He looked up from Kennedy to meet my gaze. “Can you forgive me, baby?”

I don’t know how long we gazed into each other’s eyes before Kennedy stood up from her father’s lap to stand in front of me. “Keenan sorry, mama.”

“You little traitor,” I whispered to her before a smile broke free. I felt my tears but ignored them because there was something I needed to say. “I’ll forgive you on one condition.” He looked wary but told me to name it without hesitation. “You tell Kennedy that you’re her father, and you better have a ring somewhere on you because we aren’t accepting anything less than your full commitment.”

His boyish smile that I recognized from so long ago broke free as he stuck his hand in his pocket and produced not one but two rings. “Princess, come here.” She turned to him and he took her left hand. “Kennedy Sophia Chambers, will you accept me as your father?”

Kennedy nodded with her gaze transfixed on the ring that looked like a real diamond although tiny to fit her finger. I suppressed the urge to scold him for buying a three-year-old a ring that no doubt cost a lot of money. He slid the ring on her tiny finger, and to my surprise, it fit. He grumbled something about changing her last name before turning to me.

That was the moment I began to feel my heart beating against my chest a little too hard. “Sheldon Chambers, will you do me the honor of accepting my surrender to you and being my wife?”

* * * * *

TWO MONTHS LATER

“Let me see the ring! Let me see the ring!” Lake pushed aside everyone in her way to get to me. Seriously, someone would have to speak about what we started to call her Keiran Tendencies . We were currently having a barbecue in our backyard to celebrate their return from Hawaii.

She gushed and cooed over my engagement ring before she started crying. “I knew he was likely to stop being a coward.”

Everyone in the vicinity laughed except for Keenan, who pouted. He could still be such a baby. There were days when Ken was more of an adult.

“So when is the wedding?”

“November 24th. Two days before Thanksgiving.”

“I’m so happy for you, I could just cry.”

“I think you already are…?” Keiran remarked, earning an elbow to the gut. He rolled his eyes and began to nibble on her neck, and just like that, I was forgotten. I had to clear my throat to get their attention again.

“Do you guys ever use a bedroom?” More than once, I had walked in on them during their spring break. It was right after Kennedy was born, and the first time I had walked in on them going at it on the kitchen counter. Granted, it was his home but still…

“Keenan, get your fiancée out of my sex life,” Keiran replied. “Someone might think you can’t please your woman.”

Laughter surrounded us, and though I was the brunt of the joke, I was elated to see them trying once more. They still tiptoed around each other, but some of the tension had dissipated. Their bond started to reconnect at John’s funeral shortly after his death. I had attended despite my decision to stay away from Keenan because I couldn’t bring myself to not be there. There were days when Keenan would come across something of John’s and a dark cloud had taken residence while I waited him out, and like always, he’d come back to me.

“Shelly, can I talk to you in private?” Without waiting for a response, he took my elbow and steered me into his childhood home that was now ours.

“If you are dragging me off for sex, I told you there is a waiting period. We just did it on the washer an hour before the barbecue started.”

“I found the letter,” he said once he shut the door to our bedroom.

“Huh?”

“The college acceptance letter to Stanford. I found it hidden in your panty drawer.”

“What were you doing in my panty drawer?”

“That’s not the point. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“Because I’ve decided not to go.”

“Say what?”

“I decided not to go. Stanford is in California.”

“I’m well aware of where it is. What I don’t get is why you threw away this opportunity?”

“Because our life is here in Six Forks.”

“No, Shelly, our life is where ever we are as long as we are together.” He shook his head, and I felt like a scolded child. “I’m disappointed in you.”

Now I was the one to pout. “What do you want me to say, Keenan? It’s too late.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Early admission is coming. I’ve already collected everything you need. Tonight, before you even think about having me between your thighs, I want you to start on it and make whatever preparations you need to.”