Page 33 of Belonging: KT & Lolo (Good Hope: The Next Generation #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Five days later, Lolo sat on her parents’ patio, fingers curled around a mug of lukewarm tea, her heart steady for the first time in weeks.

The soft rustle of wind stirred the hydrangeas lining the fence, but her mind was too full for peace.

When she’d asked her parents to meet her outside, she hadn’t fully known what she was going to say—only that it couldn’t wait.

Her father stepped out first, still in his work clothes, tie slightly loosened. Her mother followed, draping a cardigan over her shoulders as she sank into the chair across from Lolo.

“You okay, sweetheart?” her mom asked gently.

“I need to talk to you both,” Lolo began, voice even, but her pulse pounded. “I want to get through all of it before anyone says anything. Can I do that?”

Her parents exchanged a glance, then nodded.

She took a breath. “Jared cheated on me.”

Her mother inhaled sharply. Her father’s jaw locked.

“It happened right before I left for Good Hope,” Lolo went on. “I didn’t tell you then because I was trying to hold it together. Obviously, we’re no longer together. We’re done. ”

“You didn’t deserve that,” her father said, his voice low, rough around the edges.

Lolo nodded and kept going. “He said something when we split, something I haven’t been able to shake. He told me I wasn’t a killer. That I didn’t have what it takes to close big deals. Those deals needed someone like him, someone stronger, more…relentless.”

Her mother reached for her hand. Her father leaned forward, elbows on his knees, the muscle in his jaw ticking.

“I started to wonder if maybe he was right,” Lolo whispered. “The Stillwell pitch didn’t land. It rattled me. I started thinking maybe I wasn’t enough. Not tough enough. Not sharp enough. That maybe Jared was right—that the only reason I have this job is because I’m your daughter.”

“Don’t give that man that much power.” Her father’s voice was firm, cutting through the doubt.

“You’ve always liked him,” she said quietly to Lolo’s dad. “You’ve said he’s a stellar employee.”

“He is. Jared’s sharp. But so are you, Lolo.

You’ve got excellent instincts and creativity—and the clients love working with you.

” Scott flexed and unflexed his hands, then exhaled slowly.

“Jared was wrong, Lolo. Every bit of what he said was wrong. Don’t let him define your value.

Not to the company and definitely not to yourself. ”

“You don’t think I’m here only because of you?” she asked, her voice fragile.

“Absolutely not.” His conviction was instant. “You earned your place. You’ve proven yourself time and again. So Stillwell didn’t go with the first proposal that you presented—welcome to the real world. That’s part of business. It doesn’t mean you don’t belong.”

Lolo hesitated, then said, “Well…Jared said?—”

“Stop.” His voice was sharper now. “I don’t care what Jared said. I’m telling you what’s true. You’re a talented architect, a true team player and one of the most original thinkers I’ve seen walk through our doors. The company is lucky to have you.”

Her mother added softly, “You’ve always had a gift, Lorraine. You don’t lead with force—you lead with vision. You see possibilities where other people don’t. That’s your power.”

“I know this deal is important. When I discovered KT was in Good Hope, I brought up the project,” Lolo said. “But when he said no, I respected that and let it go. I focused on creating something new, something that feels like mine. I think this one is good. Really good.”

“Then let’s make sure Malcolm sees it,” her father said. “If he doesn’t bite, it’s not on you. You’ve already gone above and beyond. Besides, there will always be other projects.”

“About that.” Lolo took a deep breath, then continued, “I love KT. I want to be with him. We’ve talked about long-distance plans, but the idea of being away from him for months at a time—it guts me.”

Her mother’s blue eyes clouded with worry. “You’ve known him for less than a month. Last month at this time, you were with Jared.”

“I’ve been with KT long enough to know I love him. And he loves me.”

“If he loves you, that’s wonderful.” Her father’s tone gentled. “But you can be in love without upending everything else in your life. The question is, do you still want to work here?”

Lolo looked down at her mug. “I don’t know. Part of me does. I’ve loved working at Kendrick. But part of me wants to build a life with KT, and it’s hard to see how that fits with me being here and him being in New York.”

“It’s a big decision,” Scott said, steepling his fingers. “Is there any reason it has to be made today?”

She hesitated. “No.”

“Then take this week,” he said. “We’ll sit down Friday and talk it through. If you still want to step away, we’ ll figure out what that looks like. I’ve always encouraged my kids to explore their potential, but whatever you do, make that choice for you . Not for any man. Not Jared. Not KT. You. ”

Her mother leaned in. “And no matter what you decide, we’re behind you.”

Lolo’s throat tightened. “This is hard.”

“It’s a good thing—figuring out what matters to you.” Her father’s voice softened. “That’s the work of real adulthood.”

Her mom squeezed her hand. “You’ve always had the power, sweetheart. Not to be someone else. But to be you. That’s where you shine.”

Lolo exhaled slowly, something loosening deep in her chest. Maybe not certainty. But clarity. Permission. A reclaimed voice.

And that was more than enough for now.

After her parents went back inside, Lolo stayed on the patio, the now-cold tea still cradled between her hands. The sky had shifted since they’d first sat down—clouds moving in, the light dimming just enough to make the wind feel more purposeful, like a signal. Change is coming.

For the first time in a long while, she didn’t feel like she was trying to hold everything together.

She’d spoken her truth.

They hadn’t pushed. They hadn’t dismissed. They’d listened. And what they’d given her in return wasn’t a directive or a plan, but space. Space to decide what she wanted.

Lolo looked out across the lawn toward the flower beds her mother tended every spring. A red cardinal landed on the back fence. She watched it for a moment, letting the quiet stretch.

She didn’t know where she’d land, not yet.

But for the first time, the thought of choosing her future—not Jared’s version, not her father’s, not even KT’s—but hers …felt like something she could do.

She set the mug beside her and closed her eyes for just a moment, letting the stillness sink in.

Not all the answers. Not yet.

But she finally knew the voice to trust.

Her own.

The texts from KT—and their nightly FaceTime calls—had made her first days back at Kendrick bearable. They didn’t erase the ache of distance, but they softened it. His voice in her ear before bed, the way he smiled when he didn’t think she noticed… Those things made all the difference.

It was the end of her first week back, and Lolo had already decided that she’d ask her father tomorrow about the possibility of working remotely. The idea had come to her during a late-night conversation with KT, and the more she considered it, the more right it felt.

Until then, she focused on the tasks in front of her, pleased by how many coworkers seemed genuinely happy to have her back. But what pleased her more was the quiet shift inside her—how Good Hope and KT had reawakened something. Not just her energy. Her vision.

She felt…alive again. Ideas flowed fast and fierce, sketches piling up in a way they hadn’t in months. She was halfway through reimagining a storefront for a longtime client when her phone buzzed with a text.

Renting a kayak. Exploring Cave Point with Brax. Finding a new place to eat. Miss you. WYWH

Lolo smiled, picturing KT and Braxton paddling along the jagged limestone bluffs, the wind tugging at KT’s hair, the sun catching in his eyes. She could almost hear his laugh echoing off the water.

She was glad he was making the most of his time. Truly. But the space he’d once filled in her days now felt cavernous. Too big. Too quiet.

Miss you bunches , she typed, then set her phone aside.

She stared at her screen, the design she’d been working on suddenly fuzzy around the edges. He had proposed a reasonable plan before she left, a cadence of weekends and calls that had made sense on paper.

But it wasn’t the only option.

If tomorrow went the way she hoped, soon it wouldn’t have to be.

KT stood in the center of the cabin, surrounded by the controlled chaos of his final day in Good Hope. A half-packed duffel sat on the bed behind him, paintbrushes were wrapped in cloth on the table, and the light through the trees filtered soft and amber through the big front windows.

It had been less than twenty-four hours since Braxton left. Four days since Lolo.

Still, when he poured his morning coffee, he half expected to see her barefoot on the porch steps, hair wild from sleep, sketchpad in her lap. But she wasn’t here. She was in Lexington, figuring things out. He respected that.

But that didn’t make the silence easier.

He looked at the wrapped canvas leaning against the wall—the one he hadn’t shown anyone yet. The one he’d painted in the quiet after she fell asleep, in the quiet after she left. Lolo, not as the world saw her, but how he saw her. Fierce. Open. A little undone and wildly beautiful.

KT unwrapped the painting with care, brushing his thumb lightly along the edge of the frame. Then, without overthinking it, he put it in the Jeep and drove to the log home.

The place still smelled faintly of cedar and possibility.

He found a temporary hook on the far wall of the great room—just beneath the light-drenched beam where they’d sketched together on the back deck. He hung the painting there, stepping back slowly.

She didn’t belong to the house. But she belonged to this moment. To what this place might become.

And until she came back—or until he went to her—this was enough.