At least now he was hopeful thatafterwas actually going to happen.
The entire time, he was aware of Kenzie moving around her restaurant. More customers came in, so she didn’t really have a chance to talk when she dropped off his very full plate and topped off his coffee.
When he’d eaten almost every bite and wasn’t sure he could actually move anymore, she stopped by with the check. “How was it?”
“Exactly what I needed.” He dropped cash for the bill and tip on top of the slip and then rested his hand on his stomach. “I should have taken half of it home to eat later, but it was so good, I couldn’t stop.”
“I’ll pass the compliment along to the cook,” she said, smiling. “And good luck with the writing.”
He should take that as his sign to walk out the door, but he paused after he stood. “I’ll be getting to the part where I make sure all the threads are wrapped up over the next few days. Any chance I could email you a fresh copy so far and then maybe go for another walk? I mean, don’t print it out or anything. Just read from that spot we marked.”
“That sounds great,” she said, and he let out the breath he’d been holding. “Mondays are usually a little busy for me, but the forecast says Tuesday afternoon will be nice. Does that work?”
“Sounds great. We can touch base on the details.”
Frank called her name, and when she smiled and turned away, Danny walked out to his truck.
Tuesday would be exactly one week before the book was due, so it made sense to touch base with her. She’d be able to spot any potential problems with the ending while he still had time to fix them.
And—most importantly, if he was being honest—he’d get to spend time alone with Kenzie again.
Chapter Six
Kenzie parked next to Danny’s truck and grabbed her hoodie from the passenger seat before getting out. This spot by a pond had been his choice—recommended to him by Rob and Hannah—and the higher elevation meant it was still cold.
She didn’t put the hoodie on yet, though, because the sight of Danny leaned against a tree with his hands deep in the pocket of his Birch Brook Campground sweatshirt as he looked at the water got her blood pumping enough to keep her warm.
When she closed her car door, he turned to look at her, pushing himself away from the tree. The way he always looked so happy to see her made her pulse quicken, and she took a deep breath as she pulled on her sweatshirt and zipped it halfway.
“I was about to ask if you found the place okay, but then I remembered you’re actually from here and I’m not,” he said, making her laugh.
“I haven’t been to this spot in years. We used to hang out here when we were teenagers, of course.”
“I can see why. But Hannah said it’s a pretty easy walking path, and it goes all the way around the pond if you’re up to it. I feel bad, asking you to go for a walk after you’re on your feet all day. We could actually find a place to sit, or even go find someplace to hang out if it’s better.”
“It’s a different kind of walking,” she said. “And I love being outside, so you’re not getting out of it now.”
“I had to run up to the market for more coffee pods on Saturday,” he said once they were strolling side by side along the pond’s edge. “I noticed your parking lot was pretty full.”
“Business is starting to pick up. Nothing like what it will be, of course, but people who own their camps are starting to check on them. And some of our snowbirds have come home from Florida and Arizona early.” She chuckled and nudged him with her elbow. “But yes, I did have time to read your new chapters and I loved them. You leaning into Stephen’s playing dirty, like the rest of his family, and his conflicted emotions about it was definitely the right call.”
She laughed when he blew out a huge breath of relief, even though she knew he probably wasn’t exaggerating it for comedic effect. “I’m not going to lie—it’s hard writing a family that’s so toxic. But once I gave in to it, it’s actually been fun.”
“And it shows.” She smiled up at him. “I’ve got a pretty great family, too, so it’s very fun reading about the not-so-great Clarks.”
“Speaking of your family, I’d love to know more about the restaurant. Like, I know it was named after your mom and you took over after she passed, but did you work there when you were younger? But I also understand if you’d rather not talk about it because losing a parent must be incredibly hard. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. It’s definitely hard.” She smiled. “But I like talking about her and really don’t do it a lot because my dad struggles with it. People grieve differently and all that. So yes, my mom is the Corinne of Corinne’s Kitchen, but my grandmother started the restaurant, basically out of spite.”
He cocked an eyebrow, leaning closer as if in anticipation of gossip. “I do love a juicy spite story.”
While there was definitely spite, she didn’t think the story was particularly juicy. “Okay. My grandmother hated my grandfather. Like loathed him.”
“Ah. And I gather divorce wasn’t really an option for some reason?”
“Nope. So the scuttlebutt around town is that my grandfather was a man who suffered through an unusual number of accidents and illnesses, even for a lifelong farmer.”
“Wait.” He stopped walking and put his hand on her arm. “Was she trying to murder him? That’s alotof spite. Next-level stuff.”
