Dale closed the door. When he opened his mouth to say something, Kenzi cut him off. “Before you say anything, Dad, I want you to know that everything I need to say will be said respectfully. I love you and Mom, but some things need to change for me. I need to trust that everyone will show Dax the respect he has earned by being a good friend to me. I won’t bring him in here if anyone is going to threaten him or throw little jabs at him. He’s important to me.” Kenzi took a deep breath. “And before you warn me not to upset Mom, I need you to know that I would never do anything to hurt her, but when I don’t feel like I can be myself around her, it hurts both of us. She’s your wife, but she’s my mother, and I deserve the right to work out issues with her—not through you.”
Dale studied Kenzi’s face for a moment. “Grant and Lance are here. Asher, Emily, and Ian are on their way. Dax shouldn’t be left in the car like that. I’ll talk to him while you talk to everyone else.”
Kenzi halted him with a hand on his arm. “Dad, don’t—”
Dale placed his hand over hers. “Kenzi, I heard what you said last night and right now. I trust you to work things out with your mother in a way that she can handle it. Trust me with the man you love.”
“I don’t—” Kenzi didn’t finish the lie. She did. She may not want to say the words out loud yet, but she took a page out of Dax’s honesty book. “Dad, what Dax says when he’s cornered doesn’t represent how he has been with me. He could have come in here and been offended by what you know my brothers will say to him. He could have come looking for a fight or not come at all. He’s sitting in the car because he didn’t have a good relationship with his family, and he wants me to have one with mine. That’s love, Dad. I don’t care what he calls it.”
Dale leaned forward and gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. “No man is ever good enough for a father to imagine with his little girl, but Dax is close. I’d say he loves you as much as he can love anyone. I hope it’s enough.”
Kenzi clung to her father’s arm a moment longer. “I’m willing to take that chance.”
“Go see your mother, Kenzi. I’ll be outside.”
Kenzi watched her father close the door behind him as he left, and she prayed she’d made the right decision. Her father didn’t have a cruel or vindictive bone in his body. Their past problems had stemmed from how protective he was with her mother, not because he’d ever wanted to hurt his children. He’d asked Kenzi to trust him with Dax, and Kenzi wanted to give him a chance to show he’d heard her. Really heard her.
She walked into the sitting room where her mother and two of her brothers were sitting. They all stood when she walked in.
Sophie said, “Kenzi, did you come alone? What happened? Boys, could you give me a moment alone with Kenzi?”
Kenzi raised a hand to stop them from leaving. “Wait. I need to say something first. Dax Marshall is here, but he’s outside. Before you say anything to him I want you to know that I’ve never been happier than I am with him. I know you want to protect me, and that’s why you test the men I date, but that will not happen this time. He is important to me. You don’t need to know more than that about him.” It was hard to decide which of the three looked more surprised by her strong words. “Any lack of respect you show him is a lack of respect you show me. Please keep that in mind when you speak to him.” Kenzi lowered her hand and let out a shaky breath. “That’s it. I just had to get that out.”
Sophie looked on with her hands clasped in front of her.
Lance walked over and gave her a brief hug. “Dax may have a reputation for being an—” he stopped speaking abruptly, “but it’s obvious that he has been good for you.”
“Lance, your language,” Sophie reprimanded.
“I didn’t actually say it,” Lance said, looking like a boy caught with his hand in a cookie jar.
Behind him, Grant shook his head. “I’ll keep Lance in check.”
Kenzi stepped toward her older brother and put her hands on her hips. The conversation had gone so much better than she’d hoped. She felt good enough to tease, “Him? Do you know how many men you’ve scared off by grilling them about how diversified their investment portfolios were? You’re just as bad.”
Lance chuckled. “See, Grant, it’s not just me. He thinks he’s perfect. I’ve tried to break it to him for years that I’m your favorite brother.”
Kenzi shook her head in reluctant amusement. “I love you both the same, but I will kick your asses if you scare this one off.”
“Kenzi,” Sophie said automatically, but then smiled. “I can’t wait to meet this Dax of yours. He sounds incredible.”
“He is,” Kenzi said. Originally she’d thought she needed to speak to her mother alone, but they could all benefit from what she wanted to say. “Dax told me a story about his family, and it really touched me. It made me not only appreciate all of you more, but it also showed me how I needed to change.”
They all sat down and Kenzi told them about how Dax had been raised. She told them about his father and then his uncle. Although it wasn’t really her story to tell, she felt it was important for them to hear because it would help them understand what she wanted and why Dax was so important to her. “Mom, I felt awful about what I said to you a few weeks ago. It was the truth, but it came out all wrong. I was dealing with things that had happened in my past.”
Sophie moved to sit beside her daughter. Her expression was tormented. “You don’t have to apologize, honey. I understand now. I feel so guilty that I didn’t know. None of us knew.”
There was so much that Kenzi could have said at that moment, but much of it wasn’t important any longer. This wasn’t about who had been right or wrong. This was about finding a way to move on together and do it in a healthier way. “I didn’t know how to tell you, Mom.” She looked around at her brothers. “I didn’t know how to tell anyone. Dax helped me find my voice, and it’s because of him that I found the courage to talk about what had happened to me. I’m making some big changes in my life, good changes, that I want all of you to be a part of. At first you might see me doing something and think that it’s out of character for me, but it isn’t. I’ve simply found the courage to be myself. I’ll still come to you for advice, but when it comes to how I live my life, I’ll be making those decisions now. So, like it or not, this is me.”
Her mother gave her lap a pat. “If you’re happy, we’re happy, Kenzi.”
Kenzi smiled because she knew her mother meant it. She looked from one brother to the other and waited. They both nodded. The sound of the door opening was followed by Ian walking into the sitting room. He took in the mood and grimaced. “What did I miss?”
Lance stood and stretched. “Kenzi was warning us all to be on our best behavior with her boyfriend.”
Sophie stood and crossed the room to give Ian a kiss. “He sounds lovely, so I’m sure we won’t have a problem with that.”
Ian frowned. “Are we talking about Dax Marshall? The same man who—”
Grant stepped closer to Ian. “We’ll catch you up later. It’s important to Kenzi that we’re all nice to him.”
Ian turned to Kenzi. They hadn’t seen each other since she’d spoken at the high school. Due to how public opinion affected votes, Ian was the first to resent Barrington dirty laundry hitting the papers. Kenzi stood and faced him. She hoped telling her story hadn’t affected him, but even if it had, she was speaking out about it. Even if he couldn’t understand that at first, she had to trust that he soon would.
Ian walked over and pulled her unexpectedly into a tight hug. He didn’t say anything, just kept hugging her. When he released her, he said, “Where’s Asher?”
Sophie said, “He and Emily were running late. They had an appointment. My guess is Emily is pregnant. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they’re moving their wedding date up.”
Jaws dropped open and all eyes in the room flew to her. Sophie adjusted her hair. “Don’t look so shocked. Do I need to explain the birds and bees to you again?”
“God, no.” Lance shuddered.
“Please don’t,” Grant said quickly.
Ian turned to Kenzi. “So, Kenzi, what do you want me to know about Dax?”
Even though she doubted Ian actually wanted the answer, she took her seat again and embraced her vow to be honest with her family. “I love him.”
Just then Dale walked back into the room with Dax. Taffy was tucked beneath one of Dax’s arms, her bandaged paw resting on his forearm. Dale said, “Asher called and said they’re running late.”
Kenzi jumped to her feet and searched Dax’s face for any reaction to what she’d said. He might not have heard her. His protective wall was firmly in place, but Kenzi didn’t know if that was in response to what she’d said or to the situation he was walking into.
Kenzi went to stand beside him. He handed Taffy to her. She hugged the dog gently and looked up into his eyes. He stared back at her, giving nothing away, but his expression was tense and cold. She wanted to shake him, ask him if he’d heard, but they weren’t alone.
