Page 82 of Alec’s Dream

Alec knew it wasn’t his friends that made it feel that way.

It was Macy, Caleb, and Aurora.

The three of them completing what he and his daughter shared.

No, they weren’t leaving. And he’d work his ass to the bone to make sure of it.

25

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to Kennedy.

“Don’t be silly. This is what Jameson does. It’s part of his job. Not the first time he’s hit the road and it won’t be the last.”

I still felt like shit Jameson was heading down to Florida. And to make matters worse, he was leaving right then with no notice, which meant Kennedy hadn’t had any time to prepare.

“But—”

Kennedy’s hand on my arm halted my rebuttal.

“Macy, stop. One day I’ll explain to you why Jameson’s all fired up to head south and handle this. I’m telling you he wouldn’t have it any other way. This is who he is, part of why I love him so much. Which means I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

It wasn’t her soft words that made me believe she wasn’t upset. It was the way her face had relaxed and her eyes shone with kindness.

“Thank you for being so understanding. It has to be hard for him to leave on such short notice.”

“You get used to it. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, you learn to deal with it. Besides, that’s when we all rally.”

“Rally?”

“Yeah. Sure, it sucks when one of the guys has to take off, but we all have each other’s backs. Last time Nix, Jameson, Weston, and Holden took off, we had a girl’s night slumber party. Facials, junk food, booze, and bad eighties movies. It totally rocked.”

A twinge of jealousy rang through me. It had been a long time since Becky and I had taken a night to just relax and have some fun. It felt like years, actually.

“Hey. If you’re up to it tomorrow night, either you’re at my house or if you don’t want to leave the kids with Alec, I’ll come here and we’ll hang in the den. We can chat, eat junk food, I’ll bring the booze and we’ll binge on Netflix.”

That sounded awesome and I really wished I could take Kennedy up on her offer, but I couldn’t.

“I can’t ask Alec to watch my kids and we’ve already taken up too much of his house. And as much as I’d love some girl time, I couldn’t put him out more than I have.”

Kennedy’s green eyes narrowed and I belatedly noticed how cool they were—with a dark brown ring around the green making them pop, especially when they were squinty and sparking irritation.

“You’re not putting Alec out. And if you think he’d mind Rory and Caleb chillin’ here with him while you were at mine, or us hanging over here, then girl, you need to open your eyes. That man is gone for you.”

“We’re not—”

“Yeah, Jameson and I weren’t either. He was just helping me out of the trouble I’d found myself in. Another story I suspect you need to hear. As a matter of fact, McKenna and Silver should come over, too.”

That kinda freaked me out. I’d lived in Kent County my whole life, therefore I knew the ways of a small town, including how when gossip started making its rounds you could only believe a sliver of it. But McKenna’s trouble had made the paper. Kennedy’s too. So I knew a few facts including that both had almost died.

I didn’t know Kennedy, though I’d known of her even before the news hit about her near-drowning. She was four years younger than me and the only thing I knew about her was everyone loved her. Loved her parents, too. When Mr. Lane was murdered, it had rocked our small town. Kennedy being the daughter of a slain citizen had become the beloved daughter of the county.

So with all I knew, I was afraid to hear their stories. The real ones, the behind-the-scenes, the emotional part, and most especially what role the men had played.

“I see you have that look.” Kennedy smiled. “The one that says you’re trying to figure out why Alec is with you and if he and all the other men have God complexes.”

“Am I that transparent?”

“No, but I had some of those same thoughts. Guilt too. The truth is, it's not so much that they have a God complex as they are protectors. They fix things. And when someone they care about is in danger, all those qualities come to life in a big way. They’re bossy, they like to be in charge, but believe it or not, they do it because they truly care. If Alec has made a stand, and in case you missed it, he threw down for you, it’s because he cares—no ulterior reason.”