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Whitney hadn’t meant she was going to get it right with Finley.
She was going to get it right with this child.
That realization nearly knocked the wind out of me. I immediately thought of Kendall and all of her qualms about her dad’s “new” family and the pain it caused. One day, Finley was going to find herself in a similar situation. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the heartbreak she’d feel upon learning her biological mother had essentially replaced her with another child.
The expletives on the tip of my tongue threatened to spill out, but I resisted. It wasn’t worth it. Deciding I’d had enough of this conversation, I shot up from the picnic table. “Good luck with that,” I muttered before turning around and walking back to my car.
“Mason!”
I didn’t look back. As soon as I got in the Jeep, I blocked Whitney’s number from my phone. I didn’t want or need to hear anything else she had to say. Not now. Sometime in the future, we’d likely have to deal with her again—especially if I was going to allow Finley to maintain a relationship with Traci. But for now, I could do my best to shield Finley from the inevitable storm Whitney would bring into our lives. Whatever it took—I’d do it.
**
Finley was helping my mom fill the bird feeder in the yard when I got home. Without a word, I scooped her up and held her against my chest. She giggled uncomfortably, raising one eyebrow at this inexplicable gesture, but she hugged me back, anyway. “You are such a weirdo, Dad.”
“Runs in the family,” I responded, kissing the top of her head.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I braced myself for a call from Traci—or perhaps Whitney had found a different way to reach out. But to my surprise, the call was from Owen, who was supposed to be leaving for his honeymoon at some point that day.
I set Finley on the ground. “Hello?” I answered warily.
“Hey, cousin. I’ve got to warn you about something. Um…”
I sighed, assuming he’d heard through the grapevine Whitney was in town. “Wait, aren’t you on your honeymoon?”
“We’re at the airport now. Waiting at the gate. But listen, you know how our moms like to gossip, right?”
“Uh huh,” I answered, watching my mom lift Finley so she could pour birdseed into the feeder. Maybe this wasn’t about Whitney, after all.
Owen sucked air through his teeth. “My mom may or may not have confronted me and Sarah about you and Kendall last night. She wanted all the details, but Sarah obviously didn’t have any. She’s a little upset with me for not spilling the beans with her, actually.” He laughed.
I grimaced. I couldn’t risk my mom or Finley overhearing this conversation, so I walked around to the other side of the house. “So. Sarah knows.”
“Yeah, Sarah knows, and she’s very excited. It’s all I can do to keep her from texting Kendall about it. But I wanted to give you a heads up first.”
“I appreciate it. But I mean, I guess we weren’t exactly trying to hide it last night.”
“Yeah, I saw you dancing with her and Finley. That was pretty awesome, man.” I could hear Sarah rambling in the background. Owen laughed, adding, “Sarah says it was the most disgustingly adorable thing she’s ever seen.”
I chuckled. “Tell her I said… thanks?”
Their flight was announced over the speaker, so Owen had to hang up. I slipped my phone back in my pocket and put my head in my hands. At some point, I was going to have to tell Kendall her boss knew about our not-so-secret relationship.
And her ex-boyfriend.
And my mom.
And Xander at the Woodvale Times.
Fuck.
chapter forty-seven
kendall
My anxiety was through the roof the day after the wedding. When Mason told me he was going to talk to Whitney in person, I caught myself pacing back and forth through the house, worrying what she might have in store. I even tried to distract myself by baking brownies I was too anxious to eat.
Finally, in the late afternoon, Mason sent me a message.
