Page 107 of All for Love

“Them.” He pointed at the floor. “I spoke to Kaden while we were having our cigars. I think he heard me this time around, and if you can forgive me for being such an ass last week, I’d like us to go downstairs and face this thing head on. Together.”

I shook my head. “I can’t, Kody. I barely made it up here without falling apart the first time. I won’t manage it again, and I just really can’t take any more fighting right now.”

Standing up when I wouldn’t come to him, he took both my hands and squeezed them as he stepped into me, pressing his front to mine. “If you can’t, that’s okay. I won’t blame you, but I wanted to come get you this time instead of having the whole conversation without you again.”

“Thanks, but you shouldn’t be bothering with that conversation at all. Nothing is going to change, Kody. You’re putting yourself through hell for absolutely no good reason.”

He dipped his chin so his eyes were level with mine. “I’m willing to put it all on the line for you one last time, Mercedes. Besides, something will change. Something already has.”

My heart stumbled over itself. “What are you talking about? What changed?”

“Kaden understands now,” he said firmly. “When we went outside, he told me that he realizes now that our feelings for each other are real. He said he didn’t believe it before, but he does now. He’s with us. On our side, and he’s going to get Brooke to come around too. Hell, she was only really against us because of him anyway.”

Hope slammed into me, immediately taking up residence in my chest and refusing to budge. “Are you serious? They’re on our side now?”

“Well, Kaden is. Brooke will be eventually. She was trying to protect him, but he’s talking to her right now. Either way, he’s with us. Even if she isn’t. So what do you say? One last go? We can’t give up now, baby. Not if there’s a chance they’ll come around.”

I stared into his eyes, but even with him right here, fear dragged its sharp-edged nails along my insides. “I’m scared, Kody. Today has been awful. This whole last week has been terrible. I just don’t know if I have it in me.”

“Lean on me,” he urged immediately. “I’ll hold your hand the whole time, and if you want us to leave, just squeeze it and we’ll go.”

“How do you have the courage to face our parents like this after everything?” I asked on a hushed whisper. “I admire it, but it’s pretty stupid.”

A slight grin appeared on his lips. “That’s me. Admirably courageous but stupid. Now what do you say? Are we going to go fight the good fight one last time for old times’ sake?”

I sighed, but with him holding my hands, I already felt a thousand times better and stronger than I’d felt before. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

We were probably about to get emotionally slaughtered again, but if Kaden had really come around, then that was a big change. It meant we were now split down the middle with Kaden, Kody, and me on one side and Brooke and our parents on the other.

I supposed our parents were really the only ones that mattered, but if Kaden had switched sides, then maybe it wasn’t impossible that the parents would as well. Mr. Wagner hadn’t taken the news as badly as my mother had the first time, but it’d also been a massive shock to her then.

They’d both had some time to absorb it now, and Kaden had been our greatest opposition. With Mom a close second, but she might’ve calmed down enough by now to at least hear us out.

Kody kept hold of my hands as he led me down the stairs, but then he stopped abruptly on the first landing. Our family was just out of earshot below, which meant this was the last place where we’d be alone before the next round of this battle.

“For the record, I wanted to be with you regardless of whether or not we get support down there,” he said. “I’m not a little boy. I don’t need their approval to know what I want and to know what’s good for me. You’re what’s good for me, Mercedes. I know I can be good for you, and I want to try.”

I was crying for a whole other reason now as I nodded again. “I feel the same way. Let’s just do this before I lose my nerve, okay? We’ll figure out the rest later.”

I had to be strong for him right now if I wanted this to work. If I woke up tomorrow morning knowing that Kody was all mine and that nobody hated me for it? That would be the best Christmas gift ever, and he was right.

If there was a chance that we could still have that, if we could get them to come around, then it was a chance we had to take.