Page 7 of Belonging: KT & Lolo (Good Hope: The Next Generation #2)

CHAPTER FIVE

The next afternoon, Lolo sat on the wide front porch of the brick house her brother shared with his wife and two teenagers, slowly sipping a tall glass of raspberry iced tea. The late summer air was warm, the kind that hinted at the school year ahead but still clung to the softness of August.

Ava was out, soaking in every last minute with her friends before she headed to college. Austin had vanished in a blur of cleats and gym shorts, his world revolving around practice schedules and pickup games.

“Have you heard from Mom and Dad?” Kyle asked, stretching out his legs, his tea glass balanced on one knee.

“Just the same group text you got.” Lolo took another sip. “They arrived safely. They’re eating fabulous food and drinking amazing wine. Basically, living their best lives.”

“You’ll have to let Dad know you hooked up with KT,” he said casually.

Lolo shot him a look over the rim of her glass. “We didn’t ‘hook up.’ We shared wine and ice cream.”

Kyle smirked, unfazed .

“I haven’t decided if I should mention KT being here,” she added.

That surprised him. His brow lifted. “Why wouldn’t you?”

She hesitated. “Because if I do, Dad might assume there’s a chance KT will change his mind about the Stillwell project. I don’t want to give him false hope.”

Kyle nodded slowly. “Fair.”

“He certainly doesn’t need the work,” Eliza chimed in, joining them, her own glass of tea in hand.

“KT’s career has taken off,” she added, settling onto the porch swing beside Lolo.

“Not just the gallery stuff—he’s become one of those names.

Everyone from Silicon Valley start-ups to pop stars want to work with him.

Not the starving-artist stereotype at all. ”

Lolo blinked. “You’ve kept up with his career?”

Eliza smiled. “His aunt Lindsay and I are best friends. I get regular updates.”

Lolo nodded, thoughtful. “I was surprised he turned down Stillwell. He’s done similar projects before. And Malcolm would’ve given him carte blanche.”

“Men like that say they’ll be hands-off,” Eliza said, her gray eyes sharp. “But when the design starts coming together, they always find a way to put their fingerprints all over it. My father was the same way—talk about freedom and trust, then meddle the whole way through.”

Lolo shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s moot.”

Kyle leaned forward in his wicker chair, elbows on his knees, the quiet night settling around them. “You don’t think KT will reconsider?”

“Not from what he told me. That’s not where his head’s at right now.”

He studied her for a moment. “So what’s the plan?”

Lolo lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, surely you’re going to try to get him to reconsider. ”

Of course he’d say that. Kyle was a Kendrick through and through—loyal to the family company, pragmatic to a fault.

“Are you?” Eliza asked, her voice more curious than pressing.

Lolo took a slow sip, letting the cool tea ease the dryness of her throat. She hadn’t admitted it aloud, not even to herself, but if KT accepted the job, a whole lot of things would get easier. She wouldn’t risk letting the client down. The whispered accusations about nepotism might finally stop.

But that wasn’t the real reason she was hesitating.

“First,” she said finally, “I need to understand where he’s coming from. The more I know about what matters to him, the better I’ll be able to make my case. If I even decide to.”

Eliza tilted her head, a soft smile on her lips. “Living at Paintbrush really worked out for you.”

Kyle chuckled. “Just like when I moved into this house,” he said, turning to his wife. “Living under the same roof helped us get to know each other.” He reached over and took Eliza’s hand, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “And fall in love.”

Lolo rolled her eyes, though a smile tugged at her lips. “Let’s skip the falling-in-love part.”

Still, as she watched them—saw the warmth, the comfort, the genuine partnership—it stirred something in her. Not longing, exactly. But maybe a quiet ache for something steady. Honest.

Her mind drifted to the coin she’d tossed into the fountain her first day in town. She hadn’t wished for love. She hadn’t been ready. She’d wished for a beginning. Something new. Something real. Something that could heal the parts of her that had been fraying for too long.

She wouldn’t push KT into anything. That wasn’t the point.

But she would get to know him better. Understand what he wanted and what he didn’t. Listen.

Then she’d decide what came next.

Back at the cabin that evening, Lolo curled up in the chair by the window, sketchbook balanced on her lap, a fresh glass of wine on the table beside her.

She hadn’t drawn much since KT’s visit the night before—not because she lacked ideas, but because her mind kept drifting. To him. To the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the sound of his laugh, the easy rhythm between them, as if the years had barely passed at all.

She stared at the blank page.

What do you want from life, KT?

The question wasn’t for the sketchbook. It was one she wanted to ask him directly. But not yet.

Not until she was ready to hear the genuine answer.

Her pencil hovered above the page, and she let her thoughts drift back to the spring they met.

She’d been twelve, with braces on her teeth and a mop of unruly hair trimmed by a stylist with no clue how to properly cut curly hair. She’d been awkward, chubby and painfully aware of both.

But fourteen-year-old KT had never treated her like some weird little sister. He’d treated her like an artist, even giving her one of his paint shirts to cover her “pretty” sweater.

She remembered the first time he looked over her shoulder at a sketch she’d made and said, simply, You’ve got a good eye.

That was it. No teasing. No patronizing encouragement.

Just respect.

Back then, his hair had been longer, his frame lean and lanky, his fingers always smudged with charcoal or paint. He’d had an energy to him that she admired even when she didn’t quite understand it— like he carried color inside him that hadn’t found its way onto canvas yet.

He’d seen her. Not just her drawings, but her.

She thought about the years that had passed. The braces were gone. The curls were shaped by the skilled hands of a stylist who understood what her hair needed. Regular trips to the gym and a better understanding of herself had rounded out the transformation.

On the outside, she looked different.

But KT hadn’t looked at her like a stranger when they’d run into each other the other night.

There’d been a flicker of recognition. And not just for her name.

Maybe—just maybe—he still saw something in her.

Something she hadn’t quite lost.

Her pencil finally met paper. The lines came slowly at first—a cabin in the woods, a front porch, two figures seated side by side on a swing. She didn’t press herself for more. Not tonight.

But a thought whispered through her mind, low and uninvited.

He was kind when he didn’t have to be. He saw me then.

The pencil stilled in her hand.

He sees me now.

Saturday morning, Lolo considered knocking on KT’s cabin door, just to see what he had planned for the day. Maybe they could go for coffee or a walk. Something easy.

But she stopped herself.

He was here to recharge, not to spend his days entertaining the neighbor next door, no matter how much wine or ice cream they’d shared.

Still, the temptation tugged…until she noticed his Je ep wasn’t parked in front of his cabin.

Well, decision made.

Before leaving, she texted Zoe Goodhue to let her know she was in town, and they made plans to go out later that evening.

The morning passed in a blur of window-shopping, enjoying the warm sunshine and reacquainting herself with both new boutiques and familiar storefronts.

Good Hope’s downtown had always had charm, but lately, it seemed to hum with new energy.

As she wandered toward the town square, past the food trucks preparing for the lunch crowd, the scent of freshly cut grass mingled with the floral bursts spilling from planters along the walk.

Then she spotted him.

KT sat at one of the circular café tables near the fountain, his posture relaxed, sketchpad open. His gaze was fixed on the bronze statue depicting Katherine, Ruby and Gladys, Good Hope’s legendary matriarchs.

Lolo’s steps slowed.

He wasn’t just looking at the statue. He was seeing it. Capturing something about it, she was sure.

Quiet reverence settled over her as she approached.

“KT,” she said softly.

He looked up, a slow smile forming as recognition bloomed. She caught the flicker of pleasure in his expression before he tipped his head, teasing. “Are you following me?”

“Absolutely,” she deadpanned, dropping into the empty chair across from him. With a sigh of relief, she slid off her heeled sandals and stretched her aching feet. “Actually, I came looking for a place to sit and take these off. They looked comfortable. Turns out, they’re liars.”

“Bummer.”

“Tell me about it.”

KT closed his sketchpad and stood. “Since you’re sitting—and clearly not going anywhere soon—how about lunch? I was just about to grab a couple tacos. Want one? My treat.”

Her stomach answered before she could, loud and embarrassingly clear.

Mortified, Lolo lifted a hand. “I could eat, but I’m paying.”

“Not a chance.”

Before she could argue, he was already making his way toward the taco truck.

He returned minutes later, balancing a cardboard tray loaded with four tacos and two bottles of soda. “Got you a cola. Hope that works.”

“Perfect,” she said, taking the drink as he handed her a couple of napkins and sat.

“Thank you,” she added, reaching for her bag. “How much do I owe you?”

He waved her off. “Keep your money. My treat.”

For a few moments, they ate in comfortable silence. Lolo tucked into her taco, grateful for both the food and the company. When a breeze kicked up, tiny droplets from the nearby fountain brushed her cheek.

KT gestured toward the statue, his fingers still faintly smudged with paint. “What do you think of it?”

“I like it,” she said honestly.

“I like it, too. But I always feel like Gladys is side-eyeing me from up there—like now, she thinks I’m trying to impress you by springing for tacos.”

Lolo laughed, caught somewhere between surprised and charmed. “And are you?”

He arched a brow. “Am I what?”

“Trying to impress me.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Of course.”

She smiled as she sipped her soda, pretending it was no big deal. But something about his tone—easy, unguarded—made her chest tighten just a little. It had been a long time since someone had tried to impress her just for the sake of it.

“Aunt Lindsay says Gladys helped set up her and Owen,” he said, reaching for his second taco. “Said the three of them—Gladys, Ruby and Katherine—spent their golden years matchmaking.”

“Sounds about right. Eliza swore they had a sixth sense for that sort of thing.” She paused, her voice softening. “I didn’t know Ruby all that well, but Katherine… She was family. I adored her.”

“She was Eliza’s great-aunt, right?”

Lolo nodded, a tightness forming in her throat. “She made me feel like I mattered.”

KT didn’t speak for a moment, just nodded in understanding.

“The town’s full of stories about this fountain,” Lolo said after a pause, trying to lighten the mood.

“Magic wishes and fulfilled dreams?” he asked, eyes dancing.

“Something like that. Word is if you toss in a coin and make a wish, it just might come true.”

He looked over at the statue again, something softer touching his features. “If anyone could grant a wish, it’d be those three.”

Her gaze followed his. Katherine stood to the left of Gladys, her hand extended as if in welcome. The sight of her bronze features—forever etched in kindness—made Lolo’s eyes sting.

She blinked, but it was too late.

“What’s wrong?” KT asked, the teasing gone.

“I’m sorry.” She swiped at her cheeks with a crumpled napkin. “I just miss her.”

His hand found hers. Just for a second. A comforting squeeze that sent a current skimming up her arm and down her spine.

He let go almost immediately.

“Are you going to make a wish?” he asked, gently shifting the moment.

“I already did.” Her voice was quieter now. “What about you? ”

“I’ll get around to it one of these days,” he said with a casual shrug.

“I think you’re supposed to do it on your first visit to the fountain.”

KT gave her a crooked smile. “Ah, Lolo. You should know by now that I’ve never been very good at coloring inside the lines.”