Page 22 of Hers to Hold
“Thank you, Wes!”
Kady couldn’t move a muscle. Her father was…dead?Why didn’t I check the obits or…She’d been so focused on her assignment that she didn’t think to verify the last information she’d found on Gregory Kaye: that he was living in Springfield.I don’t think an obituary even came up in my search.And not every family had an obituary printed in the newspaper. She didn’t check cemetery records because she had no reason to suspect he had died.
“So—Sorry about your dad,” Kady muttered. “I didn’t know.”
“No worries. You didn’t know. How could you?” She stared at her husband, the light from her eyes fading. “Maybe he wouldn’t have liked that I’m pregnant. Especially if it’s a girl.”
If it’s a girl?Kady fisted the hand in her lap. Gregory Kaye had something against girls? Did he say as much to Katrina?
Drew pressed his lips to his wife’s. “Girls are amazing,” he softly. “You’re amazing.” His hand splayed across her stomach. “And if it’s a girl, I’m going to spend every day telling her how much her father loves her.”
Kady’s vision blurred. There was definitely pain beneath the surface of Katrina and Drew’s words. Gregory hadn’t only abandoned her, but somehow he’d made Katrina feel unwanted as well.
“Girls can also be a pain,” Wes quipped. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Take that one, for example.”
“I heard that!” Chastity shouted.
“I meant you to!” The four of them laughed. “But seriously, this kid is going to have the best parents. Congratulations, again.”
“Kat! Sorry we’re late!”
Katrina and Drew stood and hugged the couple that had entered the dining room. Wes also stood and shook the man’s hand. Katrina and the other woman gripped each other tightly and Kady recognized the family resemblance.
“We started without you,” Katrina said. She turned to Kady. “Kadynce, this is my sister Kornelia and her husband, Marshall.”
Kady stood and shook both of their hands. Kori hair was tightly coiled like her own, but Kady looked less like Kori than she did Katrina. Marshall appeared older than the rest of them, but he smiled warmly at Kat.
“You can call me, Kori.”
“Kori,” Kady repeated.
“Yes, and call me, Kat,” Katrina added. “We all go by our nicknames.”
“In that case, I go by Kady.”
“Pretty! With a C or a K?” Kori asked.
“K.”
“A lot of Ks,” Marshall said. He kissed his wife on the cheek. “Easy to remember.”
“Have a seat, everyone. Food is still hot.” Kat ushered them around the table to their spots.
Soon, they fell into easy conversation about the food, Kori and Marshall’s recent business trip, and even expansion plans for Drew’s business.
This is what I’ve been waiting for,Kady said to herself as she listened to the challenges Drew was having with capital.
“It’s not that I don’t have the money, but I’m not happy with leveraging any part of my business for expansion.”
“Comes with the territory, Drew,” Marshall offered. “Growth is always leveraged in one form or another.”
“Is there any other way you could get the capital?” Kady casually asked.
Drew shook his head. “I’ve always built my businesses with my own money or with the assistance of investors I knew personally. I haven’t used any investors in well over a year.”
“Definitely not now that he’s running for office,” Kat added. “Money can be so tricky.”
“Yes. I don’t want any hint of impropriety where that’s concerned.”
