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“It’s sweet that he sent you one final goodbye,” Max said.
And he’d given her one more reason to believe that maybe he wasn’t as dead as everyone thought, because Kyle used to hack into her computer, delete all her cookies and trackers and leave her little messages about how he’d saved her from getting her identity stolen or whatever. When she complained and told him he’d violated her privacy, he’d always say, “I’m just watching over you.”
She didn’t say anything to Max about her suspicions. She’d laid enough crazy on him already.
So she opened one of the candy packages and took a bite of the first peanut butter cup. Then she looked up at Max. “He’s right. This is not enough chocolate.”
Max sat next to her. “I’ll buy you more.”
Kyle was right.
From now on, it would be her and Max.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Max pulled into the diner parking lot and found a spot right next to Chase’s truck. Hunt’s patrol SUV was a few spots over. He and Cyn were back from their honeymoon. His dad slipped out of the truck to head inside. After attending Kyle’s funeral a few days ago, Max had something to say about the importance of today and turned to Kenna.
Just before she slid across the seat to hop out, too, he touched her arm to halt her.
She turned to him with a smile. “Everything okay?”
“Over the last however many months it’s been since Chase came home, I’ve watched my brothers fall in love. Pancake Tuesday began with us starting a tradition with Shelby and Eliza to show them they’re our family, too.”
“That’s really sweet.”
“Well, the tradition was Shelby and Eliza’s. Dad, Hunt, and me, we insinuated ourselves into it as a way to get the family back together after it fractured when Mom died.”
“Still sweet.”
“And then Hunt brought Cyn. I think he had a thing for her longer than she had one for him, but it was so clear they belonged together no matter how different they seemed from each other. She fit right in with all of us.”
Kenna tilted her head and her eyes grew wary. “Are you afraid I won’t?”
He shook his head. “You’re what was missing every Pancake Tuesday when I sat at the table with all of them.”
Her eyes softened with love. “Oh, Max, that’s so sweet of you to say.”
“I mean it. I tried so hard not to think it or wish for it, because I didn’t think we could ever get back what we had, and I missed so much.”
She took his hand. “I missed us, too. All the time.”
“And now you’re going to walk in there with me, sit at that table with my family, and it’s all I ever wanted. So I want you to know, this means a lot to me.”
She scooted closer to him. “It means a lot to me that you’d bring me today and include me not only in the tradition but in your family. I know this is still new between us.”
He kissed that thought right off her lips. “Not new. We’re continuing what we started.”
“I feel that way, too.”
They planned to go to her place after breakfast to clean it up and pack the rest of her things. Another step closer to forever.
He kissed her. “Let’s go stuff ourselves with pancakes with my family, who are all happy for us.”
“Your dad has been really warm and welcoming. Every time he walks in on us together in the kitchen or living room, he gets this smile on his face.”
“He misses my mom. He’s happy that all his sons are with someone they love.”
“I still can’t believe this is real.”
