Chapter Nineteen

Once they were seated and had ordered their drinks, they slipped back into the uncomfortable silence that had pervaded ever since they’d arrived at the restaurant. Kara fiddled with her napkin before finally speaking up.

“So . . . ” She paused, looking at her cousins across the table from her. “You’re probably wondering why I’ve been avoiding you for the past two weeks, huh?” They both nodded, and she continued. “I was angry about some things that have happened since I’ve been here, and they all seemed to blow up when I moved into the apartment.” She looked directly at Brian. “You got the brunt of everything, and for that, I’m sorry.” He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Thanks.” She sighed, looking at both of them again. “Once I cooled off, I realized that avoiding you two wasn’t the answer. I’ve been upset with both of you, and primarily you, Kevin, ever since I got here.” He opened his mouth to speak, and she held up a hand. “Just let me get through this, please. It’s hard enough for me to say as it is.” He raised an eyebrow, shrugging while he looked at Brian.

“Okay. Go ahead.” She lowered her head slightly before continuing, avoiding their eyes.

“I feel as though the two of you are unwilling to allow me the freedom of being an adult. I feel as though you don’t respect my ability to think for myself, watch out for myself, and make my own decisions, and that irritates me to no end. More accurately, that hurts.” She looked up at them, speaking in a firm, but gentle tone. “When you make me check in with you every two hours,” she looked at Kevin, “Or when you don’t trust me enough to let me have a good friend over for the night . . . ” She looked at Brian, then continued. “I feel like you don’t respect me.” She sighed, blinking back the tears that were pricking her eyes. “The fact that BOTH of you think I can’t take care of myself makes me feel really low.” She took a deep breath, focusing on stirring the ice in her glass of water. “That’s really all I have to say.”

Kevin felt tears welling up in his own eyes as he watched his youngest cousin sit across from him, absently stirring the ice in her glass in an attempt to mask her hurt. He’d never considered things from her point of view before. His first thought was always to protect her, and he hadn’t realized that he’d been causing her more harm than good. She’d prided herself on her independence since she was a small child, and he’d torn that down. He looked over at Brian, who sat with his arms crossed over his chest, eyebrows furrowed in thought, and wondered what the younger man was thinking. Actually, his thoughts were much the same. First and foremost, he’d always been Kara’s friend, and he’d failed to give her the one thing upon which all close relationships are formed . . . trust. Just because she was younger was no reason to doubt her. She was in a new place with new people, and she needed friends to lean on. Instead of providing that support system, he and Kevin had managed not only to wound her, but to push her away to the point where she’d cut off all the contacts she had. He’d never felt lower in his life.

“Um, guys? Hello?” She waved a hand in front of Kevin’s face. “I KNOW you have something to say, cuz.” He smiled slightly in response, then met her eyes as he spoke.

“Kara . . . I’m sorry. My actions were NEVER meant to make
you feel that way. I know that you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, and I didn’t mean to smother you.” He grabbed her hand, lowering his voice in an attempt to control it. “I think the circumstances that brought you here made me overreact in many ways. I was just so ANGRY that someone hurt you, and I wanted to stop it from ever happening again.” He reached over and scruffed her hair affectionately. “I love you, Ker-bear, and I’m sorry I hurt you.” He turned to Brian. “Your turn, Littrell, ‘cause I’m running out of things to say.”

“Well, that’s a first!” He continued, ignoring the deathly glare Kevin sent in his direction. “I’m sorry I made you feel that I don’t trust you, because I do.” He put a hand in Kevin’s face when he opened his mouth to speak, and the shocked expression on his face was Kara’s undoing. Brian waited calmly until she’d composed herself, watching in amusement as she nearly fell out of her chair from laughing so hard. “A-HEM!” Kara sat up straight in her chair, smiling as she turned her attention back to Brian and away from Kevin, who was sulking in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his lower lip stuck out as far as it could go.

“Yes, Brian?”

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Kara. I know you can take care of yourself, and I trust your judgment.” A wistful smile spread across his face as he paused. “Sometimes I forget that you’re grown up now, and I get a bit . . . overzealous in my efforts to look out for you. I just don’t want to see you hurt, kiddo.” She couldn’t help smiling at the tender look he was giving her.

“I know that. But I’m an adult, and I have to learn my own lessons. I’m going to make mistakes, I’m going to get hurt, and that’s okay. It’s part of life.” She leaned in closer to both of them, looking at them earnestly. “That doesn’t mean I don’t need you around, though. I learned that the hard way when I wasn’t talking to you.”

“We’ll always be here to lecture you, Ker-bear.” Kevin stated firmly, and Brian nodded in agreement. “Of course we will.” He winked. “Nick’s not small enough to torture any more.” She turned to Kevin, a look of mock disgust on her face.

“Remind me again WHY I associate with you?” A slow smile slid across Brian’s face, and he batted his eyelashes at her, while Kevin puckered up, landing a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

“Because you love us.” Laughing, she linked arms with Kevin as they walked out of the restaurant.

“You just might be right about that, Bri . . . you just might be right.”

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