Hawk's Eye

Chapter 26

The next morning, Tony woke up at three in the morning. He took their bags to the car and made sure he had everything. He said goodbye to her parents before he carried her to the car. He buckled her in before he got in and started the car. He started the drive. He played the radio softly on a country station and smiled gently. He couldn't wait to get home. He missed his parents and brothers. His siblings were all boys. He had one older brother and a two younger brothers. He was lightly humming along with radio when Kyndall finally woke up. It was already bright outside. Kyndall blinked as she looked around confused. She looked at Tony sleepily.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly. Tony smiled as he let the wind blow through his fingers.

"New Mexico; we're almost there," he replied. She turned over on her side and closed her eyes again.

"I'm hungry," she muttered. He chuckled.

"I figured you would be. We'll stop when you see something you want," he answered. She nodded and stared out the window. After about ten minutes, she finally saw somewhere they could get a salad and fruit smoothie. After a quick late breakfast, they were back on the road. In a few more hours, they finally made it to the ranch. Kyndall was a little taken aback at the large estate. She got out and stretched her limbs. Tony laughed and kissed her gently.

"Come on baby," he smiled as he laced his fingers through hers. She smiled and followed him into the house. Tony's parents were waiting for them. They were all smiles. Tony's mother held her hand out to Kyndall.

"Hi sweetie; you must be Kyndall. I'm Angie, and this is my husband Michael. It's nice to meet you," his mom introduced. Kyndall smiled and shook both of their hands.

"Nice to meet you too," Kyndall said timidly. Tony hugged his parents before he heard the thunder he knew would come. He braced himself as his brothers came barreling at him.

"It's the prodigal brother," one of them yelled as they tackled him. Tony grunted and rolled his eyes.

"Come on boys; get off," Angie said. They laughed and high-fived as they finally crawled off of him. Tony stood back up and looked at his brothers.

"Kyndall, these are my younger brothers, Nick and Nolan. Nick, Nolan, this is my girlfriend Kyndall," Tony introduced. Nick and Nolan exchanged a look before they smiled and looked at Kyndall.

"Nice bro. She's hot," Nick said. Nolan laughed while Tony punched him in the stomach. They started wrestling in no time. Nolan shook Kyndall's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Nolan said. Kyndall laughed and shook his hand. Angie started leading Kyndall to the stairs.

"You can stay in Tony's old room deary. It hasn't changed much since he was 17, so it's a bit outdated, but the sheets are new and the bathroom is right around the corner," Angie explained. Kyndall followed her up the stairs and to the room. Angie looked at her curiously. "If you don't mind me saying so, you look a little young. How old are you sweetie?" Angie asked. Kyndall froze slightly before she tried to act normally.

"Nineteen," she lied. Angie hugged her gently.

"It really is a pleasure to meet you, sweetie. We haven't really met a girlfriend of Tony's before. He must be really serious about you. Do you know if he's planning to propose?" his mother asked. Kyndall's cheeks heated as she blinked at Angie.

"I-I... I don't... He hasn't... I-I," Kyndall stuttered. Angie laughed and turned the sheets down.

"Sorry deary, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Don't mind me, I'm just a noisy old mother," she joked. Kyndall laughed.

"It's okay," Kyndall shook her head.

"So how did you meet Tony?" Angie asked.

"At the stables where he boards Jessie. Every since then we just... clicked," she shrugged. Angie smiled sappily.

"Aw, how sweet," she breathed before she left the room. Kyndall chuckled and looked around the room. She jumped when the door opened. Tony had the goofiest grin on his face as he walked in with her suitcase. Kyndall wrapped her arms around him and kissed him gently.

"This is going to be great," Kyndall breathed. Tony laughed. "I'm going to go shower," Kyndall said before she went to her suitcase. She unzipped it and tossed the top back. Something caught her eye. She froze before she touched the small picture shakily. She recognized who it was immediately. She only stared at it. She stood and placed the picture on the bed slowly. After a deep breath, she started trembling. Tony immediately started towards her.

"How did that picture get there?" she asked barely above a whisper. Tony stopped and looked at the picture on the bed.

"Kaitlyn came in last night... She wanted you to have it. She asked me to tell you... that your grandmother said Carter should be with you, and she would help if you needed it. Also, Kaitlyn said she was sorry," Tony explained quietly. Kyndall looked at Tony clearly hurt. He swallowed and sat Kyndall on the edge of the bed. "And if it's any consolation, I think you should have Carter too. He deserves you," Tony added. Kyndall sighed and closed her eyes.

"Tony, please stop. Not now, not on this trip. Can we just try to have a good time? Can discuss this when we get back to California?" she asked hoarsely. Tony nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. Kyndall shook her head.

"It's okay," she sighed. She stood up and pointed back at the picture without looking at it.

"Can you put that somewhere where I won't see it," she asked. Tony grabbed the picture and put it in his wallet. Kyndall grabbed her clothes before she disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower. Tony sighed and went downstairs. His mother hugged him tightly.

"It's so good to have you back," she breathed. She let him go and smiled. "Did Kyndall settle in well?" she asked. Tony nodded.

"Yes, she's just taking a shower right now. It was a long drive and she didn't really wake up till halfway through it," Tony chuckled. Nick and Nolan came thundering down the stairs.

"Where did you score her? And how? Dude, she is beyond hot," Nick said. Tony laughed and shook his head.

"There's a lot more to her than you know," Tony said. He sat on the couch and talked with his brothers. A few minutes later, Kyndall came down from her shower. Tony smiled when he saw her dressed in western wear. She had on faded blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a fitted plaid button-up shirt. She left the top buttons undone in haste and left her wet hair down. She smiled and sat next to Tony. He pulled her legs over his lap and kissed her gently. Kyndall kissed him quickly before she pulled away. She felt awkward kissing him in front of his family. A tint of red creeped into her cheeks. Tony chuckled and ran his finger over her cheek.

"It's okay; it's just Nick and Nolan. They won't care," Tony smiled. Kyndall shook her head and leaned back against the arm of the couch. She glanced at Tony's brothers sitting across from them.

"I don't really think I'd be comfortable giving your brothers a show," Kyndall tried to say quietly. Nick and Nolan heard her anyway. Nick busted out laughing. Nolan only scrunched his eyebrows.

"You don't sound like you're from here," Nolan noted. Tony rolled his eyes.

"That's because we came here from California, idiot," Tony joked. Nolan shook his head as the others laughed.

"That's not what I meant. Kyndall, you have an accent and it doesn't sound American; it sounds British, but you look Hawaiian or something. What's the story?" he asked curiously.

"You are spot on the money. I only moved here this year. I grew up on the other side of the pond. My mom is native Hawaiian and my dad is partially Japanese and Italian, but I was born and raised in England with occasional trips to Italy. So I do speak fluent Italian," Kyndall explained. Nick and Nolan only stared at her. Tony laughed and threw a pillow at them.

"What, you two never seen a pretty girl talk to you before?" Tony joked.

"No. That was just... an unexpected combination," Nolan pouted. Kyndall smiled and closed her eyes briefly. Tony's dad came in from outside and smiled at the bunch lounging on the couch.