Kenny

Chapter 2

Kenny Boyer glared at himself in the mirror, his fists balled, ready to fight. He narrowed his eyes and said in a stern voice, “You can do this. You’re a winner.”

When he felt his chest flare with confidence, he picked up his phone, scrolled to Carolyn’s name, and hit “call.”

It rang twice before she answered. “Why do you keep calling me?”

He gritted his teeth. “Carolyn. I’ve told you. I’m in love with you like I’ve never been in love with anyone. Just give me a chance. You don’t know what it would be like for us to be together.”

“You’re right,” Carolyn said. “I don’t know what it would be like. But I don’t need to know, and I don’t want to know. I’m with Gabe. Why is that so hard for you to accept?”

“Is he there with you now?”

“Yes.”

“In the room, where he can hear what you’re saying?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I understand. Meet me somewhere so we can talk without him listening. Please. I just need you to hear me out so that you know what all of your options are. Can you do that? Please?”

“Kenny—”

“Before you say no, because if he’s there, then I know you have to say no. Tomorrow. In the park. By the bench. It’s nice and public so you don’t have to feel afraid and if he somehow finds out, you can say you were just there going for a walk. Meet me at 2 p.m. Okay?”

“Good-bye, Kenny.”

She hung up. But she hadn’t said no. Which meant she would probably show. Hopefully.

He clapped his hands together, feeling triumphant. If she did show, he had to make this good. This might be his last chance to prove to her that he really loved her, and that she should dump Gabe to be with him.

Sure, Gabe was hot according to the ladies. He was the star quarterback of the Springfield Grizzlies, which meant he was going to be the highest paid player in the entire shifter football league, if the Grizzlies won the first Bear Bowl in a few weeks. Which they surely would because they were so good. Kenny might only be a tight end, but he was still on the hottest team in the league, too. He wasn’t nothing compared to Gabe.

Why should Gabe be the one to get everything? He got everything on the field and with Coach Tucker. He shouldn’t get the girl and the family, too. Kenny never would have thought he’d want a family so bad. But after Carolyn turned up pregnant and there was a chance the baby could be his, everything changed.

He was now picturing himself as a father. It made his relationship with his own father that much clearer, too. He wanted to do the things his father had done with him, like learn to throw a football, go fishing and hunting, learn to shift and be a proper bear. His dad was there for him the first time he experienced a shift into bear form. He’d talked him through it, and held him when he’d cried over the pain. He’d assured him it would get better, and he wasn’t wrong. He’d taken him on his first run, and second and third. Without any brothers, Kenny only really had his dad. And he’d learned how to be a good brother to his younger sisters.

All of this told Kenny that he’d be a great father and husband. He knew how to care for women, and he knew what it was to be a good father. Not that Gabe would be bad. But he could have any girl he wanted. It wasn’t as easy for Kenny. And besides, Carolyn had already slept with him once and might be having his baby, so she should be the one for him. Why bother starting over? He wanted her. She was beautiful. Even more so with that growing belly. Every time he looked at her, he got hard. He wanted her again. If she was his, he could have her all the time.

He had one chance. Tomorrow. He couldn’t blow it. And he wouldn’t.