When Dad Is Away Ii Kenzie Taylor (TOP • 2024)

Kenzie was seventeen. Old enough to drive, young enough to still feel the weight of a missing parent like a stone in her shoe.

“Who held down the fort?” he asked.

It did. It felt too big.

He pulled her into a hug that smelled like sandalwood and missing time. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “You did.” When Dad Is Away Ii Kenzie Taylor

The third week, a storm rolled in. Not the gentle spring rain kind, but the kind that rattled windows and made the power flicker. Mom lit candles. Kenzie’s little brother, Leo, climbed into her bed without asking. She let him. Outside, wind tore through the oaks Dad had planted the year she was born. Inside, Kenzie held Leo’s hand and counted between thunderclaps. Kenzie was seventeen

Kenzie didn’t call. Instead, she crawled under the desk, unplugged every cord, then plugged them back in one by one. The light turned green. She stood up, dusted off her knees, and said nothing. It did

When Dad finally came home—tired, smelling of airport coffee and cheap plane blankets—he dropped his bag in the hall and looked around. The house was clean. The plants were watered. The router was green.