Right from the Start (26 page)

“My mom’s been coming over to spend the nights with Sam so I
can leave after he falls asleep. I need those hours.”

She didn’t reply, only half sat on the edge of her desk,
inadvertently tipping over a stack of books that knocked over another stack then
another. There were several muffled thumps as books landed on the floor.

Deanne watched everything topple over with disinterest. “That’s
my life at the moment.”

“Join the club.”

“So what are we going to do, Will? Book the walk-through? I can
try to get the very last day. Unfortunately, we’ll also be opening our booths at
the festival then. That whole week will be labor intensive, and we need all our
key people at the center for the walk-through. The Ramsey Foundation will want
to see the place in action. They’ll want to talk to teachers and therapists and
students and parents. We’ll need all hands on deck for the performance.”

“We can’t possibly have the space ready for the week before the
festival.”

She nodded. “I’ll ask Father to find us some help. We’ve got
days of chopping vegetables for the American booth and making churro batter. If
we can get some people into the booth for opening day, we should be okay.”

“Book the walk-through,” Will said decidedly. They hadn’t come
this far only to trip at the finishing line. If he had to work around the clock
from now until then, he’d get everything done. “If I let you into the offices
this weekend and next, will that help? I can’t have lots of people running
around during the week. It’s still a work site.”

“I’m not going to lie, Will. We’re already cutting it close.
I’ve had Laura, Beth and Fred packing up classrooms for weeks. There’s just so
much junk.”

“Want me to have a Dumpster delivered?”

She paused, considering the offer. “Thanks, but don’t bother
with that now. Maybe later. Father already said we can take as long as we need
to clear this place out. Let’s get moved in and get school started. Then we can
deal with whatever mess is left over here.”

“One less thing to worry about is a good thing right now. It’ll
probably be in our best interests to move in slowly, anyway. Might keep the
media off our trail for a bit before all the fanfare of moving trucks on the big
day.”

“Big
days,
you mean. But that’s a
good idea.”

He hated the thought of picketers showing up to grandstand at
the new location. They would never be content at the rear entrance to Angel
House. No, they would only be satisfied to march up and down Main Street
garnering the most visibility. Kenzie wouldn’t be able to get to her front
door.

God, he wanted to see her, just one smile.

“I’ll focus on getting specific rooms finished and bringing the
new shelving and storage units out of the warehouse. That way everything will be
there when you’re ready to start unpacking.”

“So, we’re going to take a leap of faith?” Deanne asked.

Will nodded, tucking away his thoughts of a beautiful redhead
who was his to enjoy only in the privacy of his mind. “Looks like that’s exactly
what we’re going to do.”

* * *

“K
ENZIE
,
WHAT
BRINGS
YOU
by tonight?”
Nathanial glanced away from his desk, where he and his assistant had been
crouched over some sort of documentation.

“Hey, Chad,” Kenzie said then met Nathanial, who approached
her, reaching for her hands and kissing her cheek.

“Nice to see you, Kenzie,” Chad said. “Please excuse me. I’m
going to seize this chance to grab something to eat from the vending machine
since my maniac boss won’t break for dinner.”

Kenzie smiled as Chad headed through the open door that he
pulled shut behind him. “Does that answer my question about how the case is
going?”

Nathanial nodded, then dragged her over to the sofa. “What’s
up? You don’t drop by unannounced for no reason.”

“I’m only unannounced because I didn’t see the point in taking
the time to text when you never reply.”

He hung his head. “I’m on overload. It’s really that simple.
Sorry I’ve been so rude.”

“If you can’t trust me to understand, then who can you trust,
right?”

He leveled his gaze at her. “Okay, now my flags are flying. Hit
me with it.”

She smiled. “No, I won’t. Not when you’ve got so much on your
plate that you can’t even handle texting me. That’s never happened, and it tells
me everything I need to know. But I do want to tell you something and ask you a
question. Can you handle that?”

He leaned forward and took her hands, giving her his undivided
attention. “Shoot.”

Kenzie took a deep breath. The moment of truth. “I respect that
you’re drowning right now, and you don’t want to share. But I want you to know
I’m here for you no matter what.”

“I know that, Kenz.”

His touch was strong and familiar, his voice soft, reminding
her of their conversations late at night, snuggling in bed. She had so few of
those memories, but the ones she did have had kept her hoping for a long
time.

“Promise me you’ll remember that, Nathanial. I’m here and
always will be. Today, tomorrow or whenever. Nothing will change that. You’re my
dearest friend in the world, and I can’t imagine life without you.”

He exhaled heavily, seeming to gear up for what he sensed was
coming because he knew her so well. Or maybe he simply was so burdened that he
couldn’t handle what she was saying. Kenzie didn’t know. For the first time
ever, she couldn’t read him, felt distanced enough that his needs weren’t her
priority. Her need was, and everything inside her that felt so momentous, and
urgent, and necessary didn’t feel the same way to Nathanial.

That was the reality of the situation, and it was no longer
good enough for her.

She squeezed his hands gently, opened her mouth to ask if he
wanted her to wait for him. She intended to explain that she couldn’t promise
she would but she’d consider it.

But as they sat there in that moment, no words between them,
only the companionable silence that was uniquely theirs, Kenzie realized that
Nathanial’s answer wouldn’t make any difference.

She didn’t want to wait.

She wanted to feel alive the way Will made her feel, flustered
by the mere sight of him, giddy from his kisses, awed by his dedication to those
he loved, frustrated by his unwillingness to consider any possible scenario for
their relationship.

She wanted to be challenged, to help him understand that what
was happening between them was too special not to explore no matter where it
led.

And in the wake of that realization, Kenzie knew that asking
Nathanial whether or not he wanted her to wait would only be putting him on the
spot for no reason.

He’d already told her how he felt by his words and his actions.
She’d been the one who hadn’t wanted to accept them.

She’d been the one willing to wait.

Would they ever get around to realizing their plans?

Maybe, if she forced the issue. But even if they did force it,
she might be told, “Not right now,” as she had in her parents’ backyard not so
long ago.

She was done with waiting.

“And I wanted to ask you to be honest with me if you ever feel
as though our friendship is in jeopardy. Give me a chance to address the problem
before any damage is done. Will you promise me that, Nathanial?” The question
popped out of her mouth, the words miraculously there when she needed them.

He held her gaze, those beautiful blue eyes revealing a play of
emotions that suggested he was hearing everything she hadn’t said. He understood
that this time was different.

“It’s Will Russell, isn’t it?” he asked.

She nodded. She had no reply, didn’t need one. Nathanial had
sensed something was up even before she’d recognized the seriousness of her
feelings for Will. He’d warned her against getting involved, but hadn’t chosen
to resume that part of their relationship, to help her tackle what she’d been
struggling with or to even fight for her.

And she respected his choice.

In that moment, he looked so handsome, the embodiment of
everything she’d ever dreamed of for her life. “I’ll always be here for you, no
matter what happens.”

And she couldn’t say anything would happen because Will was so
set against involving her in his life. But she couldn’t wait for Nathanial
anymore. She was going to try to change Will’s mind, going to try with
everything she had in her.

Nathanial rested his forehead against hers, such a familiar
gesture, the two of them all alone against the world.

Best friends for life.

There was nothing for him to say right now. He could have tried
to stake his claim, but he didn’t. Like her, he was willing to wait for them,
risk them, allow other things to be more important than them.

And that told Kenzie everything she needed to know.

Letting go of a longtime dream should have created a gaping
wound in her heart, but somehow it felt peaceful, and empowering, and promising
and...

Right.

* * *

W
ILL
SAW
K
ENZIE
’
S
CAR
on her side of the lot when he
pulled in. It was late, after nine, but he remembered she’d mentioned Lou would
start delivering presentations to potential clients this week. On impulse he
glanced in the bed of his truck, where he’d been driving around with her grid
replacements since he’d picked them up from his warehouse yesterday.

He had five thousand things to do at Angel House, and Kenzie
had already given him a free pass to put off the remaining work at Positive
Partings until he was ready. She understood he was out of time. And she cared
enough to want to help.

But in that moment Will needed to see her, so much that the
need was an ache inside. The grid was the perfect excuse. Kenzie’s life would be
so much simpler if she had another room available instead of coordinating with
Lou to use the large session room. Replacing the rusted fastenings would take
him twenty minutes tops. He’d feel better by making her smile. He’d feel better
just seeing her.

That was all the rationalization he needed.

A mere twenty minutes then he’d head to the Angel House side,
to shoulder the pressure of that ticking clock and everyone who depended on him
to clear out his crew by the weekend.

Will let himself in through the side door, but didn’t find
Kenzie in her office. A quick tour of the place didn’t turn her up, which meant
she was either in one of the bathrooms or only her car was here. So much for
seeing her. Will headed up the attic stairs with the grid and dragged it into
the crawl space.

He’d just disconnected the first set of rusty bolts when he
heard the music. And knew.

Kenzie was here.

He needed to turn around and slither right out of this crawl
space, climb down the stairs and straight out the door. And he would have done
just that but for the music. She was in the studio dancing, moving her beautiful
body with an effortless grace that belied the exquisite discipline of her
training.

He could envision her fully without even closing his eyes.

Now that he’d kissed her and felt her body close, Will had
nothing to protect him from this crazy need that only the feverish pace of his
life helped him keep under control.

Barely.

And the knowledge that as much he wanted her, he had nothing to
offer. He wouldn’t change his life, but he wouldn’t invite Kenzie into it,
couldn’t.

That helped him keep his need under control, too.

But tonight, when he was frazzled and fried and so unsure he
could pull off his end of a miracle, Will had no resistance to the soft strains
of music lingering in the dark crawl space, to the knowledge of the woman who
would be moving her beautiful body in rhythm with the music.

Just a glimpse.

That’s all he’d wanted tonight, one glimpse of her so he would
feel better.

But even as his head warned him to get out of the crawl space,
Will inched forward on a steady course.

Just a glimpse.

And there she was, showcased through the missing ceiling
panels. The exquisite lines of her body softly illuminated in the overhead
light, reflected in mirrors on the walls. Her body lithe and in motion, shifting
from one perspective to another, fast, graceful, strong.

He might be half-dead from exhaustion but his body reacted to
the sight of her, the blood pooling in his crotch—that one part of him more
alive than the rest of him together. Will stretched out on his stomach, so he
had to shift to get comfortable, and...
clang!
He
nailed the metal support with his boot. The ensuing groans of the stressed
T-bars didn’t stop for a lifetime.

Busted.

Kenzie had to know he was there. No one could have missed that
racket. Especially Kenzie who already knew he had a penchant for lurking in the
rafters.

But she continued dancing, never glancing up at those empty
ceiling panels. She didn’t call him out. She raised her arms in a series of
graceful moves and freed her hair from whatever contraption held it in a
ponytail.

Suddenly red-gold waves tumbled around her face, shifting and
swaying in time with her movements, curls catching the light as they created
their own dance around her face.

Will watched her, unsure what to make of the situation, riveted
to the sight of her. The only thing he knew was that he could never resist this
assault on his senses.

And it was an assault in every way.

Before his eyes her movements lost their precision, her
athleticism, yielding to a much sultrier performance. Her every motion
lengthened as she swayed, a new kind of dance, one that emphasized the lean
lines of her body. Bare arms rose and fell above her, around her, drawing his
gaze to the way her hips rolled to the tempo of the music, the way her breasts
lifted upward as she surged forward only to fall back again in a sinuous
display.