Page 63 of Just One Chance

"I'll say hello, then get out of here."

"I appreciate you stopping by." I took his empty bottle and dropped it into the recycling bin I kept behind the workshop.

I texted Kennedy.

Boone: Come around back. We have a fire going.

Kennedy: We?

Boone: It's just Beck.

Kennedy came around the corner with a smile. "Hey."

I remained seated when normally I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from getting up and going to her for a kiss. I needed to touch and kiss her, especially since we hadn't seen each other all day.

Kennedy sat on the other side of Beck. "What are you two up to?"

"We're just shooting the shit. Talking business," Beck said.

"You want a beer?" I asked, starting to get up.

"I'm okay. Thank you," she said, and I returned to my seat.

"You working hard today?" Beck asked her.

"I met with Judy and Raymond to go over the snow room. I think they want to move forward with it."

"Seriously?" I asked.

"They said they already knew everyone's vote on the matter."

"Everyone's in favor except for me and maybe Malcolm."

She shrugged. "And majority rules apparently."

"That's how the Harts handle business decisions," Beck said.

Kennedy looked at me. "You're still planning to help with the benches?" She looked around at the ones I had placed around the fire. "It would be something like these, but big enough for two people to sit."

"Yeah, I can do that. I'm not a fan of the idea, but if everyone else is on board—" I let my voice trail off.

"I appreciate that. I like the work you do," Kennedy said warmly.

"You're excited about this snow room idea, aren't you?" Beck asked.

"I'd love to see the final project. I've never actually been inside one before. I've only seen the pictures and people talking about them on social media."

"You know I love the idea. It's just outside the box enough to get people talking," Beck said.

"That means a lot that you think so."

"You going to stick around and see the final project?" he asked.

"I don't usually. But I might come back to see the snow room. It's so unique." Her eyes were bright with excitement. She wasn't thinking about what it meant to leave.

She might visit, but I wasn't sure how I felt about that. If we broke things off, it would be easier not to see her again. I wanted to move on at some point. And I couldn't do that if she was visiting or her name was coming up in conversation. I needed a clean break, but it didn't seem like I was going to get one.

She was thinking about her work, and I was a distant second, but I couldn't blame her. Our relationship was supposed to be temporary. Neither of us were supposed to want more. I was the one who was feeling things, and I had to deal with it.