“No,” Ethan said. “She doesn’t. Tell me what you’re worried about though. I can hear it in your voice.”
Her youngest got his sensitivity from his father. Ethan didn’t show it often either, but it was always there.
“I worry that he’s in love with her and he’s afraid his relationship might be the failure. Kendra is very close to her mother.”
“We heard,” Ethan said. “But she lives in town. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Ivan is slow and has patience. That is what bothers your sister so much. If Kendra is the one for him, he’ll wear her down and do it at his own pace.”
“His pace is like a sloth in the gates at the race track. The horses have crossed the finish line and Ivan hasn’t moved more than a foot.”
Her husband laughed. “Very true. But when he puts his mind to something, he pulls the trigger. It’s just he has to research all the possibilities first. Let him do things his way. It seems to me Kendra is somewhat the same way.”
“She does seem it. My sister again, finding those perfect matches. Just don’t tell her I admitted it.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
22
Got It Covered
The following Friday, Kendra looked up when there was a knock at the door. She’d be leaving for the day in an hour and couldn’t wait to go to Ivan’s for the night.
She’d been thrilled the dinner with his parents had gone so well and felt like she was starting to get more comfortable with being part of the Fierce family. Not just as an employee either.
“Hi, Cade. What’s up?”
“I wanted to tell you Travis brought Ella to the hospital. Her contractions started this morning, but she’d kept quiet about it with the family not wanting it to be a false alarm. Now it’s the real deal.”
“Thanks for telling me,” she said.
She knew Ella wasn’t feeling that great this morning. Her boss was supposed to be home resting. She’d worked from home this week because she was too uncomfortable moving around the office here.
“You probably knew, didn’t you?” Cade asked, smirking.
“I suspected.”
“She was supposed to be taking it easy this week, but Ella never does.”
Kendra smiled. “She hasn’t worked much, but we’ve been in contact. Her more than me. I’ve got it covered.”
Cade walked in. “You do. We appreciate that too. For years Ella focused so much on her career. More than the rest of us. I guess she held us together while we all focused on our areas. Travis pushed her to get an assistant, but you’re more than that.”
“Thank you,” she said. Cade was the talker of the family, but no one had come to her to say that. “I try. I love working here. It’s great. It’s the best job I’ve ever had and I’m not just saying that because I’m dating your cousin.”
Cade laughed and shook his head. “I’m not sure how my mother does it.” He held his hand up. “I get it. You guys found each other. I’ve been there so I know it, but my mother will take credit for it. She’ll say she put you two in front of each other like she has with everyone else.”
“I love your mother. I came here for a job. I’ve worked here over a year before Ivan and I started to date.”
“Which means you’re slow, but we love watching my mother get all worked up.”
“So I’ve been told multiple times,” she said.
Cade slapped his hand on the doorframe. “I’m going to head home. When a baby is born in this family, it’s all hands on deck. We were all there for Jessica’s birth, but now with so many of our kids we have to figure out daycare and keep the business running too.”
“I’m positive you’ve got it down like a routine now with all these kids.”
“We do,” Cade said, leaving. “You’ll get the text announcement when it happens from one of us. You’ll most likely find out through Ivan first though.”
“I’m sure,” she said. “Have a good night.”
