Prologue #2
“Come on.” She gave the stool another tap. “Have a seat. Catch me up on the life of an NFL superstar.”
Still, he hesitated to take the stool. “I wasn’t a superstar for all that long.” He eyed her with concern. “And you still look pale.”
“I promise you, I’m fine. And you know what? If you’re not in the mood to tell me what you’ve been up to, that’s okay with me. Just sit down beside me and let me cry on your shoulder. I could use an old friend to talk to right now.”
“A friend?” He smiled then, his real smile, the one that used to make her heart beat faster. “You mean that?” He sounded so young. And hopeful, too.
She smiled right back at him. “Stranger things have happened. Come on, it’s been years. I’d say it’s time to let the past go.”
Finn took the stool. “Okay, Kenzie. Talk.”
Why not? she thought. He was here and willing to listen.
And she truly did need to vent.
So she talked. She explained that she and her ex-husband, Tate, had agreed that they both wanted kids and couldn’t wait to start a family. “So we got married and bought a house. Time went by. Suddenly, it’s five years after the wedding and I’m still on birth control.”
He asked the logical question. “Why?”
“Tate said he wasn’t ready. He traveled for work and he said his job was stressful.
He needed time to get established before starting the family he said wanted so much.
I kept after him. Finally, a year ago, he agreed to start trying.
So we tried. A few months went by. I didn’t get pregnant.
We kept trying. But not all that hard. As I said, Tate traveled for work and he was gone a lot.
” And was Finn looking at her funny? She felt bold right then and wanted to be honest, so she just went ahead and asked him…
“Are you thinking about the baby I lost when we were dating?”
His face flushed cherry red. “No! I didn’t say that.”
“But are you thinking about it?” She leaned in closer.
“Finn, I can still have children. That was never the issue. My doctor says there’s no reason I won’t conceive.
Yes, I had a miscarriage back in high school.
” She’d lost the baby at the end of their senior year.
And the experience had been heartbreaking—for her and for him, too.
“But sometimes that happens in the early months of pregnancy. I promise you, there’s no reason I can’t have a successful pregnancy one of these days. ”
“Gotcha,” he said. He looked really uncomfortable.
And now, she felt guilty. Just because she was feeling bold and honest didn’t mean he had to be. “I’m oversharing, right?”
“Kenzie, no. You are not oversharing. Honestly.”
“So…you’re just dying to hear all this?”
He bobbed his head in a nod. “Yep. Go on.”
“Okay, then.” She shrugged. “It’s pretty simple.
Tate had begun making those not-ready-for-fatherhood noises again.
And then, not all that long ago, out of the blue, Tate tells me that he’s been doing some soul-searching and he’s realized that marriage and kids aren’t for him, after all.
He asked for a divorce. And the next day, he moved out. ”
“Where is that jerk now?”
She gave a low laugh. “Remember. You asked.”
“Yes, I did. Where is he?”
“As of now, Tate has moved back home to Denver after living in Vegas for six weeks to fulfill the residency requirement for our quickie divorce.” She waved the papers at him again. “Which, as you can see, is now signed, sealed and delivered.”
Finn proceeded to say all the right things—how Tate was a waste of space and somebody ought to make a quick trip to Denver to rearrange his face.
“I appreciate the support,” she said mildly. “But the truth is, I’m glad that he’s gone. It wasn’t going to work. Yeah, it’s a shock. I’ll get over it, though. Today’s a bad day but tomorrow will be better.”
Finn was shaking his head. “If you say so…”
“I do.”
“Fine, then. I’ll hold myself back from paying your ex a little visit. But sheesh, no wonder you were feeling sick.”
She realized she was actually glad that he’d followed her into the bar. “Honestly, Finn. Thanks for listening. I feel much better now.” The ginger ale had really helped—as did having her high-school boyfriend’s broad shoulder to cry on.
True, he’d walked away from her that summer right after high school. At the time, she’d nurtured a burning resentment toward him.
But not anymore. They honestly had been too young.
Plus, he’d been as brokenhearted at the loss of their baby as she had.
And his awful father, Finn Sr., hadn’t helped the situation one bit.
Finn’s dad had big dreams for Finn and had constantly pressured him to move on, to leave Tenacity and his high-school girlfriend behind.
In hindsight, she could clearly see that Finn had done his best. He’d stepped up when she told him she was pregnant.
He’d asked her to marry him, vowed that they would make it work somehow.
He’d bought her a ring and they were both beginning to adjust to all the changes having the baby would bring—and then, four weeks later, the baby was gone.
It was an unexpected loss, one neither of them had known how to deal with. And now, years after all the pain and bitterness had passed, what stuck with her was the love. Because they had loved each other so much. More than they’d known how to deal with at the time.
Finn helped her on with her jacket and they left the Grizzly together.
Out on the street, a cool spring wind blew down from the north and the Montana sky was an endless wash of baby blue dotted here and there with fluffy white clouds. They paused on the sidewalk and faced each other.
“So,” he said, “I have to tell you, for a woman who just got bad news in the mail, you are looking mighty fine.”
“So nice of you to say so.” She guided a loose curl of hair off her cheek and grinned up at him.
In the bright, late-afternoon sunlight she could see that he still had that scar on the bridge of his nose from the time he’d gotten up close and personal with the face mask of a defensive lineman.
The injury had occurred in a preseason scrimmage back in their junior year.
She used to kiss that scar and whisper that it made him look super-hot and dangerous.
“It’s good to see you,” he said, those blue eyes holding hers.
“It’s good to see you, too. Though I do owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“Are you kidding? I took shameless advantage of you. I made the last hour and a half all about me—along with a little detour into our sad, painful past.”
“No apologies.” He put on a stern look. “I asked you to tell me. I wanted to know how you’ve been.”
“Well, then you definitely got what you asked for.”
“Yes, I did.” Oh, the way he was looking at her now. Like there was no place he would rather be than standing on the sidewalk in front of the Grizzly with her.
She was vaguely aware of cars going by, people strolling along the sidewalk, too. Were they watching the reunion of the famous Finn Monahan and the girl he left behind?
So what if they were? Today had been a rough one. But then, Finn had followed her into the Grizzly and things had started looking up. She stepped a fraction closer, until there was less than an inch of daylight between them.
“I feel I should confess…” She let her voice trail off.
“Kenzie. Don’t you dare stop there.” His teasing threat made her laugh and his smile got wider.
She lifted her hands and rested them on his chest, felt the soft leather of his jacket and the strength of his body beneath it. “I watched every game when you were in the NFL—and I do mean starting with the very first one.”
“I don’t think I ever got on the field that first game.”
She laughed again. “Still, it didn’t take you long to be a star. Until the injury you were unstoppable…”
“Go ahead,” he said in a growl. “Rub it in.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a tough subject. But I really did watch all your games, when you were in college and on through your years in the pros. I just…couldn’t help myself—and I have no idea why I’m telling you all this.” She started to step back.
Gently, he caught her arms. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Damn, Kenzie. You’re as beautiful as ever—scratch that. You are more beautiful than you were in high school. And back then, there was no girl who could even hold a candle to you.”
She could not resist. People were probably staring…but so what? She was a single woman again. And she could kiss whomever she pleased—even the big-shot jock who’d dumped her the summer after their senior year.
Kenzie lifted up on tiptoe. “Thank you…for listening.”
And then, she kissed him.
It wasn’t a deep kiss or even a long one, but it was oh, so very sweet. She breathed in the clean scent of his skin and reveled in the feel of his big arms around her.
Again. After all these years…
She dropped back onto her boot heels reluctantly. And he didn’t let go. He still held her shoulders with those big, warm hands. His thumbs stroked lightly. She felt his touch acutely through the denim of her jacket.
He leaned close again. “Walk with me—where’s your car?”
“Two blocks down, across the street.”
“Let’s go…”
They walked along in silence until they came parallel with her Bronco Sport, which she’d parked across the street. “My car’s right there.” They waited for an old pickup to rattle by and crossed together, stopping on the sidewalk next to her SUV.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and hunched his broad shoulders. Then he said almost shyly, “It’s good to be home. It feels right. Like I’m coming full circle.”
“I get it. I wouldn’t live anywhere else—and I think somebody said you’re selling real estate now?”
“That’s right. I opened my own firm, Big Sky Properties. Are you looking for a house? If so, I’m your man.”
“Sorry, but no. I love my house.”
“Well, then. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Will do,” she replied automatically and then gave him a slow, happy smile.