Chapter Nine #3
* * *
Finn woke to daylight shining in on either side of the bedroom blinds. He turned to reach for Kenzie. But she wasn’t there. In her place was an empty space and a dent in her pillow where she’d rested her head.
He heard a questioning meow from the other side of the shut bedroom door—and what was that smell? Coffee. Bacon… Breakfast, definitely.
He threw back the covers and reached for his pants.
When he opened the door, both kittens darted in. He scooped them up, one in either hand, and followed his nose to the kitchen, where he found Kenzie standing at the stove. Her back was to him. He took a minute to enjoy the sight.
She wore bib overalls and a white T-shirt. All that shiny hair was gathered into a single thick braid and tied with a bit of green ribbon. Her slim feet were bare and she had one hand at the small of her back.
As he watched, she rubbed the base of her spine, no doubt easing the ache from the weight of the baby. At this point, her pregnancy was obvious even from behind.
A strange blend of emotions rolled through him. Sadness for the baby they’d lost, joy for the little one she would hold in her arms before the year was out. Anger at that ex of hers for leaving her alone to raise their child without a dad.
And there was a sense of rightness, too—that he, Finn, would be here for her and for her baby the way he’d never had a chance to be for the child they had lost.
It was a good thing that he’d come home. And not just because he was happy here. Not just because he had a chance to make a life he would take pride in and a chance to contribute to the rebirth of the town he’d once left behind.
Most of all, he wanted a life with Kenzie. He saw that so clearly now. He wasn’t a kid anymore, wasn’t confused by his father’s overbearing demands and his own need to somehow prove himself in a big, flashy way.
He knew what mattered now and he knew what he wanted.
Kenzie turned from the cooktop with a glowing smile. “There you are, sleepyhead.”
“Mornin’.” He set down the cats. They darted for the cat tree in the corner. It had scratching posts, padded shelves and a kitty lounge on the bottom level.
When he turned back to her, she was still smiling…at him. It was a smile that looked like happiness. Like she was honestly glad to find him there in her kitchen with her on a Saturday morning.
“Feeling a little better about things today?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Because of you, he thought. “Thanks for putting up with me.”
“Anytime.” That look in her eyes? It was the same look she used to give him years ago—before they lost their baby, before he left her behind to chase his big dream.
It was a look that said he was everything.
That they were everything together. Because they were forever, Kenzie and Finn, and nothing and no one could tear them apart.
Yeah, he’d shattered her trust back then, stomped on it but good.
And then she’d met Tate and got her heart blown to bits a second time.
She’d made it crystal clear to him that she was done with love and romance, that she wouldn’t try again with any man.
She and her baby would be a family, the two of them.
But things could change, couldn’t they? Broken trust could be rebuilt. He was not the messed-up kid he’d been back then. Surely, she could see that she could trust him now. He wasn’t going anywhere. He would be here for both her and the baby. She could count on him now.
Was it possible that if he asked her now, she would agree to take a chance on him again?
* * *
“This is so good,” he said a few minutes later when he sat across from her at the breakfast table. “Thank you.”
“Enjoy.” She gave him that smile, the one that made the world brighter.
They talked about last night’s game. In daylight, the loss didn’t seem quite so hard to bear. There would be other games and the Titans would win again.
Top of mind for Finn was his injured player. “I want go visit Sean,” he said.
Kenzie sipped her coffee. “He’ll be hospitalized for a while, maybe a week, possibly longer.
It’s all going to depend on how he responds to treatment.
You should wait a few days to drive out there.
Your best bet is to call Sean’s parents and say how much you’d like to go see him once Sean is ready for visitors. ”
A week, maybe longer? It wasn’t a surprise, exactly. Finn knew from personal experience how tough the first days after a serious injury could be. Somehow, though, hearing Kenzie say the truth right out loud had him worried sick about Sean all over again.
“Don’t do that,” she commanded.
He regarded her warily. “Don’t do what?”
“Don’t start imagining the worst. Sean’s at St. Vincent Regional. It’s a level one trauma facility. They know what they’re doing there. He’s in good hands, believe me.”
“Well, that’s something, at least.”
“Stop worrying. Check with the parents, find out how he’s doing.”
“Got it.”
Finn would happily have hung around with Kenzie all day. But he had practice at ten and then real estate to sell in the afternoon.
Recovery practice was tough. Everyone felt low.
Barrett led the team through a series of gentle stretches followed by light jogging, foam rolling and cold therapy.
It fell to Finn to lead the game-film review and to talk about what they’d done right and what needed work.
He kept it positive, focusing on new short-term goals, team unity and lessons learned.
Everyone wanted to know how Sean was doing. Finn reported that he’d called Sean’s father before practice and learned that Sean had been through surgery. When he explained that Sean’s prognosis was for a full recovery, everyone cheered.
“You can’t visit yet,” Finn told them. “For now, send get-well cards, gift cards for games and food, stuff that would cheer you up, stuff you would want if you were stuck in a bed recovering for a while.”
After practice, Finn just wanted to head back to Kenzie’s house, maybe stand at her door looking pathetic and emotionally needy until she took pity on his sorry ass and let him in.
But no. He went right to work showing properties.
His first appointment was only a few miles from town, but he had a 2:00 p.m. showing more than an hour away.
Once that second showing was over, he started to drive home. But ten miles down the highway on his way back to Tenacity, he slowed his crew cab, eased over onto the shoulder and pulled to a stop.
Staring off into the distance at miles of rolling prairie broken here and there by solitary rock formations and swathes of drift fencing, he made his decision. Life was too short. Anything could happen. He needed Kenzie to know how he felt and how much she meant to him.
He waited until the road was clear. Then he turned his crew cab around. Now he was headed for the larger town of Bronco and the upscale shopping area in what was known as Bronco Heights.
Once he got there, it didn’t take him long to find Beaumont and Rossi’s, a high-end jewelry store.
An hour later, he came out with what he hoped was the perfect ring for Kenzie.
It was not only absolutely beautiful, but also a ring she could wear on the job.
The setting made it so she could pull on an exam glove without snagging.
The ring had a round two-carat diamond in what the saleswoman called a low-profile bezel setting.
The band was vintage gold. He thought it was gorgeous, that it was the ring she would choose over all the others.
He sure hoped Kenzie would think so, too.
All the way back home, he argued with himself. She’d made it achingly clear she wouldn’t be wearing any man’s ring ever again.
But he couldn’t help hoping, couldn’t help wanting one more chance at a life with her. There was no way to get that chance except to ask for it…with all his heart and soul.
Back at his place, he paced the floor, muttering to himself, trying to come up with just the right words, the words that would dispel all her doubts and her fears.
The words that would show her she was everything to him, that he would never let her down again, that he would always be there for her and for her little girl.
But nothing he could think of to say sounded right. Nothing sounded…good enough. Because come on. Why should she believe him, anyway? He’d let her down so completely before.
Plus, she’d said more than once that she wouldn’t be marrying anyone ever again, that it would be her and her little girl, a family of two.
Kenzie Osborne was a smart woman, a woman who knew what she wanted.
He should probably believe her, take her at her word and accept that this, what they shared right now, was as good as it was going to get for them.
He paced the floor, feeling out of his depth, hoping against hope to summon the right words that would make her agree to give him one more shot at forever with her.
His phone chimed with a text…from Kenzie.
You hungry? I made chili. Come on over.
Chili. Kenzie made great chili. And then after dinner he could—
He froze in mid-step. What was the matter with him?
Was that his plan? Go to her place, chow down on her chili and then drop to one knee?
He was embarrassed that he’d even considered such a weak-ass move.
He should be putting together a grand gesture, taking her somewhere special, sweeping her off her feet, overwhelming her with the forethought and the attention to detail that went into setting the scene for the perfect proposal.
But when, exactly, could the two of them leave town for a romantic getaway?
They couldn’t. Not in the next month or two.
And after that, she would be having her baby. By then, as she’d said more than once, their love affair would be over.
He really did need to make his move before they went back to being friends only, didn’t he?
Hell if he knew. He wanted to make his move before she ended it. Once he was relegated to the friend zone he would be even less likely to get a yes out of her.
Wouldn’t he?