Page 9 of Beautifully Broken Redemption

Our friend Taylor looked up from the little girl in her arms. “She’s got a gift. You should get her in lessons at the center. She might be a good candidate for the swim team. I help out a couple of times a week and can put you in touch with the coach.”

“That would be great.” School didn’t start for months, but the kids needed ways to meet friends and stay active. I typed out a quick text to Chelsea.

Me:What do you think about swim team for Lyla? I can sign her up.

I dropped the phone back into my lap as Jensen let out a loud catcall whistle.

Tessa covered her ears. “Are you trying to make me lose my hearing?”

J shrugged. “I want those sexy men to know they’re appreciated.”

“That’s my girl,” Jensen’s grandmother, Irma, said as she looked up from her book. “And a fine bunch of specimens they are. We should make ourselves a calendar.”

“Mom,” Sarah chastised as she handed her a glass of lemonade.

“What? I’m old, not dead. I can appreciate those abs of steel. And those v-things. Those are my favorite.”

Sarah let out an exasperated sigh. “One of those men is your grandson.”

“I’m not looking at him. I’m looking at the others.”

A laugh bubbled up as I glanced out at the trampoline. But that sound died in my throat. I knew the other guys were there, tossing laughing kids off the floating structure, some in life jackets, others only in swimsuits. But my eyes seemed to be pulled to only one form. Lightly tanned skin and lean muscle. Mason’s head tipped back as he laughed. So damn carefree as if he’d never had a worry in the world.

“You’ve got a little drool there,” Kennedy whispered.

I snapped my gaze away. “Sorry, I spaced.”

“Mm-hmm. You know, you could always try talking to him.”

“I do talk to him.”

She rolled her eyes. “To bark orders at him or scowl in his direction. Try not looking like you want to murder him and ask him something normal, like how it’s been settling into Sutter Lake.”

“You know I don’t do normal well.”

Kennedy laid a hand on my forearm. “Normalwas a bad word choice. Normal is overrated and boring.”

I couldn’t help looking out at the trampoline again. Mason launched Lyla into the air as she shrieked in delight. That man screamed:normal. He would want a wife who baked cookies and gave him two-point-five kids and adopted a golden retriever. He wouldn’t want someone who had a permanent record and countless demons.

Kenz squeezed my arm. “You have a messed-up idea of who you are and what you’re worth. Your past doesn’t determine who you are now.”

I wished I could believe that, but I knew the truth. The past determined everything. It haunted and taunted, popping up when you least expected it with a sucker punch to the solar plexus. “I’m happy as I am. I don’t need anything more than what I have.”

“Just because you’re content doesn’t mean you can’t reach for more. You deserve mind-blowing happiness.”

A yell from Jensen broke off our conversation. “Tucker Harris, you put me down right now. That water is freezing.”

He gave Jensen a playful swat on the butt. “Oh, I’ll put you down, Wilder…”

“Tuck—”

Her words were cut off as he launched her into the lake water. Their son, Noah, hooted and hollered. “She’s gonna kill you for that.”

Tuck gave him a high-five and then picked up their other son, Drew, hoisting him on top of his shoulders. “Did you see Mommy fly?”

The little boy nodded. “She went far.”

Jensen burst out of the water, spluttering. “You. Are going to pay for that.”

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