Masks and Lies

by McKechnie, A C J

  “I would be honored to,” she said. “Yes. Most definitely, positively, yes,” she affirmed before leaning forward and kissing him deeply.

  “Don’t you want to see the ring?” he asked breathlessly as he broke away from her and sucked in air.

  Nodding her head, she looked down at the box still in his hand and gasped at the simple solitaire diamond, set in a diamond-studded band, which was staring up at her.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, and he smiled at that.

  “Let’s hope it fits,” he mumbled as he held her hand tenderly and slid it onto her finger, breathing a sigh of relief that he’d managed to get the size just about right.

  “It’s amazing, Mitchell. Thank you.”

  “Thank you for accepting it,” he said with a smile and bent down to kiss her deeply again.

  Their celebratory kiss was interrupted by a firm knock on the window, and the pair of them broke apart to look at the angry face of Howard Powers glaring at them.

  Well, whatever progress Mitchell had made was most likely wiped out completely at being found in this situation. Never mind progress, Mitchell thought as the man continued to glare at the pair of them, there was a good chance that his physical well-being was at risk now.

  Kendra looked over at where her dad was furiously glaring at the pair of them and tried to smile sheepishly at him. When he caught her look his eyes narrowed and he motioned for them to exit the vehicle.

  Cautiously leaving their sanctuary, Kendra got out of the car and pulled Mitchell along in her wake. She had a feeling things were about to get strained, and probably quite aggressive between the two men, and she wanted to ensure that her dad knew that she was sticking by the man she’d just agreed to marry.

  “Dad,” Kendra finally greeted, but noticed that he didn’t really register her, instead focusing his attention on Mitchell at her side instead.

  “I thought we’d spoken about this,” her dad accused, and Kendra jumped back in to defend the man she loved.

  “If you’re referring to your ridiculous rule that Mitchell wasn’t allowed to touch me –,” she started but felt Mitchell squeeze her shoulder before he stepped forward towards her father himself.

  “We did,” Mitchell agreed.

  “And I thought that I made myself perfectly clear,” her dad gritted out.

  “You did.”

  “So you decided to go against my wishes? Again?” he said angrily, and Mitchell straightened his back as he just accepted her dad’s reprimand.

  “It wasn’t about you, Howard,” Mitchell explained, and Kendra watched as her dad just waited for more of an explanation than that.

  “It was my idea,” she inputted, and her dad finally looked at her. “Mitchell told me that he’d promised to adhere to your rules and he was doing everything he could to keep that promise,” she expounded and watched as her dad eyed her in disapproval.

  “Kendra, your dad’s right,” Mitchell said, and she shook her head before looking at him instead.

  “No. He’s not. He’s blaming you and it’s not your fault,” she declared. “I dragged Mitchell outside. Petty, I know, but I figured that we weren’t under your roof out here,” she added, and her dad frowned at her words. “I wanted some time with him, and we needed some time alone,” she said gently, and her dad frowned even harder at that before his hands crept into his pockets.

  “I know that you have your reservations,” Mitchell tried hesitantly. “I understand why. I really do. But that’s all between Kendra and me. And we’ve gotten past it. She’s forgiven me and we’ve moved on.”

  “We’re getting married, Dad,” Kendra added and watched as her dad’s eyes shot to hers as he studied her intently. “That’s what had me desperate for some time alone together,” she explained before she held out her hand for her dad to see.

  “You asked her already?” her dad asked Mitchell with a puckered brow, and Mitchell nodded. Sighing heavily, her dad just continued to look about himself, almost at a loss of what to say or do now.

  “Your mom said something to me the other day,” he finally said as he focused back on Kendra, and she found herself confused at the subject change.

  “What?” she prodded, thinking that there must be a connection, but one that she was struggling to come up with herself.

  “She reminded me that I wasn’t faultless either,” he commented softly, and Kendra looked at him in surprise. “I should have taken better care of her at the time,” he added meaningfully. “I should have married her before. And I definitely should have made sure that if I didn’t, then at least she wouldn’t have found herself in the situation that she did.

  “She wasn’t blaming me,” he continued thoughtfully. “Just pointing out that sometimes people don’t think. Sometimes they don’t recognize what the consequences of their actions might be. She pointed out that we all make mistakes, we all have flaws, they’re just very rarely the same as each other’s.

  “The problem of course is my own culpability in it all,” he admitted with a heavy sigh.

  “You were never to blame for my actions, Howard,” Mitchell reassured from her side.

  “That’s not what you said before,” her dad retorted tartly. “If I recall, you said it was all because of the errand I’d sent you on.”

  “I was wrong. I didn’t want to feel the weight of my own behavior. I should never have lied. I should never have deceived. But the one thing I’ve always been truthful about was that I never wanted to hurt Kendra. I hate that I did.”

  “And I hate that I left her mother pregnant with no support network around her. All in all, I have to concede that your faults are a lot less heavy than mine. And I have to say this for you at least,” her dad said as he studied Mitchell closely. “You went back for her. You put in the effort to make it right and get back the woman you loved. I never did, and I regret that decision so very bitterly.

  “Marilyn and I might be getting the life we’d always wanted together, but we’re getting it over twenty years late. That’s a lot of wasted years,” her dad said on a sigh.

  “Everything turned out right in the end though,” Kendra comforted. “And if things had been different, I might never have met Mitchell.”

  Looking between the pair of them and their hands where Kendra had entwined them, Howard gave a ghost of a smile before looking away and sighing again.

  “I want you happy, Kendra,” he said softly then turned to face her again, and she could see the earnest look on his face.

  “I am, Dad. Mitchell makes me happy,” she stated gently.

  “I hope so. Otherwise I’m going to end up regretting what I’m about to say,” he said almost despondently. “I want you to have my blessing,” he said as he looked at the pair of them together. “I want you to be happy together. I’m wishing you the best for your marriage and life together. I’d be honored if you let me give you away when you finally set a date. And I … well, I’d be happy to call you my son-in-law,” he reluctantly added on as he glanced at Mitchell, and Kendra felt her chest tighten with emotion, as well as her hand where it was gripping Mitchell’s.

  “Thank you, Howard,” Mitchell replied sincerely, and Kendra just nodded at her father as she started to feel tears form in her eyes.

  Finally letting go of the man she’d been clinging on to, she made her way over to her father and wrapped her arms tightly around him in a hug of gratitude.

  “Thank you, Dad,” she whispered into his chest as his own arms came around her as well.

  “I’d do anything for you, Kendra,” he said quietly onto the top of her head, and she nodded against him. “Except,” he said, and she looked up to see why his tone had changed, noticing him frowning deeply, “change my rules about you two.”

  “What?” she asked in confusion.

  “He’s still not touching you under my roof. Especially considering how involved you two seem to get with each other. That’s twice I’ve caught you now,” he said meaningfully, and Kendra blushed slight
ly at his words, “and twice that you’ve been completely unaware of anything around you. Until you’re married you’re not going anywhere near each other while I have any control in the matter,” he stated, and Kendra nodded at him in acceptance of his terms.

  Releasing his hold on her, her dad backed up a step and headed back into the house to leave the pair of them alone. But not before he’d told her how much he loved her again.

  Watching her dad go, she felt movement beside her and looked up to see Mitchell standing there staring down at her with a smile on his face.

  “I guess that means we’ll just have to wait until we get home to celebrate more completely,” he said congenially, and Kendra smiled back while nodding at him.

  “I guess so. He could’ve at least let us have one final embrace before placing the ban on us again,” she mumbled petulantly then heard Mitchell laugh.

  “See what I meant earlier?” he taunted, and she smiled back at him. “It’s difficult staying away from you.”

  “Thank goodness for wedding preparations,” she mumbled as she started to make her way back to the house at last. “At least that will distract me and eat into the time,” she continued, and heard Mitchell laugh at her.

  “Yeah, eat into your time. I’m stuck with nothing to do at all,” he lamented, and she smiled at him.

  “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “And how will you manage that?” he asked with a raised brow.

  “How about a quick wedding?” she suggested and saw him smile widely at her. “Once we get back to Granville, and my parents are back from their honeymoon, I imagine we’ll be able to set it all up in no time at all. Especially with all our friends on hand to help,” she said and looked to see Mitchell chuckling to himself.

  “What?” she asked in suspicion.

  “I think everything’ll be prepared by the time we get back if we call Betsy and let her know we’re engaged. That woman is more eager than either of us to get us married off to each other.”

  “She just wants to see us happy, and knows that we’re both what the other needs to have that happen,” Kendra explained.

  “I know. She’s a smart woman. A wonderful woman as well. And I’ll always be grateful to her for everything she’s done for us.”

  “As will I,” Kendra agreed. “But let’s wait to tell her in person,” she suggested. “I can’t wait to see what her reaction will be.”

  “I imagine it’ll be along the lines of, ‘About damn time. What took you so long?’,” Mitchell said in amusement, and Kendra smiled along with him.

  “Well, like you said. She is a smart woman,” Kendra tossed back, and Mitchell smiled widely before he went to reach for her and abruptly stopped himself.

  Sighing, he looked around the large home they were in and asked, “How much longer are we here for?”

  In reply, Kendra just smiled at the man she loved and shook her head before resisting the urge to grab him to herself as well. Yes, a bloody quick wedding would be on the cards after this stay.

  Epilogue

  “What have I done?” Mitchell asked with a wide smile on his face as he took in the chocolate pie on the counter in front of him.

  “What do you mean?” Kendra asked with a furrowed brow.

  “You only ever bake me a chocolate pie if I’ve done something really good or special. It’s my reward gift from you. So what did I do right this time?” he asked as he picked up his fork and made to delve into the sweet pastry in front of him.

  Before he could reach the plate, however, he found it abruptly pulled out of his reach and looked up at his wife with wide eyes.

  Taking in her features, he noticed the scowl on her face and tried to figure out what he was missing.

  “Alright,” he finally ventured. “What have I done now?” he asked, with trepidation lacing his tone.

  “You don’t know, do you?” she accused, and he scanned his brain, trying to figure things out. He came up blank though. Shaking his head at the beautiful woman opposite him, he watched her huff in annoyance before she glared at him through those icy blue orbs of hers.

  Turning away from the penetrating gaze, Mitchell took in the other customers of the diner in a hope that maybe they could shed some light on the situation between him and his spouse.

  Looking beseechingly at his friends, he found them turning abruptly away themselves and knew it was useless to rely on them to help him out of his predicament. Granville generally didn’t interfere in people’s lives; they were interested in it, but never meddled.

  When it was clear that none of those close to them were going to come to his aid he turned back to Kendra and waited for her to finally tell him what he was missing.

  “It’s our anniversary, Mitchell,” she huffed, and he frowned at her words.

  “No it’s not,” he averred. “We were married in March, it’s January.”

  “Not our wedding anniversary,” she clarified, and he looked at her in bemusement again.

  “Well we met at the end of the summer the second time around, and the beginning of the summer the first time, so it’s not either of them either. We got engaged in February so that can’t be it either. What other anniversaries are left?” he queried.

  “The anniversary of when we first met,” she explained, and he looked at her in bemusement again.

  “I’ve already told you that both times were in the summer. It’s January, Kendra.”

  “Not when Nick and I met, but when Mitchell and Kendra met,” she clarified, and he uttered a small ‘oh’ at her meaning.

  “You mean when we started over.”

  “Exactly. When you and I first met,” she repeated, and he smiled at her.

  “You mean the real me,” he stated and watched as she nodded. “Why exactly are we celebrating that?” he asked in confusion. “Shouldn’t we try to forget about it all? It’s been five years now.”

  “I know,” she said with a shrug before replacing the pie on the counter, and Mitchell’s smile returned with the reemergence of the pastry item. “But I was talking to my mom and dad the other day –”

  “They still planning on coming over next month?” he asked around a mouthful of the most amazing chocolate dessert he’d ever been treated to.

  “Yes. They want to spend their anniversary with the kids,” she said in reference to Mitchell and Kendra’s three year old daughter Elizabeth and their brand new son Riley, and Mitchell just nodded in response to her. “Anyway, I was talking to them, and they happened to mention something about celebrating their very first anniversary together, and I wondered why they’d want to bring up the past.”

  “What did they say?”

  “They were thinking of putting together a scrapbook for Thornton,” she explained, referencing her two and half year old brother that Howard and Marilyn had had together.

  “And they’re going to add in things from their initial relationship together?” he asked in surprise and watched as Kendra nodded at him.

  “Yeah. Said that they thought hiding from the past wasn’t healthy or productive. Said that they were embracing it and enjoying all the good memories by doing so, and it got me to thinking that maybe we should do the same,” she hazarded before wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

  Placing his fork down on his plate, he reached across the counter for her and grabbed her hands in his.

  “Maybe we should. It’ll be good for the kids to learn about it all in the future. If you’d never learned of your mom and dad’s past, I’m not sure you’d have ever been able to forgive me for my mistakes,” he speculated and watched her mull over that. “Besides,” he said with a wide smile. “If they don’t learn it from us, they’re bound to hear it from someone else in town. Granville has a long memory,” he said with a sigh and heard her laugh softly at him.

  “Well, Mitchell, at least Walter’s stopped calling you a city boy to your face. Now he just refers to you as one to everyone else,” she comforted, and Mitchell smiled while shaking his
head at her.

  “And Betsy’s as bad as well. She still chastises me for taking so long in proposing to you,” he frowned, and Kendra laughed more heartily at that.

  “You’d think she’d forgive you by now. Especially now that she has two surrogate grandchildren.”

  “And one named after her as well,” Mitchell said.

  “Maybe she’s just annoyed that we didn’t name Riley, Falling Eagle, after her husband,” Kendra teased, and Mitchell smiled at that.

  “I’m not sure we would have managed to get away with that. He’ll just have to wait for Notaku to provide him with some grandkids. When he finally settles down,” Mitchell mused.

  “It’s Joanie I feel sorry for,” Kendra added. “When she and Mark finally have a little boy you better believe that the Sheriff’s going to be expecting it to be named after him.”

  “At least Walter didn’t ever think to demand any children be christened in honor of him,” Mitchell said with a shake of his head.

  “I think he’s happiest being one of a kind,” Kendra put forward before taking his now clean plate off him.

  Watching his wife make her way back towards the kitchen area of their diner, Mitchell thought over what he could do tonight to make it special for the both of them. If Kendra wanted to celebrate, then he’d help her, he’d make the day special and so good that she’d never have any bad thoughts associated with it ever again.

  * * *

  Kendra looked at her home and smiled. She’d stayed slightly later at the diner than usual, not too much, but she’d gotten talking and had lost track of time.

  Of course she’d seen her husband and kids through the day anyway, so it was no big deal, but she still liked having her evenings with the man she’d married. Especially now that Riley was six months and starting to sleep through the night.

  Exiting her car, she made her way into the house and found herself surprised when she noticed that there weren’t any lights on.

  “Hello?” she called out and didn’t hear anything. Making to flip the switch, she found herself taken off-guard when she felt a familiar hand cover her eyes before an even more familiar voice spoke in her ear.