18. Aidan

18

AIDAN

A idan tried to relax as he drove under the canopy of bare branches toward what had somehow become his favorite place in Trinity Falls village.

He’d allowed a few days to pass since the mall trip with Kenzie, knowing that if he didn’t stop and get his head on straight, he would end up hurting them both.

A couple of sleepless nights later, he knew what he had to do. Then it only took another day to figure out how.

And all the while, Walt had been settling into his winter break camp over in Springton Valley. Aidan had picked him up the first day and the aide on car duty asked him to wait while she grabbed the teacher.

The teacher told him that Walt was working on controlling his energy and staying in the classroom during projects and that she was sure he would be absolutely perfect the next day .

But the next day had brought more “chats” with the aide and the teacher, and a glum-looking Walt trudging to the truck afterward, looking like he was ashamed of himself.

“Is it hard to sit still?” Aidan asked sympathetically.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Walt murmured.

“This is good practice for kindergarten,” Aidan told him. “Right?”

But Walt had only shrugged and been uncharacteristically quiet on the way home.

This morning, Aidan had taken the boy out for a run around the house before they headed to camp. Hearing Walt’s peals of laughter as they chased each other around the yard, their breath pluming out in front of them as snow flurries swirled down, had been amazing.

He only hoped they had run Walt’s sillies out.

Maybe mine too, Aidan realized, as he pulled up in front of Kenzie’s house.

Sure, nothing was certain. Kenzie could take the boot off tomorrow and decide to go back to New York. Or the two of them might start a relationship that went the distance and wound them up in rocking chairs on the front porch fifty years from now.

He wouldn’t know unless he tried.

And taking her to the mall to buy Christmas presents wasn’t the way to find out. Kenzie deserved real romance. He grabbed the package he’d brought her out of the back seat, his heart pounding.

Maybe I’ve been reading her wrong. Maybe she doesn’t want me …

But he could picture her face tilting up in the snow globe, the way her eyes begged him to kiss her.

He jogged around the side of the house and knocked on the back door before he could change his mind.

While he waited for her to come to the door, he ran a hand through his hair and tried not to tap his foot. It almost felt wrong to make her come to the door in crutches, but things between them had changed, and it was important for her to understand that from this moment on.

He wasn’t some cocky teenager anymore. He was a man, a father. And playing around wasn’t going to cut it.

He heard the sound of her crutches, then the door opened.

“Aidan,” Kenzie said in a surprised way.

“Hey,” he said, suddenly wishing that he’d planned out exactly what to say to her in advance. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” she said, her eyes widening as they went to what was in his hands.

They moved inside and he closed the door behind himself, so as not to let out the heat. The room was as bright as ever with the mirrors bouncing the afternoon sunlight around.

“Go ahead and sit,” he told her. “I wanted to tell you a few things, if that’s okay?”

“Of course,” she said, leaning her crutches against the sofa and lowering herself onto it.

He knew he should sit too, but he couldn’t help pacing a little .

“I owe you an apology,” he said, forcing himself to face her again, even though the sight of her was making him want to do things he shouldn’t. “I’ve been beating around the bush, hanging out and enjoying myself instead of talking with you about what we both want.”

“Oh,” she said.

“This is for you,” he said, placing his offering on the coffee table in front of her. “Just a token of apology, for being an idiot. I know you like watching movies, and I thought this stuff would be good for a movie night.”

Her face lit up as she took in the box of stuff he’d put together for her. There were chocolates, envelopes of hot cocoa, and some fancy flavored popcorns from the Co-op, as well as a low vase of yellow roses and baby’s breath.

“Thank you,” she told him with a radiant smile. “This was so nice of you. But you don’t need to apologize to me. You haven’t been an idiot.”

“Well, I haven’t made my intentions clear,” he said. “And that’s partly because I know your dreams are elsewhere.”

She frowned.

“But you need to know that I understand about that,” he said before she could say anything else. “I won’t judge you for whatever decisions you make down the line. For now, though… Well, I’m pretty rusty at this dating thing, but I’d like to take you out—really take you out, like for a nice dinner. I got us a reservation at the Village Green tonight if you’re interested.”

Her eyes got all big, and he felt like weight was lifting.

“And if I’ve read this whole thing wrong, and you’re only looking for friendship, I’m okay with that too,” he told her. “But you deserve to know my feelings. And I like you a lot, Kenzie Forrest.”

“Me too,” she told him, her eyes twinkling.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said.

He felt a pull toward her like there was a hook through his chest, and he was moving to the couch to take her hands in his when his phone began buzzing.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Walt’s at that camp…”

“Of course,” she said. “Get it.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket and felt his stomach twist when he saw the number. He slid his thumb across to answer as fast as he could.

“Hello,” he said frantically.

“Is this Aidan Webb?” the woman on the other end asked in a pinched voice.

“Yes,” he said. “Is Walt okay?”

“He’s fine,” the lady sighed. “But he took off again and this time he got as far as the parking lot. I hate to do this, but I just can’t have him here. We’re not equipped for this kind of situation. It’s just a camp, and my teachers are mostly college students on vacation?—”

“Understood,” he said quickly. “I’ll come get him now.”

“Thank you, Mr. Webb,” she said, her relief evident in her voice.

He hung up, feeling foolish for thinking he could be someone’s boyfriend and Walt’s dad at the same time. Maybe he should just take back what he’d said to Kenzie and ask if friendship was still on the table. She deserved better than this.

“Is he okay?” she asked softly.

“He’s fine,” Aidan said, turning to see her eyes were filled with compassion. “It’s just hard for him to behave himself there. I’m really sorry, but I need to go.”

“I understand,” she told him.

“And, uh, tonight probably won’t work,” he said. “They told me not to bring him back after today. I’m going to have to deal with that.”

“Oh, Aidan,” she said. “That’s terrible. He couldn’t have done anything so wrong. He’s just a sweet little boy with a big heart.”

He felt his own heart squeeze at her kind words. She understood Walt, even though they had known her for such a short time.

“They’re just a bunch of camp counselors,” he heard himself say. “Just kids themselves, not real teachers. I get it. The place isn’t equipped. Anyway, I know he’ll feel rotten about it, and I don’t want to leave him with Aunt Leticia tonight.”

“Of course not,” Kenzie said immediately. “And I have an idea, but only if you and Walt want to do it. I was planning a Christmas movie marathon for tonight, and I seem to have enough snacks for an army now. If you two wanted to come by, I’d love to have you. He can pick the movie.”

“I’ll ask him,” Aidan said, feeling himself smile against all odds.

“Do that,” she told him. “But you’d better hurry. The faster you get him out of there, the sooner he’ll feel better.”

Aidan headed out to get his son, too many emotions swirling around in his head to make sense of them. But the one thing that rose above it all was that he’d finally told Kenzie how he felt.

Now he just needed to show her.