After taking off her helmet and grabbing her water bottle out of the cup holder, Kenzie looked around the quiet campground. “It really is nice here. You and your brothers have done a great job of bringing it back.”
“Mostly them,” he was compelled to say because it was the truth, but he felt a rush of pride, nonetheless.
“They couldn’t have done it without you, so it’s a true team effort. It must be great to be able to have a dream like this and be able to make it happen.”
Danny heard the wistfulness in her voice, and he knew he should leave it alone, but he couldn’t. Kenzie deserved to chase her dreams. “What about you? What would you do if you could do anything?”
She laughed, a mirthless sound that pained him. “I gave up thinking about that a long time ago.”
“You shouldn’t have had to.”
Her sigh seemed to come from deep in her soul. “I have it pretty good, you know. I own my business. We own our home.”
“You work too hard.”
“That’s what it takes.” She shrugged. “And I like the work, honestly.”
“You should be able to take time off.”
“To do what?”
To spend time with me so we can see if this feeling between us is real.“To have a life outside of that place. It’s been ten years. It’s his responsibility to come to terms with his grief, and it’s your restaurant. If you choose to sell it or hire somebody to take your place serving customers, you have that right.”
“Would you walk away from one of your brothers if they needed you? If something happened to your dad, would you tell yourself it’s your mom’s responsibility to get herself together?”
“Not at first.” He shrugged. “But if it’s been a decade and everybody’s in the same place, then yes, there would at least be conversations about it.”
“Don’t push me on this, Danny. Not this.”
How could he not push when it felt as if his own future hung in the balance? “It’s just that I don’t see why it’s all or nothing. I understand you own the restaurant, but Idon’tunderstand why you can’t hire a server to take your place.”
She spun to face him, her face flushed. “Because I work seven days a week, from six in the morning until two in the afternoon Monday through Wednesday, and from six until eight o’clock at night Thursday through Sunday. And that’s just the time we’re open and doesn’t count all the admin work I do. Neither the building nor our house have a mortgage, so we’re able to live comfortably on the profits, but you may have noticed this is a very small town in the middle of nowhere. When you see us being super busy, consider how few tables we actually have. My own personal income is basically my tips. Do you know a person willing to work seventy hours a week for tips? Because if you do, I’d love to meet them.”
He swallowed hard, shamed by the quiet ferocity in her words. “I’m sorry.”
“I asked you not to push, Danny. I’d love to hire waitstaff and run around doing whatever I want, but it’s impossible. And even if my dad was willing to give up my mother’s restaurant, he’d play hell finding a cooking job at his age, never mind one that’s even remotely local. I know you don’t understand it, but my life is what it is, probably for another eight to ten years, at least. It’s hard and it’s exhausting, and when I’m about forty-five years old or maybe fifty—who knows—I’m going to find myself without a cook and have to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
The quiet but firm resignation in her voice felt like a blade slicing into his heart. “Kenzie, I—”
“I told you anything between us was impossible, and this is why. You’ve pushed, and now I’m backed into a corner where I have to choose between you and my dad. Danny, it doesn’t matter what I want or how I feel. Ican’tchoose you.” Tears were gathering in her eyes, and she turned toward where her car was parked. “Thank you for the ride. Drive safe going home and good luck with your book.”
“I’m sorry,” he called after her. “Kenzie, wait.”
She didn’t even slow down, and he knew it wouldn’t do any good to run after her because there was nothing he could say right now to make it better.
He wanted her—neededher—more than he’d thought was possible for him. But she’d said it herself. She worked like seventy hours per week and there was no give in that. Would he be happy giving up his home and schedule and everything he liked about where he lived just to be alone most of the time?
Danny closed his eyes, hanging his head, as he listened to her car pull out onto the main road and accelerate. She’d told him it was impossible. Their story had a plot problem they couldn’t solve.
Maybe he should have believed her the first time.
Chapter Twenty-One
The following day, Kenzie looked like hell and felt worse, so of course Frank chose that day to make his meatloaf. Word would get out, and by three o’clock she was going to have to run to keep up.
And of course it was Thursday, so her summer help wasn’t in. Abby was a high school junior whose parents didn’t want her traveling to get an “official” part-time job, but who had to make enough to pay her parents for her share of the gas and insurance for the car. She only worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday from midafternoon to close.
When Hannah walked through the door alone at four o’clock, Kenzie was so relieved she had to stop herself from dropping two plates so she could throw her arms around her.
