupts us, and I climb out of bed to go answer it.
“I guess you’re saved.”She watches me head toward the bedroom door.
“I’m going to answer the door, then we’ll talk.”I walk out of the bedroom, thankful to have a little time to think it through.
ChapterForty-Three
Easton
The hotel employee smiles at me the minute I open the door.He carries the tray in and places it on the table by the window.I can tell he knows who I am, but he’s not saying anything while he waits for me to sign the bill.
“Thank you.”I hand it back to him and walk him out.After he’s gone, I go to the bedroom archway and lean against it.“How about we talk over breakfast?”
She slowly climbs out of bed, and I hold my hand out to her, bringing her to the table, where I pull out the chair for her and tuck it in.
“What do you want?”I sit on the other side of the table, feeling way too far away from her.
“Honestly, I’m not a huge breakfast person unless it’s a bagel from Hero’s.”
I lift the lid off one plate.“Probably not the same, but I did get a bagel.”I continue taking the metal lids off the plates.
“And apparently everything else too.”
She’s got one leg propped up on the chair, and I force my eyes away from her nipple poking through her cami while I wait for her to decide what she wants to eat.
“Are you a food sharer?”She takes her silverware off the napkin, positioning it in her lap.
“Why?”
“Well.”Her cheeks blush.She’s worried about asking me.“I was thinking we just kind of eat off the plates… together?I mean we shared ice cream last night, but this…”
I take my silverware out and place the napkin in my lap.“Let’s dig in.”
She picks up a salt container.“Okay if I add some on the eggs?”
I nod and lean back against the chair, watching her.She asks me which jelly I want on the toast.If I want syrup, and if so, do I butter my pancakes first.
She has no idea what a natural caregiver she is.Not that I want her to care for me, but I saw it with how she adapted to Tanner so easily.The more time we spend together, the more I’ve realized it’s just a part of who she is.
I pour her coffee and then my own, not eating right away because I don’t want her to think I’m dodging the Kenzie conversation.
“Kenzie is my cousin’s wife.”Might as well just get right into it.
Her head lifts from spreading grape jelly on a piece of toast.
“I told you about all the cousins I have, but three of us are the exact same age.Born on the exact same day.”Her eyes widen, and I nod.“Lake Starlight residents and our family refer to three of us as the Bailey Triplets.It’s me, my cousin Lance, and my cousin Brinley.”
She eats, forking little pieces here and there.
“Brinley had a best friend…”
“Kenzie,” she adds, piecing together the obvious.
