Page 38 of Sunny Skies Ahead (Watford Sweethearts #2)

Chapter twenty-eight

Imogen

T he morning after Lucas’s visit, I turned my phone on do not disturb, and went for a walk around the homestead.

It had been weeks since I’d taken the time to walk the grounds.

I thought back to all of the times I’d run through these fields, back when they were overgrown with wildflowers and native grasses.

My Nana had given us full rein of the place as kids, and we’d run wild.

I picked wildflowers, climbed trees, scaled the hills, and imagined a world that was kinder; softer.

This place would always have a piece of my heart. My childhood has been beautiful because of this place. All of the crap with my mother aside, I’d remember this place fondly. It was the place where I found my love for reading, and for exploring.

I entered the barn and smiled when I saw Kevin hard at work. He’d just finished mucking out the cow stalls when I approached him .

“Hey,” I said, scratching Betty between the ears. She let out a low moo of approval, and I smiled. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Can you grab the feed buckets?”

I nodded and did so. We filled both of the pails before setting off for the chicken coop.

“Haven’t changed your mind about selling the place, have you?”

I shook my head as we tossed the food out for them.

“No. It’s time to let go.”

Kevin nodded once. We watched the chickens peck at the feed for a few minutes before Kevin grabbed the egg baskets and handed one to me.

“By let go, I can also assume you mean everything that happened with your marriage?”

I blew out a breath. Kevin and I’s relationship was complicated, as bonds between siblings often are.

He didn’t know the full details of what happened with Jacob, and I had every intention of keeping it that way.

He knew enough; that Jacob hadn’t treated me well, and that I would bear the mental and physical scars of that time in my life forever.

“I’m still working on that, but yes,” I said. “It’s time to move forward. I’ve spent a lot of time mulling over the past. I’m tired of it stealing my future.”

“What’s your next step?”

I pressed my lips together. That was the question of the hour.

“I think. . . I think I’m going to Winding Road. ”

The corner of Kev’s mouth twitched, and I knew he was fighting a smile.

“You think, or you know?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I haven’t exactly asked to keep my job, and depending on how things go in Seattle, I might not have one in a few weeks. But I’ll do everything in my power to make sure we get this grant.”

“We?” Kevin asked. I opened my mouth to respond, but when I glanced his way, he was laughing.

“Shut up,” I said. Kevin stuck his tongue out at me, and Pam immediately squawked with indignation. She was always there to defend my honor, bless her heart.

“You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?” Kev said, jerking a thumb at Pam. I smacked his arm playfully.

“Don’t talk to her like that,” I said, smiling.

“She’s a menace,” Kevin said. “You know Kyrie wants to keep the chickens, right? She’s been begging me to let her have them.”

“That sounds good to me,” I said, reaching into one of the nests and putting three eggs in my basket. “I’m hoping the livestock can stay local. We’re pretty much at capacity at Winding Road, but I’m hoping I can find some other folks in town to take the herd.”

We settled into a comfortable silence as we finished collecting the eggs and cleaning out the henhouse. By the time we returned to the barn and finished washing the equipment, the early morning sun cast a beautiful orange glow over the fields beyond .

“I’m your brother, so I don’t want details, but I will say. . . I can tell Kam makes you happy,” Kevin said. “Happiness looks good on you.”

“Aw,” I said, grinning. “I think that might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Kev.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get used to it,” Kevin said, waving a hand. “You can head back to the farmhouse. I’ve got the rest of the chores handled.”

“You sure?”

Kevin nodded and headed deeper into the barn. He paused before he reached the last stall, looking over his shoulder and calling out to me.

“Go get him, sis. Stop overthinking it.”

I smiled the entire way back to the farmhouse.

Because of the chaos of the last few weeks, my pantry was looking pretty barren.

I didn’t have anything for spaghetti or chili, which were at the top of my go to’s.

The only thing I had enough ingredients to make a full spread out of was breakfast food.

“Brinner” was a perfectly acceptable “I love you, I’m sorry” meal, right?

Kam

Hey. Lucas just talked to me. I’m on the way.

I glanced at the stove clock, cursing under my breath when I realized I didn’t have enough time to dwell on it.

Me

Okay. See you soon

Kam

See you soon

I’ve missed you

He sent the last message like an afterthought he couldn’t keep to himself. My heart practically tripped over itself as I ran towards the bathroom to shower and change clothes. As soon as no longer smelled like the barn, I cranked the oven on to preheat.

I let myself drown in the calming rhythm of cooking breakfast. I lined a baking sheet with foil and baked the bacon, the way my Nana would on the mornings when she didn’t want to deal with the extensive clean up involved with pan-frying.

I made too many pancakes because I’d never figured out a batter recipe that yielded a reasonable amount.

It was either too much, or too little. The strawberries in my fridge were still good by some stroke of luck. I had tea and coffee and fresh creamer.

I wasn’t as destitute as I’d originally thought.

I was focusing too much on the logistics of this—I knew I was, and yet I couldn’t help myself from rearranging the table runner three times and wiping down the kitchen island once more for good measure after all the food was staged.

The doorbell ringing was my saving grace. I readjusted the color of my yellow sweater and smoothed out the wrinkles in my jeans. I could do this. I walked calmly and eagerly towards the door and took a deep breath before opening it .

“Hi,” I said, and the sight of Kameron was a shock to my system.

His black hair and beard were both longer, and he looked more undone.

He was so put together, so restrained in his usual day to day, but this Kameron— this Kameron looked like a man who’d been tortured by his own thoughts for the last two days.

We had that in common, it seemed.

“Hi,” he replied. He looked me over, but there was no heat in his gaze. He was assessing, cautious—like he was checking me for recent injuries and new scars. The gesture set a fire in my chest, stoking all the feelings I’d tried to keep dormant to life again.

“Come in,” I said, and stepped aside to allow him entrance into the farmhouse. He kicked his boots off at the door. Bass barked in the living room, releasing a low growl as he came sprinting towards the door. The growl transitioned to extensive tail-wagging when he noticed Kam.

My heart squeezed as Bass launched himself at Kam. Kam let out a laugh and eagerly petted the little rascal, a smile of pure joy on his face.

“I missed you, buddy,” Kam said. His eyes met mine, and I smiled.

“The last time we tried to have dinner here, we were rudely interrupted,” I said as I walked towards the kitchen. “I thought we could have a do over?”

I winced as the words sounded less like a statement and more of a question. I’d never been the most confident person in the room, but there was so much we needed to talk about.

“And I didn’t really have food in the house, but I had enough to make breakfast, so I hope pancakes, bacon, and eggs work for you?”

I was rambling, and afraid of turning around to see whatever emotion might be written on Kameron’s face.

He’d always worn his thoughts and emotions on his sleeve in a way so few men did—equal parts restrained, observant, and eager.

I leaned against the kitchen island which was overflowing with the breakfast spread.

Kameron kept his distance, and I finally looked up to meet his eyes.

“You didn’t have to cook,” Kam said, and there was a warmth in his tone that put me at ease. “Really.”

“I wanted to,” I admitted. “There’s so much I want to say, Kam.”

He swallowed tightly at the sound of his name on my lips. I tracked the movement. He was restrained, his posture more formal. Standoff-ish, but not in an aggressive way.

He was guarding his heart. I couldn’t blame the man for that.

“I need to explain myself first, if you’ll allow me. I’ve been going out of my fucking mind thinking that your entire perception of me has changed, and I just—” he ran both of his hands through his hair.

“Okay,” I said, grabbing both of the plates I’d pulled from the cabinet and handing one to him. “Food first, then talk?”

Kam nodded and took the plate gratefully.

When we were both seated at the kitchen table with overflowing plates, we spent a few minutes eating.

Abbie would laugh if she could see us, only because she always made me eat something before or during a disagreement.

I was prone to forgetting to eat, and when I did, our discussions quickly became heated when they didn’t need to be.

I chuckled at the memory, slapping a hand over my mouth when I remembered I wasn’t alone.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I’m thinking of all the times Abbie made me eat when I tried to start a fight. Most of the time I’d forget what we were supposed to be arguing about after I had a snack.”

“Are we going to fight?” Kam said. There was a teasing lilt to his voice that made me shiver.

God, I’d missed him. I’d missed him so much more than I’d allowed myself to consider before this moment.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said. “Certainly not now that I have pancakes.”

“They’re delicious. Thank you for this. It’s been ages since I had breakfast for dinner.”

“It’s one of my specialties,” I said proudly.