One in a Million

by Susan Mallery

  Since the question was voiced in a slightly hysterical way that suggested homicidal retribution should Kenzie say yes, she quickly shook her head. “You sure I can’t get you anything?” Water, tissues, a mild tranquilizer?

  “I just need to feed Abby, then get some rest. I’m drained. Would you be affronted if I slept through dinner?”

  Kenzie snorted. “What, and miss my four-star peanut butter sandwich?”

  Reflexively, she thought of her daughter’s claims earlier in the day about Kenzie’s fabled cooking skills, and Leslie’s attempt to have JT over. When Kenzie’s undisciplined mind envisioned a dinner with their neighbor, the image didn’t include peanut butter or children. Instead, her imagination conjured a candlelit meal, during which he would pour them each a glass of wine and forget to eat because he was staring at her in the soft illumination.

  Shaking her head, Kenzie tried to dislodge the crazy fantasy. While she was a reasonably attractive woman, she suspected she was past the age of being able to make men forsake sustenance. Besides, where were the twins in this daydream—at Ann’s house? Unlikely, since Ann was here.

  “Have you called Forrest?” Kenzie asked. “Just to let him know you’re going to be staying with me, if nothing else?”

  “Are you kidding? I left in tears and the big jerk didn’t even bother calling my cell to make sure I was okay to drive. He can phone me…if he even notices the invisible girl is gone.”

  They should discuss this in more detail after Ann had had a chance to calm down. It was uncharacteristic for her to get so emotional, or to be critical of her steady husband. The fact that he’d been the kind of man who arrived home at exactly the same time every night and kissed her cheek in exactly the same spot had been what Ann loved about him. She’d been mature enough to admire predictability back when Kenzie had still thought relationships should be all about excitement and sparkle.

  Well, I’m older and wiser now.

  Pity, that. Because she suspected that JT, if it weren’t for mourning his late wife, could provide enough sparkle to single-handedly simulate the Fourth of July.

  Ann stayed for the duration of the weekend, claiming it was no hassle for her to sleep on the couch, even though it wasn’t a sofa bed. Despite her sister’s Saturday rant about invisibility, Kenzie had assumed that by Sunday afternoon, Forrest would have come to collect his wife and daughter, and that Ann would miss her much bigger mattress and 300-thread-count sheets. Yet, as the kids’ first day of school neared, Ann and baby Abigail were still ensconced in Kenzie’s teeny apartment.

  “You know,” Ann said as she helped dry the plates after Monday night’s dinner, “this place is surprisingly homey. When we unloaded all your boxes here that first day, it didn’t look like much.”

  Unpacking, hanging a few personal items, and the wafting scent of the enchilada casserole Mrs. Sanchez had brought when she heard Ann and baby were in residence did a lot to make the apartment cozy.

  Kenzie glanced around, enjoying the rare approval from her sister. “Yeah, I did an okay job picking this, didn’t I? Of course, luck had a lot to do with it.” She’d been determined to find something affordable in the school district. Which reminded her… “Kids, you’d better be brushing your teeth! The first day of class might not be until Wednesday, but you need to get back in the habit of going to bed and getting up early.”

  Even from the hall, she could hear their groans. Once the twins were tucked in for the night, Ann asked if it would be all right to leave Abigail in her portable swing under Kenzie’s supervision, and treat herself to a long bath.

  “Take your time. There are bubbles on the shelf below the towels, if you want them.” Kenzie turned on the electric swing. Soothed by its gentle metronomic sound, she stared into space and pondered her responsibilities as a sibling. Thinking aloud, she looked at the baby. “I’m her family. I’m supposed to interfere, right?”

  Interfering hadn’t been in either of her parents’ nature, but Kenzie would bet everything she owned that Roberta Sanchez wouldn’t hesitate to act if she felt it was in one of her relative’s best interests. I’m genuinely worried about Ann. I’m not doing this because I stubbed my toe on the portable crib while I was trying to leave for work this morning or because Abby cried—howled, really—from three in the morning to four. Before she could talk herself out of it, she picked up the cordless phone from the coffee table and dialed.

  It took several rings before Forrest answered the phone. “Hello?”

  “This is Kenzie. Are you aware that your wife and daughter are staying with me?”

  “Of course.” He sounded vaguely baffled by the question.

  “And are you planning to do anything about that?”

  More bafflement. “Like what?”

  Maybe Ann had been right and the man was an idiot. “Why haven’t you called her?”

  “Because I’m giving her space. That seemed like the patient thing to do. Ann is an eminently sensible woman. She’s rarely overwrought. I wanted to give her time to sort through whatever issues she has. I’ll be here for her when she’s ready to come back.”

  Kenzie gritted her teeth. “Her ‘issue’ is that you don’t pay enough attention to her! Now might be a good time to start.”

  “So you’re saying she deliberately left in a manipulative bid for attention?” He sounded annoyed now.

  Uh-oh. Why did Kenzie think she was the best person to assist with a marital spat when she was a divorcée who hadn’t even kissed a guy since…since?

  “Kenzie?”

  “I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.”

  “Before you go, can you ask Ann where my maroon tie with the royal-blue stripes is? I wanted to wear it to tomorrow’s faculty meeting and can’t seem to find it.”

  “You’ll just have to make do, Forrest.” Kenzie disconnected. Should she tell Ann about the attempt to help? She stole a guilty glance at the baby, who was watching in wide-eyed curiosity as she swung from left to right. “If it comes up in conversation with your mama, I will definitely tell her the truth.”

  But Ann seemed happy to avoid the subject of her marriage. When she came out of the bath, she asked if Kenzie wanted to watch a movie. “A chick flick! We could microwave some popcorn and stay up late.”

  Kenzie winced apologetically. “Actually, I think Drew ate the last of the popcorn. And I’m kind of pooped.” She’d been working hard each day to get up to speed on her new job, coming in earlier than she had to and staying just a bit later on afternoons when Alicia or Ann was with the kids. Kenzie knew from experience that once school started, there would be myriad disruptions to her schedule, and she wanted to make a solid impression on the new boss before then.

  “Oh.” Ann glanced down, her hands twisting in the pockets of her robe. “Sorry, I was being selfish.”

  “No!” Kenzie got to her feet. “No, the truth is, I’ve been thinking about us. Our childhood. Our relationship. Now that we’re both in Georgia, I hope that we can grow closer. Do more sisterly stuff.”

  “I’d like that. I know I was…bratty when we were younger. I was jealous, I guess.”

  “Of me?” Kenzie asked, startled. “I figured you were just mature beyond your years, and it took me a while to catch up to you. Frankly, I’ve been struggling not to be jealous of you.”

  Ann’s laugh sounded perilously close to a sob. “Why, because you’ve always had a secret yen to be the boring sister with the hollow accomplishments and inattentive husband?”

  At least Ann still had a husband, while Kenzie’s own marriage had disintegrated. “Ann, I know it’s not exactly my business, but you and Forrest…”

  “Yes?” She sat on the couch, her smile rueful. “Since I’ve invaded your home, I think you’re entitled to an opinion.”

  But what was Kenzi
e’s opinion? That it was better to be alone than with the wrong man? That good men who provided well for their families were in short supply and after investing so much time and effort in her marriage, not to mention the new baby, Ann owed it to herself to try to work things out before walking away from Forrest for good? That while Kenzie agreed Forrest could stand to be more affectionate, pregnancy and birth did jumble a woman’s hormones, and being kissed on the same spot each day seemed like a dubious reason for jilting a faithful husband?

  “You know what? Never mind. I’m the last person you should take advice from. I’ve only had one real relationship, and even my fifteen-year-old sister could tell that was going to be a disaster.”

  Ann flinched. “And I never let you forget it, did I? Man, I was a know-it-all.”

  Kenzie hid a smile. At times, Leslie reminded her of a young Ann. She loved both of them. “Okay, maybe you were obnoxious about it at times, but you weren’t wrong.”

  “No, but I was scared. You flung yourself into your emotions. You experienced passion. I was always too afraid to do that. I carefully planned my relationship with Forrest, systematically seduced an older man. I mean, not necessarily in a sexual way. It was more of a domestic seduction. Now I’m just…tired.”

  “Having a newborn in the house will do that to you,” Kenzie sympathized.

  “It’s not Abby’s fault. She’s a darling. But I picked out her pediatrician. I researched great preschools and already have her on a waiting list. I plan what we’re going to eat every night and grocery shop accordingly. Hell, I practically lay out Forrest’s clothes for him! I don’t want to be in charge anymore. At the very least, I want to be a team, planning our life together. I want spontaneity, which I know isn’t his forte. He doesn’t have to sweep me off to Rome for the weekend, but maybe he could just call me around noon and say, ‘Hey, instead of you cooking tonight, how ’bout I bring home a pizza?’”

  Without meaning to, Kenzie laughed. “You don’t ask much.”

  “I did,” Ann corrected solemnly. “I asked for a perfect life. I demanded it, I created it. And now I’m not sure it’s what I want. I wish, just once, that I’d done something wild and impetuous. That I’d been more like you. That my life was less khaki and more colorful.”

  Unbidden, the image of JT’s mural rose in her mind, the bright swirls of color that created a high-energy picture of children having fun. It conveyed all the optimistic innocence of youth, when kids thought they were invincible and were content to draw neon-green moons and fluorescent-orange trees because they hadn’t yet been told that they couldn’t. Was that how JT had seen the world before his wife died?

  “I guess none of us quite get the life we expected,” Kenzie said softly. Thinking of her new job, the new school the kids were about to start and the Perfect House that awaited, she allowed herself hope, anyway. “Just because it wasn’t what we imagined doesn’t mean we can’t find the beauty in it if we look.”

  Ann sniffed, considering. “I promise to keep my eyes open if you will.”

  “Deal.”

  “This is good.” Sean blinked, moving away from the canvas to study it from another angle. “Really good.”

  JT chuckled tiredly. It was early evening on Wednesday and he’d barely slept more than two consecutive hours since Saturday. “Why does everyone always sound so damn surprised when they say that?”

  Sean ignored the rhetorical question, still absorbed in the painting JT had created for the Owenbys. “You mixed in some darker colors than the original.”

  If the first abstract was a picture of the sea, this one was the sea on a cloudy day. The same waters, but more turbulent. “The palette’s not too bleak, is it?”

  “No. No, the new shades add depth, texture.”

  There was another subtle change JT doubted anyone but him would notice. In the first painting, there had been scattered impressions of marine animals, such as clouds that were shaped vaguely like laughing dolphins if you looked at the right angle. For this version, he’d added a sea horse. Holly had laughingly told him in her third trimester that sea horses were her new favorite animal, since the males gave birth.

  I would’ve traded places with you if I could’ve. But that had never been his decision to make, hadn’t even been a possibility. What he did with his life now? That was his choice. Since he hadn’t been able to sleep since the trip to the museum—plagued both by inappropriate dreams of Kenzie and the eerily muffled, almost phantom sound of a baby crying through the walls—he’d painted instead. If he hadn’t experienced the same feverish joy of creation he’d once known, his grim determination had at least yielded results.

  And he could breathe again. Wondering whether or not he’d ever finish another painting had become a stone weight across his lungs. Now, oxygen was slowly seeping back.

  Sean clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, man.”

  “Thanks.” They stood for moment, silently acknowledging their bond of friendship and what it meant to each of them. “You ever accept another commission without talking to me, I’ll kick your ass.”

  “Nah, I make it a point to stay in shape. I doubt you could take me. When was the last time you slept or ate? Or—” Sean sniffed delicately “—showered? Tell you what, I’ll check scores on the tube while you clean up. Let me buy you dinner to celebrate.”

  JT’s first impulse was to politely decline and stay holed up in his apartment to rest. But at the last second he stopped himself. “Okay.” He’d been in hiding long enough.

  On Wednesday afternoon, Kenzie got permission to leave a smidge early—it had been the kids’ first day of school and she wanted to hear all about it. More specifically, she wanted to hear that they’d liked their fellow students and had managed not to get into any trouble yet. As she pulled out of the bank’s parking lot, her cell phone rang.

  She noted that the call was coming from the apartment. “Hello?”

  “Just me,” Ann said cheerfully. “Kids got home safe.”

  “Thanks for letting me know.” She’d walked them to the bus stop a few streets over that morning, threatening their lives if they didn’t stay together on the way back in the afternoon. “I’m actually headed home now. Why don’t we go out to dinner, and they can tell us all about their new classes?”

  Ann laughed. “Sounds perfect to me…it was my night to cook.”

  Kenzie had to admit certain things had been easier with Ann pitching in to help, but she wondered how long she could offer her sister sanctuary without enabling her to hide from her problems.

  By the time Kenzie made it through afternoon traffic and they had all three kids ready to go, it was nearly five-thirty. Waiting to lock the door, she was the last one out of her apartment—but the first to look up when the door across the hall opened. JT. Her heart skipped a beat in anticipation of seeing him. Somehow, despite their close living proximity, she’d avoided running into him since the weekend.

  Disappointment so intense that it should have been comical hit when the man who emerged wasn’t JT but his friend Sean.

  “And who is this beautiful girl?” the man asked, smiling in Ann’s direction.

  “My sister,” Kenzie replied. “My married sister, Ann.” Apparently, twenty-eight was not too old for her protective big-sister instincts to kick in. Ann had recently admitted to wishing her life had included more passion; she might be vulnerable to the flirtatious attention of handsome strangers.

  Sean glanced up with laughing eyes. “Actually, I meant the baby. Hi, Ann, I’m Sean, JT’s friend and business partner. In fact, we were just headed out to dinner to celebrate his latest brilliant painting.”

  By now, JT had joined them in the hall. Dear heaven, he looked incredible. He wore a button-down black shirt with black jeans, and the monochromatic style was really working for him. His hair was damp and
there was a gleam in his eyes that hadn’t been there the last time they’d spoken. It gave him an irresistible edge of confidence.

  Kenzie couldn’t look away from him. “You’ve been painting? That’s wonderful.”

  “Sean may be exaggerating the brilliance part,” he said with a smile. “But it is pretty wonderful.”

  “We’re going to dinner, too,” Leslie said. “To celebrate the first day of school!”

  “School isn’t something to celebrate,” Drew mumbled.

  “Maybe we should all go togeth—”

  “Leslie! I’m sure the men probably want to talk business and—”

  “Not at all,” Sean said smoothly. “I’ve been saying for months that what the big guy needs is more fun in his life. I know a great place where we can get decent food and play, too.”

  Drew looked intrigued despite himself. “What kind of playing?”

  Kenzie tried again, feeling that she was rapidly losing control of the situation. If she’d ever had any in the first place. “Oh, but it’s a school night. The kids shouldn’t be out too late.”

  “Then we should get going,” Ann said cheerfully. “It’s not even six yet. We have plenty of time.”

  What are you doing? Kenzie demanded with her narrow-eyed glare.

  Her sister fussed with the straps of Abby’s car seat and pretended not to notice.

  Despite the objections she’d tried to voice, fifteen minutes later Kenzie parked next to Sean’s black car at a restaurant that boasted an indoor miniature-golf course, and hoped for the best.

  Chapter 9

  “Welcome to Course After Course!” A bubbly hostess smiled at them. “How many in your party?”

  “Four adults, two kids and one baby requiring a high chair,” Ann said.

  We’re just missing the partridge and the pear tree. How, Kenzie wondered, had she been railroaded into this? She glanced toward JT, noticing how the night-dark shirt made his silvery eyes even more dramatic in contrast. Oh, yeah. Now she remembered how she’d wound up here. She’d been too dazed to put up a sustained, coherent argument.