“Honestly, I hadn’t thought of any of what you just said, especially when it comes to Birdie. She’s unique and a true brat. I guess bottom line is I think of her as my little sister. I want to protect her. I want to protect all of them, including Grace and Jaxson. Although, if he had his way, Boomer would be taking over that duty full time. Did you see the way he was around her and Jaxson the other day at your house? Egg shells. What’s the solution to get those two to actually see each other with blinders off? Because I’m getting tired of him moping in to my office, trying to ween off of me any bits of info I can give him regarding Grace.”
“I don’t know baby. Grace is stubborn. Especially about the opposite sex. She talks a lot of smack, but at the end of the day she is super vulnerable and is always second guessing herself. Her first priority is Jaxson. That’s not going to change. Ever. And the way Jaxson’s dad treated her and abandoned them really did a number on her. I think if Boomer keeps showing himself to be trustworthy and involved with wanting to make sure she and Jaxson are happy and taken care of, then I can see great things for them in the future. Unless Boomer does something to screw it up”, Kresley thoughtfully said to Cade, mentally wondering how much Grace notices of the gentle giant when he’s around her.
“We’ll leave that be for now. Hey, did Birdie tell you that Boots moved in next to her this week?”, Cade asked.
“Boots? You mean Killian, that hot firefighter that’s friends with Ash, who was your Aunt Mae’s French kissing partner?”, Kresley stated with a loud laugh.
“Baby, don’t remind me of that. Geez woman, I would rather forget my aunt was a part of a major kissing booth scandal involving a firefighter. And I don’t have an opinion on Killian’s hotness factor. Who calls him Killian anyway? He goes by Boots mostly. And don’t let me hear you describe him as hot again. I’m the only hottie in your life. Got it?”, Cade stated with a growl.
“Relax Big Sexy. You’re my only man candy. But I call him Killian because Boots is just a ridiculous nickname, right? I get firefighters have nicknames a lot, but Boots? Nope. Birdie calls him Killian, so that’s what I call him. And to answer your question, she did tell me she saw him moving in boxes the other day. But she failed to mention it was his boxes he was unloading. Wonder why she kept that quiet?”
“I’m not sure. I never have a clue to why your sister does the things she does. She told me earlier to tell you to call Gertie today. No excuses. What’s that all about? She wouldn’t tell me. She stated that I needed to ask you for details. So, what’s up with Gertie?”, Cade asked, sounding slightly alarmed as he asked about her sister. He was so protective of Gertie, especially after hearing her story of sexual assault and recovery.
“I haven’t called her yet, but I will. Tomorrow is the 10th counseling session that she’ll have with her therapist. The therapist had told Gertie that she needed to consider bringing in people in her support system so that we can counsel with her together. The therapist feels like Gertie can move through her healing if she has someone to hold her accountable to her feelings. Birdie thought it should be me. I think it should be Francie. Francie thinks it needs to be Birdie. And so on and so on. But Gertie hasn’t asked any of us to attend, so we’re all perplexed as to why she hasn’t. Honestly, I’m trying to not develop hurt feelings over it”, Kresley said with a shrug in her voice. But Cade could hear the note of concern there. He wished he could fix Gertie’s emotional issues because he knew that it would help Gertie and also Kresley.
“She’ll get there, baby. Gertie is a super strong woman. She shows that every day in choosing to live instead of curling into a ball in her home and letting life pass her by. She was part of a Kissing Booth for goodness sake. That took guts. Lots of guts. She kissed over 100 guys without regressing any. That’s huge for her. She even joked with me the other day and said that Braxton Harris was the best kisser out of any of them. You know Gertie is quiet enough that any joke coming out of her mouth is a gift of epic proportions, so it squeezed my heart when I heard her talking about someone of the opposite sex the other day, even if it was just to joke around. I don’t know if you realize this or not Kresley, but your sisters and Grace have me wrapped around their little finger.”
“Ha! Well if they have you around their finger, then you must be wrapped around my entire body. Because I had you at the moment my ass got tossed into a puddle of water in front of the post office”, Kresley stated with a big grin on her face. She knew Cade could hear the happiness radiating from her through the phone.
“Baby, you so had me. And you still have me. I love you Kresley James Anderson. So, so much. Boomer tells me that I am a shell of a man and have completely lost my man card. But that’s not true, is it sweetie? I’m a much
