Page 24 of Reclaiming Kendall

I don’t have to fake the laugh that falls from my lips. No matter how shitty I’m feeling, Teagan always has a way of making it all feel better.

“Mmm,” he says into my ear as he turns us to face the pans on the counter. “You make extra just for me and Goose, or we having company tonight?”

“Ry and the brothers will be here in a little while,” I confirm.

“Need any help?” he asks.

I shake my head even as he offers again before heading upstairs to jump in the shower. He’s barely out of the kitchen when I let out a sigh of relief. One down, and two more to go.

Within the next ten minutes or so, Lucas and Grant also make it home. The latter drops a kiss to the top of my head mid-conversation as they walk in. Lucas drops his boots over by the garage door before filing inside. He presses a kiss against my cheek on the way to the sink, where he takes a minute to wash his hands.

I quietly navigate the kitchen, gathering supplies to throw together some garlic bread as they finish discussing the meeting that Grant had earlier with one of the construction crews. I’m half listening because I know that it’s important to him, my stomach is just a mass of swirling emotions that threaten to make me puke. It was bad by myself, but now that they’re all home, it’s ten times worse.

A nudge at my elbow has me tilting a chin up to Lucas, who takes advantage and presses a soft kiss against my lips. As he pulls away, there’s an expectant look on his face like I’m missing something.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, going back to slathering some French bread with butter.

He snorts softly as he grabs another butter knife out of the drawer and starts to help me, “I said, how was your day, baby?”

“Oh, it was okay,” I reply, taking pride in the fact I don’t burst into tears right then and there.

It must be in my voice, though. Lucas uses his free hand to tilt my face up towards him again. Shit. One look in his eyes, and I can’t control the mist that forms in mine. Just as his mouth opens, Grant, who I didn’t even realize had left, saunters back in with Leo and Lathan in tow. Never thought I’d see the day when I was grateful for their kind of distraction.

Lucas kisses my forehead, but lets me go back to the bread. By the time we’ve got both pans in the oven, Ry and Logan arrive.

All through dinner, I catch Mav and Lucas watching me with warring expressions of worry and frustration. It doesn’t help one bit that I’ve barely had the stomach to eat, so I’ve done more pushing the food around my plate than anything. I chat with Ry about random stuff, but nothing on the serious side. Her eyes even narrow at me once or twice, and I’m one hundred percent certain if we weren’t sitting in mixed company she’d be hounding the fuck out of me to find out what’s going on. Ignoring all of their looks, I try to bury myself deep in the topics that pop up.

I don’t know if I’m being that obvious or everyone else is, but Grant must sense something. He squeezes my thigh underneath the table. It’s a comfort move that almost steals my breath away. I stare hard at my plate and force myself to take a bite to keep from letting out the tears. Lucas’s brothers and Teagan are seemingly clueless and take their time. All the better for me since that’s just more time for me to procrastinate.

By the time that everyone is done and getting ready to leave, my shoulders are so tense they feel hard as a fucking rock. Ry offers to stay and help clean, but I shoo her out with reassurances. In actuality, I know the moment we’re alone, she’ll dreg the issue from me. I tell her everything anyways, but it’s only fair that the guys hear it first.

I’m clearing off the plates and putting them in the dishwasher when I’m caged in from behind. I close my eyes as Grant’s scent wraps around me, and my throat burns with the tears I’ve been fighting all night. I finally give in and let them out. He kisses my bare shoulder where my sweatshirt has fallen down, and a soft sob escapes before I can stop it.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asks spinning me to face him.

Wrapping my arms around his thick middle, I let him comfort me as my warm salty tears soak into the soft cotton of his navy-blue shirt. His hands rub up and down my spine while keeping a tight hold. It helps work some of the tension out from the day.

“What’s going on?” Teagan’s voice asks from somewhere behind Grant.

He’d clearly walked the others to the door and walked in on my breakdown. Sucking in a lungful of air, I step back away from the safety cocoon of Grant’s arms. However, instead of letting me go, he wraps one of those arms around my back and lifts me to sit on the counter.

At this angle, it’s easier to see all of their faces. Lucas is standing close enough to touch. Mav has a hip pressed against the counter on the other side of us, and Teagan moves until he’s shoulder to shoulder with him.

Fuck. Here goes nothing.

“Well, I went to my appointment today, and they sent me over to my lady doctor,” I tell them, withholding the non-important details.

Mav’s face frown droops even further as Teagan’s brow furrows. I glance up at Grant, and he shoots me a small encouraging smile. Lucas gives me the last push by linking his fingers through mine where they’re pressed against my legs.

Shame burns through me, and I want to hide my face. They deserve better than that, so I don’t. I look at each of them in turn as I say, “I’ve been tired and moody because my hormones have been thrown off-kilter since the honeymoon. They sent me to my lady doctor, because they thought I might be pregnant.”

There’s a soft gasp from Teagan’s direction, but I ignore it and scramble to get the rest out before he can get his hopes up, too, “But when they went back to review all of my charts and stuff, the doctor said there’s a chance I won’t ever be able to have kids.”

I hold my composure as long as possible, but as the last word leaves my mouth, I can no longer see their faces through my cloudy vision. My eyes close as I let my head fall.

Lucas squeezes my hand even tighter as Grant yanks me to the edge of the counter in order to get even closer, but it’s Mav’s voice that has my head raising back up. He’s now flush against my leg with Teagan not even a step behind, “This is what’s had you so upset since you got home?”

At my nod, his hand reaches out to trace my jawbone, “Baby girl, we don’t play the ‘what if’ game, remember? If the doctor says there’s a chance that you can’t, then there’s always the chance that you can, right?”

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