“Is that for the writer?”
“Yes, for Danny. He’s writing, so he wants them to bring him back a burger.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t take a break so he could see you.”
Kenzie turned back to Frank, her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing much.” He dropped a burger patty on the grill, shrugging as it sizzled. “But this is a huge window in front of me, not a wall, and I can see how much he likes talking to you.”
“He spends most of his time alone with his keyboard, so he likes talking to anybody,” she said, and then she pushed through the door into the dining room.
The last thing she needed was Frank playing matchmaker. It would serve him right if she told him she’d fallen for Danny Kowalski and was running off to the southern part of the state to be with him. She’d bet her father hadn’t really thought throughthoseconsequences.
Kenzie grabbed the coffeepot, making the refill rounds. The familiar routine calmed her, so by the time she reached Rob and Hannah’s table, her annoyance with her dad had mostly faded.
“Danny texted me,” she told them. “He added a burger and fries to your order.”
Rob chuckled. “In our defense, I was going to ask him if he wanted anything, but he didn’t stop typing when I walked into the room, and I didn’t want to break that train of thought. We left him a note, though.”
“Is it weird? Tiptoeing around your own house because a grown man might growl at you if you interrupt him?”
They both laughed, but it was Rob who answered. “Right now, it’s hard. But he’s not usually like this. Actually, nobody in the family’s ever seen him the way he’s been for months now, so if we have to tiptoe around and try to sneak water and vegetables into him to get him through it, that’s what we’ll do.”
“He’s a lucky guy,” Kenzie said, blinking away the wholly unexpected prickle of tears. She might be close with her cousins, but she’d always wondered what life would be like if she had siblings to help shoulder the load.
She especially wondered what it would be like to have a sister who really wanted to run a restaurant with their father.
“We’realllucky,” Rob said in a more serious tone. “He really stepped up when we wanted to buy the campground, so it’s extra painful to see him like this. But he’ll finish the book. He will. And it’s not only us helping, you know. He told us without you, he’d probably still be beating his head against the wall.”
Luckily, Frank yelled her name and saved her from having to respond to that. With an apologetic smile and nod toward the pass-through window, she was able to walk away without looking as if she was avoiding being the subject of the conversation.
She and Hannah had spent enough time talking over the last almost-a-year, so her friend might be able to read her expressions, and Frank was bad enough. She didn’t need Danny’s family thinking there might be something between them.
She wasn’t going to let that happen.
* * *
Danny rolled onto his back with a groan, putting his arm over his eyes to block the sun trying to blind him. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew he hated this mattress, he desperately needed coffee and he was hungry.
The house was quiet, which meant Rob and Hannah were probably outside or in the office. He lifted his head enough to see the clock and found it was almost eleven. They’d definitely have had breakfast already, which meant he was on his own.
That wasn’t a bad thing. He’d written well into the night, and he was pleased with the work he’d gotten done, but his body was feeling it. He’d take as long and hot a shower as the ancient hot water heater allowed, replenish his caffeine levels andthenworry about food.
By the time he was dressed and had a cup of coffee in him, Danny was awake enough to get to work. He knew he should grab a bowl of cereal or scramble some eggs and then open his laptop, but he was sick of looking at the same walls. Some fresh air wouldn’t hurt.
And, if he was being honest with himself, he wanted to see Kenzie.
She was the reason he was able to see the light at the end of this excruciatingly long tunnel, after all. It wouldn’t hurt to pop in and let her know how it was going, and he could have a decent meal before he dove back into the manuscript.
He’d just finished washing the coffee cup he’d used when he heard the back door close. A few seconds later, his brother walked into the kitchen, his attention on the phone in his hand until he heard the water running.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Rob said, slipping the phone into his back pocket. “I didn’t know you were up.”
“I haven’t been up long,” he confessed. “Late night.”
“Productive?”
“Yeah. I was on a roll, and after the last few months, it’s hard to force myself to close the laptop. What are you two up to today?”
