Page 34 of Shine On Oklahoma

She’d never known of his dream of owning atraining track. It felt like she ought to be nudging him towardthat dream instead of trying to get him to turn his back on it. Andyet her father could die if she didn’t.

Caroline was at considerable risk herself,and that was a new weight on Kendra’s shoulders. Dax’s mothercouldn’t possibly know about the money laundering. She wasn’t acrook. But that wasn’t a legal defense. And she was dating anex-cop!

She tried to count things that were workingin her favor, instead of the opposite, to calm herself down. Thelawyers would arrive tomorrow morning, and the meeting was set fortomorrow afternoon. Nothing was likely to happen between now andthen that would knock things off course. Dax was leaning towardtaking her up on her plan, accepting his inheritance and puttingher in as manager. And the first thing she would do was drum upsome excuse to fire that outside pencil pusher he had going overthe books to placate Caine until she could come up with a morepermanent solution.

The very second her father was safe, she wasgoing to tell Dax the truth and find a way to make up for lying tohim.

Again.

She couldn’t entertain the notion that hemight never forgive her for this, because that possibility was tooreal, and too big, and too inexplicably painful. He had to forgiveher. She didn’t have a choice here.

Everything would be fine. She just had to getthrough one more day.

Dax’s phone chirped. He pulled it out, read atext message, shook his head, and smiled across at his mother.“Looks like you might be here for Thanksgiving whether you like itor not, Mom.” And he looked truly delighted by the notion. “One ofthe estate lawyers had a family emergency and wants to postpone themeeting until the Monday after the holiday.”

Kendra’s heart sank into her shoes.

She was doomed.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Kendra had not heard from her father again.She’d received only one communication since his phone call—a textmessage from a blocked number on the day Dax’s meeting with thelawyers was supposed to have been.

Is it done?

That was all.

She gnawed her lower lip, thought aboutlying, decided against it. Who knew if they had someone in theirpocket who had ways of verifying? So she told the truth.

Lawyers delayed. Meeting rescheduled.

When?

A week from Monday.

It had been three days since that exchange.There had been no further replies, no phone

calls, nothing. She’d been going slowlyinsane. And there was too much to do today for her to be thisdistracted. And yet, she was. She needed to talk to her father. Andnot just to make sure he was still breathing.

Dax’s familiar voice followed his soft knockon her door, and everything that was wrought up inside her paused.That had been happening a lot lately. They’d been…hanging out. Alot. They had breakfast together at the diner or at Sunny’s Placeevery morning. And she was usually out at Kiley and Rob’s aroundlunchtime, so they could all eat together. Dinners varied.Sometimes The Long Branch, sometimes the diner. Sometimes at hisplace, a small, neat trailer where the biggest piece of furniturewas the TV. They’d spent a lot of time with Caroline and Luis, anddespite him being an ex-cop, Kendra kind of liked the guy.

Aside from that day by the Falls, she and Daxhadn’t had sex again. She kept getting all tensed up before it wentfurther than kissing, for reasons she couldn’t even identify. Andevery time, Dax picked up on it and cooled things down. He wouldn’tpush her. He’d wait for her to tell him when she was ready. Thatwas the kind of guy he was.

She opened the door, and there he was, and inhis upturned palm sat a small orange and brown package.

“You brought me a peanut butter cup?”

“You’ve been stressing out for three days.Thought it might help.”

“What you mean to say is, we haven’t had sexagain for three days.”

“You never know. It might help that, too.” Helifted the candy bar and wiggled his eyebrows, and there was no wayshe could stop herself from grinning at him.

She took the treat, tore off the wrapper, andate one of the two confections, handing him the other. He did notargue. And when they finished their chocolates, he wrapped her upin a great big bear hug and picked her up off her feet.

All the knots in her stomach unknotted. Thatwarm, gooey feeling lubed them up so they just relaxed loose, likethey did whenever he was nearby.

“Is anything else wrong? Besides the stressof baby shower planning?”

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