Kenzie didn’t say anything else either and soon I was pulling into a residential subdivision. I hadn’t seen one of these since Texas, and it distracted me enough to not read too much into the awkward silence. Street after street of similar looking homes lined each side. Most had the same landscaping, and it gave new meaning to the words “cookie cutter.” There was very little green, and most of it came from climate appropriate plants and shrubs such as cactus and all-weather palms.
We soon reached the place she had told me the night before that belonged to her sister. I had been thrilled to learn she lived with a relative versus having a place of her own. From what Reece had told me, the two still paid for the small studio in the city. If she hadn’t let go of those roots, then there was always a chance she would return, which helped my cause tremendously.
I pulled into the driveway and she was out of the car before it could be put in park. She hadn’t shut the door, but before I could follow her, she stuck her head inside. “I’ll be back in about ten minutes. Just stay here.”
I tried not to take it personal that she hadn’t wanted to introduce me to her family. I had met her parents not long after the school incident, but I had never met any of her siblings. Her father was intense, and he was the kind of Southern Baptist preacher that made sinners quake in their boots. When he’d realized what I had done to his daughter, he’d called for my expulsion. What he hadn’t realized was that the Courtland building was via funding from my family, so they ignored his repeated calls for action. The dean would rather cut his own arm off than lose the tens of thousands of dollars donated by my family each and every year.
“Fine,” I responded, then leaned back in my seat. She blew me a kiss before closing the door. I watched her ass in her clothes and hoped she put on something with even better access for whatever sights she wanted to show me. Being the sex-crazed man I was, my thoughts turned to the many ways I still wanted to fuck her. She was like a drug; something I craved and wanted more than even my next breath.
Most of my sexscapades in the past had been of the one-night variety, and rarely something I ever wanted to repeat. It was different with Kenzie. I couldn’t get enough of her, and it didn’t matter how many orgasms I brought the two of us to, I still needed more. I was busy thinking of the ways I wanted to take her later today when my phone rang. Not sure if it was her inviting me inside after all, or someone else, so I quickly answered it without even looking at the screen.
“Hello.” My voice was a bit terse, but the investor in Seattle didn’t seem to care.
“Hey, Jonas. There’s an issue with the document you signed earlier this morning...”
I cursed inwardly. Of course, I had signed something incorrectly. It was an easy enough fix, so I pulled up the app on my phone, and went back to what I had been working on this morning. Being at the foothills of a mountain range, this area wasn’t conducive to Wi-Fi and not wanting to have to delay our day together, I sighed. “I’ll have it sent to you in the next few minutes.”
I had no choice but to go inside where they would have the needed connection. I could sign the document again, then have this over and done with. I got out of the car and walked up the stone pathway to the doorway. The homes on the street were all the same shade of beige and each one had identical architectural features. Back in Houston, there was at least variety. I didn’t have to like the style of the homes, or even the city, unless...
I pushed those thoughts away. The last thing I wanted to think about was having to relocate to Arizona. Of course, if she wanted to stay, it was my only option unless I wanted to lose her. That also wasn’t something I was willing to do, so I would need to try to persuade her to move back to Manhattan despite her obvious success in this place.
I got to the front door and rang the doorbell. I didn’t even know if anyone else was home until the door opened. A young girl with red curls stood there staring up at me, then bounded away from the door as I stepped inside. I decided to follow her into the other room, and once I did, I could see so many pictures on the wall that it was hard to concentrate on any one in particular. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and remembering my actual reason for being there, I cleared my throat.
“Is Kenzie around?”
It was a stupid question and I realized it the second it came out of my mouth. The child turned and I looked down at her. She was fidgeting and I realized it had to be because I was a stranger to her. Extending my hand out in greeting, I smiled. “I’m Jonas. I—”
“You’re Auntie Kenzie’s friend,” she told me, and I nodded.
I was about to ask her what she had heard about me, but when my gaze dropped to hers, it was like déjà vu. The eyes I was currently staring down into were my own. How could that be? Something akin to panic washed over me and I tore my eyes from hers and turned to see the same young girl in a nearby picture holding up two balloons. A one and a zero. She was ten, and if so, she could be...
“J-Jonas,” Kenzie called out to me from the doorway. I looked back at the child, then her. Her expression was one of fear and pain, and that meant my thoughts were headed in the right direction.
The room started to spin, and I almost thought I would pass out. It reminded me a lot of what I experienced that one day in my hotel room. “Is she—”
“Give me and my friend a few minutes alone, Tori,” Kenzie instructed the child. Nothing more needed to be said, and when she disappeared down the hallway, I looked at her.
“What the fuck?” It was all I could think of at that moment. It wasn’t every day that one came face-to-face with a child they never knew they had.
“I can explain,” she started off, but I interrupted.
“Explain what? That we had a child you’ve kept from me her entire life? And one who—”
“Would you keep your damn voice down.” She seethed. “You don’t understand.”
“What is there to understand?” As far as I was concerned, there was nothing she could say to justify this. The sting of betrayal was vicious, and its blade cut deep.
“She’s not mine... ours... she’s my sister’s.”
“Stop lying to me!” I would never be confused with a patient man, and this woman I thought I loved so much was testing the very limits of mine.
“I gave her up at birth.” And the knife was wedged even deeper at the reluctant confirmation.
I didn’t want a child, but knowing I was never given the opportunity to decide that for myself had me seeing red. The anger inside was nearly twice as intense as my turmoil, and I looked up at the woman I had always loved, and into the eyes filled with tears.
“Was this some sort of payback?”
“Payback? No, of course not,” she told me, then stepped closer to me.