10. Aidan

10

AIDAN

A idan pulled up in front of Kenzie’s house the next day feeling calmer and ready to see her again.

He’d tossed and turned a lot last night, in spite of convincing himself several times that it was silly to be thinking about her.

But with the sun came clarity. There was obviously no place in his life for a woman, especially not another one who lived for show business. He’d felt completely back to normal as he and Walt ran through their morning routine.

Walt had clearly enjoyed a good night’s sleep, because he was his usual energetic self. It took all of Aidan’s patience to get him into clean clothing, with his teeth brushed, and at least a little toast in his belly without breaking anything or having a total meltdown.

“You saved up all your good behavior for Aunt Anna today, right?” Aidan had asked Walt as they got into the car and the boy had nodded but Aidan wasn’t sure he believed him.

Too late now, he told himself as he approached Kenzie’s place.

And Anna Webb would never tell on him. She was so sweet about watching the boy. Thankfully Aidan wouldn’t have to lean on her for long. Soon, Walt would be in a “winter break camp” over in Springton Valley and Aidan was hopeful that they would keep the kids busy enough to run off Walt’s energy. They certainly had plenty of outdoor space for the kids to play in and wear themselves out.

Walking around to the back of Kenzie’s house, he was reminded that she was living in her childhood home right now too. They had that in common, if nothing else.

Don’t look at her like that, he coached himself. Don’t even think about her like that, like you’re looking for common ground.

“Hey,” she said, opening the door for him before he had a chance to knock.

“You’re up early,” he said, noting that she wasn’t in pajamas this time.

Her pretty sweater and jeans were perfectly modest and no different from what his little cousin, Lucy, was probably wearing today. But somehow she looked so much like the vision of the wholesome girl-next-door he’d always imagined falling for, that it almost hurt. He swallowed hard and reminded himself to keep it together.

But she laughed, and the throatiness of it reminded him somehow of Walt. That small likeness surprised him enough that he forgot himself and looked her right in the eye.

A little zing of electricity passed between them and that wild waterfall began crashing in his chest all over again, her image shimmering in the haze.

“So, you wanted to look around and get the lay of the land?” she asked, breaking the spell.

“Yes, definitely,” he said, dragging his eyes from hers. “I might need to move the furniture a bit just to see what I’m dealing with on the walls.”

“Fine by me,” she said. “I’m going to go start some coffee. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Sounds good,” he said, inwardly grateful that she was leaving the room. The last thing he needed was to make a mistake on the job while his head was full of nonsense.

He headed to the first wall, grabbed his stud finder out of his bag, and got to work. As soon as he started finding anchoring spots and making notes on his pad, he felt like himself again. Everything else always melted away when Aidan was working with his hands.

He knew his parents had been disappointed when he didn’t go into engineering. He’d had good grades in high school, and he liked math. But sitting at a desk all day for another four years of college sounded horrible, and it would only lead to a lifetime in another desk.

Trade school was expensive, but his parents had grudgingly paid. He was glad they had seen him find some success before they passed away. He still treasured his memory of the Christmas when his dad had pulled him aside to tell Aidan how proud he was of him for knowing what made him happy, and working hard to build the life he wanted.

He might not be so proud of me this last year, he thought to himself as he marked down another note.

It was hard to stay upbeat when it felt like the life he’d dreamed of giving his son was being pulled away.

Walt had the same issues Aidan had when it came to sitting still and behaving like other kids. Now he had only one parent to help him and advocate for him. And if they moved home permanently to get extra family support, it would also mean that everyone would remember that Aidan had been the same way. Maybe the school principal wouldn’t listen if Aidan said Walt needed extra help because she’d remember that Aidan hadn’t been able to control himself either.

Maybe I needed extra help, he thought to himself.

But that couldn’t be true, because his parents would have gotten it for him.

It’s a phase, he told himself for the hundredth time. I figured out how to do what I had to do, and Walt will too.

Before he knew it, he had all the info he needed for the job. When he finally looked up from his notebook, he saw that Kenzie was back. She had seated herself quietly at a small table on the other side of the room and was reading a book.

“All set?” she asked. “I made plenty of coffee if you’d like some.”

How was it that everything she said and did made him like her even more?

She’s leaving, he reminded himself. You can’t like another woman who leaves .

“Thanks,” he said, his worries making him impatient. “I need to get into town though. I’ll start tomorrow, if possible.”

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll be here to let you in.”

There was a slightly hurt look on her face, like she had expected him to at least exchange the polite minimum number of words with her.

He felt a pang of guilt. But he knew that if he let himself chat or take a cup of coffee, she would get under his skin again and it would be harder to steel himself and harder to walk away. And Aidan just didn’t have it in him.

“Don’t get up,” he said, hurrying to the door.

“See you tomorrow,” she called after him in that sweet, happy voice.

“See you then,” he called back over his shoulder, his own voice sounding cracked and rusty to his ears.

It would be an easy walk to town, and probably good for his attitude to get some fresh air and exercise, but there was no way he was risking bumping into Kenzie again today by leaving his truck here. So he got back in and drove the block and a half into the village, parking right out front of the hardware store.

Once he had slipped a few coins into the meter, he headed inside. Michael kept the place nice and warm, and the familiar sawdust scent embraced Aidan’s as he entered, making him feel right at home.

“Aidan Webb,” Michael called to him over the sound of the key grinder he was using behind the counter.

“Hey, man,” Chad Stransky said, leaning against the front of the counter, waiting for his key. “How’s it going?”

Chad was about the most laid-back guy Aidan knew. He was from another little Pennsylvania town two counties over, but Trinity Falls had embraced him ever since he’d moved here to help Trudy over at the inn.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Aidan replied. “How are you?”

“Oh,” Chad said, ignoring his question. “That’s good, because you looked a little bummed out.”

“No, no,” Aidan denied, surprised he was so easy to read.

“Well, I guess you shouldn’t be,” Chad said, winking at him. “I saw you with that ballerina girl at Tanner’s lighting thing last night. She’s super nice, and it sounds like everyone around here loves her.”

“Oh yeah,” Michael said, stopping the grinder for a moment to agree. “MacKenzie’s a real sweetheart.”

“Congratulations, man,” Chad said. “Really, you deserve it.”

“We’re not together,” Aidan told them a little too loudly, breaking up the warm and fuzzy atmosphere in an instant. “I’m just doing a job for her, and we bumped into each other there.”

“That’s too bad,” Michael said, shaking his head.

“Probably not a bad plan to ask her out,” Chad suggested. “She looked like she was having a blast, and she was so into your little guy.”

“She’ll be heading back to New York as soon as she’s healed up,” Aidan said. “No point any of us getting attached. Excuse me for sec, I need to text my cousin.”

The other two nodded respectfully and he headed into the gardening aisle to pull out his phone. He didn’t really need to text Josh as much as he wanted out of that conversation.

need anything from michael’s?

A moment later, he could see that Josh was typing. He stayed hidden away, hoping Josh took his time making a list of items.

Josh:

No, but if you have time after we could use an extra pair of hands. I’m sorry to ask. I know you never get a break.

Relief swept over Aidan at the idea of having some work to do. He replied right away.

glad to help

be there asap

By the time he got up front, he was even more relieved to see that Chad had gone. He placed an order for the materials he needed for Kenzie’s project, and Michael confirmed that he could have it all in by the next morning.

When he was done, Aidan headed out to his truck again, ready to forget about Kenzie and her pretty smile, at least for a little while.

An hour later, he was up to his elbows in framing, surrounded by family and friends he had known since childhood.

As an only child, Aidan had spent a ton of time with his cousins. Working alongside them in the fresh air of the Webb farm made him feel like he was at home in a way nothing else did.

And today the Esh family was here too. Aidan had never had the chance to spend time on the Amish family’s farm, but he’d visited with them plenty when there was a need for building or carpentry at the Webb place. Caleb Esh had been particularly close with Josh and the other cousins. And Caleb’s father Isaac kindly took an interest in Aidan since he wanted to be a carpenter too. Isaac had patiently answered endless questions about the field from a very excited Aidan back when he was a teen.

It was a cold day today, but sunny, and it felt good to work up a sweat in the frosty air while knocking out a stunning amount of work together as a team.

“ Water break ,” Josh yelled out.

Everyone gathered on a low stone wall and grabbed their jugs of water, joking and laughing about the job at hand, and sharing their plans for the project and the coming holiday.

“You okay?” Brody asked quietly, sitting down beside Aidan with his water jug.

Brody was a quiet, humble man, but he had always been the best-looking of the good-looking Webb boys. Girls fell all over him back in high school, and the rest of the cousins had all been a bit jealous.

But that hadn’t stopped his wife from leaving.

Now, he was married again to the sweet girl who owned the new bookshop in town. She adored his kids and Brody had never looked happier. But Aidan knew that it hadn’t always been that way for him .

“I’m just… tired,” Aidan admitted.

Brody would probably think he meant that he was working too much and not getting enough sleep, and that was probably for the best. He didn’t need to get into the Kenzie stuff.

“It’s not easy doing it all on your own,” Brody said, nodding. “And I hear there’s a girl on your mind now too?”

“I almost forgot how fast word gets around in this town,” Aidan said, shaking his head.

“Come on,” Brody teased. “You go to Philly for a couple of years, and you forget how these small towns work?”

“Well, I’m not with her,” Aidan said, shrugging. “We just bumped into each other.”

Brody nodded, his eyes serious, but didn’t say anything.

“I mean… she’s great,” Aidan heard himself say. “But she’s probably going to head right back to New York if she can dance again when she gets that boot off.”

“And if she can’t?” Brody asked. “How would you feel then?”

“I don’t want Walt to be anyone’s second choice,” Aidan said. “Not again.”

Brody nodded, a thoughtful expression on his cursedly handsome face.

“What are you thinking?” Aidan asked.

“Just wondering whether they need any carpenters in New York,” Brody said. “Though I guess Philly’s smaller and closer to family.”

“I just met her,” Aidan said, waving the idea away.

“Don’t say that,” Brody told him, his voice suddenly dead serious. “You might have just met the most important person in your life.”

“The most important person in my life is doing puzzles with his great-aunt Anna right now,” Aidan said firmly.

“You don’t want a girlfriend,” Brody chuckled, lifting his hands in surrender. “I get it. I didn’t either. But if something comes knocking—fate, destiny, what have you—maybe don’t just slam the door in its face without seeing where it takes you.”

Aidan frowned.

“What do you have to lose?” Brody asked.

“I don’t know,” Aidan grumbled, lifting his jug. “I’m all out.”

He headed over to the pump, really just trying to escape the conversation.

Of course handsome Brody Webb with his movie-star looks could just put his heart out there and risk it. He’d find another girl at the drop of a hat. And besides, the girl he had fallen for already wanted to settle down in Trinity Falls.

Aidan was too beat up to risk someone hurting his son again. And while he put Walt first in his mind, his own heart was still healing from Sharon, too. After all, if he’d been enough, would she have left in the first place?

The guys finished the break and got back to it, laughing and joking as they grabbed their tools.

Aidan jogged back, eager to get to work, his heart lightening with every step. This was what he was supposed to be doing during his time in Trinity Falls— working and spending time with family, just like when he was a kid.

Why couldn’t life always be like this? How did things get so complicated?

Or was there really a simple solution tugging at his mind that he just wasn’t ready to listen to?