The Stone Family Heart - Taylor Hart Page 0,54

high-fived him.

Chapter 16

It was two in the morning, and Kensi could not believe she was hiking up to Pirate’s Cove. There was a whole group of them: her, her brothers, Tim, Lucy, Kat, and Cheryse—because of course Lucy had told all of them and they would not be left out of it.

Tim would distract Phil, then they would go in and cut the petroglyph out of the wall. Kensi had no idea how they planned to cut the stone out of the cave, but she didn’t need to worry. That was what Marshall had told her, because the boys would do the work.

It was weird to know that this would completely freak Jeff out. For him, danger was jaywalking across the street in Boston. Often, she liked to cross the street when no cars were coming, and when they got close to the law firm, she would often just cross. That had really bothered Jeff. Most of Jeff’s life was illegal, especially the part about scoring drugs, and she had always pointed that out. He always seemed to forget.

They got to the top of the cove and waited. Before long, she heard Tim’s truck pull up. A door slammed shut.

“Who’s there?” Phil called out.

“Hey, bud, it’s just me. I brought you some coffee and a thermos. You might need a break.”

“Hey, thanks, Tim. As a matter of fact, I want to go call my wife and check in on the little one,” Phil said.

“You bet. Go do that. I got things covered here.”

Kensi wasn’t sure how long they waited while Tim talked with Phil. Eventually, Marshall put his hand up and made some signals like they should move forward. They rushed into the cove.

Tim stood alone, gesturing for them to pass. But when Kensi tried to go with them, he took her by the hand and jerked her to him. “Wait.”

“What are you doing?”

He held her close to him and gently pressed his lips to her neck.

Just the feel of his lips melted her. “Tim?”

“Phil is gonna talk in his car forever. I’m serious.” Tim chuckled against her ear. “Just hold still. You’re not needed for this part of the mission. Your brothers are gonna do this part.”

But she was confused. “I thought you didn’t want to have a relationship.”

“I know,” Tim said, letting out a long sigh. “I know I told you I wasn’t ready, but I was still stuck in grief. I know this is gonna sound stupid, but ever since we talked about asking God for help, I have felt better. All I can think about is you. Us. A future. I want those things, even if I don’t deserve them.”

He was saying everything she had been feeling. Everything that had fought for a place in her heart.

Tim gently pressed his lips to hers. “Kennedy Elizabeth Stone.” It was something they used to do as teenagers: the first person to kiss would always repeat the other one’s full name.

She kissed him back. He deepened the kiss, and she pushed closer to him. She wanted to ask if he was okay with moving to the next step in the relationship, but she was afraid. After what he’d revealed to her about losing Tina, she knew he had demons he still wrestled with.

But everyone had demons. And if Marshall had struck a chord within her, it was that you couldn’t get addicted to those demons.

She knew the road to dealing with her own grief about losing her child would be a long one. But it had touched her, in places she hadn’t realized she needed emotionally to be dug up, when he had told her that maybe they both could ask the Lord for help.

Even thinking about that statement brought tears to her eyes.

Tim seemed to sense her emotions, and he pulled back. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

“Tim,” she said, wishing there was more time right now to explain everything. “My mother always talked about miracles and second chances. But after she passed, I decided I didn’t believe in either of those. Until I watched Trey get a second chance with Ava. That felt like a miracle.”

“It is.”

“Do you think we could be getting one?”

“I want that.”

Without thinking, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. She held nothing back now, and she pushed her hands through his hair, feeling so much love for this man.

She thought about the lessons her mother had tried to teach her all those years. She even thought about times she went to meetings with