“If I may explain, Kind Sir, I had no idea that my Master wished to abscond with me this afternoon,” she said, her smile teasing playfully upon her lips. “However, I am fully ready for any and all repercussions of my misdemeanors—obvious or otherwise—that are chosen for me this weekend.”
“Ah, no punishments this weekend,” he said rather somberly. “We must behave with the parents and the best friends on high watch. But I’m keeping track. Trust me, little one. Kind Sir knows all…”
“A girl can hope…” she whispered dreamily as she placed her hand over his on the gear shift.
Oh, fuck. His little one wanted to get affectionate while he was driving. Drew couldn’t just dismiss her. This was their first weekend away. The McKenzies would adore her—that was a given. However, he needed to impress, and he had to make her happy. He would simply have to guide that damn little car along and deal with the soft caress of her touch accordingly.
“So, little one…” he said as he pulled into the thick traffic along West 23rd Street, heading east toward FDR Drive. “We didn’t have much of a chance to talk last night, but I want to hear all about yesterday.”
While Drew managed to put up a good front, Maxine could hear the exhaustion streaming steadily in his voice; she could see the heaviness in his eyes.
Rehearsals were not going well. Drew was trying, if not struggling, to make this his role and to claim that Tony Award come the following spring. The score was difficult to sing, and his co-star was just reading from the damn script. At times, he felt as if he had to emanate twice the emotion just to outshine her effortless attempt to portray one of stage and screen’s grandest dames.
His set for his mother’s party also weighed on his mind—more than Maxine could ever guess. He had something quite special planned for her, and things just had to be perfect.
Rather than taking out his troubles on the world, Drew internalized his own unfolding drama, and his concerns for Maxine surpassed all of his other worries. He’d complained enough to her that week. She needed some attention…before she walked away.
“Oh, that!” Maxine chuckled, taking in one last glimpse of the city as they headed out of town. “The worst of it was Ben’s teasing, and I can handle him.”
“You can handle a lot, Maxine,” Drew assured her. He hoped his second wind would arrive soon. “More than you can think…”
The allusion to her submission didn’t escape Maxine, and she gave his hand another squeeze, adoring these precious seconds of closeness while they were still alone.
“It’s all fine, my sweet man,” she assured him. “I got my pills. I started them this morning. You can ditch those awful sausage encasements in seven days…”
“Um…I think we’ll wait on that a bit,” he said. “I want to be sure that we’re protected…”
“As you wish,” she murmured her thoughts suddenly drifted to the huge dress bag in the trunk. True to Drew’s word, the Master Tailors at McKenzie’s managed to pull off a miracle and returned the gown to her the morning following her fitting. She couldn’t believe she’d be wearing it soon. Again, she worried if he’d love it as much as she did.
“So…was it painful—your exam?” Drew continued on. “Was it strange? Talk to me…”
“It was uncomfortable,” she managed. In truth, Maxine didn’t really want to reiterate every single detail of her first gynecological visit. “Let’s just say that I’d much prefer you poking around down there than some German lady with a sperm fetish…”
His laughter played like music to her ears. “A sperm fetish?”
“She’s a fertility expert,” Maxine explained.
However, Maxine hated to feel so overindulgent by filling the conversation with nothing but her appointment. Her day had been awkward at its worst, but it was over. They were in this together, no matter how desperately Drew attempted to focus just on her.
“Now, catch me up on the last forty-eight hours here,” Maxine turned the tables. “Tell me about your day?”
“Ah, little one…” he sighed. “I’m starting to doubt myself and wonder if everyone is just lying graciously and saying this could be my year.”
“I’m sure you’re being overly critical of yourself,” she endeavored to calm him, but he knew that her words came straight from her giving heart.
“Yeah…well…tomorrow, I’ve got this little gig, and rumor has it my biggest fan will be in the audience,” he said, cruising along toward the Long Island Expressway. “I hope I entertain her.”
“Drew…” she whispered. “Oh, Drew…you never cease to entertain me on stage….and off…”
“I hope so, little one. I really do…”
Silence fell upon them, and Maxine scrambled to collect her thoughts. I adore you. I could listen to your voice all night. You could make love to me for days. I…I…think I’m…
“I’ve never walked away from one of your shows with any disappointment,” she said at last.
“Little one, you…”
“Yes…?”
“You make me exceedingly happy,” he said and dared to dip his head to give her a quick kiss. Eyes on the road, Mack! Fuck, he loathed driving. “Just know that.”
Once they had traveled outside the city, Maxine found herself getting a bit homesick—but not for the skyscrapers and towers and concrete. She actually missed that little town she’d left not so long ago.
In truth, there was something glorious about the outskirts of Pittsburgh during the fall, with the Allegheny Mountains slicing right through Southwestern Pennsylvania. The landscape just popped with shades of red, gold and orange in the autumn months. Local farms rivaled each other with fresh homemade goods and haunted hayrides. And Maxine always adored her long walks with Judy, collecting fallen buckeyes as they strolled the sleepy streets.
Surrounded on all sides now with a foliage exhibit that wasn’t nearly as vibrant as the one with which she’d grown up, she couldn’t help but to dip into a bit of melancholy. A new year was about to begin with her birthday right around the corner, and she held the key to her new life in her hands. While she’d never been happier, she couldn’t forget that from which she came.
And just as she thought she might shed a tear, her phone began to ring.
“Daddy?”
Inwardly, Drew groaned. Her father! Just the thought of that man could make his stomach hurt. Thomas Kirk, the Creator of his precious little Maxine. He had both the potential—and the guns—to kill Drew. Fear struck him and stuck with him. No, it wasn’t really the weapons that left Drew shivering in his Prada leather boots. That man, he reasoned, held his fate in his clutches. If Tom didn’t like Drew for some reason, he could just say the word. In one instant, the woman that he had grown so quickly to adore could be gone.
“Oh, Daddy! I was just thinking about you!”
“Come on. Tell me another, Princess,” Tom teased. “You have a big weekend ahead of you. Isn’t your party tomorrow night? With that snake who’s courting my baby girl?”
“As a matter of fact, we’re on our way out of town right now. Would you like to say hi to Drew?”
“L-l-little one…you—”
“Maxie, I—”
“Here, let me put him on speaker,” she insisted, oblivious to the terror on both ends of the line.
“Maxine Elizabeth—” her father began as she tapped Drew’s leg to alert him to speak up.
“H-hiiii, Mr. Kirk…”
“Drew? That’s your name, isn’t it?” In truth, he’d never had to handle Maxine dating. Since he could already smell the fear over the phone, Tom thought he might just capitalize on it a bit—make this city boy sweat it out a little. “Taking care of my little girl there?”
“Oh, always, Mr. Kirk…” Drew insisted readily. Fuck, he felt like pulling off the damn road just to get a grip on his stupid fucking self. “How are you today?”
“I’m quite alright, as long as my baby is okay. Taking her to a fancy party this weekend?”
“That we are, Mr. Kirk…”
Really, this Drew guy could have just called him by his first name, but playing this game was fun. “Well, I thought it was very kind of you to buy her a pair of earrings to match the ring—the one that I got her for graduation.”
“I took great care in choosing them, Mr. Kirk. The ring was always the focal point,” Drew stammered. “The ring—and your daughter’s most glorious green eyes…”
Well…maybe this jagoff wasn’t such a jagoff, after all, Tom thought. But time would tell. “So will I see you both in a couple of weeks when I visit?”
“I wouldn’t think otherwise!” Drew rushed to say. “We’re already making some plans for you. And…of course…we’ll just do whatever…if you…the things you might enjoy…in New York City…or Connecticut…or Jersey…or Staten Island…”
“Staten Island is one of the boroughs of New York City, Drew,” she reminded him, just giggling over his quivers. Yeah, Captain, she thought, get your head on straight. This guy kinda likes you.
“I am on the phone with your father, Maxine…” Now, she really couldn’t wait for the two of them to meet.
“That’s the way to do it—you tell her, Drew,” Tom said. “Ben told me you were a good guy. He better be right…”
“Oh, our Uncle Benjy…he’s just…isn’t he just…the best…friend…”
“He’s been good to my Princess,” Tom said. “But I should probably let you two be on your way for now.”
“And what a pleasure it was to finally speak with you, Mr. Kirk!” Drew finally managed to spit out one full sentence.
“I love you, Daddy!” Maxine said. “More than truffles!”
“More than truffles?” Tom chuckled. “What the hell are you eating up there in New York? Well…at least you’re eating…”
For a moment, Drew wondered if she’d told her father that she was getting help now. However, he didn’t want to taint their weekend before it began. He’d dig deeper to find out all he needed to know before Papa Kirk arrived in two weeks.
“I love you more than apple pie, Princess,” Tom said. “And you over there—Drew? You watch out for her this weekend. Make sure she doesn’t fall…bundle her up when she goes outside…watch out for—”
“Mr. Kirk, I assure you—and promise you—that I am the most overprotective man you will ever meet when it comes to your lovely and intelligent daughter here,” Drew rambled. “Next to you, of course. And Ben.”
“Got that right!” Tom finally agreed. “Okay. You two take care. I’ll see you soon…”
The second she hung up, Drew accused, “That was payback for last Friday with my father, wasn’t it?”
“I swear to you that I had no idea he was about to call…” she said. “You did fine. I think you met his challenge.”
“That man made you, Maxine,” Drew said. “Ultimately, he beholds the final say in everything that relates to your life, which sort of includes me now. If he hates me, then—”
With a gentle squeeze to his knee, she said, “He doesn’t hate you, Drew. Remember, he’s not had a boyfriend in my life to pick on yet.”
“He’s already uncertain of my intentions, Maxine!” Drew panicked. “What if he just decides that—”
“Oooh! Look!” Maxine shouted out, pointing her finger toward the opposite side of the highway.
“What?” he shook his head, trying to stay focused on the damn road. Oh, this was just getting to be far too much. His show. His concert for his mother. Talking to Mr. Kirk. Now…now…?
“A pumpkin farm! Can we?”
One thing that Drew couldn’t resist were those imploring green eyes in combination with that tiny child-like voice. “Little one wants to go to the pumpkin farm?” Fuck, it was getting late and growing dark. But if Maxine wanted to stop, he had to be the perfect gentleman and comply.
“Whatever little one wants…little one gets…”
With that, he veered off the next exit, determined to find that damn pumpkin farm if it took them until midnight.
Luck and a little help from the GPS led them in the right direction. After meandering their way down a dusty dirt road, Maxine couldn’t jump out of the car quick enough to head to the hundred-year-old barn. Two weary teens manned the shop inside that was just about ready to close. Mulling spices. Candied apples. Pumpkin scones! Everything just smelled so fresh and divine, taking her right back home again.
Maxine didn’t know where to look first, and naturally, Drew didn’t deter her from snack shopping. She’d proclaimed “breakfast” upon their treats, and even picked out a rather large pumpkin that Drew had to carry and fit somehow in the car with his promise they would carve it later that night.
And as they slunk back into the front seat for the last few miles of the drive, they sipped their hot cider. Drew’s second wind had arrived, and Maxine decided officially that warm beverages weren’t so bad, after all. They laughed and teased their way down the road with David Bowie blaring from the stereo all the way.
Rolling into East Hampton, shouting out the lyrics to “Rebel Rebel,” they were both just feeling silly—appropriately like a young couple indulging in the early days of their romance should behave. Oh, his little hot tramp…he…loved her so?
Always curious about her new surroundings, Maxine gazed out the window, marveling at the landscape. She’d expected one long beachfront lined with mansions, but the thickets of trees surrounding them on all sides left her surprised.
The sprawling estates bordering Lily Pond Lane were some of the most regal addresses in the country. Grey Gardens, the now infamous manor that became the focal point of the documentary—and later a musical of which Drew once had a part in the touring company—wasn’t far from his parents’ home. Decades had passed since Jackie Kennedy’s relatives inhabited and inadvertently destroyed the multi-million dollar mansion, but the fanfare only fueled the infamy of the road on which it sat. In fact, as Drew pointed out, the Clintons, as in Bill and Hillary, had rented the property right next door to the McKenzies just the summer before.
As Drew swung a quick turn into a winding drive that seemed to only lead deeper into a forest, she found herself settling into an uncanny calm in their approach to the McKenzie’s estate.
The old English manor style house, with ivy crawling up its century-old façade sat on fifteen rolling acres, with deeded private access to the beach. As the car crept along the cobble-stoned driveway, Maxine couldn’t mask the wonder on her face.
“It’s show time!” Drew cheered, commandeering a rather sharp turn. “We’ll head to the guest house and unload before dinner with the fam tonight.”
Maxine’s nerves continued to fray over the thought of finally acquainting herself with the rest of the McKenzies. She’d heard the legends straight from Drew’s mouth—tall tales of the trouble in which he’d engaged with his younger brother and stories of the ghastly, enigmatic presence of his aging Aunt Frannie—but she longed to put faces with the names and stories.
The guest cottage, which was actually a miniature version of the main house, was quite a hike from the rest of the property, and immediately Maxine understood why Drew had decided to forego one of the bedrooms at Maison McKenzie. He protected his privacy—even from his own family. This was his first weekend out of the city with Maxine. With the show opening in a little over two months, he desperately needed this respite with her…at all costs.
But Drew shook his head in disgust as he helped Maxine out of the car. The sound of Coldplay, reverberating from a stereo inside the cottage, nearly rattled the glass window panes....and someone on the other side of the door was singing. Loudly.
“Oh, how I wish St. Peter would make it sooner rather than later...” Drew mumbled, stomping up the stone steps to the porch and punctuating every move with the word “Fuckballs.”
“Umm...we have company?” Maxine asked, trotting up behind him with their giant pumpkin in her arms.
“Yeah, I think we do,” Drew groused. However, a sly smil
e curled on his lips as he turned around and grabbed that damn pumpkin that nearly slipped from her clutches. “And I would even be willing to wager a bet on our not-so-welcome guest...”
Rattling the doorknob, Drew found that he didn’t need his key. As he stepped inside with Maxine in toe, his voice resounded over Chris Martin’s mournful regrets, “Would you turn that fucking shit down?”
On the lovely light blue sofa, piled with luxurious silk throw pillows, sat Adam McKenzie, and suddenly, Maxine realized what legends were truly made of.
Combing one hand roughly through his puff of ginger hair, he kicked his feet—clad in a pair of Birkenstock sandals and pristine white socks—upon the coffee table. Next to him, an antique vase appeared wobble a bit with his movements.
Dressed in a blindingly colorful Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts—in spite of the chill outside—he slugged a craft beer straight from the bottle...then retrieved his big fat cigar from a crystal bowl he’d been using as an ashtray.
“Bro—jeez, motherfucker—can you just chill the fuck out?”
Chapter Eleven
Covering her mouth, Maxine couldn’t help but to snicker as Drew began to pace.
“And who is this fine lady?” he asked as he raised an appraising brow.
Adam McKenzie was a hulking man—even taller than Drew, with a ruddy complexion that matched his hair. When he stood up from his spot on the sofa, his presence seemed to fill the entire room. He took after Declan, who had a full head of red hair himself before turning a distinguished gray. Adam also inherited his father’s rather boisterous personality.
Maggie always joked that her two sons were just like Prince William and Harry—one preparing to be King while the other already thought that he was.
“I’m Adam, by the way. And aside from being five-hundred percent ravishing, your name would be…?”
“I’m sorry, did you just tell her that your name is Asshole?” Drew piped in. “Maxine Kirk, my baby brother, Asshole McKenzie, the first and last.”
WRAPPED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Two Page 17