Page 29 of Signed, SEALed, Delivered

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Zach

The plane ride from London to Atlanta was full of turbulence; halfway through, the Captain made the flight attendants get in their seats and buckle up. Passengers around me were silently praying, I, however, snuggled in and fell asleep. When I finally got my luggage and a cab, I was still trying to get my bearings. The cabbie refused to take my money, telling me his brother had died in Vietnam and he’d made it his life's mission to never charge a returning soldier for a ride home. I tried to argue with him, but he refused, so I decided I would figure out how to give back in the same way.

Standing outside the building I had seen only by way of a Skype session, I took just a moment to live in the moment; my reality now. An older man was applying vinyl to the glass doors that housed my dream and future. A bright red potted plant sitting in the middle window of the second floor, caught my attention. It was evident Kennedy must have placed it there. I could almost imagine her humming as she filled the pot with dirt, taking careful precaution not to disturb the delicate roots of the tiny plant. How she would lovingly water it and gently stroke its petals. I wondered if she ever thought of me as she looked down on the streets below. Oh, how I had thought of her. Too many thoughts, which would remain hidden in my mind. Thoughts of a life of laughter and adventure with her. Of holding her as she cooked dinner or folded laundry. Sunday mornings wrapped around each other in fluffy white sheets. Standing at the end of an aisle, watching her face as she slowly walked my way. Again, thoughts that would, for the near future, remain in my head.

All the times I had laid eyes on Kennedy had done nothing to prepare me for this moment. Watching her move across the sidewalk was like watching a figure skater doing a perfect maneuver, minus the roar of the crowd. I watched the flow of her hair as it whipped around her face, and saw the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were as bright as mine when I searched her face; longing to know what secrets they held.

"Only you could pull a stunt like you did and have mom too happy to see you to be pissed." Zane stood beside me, but his attention was focused on his children playing a game with our father.

I smiled quietly to myself since he was correct; I had ruined her plans of a large welcome in the middle of the airport. "Don't get too upset, everyone knows I'm her favorite."

He glances in my direction with a look of surprise on his face and a grunt rising from his massive chest, but didn't answer, instead nudging me with his free arm. "So, she must be someone pretty special to bring home to the ‘rents so soon. Although she is giving you the stink eye right now."

I hadn't noticed it before, but Zane was right. Kennedy was talking with Meghan, and a friend of hers, beside one of the food tables. I wouldn't categorize her look as angry, but more...perplexed? Going for broke, I flashed her a smile and added in a wink. Her eyes moved to Meghan's face before touching her forearm. Maybe Zane was right, had I upset her? I was just about to walk over and ask her when Zane halted my momentum.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you? I have a feeling Meghan just told her how she and I met. Good thing my Meghan loves you, as by the looks of things this could get ugly.”

“Zane, when will you get it through that thick skull of yours, I—unlike you— keep the women in my life happy. Kennedy knows how I feel about her and she is well aware there are no other ladies sniffing around after me. When I finally laid eyes on her, I made sure she knew I had been wrong about my feelings for her.”

“Explains the stink eye you're getting." Zane's words are followed by his body convulsing in laughter. “Come on you douche! You spend months sending emails back and forth and the first thing you say to her is you were wrong about her?”

"No, you idiot." I smacked his chest with my fist and told him what happened. Kennedy was a genuinely good person, a beautiful and gifted girl. So much so, when I saw the excitement leave her face for one tenth of a second, I ignored the risk of being slapped or, worse, having an angry brother come storming out and punching me. Everything about her called to me; her enduring rambling, her generous nature, her endeavor to hide her personal life from her mother's watchful eye, but most of all, her drive to be her own person. She was so excited to tell me about opening her first checking account and applying for a credit card in her name. I wanted to see that joy every day; I wanted to be the reason for that joy.

Abandoning all of the warning bells in my mind, I tossed caution to the wind and chose to see for myself if her lips were as soft as they looked. I closed the distance, lacing my hand in the hair at the back of her head and pulled her soft body against mine. The electricity that flowed around us was like an invisible bubble protecting us from the reality that begged to interrupt. The moment our lips connected, all my doubts were erased. The way she molded her body to mine, fusing us together in more than just flesh, connecting us on a level few had experienced. It was in that moment I knew those thoughts I had carefully tucked away, were a glimpse of what we could be.

"Wow." With the raw talent we both possessed and years of education between us, something better than ‘wow’ should have come out. When Zane was actively pursuing Meghan all those years ago, his teammates gave him shit for picking such an ordinary girl. Yet, he never let anything they said change his mind. I knew Kennedy thought of herself as simple and plain, but to me, she was perfect.

"Let me tell you this, little brother, if what I suspect about Kennedy is true, you're going to have to drill into her head this isn't just a dry spell hook up." My confused look gave him the opening he needed to finish his thought. With a wave of his hand that still housed his beer, he looked over my shoulder and continued.

"Meghan was, and still is, the most beautiful woman I have ever met. However, she fought me so hard because she believed all I really wanted was to get into her pants, some type of varsity challenge or some shit."

He didn't have to remind me of this, I was the one who kept encouraging him to be patient with her. “You forget, Zane, I was there when you had your balls in your hand, panting over her.”

"I am aware, smartass. What I'm trying to tell you is, you're going to have to be direct and quite frankly blunt when it comes to Kennedy. If you want to hold her hand, you need to make it clear it isn't to help her cross the street or keep her balance. If you want to touch her, you’ll need to set her straight as to why you want to do that. Don’t give her any reason to justify your actions with innocent excuses.

His eyes never wavered, looking at Meghan with fondness in his eyes. "I'm telling you this and I know it sounds harsh, but I wish someone would have given me the handbook when it came to girls like ours."

“It would have been no good, they would have changed the rules on us.”

***

My parents refused to sell the house we had grown up in, even after all of us had moved out and started lives of our own. My mother spent endless hours in the back yard, planting and tending to the flowers and shrubs she loved so much. She was angry with my father for days once when he offered to hire her a gardener. She preferred to be up to her elbows in rich soil and covered in grass clippings, than be dressed in the expensive clothing she had collecting dust in her closet upstairs. My mother was a simple girl at heart, a heart my father worked hard to cherish and keep.

"Can I get you something to eat?"My loving, but overly emotional, mother was driving me crazy. I knew she meant well, but I had been able to make my own plate for most of my life. I knew it was just her joy in my being home, but it was also tiring and I had to be very careful to keep my tongue reined in.

"You spoil me, but I'm fine." I chose to answer, avoiding hurting her feelings and causing my father's brow to rise.

"You're my son, it comes with the job." Her warm hands were on either side of my face as her brown eyes shifted between the matching pair I inherited.

"This was a great party, thank you for this, and for not saying anything to Kennedy."

Her hands dropped to her sides and the smile vanished. She leaned further into me as she spoke in a hushed tone, giving a quick look to any possible eavesdroppers. "I will say this one time, Zach." Her finger was sharp as it met the soft skin of my chest. "Kennedy is every mother's dream for their son, but if you have less than honorable intentions for her, I will call a car service right this second."

Taking a small step back and pulling my mother off to the side of the house, the tone of this conversation was unfamiliar to me. She had always defended our family, not one of Savannah's many boyfriends or any of the girls that sniffed around Zane or myself. "What's going on, Mom? You never do this, defending someone outside of the family."

She inhaled deeply and then pulled me in for a hug, the gesture making a large lump form in my throat. "When I was making the rounds of our guests, I overheard Kennedy and Meghan talking."

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