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“The one in the back is shy. I named her Kitten,” Paige whispered.

“Kitten is a clever name for a goat.”

Paige nodded. “I know, it’s not somefing you expect, but she’s soft like a kitten, so Donk said it was perfect.”

“That it is. Okay, I’ve gotta get going, but I’ll be back tomorrow for the big day.”

Paige pulled him down, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered that they were having her favorite cake.

“What kind?” Travis asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

He nodded. “Right, of course.”

Paige held out her hand, and Travis took it as they walked out of the barn. He left her with Kenna and started his bike. The woman he was in love with and her daughter stood waving as he drove away.

Waking up with a woman, doing chores, talking with Paige, and then heading off to work. Could his family, his version, be different, or did it all eventually melt into the fake Folgers commercial that his parents tried to portray? He’d had a great time and would look forward to seeing Kenna and Paige again the next day, but when he opened up his bike on the empty country road, he had to admit freedom felt nothing like family, and that felt good too.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

G
arrett and Logan carried Paige on their shoulders like a miniature Cleopatra. They made their way out to the grassy patch under the largest of the pecan trees they had on the farm. After a rousing, male-dominated version of “Happy Birthday,” Makenna’s sweet baby girl blew out the six birthday candles atop her hummingbird cake. As their friends and family clapped, Kenna kissed Paige and realized her daughter was kneeling at the same picnic table she had sat at when she turned six years old. Her life had been different than her daughter’s at that age, and Kenna found herself with a mixture of pride and sadness for them both. Her mother had abandoned Makenna shortly before her sixth birthday, and Paige had spent most of her life without a father.

Makenna handed out pieces of cake and amid the laughter and celebration, she understood that joy and love came from so many places and often went hand in hand with pain.

“Oh my goodness!” Paige exclaimed as she tore open one of her presents. “Thank you, My Travis!”

Travis leaned in for a high-five and a kiss on the cheek.

“What is it?” Makenna asked, stepping closer.

“I get to grow butterflies. It’s a kit.” Paige held up the box.

“Wow, so fun.” Kenna looked at Travis.

There was no doubt he understood Paige, got her quirkiness, and encouraged it. Kenna somehow loved him more for that. She’d only been in love with one other man and that was Adam, whose memory was always fresh on important days like these, and yet today there was somehow enough room to love Travis too. She wasn’t quite ready to unravel all of these new feelings because buried way in the bottom of it all, she found herself thinking about her own childhood, her own mother. Kenna didn’t want to go there, didn’t want to have to look back. Instead, she accepted the love surrounding her daughter and went inside to grab a trash bag for the quickly mounting wrapping paper.

“Need any help?” Travis asked, walking in behind her.

“No, I think we are good.”

By the time Kenna grabbed two black trash bags and closed the pantry door, she was wrapped in his arms.

“Very cool gift,” she said, gently kissing him.

“Thanks. I think it takes like ten weeks for those things to grow, so that should hold her busy mind for a while. Great party by the way. Did you see that chair your dad made?”

“I did. He knows more about Marrakech now than I ever thought possible.”

They both laughed and Travis played with the hair around her neck. “So, how are you?”

She laughed because he almost looked uncomfortable, which of course was ridiculous because this was Travis. Granted, it was in love Travis, but the man still had moves Kenna had just started to understand. “I’m good, I’m great. Paige is happy and it’s gorgeous out today. Things are good. Aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they are.”

They stood watching the party through the screen door.

“Why is this so . . .”

“Awkward, first date, meeting-the-parents weird?” He looked at her.

Kenna laughed again. The man could make her laugh. Without fail, no matter the situation, he always managed to get right in there. Part of her, the part that thought of Travis in her future, in their future, knew his humor was a good thing.

“I have no idea. Maybe it’s the birthday party. Our first . . . family function as . . . “

“A couple?”

“Is that what we are?” Kenna turned to him.

“I . . . well yeah, I mean I love . . . Damn, why can’t I get this out in the daylight?” He held her arms and studied her as if he were looking for some secret that would help his heart. “Makenna, yes, we are a couple. I love you and your daughter and we are not just having hot, holy hell, sex. I love you.” He let out a breath. “There.”

She smiled, and they both turned and stood side-by-side watching the party. Kenna reached around and put her hand on his very lovely ass. She had no idea what had gotten into her, but if he was going to play the adult, the responsible one, she wanted to be the fun one. “I’m glad we cleared that up, babe.” She squeezed and then gave him a kiss that left him gaping as she walked through the screen door.

“Babe, did you just call me babe?”

Kenna nodded, and then it was his turn to whip her around for a kiss. The wind blew and at her daughter’s squeal, Kenna turned to see Paige blowing bubbles.
See
, she told herself,
you can have both, this works.

“I’ve just agreed to help out with Paige’s field day next week. Is that okay?” Travis asked after things had been cleaned up and Paige was playing Twister with the men of the Rye family. That was a treat Travis wouldn’t soon let them live down. He thought of taking pictures but really wanted to keep his ass whooping restricted to the gym.

“Really?” Kenna almost tripped over Garrett’s dog, Jack, who was lying on his back taking in the sun.

“Huh, is it that bad?” he asked, steadying her arm.

Makenna grinned, as if she knew something he didn’t. “You volunteered for field day at St. Christopher’s Private School?”

“Well, hell, it sounds ominous when you say it like that. It’s a field day.”

Makenna raised her eyebrows, clearly deciding to play with him.

“She’s in kindergarten, how bad could it be?”

“You’re going to pull up on your bike, in the parking lot?”

“I . . . was. I’m sure there are other guys there with—”

Makenna shook her head.

“Okay, so there aren’t other guys with bikes. I do well with uptight crowds.” He laughed. “Paige said it’s in the morning, so I figure I’ll pitch in for a couple of hours before we open. Come on, you’re making me nervous.” He helped her bring in the last of the glasses.

Makenna set the napkins down on the counter and faced him.

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll be there to protect you when all the mommies try to tear your shirt off with their teeth.”

“What?”

“Oh, you’re clearly just an innocent when it comes to the carpool crowd. These are the women buying
Fifty Shades
, my friend. You’ll look like a walking, talking fantasy.” She put her hand on his shoulder and winked at him. Travis laughed so hard he almost cried.

“Where do you come up with this stuff? Maybe we could have a late breakfast after, or we could do that you ripping my shirt off with your teeth thing too. That sounds interesting.”

She blushed and just like that, he turned the game around on her. Smiling up at him with the wind and the setting sun playing with her hair, he wanted her more than he’d ever thought it was possible to want another person. She was perfect in every detail. She made him laugh because she was able to laugh at herself. She was sexy and blushing at the same time. She was Paige’s mom and no doubt the love of his life all rolled into one woman. Travis leaned back on the counter and held her around her waist as they watched Paige easily defeat three grown men groaning on the floor in a pile of twisted limbs.

He kissed her neck, and the awkward from earlier fell off them. Time, it just took time, that’s what he told himself.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

T
ravis knew exactly how many times Avery Price, now Avery Price McNulty, had called him in the past ten years because that number was exactly zero. The last time he’d spoken to his ex was a few days before she married his older brother. She’d called him drunk after her bachelorette party. Sort of like Pamela, who’d made an ass out of herself in front of Makenna, but in a much more pro-football wife classy way. She’d called to tell him how sorry she was for the way things had “played out,” and she hoped he’d forgive her and they could one day be friends. She went on for what seemed like hours with her purely self-serving attempt to clear her conscience before marrying the man of her dreams. Travis had done what he’d always done since sinking to the position of family loser—he took one for the team. He’d told her it was fine and that he understood. After he hung up, he’d gone home with the sexy woman sitting across from him at the bar.

That was the last time Avery had called him, so it took his brain time to click on when her name appeared on his phone after he got out of the shower Thursday morning.

“Avery?” he answered, drying his hair with a towel.

“Oh, great, I’m glad I caught you. Do you have a minute?”

“Yeah, I’m on my way out, but sure. Is something wrong?”

“No, why?”

“I just . . . well, you don’t normally call me, so—”

“Right.” She laughed. “I know this is probably awkward for you.”

“Not really.”

“Okay, well, that’s good. I mean, we are family and we should—”

“Avery, what’s this about?” There was no way in hell he was going to be late for Paige’s field day so he could listen to his ex go on about what a big happy family they all were.

“Sorry. Well, I have happy news and I just wanted to kind of share it with you, you know, before the whole family was together.”

“Why?”

She let out the breath she seemed to be holding, and then the real Avery came out to play. “Trav, please don’t make this more difficult for me. I’m trying to be nice and extend a courtesy.”

He laughed. “I certainly wouldn’t want to make things difficult for you. What’s the good news? I need to get going.”

“Your brother, well, John and I are pregnant.”

Travis never understood that stupid phrase. “We are pregnant.” What the hell did that mean? Sure, two people were having a baby, but the woman was pregnant. He wanted to yell that back into the phone, but he’d always thought if he started yelling at Avery, he might never stop.

“Huh, well, congratulations.”

“Thank you. We’ve been trying for a really long time, and you know after the first miscarriage—”

“Avery.”

“Yes?”

“Why the hell would you—You know what, forget it. I need to go. Thanks for calling and sharing your news. I’m sure the whole family is thrilled.”

“They are and—”

He hung up before one more word slithered through his phone, wondering if he had the most screwed-up family in the world because it sure as hell felt like it at the moment. He threw the phone on his bed, as if that might help distance him from what just happened, and got dressed. After tying his tennis shoes, Travis put the phone in his pocket and grabbed his keys. He needed to leave if he was going to make it to Paige’s school by eight.

He tried to shut down his mind and let go of the anger bubbling inside of him, but by the time he reached his bike, it was in full force. He knew it was sick, but on some level he used to think that John and Avery’s inability to get pregnant was some twisted version of karma. Apparently not. It seemed everything was golden for the golden couple.

As he turned into traffic, what pissed Travis off the most had nothing to do with his actual family. The anger came from the way they affected him, that they could still get under his skin and pick at wounds he was trying to ignore for the sake of keeping the peace. Why couldn’t they just leave him the hell alone?

Travis barely noticed he’d pulled into St. Christopher’s Private School, which spoke to his current state because when he looked toward the school, it was intimidating as hell. The damn thing looked like a mini Stanford. He sat on his bike, helmet hiding his face, while he tried to put everything and everyone back in their spots. He was consumed with memories and disgust that in all these years, with everything they’d said and done, he’d never really said a word. He’d just gone along, smiling, because he didn’t want to be any more of a disappointment than he already was.

Travis reached the field on his way to the front office to check in as Paige had instructed. Some of the events must have already been underway because he could hear parents cheering—or was that shouting? Christ, was there a difference? He looked over the fence and saw four men huddled with a group of kids, older than Paige, with flags hanging from their waists.

“Okay, so that was weak. Let’s get out there and show them what Mrs. Bank’s class is all about,” one of the men shouted, and the kids cheered.