Page 31 of Tell Me Again
Kendall, Chloe, and even Jenny took turns stammering a response, so at least Trevor knew Sam hadn’t put them up to confronting him.
“Hardly,” Kendall said with the fakest laugh Trevor had ever heard.
“We were just introducing ourselves,” Chloe added, her soft voice rising close to a full octave.
“And discussing... um...” Jenny looked back over her shoulder at him.
“Wedding plans,” he said.
“Right,” she agreed. “Wedding plans.”
Both Kendall and Chloe nodded as if they’d been turned into bobble heads.
“The repairs are coming along great,” Kendall said, waving a hand around the kitchen. “Like I told Trevor...” She stepped forward to hug Sam. “I appreciate everything you’re doing so Ty and I can have our wedding at camp.”
Sam narrowed her eyes at Trevor over Kendall’s shoulder. “We’ve still got a lot to do.”
“It will be ready,” he answered. What else was he supposed to say with these women staring at him? Sam sent him another death glare.
Goo.Yeah, right.
She straightened and turned her attention to Kendall, her expression softening. “I’ll make sure you have the wedding of your dreams, Ken.”
Kendall gave her another hug. “I’m so glad I have you.”
Wrapped in her friend’s embrace, Sam let out a shuddering breath. Trevor hadn’t realized how stiff she held her shoulders until he watched them relax for an instant.
“Goo,” Jenny muttered as she and Chloe stepped forward. The four of them hugged and laughed, and he felt like an unwelcome voyeur.
“Thanks for bringing Claire and Cooper,” Sam said. “They took Grace over to the game room to play air hockey.”
Chloe pushed a bit of hair off Sam’s face. “We can’t wait to meet her.”
“She’s amazing,” Sam told them quietly, the tenderness in her voice hitting Trevor like a punch to the gut. “Sometimes when I look at her it’s like Bryce is still here.”
He cleared his throat. “While it was lovely to meet you ladies,” he announced, “I’ve got to get back to work.”
The women turned to him again, but they no longer looked like they wanted to string him up by the family jewels.
“Thank you,” Kendall said.
He shrugged. “It’s a job.”
She ignored that. “I hope you and Grace will come to the wedding. She’s family to Sam and that makes her important to all of us.”
He’d never been good at sharing his daughter but was smart enough to realize that Grace’s life would be fuller with more people in it who cared about her. “That’s nice of you.”
“I need a minute to talk to Trevor,” Sam told her friends. “I’ll meet you over at the rec cabin.”
They walked out of the kitchen, but the redhead turned back as she reached the doorway. “I’m watching you, Trevor Kincaid.” She aimed two fingers at her eyes then toward his. Back and forth like she was his mother or a character in some cheesy mobster movie.
“Jenny, go,” Sam ordered. The redhead blew her a kiss and disappeared around the corner.
Trevor lifted a brow. “One wrong move and she’ll whack me.”
“Sorry,” Sam said, her voice serious. “She’s a little intense.”
“She cares about you,” he clarified. “All of them do.”
