by Haven Rose
As if it was planned, we each lay flat and gaze at the sky. “I can’t help but feel almost insignificant when faced with the vastness above us,” she whispers. I open my mouth to correct her, to let her know she’s the most important person in my universe, but she continues before I can. “I don’t mean that in a woe is me way,” she rushes to assure me, “simply as an observation. When life overwhelms me or I worry whether a decision was the right one for me, I look up there and find comfort.” I can’t take my eyes off her from my now propped up position. She turns to find me watching her and assumes, “You must think I’m pretty weird.”
“Not in the slightest. I think you outshine all the stars in the sky.” Even with darkness surrounding us, there’s enough illumination to reveal her blushing at my compliment.
“That’s not a line either, is it? You truly mean it.”
“I will never lie to you, Kenna.” I tell my conscience to butt out when it reminds me she doesn’t know who I am, err was. I have reasons. Legitimate ones. “That being said, I’ve never needed to use any.” That does not make her happy if the glare that would rival any of my former coaches is an indication. I drop a kiss on her nose, pleased and thankful she still lets me despite thinking the worst, and tell her, “Hold on while I take my foot out of my mouth.” I make a popping noise as if I actually did and silently cheer when her expression softens a bit. “What I meant to say instead of sounding like an idiot is that I’ve never wanted to use any. In my…” Is this where you tell her? “previous life, my focus was always on my goal and I had no time for activities others my age couldn’t seem to get enough of. Once I’d achieved it, I wasn’t sure who to trust.” I shrug, part of me hoping she’ll press for more and the other still enjoying being anonymous.
When she smiles, I know I’m forgiven for the stupid word vomit and she understands what I’m implying. The happiness that replaces her previous anger is soon matched by mine when she explains, “Growing up in a small town has its perks, but the downside is the dating pool has a lot of fishermen and women. I didn’t want to make the same catches as everyone else, so it was easier to not even try.”
“So, we’re in the same boat?” I hedge, triumphant when she cracks up. All the puns are happening in this conversation, but it’s one of the most important I’ll ever have. “And now?” I ask hesitantly, needing to hear her say it.
“I’m ready to dip my toe in that pond,” she whispers with a smile so sweet my teeth ache.
Leaning closer, giving her the chance to stop me if she isn’t ready, I gently kiss her. When we eventually pull back, she licks her bottom lip like she can’t get enough of my taste. Her eyes bore into mine, hard nipples brushing my chest from how heavily we are breathing, and I inform her, “You’ve caught me. You’ll keep me, right?”
Kenna nods, fingers crossing the area where my heart resides and her future is set when she admits, “Definitely. You’re one of a kind.”
Chapter Five
Kenna
June 26th…
Your face really can hurt from smiling too much, but at least my feet feel okay. Then again, they haven’t touched the ground since my dinner with Emmett. He’s perfect. Well, I think with a smile, he does prefer pineapple on his pizza, so he has faults. There is hope for him, though. He agrees Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
We’re getting a later start today as he had something to take care of. Seeing as how I get up early for work at least ten months a year, I find it hard to sleep in even when I’m off for summer, I’m taking advantage of my time to chat with my besties. The three of us teach different grades at the same school. Graciela, affectionately known as Gracie by those who love her, has kindergarten. She and I grew up here and have been almost inseparable since birth, being only months apart in age. Lexie moved here a decade ago, and as she’s older than us, we didn’t actually meet until Gracie and I started our jobs. Lexie, a fourth-grade teacher, took us under her wing and helped us not only acclimate to actually feeling like adults, but to putting all we’d learned to use. Acquiring the knowledge to teach was one thing, actually doing it was another.
They’re my girls and I’d be lost without them.
Gracie is currently in Vegas. I’d say she’s looking to find herself, and in a way, I think that’s true. But as one of her besties, I’m hoping she lets loose and has some fun, too. She has goals for her life, plans set that she wants to reach at certain intervals, and while she may not admit it, that has to be stressful.
Lexie is the perfect balance of mother and best friend to us. I want to be her when I grow up. Which earns me a glare when I tell her that, knowing I’m teasing about her age, she smirks and tells me to respect my elders.
My role? Some might assume I’m impulsive, but I’m actually the opposite. It’s just that I can think things through, see all the possibilities in what may feel like the blink of an eye. Not sure how or why I acquired this talent, and at times it can be a curse. That may be another reason why I could never date any of the guys I met, whether they were here in town or at college. I just knew they weren’t for me.
I didn’t go too far from Sweetville after graduating high school. I wanted some space to gain independence yet close enough to where I could visit if I got homesick. A couple hours between the two points was perfect. It was a learning experience, showing me I could get by without the comforting knowledge my parents and all I’d ever known were within shouting distance. But I didn’t have to. Nor did I want to.
I knew this was where I belong back then, yet Emmett moving here solidified that for me. I needed to return here because he would be coming for me. I was waiting for him in more ways than one.
And he was so worth it.
———
Lexie is in town, but it took a bit to coordinate a time when we were all available. As their faces appear on the screen, the squealing that commences probably ruptures a few eardrums. We’re grown women, professionals, yet versions of our younger selves still reside within us, peeking their heads out here and there.
We catch up for a few minutes, after the shock at seeing Gracie lounging by a pool fades. She seems…less tense. Not really relaxed, per se, though I think she’s closer than she’s ever been.
But as I truly glance at Lexie, I can see what very few can. Based upon the narrowing of Gracie’s eyes, I know she saw it, too. It appears that some of Gracie’s stress merely transferred to Lexie. As if both sense the curiosity about to burst out of me, they ask about my fiancé. Not sure how they did that simultaneously without any verbal communication, but it isn’t the first time nor will it be the last any of us do it.
“Wait, what?” I reply, raising my hands in an attempt at innocence. Seeing they aren’t buying it, I know who to blame and mutter, “My mom.” They grin. Evilly. My parents accepted Gracie as their second daughter shortly after she came into the world. Lexie became their third by the end of her first visit to their house. I tell them how Emmett and I met, which cracks them both up.
“I swear,” Gracie says, “the spider community united in an effort to torment you.” I hate that species with a passion, and it’s mutual. It’s like they intentionally seek me out, dropping down on a web in front of me as I’m walking, scarring me for life.
“It’s like they’re getting back at you for taking their home,” Lexie adds. My place had been vacant for quite a while before I purchased it and quite a few had taken up residence in the meantime.
Filling them in on the rest, they grow quiet, neither shocked I took his deal. They’ve seen me do my thing and know when I make a decision that I’ve thought through all the scenarios. I picture Emmett and smile, one that comes from my heart and answer their unspoken question. “All paths led to him.”
**Emmett**
“You’re getting married?” Grady exclaims. “What the hell is in the water down there? Geez, you’ve never even given a woman a passing glance in all the years I’ve known you,” – that would be my whole life – “now the first time you
do, you want to wife her.” He jokes, but he doesn’t fool me. If it was that easy, he’d chug a glass in a second. He’s like me in that way, not bothering to look at a female or spend time with her if she isn’t the one. Whereas I put all my focus into baseball, his went toward mowing lawns, raking leaves, shoveling snow – anything that would allow him to be outside while earning money. He had a rough childhood in that it was just him and his mom, his dad bailing before he was born. As soon as he was old enough, he did what he could to help out, and eventually, they were able to get back on their feet. When we were in middle school, his mom met a man, Clint, that vowed to treat her like a queen if she’d give him the chance. She did and he does.
Grady went on to get a business degree and open his own landscaping company. He works too long and hard, but he didn’t want to disappoint his dad, as he calls Clint and not the jerk who went half on creating him, who offered to be a silent partner with Grady holding the majority.
“I told you, my friend. This place is magical.” He doesn’t want to believe it, not wanting to get his hopes up, but I could see it in his face, hear it in his voice, on the drive here. He yearns to find his forever.
“When’s the wedding? I need to start preparing my best pal speech,” he jokes.
“As soon as I win the bet.”
“Okay, back up. You need to fill this hole you left in your story with more details.” When I do, he laughs his ass off.
“So, you’re literally constructing a relationship? Hammering your way into her house?” I’d try to stop him, but there’s no use. He’s just getting started. “Throwing a wrench in her plans? Nailing it down?”
“You done yet?”
Barely able to breathe from how funny he finds himself; he mutters a wheezy “For now.” Changing the subject so he doesn’t pass out from lack of oxygen to his brain, I let him know I have an interview with the head foreman of the local construction company.
“From everything I’ve heard, they have a solid reputation and are busy year round thanks to their wide range of abilities.”
“At least your homegrown experience means you won’t necessarily have to start by grabbing lunch for everyone.” Grady snickers, no doubt picturing me as errand boy. “The press would have a field day with that.” He isn’t wrong, not that I ever gave a shit what they thought or said about me. It’s not as if I gave them any ammunition during my entire career. They learned to leave me be once they realized their next headline would never have my name attached to it. “You know your mom is probably already bugging your dad about moving there.”
Not responding to his statement because we both know she is or will be soon, I mutter, “She’s on Team Kenna.”
He chuckles. Loudly. “Nah,” he states, tone turning serious, “your mom chose wrong. Kenna won’t be able to resist the happiness you can give her. I say you’ve already won her over.”
And that right there is why he’s my best friend, like a brother to me, and has been since before we could walk or talk. Grady has always had my back and vice versa. I can’t wait for him to meet Kenna, my future wife.
Chapter Six
Kenna
June 29th…
Emmett and I have talked about many things, big and small. We’re getting to know each other one question at a time, though I feel as if I’ve known him for years. That’s not to say we don’t still have a lot to learn. Case in point…
“What was the first job you did with your dad and grandpa?” I have no clue what memory hits him, but it’s obviously funny. He lets out a deep laugh, the sound causing goosebumps to break out on my skin.
His cheeks get a bit flushed as he responds, “It was actually a personal project, a new deck for my parents. I helped them build it, dad teaching me to read the blueprints he’d drawn up as we went along. Once it was done, we needed to stain it. They were tired, or so I thought then, and I offered to do it on my own.” He chuckles, admitting, “Everything was going great until I realized I had literally backed myself into a corner.”
“And they let you?” I ask, confused they hadn’t stopped him.
“Yep. It was a lesson in looking ahead.”
“Okay, so you’re stuck in the corner of the deck, unable to take a step any direction because of the stain.” He nods, grinning. “How’d you get out? Did you have to wait for it to dry? That would take a while.”
“They let me think I had to, even letting me sweat it out for about twenty minutes. Then they confessed they saw how it was gonna end shortly after I started and began planning my escape.” I lean forward, caught up in this story and needing to know how it ended. “There was a window behind me, one floor up. With grandpa holding my dad’s legs, he was able to lower him enough to reach me.”
“So, even then you were a pane?” I want to know, causing him to crack up.
“Thank goodness neither of them thought of that pun,” he mutters.
“Seriously, though,” I state, returning to what he was sharing with me, “wasn’t that hard on them to do? I hope none of you got hurt.”
He rushes to assure me they’re what his home state would refer to as farm strong. It works since I know exactly what he means. “Plus,” he continues, “I was only sixteen and hadn’t exactly grown into my body yet.” I can’t resist as my gaze sweeps him from head to toe. Emmett is lean, reminiscent of a swimmer, yet you can see the hint of muscles in his arms and legs. Now I’m blushing as he smirks. “Like what you see, baby?”
Needing to tease him, I shrug and respond, “I don’t not like what I see.” The intent is there a second before he acts on it and I take off running, knowing, hoping, he’ll catch me. He does, lifting me and swinging me around until I call uncle.
Emmett lets me down, keeping me pressed tightly against him, and watches me with something akin to wonder. I’m not sure what to make of it, but I know I’m staring at him in the same manner. The air seems thicker as our breathing increases from being in such close proximity.
Lowering his mouth to mine, he brushes our lips together then hums. Feeling as if I’ve fallen under his spell, I whisper, “My chapstick is marshmallow flavored,” assuming he’s experiencing that fact now.
He shakes his head and corrects me, “Kenna, all I taste is you.”
Chapter Seven
Kenna
July 1st…
Emmett and I have been making our way through the list, and I find myself falling hard for him, every moment together bringing us closer to marriage. There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll win that bet. Hell, we both will with a conclusion like that.
I’m currently twirling around my house, unable to walk like a normal person because I’m so deliriously happy. Each day he comes over, he treats it as if it’s a date, always arriving with flowers in his hand. Never leaving without giving me a kiss goodnight.
His lips are as magical as the rest of him, but it’s his heart that’s winning me over. Not that it’s taking a lot of work on his part. He just needs to be him. And apparently, I only have to be me.
When he reluctantly goes, even being mere feet away next door is too much distance. I’m ready to ask him to move in. He’s already put his own stamp on the place here and there, making it his, too. I hadn’t realized it at first, but once I did, I accepted the fact that it wasn’t the home I thought it was until he started doing that. Now, when he isn’t here, it’s empty. Hollow.
My phone rings, startling me so much that I jump from where I’ve been staring out the window my dancing led me to, wondering when he’s coming. I can’t seem to stop looking at his front door, waiting to see him exit it. If this isn’t love, then he needs to call the cops on me because I’ve become a stalker.
“Uh huh,” I absentmindedly answer my cell, wincing when I’m told I was taught better manners than that. “Hi, Mom. How’s things?” I quickly ask, hoping to distract her.
It works. Sort of.
“Oh, you know, trying to throw together a wedding on short notice.” I attempt to cut in, but s
he talks right over me. “Thank goodness I know my daughter so well, otherwise I’d be screwed.” Even frustrated at her surety this is happening – yes, she’s right, but you must never tell her that – I giggle at her terminology. I think parents swearing or speaking in slang will always tickle their children, regardless of their age. “Do you have his mom’s number? She and I should coordinate. Plus, she knows him and can put his two cents in for him. Nah, I doubt you do. We’ll have to fix that.”
Mom continues like this for ten minutes, asking and answering her own questions. I feel useless as I listen to her, adding intermittent sounds of agreement to keep her happy. When Emmett’s door opens, flowers yet again clutched in his hand, I’m happy for two reasons. First, I can’t wait to see him. Second, it’s probably the only thing that will get her to hang up.
I was wrong. She must’ve heard me sigh. Or it could be his strong voice that reaches her ears, letting her know I’m no longer alone.
“Missed you,” he greets me as I let him in, his mouth instinctively going to mine as he shows me just how much.
“Let me talk to Emmett.” Unfortunately, as I’d put her on speakerphone after answering and shoved it in my pocket, her words are coming through loud and clear. “Tell him it’s his future mother-in-law.” Emmett grins, sexy man and adorable little boy all rolled into one. It should be creepy, yet he pulls it off.
With a wink, he responds, “Hi, mom.” And that simply, the woman that can shame someone being bad with a mere glance, is putty in his hands. She now has the son they’d always hoped to have at some point and the grandchildren, in her opinion, are soon to follow. Taking my hand, he drops a kiss on the back of it and proceeds to charm my mother.
I somehow only catch snippets of the conversation. Mom offering to go ring shopping with him, Emmett declining, saying he already has it. Say what now? Him informing her that he has no food allergies. Yes, he is an only child, though his best friend, Grady, is like a brother to him. An affirmative – his actual response – that Grady is single. Then Emmett rattles off numbers, presumably that of his mom, Greta’s, assuring my mom that she’d jump at the chance to have lunch with her.
