Page 51 of Signed, SEALed, Delivered

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Kennedy

"Kennedy, you have to choose." This was the hundredth time my mother had presented this exact same statement to me. In the last few days, I'd become bombarded with my mother's incessant complaints, ever since the not so pleasant conversation she had with my father's attorney.

"He humiliated me, Kennedy. You can't possibly take the side of the man who caused me such public humiliation."

In recent weeks, my father had begun to change; reverting back to the man he was when he first became an attorney. Morals intact, with the drive to be the best he could be and take on the world, making it a better place. His first mission was to set my mother straight and make her see the world by the light he was currently shining.

Dad knew she had a monthly chair meeting at their country club. He chose that particular meeting to send in a deputy, serving her with divorce papers. Reliable sources stated she had tried to hand them back to the man, demanding he admit he made a mistake. A tiny piece of me felt bad when I heard she was left crying and alone in the room she once commanded.

"As I have told you a number of times, I'm not taking anyone's side. This is a matter between you and Daddy.” She began to scream at me about how he had taken me away from her, turning me against her. I hoped one day she could come to grips with the truth, though I doubted it would be anytime soon. Especially since Dad had placed the castle he built for her on the market. All of her credit cards had been revoked and she was now living on a stipend set up by the court system. It was a reasonable amount in my opinion, unless you're used to spending money the way she was. Dad assured me she would never be homeless and would have the necessities she required, as long as he was alive.

Dad and I had been spending more time together. His living a few miles from me helped tremendously. He told me after his divorce was final he would be moving in with Leeann. Marriage was not something either of them wanted at the moment, but she made him happy, that much was crystal clear; from the color of his face, to the way he now let a little scruff form on his jaw. He smiled more and he most definitely laughed more. He was the daddy I remembered from my childhood. Leeann didn't try to push a relationship on me, but she gave me an open invitation to come by her home anytime. I told her, and my father, out of respect for my mother I would hold off, at least until the ink dried on the final paperwork. My mother may be an evil woman, with many hidden agendas and venom running through her veins, but she was still the woman who had given birth to me. Without her I wouldn't be here, for that I would show respect.

This morning, my dad called and requested I stop over for dinner. When I arrived, Dad stood in his kitchen, a dishtowel slung over his left shoulder, dressed in a button down shirt and blue jeans—unlike the suit wearing man I grew up with. His hair was a little longer and the smell of his time honored cologne was gone. Another change in my father, he had gone out for the first time ever and chosen cologne for himself. The new smell reminded me of the stuff Zach and Jason wore, which made me miss Zach so much more. I’d avoided him for days, not ready to admit there may be more to his story. Embarrassment and pride kept me from returning his calls.

I expected to see empty takeout containers, but when I walked into the kitchen, the room was alive with boiling pots and vegetables waiting to be chopped. Without waiting for an invitation, I took my place, tending to the steaming pot of cooking pasta. Dad had set the stage with the music from long ago. With the Italian menu, Dean Martin sang of love being a kick in the head, it was simple and perfect.

Zach caught my eye across the room, time had not erased the hurt I found last time I saw him. We plated the food and took places around the small kitchen bar. There was no formal dining room table and no dishes so expensive they needed insurance just to make an appearance. Dad was telling Zach about tickets his firm had for an upcoming sports event. He invited him to join him at one of the arenas in the area. Zach thanked him, telling him he would be happy to attend with him.

"Kennedy, it’s time to talk about what happened the other night. No more hiding like you did when you were a little girl.”

Leaning over, I kiss my dad's cheek. "You're right, I’ve been acting like a child and it’s time we clear the air." Dad took a drink from his beer, a beverage my mother forbade being in her house, stating only commoners drank bottled beer.

“I’d like to go first, if you don't mind?” Zach’s deep voice still does strange things to me, turning any rational thought into a puddle of goo.

“I suppose it’s only right, since I’ve shut you out for days.”

Zach shot a look at dad and leaned over the island on his forearms, his bottle of beer grasped between his closed hands. “When we went to the courthouse for your restraining order, it didn’t sit well with me when Ethan threatened you. With my training, a pot shot like his would have gotten him bent over a table and my fist in his face. But in the society we live in, violence is frowned upon and criminals seem to have more rights than the victims. I couldn't sit back and let another criminal walk out of a hearing with a smile of victory on his face.”

My father slid his arm around me, as Zach continued. “Kennedy, when we were corresponding back and forth after I returned your letter, I tried to make you understand how important my team is to me. How they’re more like family than a bunch of guys I was stationed with. I told you about Reaper, or Matt his given name, remember? How he was hurt by a guy with a knife, and then by the girl who agreed to marry him. After Ethan's threat, I called my team and asked for help. Matt came running, but he brought a friend.”

My breath caught in my throat, a shiver starting up my spine. “Her name is Rayne Winters, and she has single handedly turned a jaded man like Matt into a someone who believes in love again, giving him his smile back.”

I’m off my chair and around the island, wrapping my arms around his massive neck. “I’m so, so sorry.” I cry into his chest as his arms wrap around me, bringing back the warmth I've lacked the past few days. The smell of his cologne fills my senses, and I can feel my body relax. “She’s a beautiful girl.” I admit, as it is the truth.

“She isn’t you.” He assures me. “Babe, there’s more.” Zach whispers, but I don’t care what he has to say. Nothing can change the elation of knowing he didn’t cheat on me.

His grip on me lessons as he pulls me back to look into my eyes. “I need you to understand, I had to protect you.” Everything about him tells me he is warring with himself as to what to say. “Matt and I went to Ethan’s hotel room. What we found, was so much more than a man with a crush on you.”

I listened as he told me of the photos they found and what the news would announce the investigators found. He explained how he and Matt gave Ethan a small dose of what the girls must have felt as they took their last breaths.

“Your father and I agree the system is broken.” Looking over to my father, I see his head nodding in agreement. “And there are more people in need of help out there.”

Looking back and forth between them, I know in my gut what Zach is about to say. “But I won’t even consider it, unless I have you by my side.” His eyes searching mine, looking for any hint of doubt I may have.

“You’ll be with the guys? The ones you served with?”

With his thumb wiping the tears from my face, his smile making an appearance. “We can set up a time for you to meet them. You can ask any question roaming around in your beautiful mind.”

I nod my acceptance of his choice, agreeing to meet the men who know a part of him I never will.

“Not to put a damper on things, but Kennedy, what Zach and his men are doing is illegal. If they were to get caught, they could face jail time.” My dad and his voice of reason. How Zach managed to get him on his side and look the other way while he took care of Ethan, I’ll never know.

“Your father is right, what we will do is illegal, and some would consider immoral. But I can't sit back and let the evil of the world win, time and again.” His eyes plead with me to understand his need to make the world better; safer. I cannot find it in me to argue against what he wants to do, or his need to protecting those who need his help, when other resources fail them. I may not be in a position to jump into a mission with him, but I can love him, and be there when he needs me.

"I do have something I want to speak with you about." Setting his beer down and clasping his hands together, Dad turns to face me fully. "The divorce is scheduled to be finalized at the end of the month, so Leeann and I have been talking more about what we want to do. We believe we’ve come to a final decision." Shifting in his chair, he clears his throat and takes a pull of his beer. "I'm going to be moving into Leeann's condo, but I want you to know this house has always been in your name." I was shocked, I had no idea he had done that.

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