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Actually, that was good advice.
His dad nudged him some more. “Show her that you don’t blame her for what happened any more than she mistakenly blamed you. If you want her back, do something about it.”
Max thought about the way she tried to keep things casual last night. While he’d reached out to her, putting his arm around her to offer comfort, to let her know he was there, and because he’d needed to touch her in some way, she’d somehow still remained restrained. “I think she’s afraid to try again.”
“If she missed you the way you’ve missed her, maybe she’s afraid that if you try and fail and she loses you again, she just can’t take it. Someone wants her dead. Her brother basically told her he’s going to die to stop what’s happening. I can see how that would mess with her head.”
“She definitely isn’t herself.”
“After all the bad that’s happened to her, I’m not surprised.”
Kenna had a soft heart. Sweet. Kind. Loving. She couldn’t stand that she’d hurt him. She didn’t want to be responsible for anything happening to him again.
“She doesn’t realize that living without her is killing me.”
“Maybe you should tell her that.”
“I will. But first I’m going to show her that she’s still and will always be the only woman I want.”
His dad put his hand on Max’s shoulder and squeezed. “It’ll be nice to see you happy again.”
“I know I’ve been difficult the last few years.”
“You were hurting. I knew that. I just didn’t know how to help. Your mother was always better with the advice and knowing what you boys needed.”
“You said all the things I needed to hear this morning.”
“You already knew what you wanted to do.”
“Yeah, but after what happened between me and Kenna, I guess I was scared to go after it, because what if she can’t get past the way I spent our time apart using other women to try to get over her. That doesn’t exactly speak well of me. I’ve been acting like a jerk. I probably owe a lot of women an apology.”
“They knew what they were getting into with you. Kenna knows exactly what she can have with you, too. Don’t complicate things. Simplify them. Tell her what you want and how you feel. Let the rest fall into place.”
Max stood and smacked his dad on the shoulder. “Thanks, Dad. Next time I have a problem, I’ll talk about it. Maybe if I’d said something to you or my brothers sooner, I’d have figured this out and Kenna and I wouldn’t have missed so much time together.”
“Time is precious. Don’t waste it.”
Max grinned. “You’re just full of gems this morning.”
“I’ve spent my fair share of time thinking about the mistakes I’ve made and how I’d like to change them. Problem is, I’m talking to your mom’s ghost. You’ve got Kenna right here.”
Max nodded and stepped away from the table to get another cup of coffee.
“It’d be nice to have a woman in the house again.”
Max turned back to his dad. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“I’m just saying, you’re a grown man. You don’t have to meet her down at the barn like you used to. She’s welcome to stay as long as she likes, even once this business with her brother is over.”
Max shook his head, not surprised his old man knew about his late-night rendezvous with Kenna back in the day. He’d never been able to keep his hands off her. “After seeing the way she reacted when we went to her place the other day, I don’t think she wants to go back to her apartment ever again.”
“Also,” his dad said, to get his attention again. “You should start thinking about this house as yours. Your brothers are settled with their families now. Looks like you’re stuck with me, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make this place the home you want to have withyourfamily.”
Max had actually thought a lot about fixing up the house on his evening rides. It gave him something to think about other than the lonely state of his life. But now he thought about the house in a whole new way. “Really? You wouldn’t mind some updates?”
“No. Your mom always wanted to fix up this and that and I always put her off. Maybe if I spent more time doing things to make her happy, things could have beendifferent for us at the end. Stubborn will only get you resentment from others.”
“Dad, come on, Mom was happy with you. She loved being here.”
