Stripped Raw (10 page)

“She didn’t tell me about a breakup.”

“I’m not sure what happened,” Tessa says. “All I know is it was bad. She didn’t tell me much. She and Charles were together a few years. I thought at first it was her usual M.O., but. . . .”

“What do you mean?”

“Kenzie’s been left a lot in her life and somewhere along the way—college, I think—she just decided she couldn’t get left again. So at the first sign of trouble, she tends to bolt. I thought that’s what happened with Charles, but. . . .”

Kenzie walks in with her niece and clears her throat. Obviously, Tessa is breaking some sort of sister code. Tessa takes the baby from Kenzie without making eye contact. “I’ll just go feed Zoe in the back,” she says.

Kenzie leans her head down on her work table. She looks utterly miserable being awake. I lightly stroke her hair. She huffs a little and readjusts her head, trying to get comfortable. “Did you not sleep well?” I ask.

“Actually, it was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time,” Kenzie says, a huge yawn escaping.

“Can we do it again?”

“Maybe your place? I’d like to see where you live.”

I don’t want to take her to my place. I’ve managed to avoid it so far. “Let’s talk about where later,” I say. “I’ve got to get to work.”

She pouts her lip and strokes my face. “Don’t shave. I like the stubble.” Grinning, I stand up, but she looks away, worry creeping into her eyes. “Are you going to ask me about my ex?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Tessa made you curious or something.”

“That’s the last thing on my mind,” I say. Her eyes lower to my hand, the faded line on my ring finger now completely gone. “Does it bother you that I’m divorced?”

“No, but it’s different. I’ve never dated anyone who was married before.” She’s curious, which is only natural. I lift her hand to my lips and kiss it gently. “How long has it been since your divorce?”

“She filed about a year ago. It wasn’t messy. It’s been final about nine months or so.”

“She left you?” Kenzie asks, some surprise in her voice. I nod in response, but can tell she’s hoping for more than that. “Was she having an affair?”

My eyes dart to hers. “No.”

“Were you?”

“No,” I say. “No cheating. I told you I haven’t dated.”

“Dating and sex are different things,” Kenzie says.

“Not for me.”

“Me, neither. I haven’t dated in close to two years.”

“The breakup was bad?” Kenzie answers with a slight nod. “Look, we don’t have to share our sad stories.”

“Yeah, we do,” she says. “You have to know where I’m coming from, and I have to know where you’re coming from. Otherwise, we can’t go anywhere.”

“Okay, but do we have to do it with Tessa in the next room?”

“No, and we don’t have to share everything right away, either. I’m not ready to let you know how stupid I was.”

“You aren’t stupid,” I say and pull her into a little kiss. Whatever happened, her ex did a number on her. “Last night was fun. I wish I didn’t have to go out of town tomorrow.”

Tessa comes in wiping her daughter’s nose. “Where you going?”

“California, for work.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to California,” Tessa says.

“There’s a great oncologist out there,” Kenzie says. “We can go today.”

“Hush,” Tessa says. “I have an idea. Kane, you should come by my dad’s house tonight to have dinner. Our brother, Sawyer, just scored this great internship in Austin, and we are celebrating.”

“Tessa!” Kenzie cries.

“What?” Tessa says, waving off her stepsister. “Dad and Sawyer want to meet Kane.”

*

It’s time to
meet the other men in Kenzie’s life. They’re always a bit more difficult to deal with, and I’m already pretty sure I’m not going to like Kenzie’s stepfather, Michael. From what Kenzie told me, the man treats her like the black sheep of the family. That’s not going to fly with me. The stepbrother, Sawyer, is more of an unknown. I’m honestly not sure why Tessa wants me to come to his going-away party. Something in my gut is telling me tonight is about more than meeting the family, but I don’t think Kenzie picked up on that.

Turning into her stepfather’s neighborhood, I take Kenzie’s hand so she’ll stop fidgeting with all the buttons in my Porsche. Every time we go out, she is constantly fiddling with the touchscreen monitor. She switches the sound system from rap to classic to country in one second and the Bluetooth commands seem to fascinate her. It was a mistake to set it up to recognize her voice. She randomly orders it to call her number just for fun. She’s like a kid on Christmas. But the real kid is me. I absolutely love my car, and Kenzie knows it.

She gives me a little smirk. “Boys and their toys.”

“Women and their toys,” I tease her, a gentle reminder that I haven’t forgotten about the vibrator hiding in her bedside table.

She smacks me playfully. “I’m sure it’s covered in dust bunnies by now.”

“It better be,” I say, pulling into her stepfather’s driveway.

She looks incredible, her auburn hair down and a loose-fitting tank top and shorts showing off her smooth skin. More than anything, I want to wrap myself around her and make her moan. She squeezes my hand, as if assuring me—and herself—that things will go fine tonight. We start towards the house, a single story ranch. She suddenly stops when we reach the front door.

“There’s something you should know before we go in,” she says. “I should’ve told you before. . . .”

The front door opens, and a middle-aged man with blond hair comes out, his arms open wide, decked out in a Drew Brees jersey.

“Hey, Michael,” Kenzie says softly and walks to his arms.

He pulls at the jersey. “Remember you got me this? I love it. Usually just wear it for special occasions like this, and of course on game days.” Michael cups her face in his hands and pulls back to get a good look at her. “You’re working too hard! You’ve lost weight!”

“No such luck, I’m afraid,” she says. I hate it when she talks like that. But I can’t let it show right now. “Kane, this is my stepfather, Michael.”

“Pleasure to meet you, sir,” I say and shake his hand.

Michael gives his stepdaughter a frown. “Why did I have to hear about Kane from Tessa?”

“She’s embarrassed of me because I’m a Cowboys fan.”

Michael laughs out loud. “I am, too, but Brees is a Texas boy.”

“Good point,” I say.

Michael wraps an arm around Kenzie and leads us inside. The ranch is nothing spectacular, but it looks and feels like a home, even without a woman’s touch for years. There are family pictures everywhere, all the kids’ photos proudly hanging on walls and displayed on tables. Kenzie was a cute baby and stunning in high school and college. I spot a photo of Kenzie’s new store and a framed advertisement touting Kenzie Lingerie. Michael seems to have stuff about Kenzie everywhere. It certainly doesn’t appear he thinks less of her than his own children.

Tessa walks in holding her daughter, who’s flailing her arms and reaching towards Michael. The baby girl knows how to make an entrance. “Come to Granddad,” Michael says.

Tessa gives a small smile to Kenzie and me then plops down on a chair, her chest rising and falling, her thin body covered in a light sweat, making the dark bags under her eyes look even larger. “Zoe’s getting so heavy.”

Kenzie bends down and tickles the baby’s thigh. “At what age do fat rolls and dimples become unattractive?”

“Don’t forget about the bald head,” Tessa says, rubbing her own.

“Tessa, you totally rock the bald head,” Kenzie says then turns to Michael. “What are we having for dinner? I’m starving.”

“I don’t know,” Michael says. “Was I supposed to cook? I didn’t know we were having dinner. That would be nice. I can pull something together.”

“Tessa said we were having a going-away dinner for Sawyer,” Kenzie says.

Michael looks at Tessa. “You didn’t tell her, did you?”

“She wouldn’t have come,” Tessa says.

“What’s this about?” Kenzie asks.

“Hey!” a tall, thin guy says, coming in through a little hallway.

“Sawyer!” Kenzie says, as he wraps his arms around her.

“It’s so good to see you,” Sawyer tells her just as his phone rings, and Kenzie’s voice plays.
Pencil dick! Pencil dick! Pencil dick!

“That’s your ringtone?” Kenzie asks, laughing.

“Yeah, I cropped out that part of the interview,” Sawyer says, declining the call. “I’m proud of my sister.”

“Well, that’s very sweet of you to use me for your ringtone,” Kenzie says, adding, “I guess.”

Sawyer turns to me. “I suppose you’re the hot guy Tessa’s being going on and on about!”

“I might be dating the wrong sister,” I joke.

“You totally are,” Tessa says. “Bald and boobless—very fashionable these days.”

“He’s mine,” Kenzie says and reaches for my hand.

Sawyer purses his lips. “Any chance you’re bisexual, Kane?”

Kenzie hides her face as I laugh. “I’m afraid not.”

“That’s too bad,” Sawyer says.

“Kane, I was going to tell you before we came in,” Kenzie says. “Sawyer’s gay.”

“I didn’t need any warning,” I say.

“Way to drop the truth bomb on him in front of your whole family, Kenzie!” Sawyer says. “Kane, by the way, if you happen to know any hot guys, let me know. I’m single.”

“I’ll check around the office,” I deadpan.

“Well, he passed the gay test. Kane, I can’t tell you how many boyfriends I scared off.”

“He’s been impossible ever since he came out,” Tessa says.

“It’s true,” Michael says. “He’s tormented his sisters from the beginning.”

“Not true,” Sawyer says.

“True,” Kenzie and Tessa say together.

“Ever since he came out,” Michael says. “Sawyer, can I tell Kane how you did it? Are you okay with that?”

Sawyer gives a look indicating that his father could tell the whole world. “I don’t care.”

“So Sawyer walks into this very room and asks if he can hang up a naked picture on the wall,” Michael says. “I told him I didn’t know how his sisters would feel about that. He unfolds the picture and says he thinks they’d really like this one.” Michael shakes his head, remembering it like it was yesterday. “It was a man.”

“What did you say?” I ask.

Michael glances at his son. “Something stupid. I told him he wasn’t gay because he was so good at sports and had so many friends who were girls. It was dumb, ridiculous. But I wasn’t really thinking clearly. The whole thing was a bit of a shock. Sawyer stormed out of the house, and he stayed gone the whole night. I sat in this chair and thought about him, his mother, his stepmother, and how brave he was to tell me.”

“When I got home,” Sawyer says, “the poster was hanging up in my room.”

That’s a good father, a good man. I’m not sure what Kenzie’s problem is with him.

Kenzie clears her throat. “Can we get back to my question? If we aren’t here about Sawyer going away, why are we here?”

“To plan my funeral,” Tessa says.

“What? No! I’m not going to do that!” Kenzie cries and looks around the room, though she seems the only one surprised. “Michael, Sawyer, you knew about this? You’re okay with this? There are clinical trials and experimental treatments and. . . .”

“I’m dying, Kenzie,” Tessa says. “I’m done fighting.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m so tired. It’s a struggle every day.”

“I know,” Kenzie says, “but you’ve got to keep fighting for. . . .”

“I’m dying.” Tessa’s eyes bore into Kenzie. “Did you hear what I said? I’m dying. I’ve accepted that. I’ve surrendered to this, and it’s time you did, too.”

Tessa is so direct, so firm with her words, but I guess there’s really no way to sugarcoat it. Still, I know it’s the last thing Kenzie wants to hear. I wish there was something I could tell Kenzie to soften the blow, but it’s not my place to say a damn word in this house tonight. I do the only thing I know to do and drape an arm around Kenzie, but she shrugs me off. I recognize the look in her eye, the same as when she ripped Deacon a new one on live television. This is not the time to mess with her.

“If it takes me being a stubborn bitch to hold you to this world, then so be it,” Kenzie says. “I’ve got a lot of fight left in me.”

Tessa gets out of her chair and kneels in front of Kenzie. “I’ve always considered you a real sister. And you are always so strong, so tough. That’s why I need you now. I’m counting on you.”

They stare at each other for a few moments, some silent conversation only sisters can understand. In the end, Kenzie gives a little nod. “Okay, I’m listening.”

Tessa sits back down. “When the time comes,” she says, “I only want Dad in the room with me.”

“Why?” Kenzie cries.

“That’s bullshit,” Sawyer says.

“He was there when I was born, and he should be there when I die.”

“What about the rest of us?” Kenzie asks.

“Please, Kenzie, this is what I want,” Tessa says and turns to her brother. “Sawyer, you’ll be in Austin. I don’t want you rushing back here.”

“I could catch a plane and be here in an hour or so,” Sawyer says. “It’s not a problem. I’d like to be here.”

“I know,” Tessa says, “but I want you living your life. That’s all I want. Kenzie, I need you to be with Zoe. I don’t want her around when I go.”