by Holly Jacobs
He wasn’t sure why they were talking about shopping for baby stuff right now, but he said, “Sure.”
“Well, there you go. I know I’m not an expert on men, but rumor has it they don’t go shopping willingly. You obviously care and you’re taking responsibility. But let’s face the facts, it took two of us to make this baby. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. Your father was right, I could have made an effort to tell you sooner. To be honest, I was glad you kept putting off coming home. It gave me an out. That’s on me. I’ll be sure to spread that little fact around. That will definitely tell everyone how hard you’re trying since you found out.” She smiled at him.
Despite his frustration, he laughed. “I do . . . care, that is. And I am trying.”
“Well, that’s enough for me,” she told him with a smile.
Mal decided the whole town could shun him forever if only Kennedy would keep smiling at him like that. He extended her his arm and she took it, wrapping hers through his, and he realized how right it felt there. “I want to be a better father than my father was.”
“I have no doubts that you’re going to be a good father. I know I selfishly hoped you’d find out about the baby and simply leave it all to me. That would have been easiest on me. That was selfish of me, because it definitely wouldn’t have been best for the baby. I’m going to have to learn to think in those terms . . . what’s best for the baby.”
“What’s best for the baby,” he said softly, “would be us being married.”
“No,” she said. She wasn’t certain about much—well, about anything, really—but she knew that much was true. “Marrying for the sake of a baby never works.”
“We’re compatible. My grandfather adores you. We have a foundation for building a good working relationship.”
“Maybe. And maybe I’m not quite done with my selfish streak, because I want more than a good working relationship with the man I marry.” She patted his arm. “So don’t listen to what Clarence said. You will be a totally different father than yours.”
“How do you know?” he asked.
She looked up at him and truly smiled. “I know because I am a great judge of character. And your character has shown in everything you’ve done since finding out about the baby.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She tightened her arm a bit. “Now come walk with me down Main Street. Let’s admire the lights and decorations. Rumor has it that Tavi covered up the restaurant’s window in order to work on some surprise decoration.”
They strolled down the street together in silence for a while. Well, he was silent, but Kennedy got pulled over by people again and again as they walked.
He was happy to sit back and watch her. She knew everyone’s names and chatted easily with everyone.
As the crowd thinned, he finally asked, “So what was with the legend of the falls in your speech?”
Kennedy almost jumped with surprise as Malcolm spoke again. He’d been so quiet. She’d tried to draw him into conversations with people, but he’d been silent other than the most casual greetings. And everyone seemed pleased to pretend he was invisible.
She was going to have to do something about the situation tomorrow. What, she wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t fair that he was the target of everyone’s ire.
When she’d first found out she was pregnant, she’d expected comments. She’d expected the town to revolt against having an unmarried, pregnant mayor. But all she’d ever received was their support.
“Kennedy?” Malcolm prompted.
“The legend? I know you’ve heard the stories,” she said. “Everyone in town has.” She remembered when she first came to live with her aunt. There’d been an article in the paper talking about the legend. She’d been enchanted by it. She remembered cutting out the piece and was sure she still had it somewhere in her desk.
Malcolm nodded. “Yes, of course I’ve heard the legend.”
“I know that Waterford is understandably proud our first president spent time there. And I like to think that Washington indirectly had a hand in bringing our young hero here, which means Washington helped found Cupid Falls.”
Malcolm laughed. “So that old story is now a legend. The word legend does seem to give it more authority. Did you know that Pap fell in love with my grandmother at the falls?”
“No.” She’d heard a lot of family stories from Pap and Val, but not that one.
Malcolm nodded. “They were seniors in high school and had a senior skip day. Pap assured me that although it wasn’t an official day off for the seniors, all the teachers and parents knew about it and didn’t try to stop it. I think he was afraid I’d skip school and use that as justification.”
“What, you?” she asked with mock shock. “Malcolm Carter the Fourth would never do something like skip school. I don’t think you ever got in trouble in school.”
“And you did?” he countered with a grin.
“Yes. I got a detention our senior year.”
She could see her answer surprised him, then his eyes narrowed with suspicion. “For what?”
She dropped her voice to a stage whisper. “I’ve tried to keep it quiet because I don’t want it to impact my political career, but I’ll trust you with my secret . . . I took my shoes off in gym class. It was the first warm day of spring and we had gym class outside. Everything was so green. I think anyone who didn’t go barefoot should have had detention.”
She paused as a group of people came over to talk to her. They assured her that everything was beautiful and thanked her, and they all shot obligatory dirty looks at Malcolm.
He didn’t seem to notice. When they left, he took her arm again and she didn’t complain. She probably should have, but she didn’t.
“You are a wild, wild, barefoot woman,” he said.
“It was my wildest high school moment.” She laughed at the memory. “So finish the story about how Pap met your grandmother.”
“He’d been dating another girl for a while, and my grandmother had a steady beau from middle school on. But they’d both broken up with their significant others around the same time. They met by the falls for the senior skip day. He swears he looked at her as if he’d never seen her before. She said the same. And they both used to say that that was the day they really met, and after that day, they knew.”
“That’s lovely.” Since the moment that she’d heard that story of George Washington’s man, she’d loved the idea that the falls had some magical power. She liked it even more now, thinking of Pap and his wife meeting there.
“Yes, lovely.” Malcolm was looking at her as he said the word.
The look he gave her was penetrating, as if he’d seen something about her he’d never seen before. It made Kennedy feel vulnerable, and she didn’t like the sensation. So she tried to steer the conversation away from the falls. “Pap said he’s bringing his new lady to the dance,” she blurted out. “Will it bother you?”
She’d just thrown Pap under the bus, but Malcolm stopped staring at her. He looked surprised for a moment, as if weighing what she’d said, then he slowly shook his head. “No, I don’t think it will bother me. He loved my grandmother and he’s mourned her a long time. And he’s lost my mom as well. He deserves to find whatever happiness he can.”
With that, her arm still tucked under his, they walked up Main Street side by side.
People continued to stop them in order to say how much they enjoyed the lights. Even May Williams said, “I love the banners, Kennedy.”
“Thanks, May.” She wondered if she could convince May to adopt a dog in a few weeks. She knew what it was like to rattle around all alone in an empty house. Soon she’d have the baby. May really needed to find a dog. Not to replace June, but to be a new companion.
They walked down one end of Main Street and back up the other, ending up back in the square in front of
the Christmas tree. Kennedy couldn’t help but think that next year she’d have the baby with her. Despite her thick parka, her hands found her stomach, cradling this child she hadn’t planned on.
“Kennedy?” Malcolm asked.
She looked at him, in his black pea coat and hat, and for a moment, that girlhood crush came sweeping back over her. He’d been so handsome, smart, and so nice . . . not that he’d ever really noticed her or was nice to her specifically. Still, she never saw him do anything out of mean-spiritedness.
“Kennedy?” he asked, for what she realized was the second time.
“Sorry. I zoned out for a minute. Chalk it up to pregnancy brain. Yes?”
“Will you marry me? Think of what a nice story that would make? I asked you in front of the Christmas tree and you said yes.”
“Why?” she asked, like she had every time he’d asked.
“Because we make a good team” was his response.
She sighed and patted his arm. For one moment, that young girl who thought the boy Mal had hung the moon wanted to scream yes. She wanted all the times she doodled “Mrs. Malcolm Carter IV” to be true.
But Kennedy knew they never would, because she knew that even with love, marriage was hard. A marriage based on the need to provide a home for a baby didn’t stand a chance.
A marriage based on being a good team wasn’t good enough, nor was one because they were friends, or at least friendly. Maybe if he was staying in Cupid Falls they’d have time to decide if their friendliness could be anything more. But his father had given him until the new year. There was only one answer she could give. “No, but thank you for asking, Malcolm.”
“I’m not giving up,” he said.
“Eventually, you’ll have to.” She took a step back, putting a bit more distance between them. “I’m going to call it a night. I’m exhausted.”
“I’ll walk you home,” he said, taking her arm again.
This time Kennedy did pull away.
She had to be careful not to give Malcolm any ideas that she’d ever change her mind.
She wouldn’t.
She couldn’t.
CHAPTER TEN
Malcolm stayed out of the way as much as possible on Sunday at the craft show. It was obvious that he was still persona non grata.
On Monday, he decided he might be a bit paranoid. It couldn’t be as bad as he thought. But then he walked by May Williams on Main Street and she sniffed at him, then looked through him and he realized that it was worse.
Honestly, it was as if he were invisible.
He walked over to the restaurant and was relieved Kennedy was already at a back table. As he moved in her direction he saw that Lincoln was already there, too.
His mood got even worse, if that were possible. He tried to remind himself that he didn’t think Lincoln was interested in Kennedy. At least that’s what he’d thought at the lighting ceremony, but seeing him sitting across from Kennedy, the two of them so unbelievably cozy looking, he wasn’t quite as sure.
Linc stood up, and for half a moment he wore the same look Mal was getting used to seeing on everyone in town. Not smiling, he shook Mal’s hand. “Thank you for coming.”
“I’d stand, too,” Kennedy said as if she didn’t notice the tension between them, “but by the time I managed it, it would be dinnertime.”
Mal sat between Kennedy and Lincoln and felt better.
Tavi came over. “Oh, you’re here,” she said with a decidedly less-than-enthusiastic inflection. And in case he missed her unenthusiastic response, she shot him a look of pure malice. Then she offered Kennedy a beatific smile. “What can I get you all?”
“Coffee,” Mal said.
“Hot tea,” Lincoln said.
Mal had never seen a man order hot tea in a restaurant. Maybe iced tea in the summer, but not hot tea.
When Tavi came to Kennedy, she said, “You don’t get a choice. A large milk.”
Kennedy laughed. “Which was my choice, so ha.”
“Ha yourself. We’re all watching out for you.” Tavi accidentally kicked Mal’s chair. “Excuse me.”
“Man, what did you do to piss off Tavi?” Linc asked, then in an instant his expression said he remembered just what Mal had done.
Mal was saved from coming up with an answer when Kennedy said, “Knocked me up. The entire town has decided I had no part in the matter whatsoever and they’re blaming Malcolm. I swear, I’ve talked to them. No one will listen to me. If you value your life, it might be better if you shortened your stay.”
“How long are you in town for?” Linc asked, diplomatically ignoring the rest of Kennedy’s explanation.
“Indefinitely,” Mal said. “I have a lot of things to settle here before I can go back.”
“Your father must be going nuts,” Kennedy said. “He can’t be happy that you’re taking all this time off.”
She’d hit the nail on the head with that statement. Senior had called him yesterday and read him the riot act. Any other law firm would have fired you by now, he’d said.
Lucky for me, you’re my loving, devoted father, Mal had countered. You gave me until the new year, remember?
He knew his father loved him in his own way, but loving and devoted had never been words he’d used to describe their relationship.
Lincoln looked from one to the other. “I feel like the third wheel. Would you like me to give you two some space?”
“No,” they said in unison.
Tavi brought the drinks and kicked Mal’s chair again as she left. He took a sip of his coffee and only just barely managed not to spit it out. It was not only stone cold, it was bitter.
Tavi was watching him and shot him a drop-dead look.
Mal put the coffee cup back in its saucer and resigned himself to not eating at The Cupboard for a while. He’d have to go down the road to Simple Food. Ruthy Yoder might be more forgiving.
“So tell me about your idea, Linc,” Kennedy said.
He glanced from Mal to Kennedy, then back again, then nodded more to himself than either of them. “Well, you know that Lincoln Lighting not only makes LED lights, but we’re starting to manufacture solar panels. I want to talk to you both about making Cupid Falls one of the greenest cities in the US. We’ll offer our panels to the town’s people at a special, very discounted rate. I’ve got a marketing idea. Your banners gave me the idea. What if the cupid was wearing green instead of red on our ads, and the slogan would be something like Here in Cupid Falls Green’s the Color of Choice. Maybe something about Falling in Love with Green Living. Love the Planet, Embrace Your Inner Green. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “They’re not very good, but we’ll get our team on it. I think some kind of web ads. Video clips of the panels going in all over town. Maybe some figures on how much everyone ends up saving on their electric bills. I want to show that even in a northern climate, solar power can make sense . . .”
Lincoln went on, describing his plan, and Kennedy watched him with rapt attention.
She hung on his every word. Mal kind of agreed that Linc had a good idea, but he hated that an idea that Kennedy loved hadn’t come from him.
“. . . and that’s where you both come in. I want to start by putting them on City Hall and then some businesses on Main Street. The Center, City Hall, and the flower shop to start. We’ll put together the business owners and start the ball rolling with them. Then we’ll move on to the homes in the area.”
“And you’ll get marketing out of it,” Kennedy said.
Lincoln nodded. “But more than a marketing campaign, we’ll have a real-life city showcasing what our product can do. Solar panels, LED lighting. Maybe we can come up with other green ideas.”
“We’ll have to run it by the town council,” Kennedy said, “but I can’t see any downside to this.”
“I was thinking about hiring some
one to document the entire project. We’ll start with some meetings, maybe a section on what PV panels are, and then move on to documenting the installation. We can run them on the web. I think it could be good for all of us . . .”
Lincoln and Kennedy made plans to get the town council together, then Lincoln beat a hasty retreat.
“Well, that made him uncomfortable,” Kennedy said, glaring at Mal. “I don’t blame him.”
“Of course you don’t blame him,” Mal said and was shocked at how petulant he sounded.
Kennedy frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I’m wondering if a certain man is the real reason behind your wanting me out of the picture?” Lincoln was building a life here in Cupid Falls. He was coming up with improvements for the town.
Kennedy snorted. “Linc? You think there’s something between me and Lincoln Gates?” She laughed. “Seriously, Malcolm, he’s not my type.”
“He’s handsome.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, he felt emasculated.
“Then you go out with him. Appearances have never been high on my list of what to look for in a man.”
“Then what is?” he asked.
“I want a man . . .” She stopped herself and Mal wondered what she’d almost said. He had a feeling that it would be telling.
She shook her head. “I don’t think it matters right now. I told Nana Vancy that I wasn’t able to take on a dog now. And if I can’t manage that, I definitely can’t manage a man. Men are a lot more work than a dog.”
He should feel insulted, because he was pretty sure Kennedy had just dissed his entire gender. But she looked so serious he couldn’t help but laugh.
Despite the fact the entire town of Cupid Falls had blacklisted him. Despite the fact he was about to become a father. Despite the fact the mother of his child wouldn’t marry him, he found Kennedy Anderson delightful.
“It’s Monday,” he announced in a thank-you-Captain-Obvious sort of way. He remembered her mentioning going out with his mom on Mondays.
“Yes,” she said slowly.
“Come out with me tonight. We’ll have a Movie Monday in honor of my mother. I’ll buy you popcorn and we’ll gorge ourselves on it, then I’ll take you to dinner and we’ll dissect the show and complain about how full we are.”