7. Kenzie

7

KENZIE

L ater that day, Kenzie leaned against the back of the sofa, gazing out the window at the treehouse and her old swing set as the sun went down.

The snow flurries had turned to cold rain, but it was still beautiful outside. The big sycamore’s patchwork of bark was darkened with moisture, making the intricate pattern of browns and blacks stand out.

It had been a fun day—with all the emotion of being back at the ballet school and seeing so many friendly faces, and then the opportunity to come home and stretch out with a book, followed by a cozy Christmas movie.

Kenzie hadn’t really had downtime like that since she was a kid. Working her body and mind so hard every day in classes and rehearsals typically left her with barely enough energy to cook a healthy meal and fall into bed at night. And weekends were usually filled with performances .

She had definitely imagined needing weeks or even months of vegging out in Trinity Falls before she started feeling restless. Sadly, it wasn’t even nightfall on day two of her Trinity Falls downtime, and she was already itching to get out of the house again.

Today doesn’t even count , she thought to herself despondently. I already left the house once. And Aidan will be coming over here soon to talk about the barre and mirrors.

But she knew the real reason she was feeling on edge and looking for a distraction. Her grandmother’s offer this morning had shaken her. And it had all begun with her suggestion that even if Kenzie were able to dance professionally again, she might choose to do something different anyway.

Of course, dancing had always been Kenzie’s dream, and even after a short break, she was bored to tears without it. But that didn’t mean it had to be her whole future. Honestly, it couldn’t be. Very few dancers made it onstage past their thirties. She had always known she would need a second act, so to speak.

Her phone buzzed to alert her to a text, and she smiled, figuring it was Mal. It would be really good to ground herself by catching up with how her best friend’s day had gone.

But as soon as she glanced at the screen, she remembered that she was waiting for a visit from someone else.

Aidan Webb (Carpenter)

sorry change in plans is tomorrow ok?

Her fingers moved on the screen of their own accord.

that’s fine

c u then

She set the phone down again with a sigh, wondering why she felt so down all of a sudden. It wasn’t like a visit with the grumpy contractor telling her why it was going to cost a small fortune to do a small job was exactly supposed to be the highlight of her day.

I was looking forward to it though…

She shook her head, disappointed in herself for being so silly. Surely she was old enough to know that his handsome face wasn’t enough to make up for his searingly bad attitude. Aidan Webb had changed since she’d last known him. He wasn’t worth crushing on these days.

Kenzie was just bored. That was all. She just needed to find something positive to occupy her mind, and she’d feel better. Maybe Grandma Lee wouldn’t mind her sitting in on the last of the rehearsals for The Nutcracker. And there had to be other fun stuff going on in town at this time of year.

A happy smile made its way onto her face as she remembered one of them.

Tanner Williams, who had been working on the lights earlier, managed a small apartment building right in town. Over the years, he had amassed a large collection of Christmas lawn ornaments. In the weeks before the holidays, he always set them all up in the courtyard. Tonight was the first time they would be turned on. Apparently, this was a newer town tradition—one she had missed out on until now. Mal had mentioned it yesterday, and it was the reason she was staying a few minutes late at the bakery tonight, in case people wanted to grab a hot chocolate to bring along.

Kenzie glanced out the window again. It wasn’t raining anymore. And she could tie some plastic around her boot to make sure it didn’t get damp if there was any water left on the sidewalks.

Maybe it was a little silly to go into town again tonight when she was supposed to be resting. But she was also supposed to get exercise, and this would lift her spirits too.

She grabbed her crutches and hauled herself off the couch, feeling more excited than she had all afternoon.

The walk into town took a little longer than she’d hoped. Wrapping a garbage bag around the boot was a great idea, but she had to walk carefully if she didn’t want to rip it. Her arms were sore by the time she arrived in front of the apartment building with what looked like half the town.

At least she was sure to bump into Mal and her friends. The bakery would be closed as soon as those lights went on, and a look at her watch told her that she had barely made it in time.

She was just glancing over at the bakery to see if it was still open as she took her last step onto the perfect viewing spot on the sidewalk when she bumped into someone, hard.

“ Oh ,” she gasped, just managing not to fall over.

“ What —oh,” a familiar voice bit out .

She looked up, already knowing exactly whose handsome face she was going to see.

“Kenzie,” Aidan said. His expression was as stormy as ever, but his voice was gentle.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “Again.”

“You have a trash bag on your foot,” a little voice said before Aidan could reply.

Kenzie glanced down at a little boy peeking out from behind Aidan’s other side. He had big, soft cheeks and a merry expression in his brown eyes. A little dark hair escaped his red woolen hat.

“How did it get on there?” the boy asked, his slightly husky voice making her smile. “Is it stuck ? You have sticks.”

She lowered herself as much as she could with the boot and crutches.

“I hurt my leg,” she told him. “So my doctors put a special cast on it, and gave me these crutches to help me walk. But the cast can’t get wet, so I tied a trash bag on it. But I still have to be careful.”

“You can’t step in puddles,” the boy pointed out wisely.

“That’s right,” she told him.

“I have my rain boots,” he told her proudly, kicking one black and yellow boot up in the air a little. “They’re Batman. I can step in puddles.”

“Is Batman your favorite superhero?” she asked.

He nodded and put his foot back down, running quickly in place with a fierce expression, as if to show her how fast he was in his boots.

“Amazing,” she said softly .

His little chest puffed up.

“Who are you anyway?” he asked.

“Buddy,” Aidan said gently. “Ask nicely please.”

“Sorry,” the boy said, looking sad. “I’m Walt. What’s your name?”

“I’m Kenzie,” she told him with a smile, to let him know it was okay.

“That’s a funny name,” he said, smiling back.

“It’s short for MacKenzie,” she told him before Aidan could reprimand him again. “That was my grandma’s last name before she got married. What is Walt short for?”

“It’s short for Walton Emerson Webb ,” he announced happily.

“Oh, that’s a great name,” she told him. “And it definitely sounds like you could grow up to be a superhero. Like Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne— Walt Webb. ”

Walt laughed, his chubby cheeks making his eyes crinkle up. The sight of it warmed her heart.

“That’s my dad,” Walt told her, pointing up at Aidan. “Mr. Webb.”

“Oh, wow,” she said, straightening up.

She was honestly stunned. It would have made a lot more sense if he’d said Aidan was his uncle or something. But she hadn’t even thought that Aidan was married. Hadn’t he just gone on a date with Mal?

“We already know each other, buddy,” Aidan told him. “We were in school together, so Kenzie calls me Aidan.”

“Was she good in school?” Walt asked immediately.

“We didn’t have any classes together,” Aidan told him. “ But she was in the talent show as a juggling clown. She was not good at the juggling part.”

Kenzie laughed. He wasn’t wrong.

“That’s not very nice,” Walt told his father sternly.

“You’re right,” Aidan said, turning his gaze to Kenzie. “She wasn’t very good at juggling, but she was a super funny clown.”

Kenzie rolled her eyes.

“I liked performing for the school,” she told Walt. “Even though I wasn’t great at juggling.”

“I’m going to school next year,” Walt told her with a solemn expression. “If I can sit still.”

She barely restrained a giggle at that last remark. She was pretty sure her parents had been worried about the same thing when she was his age.

“Walt has a lot of energy,” Aidan said gruffly. “But he’s doing a great job staying close tonight.”

Walt nodded.

Just then, Tanner appeared in the doorway to the apartment building.

“Thanks so much for coming out tonight, everyone,” Tanner yelled as the crowd went silent. “I’m not one for speeches, so… Three…Two… One … Merry Christmas.”

It had just gotten dark enough overhead that the only light came from the streetlamps. So when the lawn beside the apartments was suddenly flooded with color as at least a hundred decorations came to life, it felt almost like magic.

“Wow,” Walt yelled as the whole crowd made noises of astonishment and appreciation around them.

The people at the front were already slowly meandering their way down the path through the display, admiring all the illuminated characters. Walt had moved between Aidan and Kenzie. She could see his whole little body was practically shivering with energy, like Tanner had turned the power on inside him as well.

“We can go in slowly once the line starts moving,” Aidan told him gently. “Are you excited to see everything?”

“I want to see Snoopy,” Walt squeaked, hopping up and down in place.

“Oh, me too,” Kenzie told him.

She hadn’t meant to attach herself at the hip to Aidan tonight. She hadn’t even thought she’d see him. But it felt right to stick around when Walt was having a hard time being patient.

Once we get in, I’ll let them do their own thing, she told herself.

But a few minutes later, they were winding their way through the display together. Even if she’d wanted to give them space, there wasn’t really room for it. And besides, Walt was showing her all his favorite characters and making sure she knew who they all were.

Dale Williams and Reggie Webb were right behind them, and she couldn’t help noticing the excitement in Reggie’s eyes when he spotted her with Walt and Aidan.

Reggie had always been a font of local gossip, and she was pretty sure he still was. And a couple of girls she knew from high school were up ahead and she could see their curiosity as their eyes danced from her to Aidan and back again.

Her cheeks heated at the idea of being mistaken for Aidan’s girlfriend, even though she obviously didn’t want to date the grump.

He’s so gentle with Walt, though…

She tried to shake herself out of it and focus on the little boy who was tapping her crutch to get her attention so he could show her a little Batman decoration.

“Wow,” she said. “You should have one like that at your house.”

He looked up at her with a big smile on his little face and she felt a soft warmth blooming in her chest.