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Chapter 2
Kennedy
Liam’s ten-daystretch was over, and he was leaving for Williston tonight.Since it was a four-day weekend, I told him I’d get the boys into bed and then Grandma Gin could take over.A little something to give her a break.Liam had invited me over for the afternoon.
I pulled off the gravel road onto the meandering driveway that cut through two pastures into his yard.Years ago, I wouldn’t have turned.I would’ve kept going until I hit the next ranch.Bruce and Willow’s place.Cool relief that I didn’t have to go there sifted through me.There, I would be Kennedy the Widow.The more I was with Liam, the more I treasured being Kenny.
Eli darted out of the big open door in the large shop and climbed the corral gates that stuck up from where they used to butt against the barn.The barn had burned down before I’d moved to town, and from what Derek had said, it was a big reason why the ranch had eventually failed.
Owen tore out of the shop and copied Eli.It was impossible to hear the engine of my little red Hyundai from inside the metal shop.They must’ve been watching for me.
Eli waved.When they wore little ball caps, they looked like identical twins.They weren’t.Eli’s hair was a shade lighter than Liam’s chestnut brown, and Owen was a dirty blond, probably what his mom’s natural hair color was.When Liam had dated her, Payton’s hair had been bleached and touched with purple.I had liked her hair.The rest of her couldn’t be improved with a bottle of dye.
I parked by the two-story farmhouse that had been majestic in its day.Now, its peeling and frayed wooden siding needed to be replaced with vinyl or steel.Liam had been debating on whether he should slap on fresh paint or foot the bill for cheap siding.The porch stairs creaked like they were going to collapse, but Liam had reinforced them.He’d kept the kids from playing on the rest of the porch until he could tear down and rebuild the whole thing.The windows were original and let in as much grit as they kept out.When the winds picked up during a dry year, little piles of dirt ended up on his windowsills inside.Liam had also mentioned replacing those.
A lot of projects and, suddenly, so little time.Part of me wanted to encourage Liam to paint and replace the windows, rebuild the deck, and maybe throw on some landscaping, open the old flower beds back up, and fix the shed in the back, all to keep him here longer.But I couldn’t be selfish.He was limited on time and money, and he had good reasons to move his kids out of Coal Haven.Logically, I understood he had more career options out of his father’s shadow and his kids could start school away from the scandal Liam’s mother had left behind.But I wanted him to stay.
“Kenny!”Eli jumped down from the top rung, stumbled enough to make me gasp, then recovered and raced across the driveway.“Guess what?”He rambled on about a new toy truck Liam had bought him, but it was hard to follow with his lisp.Rs were challenging for him too.And Ls.
Owen sidled in between us, refusing to be left out.His speech was as clear as a lecture hall professor.“And I got a monster truck.It’s called GhostStorm, and it can jump twelve feet high.”
They each took one of my hands and dragged me toward the shop.My tote bag would have to wait in the car.“Does it jump dirt piles twelve feet high?”
“No.The truck jumps.”He threw his free hand up and mimicked watching an invisible object fall.
Ah.The toy could do those jumps because Owen threw it.“What’s your dad up to?”
“Welding,” Eli answered.
“Uh-oh.What broke?”
“Nuttin’.”
Liam welded ten hours a day for twenty days straight.Why would he be welding if something wasn’t broken?
I was towed into the shop.Blinking to adjust to the dimmer light, it wasn’t hard to find Liam.Sparks flew from the far corner, where the light from the open door had the hardest time penetrating.
The torch Liam held went dark.He flipped his face shield up so it rested on top of his head.“Hey.That time already?The afternoon got away from me.”
He set his equipment on the work bench by the hunk of metal he’d been working on.He slapped his thick gloves down and took the face shield off.Then he shrugged out of his well-worn leather apron.
I blinked again, but it had nothing to do with lighting.His long-sleeved blue T-shirt with the logo of a bar and grill in Williston was plastered to his chest and back.A smattering of singe holes gathered around the collar and a few tiny ones on the sleeves where the apron didn’t reach.Liam adjusted his shoulders like he was trying to dislodge the fabric from his skin, but all the move did was make his muscles ripple.
I’d known Liam wasn’t the same lanky kid from high school, but I’d never had proof like this.
He ran a hand through his hair—same effect.Biceps bulging and rippling muscle.
My brain snapped a picture, like someday I might need to reference the type of man that could get my libido going again.
Which I wasn’t looking for.Dating wasn’t on my radar, much less…activities beyond that.
Although recently I’d been thinking… I gave myself a mental shake.My therapist said there was nothing wrong with thinking about dating someday.Nothing wrong with dating itself.Nothing wrong with not being ready.Nothing wrong with dating while still not feeling ready.I hadn’t reached that point yet.
But I didn’t have to think about it at Liam’s.“I can play with the boys if you’re working.”
“No.I need to shower and finish packing.”Eli straddled a metal chair and Liam shooed him off.“That’s not for you.”
“But it’s a chair!”Eli held his arms out like he was on a movie set and had to act like he was dying.
