The discussion with Zane and the kiss convinced McKenna she had to change Ginny’s mind about his involvement in Lucky Stars. The aluminum tin crinkled, and McKenna loosened her grip to avoid giving her boss half smushed pumpkin bread.
When Amber answered the door this time, McKenna asked to see Ginny.
“It’s the perfect time. Ginny just woke from a nap.” Amber’s ponytail swished back and forth nearly smacking McKenna in the face, as she led her into the living room.
There she discovered Ginny on the couch propped up with pillows. McKenna smiled and walked across the room to place the bread tin on the coffee table. “I know you’ve probably been inundated with food, but my mother taught me to bring something when visiting, so I made pumpkin bread.”
“McKenna, what on earth happened to your face?”
After settling onto the large, overstuffed chair beside the couch, she detailed the cork incident, keeping her voice light. She also insisted she was fine. Guess she’d be repeating this conversation until the bruises faded. Maybe she should print out cards to hand out to save her voice and time.
“Did you see a doctor to make sure your nose wasn’t broken?”
McKenna almost laughed. Nose fixations must be a family trait. “I googled treatment for a broken nose. The Mayo Clinic said unless it’s misshapen or I can’t breathe well, there’s no treatment other than over-the-counter pain meds and elevating my head when I sleep.”
Then Ginny asked if she’d filled out an incident report, to which McKenna replied she had.
“Thank you for bringing the pumpkin bread. You know how I love it,” Ginny said and turned to her nurse. “Amber dear, if it’s not too much trouble, would you make a pot of peach tea to go with McKenna’s wonderful bread? Be sure to help to help yourself. No one makes better pumpkin bread than McKenna.”
After Amber left, McKenna suppressed her urge to launch into the reason for her visit. Instead, she smiled and said, “I hope you feel as good as you look.”
“I’ll admit it was rough at first, but now I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying slowing down. I’m catching up on my reading, and I finally got to watch that seriesDownton Abbeythat everyone raved about. If it weren’t for my physical therapist being a twenty-first century torture expert, this would be the best vacation I’ve had in years.”
“You really do work too hard, Ginny.”
“Here you go, Miz Logan,” Amber said as she arrived carrying a silver tray with matching Irish china teapot, cups, and plates with slices of pumpkin bread. After placing the tray on the coffee table, she asked Ginny if she wanted her to pour the tea, but Ginny replied McKenna would see to it once it steeped.
Alone again, McKenna asked, “Is there anything I can do while I’m here? Do you need me to throw in a load of laundry?”
“Amber and Zane have taken great care of me. I don’t know what I’d do without them, especially Zane. He means the world to me.”
Seizing on Ginny’s opening, McKenna said, “May I ask you why you changed your mind about me managing the business during your absence and appointed him instead?”
“I apologize for the way I handled the situation. I should’ve told you myself, but I made the decision right before my surgery. Please forgive me, dear.”
Okay. Awkward much? What could she say other than she forgave Ginny? “There’s nothing to forgive. It’s your company, after all. I only wanted to understand your reasoning.” Needing something to occupy her hands other than wringing them, McKenna served the tea.
As she sipped hers, she tried to decide how to proceed.
Telling her boss she’d made a colossal mistake putting her grandson in charge didn’t seem the right way to go. What if she focused on how his presence got in the way of working with clients and could negatively impact the business?
But before McKenna could organize her thoughts, Ginny said, “You seem like something is bothering you. Is there a problem? What do you think of my grandson?”
McKenna tore off a corner of pumpkin bread and popped it into her mouth to buy her time. Oh dear. What a loaded question. What could she say? That they couldn’t find common ground on the roof in a flood?
Her mother’s voice rattling off advice rang in McKenna’s head.If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything.But Mom never said what to do when remaining silent screamed the truth.
“He seems pleasant enough.” McKenna cleared her throat. At least with everyone else. But with her he seemed determined to see how much and how often he could tick her off. “I know he loves you very much. It’s just we’re so different and…” She paused, trying to regroup, but gave up, fearing she’d dig a deeper hole.
“Your differences are exactly why you should work well together.”
Differences complement. Opposites attract. People who spouted sayings like those had no idea what they were talking about. Similarities provided harmony. Ginny couldn’t be more wrong. She and Zane continually got on each other’s nerves and she doubted they could agree on the time of day, much less anything else.
But you’ve got to admit opposites attract. You two sure proved that, and goodness, the man could kiss. Set up a kissing booth and he could bank a hefty retirement fund in a day. Two tops.
“McKenna, you’re looking about as comfortable as a blind bear in a bramble patch. How about you tell me what’s really going on?”
This conversation wasn’t going the way McKenna hoped. She couldn’t tell her boss how she lost control in terms of her temper and self-control with Zane. How, based on her experience with him, he brought chaos wherever he went and had no respect for marriage.
