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“How the hell did that man keep a secret for so damn long?” She chuckled to herself before clapping a hand over her mouth, her eyes darting toward her daughter. “Sorry, baby. Mommy didn’t mean to say a bad word.”
I sat quietly, waiting for her to finish her thought. Kennedy was the master of half-thoughts. She’d start a sentence and trail off before she got to the good stuff, finishing the rest of the words in her head. It drove me batshit crazy.
“When he and Jess got married, it was for better benefits–at least that was the story going in. Steve thinks she kind of bamboozled him into it and just slowly, insidiously worked her magic on him with her…uh…” She made a face, looking again at Teagan. “Not her brain.”
The thought of Jess and Adam still made me ill.
“So why did they divorce?” I asked quietly, and Kennedy shrugged dismissively.
“Jess couldn’t keep her pants on and Adam wasn’t real big on sharing. Once she talked him into being all-in, he had opinions it should stay that way.”
I felt my face fall. Part of me had hoped their marriage was entirely a business transaction.
“She…uh…got pregnant and Adam found out the kid wasn’t his.” She winced a little. “That was a little ugly. He was so excited…and then he wasn’t. Steve can tell you more about it than I can, but I can tell you they sat up talking a couple nights…the guy was pretty wrecked.”
Well, there was a song as old as time, and something told me it hadn’t taken Jess long to realize what she’d lost.
“So she’s been trying to win him back ever since?” I asked, hoping the answer was no, and Kennedy looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“I think they had an arrangement for a while…no strings. Pretty sure she was hoping he’d catch feelings again.”
I swallowed hard and reached over to smooth Daniela’s hair, turning my head slowly to look at my sister-in-law. “I sort of…ran into her at Wickham’s a while ago.”
Kennedy nodded that I should continue.
“HerandLeia. It was like the universe had something against me.”
She winced. “Those two are like apostles of the apocalypse.”
Yeah, that had been a personal apocalypse all right, and the reason I’d pulled away from Adam.
“Jess was not-so-subtly hinting that they were still meeting up.”
Kennedy burst into an absolute fit of laughter, but I had no idea what it was she found so hilarious. She kept going and going, folding right over her knees and slapping the living room floor. “Oh, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time.” She straightened, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. “You are absolutely blind when it comes to that man, aren’t you?”
I sat silently, waiting for her to continue.
“He worships the ground you walk on, Mad. Every time Steve invited him over it was always ‘Madelyn gonna be there?’” She dropped her voice an octave. “The instant he knew you were home it was like he’d invent excuses to be there. Steve thought it was hilarious.”
Somehow I doubted my brother found it hilarious, but it seemed he’d come around to the idea and I was pretty sure I had Kennedy to thank for that.
“Yeah, well…” I shifted uncomfortably and Daniela looked over at me suddenly, like she was checking on me. “He hasn’t been home in four days, Kenny. We had this weird half-argument because he thinks I was using him to finalize the adoption.”
Kennedy nodded. “I can see how he’d be a little bit of a mess…he’s been in love with you for so long, it scared him to get everything he wanted all at once.”
A little snort of a laugh burst from my lips. “In love with me?” His words from several nights before came rushing back to me, words I hadn’t dared hope were for me. “I’ve spent the majority of my life being a pain in his ass.”
“You are that,” Kennedy agreed readily and I shot her a quick middle finger, tucked in close to my side so the babies wouldn’t see it. “But go figure, he’s dead-gone over you anyway.”
I snorted again and shook my head. If she was going to keep telling me lies I was going to need something stronger to drink than seltzer water.
“So…” I stretched my feet out to put one on either side of Daniela’s tiny hips. “Has he been staying with you?”
Kennedy looked confused. “You mean he really hasn’t been home at all?”
“Won’t answer his phone. His truck’s not at his place.”
Her face did a weird collapsing thing in the middle of her forehead. “Of course his truck’s not at his place–it’s not his place, Mad.” She was looking at me like I was a complete idiot. “He sold it. He told Steve he was all in and he wanted to be able to contribute more, so eliminating a mortgage was the way to do it. I thought you…” Her mouth dropped open like she couldn’t believe what was going on.
