Page 40 of Finding Forever

The two finally separated and Cade—as if only now remembering that Fern was there—waved a hand in her general direction, bringing his sister’s sharp gaze to her.

“Kenny, this is Fern. Fern, my sister.”

The other woman stared at Fern for a long, uncomfortable moment, as if not sure what to make of her, or what to say to her.

“You’re shorter than I thought you’d be.”

Fern’s eyebrows shot up.

“Okay?”

McKenna continued to stare at her in the same unnerving way Cade often did, before she gave a curt nod, and held out a hand. Fern took it and the woman gave a firm, no-nonsenseshake, before sitting down on the sofa, prompting Cade and Fern to take their seats again.

“What you did the other day was remarkably brave,” she said, still staring at Fern. “Good for you.”

Fern’s lips stretched into a hesitant smile. It wasn’t acceptance, or warmth, but it felt like approval—even admiration—and the validation-seeking little girl who lurked just below the surface in Fern gave a happy little shiver at the words.

“Thank you, McKenna.”

“Call me Kenny.”

Fern nodded, but neither sibling saw it, as they refocused on each other.

“No Smith?” Cade asked his sister, referring to her husband.

A ripple of unease and what looked like sadness crossed Kenny’s lovely face, before she schooled her features into a mask of indifference, offering her brother a tight smile in response to his question.

“He’s away on business.” The tension around her eyes made a liar of her and if Fern—who barely knew her—could tell, then Cade certainly could as well. He leaned forward intently, eyes boring into his sister’s face.

“Kenny what?—”

He was interrupted by an even bigger commotion from inside the house. Both Cade and Kenny’s heads swiveled toward the patio doors and their faces wore similar expressions of anticipation, yearning, and fear.

Cade pushed to his feet almost unconsciously, and Kenny followed seconds later. Fern, not entirely sure what was happening, also stood up as Beth and Gideon stepped out onto the patio. A big, bearded man, unfamiliar to Fern—but who could only be Lennox Hawthorne—followed them out and chaos immediately ensued.

Fern stood aside and watched as the Hawthorne siblingsreunited after what must have been a prolonged absence from their middle brother Lennox.

Beth joined Fern on the sidelines, a misty smile on her face as her husband was swept up into a hug by his marginally taller, bulkier, estranged brother.

“How long has it been?” Fern asked her quietly and Beth looked up at her, eyes swimming with tears.

“A year and a half. It’s been hard on them all, they fuh-fight and… and don’t always get along, but they l-love each other and Nox just upping and leaving like that, with barely any contact, up… upset them all. He didn’t come to our weddings either. Not Kenny and Smith’s and not m-mine and Gideon’s. It hurt and upset both Gideon and Kenny. And that puh-pissed me off.”

Her face settled into a tiny glower and she folded her arms over her chest, as she watched the affectionate reunion. But her expression quickly softened at the genuine contentment and happiness on her husband’s face.

Fern’s eyes were on Cade, after the initial happy hugs and some good-natured joshing about his brother’s bushy beard, he’d stepped slightly out of the fray, now more observer than participant. He had a small smile on his lips and his eyes shone with fierce joy, but his contentment seemed to stem from seeing his siblings reunited. There was some ribbing, a lot of it aimed at him, but he rarely responded with anything other than a smile.

It was as if he was watching over them, content to have them all there—whole and healthy. Fern found it fascinating and a little sad. He looked lost. Even though he’d intentionally set himself apart from them.

Big brother and protector but not quite a part of the collective.

Fern didn’t understand it. They were all clearly close,so why did Cade seem so distant? And why did his siblings not appear to notice it?

Chapter

Eleven

Fern’s gaze travelled to Lennox, wondering if she would find the answer to Cade’s isolation in this unknown entity. He was big, had a couple of inches in height on both Cade and Gideon. She couldn’t quite tell because of the bushy black beard, but he seemed to have the same Hawthorne hotness as the rest of them. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a blue T-shirt that revealed his heavily muscled arms, and thick-soled worker boots. He looked like someone who’d just stepped off a construction site and Fern wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he was doing manual labor somewhere.

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