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And that’s how I felt, young and renewed and ready to charge into our future.
Now we’re back on the rooftop, Kelly and I sitting side by side as we stare down at the laptop. Henry and Tamara are in their garden, the sun in front of them so it rests on their faces.
Her mother’s expression is difficult to read, tight and pinched, but Henry’s becomes more and more readable as the long seconds pass.
His frown deepens and he leans forward, running a hand over his bald head. “So you’re saying you want to be my son-in-law, is that it?”
Kelly gasps at her father’s harsh tone. I glance over at her, taking in the sight of her long flowing dark lock, her full lips, and her startling bright eyes.
There’s so much love beaming from every part of her, but even now I have to look away before my carnal instincts wake up, before the never-ending howling of need becomes impossible to ignore.
“Dad, please don’t be like that.”
“Like what?” he snaps. “How do you expect me to react? How old are you, Kane?”
“I’m forty-two, sir,” I tell him.
His expressions changes somewhat when I call him sir, as though he’s just been reminded of my military service. Either that or it’s reminded him that we’re two men talking to each other, and each of us is deserving of respect and civility.
“Do you know how old Kelly is?”
“Dad…”
“It’s a simple question,” he snaps.
“Yes, I do. She’s twenty years old,” I respond respectfully.
Some people are blind to their hypocrisy. They’ll sit in their gas-guzzling cars whilst preaching about global warming, or smoke a cigarette as they tell you all their cardio tips. I wonder if Henry is the same – blind to the fact he’s sitting next to a woman who is twenty years younger than him, just about the same gap Kelly and I share.
“Dad, surely you aren’t going to play the age card,” Kelly says, some firmness entering her voice. She waves a hand. “You and Mom are twenty years apart too.”
Henry flinches. “That may be the case, but…”
“But what, Henry?” Tamara says, placing her hand on his arm. “What can you possibly say? Yes, you don’t like it. You wish Kelly would stay single for the rest of her life. You wish she’d join a nunnery so you’d never have to admit your little girl is all grown up. Let’s face it. That’s what this is about, and the age thing is simply something you feel like you can target.”
“Tammy—”
“Don’t you Tammy me,” she goes on, wagging her finger.
Kelly looks at me with a smile touching her lips. I have to be careful to tame my own expression, lest Henry see me smiling and think I’m making fun of him. I’d never disrespect my woman’s father like that, even if the urge to smile and laugh is moving through me, especially as Tamara wags her finger like she’s trying to get rid of it.
“If her boyfriend had been the same age, you’d find something to complain about. His job, his hair, his way of speaking. You know it’s true. You know there will always be something.”
Henry lets out a long sigh, but he can’t stop a smile from his own twitching lips. “You know, Tammy, sometimes you drive me insane. Fine, fine, you’re right. Maybe this is about me not wanting Kelly to grow up. Is that so bad?”
“But that’s the thing, Dad,” Kelly says, her passion a live sizzling thing in the air. “Think about how bad this could’ve been.”
“What do you mean?”
“She means she could’ve had some spotty stoner disrespectful lowlife for a boyfriend,” Tamara says.
I can’t help but laugh at the fire in her voice, shaking my head as a smirk touches my lips. Henry snaps his gaze to me and holds it there for a moment, but when our eyes meet – as much as they can through Skype – and his own lips twitch into another smile.
“You’d better get used to this, Kane. The Jones women can be real firecrackers when they want to be.”
I know that already, I growl in my mind, my thoughts traveling back to the way Kelly twitched and vibrated for me. But obviously, that wouldn’t be appropriate to mention.
“Kane’s a veteran,” Tamara goes on. “He’s a good man. You heard what he did to keep his own daughter safe. He faked his own death. He disappeared. Think about how awful that would be – knowing that Kelly’s out there, convinced you’re dead, but there’s nothing you can do unless you’re willing to put her in danger. He did that for three years.”
“Am I right in thinking you’ve already made up your mind?” Henry asks with a wry smile.
“How did you guess?” Tamara says, giggling. “Yes, I’ll admit it. I don’t have a single problem with this. My only worry would’ve been Lena, but she’s told me she’s okay with it. She finds it a little strange, of course, but she’s okay. She’s ready to give it a try.”
