Page 76 of Come Back To Me

He rubbed his hand down his face and looked at Kenzi, his brows dipping lower and lower. “And what the hell were you thinking, Squirt? You could have fallen and hit your head or broken a bone!”

Kenzi folded her arms across her chest, and lifted her chin in defiance. Her eyes flitted between me and Aiden. “I’m fine, as you can see.” That was all she offered in way of an explanation and from the look on Aiden’s face he wasn’t pleased. Before he could say anything more on the matter, Coach Davis bellowed from the doorway of the locker room.

“Aiden! Get your ass in my office! And bring your sister with you!”

He shook his head. “The old man is going to have a shit fit.”

Aiden lifted Kenzi in his arms, and I snickered when they started bickering because he was carrying her. She stopped squirming in his grasp and looked at me over his shoulder. Our eyes held and I swear I saw her smile. Someone cleared their throat.

“Uh, Coach, can we get back to practice?”

I nodded, realizing that my entire team was staring at me for direction.

“You have an hour of ice time left,” I told them. “Get to it.”

Thankfully the remainder of practice went off without a hitch.

I WAS LEANING against the wall of the Visual Arts building when the door finally opened to let class out. It was just past lunch time, and if Maddy was correct then Kenzi was done with lectures for the day. I called her soon after our practice ended this morning and practically begged her to tell me what Kenzi’s schedule was like. Her Thursday’s were light, and after seeing her this morning I had to make a plan and see her again. I looked up just as she stepped out and pushed away from the wall. She was talking to some girl and as soon as she said goodbye I walked up to her and took her messenger bag from her shoulder.

“Hey!” She spun around, ready to chew my ass out. “Oh. Vaughan. It’s you.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Her cheeks flushed and the slight breeze caught the hem of her peach colored sundress, exposing her tanned thighs. With her hair tied in a high pony tail out of her make-up free face she looked stunning.

“What are you doing here?” Rather than sounding accusatory, she sounded surprised.

“I’m taking you to lunch.” I hitched her bag on my shoulder and started walking. When I noticed that she wasn’t beside me I stopped and looked at her from over my shoulder. “Are you coming?”

She hesitated, and then promptly caught up to me. “Where are we going?”

I grinned. “You’ll see.”

We walked past the campus coffee shop and when we stopped alongside my new truck, I opened the passenger door and helped Kenzi climb in before dumping our bags in the backseat. I got my new truck the day before after weeks of fighting with the insurance company — a Ford F150 full size pick-up truck in Lithium Grey. It was a sweet ride and had a hell of a lot more leg room than the Focus I had been driving in since Kenzi’s accident.

“Did you get a new car?” asked Kenzi. I put the truck in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Had it delivered yesterday.”

“What happened to your other car?”

I contemplated telling her the truth, that my car was a loan from the insurance company because my first truck was written off, but that would lead to more questions.

“It was time for a change,” I replied simply. “Besides, I think this is better suited to someone my size.”

I caught Kenzi’s eye and could have sworn her cheeks were flushed. So I added insult to injury, just to see her squirm. “You know what they say about men who drive big trucks…” It was lame and I had no idea if people actually said it, but seeing her shift in the passenger seat made it worth it. I turned the radio on and couldn’t contain my smile when she started humming along to Sam Hunt’s ‘Cop Car’. I knew she loved the song.

“You aren’t kidnapping me are you?”

I laughed softly. “A little late to ask that now, isn’t it? You’re already in the truck.”

“You didn’t give me much choice. I don’t even know where you’re taking me.”

Without thought, I reached over and squeezed her leg. “You’ll like where I’m taking you, and it’s a public place so you don’t have to worry about me killing you.”

Her eyes were wide and our gazes fell to where my hand rested on her leg. It wasn’t intentional, touching her just sort of happened. I snatched my hand away, and tried for nonchalance as I rested my arm on the glove compartment between the seats. Thankfully we pulled into the parking lot of the old fifties diner, Heels on Fire, before the atmosphere in the truck turned awkward.

Kenzi hopped out and met me on the sidewalk. I placed my hand on her lower back and led her toward the entrance. When we walked inside it was like we were transported straight into the 1950s. The floor was checkered and the booths were all red vinyl, including the barstools that lined the bar on the far side. The waitresses wore brightly colored poodle skirts with matching shirts, Gingham aprons and retro skates.