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11 Years Later
Epilogue (Present)
KENNEDY
I’d just finished herding Jamie, Joel, and their college hockey teammates into the living room so Ingrid could clean up after lunch when my phone rang. I glanced down and realized I’d already missed one call from my former costar and now best friend, Gray. I closed the door behind me, muting the noise coming from over a dozen jocks, and accepted the call with video.
“Hi, sorry about that,” I said “I had to get to another room. The twins are here with some of their friends, and it’s madness.”
Gray smiled. He was a handsome guy, nearly ten years older than me, with golden brown eyes and a few gray flecks in his dark hair. “That’s fine,” he said. “I was just calling to check in and see how things are going with the security, and with you in general.”
My lips twisted. I’d confessed some concerns to him a while ago about a potential stalker situation. I was yet to have any hard proof, but my gut told me the threat was real and that I wasn’t just dealing with some overenthusiastic fan of my acting career.
“Are you worried about me, Gray?” I asked
He held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “A little.”
“Thanks for calling.” I couldn’t seem to summon a smile or any words to put his mind at ease. Gray had once been the victim of a stalker himself. The stalker had burned his house down, and his housekeeper had died in the blaze.
I pursed my lips. Perhaps I should have kept my concerns to myself. I should have known that sharing would only worry him, and he had enough on his mind without me adding to it. “Like I told you, the security system is set up. They added measures around the perimeter of the property as well as for the house itself. I’ve taken a bodyguard on a couple of outings, but honestly, it’s easier to just not go anywhere.”
Gray nodded. “Don’t let them rule your life though, Kenz.”
I glanced away, checking to make sure none of the men in the other room would be able to hear. “Why not?” I asked quietly. “It’s not as if I’m calling most of the shots anyway.”
It was a fact of life that actresses mostly went where and when they were told by directors, agents, managers, or whoever else was in charge that day. It was rare for me to have an entire twenty-four hours under my own control.
“Let’s not talk about me anymore,” I suggested, feeling bad for bringing his mood down. “I want to hear all about how things are going with you and Mikayla.”
Mikayla was new his love interest. I wasn’t sure if she’d reached girlfriend status yet or not.
“Better than I ever could have imagined. But don’t change the subject.” He studied me, looking so deep, I felt like he was peeling back layers I hadn’t exposed for years. I wasn’t sure what he could see there. I intentionally kept that shit under lock and key.
He sighed, hesitated, then asked, “When was the last time you were truly happy?”
The question hit me like a punch in the solar plexus, driving the air from me. God, who asked something like that?
My lower lip quivered.
Pull yourself together,I mentally ordered, but it didn’t do any good. I sniffled, and a tear leaked out of one eye and trailed down my cheek.
“Oh, Kenz, I’m sorry,” he said. “God, I wish I was there to give you a hug. I love you, and you don’t need to answer that question. I had no right to ask it.”
My lips parted, and I tried to think of what to say, but my mind was blank. Whenwasthe last time I’d been happy? I couldn’t even remember.
Sure, I’d been satisfied with a job well done. Pleased when one of my siblings succeeded. But when was the last time I’d experienced that bone-deep sense of contentment that told a person all was right with their world? Had I ever felt it at all?
“Oh, wow,” I choked out eventually. “I-I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “Ignore me.”
“No.” I swiped at the tears that were flowing freely down my face with the back of my hand. “I’m glad you asked.”
Even if I didn’t necessarily have an answer. But then a memory struck me. Liam Braddock and me, standing at a lookout on the side of Destiny Peak. Then another of Liam and me at Destiny Falls as he haltingly asked me to move in with him and offered me a key. I’d been happy then. Really, honestly happy.
“You are?” Gray looked uncertain.
“Yeah. I think….” I pondered those memories. Considered what they meant. “I’ve had plenty of happy times over the past decade or so, but I think the last time I was truly happy and free to be myself was when I was in New Zealand, living in Destiny Falls and dating Liam.” My voice broke as I said my ex-boyfriend’s name. A sob burst from me as reality hit with all the subtlety of a bomb. “That was eleven years ago, Gray. Have I really been unhappy for eleven years?”
