them.
“You’re so good with little ones. Your niece adores you. You need someone in your life who’s... whole.”
If he let her go now, it was over for sure. He couldn’t do that, but he definitely needed a moment to process. “Sweetheart, please sit down. Tell me about it.” Was that why she and Maurice had never had a family? He didn’t want to think about her previous marriage.
His mind swam. His body felt like it was doing the same. The only anchor was the lock he had on Kenna’s gray eyes with their hint of lavender from the purple tunic she wore. Even the thought of lavender gave him a second anchor. Then he remembered to pray. God, help me. Help us. I don’t know what to do, what to say.
“Please, Kenna. We’re here for lunch and to really talk to each other. Let’s make sure we do that.”
“Are you certain?”
He was so not sure, but he nodded, anyway. There were still as many chances as he needed to back out, but this was the only gateway to move forward. That knowledge pushed to the front. “I’m sure.”
Kenna took a deep, shuddering breath, and slid into the booth.
The server appeared with their drinks. “You aren’t going to run out on me, are you?” He looked from one to the other.
“No. We’re staying.” Tony took his seat. “Aren’t we, sweetheart?” For some reason, he knew he needed to keep using that endearment. She reacted to it every time. Maybe she didn’t believe him. He wasn’t sure he believed himself. Again, he pushed that thought aside. He might be the king of snap judgments, but this wasn’t a situation that would benefit from it.
The server nodded and moved on to the next booth.
Kenna bit her lip as she looked across the table to him. “I had cancer when I was a teenager. They got it all, but they had to remove my entire reproductive system.”
Tony reached for her hands, and this time she let him. “I’m so sorry. That must have been incredibly hard.”
“I was fifteen. Barely recuperated from surgery when my dad killed himself.”
He winced. But man, that explained a lot. “That’s more than any kid should have to bear.”
Kenna licked her lips and looked out the window, her hands trembling under his. “I had no one to turn to. Nothing.”
He couldn’t stand the distance between them. A second later, he slid onto the bench beside her and wrapped his arm across her shoulders. “Hey, I’m here now.”
“For how long?” Her whisper was as soft as her shoulders were firm.
“As long as you need me to be.” Whether that was five minutes or a lifetime. But he seriously needed to think and pray about that. He couldn’t pledge forever love — yes, love — without knowing this was God’s best for both of them.
He needed to mourn the family that would never be, but he had to do that on his own time, later. God would show him. Would comfort him. Would give him Elkanah’s love for his wife Hannah like in the Old Testament. Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?
For now, he wrapped his arms around Kenna until she leaned into him, accepting his support. For now, this was all they both needed.
24
“The buffet worked out well then?” Kenna glanced across the car at Tony. Only snow-covered darkness loomed out the window beyond him, but she wasn’t concerned about that. She was with Tony, it was Christmas Eve, and they were headed to his parents’ home in Galena Landing, Idaho. What more could she want?
“Amazingly. Hopefully it will become an annual tradition. Maybe on the Fourth of July, too. Any holidays where no one wants to eat out in the evening, and my staff doesn’t want to work late.”
She loved watching his eyes light up when he talked about his restaurant.
“Turns out we had food critics visiting today. They let Dixie know as they were leaving. Hopefully the decent tip they left was indicative of their review.”
“That’s wonderful. From the culinary guild?”
“They didn’t say.” His hands flexed on the wheel. “The award doesn’t matter.”
“Sure, it does.”
“No. I don’t need the guild to tell me Antonio’s is the best new restaurant that opened in Spokane in the past year. Our guests tell me with their reservations and their wallets. The award would be the cherry on top, I’m not gonna lie. But, in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter.”
Kenna couldn’t resist. “What matters?”
He shot a