“He never married?” Sawyer asked, curiosity lighting up his beautiful eyes.
“It’s not actually legal here in Texas,” Kennedy said, unnecessarily.
“No, but there are ways around that. If you love someone, there are plenty of ways to make it work.”
True. She’d heard the stories of how Travis had made it work with Gage and Kylie. Ethan and Beau had done the same, so she couldn’t very well argue.
“He’s never really dated anyone. Well, not officially. At least not that I knew of. I tend to believe he hasn’t spent the last thirty-some-odd years without dating, but he’s kept his relationships secret until now.”
“Until Mack?”
“Yes,” she answered, not intending to say any more.
“So, they’re workin’ things out?” Sawyer asked simply.
Kennedy stared at him, eyes wide, mouth partially open. She knew she looked silly, but she was trying to figure out how he could’ve known that. “It seems so, yes.”
Sawyer chuckled, leaning forward. “When you live in a town this size, there are some things you notice. But I swear to you, Kennedy, I’ve never said anything to anyone. It’s their business and if they want to keep the secret, then it’s their secret to keep.”
“I believe you,” she replied instantly.
“Your father doesn’t,” Sawyer said.
“I think he does,” she said softly. “He’s just worried. He doesn’t want word to get out. For whatever reason, he doesn’t want people to know. I respect that, even if I don’t understand it.”
“I understand it,” Sawyer said, meeting her eyes. “He’s worried about the reaction. He’s a public figure. Highly respected in this town. After what Ethan went through, I don’t question someone’s reason for wantin’ to keep their sexuality a secret.”
Kennedy was a little shocked by Sawyer’s straightforwardness, but she was also relieved that he did seem to understand. More so than even she did. Oddly enough, it felt good to finally have someone to talk to about her father, which was why Kennedy found herself saying more. “They’re good together. I had dinner with them last night. They’ve invited me a few times now, actually.”
“They’re good men,” Sawyer said, matter-of-factly.
“They are,” Kennedy agreed, seeing Sawyer in an entirely different light. “I heard about what happened to Ethan.”
Sawyer’s gaze strayed to the far side of the room as though he was thinking back to that time so long ago. “He’s lucky,” Sawyer said softly.
Kennedy got the distinct impression Sawyer wasn’t talking about his brother based on the menace in his tone. She waited for him to continue and she wasn’t disappointed.
“I could’ve killed Jimmy,” Sawyer admitted. “I could’ve ripped him apart and then set him on fire for what he did to my brother.”
“Which was why you didn’t tell anyone about what happened?”
Living in a small town, it didn’t take long for stories to travel far and wide. Surprisingly, when the incident had happened, Kennedy hadn’t heard about it. No one had, from what she knew. Somehow Sawyer had managed to keep it under wraps until recently. From what she recalled, the story didn’t rear its ugly head until Jimmy took to tormenting Ethan again more than a year ago. At that point, she heard from her father that all of the Walkers had gotten involved, including Curtis.
Now that Kennedy thought about it, she wondered whether that was when her father decided to be a little more open about his lifestyle. Maybe knowing that there was support in their otherwise bigoted little town gave him the strength he needed to look for what he’d been missing all his life.
“I couldn’t tell anyone,” Sawyer continued. “If Travis had found out, he’d probably be in prison right about now. Hell, sometimes I wonder how I managed to contain my rage. I think it was more because I didn’t want something to happen to Travis or my father that I kept it a secret.”
Kennedy swallowed hard, her emotions getting the best of her as she stared back at this handsome man. He wasn’t the same guy he was in high school. He’d grown up, just like she had. Although he had his flaws, there was something innately good about him. Something down deep, where it couldn’t be faked.
And it was then that Kennedy faced her worst fear of all.
She was pretty sure she’d just fallen a little bit in love with the man.
chapter THIRTEEN
After dinner, which had been one of the best meals he could remember—more because of the company than the food, although he had been rather impressed with the steak—Sawyer took Kennedy on a tour of the hotel. He kept to the safer areas first, giving her a chance to acclimate. He liked that she seemed interested, because honestly, he was proud of what they’d built. He didn’t want her only impression to be of the scenes she would likely see. The resort had earned a reputation—a good one until recently, although nothing had been resolved just yet—because they managed to keep a tight grip on security, only allowing a certain type of person in. Probably because of that, the town had dubbed AI as the sex resort.