Chapter I Loved Being a Part of Something Good
I LOVED BEING A PART OF SOMETHING GOOD.
My body jolted awake at the sound of a phone ringing.
I craned my neck and let out a low groan.
Sleeping in a sitting position wasn’t one of my brightest ideas, but when Kennedy fell asleep on my lap while we were hanging out in the living room, I didn’t have the heart to move her.
She looked so peaceful, and I kept staring at her like a pathetic sap for an hour until I dozed off.
My phone was vibrating in my pocket, so when Kennedy got off my lap with a sleepy yawn and a stretch of her arms, I grabbed it.
I frowned at the contact name. It was Lisa, the executive director of the nonprofit I’d founded a few years back.
“Hey, Lisa, what’s up?” I croaked, still half-asleep.
“Hey, Henry, just double-checking you’ll be coming today for the prepare and serve a meal we’ve got going today at one of our newest shelters?”
Shit. With how busy I’d been and between all of the away games, it slipped my mind.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. I’ll be there.
” My eyes settled on Kennedy as she stood from the couch and headed for the coffee maker.
Her curls were a bit messy, but still so goddamn beautiful.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. “I’ll be bringing another person, so make sure we have something for her to do,” I said low enough so Kennedy couldn’t hear.
Then we quickly said goodbye and hung up.
I pursed my lips and threaded my fingers through my hair as I debated on how to bring this up to Kennedy.
I’d never shared this part of my life with anyone.
Not even my best friend or my family. But if I wanted her to be a part of my life—and I did, more than anything—I needed to be honest. This was a big fucking step for me, and nerves traveled through my body, causing me to break out in shivers.
Kennedy opened a drawer to get a spoon to stir her coffee. She grinned as she grabbed a piece of paper.
“Our contract was in this drawer,” she said as she waved it in the air. “I guess it doesn’t really matter now, does it?”
I laughed. “Don’t throw it away. Put it back on the fridge. It’ll be a fun keepsake.”
“You want to start collecting memories?” She cocked one of her eyebrows. “Are you going soft on me, pretty boy?”
I rolled my eyes without a word. We both laughed.
I cleared my throat. Here went nothing. “Kenny?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have any plans today? I want to take you somewhere.”
“I was going to go into the office for a few hours, but I can skip it. What’d you have in mind?”
I nodded. Fuck, this was happening. There was no going back. “I’ll tell you more when we get there. Make sure you wear some clothes you wouldn’t mind getting dirty in and comfortable shoes.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s broad.”
I smiled. “Be ready in an hour.”
As I parked in front of the building, I gripped the steering wheel and took a deep, calming breath. Fuck, my heart was beating fast. I’d been fidgeting the whole ride.
“Are you okay?” Kennedy asked.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, why?”
“You seem tense, and you were quiet the whole ride. What’s going on?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “Honestly?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“I’m a little nervous.” I let the confession linger between us for a few seconds. “I know you’ll probably have a lot of questions when we go in there, and I promise I will answer them later, okay?”
“Now I’m anxious,” she said through a nervous laugh. “Where are we?”
“Are you familiar with the Willow House Foundation?”
She stared at me with a frown for a few beats, then recognition filtered across her eyes.
“Yeah, they’re one of the biggest nonprofit organizations in Illinois for women and children who have experienced DV.
I’d been trying to work with them for years, but their waitlist is quite long.
They’ve done some amazing work.” Her tone of voice was a bit excited, and I fought the grimace that wanted to cross my face.
There was a reason the foundation wasn’t working with the Strikers, and it wasn’t because of a waitlist, but I needed to tackle one beast at a time. I didn’t think Kennedy was going to be mad, but she wasn’t going to be happy with me when she found out I’d been hiding something this big.
I pointed at the building. “This is our newest shelter. We’re going to prepare some meals and serve them today.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Our?”
Fuck. I hadn’t meant to say that.
I leveled her with a look. “What did I say about questions?”
“Fine,” she groaned.
I nodded and quickly hopped out of the truck and opened the door for her. “It’s going to be a long, tiresome day. Are you sure you want to do this?”
She scoffed and waved her hand dismissively as we strode through the back door, where the kitchen was located. “Have you met me? I love doing things like this.”
Lisa, who was practically like a second parental figure to me—she was around the same age as my mother—with her fierce attitude and her blonde hair in a high ponytail, strode to us with a clipboard in hand. “You’re late.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
She pursed her lips. “At least you’re here. If you stop by the back office, there are some extra shirts for both of you to wear. They’re in one of the boxes.”
I nodded and tilted my head so Kennedy could follow me. I sifted through the boxes until I found the perfect sizes and handed one to her. She had a camisole underneath her sweater, so she took it off and slipped into the salmon-colored shirt as I changed into mine, too.
“You ready?”
“I have so many questions.” She sighed. “But yeah, I’m ready.”
The time passed in a blur.
I was on prepping duty, because I didn’t like being in the front.
The marketing team usually took a lot of videos and pictures of the volunteers to post on social media, and for obvious reasons, I always made sure to stay away.
When Lisa heard Kennedy tell one of the other volunteers she was talking to that she worked in PR, she had her work in the front, serving food and talking to people.
Lisa had been working as an executive director for Willow House since the very beginning, when I was just an ignorant kid with a big dream and didn’t know where to begin.
She was efficient and knew her job well.
Thanks to her, we had one of the best volunteer programs in the Midwest, which allowed us to help a tremendous number of people over the years.
We had something good going, because this was something we were both passionate about and we made sure to work with people who were equally as passionate about it.
Her eldest daughter and only grandchild were victims of domestic violence, and it pained me to even think about the fact that they didn’t make it out alive.
This was why I trusted her with everything, because this was just as personal for her as it was for me.
After everything was cleared out and we made sure every woman and child in the building was well-fed, I ordered a bunch of pizzas and wings from a nearby mom-and-pop pizzeria.
I was forever grateful for every single volunteer, though the circumstances were fucked, because why the hell was DV such a common thing in the world?
I didn’t know. But I’d fight against it every day of my goddamn life until my last dying breath, and it was rewarding to know some people felt the same way.
I’d barely seen Kennedy all day. Every time I turned to look for her, she was speaking with a volunteer or with Lisa. I was exhausted and my hands hurt from all the prepping I had done, but man, my heart was full. As it always was, every time I came around to help.
Kennedy took a seat next to me. “Hey, pretty boy.”
“Hi, stranger.” I smiled. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day.”
She laughed. “I’m sorry. I just…” She looked around, her brown eyes shining. “I loved talking to some of the volunteers. If you could hear their stories and how they got here.”
I nodded. If only she knew how familiar I was with all of them. Most of them had been with us from the beginning, and some of them even needed help once, and when they finally got back on their feet, they became volunteers to pay it forward. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“It’s incredible how the community comes together and helps women and children in need.” Her smile was so bright, and she was radiating so much happiness, I couldn’t help but smile, too.
“I know you must have a lot of questions.”
She rested her hand on top of mine, squeezing it gently with a nod. “We can talk about that when we get home.”
I nodded without a word and took a breath of relief. I was dreading the conversation, because there were so many dark parts of me I still didn’t understand, and I was about to lay it all out there for the woman who was becoming one of the most important people in my life in such a short time.
“Thank you for bringing me here, Henry. I loved being a part of something good.”
My heart swelled with pride. I knew Kennedy was amazing, and though part of me was worried, I was glad I shared this part of myself.
I just hoped she wouldn’t be too mad when I told her the whole story.