21. Kenzie

21

KENZIE

K enzie sat in Dr. Kellan Webb’s office, her legs hanging off the paper covered table with Mal on the chair opposite her.

“All in all, I can see you’ve been doing your exercises and this leg looks really good,” Dr. Webb said with a gentle smile.

“That’s good,” Kenzie said, unable to believe the good news, even though he’d been making positive statements throughout the examination.

“You can start wearing your regular shoes again,” he went on. “But I want you to take it easy. Keep doing your exercises, and we’ll add some more, but I still don’t want you doing any isolated strength work on just one leg.”

Kenzie nodded, unable to make herself ask the question she wanted to ask.

“You still have months of work ahead of you,” Dr. Webb warned her. “But, Kenzie, this leg is structurally sound. I see no reason why you can’t continue your recovery without incident, and regain the full strength and motion you had before.”

She could hear Mal draw in a breath, and Dr. Webb wore an expression of happy anticipation, like they were both expecting her to start crying with joy and relief.

And she was happy and relieved. But she didn’t feel any sudden urgency to get back to New York.

I want you to be my partner…

She couldn’t help hearing Grandma Lee’s voice in her head, making her an offer that got more and more compelling the more she thought about it.

Was it silly to be the co-director of a tiny non-profit dance school in Pennsylvania when she had the balance of a professional career as a ballerina waiting for her in New York?

“That’s great,” she said softly, giving Kellan a genuine smile. “I’ll keep working hard.”

“Atta’ girl,” he said with a grin. “I love giving good news.”

“So I can really just leave in my sneakers?” she asked him.

“You really can,” he said, chuckling. “I’ll give you some space to get them on and you can see Daisy to schedule a follow-up on your way out, okay?”

“Thank you, Kellan,” Kenzie said. “It means the world to have a doctor I know and trust right here in town.”

“Call me anytime,” he told her, looking very pleased.

Half an hour later, she and Mal were heading back to the village, moving slowly down the sandstone sidewalks, their breath puffing out in front of them.

“How does it feel to walk without the boot?” Mal asked.

“Really good,” Kenzie told her. “I’m still sort of in shock.”

Mal nodded.

“What?” Kenzie asked.

“I just couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t seem all that excited when he told you that you could dance again,” Mal said.

“He didn’t tell me that,” Kenzie said, hoping to avoid the questions she figured were coming. “He just said he didn’t see any reason I couldn’t get my strength back. It’s not the same as saying that I can dance professionally.”

“ Po-tay-to, po-tah-to ,” Mal said, shrugging. “Either way, you didn’t seem excited.”

Kenzie sighed, wondering if her bestie was going to think she was crazy.

“Is this about Aidan Webb?” Mal asked.

It wasn’t lost on Kenzie that this was the second time her bestie had asked this question. This time the answer wasn’t quite so simple.

“No,” Kenzie said thoughtfully. “At least it’s not completely Aidan and Walt. I just can’t stop thinking about how much I love being behind the scenes at the ballet right here in Trinity Falls.”

Her phone started buzzing in her pocket before she could continue. She pulled it out and shook her head in disbelief when she saw who it was .

“Dmitri,” she said.

“Hello, butterfly,” he said warmly. “I have a surprise for you.”

“My partner,” she mouthed to Mal.

“Are you there?” Dmitri asked.

“Yes,” she said quickly. “I’m here.”

“Well, so am I,” he said, chuckling.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’m here in your hometown,” he told her. “Surprise.”

“No,” she breathed.

“I had a day off, and thought I’d come down to check on you,” he told her. “It’s not so far.”

“It has to be a four-hour drive,” she said, in wonder.

“It’s worth it to see my butterfly,” he told her. “Now, I can come to you if you give me an address. I’m at a charming little café called Jolly Beans ? Is that a joke about Easter and Christmas at the same time?”

“I think it is,” she said, laughing. “And guess what? I’m about a block away. I’ll come to you.”

“See you when you get here,” he told her.

“That was Dmitri Volkov?” Mal asked in wonder as Kenzie hung up.

“He came all the way down here to see me,” Kenzie said, still stunned. “I thought those guys in New York would have half-forgotten about me by now.”

“He’s the one from the photo?” Mal asked.

“Yes,” Kenzie said. “Super nice guy. We’ve been dancing together forever, but he was moved up to principal before I was. I can’t believe he did this on his day off.”

Mal nodded without saying anything and Kenzie would have asked what was wrong if they hadn’t just arrived at the café. Mal pushed open the door, sending the bells jingling and releasing the warmth of the café and the scent of something delicious baking.

There was nothing for Kenzie to do but follow her inside.

“Hey, girls,” Holly Fields said, approaching them with a pot of coffee in her hand. “Kenzie, there’s a man waiting for you at the table by the counter.”

The waitress’s eyes were twinkling, and she nodded toward the table by the counter and coffee fixings station.

Sure enough, Dmitri sat at the table alone. He stood as soon as his dark eyes landed on her, smirking slightly in signature move that never failed to make all the ballet fans outside the stage door swoon.

“Oh,” Mal said. “Wow.”

Apparently, it was working on her, too.

In fact, a couple of people at other tables were openly staring now. And Kenzie could hardly blame them. With his tall, athletic form accentuated by a tailored leather jacket, and long dark hair brushing his wide shoulders, Dmitri was quite a commanding presence in a café full of patrons in blue jeans and Christmas sweaters.

“Butterfly,” he called to her in a deep voice that held just the tiniest hint of an eastern-European accent.

“Oh, Dmitri,” Kenzie said, moving to him as quickly as she dared. “I can’t believe you came.”

“No cast,” he said, opening his arms to her. “No crutches.”

“The doctor told me I don’t need the boot anymore,” she told him as she gave him a hug. “I just found out before coming here.”

“So does this mean we will see you back in training again soon, my dear?” Dmitri asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “This is my best friend, Mal. Mal, this is Dmitri, my ballet partner.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mal said awkwardly.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Dmitri said with a smirk. “Kenzie never told me that her little town was filled with such beautiful people.”

It was all Kenzie could do not to roll her eyes at him being such a ham, but Mal looked like she was going to faint.

“I, uh, should go,” Mal said, making no move to do so.

“Okay,” Kenzie told her. “I guess I’ll see you at the theatre?”

“Yes,” Mal said, blinking and turning to go without even looking at Kenzie again.

“That wasn’t nice,” Kenzie scolded Dmitri.

“What?” he asked, but his eyes were twinkling.

“I can’t believe you came all the way down here just to surprise me,” Kenzie said. “When do you have to get back?”

“Not until tomorrow afternoon,” he told her. “I booked myself a room at the local inn. Is it nice?”

“Very nice,” Kenzie said. “There isn’t any room service though, so don’t ask. Just pretty rooms, a nice view of the lake, and a sweet lady who runs the place.”

“Sounds enchanting,” Dmitri said. “So, when I asked if you’d be training again soon you said you weren’t sure. What aren’t you sure about? ”

Kenzie frowned. She and Dmitri had shared the same dream ever since they’d met as teenagers. How was she supposed to tell him she wasn’t sure she wanted to dance again, even if she could?

“It’s complicated, no?” he asked. “Let me ask you something else then. What would you say if I told you I’m leaving New York?”

“Dmitri,” she breathed, unable to picture it. Her friend lived and breathed ballet.

“I found a beautiful old theatre with great office and rehearsal space,” he told her. “There’s ground level space for teaching public classes too. And the city provides support and incentives for the arts. I’m going to start my own company.”

“How?” Kenzie asked him in amazement.

“I know how to economize,” he said, shrugging. “And I invested well. I even have a special donor, ready to help. All I need is a company of great dancers, and experienced staff. I admit that it’s my ulterior motive for being here.”

“You want me?” Kenzie asked in disbelief. “But I’m hurt. You wouldn’t even know what you were getting.”

“Of course I know what I’m getting,” Dmitri told her. “I’d be getting one of the most creative, passionate, and hardworking dancers in the business—and the best partner I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, Dmitri,” Kenzie said helplessly, then paused a moment, trying her best to hold back the tears. “But what if I can’t dance? Or what if I can but then I get hurt again?”

“I don’t need you to dance,” he said simply. “Don’t get me wrong, you can dance whenever you’d like, you can even help me set up the season and choose your roles. But when you can’t dance, or just don’t want to, you’ll be teaching, choreographing, and handling some of the PR for the company. You could be co-artistic director, if you wanted.”

“Me?” Kenzie asked.

“Of course you ,” he said, smiling. “You love ballet, and you make new friends easily. People love you the moment they meet you. I couldn’t have a better partner.”

“Partner,” she echoed, her chest aching.

“You don’t need to bring anything to the table but yourself,” he said quickly. “But you need to bring yourself pretty far. The theatre is in Minneapolis.”

“That is far,” she said.

“The cost of living is much lower than in New York,” he said. “We’ll be able to live with dignity—no more sharing a basement apartment with three other dancers.”

“Wow,” she murmured.

“Think about it, Kenzie,” he said, his voice low and passionate. “I really want you to come with me.”

A familiar grunt of disapproval from behind her broke the spell.

She turned to see Aidan Webb standing there, his expression so sad it was almost unbearable to see. He was holding Walt’s hand.

“Kenzie,” Walt said happily, unaware that his father was so upset.

“Hi,” Kenzie said awkwardly, uncertain where to start.

“We have to go,” Aidan said, turning and marching out, with Walt scrambling along by his side.

“Wait,” Kenzie said .

But it was clear that he wasn’t going to wait, and now everyone in the café was staring.

“I have to run for a sec,” she muttered to Dmitri.

“Oh, I’ll be here,” he said, an amused look on his face. “Suddenly, everything makes a lot more sense. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

Was she that obvious?

She didn’t really have time to worry about it. She needed to get to Aidan right away.