Chapter 56
Josephine
“So. Jojo.”
Kendrick chuckles softly. He squeezes my hand once, but he doesn’t let go as we pick up our pace to catch up.
In my periphery, he smirks. “She wants something.”
Blinking at him, I try to make sense of the lighthearted warning. How can he interpret her intentions from those two small words? I’m endlessly fascinated by their tightknit connection.
We’re hiking around the property on a footpath that K swears is safe. Even though we had to bring bear spray.
The girls are walking ten yards or so ahead of us, and every so often, they peek over their shoulders.
We can’t hear their conversation, but I catch the sound of their laughter every few steps.
Kendrick calls out to them when they get too far away for his liking—which earns him matching unamused glares each time.
The way he cares for them makes my heart flip-flop in my chest.
Emilia stops and turns to face us, donning an angelic expression. “Did you bring your nail stuff with you?”
“Millie,” Kendrick scolds, keeping his voice low.
“What? It’s a fair question!” She plants one hand on her hip. “If we’re stuck here for another day or two, how else are we supposed to pass the time?”
“You got somewhere to be?” Kendrick deflects.
Jade steps up beside her sister and offers a saccharine smile. “Oh, she does. She wants to go to Kayla’s party tonight.”
Kendrick frowns. “Why in the world would she be having a party tonight? We’ve barely made it out of the timeframe for the storm warning.”
Emilia places her other hand on her hip, doubling down. “Kayla’s family has a condo near Charlotte. She said the roads are open and there isn’t any damage in their neighborhood.”
“Damn private school,” Kendrick mutters. “Their friends have houses all over the state.”
I hold back a laugh, because I so acutely remember what it was like to be a preteen and care about nothing else besides who’s hosting the next party and whether I’d be able to go.
Hand in hand, we make our way closer to the girls.
“You know the rules,” Kendrick says.
Emilia shoots him a surly glare that makes her look so much like him. “I know. I’ll have her mom call you later. Okay? Please, Kenny? Please, can we go?”
Kendrick holds her gaze for so long and with such intensity that I start to squirm. “I’m not making any promises until I talk to this girl’s mom and confirm a few things. I’m also not committing to leaving here at a specific time.”
“Mrs. Lansbury could take us!” Jade pipes up.
With a scowl, Emilia elbows her in the side.
“What?” she demands, whipping her head around so quickly her beaded braids swing with the force. “She already said she would.”
Oh, sweet Jade.
Emilia hisses a warning under her breath, catches her sister by the elbow, and marches her away from us.
Good thing, too. K’s outrage simmers just below the surface as details of their scheme hit him.
I squeeze his hand once and shuffle closer so my arm brushes his. They’re just kids. Clever kids, yes. But their plotting is harmless.
“You’re strict,” I tease, pulling him forward so we can follow the girls. “We might have to talk to Kylian about joint custody of his nickname.”
Kendrick chuckles, low and melodic. The sound inspires a kaleidoscope of butterflies to riot in my belly.
“You’re a comedienne now, huh?”
I hit him with a cheeky smile. “Something like that.”
He returns my flirtatious grin, but his face quickly falls. He stops, and his hand still encompassing mine forces me to stop, too.
He grasps my other hand and tugs until we’re standing toe to toe. “I take care of the people I love, Jojo. Them. The boys. You. It’s my duty and a privilege to take care of you.”
Big hands skim up my arms until he’s pulling me into an embrace. His nose nudges against mine, his lips ghosting along my jaw.
“When we leave here, I go where you go.”
They’re words I didn’t know I needed to hear. His promise fills me with warmth, the reassurance quelling the anxiety that’s been kicked up from sharing a roof with Decker.
Emotion catches in my throat, and I have to blink back the tears threatening to escape me.
The sentiment behind his declaration is identical to Kylian’s.
We won’t go back to the way things were.
Living separately, stealing moments every few nights.
Deep, appreciative understanding rolls through me, a wave so strong I let the tears well and crest over my lashes.
We don’t know the details. How or where we’ll go.
But we’ll be together.
It’s so close to being all I’ve wanted for weeks—all of us, together.
If this is as close as I can get, then I accept.
“I love you,” I whisper, tipping my head back and circling my arms around his waist. He’s so sturdy. Solid. Hard on the outside, but ooey-gooey where it counts. “I love you so much, K.”
He bites down on his plush bottom lip like he’s holding back his grin, but his eyes dance, giving him away. Two fingers catch under my chin and tilt my head further as he lowers to kiss me.
Our lips haven’t even touched before the sound of fake retching hits our ears.
“Gross,” Jade draws out.
“Get a room,” Emilia jabs.
“Hey!” Kendrick shouts, pulling up straight and pointing at his sisters. “Inappropriate. And most definitely not the way to convince me to let you go to a party tonight.”
Jade’s eyes go wide as she slaps her hand over her mouth.
Emilia skips over to us, squaring up with her brother like she isn’t intimidated by his six-two frame whatsoever.
“If we go to Kayla’s, you could kiss Jojo all night without us making a single peep.” She presses her lips together and smirks.
Kendrick glares at her for a beat, then another.
His deadpan expression cracks into an exasperated sigh as he scrubs a hand down his face.
“What am I going to do when you’re actually teenagers?” he bemoans.
“Jojo will have to step up,” Emilia declares, pulling her shoulders back.
The confirmation that my presence is a given in K’s future, that we’ll all be present for one another, warms my insides.
“Speaking of…”
Jade tentatively joins us now.
“Was that a no for nails?” Emilia asks me.
“Get going,” Kendrick snaps, pointing down the trail.
With a laugh, I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I was in a hurry to pack and didn’t think to bring any of my supplies. I’ll do your nails next week, once we’re back home.”
The girls take off again without complaint, instantly moving on, but a sense of dread trickles in as the promise I just made hangs in the air around me.
Home.
Where is home?
My boys are my home, yes, and we all share the same goal of sticking together from here on out. The where and how, though, are still in question.
My breath hitches on the inhale as panic ignites inside me, sending my heart rate skyrocketing.
K notices instantly.
“Not today,” he reminds me.
He smooths a hand down my spine in a move that’s both reverent and mollifying and rests his palm on my low back. He doesn’t let me stop. With that hand, he gently guides me down the path after the girls.
“Nothing to worry about today, Mama. You called a time-out. Honor that.”
I swallow past the worry and push down the panic.
Time-out.
I am here. This is now.
Everything else will keep.