8. Kenzie

8

KENZIE

K enzie couldn’t keep the smile off her face as Walt continued to lead her through the winding path of the display, with Aidan trailing behind them. This was turning out to be such a fun night.

“ Aunt Leticia ,” Walt yelled suddenly, his eyes lighting up. “ Uncle Simon. ”

She turned to see that Simon and Leticia Webb were several groups behind them and had just entered onto the path. Walt dropped her hand like a hot potato and took off like a shot before she could react.

“Excuse him,” Aidan called out as Walt wove through the people behind them to get to his great-aunt and great-uncle.

Everyone smiled and made way for the chubby-cheeked boy who was so happy to see his family.

“He’s great,” she said, turning back to Aidan, who was suddenly scowling again.

Aidan instantly seem to light up at the praise of his son. But he said nothing, just nodded, and they walked on.

“Oh, wow,” she said, looking at a display of snow people that was set up like a manger scene. Some of the characters had faded paint or a bulb or two missing, but it was hardly noticeable. Somehow, they all looked perfect the way Tanner had set them up.

“He gets them from all over the place,” Aidan said suddenly.

“Yeah?” she asked, pointedly not looking at him, and hoping he would go on.

“People donate them sometimes,” Aidan said. “He used to find them at the thrift store or out on the curbs on the trash day after New Year’s. Then he started putting out word that if you were getting rid of a yard decoration, he’d come and take it. He can fix them up, even if they aren’t working.”

That made sense. Tanner was a great electrician, and she didn’t think any of these decorations looked all that complicated.

“It’s an amazing collection,” she said.

“On their own, they’re just decorations,” Aidan said. “And some aren’t even in very good shape. But all together like this… it’s pretty impressive.”

It’s impressive —probably his highest compliment.

She nodded as they walked on.

“So, listen,” he said. “I know you probably think my quote was really high. But you won’t find anyone who could do it for less. The issue is the mirrors.”

“Really?” she asked. “I went online to look, and they don’t seem that expensive. ”

“They’re not,” he told her. “But transporting and installing them is dangerous. Because they’re so big, you can get badly hurt, even killed, if you don’t have proper help and take your time.”

“So you need another guy,” she realized out loud.

“Definitely,” he told her. “And it’s not something we can rush. Are you sure you need that much coverage, and that we can’t do it with smaller pieces? Keep in mind that if you ever need someone to take them out again, it’ll be just as expensive to remove the bigger sections.”

“No, I really need big mirrors,” she said. “But I understand now why it’s so much more to install them.”

“The price is about double on labor from what I would normally charge,” he said, nodding. “Because of needing a second person.”

“The barre did seem way more reasonable,” she said.

“Well, believe it or not, you’re getting a discount on the whole thing,” he told her.

“Why?” she asked, truly stunned.

He didn’t answer right away, and she found herself praying that he wasn’t going to go into some song and dance about feeling bad for her getting hurt. But when she glanced up at his face, he was wearing that expression that made it look like he was trying not to smile.

“You’re Mallory’s friend, and I kind of owe her one,” he said at last.

“You do?” she asked him, even more surprised than before.

“I took her out,” he said gruffly. “My aunt insisted on fixing us up. But my regular babysitter called out, and I had to get a new one last minute, and she kept texting me stupid questions about how to work the microwave and stuff. So I was late, and then I was on my phone half the night.”

Now it was Kenzie’s turn to try not to laugh.

“Is that really what happened?” she asked. “Did you tell Mal this?”

“You can if you want,” he said, shrugging and looking away as if the whole conversation bored him.

“Why didn’t you ?” she demanded.

“She was just on a fix-up date too,” he scoffed. “What was the point? We weren’t going to see each other again either way. No one has any respect for the fact that not everyone wants to pair up and fall in love.”

Kenzie shook her head, feeling the frustration that a lot of women her age said they felt about men and their refusal to settle down.

“What?” he asked. “I guess you’re just offended on principle?”

“You really hurt her feelings,” she heard herself say firmly. “No one is asking you to fall in love with her, or even take her out again, but you should apologize for being a jerk. And you should definitely tell her what happened.”

He glared at her, his jaw set.

“The way you treat people matters,” she said, meeting his gaze bravely. “What kind of example are you setting for your little boy?”

That last part seemed to hit home a little.

“Fine,” he said at last, making a little huffing sound that was almost like a chuckle. “You win.”

“Do I still get my discount?” she asked .

That earned her a real laugh, and she was surprised to find her own face melting into a smile as she watched his eyes twinkling and his cheeks lifting with a deliciously deep chuckle.

Now he looks like Walt, she thought to herself with satisfaction.

“Sure,” he told her, shaking his head. “You can have your discount. I’ll swing by tomorrow morning to do some prep.”

“ Dad,” Walt yelled out from behind them as he wove his way back through the crowd to his father. “Look what I got.”

He had gotten close enough now that Kenzie could see he was wielding a full-sized candy cane like it was Excalibur. Behind him, the town Santa Claus was moving through the line, handing them out to everyone.

“Oh, wow, bud,” Aidan said. “That’s a really nice candy cane.”

“Help me get it open,” Walt said, his little fingers scrabbling on the plastic wrapper.

“It does look yummy,” Aidan told him. “But that’s way too much sugar right before bed. We can have it tomorrow for snack.”

“ No ,” Walt howled, frantically trying to get the candy open. “I’m hungry. I want it now.”

“It’s been a little while since dinner,” Aidan muttered to Kenzie as Walt began to cry.

He bent as if he were planning to scoop the boy up and carry him away screaming.

“Hey, Walt,” Kenzie said quickly, bending down as much as she could. “I know how you feel. I’m hungry too. But guess what I have?”

He looked up at her suspiciously, his tears on hold for the moment.

As quickly as she could manage with the crutches, she rummaged around in her bag and triumphantly pulled out two granola bars. By some miracle, her favorite brand had Santa Claus on the packaging this time of year.

“That’s just a bar,” he said, unimpressed.

“That’s two granola bars,” she said. “So we can each have one. And guess what? They’re special Christmas granola bars. Everyone here has a candy cane, but no one else has one of these.”

“ Ho, ho, ho,” a deep voice said from beside them. “Is that my picture on your granola bars?”

Walt lifted his tearstained face to see Santa, his despair melting into wonder.

“Yes,” he said excitedly as Kenzie handed him a granola bar so he could show it to Santa. “Yes, look.”

“That’s a very healthy decision, young man,” Santa told Walt, nodding to him in approval.

“I’m saving my candy for a snack tomorrow,” Walt said, waving the candy cane in his other hand at Santa.

“Thank you,” Kenzie said, smiling as Santa handed her a candy cane. “I’m saving mine for tomorrow too.”

“Merry Christmas,” Santa told them, moving on through the crowd to hand out more sweets.

“Whoa,” Walt said. “That was Santa.”

Kenzie glanced up at Aidan to find him smiling down at his son. When he caught her looking, he shared his smile with Kenzie too.

Thank you , he mouthed.

She smiled back and turned to Walt, helping him get the granola bar open.

“So sorry,” a woman’s voice said. “We got stuck behind Santa. I know you wouldn’t want him to eat that right now.”

“No problem, Aunt Leticia,” Aidan said. “Kenzie had some special granola bars in her bag, and we’re all saving our candy for tomorrow’s snack.”

“Hey there,” Simon Webb said as Kenzie straightened up. “It’s good to see you, MacKenzie.”

“Hi, Mr. Webb,” she said.

Walt spotted a blinking reindeer decoration and yelled about it as they all moved along though the rest of the yard together.

There was something really nice about seeing Aidan with his son and his aunt and uncle. He wasn’t exactly the charismatic charmer he’d been back in school, but he seemed… more relaxed.

Too soon, they were back where they started and everyone was saying their goodbyes.

“We’re giving you a ride home, Kenzie,” Aidan told her in a low voice. “Stick around.”

“I live right—” she began.

“I know where you live,” he growled. “I’m giving you a ride home. Period.”

Leticia and Simon hugged their great-nephew, and waved goodbye as they headed to their car.

“Watch this!” Walt yelled a moment later .

Kenzie watched in awe as he put his rain boots to work tearing through an absolutely enormous puddle that took up at least four or five sidewalk squares.

“Hold on a sec, buddy,” Aidan called out, then glanced down worriedly at Kenzie and her bag-wrapped boot.

“Go on,” she told him. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Give me your crutches,” he said.

For some reason, she handed them over without argument. The next thing she knew, he was lifting her up in his arms like she weighed nothing at all. He cradled her to his chest, with the crutches pinned under one arm as he walked them briskly through the puddle to Walt.

Of course, Kenzie had been lifted about a million times by dozens of colleagues. But that was work, where both partners were laser-focused on making the lift look effortless, and not getting hurt. Lifts for Kenzie were feats of athleticism, without any kind of sensation attached.

No one had ever made her feel light-as-air the way she did right now. The warmth of Aidan’s broad, muscular chest felt incredible in the frosty night, and his delicious scent invaded her senses, like a touch of spice surrounded by the heat of a crackling fire.

She let herself rest her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for a second, soaking in the unexpected feeling of comfort that radiated from the grumpy carpenter.

“ Ha, ” Walt laughed suddenly. “You’re like Batman.”

“I saved Kenzie’s cast from the big puddle,” Aidan said, setting her down gently and handing her back her crutches .

“ My hero ,” she quipped, blinking her eyes really quickly and smiling.

“That’s not what you say,” Walt laughed, delighted.

“What do I say?” she asked him.

“You say, Thank you, Batman, ” he told her.

“Thank you, Batman,” she said, turning to Aidan.

“You’re welcome,” he growled, grabbing his keys out of his pocket and not making eye contact.

She watched as he got Walt strapped into his booster in the back seat before heading to the passenger side door and wordlessly offering her his help to get in.

She didn’t necessarily want to take it, now that he was being a little weird. But the truck was higher up off the ground than her little car, and it had been a long day. She let him take her crutches and then her hand and elbow, lifting her easily to her seat.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

He nodded to her, making sure she was fully inside before closing her door for her. She waited, feeling almost breathless, while he headed to his own door. Why was she feeling this way? He was just being kind.

“ We wish you a Merry Christmas ,” Walt sang in a sleepy voice from the back seat. “ We wish you a Merry Christmas. ”

“ We wish you a Merry Christmas, ” Kenzie joined him softly. “ And a happy new year.”

“Wow,” Aidan said as he took his seat and started the truck. “A Christmas concert.”

Kenzie laughed and they both listened as Walt continued to hum.

There was something incredibly nice about being in the small space with her two new friends. Maybe it was just the holiday spirit getting to her, but something about it felt cozy and right .

“Here we are,” Aidan said as they pulled up in front of her house. “Hang tight, and I’ll get you inside.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she said.

But he was already getting out and moving across the headlights to get to her side of the truck.

“Hey, Walt,” he said, when he had opened her door. “I’m going to get Kenzie inside, okay? You’ll be able to see me the whole time. Can you see her front door?”

“Yes,” Walt said.

“That’s as far as we’re going, okay?” Aidan said.

“Okay, Daddy,” Walt told him. “Bye, Kenzie. See you later.”

“Goodbye, Walt,” she replied. “It was so nice to meet you.”

Aidan grabbed her crutches and leaned them against his truck.

“I’m just going to carry you,” he told her. “It will be easier that way.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I can walk around back on my own.”

“No, no,” he said. “I’ve got you.”

The next thing she knew, she was in his arms again, being carried up to the porch with what seemed like zero effort on his part. And even though she was prepared for what it would feel like this time, she was still thrown by the feelings being in his arms brought up.

He placed her down gently in front of the door, and she expected him to say something awful or awkward and rush back to his truck.

Instead, he gazed down at her for a moment without moving.

In the darkness, it was hard to read his expression, but she felt a little thrill of something between them.

He leaned down, closing the small distance between them, and a shaft of moonlight showed her his face. His eyes drank her in hungrily, his jaw tight.

Her heart pounded as she waited, certain he wouldn’t kiss her, but unsure what else could be happening.

Why didn’t I ever date? Why didn’t I try harder to get experience with kissing and boys so I could know what on earth is going on?

But the answers to those questions didn’t matter, because Aidan’s gaze had slipped down to her mouth and she was moving toward him instinctively, like a flower to the sun.

His big hand wrapped around her arm as if to hold her still, and she let out a tiny gasp of surprise, as the realization that this was really happening landed on her.

That small sound must have been enough to bring him to his senses. Suddenly Aidan was leaning back again, letting go of her arm and patting it once as if that had always been his intention.

“Be careful getting in,” he said darkly.

“I, uh, okay,” she said breathlessly.

He turned on his heel and she suddenly felt the weight of his rejection.

Of course he didn’t want to kiss her. She was nothing more than an overgrown child on crutches. The biggest emotion he felt for her was probably sympathy. She had imagined the whole thing, and he probably thought she was pathetic.

Her cheeks heated and she dug in her pocket for her keys, wanting to escape him as quickly as possible.

“Hey, Kenzie,” he called to her from the driveway.

“Yeah?” she said, looking up.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” It was a statement, but she could sense the question in it. And there was something else too, a friendliness in his slight frown that told her that everything was okay between them.

“Yes,” she said, unable to hide her smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She still wasn’t sure exactly what had just happened between them. But maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.