"She loves you."
It was his turn to snort. "That's not enough."
Estelle dropped the sarcastic act as she shook her head, settling on something much more serious than he'd ever seen from her. "Bryan, that's more than enough. It always was. You just wouldn't let yourself see it. Your pride, or whatever male misapprehension you were operating under, wouldn't let you see that. She loves you. You love her." She paused and squinted one eye. "You do love her, don't ya?"
"More than anything," he said, meaning every word.
"But you think because you can't give her kids, that what? She won't want you or something?"
He nodded. That's what he'd been trying to say this whole time.
"I never had kids." She didn't say it in a way that told him how she felt about it. "Wasn't in the cards for me. But I can tell you firsthand-just 'cause you can't have 'em yourself, don't mean you love other people's any less." She sipped her drink, a look of adoration flitting over her features, brightening her face instantly. "Did Kenna tell you she's my goddaughter?"
"No, she didn't."
A slight smile, then, "I am. Her momma said she wanted Kenna to have a strong female influence."
Tyke laughed. Estelle was most definitely a strong female.
Still clutching the glass, she pointed a finger at Tyke. "I'm going to take that reaction as a compliment."
"Please do," he said.
She sighed, seeming to drift into her own thoughts for a moment. "Mary Lou asked me to be Kenna's godmother for more than just my influence, though. I think she knew one day we'd need each other. Especially after she passed." Her gaze met his, fervent emotion clear in its depths. "I love that girl more than life itself. Even though she ain't mine. When she hurts, I hurt. I never thought I could love someone so much. But I do. She's the closest thing to a child I'll ever have. Just because I didn't give birth to Kenna doesn't mean I don't love her like my own. 'Cause I do." She lifted an eyebrow as if to say, You catch my meaning?
Tyke had been the biggest dumbass of all dumbasses ever in the history of dumbasses.
He'd wasted so much time feeling sorry for himself. For what he'd lost. And for what could never be that he hadn't taken a second to think about Kenna and what it was doing to her. What it had done to her.
"I got it," he said. "I've been an idiot."
Her answering look told him she agreed wholeheartedly. "So what's it gonna be? You gonna suck up your pride and let her love you for who you are today? Or are you gonna lose her again by holdin' on to the past of who you thought you'd be?"
Tyke swallowed the lump in his throat. Talk about a humbling experience. Fuck. He'd wasted twelve years, keeping him and Kenna apart, and for what? Because he honestly believed he wasn't good enough for her. Just because he couldn't give her kids.
And right now, he was the only one keeping him and Kenna apart.
He didn't want to lose Kenna. He never did.
But …
"It's over, Estelle," he said. "I thought if I could find the things that were taken, then I could prove myself to Kenna. She'd finally see that I did something. I wasn't the piece of shit she thought I was. Maybe she'd finally forgive me. But I couldn't. We're out of time, and I'm out of ideas. All I've done is just make things worse. Kenna hates me. I couldn't find the ring. And you don't have that brooch thing."
She started shaking her head. "Like the head cheerleader the night of prom, waiting for the QB to come back after screwing the band director under the bleachers."
"Like what?" he asked, jerking his face to look at her.
"Nothing, kid. Look, all I'm sayin' is it seems like you need some sort of Hail Mary pass. Am I right? Somethin' to get you to home plate?"
"The end zone."
"Yeah, whatever," she said. "We've got two seconds left on the clock and your star player's still ridin' the bench. Looks like it's about time to put him in, dontcha think?"
"Yeah," he said real slow, not understanding a word she was saying. "Where do I get my star player?"
"Lucky for you, I've been holding onto him for just the right moment."
He waited, but she didn't follow up with an action or another comment.
"And?" he said, growing impatient. Every second he wasted here with Estelle spouting piss-poor sports metaphors was time he could be spending looking for the ring. "What do I need to do? Where's the star player? Just tell me."
The glass hovered over her wrinkled lips as she grinned. "Just checkin' to see how bad you wanted it, lover boy." After a sip, she said, "You're the only man she's ever loved. And you're the only one her momma said she ever trusted. Don't make me regret this, Bryan." Her shoulders and round midsection swiveled as she rested her now empty glass on the table behind her. Then she stood at full height, all five-three of her, and looked up at him. Estelle joked a lot, and she liked to have fun, but given the rigid set of her spine and the serious look in her eyes, she cared about her family. And she wasn't someone to mess with.
"Estelle, I'm telling you, I promise. You won't regret it. I love her. I wanna make her happy. Somehow I'll find a way. If she'll let me."
She chewed on his words for a minute, her gaze cutting him up one side and down the other. Then she dropped her chin for one concise nod. "If the truth didn't work. Then this definitely will."
Estelle lifted her hand into the air, and when the candlelight hit her palm, something glinted off. It was shiny, sparkly, and blue.
Holy shit. Estelle had Kenna's ring.
Her aging eyes glittered like the stone in her hand. "Now how you gonna prove all of that to Kenna?"
Tyke smiled, the dread lifting from him, replaced now with lightness. "I've got an idea."
He was going to need reinforcements.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kenna rolled over in bed, groaning as she pulled the covers over her face. It was morning, and she didn't want to be awake. She didn't want to face the day. There was no way in the few hours they had left that she'd find Estelle's brooch or Kenna's ring. It was impossible.
Oh, and don't forget how pleasing it was going to be for Bear to escort Kenna up and down the aisle at the wedding, her arm in his, his hand over hers, dancing with him at the reception with him holding her close in his tight embrace, and staring at him during the rest of the festivities.
Yeah, she wasn't ready.
On instinct, she reached over to his side of the bed but found it empty. Disappointment swirled through her, though she wasn't sure why. She'd kicked him out last night after all. It must've been the finality of it that made her most upset. The fact that last night hadn't been a nightmare like she'd hoped, but instead, it had been very real.
She groaned.
"Good morning, sunshine," Sam said, making Kenna yelp in surprise.
Flipping the comforter down from her face, Kenna peered at Sam across the room in a chair by the window.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'd ask how you slept," Sam said, glancing at her. "But judging by the Medusa hair, swollen eyelids, and black mascara smudged all over your cheeks, I'm going to guess it wasn't well." Standing, she said, "Get up. We're going for a walk."
"A walk?" Kenna looked at the clock on the bedside table, trying to focus on the numbers. "At seven in the morning?"
"While you've been sleeping, some of us have been taking care of stuff." Sam opened a drawer and rooted through Kenna's things. She pulled out a sports bra, tank top, and shorts and threw them at her. The bra landed across her face.
Kenna peeled it off and threw back the covers, attempting to sit up. "How'd you even get in here?"
"Extra key," she said. "You've got five minutes, or I'm going to drag you out of this room in your pj's." Sam assessed Kenna's current outfit, which weren't pajamas, instead she wore the shirt and shorts from the night before, then walked out to the balcony.
Kenna slowly rolled out of bed and stumbled into the clothes Sam pulled out. She went into the bathroom and ran the toothbrush through her mouth. As she walked through the open doorway outside, she pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail. "Fine. I'm up. Where are we walking?"
Without commenting, Sam spun, holding a pair of oversize sunglasses out for Kenna, and headed for the door.
They ended up at the beach, walking across the wet sand, letting the warm water splash at their feet and ankles. The sun had risen about an hour ago, casting a hazy glow over the water that hinted at a hot and humid day. The wedding was set for sunset, so hopefully the temperature would break a bit once the sun started to go back in.
"Are you nervous at all?" Kenna asked with a glance at her friend, who seemed carefree. "For the wedding."