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What was the point? Except they’d all be alive. But not together.
Kyle saw the bigger picture. He made the mess and wanted to take responsibility and fix it the only way he could without involving his family. It took guts and selflessness to make the sacrifice to do it.
Max appreciated that Kyle didn’t want to put Kenna through that.
Selfishly, Max didn’t want to leave his family either. They were finally back to being close after their mom’s death had caused a lot of friction in the family, mostly because Chase had taken their mom away to die on her terms. It had been her request. One that wasn’t easy for Chase to fulfill. They blamed him.
But they’d worked their way through the grief and anger and came back together as a family. They started new traditions, like Pancake Tuesday, and celebrated Chase’s marriage and their birthdays and holidays as a family again.
They’d found love and expanded their family, too.
Shelby and Eliza. They were Wildes now. Cyn and Lana would be very soon.
And then, he hoped he and Kenna really put the pieces back together and someday soon she would be his wife. A Wilde. And they’d add a few new little Wildes, too. The ranch would be alive with little ones running wild, like he and his brothers used to do.
Kenna’s tears dried up and she took a calming breath. He soothed her with soft strokes of his hand up and down her back, his other arm banded around her waist, holding her close. He hoped the comfort he offered did its job and made her feel better.
She looked up at him. “Thank you.”
“For what? I barely did anything. Holding you is pure pleasure.”
“Exactly. I’m all twisted up inside, but you unravel me. I find the calm in the storm when I’m with you.”
He didn’t have the words to tell her what that meant to him. “You do the same for me.” He held Kenna through the rest of the movie, until the credits rolled.
“Max.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m scared,” she whispered. “I don’t want to lose him.”
He didn’t know what to say. He hoped saying the words to her helped in some way. “He didn’t mean for this to happen. He loves you. Hold on to that, because it doesn’t go away, even if he does.”
“I know. Still...”
He held her tighter and kissed the top of her head as she sat close with her head on his shoulder. He hated this for her. She’d always looked out for her brother. They’d always been close. If he could stop this from happening, he would. Because he wanted her to be happy. He wanted Kyle to live and be a part of their lives. He wanted Kenna to have everything she wanted and more.
But sometimes life dealt you a shit hand and there was nothing you could do but hope you could discard a few bad cards and pull a few goods ones in your favor.
Kenna had a lot of bad happening right now.
He touched his finger beneath her chin. She looked up at him. He kissed her softly. “I’m here for you. No matter what. Always.”
“Maybe when this is all over, I’ll believe that.”
“You can believe it now. Everything we talked about in the past, we can have now, just like Kyle told you he wants for you on the call.”
“Everything feels like it’s happening, but also like it’s unreal. Like me sitting here with you. Us talking like this. You not avoiding me, but saying all the things I’ve wanted to hear you say for so long.”
“It is real, Kenna. Not all of it will end well, but you and me, that can be the good that comes from the bad.”
“I want that. I really do.” But she didn’t sound convinced it would.
He wished he could stop what was happening with her brother. He’d spare her that loss and heartache if he could. But he hoped their being together and moving forward with their life would bring her the happiness they both deserved after they’d waited so long.
He wanted them to finally have the dream they shared and make everything official with a ring, a wedding, and a lifetime of shared memories.
It felt so close, yet still too far away.
