“But that’s just it,” Kendra said, bursting into tears. “I don’t want to pass.”
Daniel exchanged a bewildered look with Molly. “Why not?” he asked. “I could understand if you were afraid of failing, but why are you scared that you might pass them?”
Kendra remained silent for what seemed like an eternity. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. “I want to stay behind.”
“You want to fail?” Daniel asked incredulously.
Kendra nodded. “I want to be with my friends, with kids closer to my own age. All the kids in my class are so much older than me. They treat me like a baby. I feel like some sort of freak.”
Daniel sighed as understanding finally registered. How had he and Joe managed to miss the fact that this overachieving kid had been pushed too hard? They’d seen only how proud her parents were of her accomplishments. She had great grades, so great that they’d never stopped to consider that she was only thirteen and already a junior. One more year and her parents would be sending a terrified fourteen-year-old off to college to cope with situations that were far too advanced for her social skills. She was smart enough to recognize that she wasn’t ready for that. It also explained her one repeated claim that her parents were going to send her away. They were…to college.
“That’s why you ran away, isn’t it?” he asked quietly, wanting to be sure he’d finally gotten it right. “So you would fail all of your classes and have to stay back?”
Kendra nodded.
“And that’s what all the talk of being sent away was about, right? They’re talking about college already, aren’t they?”
Again she nodded. “They’ve already taken me to look at some schools and told me I’d be cheating myself of a better opportunity if I stayed home and went to a local college. They really want me to go to some fancy Ivy League school. I don’t even want to go to college now.”
“Oh, Kendra,” Molly said, pulling her close. “I wish you’d explained this at the beginning.”
“I couldn’t. My parents are going to hate me. They’re so proud that I’m smart. I didn’t want to let them down, but it’s awful. Everybody teases me, and it would be a million times worse at college. All the girls can think about is going to dances and dating and stuff, but nobody ever asks me, because I’m too young to date. I don’t have any friends in my class because I don’t have anything to talk about with them. They think I’m a baby, and I am.” Her voice caught. “Compared to them, I’m just a baby who happens to be smart.”
Molly hugged her fiercely. “You are exactly the way you’re supposed to be,” she said. “And you don’t need to grow up too fast. Your mom and dad will understand. We’ll make them understand, won’t we, Daniel?”
Relieved that it was a problem that could be resolved so easily, when so many of the fears he’d had for Kendra had been so much more devastating, Daniel nodded. “We’ll work it out. I promise.”
Kendra swiped at the tears running down her cheeks and looked at him with eyes filled with hope. “Do you think you can, really?”
He saw the same hope shining in Molly’s eyes and knew that he would do everything in his power, everything necessary to see that this had a happy ending.
“Let’s go inside,” he said. “There are two people who are anxious to see you, Kendra.”
Kendra clutched Molly’s hand tightly as they started toward the house, but when the front door flew open and her parents appeared, she dragged in a deep breath, released Molly’s hand and ran to them.
Her mother gathered her close, while her father wept openly.
“Thank you,” her mother said at last. “Thank you for bringing my girl back home.” She focused on Molly. “Thank you for keeping her safe.”
“It was my pleasure,” Molly said. “She’s a wonderful girl. I’m sure you’re very proud of her.”
“We are,” Kendra’s father said.
“Could we talk for a few minutes?” Daniel asked. “I think it would be helpful if you understood why Kendra ran away.” He looked at Kendra. “Right?”
She nodded. “Please, Mommy. Will you and Daddy listen? Please?”
The Morrows exchanged a look. Then David Morrow stepped aside and gestured for all of them to come inside.
“Would anyone care for tea or coffee?” Kendra’s mother asked.
“No, thanks. We won’t be staying that long,” Molly said. “We don’t want to intrude on Kendra’s homecoming.”
“That’s right,” Daniel said. “But you do need to understand what happened.” He glanced pointedly at Kendra. “Will you tell them what you told us in the car just now?”
In a halting voice Kendra explained to them how she felt about being the youngest girl in her class, how scared she was about going away to college, how desperately she wanted to be with friends her own age. Then she sat up a little straighter. “But I don’t want to disappoint you,” she said bravely. “If you want me to graduate early and go to college, I will.”
Mrs. Morrow looked stunned. “Baby, why didn’t you say anything? I had no idea you were so unhappy. You’ve always done so well in school and you’ve always seemed so well adjusted.”
“Because she didn’t want to let you down,” Daniel explained. “Running away was all she could think of to do to make you take notice. She thought if she missed a lot of school and failed her classes, she’d get to stay behind and do her junior year over again. I’m sure if you spoke to her principal, there might be some way to reach a compromise, so she continues to get an education that challenges her but still allows her to be with kids her own age. Maybe she could take advanced placement courses, or even college classes one or two days a week.”
“I’m sure we could work that out. Everyone at the school has been wonderful. They’re all so proud of Kendra. I guess none of us ever saw that our pride was getting in the way of her happiness,” her mother said. She squeezed Kendra’s hand. “No more. We’ll talk about it and work out the solution together.”
“My vote will really count?” Kendra asked.
“It will be the most important vote of all,” her father assured her.
Kendra threw her arms around her father and buried her head in his shoulder. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Once again Daniel noticed that there were tears in David Morrow’s eyes. He glanced at Molly. “You ready to go?”
She cast a wistful look at Kendra, but finally nodded. “I’m ready.”
They left amid a flurry of thanks and promises to stay in touch. They were almost to the car when Kendra came running down the driveway and threw her arms around Molly’s waist.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you, too, Kendra. You’re the best. You can come work for me anytime.”
“Maybe I could come this summer,” Kendra said hopefully.
“If your parents agree,” Molly told her. “You know, Retta’s starting to count on you.”
“I’ll call,” Kendra promised. “Every day. And tell Retta I’m gonna practice making omelettes.”
Molly blinked back tears. “That will make her very happy.”
Then Kendra turned to Daniel. “I guess you were right,” she said. “You said everything would be okay and it is.”
“You know how to reach me if that ever changes,” he said. “But I think your folks are going to be listening to you now.”
“Uh-huh,” she agreed. Then she reached for his hand and pulled him aside. She beckoned for him to lean down, then whispered in his ear, “When you ask Molly to marry you, can I come to the wedding?”
Daniel chuckled. “You’re too young to be matchmaking, kid.”
“And you’re too old to be wasting time,” she told him right back.
He glanced at Molly and knew that she was everything he’d ever wanted. “Since you’re so smart, I guess I should listen to you.”
“Then you’re gonna propose?”
“I imagine so.”
“When?”
; “Soon.”
“You’d better,” she said. “I think a wedding would make the perfect ending.”
It would, Daniel thought. But first he had a family reunion to pull off. If that went well, he just might put his heart on the line and go for a wedding.
Chapter Fourteen
Molly was still wiping away tears when Daniel started the car and drove away from the Morrows’ house. He reached into his pocket, drew out a handkerchief and handed it to her. She stared at the neatly ironed square and found herself fighting a grin.
“Only you, Daniel,” she said.
He gave her a puzzled look. “Only me what?”
“Only you would be wearing jeans and a flannel shirt and carrying a pristine handkerchief.”
“I imagine Patrick has one in his pocket at all times, too,” he said. “That’s what our mother taught us.”
“Patrick’s gotten over it. Trust me on that,” she said. “I was lucky to get a wadded up clump of tissues from him when I was bawling my eyes out over you.”
“What can I say? I’m more of a gentleman than my brother. Is that a crime?”
“No, it’s sweet,” she said. “And I appreciate it.”
He glanced over at her, his eyes filled with worry. “Are we okay?”
“You mean because of Kendra?”
He nodded.
“You handled it well, Daniel. You’re good at your job.”
“If I were good, I’d have found some way to get her to open up when I first talked to her. We could have avoided all these weeks of stress for everyone involved, especially her parents.”
“Unless you want to resort to drugs or torture, I don’t think you can make teenagers tell you anything they’re not inclined to share,” Molly said. “She trusted me, and she wouldn’t open up to me, either. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was obviously trying to buy herself enough time to miss the end of the school year so she could fail her classes.”
He sighed. “I suppose.”
“You know it’s true.”
“All right, yes, but you’re avoiding the real question I was asking,” he said.
“Which is?”
“Are you and I going to be okay?”
She nodded slowly. “I know you did everything in your power not to let me down. If we have problems, it won’t be because of Kendra.” She recalled his huddled chat with the girl right as they were leaving. “By the way, what were you two conspiring about?”
“She had a couple of last-minute questions,” he said evasively.
“About?”
“Confidential,” he said.
Molly wasn’t buying it. “Judging from the fact that your cheeks are turning red, it must have been about the two of us. Was she matchmaking?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, our conversation was confidential.”
She heard the finality in his voice and gave up. If he wanted to keep Kendra’s secret, it was his prerogative. “Will you at least tell me what’s going on back at Jess’s? Based on what you said earlier, I assume you’re expecting your brothers.”
He nodded, his expression brightening. “Ryan called last night. He said they wanted to take another stab at working things out with the folks. They’re all coming today, including the wives and kids.”
“Oh, Daniel, that’s wonderful,” she said. “You must be so excited.”
He gave her a wry look. “Maybe I would be if the folks had agreed to show up. I haven’t even spoken to them yet.”
“Because of Kendra,” she guessed, aware once more of the significance of his having put Kendra’s needs above his own. “Well, she’s safely home now. Are you going to stop by and see your folks?”
“I’ll drop you off, speak to my brothers, then go over there and see what I can work out.”
She could tell he was dreading the encounter, probably because he was afraid they’d let him down. He’d been so loyal to them. They owed him this, at least as much as they owed answers to his brothers. She was prepared to tell them that, if it would help.
“I could come with you,” she offered. “Your mom always liked me. Maybe I could help to convince them.”
He shook his head. “She’d only be embarrassed that you know what she did. As for my father, he’d be even more appalled that I was dragging an outsider into family business.”
Molly stiffened at his words. “Is that how you see me, Daniel? As an outsider?”
“No, of course not, Molly,” he said at once. “But my father will. Hell, he didn’t even think Patrick and I had a right to know about any of this. He’s always been a pillar of the church here. He takes pride in the fact that people respect him. He’s obviously afraid of losing that, if people find out what happened all those years ago.”
Her flash of temper died as quickly as it had risen. “You’re right. I can see how he might want to keep this private, but it won’t stay private long, Daniel. This is Widow’s Cove.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. Even if none of us said a word, all those men who look exactly like Connor Devaney would be a dead giveaway that something was up.”
“You’re right about that and about me getting involved. The gossip will get stirred up soon enough. I certainly don’t want to make the situation any more awkward for him or your mom,” she said. “What can I do?”
“Stay at Jess’s,” he requested. “Do you think you could close the place for a private party this evening? I know it’s a Saturday, but—”
Molly cut him off. “Of course I can. I think that’s a great idea. It will put your folks more at ease, knowing that their neighbors aren’t right in the thick of this.”
“Thank you. Then you can spend some time with my brothers and their families this afternoon, try to convince them that my parents aren’t ogres.” He gave her a sideways glance. “Of course, that could be risky. Once you’ve spent some time with all these Devaneys, you might have second thoughts about me.”
She laughed at that. “Hey, I always wanted a big family. Besides, I’ve met your brothers, at least briefly. I’m pretty sure these guys are a lot like Patrick, and I love him.”
Even though he had to know she was teasing, he frowned. “Just my luck,” he said.
“It is,” she insisted. “I love your brother like a brother. What I feel for you moves into a whole other realm.”
He visibly relaxed. “That’s okay, then. Maybe there’s time for a little detour back to that inn.”
If his timing had been different, she might have been elated, but she caught on to the delaying tactic at once. “I don’t think so. I’m not letting you put off this meeting with your folks. It’s too important.”
Daniel sighed heavily. “What if they refuse to budge on this?”
“Then you’ll tell your brothers that. At least you’ll have them in your life. And you know as well as anyone that very few bridges can be built overnight. You’ll get a few pilings into the ground and work on the spans later.”
He laughed. “Nice analogy.”
“I thought so.”
When he pulled into the parking lot at Jess’s, there were three SUVs lined up next to Patrick’s truck. Molly saw Daniel’s jaw clench and realized that this man who could handle everyone else’s crises was terrified that he’d fail at handling his own.
“You’re going to work this out,” she said, squeezing his hand.
He gave her a weak smile. “Thanks. I wouldn’t put money on that, if I were you.”
“I would,” she said. “Now let’s go see your brothers.”
Daniel didn’t stay long at Jess’s. He reassured Ryan and the others that he was going to give his all to the attempt to convince their parents to join them, then left hastily, confident that Molly would do her part to make his brothers see another side of his folks.
He was in the parking lot when Patrick caught up with him.
“I know you’re counting on this working out today,” Patrick said, regarding him with what appeared to be genuine worry.
“Don’t be surprised if they let you down, Daniel.”
“They won’t,” Daniel insisted with more confidence than he was actually feeling.
“I wish I shared your conviction,” Patrick said. “They don’t deserve a son like you.”
“Yeah, well, they’ve got me,” Daniel said.
Patrick frowned at that. For what seemed like an eternity, he appeared to be debating with himself about something. “Look,” he said finally, shoving his hands in his pockets in a nervous gesture. “If you think it would make a difference, I could…” He sighed, then said, “I could come with you. It would be like an olive branch or something.”
Daniel regarded him with surprise. “You would do that?”
“I want this to end,” Patrick said. “Believe it or not, I don’t like living with all this tension. Every time the subject of families comes up, Alice gives me this look, you know? Like she’s disappointed in me. I can’t stand it. I hate letting her down. And we’ve got a baby coming that I need to consider. I don’t want my child to have grandparents nearby who aren’t a part of his life.”
Daniel grinned. “Yeah, I get that look from Molly a lot, too. Okay, if you’re sure, hop in. We’ll see if we can’t catch ’em off guard and get them over here before they realize what they’re getting into.”
“You, Mr. Straight Arrow, are going to drag them over here without telling them who’s waiting for them?”
“I’ll tell them as much as necessary to keep Dad from having a heart attack,” Daniel said tightly.
Patrick nudged him in the ribs. “Way to go, bro.”
“Save the compliments. You’re going to need all that charm to help me get Mom and Dad out of the house.”
They’d inadvertently picked the perfect time, Daniel realized when he saw that his parents were all dressed up for five o’clock Mass.
When he climbed out of his car, his mother regarded him with a quizzical expression. “Daniel, you never come by at this hour on a Saturday. You know we go to church. Is something wrong?”
Just then Patrick exited the car.
“Oh, my,” his mother said. She took a step toward Patrick, then hesitated.
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