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Hers fit perfectly inside of his, and he wasn’t ready, wasn’t nearly ready, to pull it away.
“I changed my mind. I want Owen and Peyton to stay. We can have a bonfire, and sometimes Aunt Carol would make s’mores. Can we make s’mores too?”
It was starting to get a little chilly, and a bonfire—and a sweatshirt—would feel really good.
“You changed your mind?” he said, even though what he really wanted to say wasAbsolutely! We’ll have them stay. Because that’s what he wanted.
“I did. I like Peyton. She said you loved me.” That last part came out a little bit uncertainly, and Kendrick bit her lip. But then she lifted her chin, and her little eyes brightened. “And she’s funny and nice. If she stays, I can pretend she’s my mom and you’re my dad, and Owen is my big brother, and I’ll have a whole family all to myself.”
Beside him, Peyton gasped a little, just a slight sound of sympathy and compassion. It put into words the feeling in his heart. Twisted and impossibly hard, and made him want to rewind the years and do them all over again.
Impossible.
So he pulled his hand from Peyton’s and went forward, wrapping his arms around his girl, then straightening, holding her up, pressed against him.
“I do love you. Peyton was right about that. But maybe I haven’t been doing a very good job of showing it. I want to protect you, because to me, love is protection. But maybe, to you, love is me spending time with you.”
“I want to spend time with you, Daddy!”
It wasn’t exactly an answer, or maybe it was. But her arms came around him and squeezed his neck hard enough to choke him.
He figured if he passed out, it would just be the beginning of what he deserved. So he didn’t try to loosen her arms but instead closed his eyes and said another short prayer that he would be the father Kendrick deserved. That she needed. The best that he could be. He would start today.
He held her for a moment and only vaguely realized that Owen had gone over and put his arm around his mother. She put her arm around his shoulder, and they stood there together in his driveway for he didn’t know how long.
Finally, he pulled back a little so he could look his daughter in the eye. “I’m sorry I haven’t done a very good job of showing you. I’m going to try to do better.”
She took both his cheeks in her hands, and he couldn’t describe how that made him feel. Loved, yes. But amused, too. A little disconcerting. “You can start by finding me a mom.”
Owen jerked his head at that, and Bryce moved his eyes toward the boy. He had an extremely guilty look on his face.
He also looked slightly scared. But Kendrick’s words made Bryce smile as his eyes lifted and they met Peyton’s.
She was smiling too.
So, Owen had a little talk with Kendrick when they were putting their ball gloves away.
“I hope you don’t think I had anything to do with that,” Peyton said with a brow lifted.
“I wouldn’t mind if you had.” He honestly would have loved it if she had. If she had wanted him bad enough to get their kids to conspire with her to help her catch him. Now that was an ego boost.
Of course, it was what he wanted too, which probably helped his reaction.
Her smile widened, and so did his.
He looked away from Peyton and back at his daughter.
“Did you have someone in mind?” he asked like he hadn’t already figured it out.
“I like Peyton. And Owen will be the best big brother ever.” Kendrick looked at Owen with something akin to hero worship. Bryce didn’t have any experience in stitching families together; he just hoped that was hero worship like a big brother hero worship and wouldn’t develop into anything else.
He supposed that was a bridge to cross when they came to it.
“I think you have really good taste. Maybe I can get your advice on a few things. After all, you’re a girl just like Peyton is. And I’m not very good with girls, but I’m learning,” he added, just because he was serious about caring how she felt, and Peyton too.
“That’s fine, Daddy. You can talk to me anytime,” Kendrick said, hugging his neck maybe a little harder than strictly necessary, and Bryce focused on not flinching.
“How about for now, we stay here, and we’ll have a bonfire together?” Owen’s voice broke into their conversation. He’d been quiet, because, unless Bryce missed his guess, Owen was the reason for Kendrick’s change of heart.
