That phrase seemed to snap everyone out of their astonishment, and both parents twisted to Kai. “You can’t date her,” his mother and father said almost simultaneously.
Kai smiled as he let them voice their concerns for a few minutes. When they both seemed flushed but finished, he merely said, “We’re not related. We can date, and we’re going to.” He smiled down at Jessie as she rubbed soft circles into his back. “I love her, and I’m not spending another day without her.” Glancing at his parents, he raised an eyebrow. “Is that going to be a problem between us?”
They both shut their mouths and offered no further objections. There was nothing they could say to change his mind anyway, and perhaps they realized that. Since neither parent was saying anything else condemning on the subject, Kai looked at Jessie. “Come on, I want to show you my hometown.”
She eagerly nodded, biting her lip, then she leaned up and kissed him. Kai thought he heard his father sigh, but he ignored him. He ignored everything but the warm woman under his lips. That was enough. She was enough.
Kai and Jessie were alone in a car with the man Kai had believed was his father his entire life. Jessie watched her uncle as they drove along in complete silence. She hadn’t ever met the man before, but the resemblance to her was there in the color of his eyes and the shape of his face. Jessie squeezed Kai’s hand as they sat together in the back seat. Before he’d known the truth about his background, Kai had probably had a hard time looking at Jessie without seeing shades of his father in her countenance.
Kai squeezed her hand but didn’t look at her. His eyes were locked onto his father’s back. Both men looked speculative. With Leilani following in the car behind, the small group eventually made it to one of the two homes Kai had been raised in. As Kai took in the familiar modest dwelling, the corners of his lips curved up. Jessie supposed a part of him was happy to be back here, even if it was sort of painful.
Her uncle’s house was in a pretty secluded area, with green life abundant all the way around it. The flat, black-roofed home had a barn behind it, and Jessie remembered Kai telling her about how he used to go horseback riding with his dad. At least Kai had very good memories with her uncle. Hopefully they outnumbered the bad ones.
When Jessie stepped out of the car, the humid air immediately made her feel moist with dew. Kai stepped out after her, looking perfectly at ease in the environment. Walking around the car to her, he extended his hand. Jessie grabbed it and stepped close to his side. Uncle Nate took in their closeness, but didn’t comment on it. Jessie was glad he was choosing not to say anything, and hoped he was starting to accept the two of them as a couple; she really didn’t want to create tension in her family by loving Kai.
Leilani pulled up to the house a few seconds later and also glanced at Jessie and Kai. Her only response was a smile though, as she helped Kai and Jessie get their bags from the back of the car. Uncle Nate moved to help them as well, and between the four of them, they had their things situated in Kai’s old bedroom pretty quickly.
Jessie noticed that Kai’s parents kept their distance from each other. It was clear that any love between them had died the moment Uncle Nate had discovered the truth. It saddened her that they’d each had to experience such pain and loss, but even still, she was happy about the situation. It was the only reason she and Kai could be together.
Leilani stayed for a quiet, peaceful supper, then reluctantly said her goodbyes for the evening. As she hugged Kai for the fifth time, her face shifted into sadness. She seemed certain that if she left Kai alone with his father, Kai would feel differently about her the next time he saw her. Knowing Kai like she did, Jessie was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen. He would make up his own mind about his mother.
Jessie yawned as she said her goodbyes to Leilani. When the door shut behind her, Kai squeezed Jessie’s waist. “Why don’t you go to bed. I’ll…be there in a minute.”