Page 58 of The Sweet Spot

The wanting to fit in.

The fear of standing out.

And I had an entire army of family surrounding me.

A whole crew of cousins and siblings I knew were by my side through all of it.

I try to decide what I want to say to this little girl, who means everything to the man inside that house. The one who’s slowly starting to mean everything to me.

No pressure . . .

“You know...” I lean forward so I can see a little further down the lake. “I have a ton of family. Like more family than any one person should ever have.”

She doesn’t look at me. Her shoulders stay tight as she presses her palms harder into the dock, probably wishing it would swallow her whole, or that I’d stop talking.

But I refuse to give up yet.

There’s no turning back now.

“My mom is one of about a million brothers and sisters.” I laugh, hoping to break the ice, but that’s a fail. “Well, not really a million. But she is one of nine.”

That doesn’t seem to impress Kennedy, so I keep going, probably digging myself a bigger hole. “When you have that much family around you all the time, it can be a little... Let’s call it overwhelming. You’re never alone, even though, at times, you wish you could be. Everyone is always in your business, and the family gossip train is intense. But it had its good points too. Even if my mom was traveling for work with the team, or my dad was out of town with one of his fighters, there was always someone there for me. Someone besides my parents who I could trust to take care of me and my brother and sister. I always knew I was safe and loved. I always knew there would be someone there to listen and help.”

She pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, closing herself off completely before slowly turning her head my way. “Are you and my dad gonna have more kids?”

“Oh, Kennedy...” I resist the urge to wrap her in a big hug. This kid would not appreciate that. “Your dad and I aren’t anywhere near ready to even think about that. The only thing we’re focused on right now is making sure you’re comfortable in this house. And once you are, maybe you and I can work on being friends.” I hold my breath, hoping that was the right answer.

“Does the puppy have a name?” she whispers.

I run a hand over Winnie’s back and offer up a silent thank-you for the way she just nudged Kennedy to drop her legs so she could lounge in her lap. “Her name is Winston Churchill. But I call her Winnie.”

“Does Winnie live here?” This time her question is a little less hesitant.

I nod my head gently. “She will. Your dad and I are still working everything out. But I’ll be living here very soon, and Winnie will be coming with me when I do.”

The puppy’s snores grow louder as she nuzzles her little head against Kennedy’s belly, and the little girl smiles softly for the first time since she walked through the door. “My dad travels a lot for work,” she murmurs.

“He does.” I nod as I carefully consider my next words. “Maybe you and I can come up with our own special routine when he’s out of town. Kind of a girls’ night thing.”

She doesn’t answer but doesn’t look away either, so I’ll take it as a bit more progress.

“Could Winnie sleep with me?” she whispers, and I couldn’t hide my smile if you told me my life depended on it.

“I bet she’d like that. In case you can’t tell, she’s a snuggler.”

“Mom never let me have a dog,” she says as much to herself as to me.

“Well, your dad doesn’t have a choice. Where I go, Winnie goes. We’re a package deal. She even comes to work with me.”

Kennedy’s little face lights up for a split-second before she hides her excitement. “That’s cool.”

Footsteps that aren’t Deacon’s fall behind us, and I catch Isla approaching from the corner of my eye.

“You two look deep in thought out here,” she tells us.

Kennedy glances up at her mom and shrugs her shoulders, still quiet.

I’m good at a lot of things. Silence isn’t one of them.

---