Chapter Three
When the doorbell rang exactly at noon the next day, Kenzie was standing at the mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door.
What she saw had her scowling at her own reflection. She definitely looked pregnant. Her boho-cowgirl maxi dress with its tiered crinkle skirt and off-the-shoulder top did very little to disguise her baby bump.
Not that she was really trying to hide anything. Not anymore. Because she was now six months pregnant and the cat, as they say, was out of the bag.
People in town looked at her with warmth and understanding. One or two of her friends had said rude things about Tate. But they all took extra care to make it clear that they were on her side. Several had come right out and offered to help out anytime she needed them.
She frowned at her reflection again. Mostly, she loved being pregnant.
She felt curvy and lush. Best of all, her growing belly meant that she would be a mom.
Sometimes, though, she missed her flat stomach, her perky breasts and her trim ankles.
For the next few months, she was only going to get bigger.
Sometimes lately she did kind of wonder how it would have been if things had worked out differently with Tate, if she had him to count on now and after the baby came.
But no. She pulled her shoulders back and winked at her reflection in the mirror. Tate was long gone. And she and her baby would manage just fine.
The doorbell buzzed again. She adjusted her top, smoothed a hand down the front of her tiered skirt and went to answer.
Finn greeted her with a grin. “What took you so long?”
She stared at him, deadpan. “Tell me. Does this outfit make me look fat?”
His grin disappeared. “Anything I say right now is going to be wrong—am I right?”
“Probably. But answer the question, anyway.”
He drew in a slow, cautious breath. “Here goes. You. Look. Gorgeous.”
She laughed then. And it felt good. “Right answer.” Stepping over the threshold, she pulled the door shut and then took his arm.
* * *
When they arrived at the Dinosaur Center, Mayor JenniLynn Garrett was right there waiting, hand outstretched, to greet Finn and Kenzie.
Finn liked JenniLynn. She was smart and warmhearted. She chatted for a moment with Kenzie, thanking her for her work looking after the students at Tenacity High.
“And not only that,” JenniLynn added, “school hasn’t even started yet, but you’re right there on the field ready whenever the Titans need you.
We are so fortunate to have you.” She asked when the baby was due and said she’d be checking in regularly, making sure Kenzie was feeling well.
JenniLynn added, “You need a hand, you have my number. Use it.”
“Thanks so much, JenniLynn. I will.”
Next, the mayor turned her sunny smile on Finn. She said what great things she’d heard about his progress with the Titans and thanked him for agreeing to speak today about his growing-up years in town, his life in the NFL and his plans for the team.
Brent Woodson stepped up when JenniLynn was through. He greeted Kenzie and shook Finn’s hand. “You already know how glad I am that you let Barrett and me hound you constantly until you gave in and agreed to coach the Titans this year. Thanks, man.”
Finn chuckled. “What choice did I have? You two just wouldn’t quit.”
“Hey. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Now, how about a tour?”
“We can’t wait.” Finn captured Kenzie’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow. She gave him a look that seemed a bit wary, but also indulgent. He grinned at her and then nodded at Brent. “Lead the way.”
As Brent charged ahead, he swept out a hand. “You have to admit, it’s a nice spot for a tourist attraction.”
Finn had to agree. Wooded areas were few and far between in this part of Montana, but cottonwoods and pines surrounded the center. Off in the distance, the low humps of the mountains looked like shadows against the clear, late-summer sky.
Brent showed them the three-story cement education center that housed the recently discovered dinosaur bones.
There was also the completed open-air amphi-theater, where Finn would speak today, and a large, open space that would eventually become the Dinosaur Park, and offer rides and other dinosaur-themed attractions.
Today, local merchants had set up booths outside the amphitheater, where they sold souvenirs, drinks and food. Surrounding the booths were plenty of picnic tables.
As soon as Brent wrapped up the tour, he led them into the amphitheater, where Kenzie gave Finn’s arm a squeeze and went off to sit with a couple of her colleagues from the high school. Finn met Mayor Garrett at the steps leading up to the stage.
“Wait right here until I introduce you,” she told him. Then, after giving him another of her dazzling smiles, she mounted the steps to stand behind the stone podium center stage. Once she got there, the lively audience quieted.
She spread her arms wide. “Good afternoon, everybody! I have to say, it means a lot to see so many good friends here.”
There was an enthusiastic swell of applause. JenniLynn thanked them for coming. Finn remained by the stage steps as the mayor spoke about the Dinosaur Center and the amusement area that would be opening down the line.
It wasn’t long before she glanced down at Finn. “We have a special speaker today, one of our favorite hometown heroes.” And then she waved him forward. “Finn Monahan, get on up here!”
Everybody started clapping then. There were whistles and some stomping. More than one voice shouted, “Yay, Coach!”
Finn joined the mayor at the podium, where he got his first real look at the size of the crowd. It seemed to him that the whole town had turned out for this…and then some. The sight of all those faces, so many of them familiar to him, had him feeling downright sentimental.
JenniLynn announced, “I’m leaving you guys in good hands. Finn, they’re all yours.” She headed back down the steps as the applause swelled again.
Finn waited for the din to subside before gulping away the knot of emotion that had somehow lodged in his throat. Once he knew he could speak without choking up, he called out, “I have to tell you, Tenacity, you are lookin’ good!”
Everybody began clapping again. There was more whistling and stomping.
He scanned the seats for Kenzie. And there she was, her long hair shining in the sun, wearing a smile so big and bright that it lit her up from inside.
She gave him a nod, the same nod she used to give him at the beginning of every game way back in the day, when they were each other’s forever love and the Titans couldn’t be beat.
And then, he began to speak.
He reminisced about his years at Tenacity High, about all the people who had helped him, the friends and fellow players who had been right there beside him as the Titans went all the way to two state championships.
He talked briefly about college and life in the NFL.
His gaze kept pausing on faces he saw every day now at practice—Darren Tuttle, Barrett, Oscar Abernathy, the rest of the squad and the staff, including Kenzie, who beamed up at him almost the way she used to, as though he really was some kind of hero.
He talked about Tenacity, about how their town had been through a long, tough time. But things were looking up now.
And he was honored, he said, to be asked to speak today.
Honored to be part of a whole new start, grateful to bear witness to a dying town coming back to life.
He considered himself privileged, he said, to be coaching the Titans now, watching the team working so hard, gaining skills and confidence day by day.
He felt so fortunate to be right there to see how it was done when a community worked together to turn things around.
“I see good times ahead,” he predicted. “Everywhere I turn, I see Tenacity growing. Prospering. And I know who made that happen. I know who deserves the credit. You do! Every single one of you.
“So I want to thank you all,” he said at last. “You make me proud. And it is so good to be home!”
* * *
Kenzie rose to her feet along with everyone else as the amphitheater erupted in thunderous applause.
There were shouts and more whistles. People hollered Finn’s name and someone yelled out, “You tell ’em, Finn!
” Kenzie was whistling, clapping and laughing out loud along with everyone else at the sheer joy of the moment.
Right then, the past was all around her—the good, the bad and all the rest. She put her hand on her big belly and felt pure gratitude…for everything. All of it. The dreams come true and the failures, too.
Because, yeah, things got bad sometimes. But with a little heart, a lot of faith and the determination to start again and make it work this time, what had been broken could be made whole once more.
Eventually, as the amphitheater cleared out, she worked her way down to the base of the stage. She wasn’t there long before Finn came to get her.
She took his arm. “You were amazing.”
“You’re the amazing one.” His eyes were so soft. She thought of their teenage love, so sweet and true. No, it hadn’t lasted. But it had been beautiful all the same. “I’m real glad you’re here,” he said, his voice sandpaper-rough.
She almost went on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.
But she caught herself just in time. Her heartbeat roaring in her ears, she played it super casual. “So…time to schmooze?”
He nodded. “Stay close like you promised.”
“You got it. Let’s go.”
For the rest of the afternoon, she did just what Finn had asked of her. She stuck close by his side and looked at him with something that might have been a little too close to adoration—but only because he’d asked her to.
Or that’s what she told herself. Really, it was no hardship playing Finn’s adoring date. She liked being at his side.
They visited with their neighbors. And they laughed a lot.