after seeing the grief on my parents’ faces, but something told me that those invisible bindings, those tenuous strings that were keeping me from falling apart, would break the moment I saw Caden.
Dad knocked and spoke through the door. “Kenna?”
“Come in, Dad.”
He opened the door and poked his head inside. “I bought some donuts, kiddo. Why don’t you come out? Your mom could use some help. She told me I was more of a nuisance than an asset in the kitchen.”
“Uh huh,” I said with a smile. “Drop the pretense, Dad. I already know you go out of your way to pretend as if you have lobster claws instead of hands when you’re in the kitchen, just so you don’t have to help with the candy.”
He stepped inside and patted his round stomach. “Can you blame me? Look at this. It’s like I’m going to hatch my own twin one of these days.”
Dad had grown older and paunchier, but he still had that Robert Redford smile, or at least that’s what my mom had named it. I’d inherited his blonde hair, but, much to my chagrin, not his blue eyes. My mom’s brown eye genes had won on that front.
Our brief, much needed, moment of levity vanished. Dad opened his arms for yet another hug, one of at least thirty since I’d gotten back to Mayfair. I wasn’t a parent, but it seemed instinctual—that need to hug your own child when someone you knew had lost theirs.
I walked into his arms and realized how much I’d missed his comforting embrace. We stood that way until Mom’s smacking of pots and pans in the kitchen jarred us from the quiet moment. Dad kissed my forehead and reluctantly lowered his arms.
I raised my brow at him. “You mentioned donuts? Chocolate devil’s food with nuts?”
“Would I forget my little Kenny’s favorite donut? I think your mom has a few tasks lined up for you, so get dressed and I’ll see you in the kitchen.” He walked out.
The warmth in my room assured me that the sun outside was hot. I pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank shirt and dragged a brush through my hair. I placed Scooby back on my pillow and patted his brown head.
Mom was at the stove standing in a swirl of sugar scented steam as I walked into the kitchen. With the candy business booming, Dad had hired a contractor to knock out the room dividing the kitchen from the dining room. It was now one giant kitchen with an eight burner professional stove and a massive granite island for candy making.
Long strips of buttered parchment paper lined the granite, and perfectly straight rows of white chocolate truffles stretched over the paper like small white mountains.
“There you are, Kenny,” Mom said with only a momentary glimpse away from the candy thermometer in the pot. “Did you sleep well?”
“The mattress is a little more lumpy than I remembered, but I guess that’s because my bones are older.” I took a deep whiff. “Mom, did you taste these truffles? I think you might have accidentally put garlic in them.”
Her eyes widened, then her shoulders dropped in relief. “I’m not that scatterbrained, Kenna.” She used her forearm to push an errant strand of hair off her forehead. “But I sure wish I didn’t have all these orders to fill this week. The garlic is from the lasagna.” She took the pot she was stirring off the heat and walked over to me for a quick hug. Her apron smelled of a mix of caramel and onions. “A group of us got together and started a list of casseroles to make for the Strattons. It’s just a way of relieving some of the terrible stress and making sure they keep up their strength with home-cooked food.”
“That’s nice, Mom. What can I do to help you?”
“Actually, that’s what I was just about to ask you. Could you be a dear and take the lasagna across the street?”
“What? Me? I’m not sure if I’m ready to see them yet. Couldn’t Dad take it?”
Mom reached up and pushed my bra strap beneath the thin strap on my shirt. “Kenny, they’ve been asking about you. You and Grady were always so close. I think it would give them comfort to see you.”
I glanced through the kitchen window to the house across the street. “Is Caden home already?”
“Yes, poor guy. He got in a few days ago, just after the accident. It seemed