by Pamela Stone
“Here’s your problem.” Suddenly all the pieces fell into place. “You have superwoman as a mom. How can any woman compare? Gardens, cooks, keeps the house clean, babysits the grandkids, mows the yard, there for everybody when they need her.” Vince pointed toward the Falls Diner. “Lunch?”
Gray whipped the truck into the parking lot.
“Hell, I’m not sure I’d have ever gotten my act together after Belinda was killed without her support,” Vince admitted.
“Exactly my point.” Gray wedged the truck in between a Lexus and an F150 with a rack and ladders in the bed.
“You might want to whittle your requirements down to a more realistic list,” Vince suggested.
“You keep hounding me like this and I’m going to order the biggest meal on the menu and dessert. So tell me about Hanna Rosser. Things looked pretty chummy last night. And that chicken-eatin’ grin has been plastered on your face since I pulled into the bike shop.”
Vince cocked his head and wondered if Gray was as cool with this as he was acting. “Why don’t you tell me what you think about Hanna?”
“She’s a good person. I knew her in school.” Gripping the wheel, Gray turned and stared at him. “Belinda’s been dead a long time, Vince. You’ve got a life to live.”
“Could say the same about you.” Vince wasn’t sure to what extent losing his twin had contributed to Gray’s hang-ups about women.
“I miss her every damn day. She was my best friend.” Gray flashed those white teeth. “But she’d kick our asses if she thought we weren’t getting on with our lives.”
“You got that right.” For the first time in nine years Vince was actually beginning to realize that by his complete devotion to Kenzie and their life here, he’d closed himself off from some interesting possibilities. “When are you going to find a woman so I don’t have to kick your ass for your sister?”
“When I’m damn good and ready. You buying me lunch?”
Vince slammed the pickup door and matched his stride to Gray’s. “How about the secretary at the school? She asks about you almost every time I’m there.” And that was more often than he’d have liked of late.
Gray shook his head. “Divorced. Two kids.”
Vince snapped his finger. “Kim Martin. She’s looking for somebody to be a daddy to her little girl. She’d love to stay home and have your babies.”
Gray opened the door and walked into the diner. “I’m hungry. You hungry? Meat loaf smells good. I’m thinking banana cream pie.”
AT LEAST THEY GOT TO finish their first course, but Vince had taken only two bites out of his pie when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the display.
“Hey, Ken—”
“Bully Baer’s telling everybody that you’re doing it with Ms. Rosser.”
Vince dropped his fork onto the plate. “Kenzie, calm down.”
“I know you broke up, so why’s he being such a jerk and telling people that? I told him…”
Shit. “Kenzie, slow down a minute.”
Silence. Frightening silence. “Are you and Ms. Rosser doing it?”
How was he supposed to handle this over the phone? He should have told her sooner. “Are you at McDonald’s? Is Ashton still with you?”
A pause, then Ashton’s gasp. “It’s true?”
“Stay there and I’ll pick you up.”
“I don’t want to stay here. And I don’t want to talk to you. You told me it was over. You lied.”
The phone went dead.
Now even the kids were being hurt by the town grapevine!
“We gotta go.”
Without asking what was up, Gray started shoveling in bites of banana cream pie. Vince did the same with his coconut cream. “William Baer’s boy told the kids about me and Hanna.”
“That kid’s a pain.” Gray finished his pie and pushed in his chair.
Vince handed the waitress a couple bills, probably twice the cost of lunch, and followed Gray toward the truck. He dialed Hanna’s phone. “We got a problem. Kids are upset. Billy Baer was at McDonald’s and told them that you and I are sleeping together. Kenzie hung up on me. I don’t know where they are.”
Grayson made good time getting to the house. Vince really wasn’t sure where Kenzie would go, but he needed his truck to find her.
“Back door’s open,” Gray said.
Vince bolted out of the truck. “You coming in?”
Gray shook his head. “This is between you and Kenzie.”
“Yeah.”
Vince didn’t even get in the door before Kenzie pounced, hands on her hips. “So did Bully Baer lie? Or did you?”
Deep breath. “Hanna and I are dating.”
Her blue eyes flashed. “You couldn’t have just told us? You had to let that dweeb know before we did? He said you’re—”
“Stop right there. This just happened. We planned to tell you tonight.” Geez, it even sounded like a flimsy excuse to him.
Kenzie stomped up and huffed. “Well that’s not soon enough.” She pushed past him and flounced down on the sofa, arms crossed over her chest.
Vince squatted down in front of her, but she wouldn’t even look at him. Tears glistened in her blue eyes. “Mackenzie, I did not lie to you.” He bent his head and tried to capture her gaze. “When I told you Hanna and I weren’t seeing each other, that was the truth. Things changed.”
“Why do you need her anyway?” She sniffed and turned to face him. Instead of belligerence, he saw a hurt little girl.
“You’re not a child anymore, Kenzie. In a few years you’ll be going off to college. Probably get married and start your own life, and I want the best life possible for you. I want all your dreams to come true.” He waited and let that register. “But where does that leave me?”
She shrugged.
“No matter where each of our lives lead, nothing can lessen what we have. You’ll always be my little girl and nobody can come between us.”
“But why Ash’s mom?”
“I enjoy her company. Would you rather me date somebody who had a kid you didn’t like?”
At least she finally uncrossed her arms. “No, but she’s sort of a pain.”
“She’s been through a lot just like Ashton has. She’s entitled to a little time to adjust before you start making judgments.”
“What happens when you break up? It’ll make it hard for me and Ash to be friends. Have you thought about that? I like hanging out with him.”
“And I like hanging out with Hanna. So let’s give this a try. It could work out well for all of us.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
VINCE CHECKED THE TACKLE BOX to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything.
Kenzie jammed her pink cap on backwards and grabbed the fishing poles. “It’ll be a hoot to watch Ashton fish, but tell me again why his mom’s going? She doesn’t seem like the fishing type.”
“Because I want her to.” Vince tossed the tackle box and a blanket into the truck bed and slammed the tailgate.
Kenzie smirked, then clapped her hands at the dog. “Come on Boo. Let’s go.”
Vince started the truck and Boo leaped into the backseat. “Just so we’re straight, Kenzie. I expect you to be nice to Hanna. Show some respect.”
“Whatever.”
HANNA WASN’T SURPRISED that Ashton didn’t have the least issue with the dating situation. His only concern was Billy Baer and how Kenzie was taking it. When Vince and Kenzie pulled up, he bolted into the truck and rubbed Boo’s head. “Hey, boy.”
Vince held the door for Hanna, and grinned at the boy and the dog’s slobbery greeting.
Wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, Vince looked even more sexy than usual. She wondered if he’d kiss her hello, but he didn’t. She was glad they were thinking alike, that maybe it was best to take it slow, give the kids time to adjust.
“Hi, Mackenzie,” Hanna said, hoping to get some feel for how tonight was going to work.
“Hi,” Mackenzie replied, then
turned her attention to Ashton and began rattling off a thousand details about fishing.
Vince slid into the cab and leaned forward for a kiss. “You ever fish?”
Taken by surprise, she touched her tongue to her lip and narrowed her eyes. “Not since I was young and Daddy took me. Let’s just say that I was not a natural at the sport.”
After a quick stop by the sporting goods store for licenses and a run to KFC for a bucket of chicken, they were off to the lake.
Mackenzie grabbed the chicken and staked out the concrete picnic table closest to the water. Ashton took the blanket and Hanna grabbed the drinks while Vince brought up the rear hauling the fishing gear. Boo didn’t even slow down at the table, just headed straight for the water’s edge to sniff around.
Please let this evening be a success. Hanna knew Mackenzie had a lot of pull with her father and she was the best friend Ashton had ever had. Hanna wanted to get along.
“Dinner first.” Vince stopped Kenzie in her tracks as she started toward the water.
“Dad, can’t we fish a few minutes, then eat?”
“Chicken’s hot and you might want to eat before you get fish guts on your hands.”
“Good point,” Ashton said.
Hanna had never seen Ashton wolf down his food so fast. But Kenzie still beat him. She handed Boo the last bite of chicken, tossed her empty plate into the garbage and grabbed a rod and reel. “I’ll be over there on the dock.”
“Stay in sight.”
“Wait up!” Ashton tossed his plate and looked at the other three rods. “Which one do I use?”
“The green one.”
Ashton took off after Mackenzie and Boo, trying to run and hold the rod up.
“Ashton’s okay with this?”
Hanna shrugged and watched a boat with two fisherman putt across the mirror-smooth lake toward the docks on the opposite shore, leaving a narrow wake behind. “Thought it was kind of cool. What about Kenzie?”
“Kenzie will get a grip.”
Hanna certainly hoped so, but she wasn’t sure. “And let’s hope Bully Baer stays out of her path until after she does.”
“No kidding.” Vince smiled at Hanna. “What else is wrong?”
She gulped. He could read her way too well. She hadn’t even told her mother this. “Ashton told me that Richard’s law-student girlfriend is pregnant.”
Vince didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of that. “Good. Maybe he’ll be preoccupied with the new baby and not have time to pressure you about Ashton.”
“Evidently Ashton has known for a month or two and they asked him to keep it quiet because she’s due in August.”
“Which means she was pregnant when he asked for a divorce?”
“Yeah.” Her voice cracked. She wasn’t sure why the confirmation had hit her so hard. “I’d guessed she might be pregnant when Richard asked for a divorce, but he denied it.”
Vince ran his palm down her cheek.
She swiped an escaped tear. “God, I hate him right now. Why do men think with their… Why can’t they use their brains?”
“I’m sorry. That’s gotta hurt.” He ran a thumb under her eye.
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to throw you into the scumbag category with my ex. It just seems so sleazy. This girl is so young, she was still living at home with her parents. She’s only ten years older than Ashton. How sick is that!”
Vince looked at the kids, then back at Hanna. “What does Ashton think about a baby brother or sister?”
“That’s how Ashton slipped and told me. He went with them shopping for baby furniture during spring break. They’re redecorating the bedroom that was my office with new pink baby furniture.” She felt like bursting into tears. “It’s so stupid, but that room was mine. It’s not logical to feel this violated over a dumb room.”
He slid an arm around her. “There’s nothing stupid about it. It was your room. Your home.”
“Winnie the Pooh is going to be living in my cherrywood study. And I’m living with my mother and sleeping in the stupid white canopy bed I got when I was eight.”
“Well, I could suggest a solution for the bed issue, but you might surmise that I was rushing things.” He stood and tugged her to her feet. “Come on. Fishing soothes the soul.”
She knew he was kidding about moving in, but the idea of the four of them sharing a house, of her sleeping in Vince’s arms each night didn’t frighten her nearly as much as it should have.
Vince tied a lure onto the line and demonstrated how to cast. When Hanna took the fishing rod from him and gave it a try, the lure dropped to the ground at her feet, not even close to landing in the lake. “Fishing’s not really my thing.”
Mackenzie rolled her eyes, but Vince was facing Hanna and didn’t notice. Hanna was tempted to stick her tongue out, but instead put more determination into the next cast and at least landed it in the water with a tiny splash. Mackenzie didn’t seem to notice, as she and Ashton were giggling about something.
Hanna frowned when Vince’s line sailed past hers and landed in the middle of the lake. “That’s what you expect me to do?”
He laid down his fishing rod, slipped one arm around her back and put his hand over hers on the handle. “I’ve got confidence in you. Try this.”
Backing into his chest, she held the fishing rod and moved her arm with his, enjoying the unison of their body movement. She released the button on the reel and the line soared out over the lake. The lure dropped into the water with a gentle splash.
“I caught one.” Mackenzie bounced from one sneaker to the other as she reeled in the fish.
Reluctantly Hanna felt the absence of Vince’s warmth as he turned toward Mackenzie. She had to confess that she was impressed when instead of waiting for Vince to do it, Mackenzie removed the fish from the hook and held it up for Ashton’s approval. Not a glimpse of squeamishness.
“Whoa! Look at that one. He’s got to be at least a five-pounder,” Ashton assured her.
Hanna studied the tiny fish. They’d be lucky if it weighed a pound.
“Unless you plan to catch a bunch more and treat everyone to a fish fry, you might want to toss him back now.” Vince nodded toward the water.
“You don’t eat them?” Hanna stared at him in bemusement as Mackenzie gently knelt down and released the fish.
“Sometimes, but mostly we just fish for fun and let them go.”
“It doesn’t hurt them?”
“Nah, they just get harder to catch next time. Just adds challenge to the game.”
“You’re an interesting man, Mr. Keegan.”
He flashed those dimples and dug his ringing cell phone out of his jeans. “Hey, Claire.”
Hanna cast her line and tried not to eavesdrop.
“No use in Greg driving all the way up from Fredericksburg. And like you said, Gray is a master at the lawn, but when it comes to anything mechanical he’s useless. I’ll drop by tomorrow sometime and take a look.” He paused. “Have you ever known me to turn down a home-cooked meal?” He laughed. “Yeah, tell the guys they’re off the hook this time. See you around noon.”
It was dusk when they wrapped up the adventure. On another evening Hanna would have put the fishing rod aside and just enjoyed the breathtaking sunset and sounds of frogs croaking and water lapping against the shore, but tonight she wasn’t about to give Mackenzie any reason to think she couldn’t hold her own. She kept casting that silly rod until the rest of them started packing up.
“So where are we going tomorrow?” Ashton tossed his rod into the pickup bed with the others.
“We’re staying home and doing homework. You two aren’t out of school yet,” Hanna stated. Vince obviously had plans with the Maguires and Hanna didn’t want him to feel as if he had to entertain them every evening.
Both kids groaned as they piled back into the pickup for the short trip home.
Vince held Hanna’s arm and gave it a squeeze as she climbed into the tall truck. She felt a warm rush wh
en he winked before closing her door.
“But tomorrow’s Sunday. What if we get our homework done early?” Kenzie asked. “Then we could go see the new movie that started yesterday.”
“I got most of mine done at school anyway,” Ashton chimed in. “So I vote for the movie.”
“You heard your mom. Sunday is a school night.”
“Then maybe Ash could come to our house in the afternoon and we could do homework and play the Wii?”
The fact that she wasn’t mentioned in that invite did not go unnoticed by Hanna. “Not tomorrow. Ashton takes his grades very seriously.”
Ashton sat up straight. “I take the Wii seriously, too, and last time she beat me, so I have to prove she’s not better than me.”
“I am better than you.” Mackenzie punched Ashton. “You need to work on your swing and quit wasting all your energy trying to figure out how the game works.”
“Oh, you are going to pay for that. I’m going to beat you so bad.”
Vince turned onto the road and shook his head. “No Wii until all homework is done and we give permission.” He high-fived Hanna. “Parents rule. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!” He sounded very much like the Count on Sesame Street.
Kenzie frowned. “Great. Your mom is wearing off on my dad. What’s up with that?”
Ashton groaned. “That sucks green pond scum.”
Chapter Sixteen
If members of the grapevine had any doubts, they wouldn’t in five minutes. During the Monday lunch hour at Falls Dinner, Vince put a possessive hand on Hanna’s back. If they were going to do this, they might as well put it out in the open and squelch speculation. In nine years in Marble Falls, he’d dated, even dated in “public,” but had never brought anyone to Falls Diner at lunch when the entire town was likely to be there.
He felt Hanna take a deep breath. As she glanced up at him, he smiled. “They won’t have nearly as much to gossip about if we’re not sneaking around.”
She nodded and led the way into the café.
Vince’s mouth watered at the aroma of home-cooking permeating the bustling café. He took off his cap and escorted Hanna to a seat at a booth next to the counter.