Kinsey had been thinking of what she wanted to do for the past couple weeks. She was going to refuse, even though she knew it could be detrimental for her career, but she didn’t think she could handle being in the Anderson Mansion, knowing Austin would be making appearances often.

She caved, though, after Cassie begged her. How could she deny her best friend when she was obviously so worried about Joseph?

“Yes, I’ll take the position.”

Her supervisor gave her a relieved smile. It seemed she didn’t want to be the one to tell any of the Anderson family, no. Kinsey could sympathize with the overworked woman.

“That’s great news. We’ll miss you while you’re gone, but your position will still be here when he recovers,” her boss said.

Kinsey loved how optimistic her boss was. She never gave up on a patient, not even when everyone else in the room already had. She’d saved so many lives, Kinsey felt the hospital should be named after her. Most often though, the hardest workers were those who were the most under-appreciated.

“Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. You’ve certainly earned it,” she said as they both stood up.

“Thank you.”

Kinsey walked from the office, grateful she’d get to see Joseph’s care to the very end, but nervous about what it meant with Austin. She hadn’t spoken to him since their fight and she still didn’t know if pregnancy was a valid concern. She was afraid to even go there at the moment. She didn’t know what she’d do if the answer were yes.

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“If you sign here, we can discharge your husband and get him ready for transport,” Dr. Weston said as he looked over Joseph’s chart.

Katherine sighed in relief. She was ready to leave the hospital. She knew getting her husband home would make all the difference. He needed to be where their magic had blossomed. He’d found the land, built their dream home, created their babies, and solidified their love on that property.

It was a healing place, and she knew he’d come back to her once she got him home.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Katherine responded, not able to say anything more than that.

The process moved quickly and before she knew it, the ambulance drivers were there, getting Joseph ready for transport.

“We’re going home, my love,” Katherine whispered, a small smile on her face.

Chapter Sixteen

Day twenty-five

“I really need to speak to you for a few minutes. Let’s sneak out the back before someone else hollers,” George said the minute Esther walked through the front doors.

“I agree,” she responded and turned the corner with him.

“Dad, there you are. Aunt Katherine needs your help,” Max said, running into the two of them before they could make an escape.

George blew out a frustrated breath, ready to explode. It had been over three weeks since he’d last been alone with Esther. He was at his wits end. He’d think the kids were purposely doing it, if it didn’t seem so far-fetched.

“Can’t you help her,” he snapped.

“What’s gotten into you? I’m just the messenger. You know she’s been stressed today with Joseph coming home and all,” Max said as he held up his hands in defense.

George immediately felt bad for snapping at his son. It wasn’t Max’s fault that he was so frustrated. He just wanted a few minutes to ask Esther to marry him. Hopefully this time she’d say yes.

“I’m sorry, Max. I guess with all that’s been going on, I’m just more stressed than usual,” George quickly apologized. He looked longingly at Esther, who gave him a sad smile and left. One way or the other he was going to get her alone soon.

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“I almost feel bad. You should see the looks the two of them have been giving each other. I think our plan is working, though,” Max said as the group sat in the backyard, making sure they were away from any prying ears.

“I’ve had to bite my lip several times to keep from cracking up. I have to give it to dad, though. He’s a stubborn man. I figured he would’ve broken long before now. Esther, too. She’s been sending him these looks of deep longing when she thinks no one’s watching,” Trenton added.

“Do you think we’re making the situation worse? What if they decide it’s just too difficult stop seeing each other?” Bree asked with worry.

“That won’t happen, Bree. Once I knew you were the one for me, nothing was going to stand in my way, not even your overprotective, chest-pounding brothers,” Chad reassured her.

“I have to give it to you, there, Chad. We put you through the wringer and you still stuck around,” Austin said with a laugh as he patted Chad on the shoulder hard enough to push him forward.

“You know you’re all just a bunch of softies,” Cassie said, looking adoringly at her husband.

“They weren’t so soft until you women got your clutches in them,” Austin said, puffing his chest out.

“Oh, your time is coming, Austin, believe me,” Lucas piped in with a laugh.

“Nah, I’m smarter than all of you,” he returned.

“Speaking of which, how’s Kinsey doing?” Mark asked with a knowing grin.

“I don’t know. Dang woman is more trouble than she’s worth,” Austin broodingly replied.

“Hey,” Cassie snapped, instantly standing up for her friend.

“I… that’s not… oh, crap. Sorry, Cass,” Austin muttered.

“I’ll let that one pass because it’s obvious you’re all kinds of crazy about her. To ease your mind a bit, I think she’s just as crazy about you,” Cassie said with a reassuring smile.

Austin looked at her hopefully. He didn’t want everyone to know how much he cared for Kinsey, but he also didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to learn something about her. Cassie was his in.

“So, have you spoken to her lately?” he asked in what he hoped was a casual tone.

“Of course. She’s my best friend. Why don’t you talk to her yourself? She’ll be here in an hour,” Cassie said.

“I thought she wasn’t going to take the job. Why didn’t anyone tell me?” he demanded.

“Didn’t think it mattered to you. What was it you just said? Oh yeah, that she’s more trouble than she’s worth,” Alex said.

“Yeah, whatever, Alex. As I recall, you were crawling on your hands and knees for a certain woman in this room not too many years ago,” Austin threw back at him.

“Smartest thing I ever did,” Alex said, not even the least bit embarrassed about his behavior.

“I can’t stand being around you guys anymore. You’re all way too… I don’t know, mushy, I guess,” Austin said as he got to his feet.

“We love you too,” Bree said as she sent him an air kiss.

“Love ya, sis,” Austin said before shooting her a smile and taking off into the house.

As soon as Austin was out of earshot, Bree turned to the group with a huge smile.

“Once we get George and Esther all situated, I say we have fun with Austin and Kinsey. It’s obvious the two are meant to be together. Plus, I have to say this matchmaking stuff is kind of addicting,” she said with excitement.

“Now, Bree, we really should leave Austin alone,” Trenton warned.

“Why? He was a pain in the arse when I was with Chad. I think he deserves a bit of interference from his family.”

“I know Kinsey’s half in love with him, if not all the way. I’m game,” Cassie spoke up.

With the approval of her best friend, the group put their heads together to see what they could do to help the relationship along.

If Joseph would’ve been awake, he would have been so proud of them. They were certainly following in his footsteps.

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Kinsey settled into her room, impressed by the luxurious suite the family had put her in. She loved the soft purples Katherine had used, from the curtains to the bedspread covering the king sized four-poster bed barely taking up any room in the spacious suite.

She walked over to the sitting area and grabbed the remote, pressing a button, causing a soothing fire to leap to life in the huge built in gas fireplace. She was afraid she could get too comfortable in her room. It was bigger than her entire apartment and certainly had much better furniture.

A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. Her body tensed as she made her way to it, afraid Austin was on the other side. She wasn’t ready to speak to him yet. She didn’t have any clue what she’d say.

She slowly cracked it open, then let out a relieved breath as Cassie pressed forward with a bag of chocolate in one hand, and coffee in the other. Her best friend knew her well.

“I brought the important stuff. I figure I’ll get you in a good mood first, then demand you spill your guts,” Cassie said, moving over to the sitting area and setting the items down.

Kinsey smiled. She knew there was no way her friend would leave her be until she dished her a plateful of the most delicious details, so she may as well get comfortable. Normally, she’d rush to Cassie to tell her everything, but this was different. With Cassie being related to Austin, even through marriage, it made it seem a little awkward to complain about the guy, or to even tell her how mixed up her feelings were.

“I’m sure you have more important things to do than listen to my sorry tales,” Kinsey attempted to joke.

The look Cassie gave her, quickly evaporated all humor from the air.

“Kinsey, we’ve known each other too many years for you to even attempt to pull that. We’ve always come to each other, and we always will. Just because I’m married to Austin’s brother doesn’t mean you can’t complain about him. You’re my best friend, number one in my life. Never have we let a man come between us, and we certainly won’t start now. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way, but one way or the other, you will spill.”

Kinsey grinned at her best friend. It was so nice to have her. She knew it was a rare thing to have someone in your life you loved so deeply. If Cassie needed her to jump off a cliff with her, then Kinsey would do it. She knew the same held true in Cassie’s mind, so she didn’t know why she’d felt hesitant in talking to her, even for one brief moment.

“Thank you, Cassie,” she said as she walked up and gave her a hug. It would feel better to talk to someone.

She’d managed to snowball her family, which was a first. Her visit home had been relaxing, and no one had figured out how stressed she was. At least no one had called her on it. She should’ve known she’d never get away with that with the one person who knew her more than even her brothers.

The two women sat on the couch and Kinsey reached for the bag of chocolate, quickly grabbing a piece and ripping off the wrapper. Setting the chocolate on her tongue, she closed her eyes, savoring the flavor for a moment before speaking. The only true way to eat chocolate. She needed a sugar high to get through the upcoming conversation, too.