Kenna shoved at my chest. “It’s not funny. If the roles had been reversed, I would’ve read you the riot act the first week we knew each other. I would’ve laid out a twelve-point argument about how wrong you were.”
I shrugged and pulled Kenna back into my arms. “I’m done proving myself to people. I’ve done it for most of my life. Tried to be the son my parents wanted, the fiancé Alicia needed, the most dedicated employee. But along the way, I lost touch with what I wanted. Trying to be so many things to so many different people meant I didn’t stay true to myself.”
“I’m sorry you went through that.”
“I’m not. It was a gift. It showed me how I never wanted to live again.” Life would now only be on my terms. I wouldn’t be someone I wasn’t to win the approval or the love of another person. “I have to be content with who I am. Never again will I mold myself into what someone else needs me to be.”
Kenna tipped her head back to look into my eyes. “I wish I had your fearlessness.”
“You do. I see it in you every day.”
Kenna had no idea just how much strength she had at her fingertips. How much that internal fire could feed the fearlessness she hungered for. She just had to let all the rules and walls she’d set for her life fall away.
Doubt flickered across her features. “I guess I just need to grab hold of it a little more firmly.”
“You will. Now, what do you say we hike back down and go visit Zoe?”
Kenna grimaced. “I want to see Zoe, but going down this mountain might kill me. My butt is going to be so sore tomorrow.”
“I’ll massage it for you if you ask real nice.”
She snorted and shook her head. “Just do me a favor and don’t start massaging in public, okay?”
My hands slid down to her ass, kneading the muscles there. “There’s no one around now…”
Kenna shoved at my chest. “If you think I’m having sex with you on the side of a mountain when anyone could come along or we could get carried away and roll off, you’re crazier than I thought.”
“What happened to wanting to be fearless?”
“That doesn’t mean I have a desire to get dead or arrested.”
I released my hold on Kenna but grabbed her hand, leading us away from the cliff’s edge and back towards the trail. “Aw, Brown Eyes, you never want to have any fun…”
31
Kenna
I took a long drink from the glass of water Ingrid had given me. “I can’t keep up with those two, they’re putting me to shame.”
Ingrid laughed, turning her eyes back to the soccer scrimmage Crosby and Zoe were engaged in. “She’s something to behold. I finally got her connected with one of the rec teams.”
I eased into one of the patio chairs, fighting a wince. I would be in pain tomorrow. “That’s great. Is she liking it?”
“Zoe loves playing. She’s still a little unsure about the other kids, but I think that will ease over time.”
It would be impossible for Zoe to be anything but unsure. Her life had been turned upside down repeatedly in her nine years on this Earth. “Is she letting you in?”
Ingrid turned towards me, raising her sunglasses so they balanced on the top of her head. “It takes time. I’ve gotten peeks at the little girl under the armor, but she hasn’t let me in yet. That’s okay, though. We have all the time in the world, and I’m patient.”
“She’s really lucky to have you.” I let out a whoop and a cheer as Zoe dodged Crosby and shot the ball into one of the mini-nets Ingrid had set up. “Go, Zo! You show him!”
Crosby shot me a mock scowl. “I can’t believe she’s cheering for you over me.”
“Girls have to stick together, Crosby,” I called. Zoe laughed, and when I held out a hand, she jogged over to give me a high five. “You show him who’s boss.”
“He is pretty old, it won’t be hard.”
Crosby gave an exaggerated moan and fell to the grass with a dramatic flourish. “They’re killing me.”
Ingrid laughed as Zoe ran over to Crosby and helped him back up. “You two are really good with her. Do you want some of your own?”
It had been so long since I’d gotten the question, it was like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. No one had