“Just your mom?”
McKenna nodded. That was it. Just a nod.
Tank sighed. “You’re quite the conversationalist, aren’t you?”
McKenna laughed quietly. “Fine, Nosy Nelly. I was raised by my mom, who’s also my best friend. She was upset when I decided to move away, but she understood this job was a great opportunity for me.”
“No dad in the picture?” he asked, slightly confused, because he recalled her mentioning that her father called her Kenny.
“I was an oopsie baby, the result of a summer romance.”
Tank grinned. “I’m suddenly hearing ‘Summer Nights’ from Grease in my head.”
McKenna giggled. “That probably would be an appropriate theme song for my parents. When summer ended, my dad had to move for his job, and he broke things off with Mom. She’s never really said, but I think she was hurt when he decided he didn’t want to keep seeing her. At that point, neither of them realized she was pregnant. When Mom found out, she was still pissed at my dad for ending things, so she decided she was going to do it on her own. She blamed pregnancy hormones and sheer stubbornness for not telling him about me right away.
“I was six months old when she stopped being mad and hurt, and guilt kicked in. She called to tell my dad he had a daughter. Apparently, he flew to Columbus the next day. They talked, and my father said he’d help her financially, but that he wasn’t in a position to be part of my everyday life. His job was one that kept him traveling a lot. So, Mom did what she’d planned all along and raised me alone.”
“Strong woman.”
McKenna smiled. “One of the strongest.”
“Did your dad keep his promise about the money?”
She nodded. “He did. He sent Mom child support faithfully every month, and he never missed a birthday or Christmas—always sending a ton of ‘overcompensating’ gifts.” She finger-quoted the word “overcompensating.”
“Good for him, I guess,” Tank said, glad her father hadn’t completely abandoned her and her mom, though he couldn’t help but wonder if McKenna was really as cool with her dad’s decision to basically become a bank rather than an active part of her life.
“The money he sent meant Mom didn’t have to work two jobs. It allowed us to live comfortably and gave her plenty of time to spend with me. I had an awesome childhood.”
Tank thought it sounded like she was trying to convince herself of that, as much as him.
She gave him a wicked grin. “So…how was that for conversation? Up to your standards?”
“Not too bad. A good first effort,” he replied, playing along with her joke.
McKenna lowered her arm from his waist as she tucked her coat around herself more securely. “It’s getting colder. Maybe we should consider heading back to the car.”
The temperature hadn’t dropped a bit, which proved what he’d already figured out. She wasn’t comfortable talking about herself. So, he decided to let her off the hook on sharing personal details because he wasn’t ready to call it a night.
Tank glanced around. There were more people than he might have expected braving the cool February weather, and like the patrons in the pub, a few had recognized him—not that that was a hard thing to do, considering he was a giant and he was in Stingrays apparel. More than a few phones were pointed in their direction. One group of three businessmen looked like they were debating whether they should approach.
McKenna suddenly noticed the attention they were attracting as well, and he felt her stiffen briefly before attempting to step away from him.
“People are taking pictures,” she murmured, when he refused to release her.
“So what? I’m not doing anything scandalous,” he said. “Just taking a walk along the waterfront with a pretty girl.”
“I’m not one of your puck bunnies, Tank. I know you’re a natural-born flirt, but this really isn’t appropriate.” McKenna tried again to step away, but he didn’t let her, tightening his grip and turning her to face him.
She had to lean her head back to look up at him, her expression serious and maybe even a little confused.
“I know you’re not a puck bunny. And this isn’t flirting, Mouse. I’m just making a factual statement. You look very pretty tonight.”
McKenna blinked several times, and he could see her trying to replay his words, as if she’d misheard him. “I look the same as I always do.”
She absolutely did, right down to the cardigan with the hole in it and the Chucks. He wrapped his hand around her ponytail, looping it over his hand. “You should wear your hair down sometimes.”
“I, um…” She reached up, tugging her hair out of his grip. “I need a haircut.”
