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It had taken him a long time, years, before he realized his dad was never going to want him.
Kendrick’s dad obviously did want her. Sometimes adults just didn’t know how to go about getting what they wanted.
“You really love your dad.” He had to start this conversation somewhere. That seemed like as good of a place as any.
Kendrick narrowed her eyes at him. She might only be ten, but she had been through a lot, just like he had, and he figured she probably would understand what he was trying to do once he explained it to her.
If he could get past her suspicion and resentment.
His mom would tell him he was acting like an adult again. She often accused him of that, and he wasn’t sure what to say.
Sure, the kids around him didn’t act the way he did, and sometimes he found them immature. Maybe because he spent so much time with his mom.
Or maybe he was just born old.
“It’s okay to admit you love your parents. You’re supposed to.” He tried to speak casually, kicking at the top of the grass and acting like the conversation he was trying to have wasn’t extremely important. Even though it was.
“He doesn’t love me. So I’m not going to love him.”
“Sometimes adults do stupid things when they love someone. They think they’re doing it for their own good, but they just don’t see everything.”
“Dad doesn’t want me with him. That means he doesn’t love me.”
“Not necessarily. If he thinks you’re better off where you are, it means he loves you more than what you know.”
“Your mom said something just like that. But I don’t believe her.” Kendrick’s voice still sounded belligerent, but he could tell she was softening. She glanced over at him, and he could see the conflict in her eyes.
“You can tell for sure that sometimes people really don’t want their kids. My dad, for example. He doesn’t want me. That’s not because it’s for my own good. It’s because he’s selfish.”
Kendrick didn’t say anything, but her steps slowed a little, and he could tell she was thinking about what he said.
“Your dad, on the other hand, is being unselfish. At least he thinks he is. But I think I have a way of maybe getting him to want to keep you here in North Dakota.”
“Really?” Kendrick’s head spun to him, and her bad attitude was forgotten. Her eyes were large and hopeful.
He understood the hope. He felt that way a lot. But he thought, was pretty sure, that Kendrick’s hope was justified.
“Yeah. But you and I are going to have to work together.” He was pretty sure the look on her face said that he was going to be able to get her to go along with his plan. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a plan. It was just...a hope.
“Work? I’m not old enough to go to work.” Kendrick sniffed at him like she’d decided he was full of hot air and wasn’t going to listen to him anymore. Although she didn’t stop but continued walking beside him slowly.
“Not go to work, silly.” He made sure he said silly with a goofy grin, so she’d know he wasn’t making fun of her or putting her down. “Listen, I want a dad. My dad left when I was little. My mom is lonely. She might not admit it, but she is.”
Kendrick crossed her arms over her chest, holding tight to the ball she carried. “So?”
“My mom is pretty nice. You’ll really like her. She can bake anything, and she really cares about people.” He didn’t want to talk too well about his mom, but he did want Kendrick to get a little bit sold on her. Because... “I think she likes your dad a lot.”
“I know she does. And I don’t want her to, because she’s taking all his attention.”
“That might be a good thing.” He hurried on, because Kendrick had that stubborn look on her face again. “If they get together, not only will you have a dad, but he’s gonna want you here. After all, when a man is married, he wants his kids with him.”
That wasn’t necessarily true, but he hoped Kendrick was too little to see the holes in that logic. “So I would have a dad, you would get a mom, and we’d both have a family. Plus,” Owen lifted his chin and squared his shoulders, “you’d be getting the best big brother in the entire world.”
Kendrick’s brows furrowed, and she had to think about it for a minute before she understood. “You’re talking about yourself?”
“Yeah. And I would be getting the best little sister in the whole world.”
It couldn’t hurt to compliment her a little bit. Although, his mom was always saying he shouldn’t say things he didn’t mean. He wasn’t sure if she was actually the best little sister in the entire world, although he had every intention of being the best big brother in the entire world.
