by Fiona West
“Mr. Sadiq, I’ve been to the beach many times, I assure you. I know the way. It’s a very safe place.”
“I'm sorry, Ms. Buchanan. My wife and child cannot go with only you, and I must work. There is an American proverb: there’s safety in numbers. We can’t be too careful after...what happened. People who agree with Mr. Zane, they are everywhere.”
“What if someone else came? My . . . Dr. Durand, he might be willing to go with us."
Abshir stared at the carpet, then he nodded slowly. “Dr. Durand is a good man, and I think other men would not confront my wife if she were with him. Yes, you may go if he will accompany you.” Ainsley privately agreed; Kyle was no bodybuilder, but she wouldn’t mess with him, either.
Fawzia started jumping up and down, her small feet producing more noise than one would think possible, but Ainsley could see that Bilqiis wasn't letting herself be excited yet.
After several trips, they ended up back in front of their cars. He still looked stressed; Ainsley wanted to hug him, but they weren’t that kind of friends, and she knew he had touch issues occasionally. She settled for a gentle punch on the arm, but as she went to do it, he misinterpreted her movement. Kyle lifted his arm, as if to hug her, and her fist, having nowhere to land, found open air. The motion propelled her forward, and they were suddenly getting that hug after all; it was one-armed and cringe-worthy, but it was warm. Ainsley found herself hesitant to pull away: she hadn’t meant to hug him, didn’t want to weird him out . . . but also wasn’t ready to leave this somewhat tender if unexpected moment and go back to their usual brand of awkward.
Nestled under his arm, she murmured, “Thanks for your help today.”
“You’re welcome. And I’m not grumpy all the time.”
She rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Fine, I take it back. You’re a ray of pleasant sunshine.” She gave him a quick squeeze as they released each other.
“Thank you.” He caught her gaze and held it as he backed toward his car. “See you.”
“Yup. See you.” She only realized later that she’d forgotten to ask him about the beach trip.
CHAPTER TEN
THURSDAY AFTER SCHOOL, Kyle was there as usual to pick up Cooper. Ainsley felt pressure to talk to him about the beach. Their families had happened to meet in Pacific City a few years ago on a rare sunny spring day, and he’d looked miserable. She didn’t know if it was a sand thing or a sun thing or a not-being-at-home-playing-video-games thing, but she didn’t anticipate that he’d actually want to join them. Maybe she could bribe him with brownies . . . She really wanted to make this happen for Bilqiis.
Just as she was about to hand Cooper off, the boy slapped his own forehead comically.
“I forgot my lunch box!”
“Where’d you forget it?”
“I’m not sure . . . in my cubby, maybe?”
“Okay, hang on. I have to walk you back inside. Go tell Uncle Kyle.” Cooper dashed across the concrete to talk to him, and Ainsley delivered the rest of the class to their buses. Kyle and Cooper were waiting for her by the front doors, and they followed her inside.
“Hello, Ainsley.”
“Hey, Kyle.” He was dressed for work, and she gave herself a moment to admire his suit. Or rather, to admire him in a suit. “Just as a heads up, I was thinking I might not build on Saturday.”
He looked up, scowling. “Why? You always build on Saturday.”
“I know, but Bilqiis really misses the ocean, and she doesn’t get a lot of time off. I thought maybe I would take her, make a day of it.” She swallowed. “I thought maybe you’d come with us.”
“Why?” He sounded as surprised as he looked, and both were considerable.
“Abshir doesn't want us to go unless we have another dude with us. He thinks racist guys will be more likely to leave us alone.”
“He’s not wrong. Cowards hate an audience. And he approved of me?”
“After a little cajoling, yes.”
He was biting the inside of his lower lip, and Ainsley held her breath. She was tempted to do some cajoling of her own, but she thought she’d wait for him to say no first.
“Okay.” She wanted to stick a finger in her ear and clean it out to make sure she was hearing him right.
She blinked at Kyle as Cooper ran back into the classroom, only to run right back out.
“Not in there, gonna check the lunch room!”
“Okay, Coop.” She turned back to Kyle. “Did you just say ‘okay’?”
He nodded. “Yes. But I have some conditions . . .”
She threw her arms around his shoulders, squeezing him right. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kyle! Oh, thank you so much!” When he stiffened, she pulled back quickly. That was too much. She turned away under the guise of putting her hair back up, letting her face go hot while he couldn’t see.
“Ains . . .”
She trampled his attempt to talk about it like she was a bull at Pamplona. “So I was thinking we could leave early; that’s your preference, right? I think they get up early, too, so it shouldn’t be a big deal. I was thinking of Lincoln City, but I could probably be persuaded to go to Pacific City if you like it better. They’re both kind of tourist traps, but they might like that better, I don't know. I like the beach better at Lincoln. And of course, a stop at Tillamook for ice cream is essential, even if it does add a lot of extra—”
“Hey.” He grabbed her arm and spun her around. Kyle engulfed her in an ardent hug. She felt her face pressed into his clean-smelling chest, and she completely forgot what she was going to say next. Her hands lifted on their own and returned his embrace, pressing her palms into his back, worried she was somehow doing it wrong. A hug? You're worried that you’re doing a hug wrong? He’s autistic, but he’s not going to disown you if you don’t touch him exactly the way he wants. You are officially too wrapped up in this . . . whatever this is.
“I'll leave whenever you want to leave,” he said, his lips brushing the top of her head, making her heart beat faster. “And we can go wherever you think is best. But I’m not driving all the way to Tillamook for ice cream we can get at the grocery store in Salem.” He left his arms loosely around her; she could’ve easily pulled away, if she wanted to. But she didn’t. Ainsley tipped her head back to stare up into his solemn face, but she could see a spark of pleasure in his eyes, and his hands were warm as he touched her gently.
She couldn’t bring herself to leave that touch, but she wanted to put them back on solid ground, and that meant arguing. “But everyone knows ice cream is better when you eat it next to a giant black-and-white cow statue. And they won’t get to take the tour that way! Also, there’s an aviation museum nearby, so we could—”
He put a finger over her lips. “Fine. A quick stop at Tillamook, but no one is eating in my car.” He’s touching my face. Kyle Freaking Durand is touching my lips. This was even better than the wedding cake moment.
“Deal.”
“Do you have an umbrella?” She gave him a perplexed look, and he shook his head. “Never mind, I'll grab the one at my mom’s.”
“Like a rain umbrella or a sun umbrella?”
He flexed his arms inward a little bit and then let her go. “First of all, rain umbrellas are for Californians.”
“Well, that's what I would’ve thought, but . . .”
“No, you’re right. They are. But I hate sitting in the sun, so I have a big beach umbrella. It’s very helpful. We should also plan to get some buckets and shovels before we go, because they always mark that stuff up at the grocery stores near the beach . . .”
“You’re right, that’s a good idea. See? You’re not so bad with kids.”
That earned her a bright smile from him, and she gave him one back.
“Found it!” Cooper crowed, and Kyle and Ainsley both stepped away from each other as he blasted back into the room. “But now I lost my backpack.”
Kyle picked it up where the boy had dropped it and held it out to him.
; “You can carry it,” Cooper said, turning for the door.
“It’s not my backpack. Come get it, Coop.” Dragging his feet, Cooper came back and claimed his possession.
“So Saturday? Seven?”
“Saturday,” she confirmed, watching as they started back down the hall, still not sure how she’d just gotten Kyle to agree to go somewhere he hated.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ON FRIDAY NIGHT, AINSLEY drove to the town meeting like usual. But unlike usual, Kyle was standing outside by the doors. And he was talking to people; in fact, he spoke to everyone who approached the doors. It seemed to be voluntary; she didn’t see a gun to his head or anything, and yet . . . this was very un-Kyle-like behavior.
“What are you doing out here?” Ainsley crossed her arms over her chest against the autumn chill. She was so glad Bilqiis wasn’t here to witness this; it would cement her opinion about Kyle’s interest in her even more.
“I’m greeting people.”
“Greeting them?”
“Yeah. You know. Being friendly.”
Ainsley sighed. “This is because of that thing I said, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Kyle faced the Turners. “Hey. Welcome to the town meeting. Someone is glad you’re here.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Turner replied, nevertheless taking his wife by the arm and guiding her inside, as if Kyle and Ainsley had some malicious intent that he hadn’t yet ferreted out.
“I’m sorry I said anything. I didn’t mean for you to go all Walmart on the good people of Timber Falls, Kyle.”
“It can’t hurt to practice, can it?”
“It might,” she muttered. Ainsley sat down on the bench outside the town hall in order to think. Starla was right across the street in the library; she could see her packing up to go home, most of the lights off already. Pulling out her phone, she texted her.
Ainsley: Packing up?
Starla: Don’t do that.
Ainsley: Don’t do what?
Starla: Don’t be a creeper through the windows. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.
It didn’t seem fine to Ainsley. If anyone she cared about had left someone else’s earring in her bedroom, she’d have feelings about it. Big ones. Loud ones. Angry ones.
Ainsley: Okay, well, have a good night.
Ainsley turned to Kyle. “How long are you going to do this? I’m cold, and you’re freaking people out.”
“How am I freaking people out?” He turned back to the couple approaching. “Hey. Welcome to the town meeting. Sit anywhere you like.” Mrs. Kirschbaum smiled at him, amused.
“That. That’s freaking people out, because they already know they can sit wherever they like, it’s not a wedding, for goodness’ sake.”
At the word wedding, he went eerily still. “Why would you mention weddings?”
“It seemed to fit the scenario,” she said, confused. “Just come inside.”
“Daniel isn’t here yet. I’ll come inside when he gets here.”
“Why would Daniel come to the town meeting, anyway? Why are you at the town meeting for that matter?”
“I learn a lot of useful things at the town meeting. Like where we’re building houses in the community.”
He still hadn’t signed in at the build. He was getting no credit for it from anyone. She didn’t want to stand out here in the cold and argue with him. She wanted to shake him until he started being candid, which was funny, because Kyle was always candid. But she wanted answers to questions she was too afraid to ask.
“I see. And this has nothing to do with Jennie Wallace’s presence?” It was a petty thing to say. He hadn’t seemed all that interested in her, really, the last time she’d seen them together.
His scowl was deep and instantaneous. “No. Why would it? What would—” Kyle interrupted himself. “Why, it’s the Danniver family,” he announced loudly. “Come on in out of the cold and find a seat, the meeting’s about to begin!” His smile was big and cheesy, and Carmen Danniver literally cowered next to her mother at the sight of him.
“Hey, it’s my best friend and my brother! What’s up, guys?” Daniel gave Ainsley an affection head ruffle, and she hugged him in response. Good old Daniel. Predictable, amiable Daniel; she was so relieved to see him. He moved to tousle Kyle’s hair in the same manner, but he stepped back before Daniel could touch him. Ainsley saw Daniel’s sly smile appear, and she knew that brotherly shenanigans were about to occur.
“I’m going to go make sure no one took my normal seat,” she said, “since someone’s been telling them they can sit anywhere.”
Ainsley meandered into the building, giving Mrs. Durand a friendly smile on the way. Her mother was sitting up front; Ainsley’s normal seat was toward the middle, near his mom’s seat. Their mothers often sat together; Ainsley’s friendship with Daniel meant that they’d gotten to know each other over the years. They were quite different: Farrah was always put together, while Ainsley sometimes suspected her mother just reached into her closet and pulled out whatever she came up with. It usually coordinated, more or less, but she hadn’t been shopping for new clothes in years. It might bother another boss, but Mr. Carpenter had been smart enough to realize that her mother was organized and diplomatic, and had an uncanny way of knowing what was going to happen before it happened. Ainsley had thankfully inherited this trait as well, and it served her well in working with children. By October, she’d have them all pretty much nailed.
Her mother was presenting today, which was why she was sitting up front. It wasn’t too early to start thinking about Christmas, and they were trying to convince the town to participate in a giving tree program this year. Families who couldn’t afford presents for the holidays could anonymously sign up for a wish list with their children’s ages and two or three items. Ainsley had snorted through the list: yes, I’m sure your four-year-old would like an eighty-inch flat-screen, but there was probably some prompting on the part of the parents for that one.
“All right, Timberites,” Councilman Park said, coming to the front, and everyone quieted, trying to find their seats. Kyle and Daniel filed in, both looking a bit more wrinkled than they had a moment ago. Were they going to wrestle like that into their thirties? She’d have thought they would’ve grown out of it by now. She was never sure if Kyle was actually a willing participant in these things or if he was just defending himself against Daniel’s fun-loving, touchy nature. Ainsley sat in the third seat in her row. Daniel went to file in, but Kyle reached out a hand and grabbed him by the hood of his jacket, towing him backwards. He claimed the seat in the middle, right next to her. She stared at him.
“I thought you liked the end because of your super long legs?” she whispered.
He shrugged, turning his attention to Councilman Park. She elbowed him.
“Well?” she whispered again, but he didn’t turn his head, pressing his index finger to his lips in a “quiet” gesture. Shushing her? He was SHUSHING her? Well, fine. Since when had he become such a model citizen? At the last meeting, she’d almost thrown a pencil at him, he was making so much noise with Maggie. She turned back toward the front.
“Today, we’ll hear from Mrs. Buchanan about an exciting new program . . .” Ainsley zoned out. Her part of the meeting wasn’t for a good ten more minutes at least, and she was still trying to figure out how to help her kids understand algebra better. True, they wouldn’t start learning it in earnest for several years, but their spiraling curriculum mandated that she introduce the concept now. Maybe if she tried another symbol? A question mark? Maybe even a little box—sort of a Schrödinger’s box situation? If she wrote a little story about a situation with an unknown quantity, maybe it would . . . Oops, her mom was done. She clapped extra loud for her, knowing she preferred to be behind the scenes and not up front. She was rewarded with a shy, glowing grin as Nancy went back to her seat.
Kyle widened his stance in his seat, slumping down, his arms crossed over his chest. But his knee was bumping hers as it bounced. He was usual
ly moving—that wasn’t unusual—but they usually had Daniel between them. He clearly hadn’t wanted that today. It made no sense: Kyle preferred the aisle, didn’t he? She turned back to Councilman Park, who was still talking.
“The Turkey Trot is coming up fast,” he said. “We’re still looking for volunteers to help with the medical tent. Dr. Kyle Durand has volunteered to man it, but if last year’s black ice pile-up on Main Street is any indication, one person won’t be enough.” He looked out hopefully over the sea of faces, and Ainsley felt her hand twitching. She really wanted to run this year; she’d actually been training. But as usual, it was more important that the town have what they needed. With a flat smile, she raised her hand.
“Thank you, Ainsley. We sure appreciate that.”
She nodded, then sat back hard in her chair. It shouldn’t feel like a punishment, helping your community. Why couldn’t someone else step up for once? It was hard not to feel resentful. Someone poked her: Daniel was leaning around his brother. He cupped his mouth so no one else could read his lips. “Thought you were going to run this year.”
“I was.”
Kyle glared at her. “So why don’t you?”
“Because you need help.”
He snorted, and several people around them gave them subtle “shut up” looks. They let it go, and with relief, she sat back in her chair. She wasn’t about to let either of them push her around.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“WE’LL NOW BREAK FOR a few minutes to give people a chance to . . .” Ainsley did not get to hear the rest of Councilman Park’s announcement, because she found herself being dragged outside by two annoyed Durand brothers. Coatless, she wrapped her arms around her middle. Kyle took off his coat and draped it around her shoulders.
“Why did you sign up for the medical tent? You said you were going to run,” Kyle said, hands on his narrow hips.
“I was going to run. Now I’m not. No big deal.”