Page 47 of Forever Home

He nods again, this time with a wide smile. “And that’s not all. He’s going to put his real estate law knowledge and finesse to good use and put Mrs. Kendall’s house and property into its own holding company.This way,” he explains, “should anything ever happen, no one can sue us personally.”

Fuck me! I knew he was good for something.

“That’s great news!” I exclaim. “I never even thought of that. We’ve been so focused on renovating the house and land for the kids, I don’t know that any of us thought about any legal issues that might happen.”

“Or how we would protect ourselves if they did,” Sam adds.

“I still can’t believe it,” Kylie says, shaking her head. “I saw the plans myself. He had blueprints delivered the day I left and they showed how the forest area was going to be taken out to make room for the condos. There was to be a parking lot, right here where our treehouse is.”

“All that’s changed,” Knox says. “Those survey plans you saw, Kylie, are going to be used to make sure every acre is accounted for and that we get the appropriate insurance for the property. Not for development.”

“I still can’t believe it,” Sam says with a shake of her head. “I never thought I’d see the day when your brother would go out of his way to do something for someone without expecting anything in return.”

Doesn’t mean he isn’t an asshole.

“That still doesn’t excuse him for breaking Kylie’s heart,” I say with a frown. “And I’ve got to wonder if there still isn’t something in it for him.”

“Madi,” Kylie says softly, giving me a look as if to say it’s okay. I know she may want to see the best in him, but can she really blame me for not believing the bullshit. The guy has done nothing but been an asshole for as long as I’ve known him. And since he got here, all he has wanted to do was make money off the property.

Doesn’t really make for a believable story.

“You’ll just have to ask Dante about that,” Knox tells me before turning to Kylie with a grin. “As for you, you need to get cleaned up. You’re all blotchy and snotty from crying. I heard a rumor that Dante is back in town.”

***

Twenty minutes later—and one cleaned up Kylie—Sam, Knox, and I head out of the house to give Kylie some privacy as she prepares to potentially see Dante. Though the moment the door opens, we run straight into the last person I want to see. Regardless of him trying to do something redeeming, I don’t trust it.

My eyes gaze up and down his body as I curl my lip into a sneer. There are so many things I want to say to him, but Knox beats me to it with a smile on his face.

“Be the man she deserves,” he says quietly. “You got this.”

More like needs a slap to the head for being a dick.

Dante says nothing, but takes a deep breath and nods his head in Knox’s direction before passing us into the house. My eyes dart towards Knox and Sam who are in casual conversation, still walking down the sidewalk towards the driveway.

“Where the fuck are you two going?” I whisper-yell causing them to both turn to face me. “We can’t just leave.”

“Madi, you’re not staying to watch this,” Knox laughs. “Let them have their moment.”

I scoff, rolling my eyes. “Yeah, right. What if something goes wrong?”

“She does have a point…” Sam replies, biting her bottom lip.

“We can literally just peek through the side window of the garage. They won’t even see us because there’s a huge bush in front of it. But it’s far enough from the house that we can slip behind it to watch and see what’s happening.”

“You two are too much,” Knox continues to laugh. “I’m not spying on Kylie and my brother, but you two are more than happy to do as you want. I’ll wait by my truck.”

I don’t waste time in quietly running towards the side of the garage, just in time to see Dante stepping back from Kylie’s embrace and dropping to one knee in front of her. Kylie’s hands fly to her mouth and I know right away that she’s crying as she says something, nodding her head as he slips the ring onto her finger before kissing her deeply. The entire moment is more touching than I could have ever expected it to be.

And as much as I don’t really care for Dante, if he makes her happy,then so be it.

“Come on, Sam,” I say softly. “Let’s go before the clothes start coming off.”

At my words, Sam and I sneak away from the garage back towards the driveway. She, Knox, and I say our goodbyes as Sam gets a ride with Knox and I head back to my apartment. My mind is in complete slow motion as the whirlwind of events from the day rush through me.

How is it that everyone around me has found happiness for themselves, but I can’t?

My two best friends have found it, even if it was a process of getting there. They still found the happiness they were looking for. All while I’m sitting here doing nothing but the same thing every day.

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