Love in Return

Thanksgiving was always Kayla’s favorite holiday, until her husband destroys it by leaving her. Two years later, the pain still lingers. And until the day Andrew shows up in her life, she's content to raise her three kids on her own.

When Andrew admits he’s never been into Thanksgiving, his friend Josh invites him to dinner. Andrew wasn’t expecting to be welcomed with open arms, and he especially didn’t expect to meet Kayla, Josh’s beautiful older sister.

While Kayla and Andrew hit it off immediately, Kayla can’t bring herself to admit that she might be falling for someone new. Can Andrew prove to her that he will treat her right, or will she push away the man willing to heal her broken heart?

 The fall wind whipped Kayla’s hair around her face as she rushed out to the car. It took longer to get out of the house than she’d wanted, and they were going to be late for Thanksgiving dinner.

“All buckled in?” She glanced in the rearview mirror at the three excited faces staring back at her.

“Yes. But I have to go potty.” Evie struggled to get out of her car seat.

Kayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath to stay calm. Dinner would still be there even if they arrived late. “Come on.”

Ethan rolled his eyes and helped Evie out of her seat. “She does this every time.”

“Yes, I know. Watch your brother. I’ll hurry.” Kayla braced herself for the wind and opened the door to run into the house.

While Evie was in the bathroom, Kayla checked and rechecked to make sure the oven was off and nothing was plugged in that shouldn’t be. The thought of staying home went through her mind yet again, but she pushed it away. It was a tradition that her kids would never let her break.

“Ready, Evie?” When she didn’t answer, Kayla poked her head into the bathroom, but it was empty. “Evie?”

Noise came from upstairs. Of course. She would want to take more stuffed animals to her grandparents’ house.

Evie held a doll in her arms as she stared up at the picture on the dresser. “Daddy.”

“Daddy’s not coming this time. You know that, sweetie.” Kayla scooped Evie up in her arms and went downstairs. “Now, stay right here while I lock the door. Got it?”

“Got it.”

Kayla locked the deadbolt and made sure the alarm was set before running to the car. Ethan and Noah were giggling about something when Kayla opened the door to put Evie in her chair.

“What are you two up to?”

“Your hair is all over the place.” Ethan reached over and pulled a strand away from Kayla’s face.

Kayla kissed his forehead and climbed into the front seat. “That’s what happens when you have long hair in wind like this.”

The trip from their home in the Bronx to her parents’ home in Plymouth, Massachusetts, would take three and a half hours, and she was eager to get out of there before
traffic got worse. She knew she should have left a day earlier, but Ethan had school.

“Mommy, where’s Ginger?” Noah asked.

“In her box, remember?”

Ginger gave a sharp bark at the mention of her name, causing another fit of giggles from the kids.

Kayla backed out and headed for the highway. She turned on some music for the kids and allowed her mind to drift as she made the familiar trip back to her childhood
home.

*** 

By the time Kayla finally turned into the driveway, the kids had fallen asleep, and Ginger whimpered in the back. Kayla let the dog out first and then woke up Ethan and the others. “Wake up, sleepyheads.”

Ethan unbuckled and hopped out and ran after Ginger, while Noah and Evie looked around, trying to get their bearings.

“We’re at Grandma’s. Hurry—we can get our bags later. They’re probably sitting down to dinner right now.” Kayla picked up Evie and followed the others into the house. She could already hear the excited voices as the door was thrown open to welcome Ethan and Ginger.

Kayla couldn’t help smiling as she walked up the steps and into her mom’s arms. “So sorry we’re late.”

“The turkey took a little longer than usual, so we were just getting the table set as you pulled up. Come on in.” Her mom had aged beautifully with her long silver hair in a bun at the nape of her neck.

Evie struggled to get down, so Kayla let her go find her cousins before taking off her own coat and shoes. The aroma of turkey and other delicious smells drifted down the hallway.

“It smells amazing, Mom.” Kayla walked into the kitchen behind her mom, and several chairs scraped as her family scrambled over to give her a hug. “Hey, sorry I’m late.”

Kayla’s brother, Josh, nearly knocked her over as he wrapped her in a bear hug. “Hey, sis. I haven’t seen you in way too long.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you took off for school across the country.” Kayla laughed and hugged him back. “It’s so good to see you.”

Josh pulled away. “Where’s Ethan? He’s got to be so big by now.”

“He is. He just turned eight. Noah misses him while he’s at school all day, but at least he can play with Evie when he’s not at preschool.” Kayla glanced into the living room. “I’m not sure where they are. Probably off with their cousins somewhere.”

“Awesome. Oh, hey,” Josh turned and gestured to a guy who stood in the back of the crowd talking to their sister, Charlotte. “This is Andrew. He was my roommate during my freshman year at Stanford, and get this—he moved to New York last year and started work at Silver Script. I had no idea he was there until I had the job. Small world, isn’t it?”

“Yep. Small world.” Kayla smiled at Andrew. “You’re brave for walking into this chaos.”

Andrew laughed, and the richness of it soothed her nerves. “Josh didn’t give me much choice when I told him that I didn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving.”

“Oh, I’m sure that didn’t go over well. You don’t get away with saying something like that in front of my family.” Kayla backed up against the wall so her mom could pass by with a steaming bowl of gravy. “Excuse me. I’m going to go help my mom. It’s nice to meet you.”