Chapter 8 Kai
Kai
Mother’s Day
I head up the stairs to Blakely’s mom’s house.
The chime of the doorbell echoes as I wait for an answer.
Brooke has always told me I’m welcome here, and there is no need to ring the doorbell.
I still do. It took many years for my relationship with B’s mom to become what it is now.
I don’t blame her, though. I was a shithead.
Bryn appears at the doorway. She reminds me a lot of Blakely when she was sixteen.
A typical teenager that wants to be with her friends all the time.
In much the same way, Amari reminds me of Bryn.
Bryn was around Amari’s age when I first met her.
She was into barbies and Disney movies, and now Amari loves both those things.
Their genes run strong, too. All the girls have dark brown hair with brown eyes to match.
“Hey Bryn,” I say. She was about Amari's age when everything happened. She was too young to hold a grudge, so our relationship has never been affected by everything that went down. Also, Brooke isn’t the type of person to showcase her feelings.
So, I’m not sure if Bryn knew exactly what was going on at the time.
“Hi. Everyone is out back.” She opens the door wider for me to pass through. “Hi, Kevin.”
“Hey, Bryn,” Kevin says as he walks in.
The smell of barbecued hamburgers fills the house.
Brooke started inviting me and Kevin over for the holidays once she found out that our mom had moved out of state.
Even when our relationship was rocky, she still included us.
That’s where Blakely gets her thoughtfulness from.
Regardless of what’s going on, they always include everyone, so no one feels left out.
Our mom struggled a lot when my dad chose his next beer over her—and Kevin and me.
It took her many years for her to finally walk away.
When she did, she went down a dark path and hardly wanted to be around anyone.
Then, when my dad passed, it took her down even harder than before.
That’s why I moved in with Kevin when I was seventeen.
But I went down my own dark path after my dad passed.
I was so focused on myself that I didn’t consider how everything was impacting her.
Kevin was trying to help both of us, but as two hardheaded, stubborn people, he had a hard time doing it.
One day, my aunt came, picked up my mom, and took her back home with her to another state to get away from it all.
She stayed there for a few months, and then out of nowhere, she called and said she wasn’t coming back.
The sound of her voice sounded more cheerful than I’d ever heard before.
She was finally happy and coming out of her dark place.
I was still in my dark place at the time, but I at least realized how happy she was.
Kevin and I helped pack her stuff and moved her out of the state.
She’s really happy now. She’s gone on a few dates but always tells us there’s nothing like love from your first true love.
Nobody has compared to our dad, she says.
I guess that’s where I get my inability to move on from my first love.
We get to the backyard, and the brown-eyed beauty arranging the tables immediately catches my eye. Her white dress flows gently as she walks, and a soft breeze blows across her hair. I’m completely mesmerized by her. Her presence always mesmerizes me.
"Bro, she’s taken,” Kevin whispers in my ear while shoving my shoulder. I scowl at him and then notice Liam.
Fuck.
I’m not sure why I’m disappointed. I knew he would be here. Heading over to Amari, I see her drawing on the cement with chalk. “Hey, little one.”
“Hi, Dad.”
I bend down, getting a closer look at what she’s drawing. “What are you drawing?”
“Flowers,” she says, drawing small circles, shaping her drawing into a flower.
“They’re pretty.” I hand her Blakely’s Mother’s Day gift. “Here is your mom’s gift.” She takes it from my hand and gives me a smirk, knowing what we both picked out for her. She walks it over to the table with an extra hop in her step, excited about the gift.
"Hi,” B says.
"Hey, happy Mother’s Day.” I lean in and wrap her in a hug, her warm vanilla scent filling my senses.
“Thank you.”
“Do you guys need help with anything?”
She looks around. “Can you help me bring the food from inside to these outside tables?”
I nod, following her into the house. We each grab a few platters and walk them back outside.
While we’re all sitting around eating, I happen to be seated across from B.
Every so often, I catch Liam staring at me, probably to catch me staring at her.
I’m assuming his radar is up since the day at his house and the comments I’ve made recently.
He’s not used to me being like this, because I’ve kept my distance from his relationship with B.
I truly didn’t think they would last this long.
Now that it has, I have to do something to get her back.
Regardless of if it’s in front of him or not.
Amari comes toward me and whispers in my ear, “Can I give mom her gift now?” Amari has been so excited to give her mom the gift. We went to the jewelry store and picked it out a couple of weeks ago.
“Yes. Go give it to her.” I watch as she grabs it from the side table and skips to her mom.
"Here, Mom. This is from me.”
Her eyes widen. “Thank you.”
“Open it.”
She takes the white tissue paper out of the turquoise bag and pulls out a turquoise box. Her face drops when she realizes what the jewelry brand is. She quickly eyes me before opening the box, her mouth dropping as she sees what’s inside.
“Do you like it?” Amari asks.
“It’s beautiful, honey.” She reaches in and hugs her. Liam leans over, looking at what’s in the box. His face goes hard once he realizes the brand, too.
“Show us what you got,” Brooke says.
B pulls the sterling silver Tiffany & Co. chain necklace with a heart pendant dangling from it.
“Look at the heart.” Amari reaches in and shows her the engraved name.
“Aw, that makes it even more special.” She turns the heart around to show everyone. “It says Amari on it.”
“That is such a cute gift,” Brooke says with her hand on her chest.
B eyes me again as she puts the necklace on.
I give her a slight smile. Liam, on the other hand, doesn’t look so happy with the purchase.
His brows are knitted together, and his jaw is clenched.
To be honest, Amari picked it out, not knowing how much it cost. She saw it in the store's window and wanted to go in and see it. Once I saw it, I couldn’t say no.
"Well, we better get going, babe,” Liam says.
“Already?” Brooke asks, eyes wide with surprise.
“Yes, we need to go see Liam’s mom, too,” Blakely says while scooting out of her chair.
We all start standing up, clearing off the tables, and picking up. Once everything is orderly, we all say our goodbyes.
Blakely comes toward me, places her hand on my arm, and pulls me aside. "Kai, this is too much,” she whispers, touching the necklace that’s around her neck.
“What do you mean?” I ask, playing dumb.
She squints her eyes at me, her head tilting slightly. “This necklace is a lot of money.”
“So?” I say, casually shrugging my shoulders as if this were something I bought at our local Wal-Mart.
She looks at me like she’s baffled at the fact that I can now afford stuff like this.
“Can you afford it?” she whispers.
“What are you talking about?” I narrow my eyes. “Amari bought it.”
She softly shoves my shoulder. “I’m being serious.”
I move a step closer, tilting my head slightly toward her. “Don’t you think it’s a little rude to ask someone if they can afford a gift they bought you?”
Her eyes go wide, as if she truly insulted me. “I don’t mean it that way. It’s just…I know you’ve been building this business of yours, so I…”
She’s pauses, clearly at a loss for words.
“Trust me, it’s fine. I’m doing good. The business is doing good.
That’s why I’m able to afford something like this,” I say, softly touching her chest where the necklace lays.
No one knows this, but my business has been picking up for the last couple of years.
It’s been doing great, and it’s allowed me to make some purchases that no one knows about.
The two most important people to me will find out soon. I just have to wait a little longer.
“Are you ready?” Liam asks, wrapping his arm around Blakely’s waist.
I drop my hand from her chest in annoyance.
“Yes.” She looks at Liam and then back to me. “I was thanking Kai for the gift.”
Liam looks from me to the necklace. “It’s a nice gift.”
“It was all Amari,” I say. “She picked it out herself.”
“She did?” B questions.
“Yes. Obviously, she didn’t know the price, but once I saw it, I couldn’t say no,” I admit with a tight smile.
“Our daughter has good taste.”
“That she does.” I was going to say she gets it from her mom, but I stopped myself, not wanting Liam to think I meant B has good taste because she’s dating him.
“We gotta get going. It was nice seeing you, Kai,” Liam says.
“Always a pleasure.” I shake his hand and then lean in and give B a hug. “Happy Mother’s Day.” They head toward their car, hands intertwined.
I linger for a moment, my gaze fixed on the way he holds her hand, and an ache settles in my chest. Shaking it off, I turn and head toward my own car, where Kevin is already waiting, his arms crossed and a knowing look on his face.
I’m trying to ignore his glare as I start the engine. “What are you doing?” he asks.
I keep my eyes on the road and a light grip on the wheel. “Driving. What does it look like?”
“No. With Blakely,” he says, shifting in his seat and narrowing his eyes at me.
I glance over at him. “What do you mean?”
He lets out an exaggerated huff. “Come on, man. You know what I mean.”
Slowly shaking my head, I say, "No, I really don’t.”
“What’s up with you buying her that expensive ass necklace in front of her boyfriend?”
I slow to a stop at the red light, flick my eyes toward him, and then return my gaze to the cars driving through the intersection. “It was from Amari.”
Kevin continues to stare at me. “But it’s your money.”
“No shit, it’s my money,” I snap. “I’m her father.” My shoulders are tight from all his questions. Why does it matter what we bought her?
He sighs, shaking his head. “I hope you don’t screw things up for her.”
The light turns green, and I press on the gas, moving the car forward.
“Are you trying to get back with her?” he asks, a bit quieter now.
I glance over at him. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like you are.” He rests his head against the seat and stares straight out in front of him, avoiding eye contact with me.
I shrug my shoulders.
“Seriously? Again?”
“What? She told me to work on myself, and I did. I’ve been doing great. We deserve to be a family again. We deserve to at least to give it another shot.”
"Dude, she has a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, he’s the problem now.”
He shakes his head. “So, you’re going to try to break them up?”
I pull up to Kevin’s apartment and put my truck in park. “No. But I'll try to get her to see we deserve another chance, and then she can make her own decision.”
Kevin laughs. “You’re an idiot.”
If Kevin sees that I’m trying to win her back, I hope she notices, too.
I don’t want to surprise her the way I used to.
My hope is that she will see my efforts and understand my intentions.
I want to plant the idea in her mind so she can come to a decision on her own.
She needs to see that I’m serious, that I’ve changed, and that this time, it’s different.
I’m not rushing. I’m giving her the space to realize what we could have together.