by S. J. McCoy
“Never say never, lover.”
She swallowed, hard. That was a conversation for another day.
Ethan grinned up at Chase. “You know, don't you, Uncle Chase.”
He nodded at the kid. “And I guess I passed my trial, didn't I?”
Ethan wrapped his arms around Chase's middle. “Yep. Auntie Kenzie's going to keep you so you get to be my uncle-forever. I'm glad, too.”
Kenzie caught Megan's eye. “I hate to say I told you so, but I did.”
“All right, little sister. This will probably be the only time I say it, so listen well. You were right, I was wrong, and I'm very happy to admit it.”
Michael grinned. “I'm glad you were wrong too, darl'”
Ben came out to join them. He slapped Chase on the back and then gave Kenzie a hug. “Congratulations! Though I feel I should be congratulating myself, too.”
She gave him a puzzled look. “Why's that?”
“Because now I know I get to keep the best bar manager I ever had.”
Chase grinned at him. “Even though you only get to keep half a band.”
Ben laughed. “I don't care how many of you there are. You and Eddie sound great as a duo. If the other guys want to stay that's great too, but it doesn't matter.” He turned to Kenzie. “Are we going to be able to add a female vocal sometimes?”
She stared back at him. This was the final test. She was accepting she was good enough to marry Chase, good enough to deserve the wonderful life and job she had here in Summer Lake. Could she do what Chase said and sing? Let her true self shine through with no fear?
Ethan tugged at her sleeve. “Will you sing with me now?”
Chase looked worried as he caught her eye.
Even Michael seemed to understand. “Don't pester, little mate. Here come Auntie Em and Jack, and Scot will be here soon, too.”
“So maybe you should wait until everyone gets here?” asked Megan with a sweet smile.
Kenzie had to smile back. Megan knew her hang-ups as well as Chase did, and it seemed she, too, thought it was time for Kenzie to get past them. Perhaps it was finally time to do just that.
She stood up and looked at Ethan. “Come on then, let's go practice for a while shall we, till everyone gets here?”
He looked at Chase and gently put a hand on the guitar. “Is it okay, Uncle Chase? Don't worry, I'll be careful with it.”
Chase nodded. “I know.” He smiled at Kenzie. “We've both learned how to be gentle and treat things with respect, haven't we?”
She smiled at them. “And I love you both for it.”
Ethan grinned, then picked up the guitar. “Let's go practice then.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Chase watched Kenzie get Ethan set up. She brought a stool out from the bar and the kid perched on top of it with the guitar in his lap. Chase was probably more nervous than either of them at this point. The whole gang was here now, gathered around a couple of picnic benches out next to the outdoor stage. He'd sought out Smoke as soon as he and Laura arrived. If he'd thought he was forever grateful to them before, he felt even more so now. Smoke was cool about it. He didn't say much, but they both knew the score. Laura had been much more talkative. She'd even offered to make them a ring. Chase had thanked her, but he'd said maybe the wedding rings. Kenzie seemed pretty attached to the one he'd gotten from the store. He couldn't believe it when he'd seen the label on the box. One-of-a-Kind Creations. That's what they had, and he'd known it from the start.
Ethan strummed a few chords and Chase caught Kenzie's eye. He knew she was only doing this for him. He didn't want to force her though. He wanted to go tell her it was okay. She didn't have to if she didn't want to. He'd wanted her to sing to prove she wasn't hiding anymore, that she was ready to let her true self shine through. She'd done that already by agreeing to marry him. She didn't have to put herself through this if she wasn't ready.
She smiled at him. She didn't look nervous anymore. She looked confident, happy, and there was no mistaking the love that shone in her eyes. Love for him! He felt like the luckiest guy on earth. He smiled back and narrowed his eyes at her in question. She let out a little chuckle and nodded. It told him she really was ready and more than that, she wanted to.
~ ~ ~
“Are you ready, Auntie Kenzie?” asked Ethan.
She took a deep breath. “Ready as I'll ever be.” As she spoke the words, she knew it was the truth, her truth. This was her moment to accept all the goodness in her life and turn her back on the past.
Ethan started to play, but he had it all wrong. Her heart jumped into her mouth. Poor little guy! She looked at him, but he laughed and re-arranged his fingers. “It's okay. I messed up. No worries.” He grinned at the crowd of friends watching them. “They love me, they don't care. I'll get it right this time.” He grinned up at her as he started over and played perfectly.
Kenzie felt tears sting her eyes and had to swallow the lump in her throat. Ethan had taught her so much about love and family. Now it seemed he was giving her one more important lesson. When people loved you, they loved you for who you were. Not for whether you got things right or wrong. All these people were here to support her, not to judge her.
As she looked out at Chase and started to sing, she finally understood that. He looked so proud of her, but she knew he'd look that way no matter how she sounded. Because he loved her. All her nerves disappeared in that moment as she smiled back at him. And sang. Like nobody was listening.
A note from SJ
I hope you enjoyed Kenzie and Chase's story and visiting Summer Lake and its residents. If you did, please consider letting your friends know about the book if you feel they might like it, too. If you'd like to leave me a review, I'd very much appreciate it :0)
If this is the first Summer Lake book you've read, be sure to check out:
Emma and Jack in Love Like You've Never Been Hurt FREE!
Holly and Pete in Work Like You Don’t Need the Money
Missy and Dan in Dance Like Nobody's Watching
Smoke and Laura in Fly Like You've Never Been Grounded
Michael and Megan in Laugh Like You've Never Cried
Find them all on Google Play here
Join me on Facebook for updates.
I occasionally try to say something in 140 characters or less on Twitter
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If you want to get in touch I'd love to hear from you – you can email me here – I'm better at that :0)
Want updates on Summer Lake? Sign up for the Newsletter Don't worry, I won't bombard you! I'll just let you know about upcoming releases, share a sneak peek or two and keep you in the loop for a couple of fun giveaways I have coming up.
I hope our paths will cross again soon. Until then, take care, and thanks for your support—you are the reason I write!
Love
SJ
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
A note from SJ
&n
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