Page 42 of Carpenter's Christmas Bride

She had just taken a sip of coffee and she shrugged—probably not wanting to say in front of Walt that she might not be able to dance again.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, and when they were finished, Aidan helped to clean up the kitchen and his sticky son, then Walt and Kenzie got started on their reading.

It was lovely to see them bent over the picture books, Kenzie’s golden locks cascading onto Walt’s darker hair, Walt singing out the words he knew in his husky voice as she got to them.

Aidan quietly headed back to work, tearing his eyes away from the sweet scene before he got himself into trouble by opening his mouth.

13

AIDAN

Aidan had finished installing the first barre and was working on the second now. It was fairly easy work, though he was always careful. Getting the details just right was the difference between being a regular contractor and a creative carpenter known for beautiful finish work.

Late-morning sunshine poured in the windows, bouncing off the mirrors and filling Kenzie’s family-room-turned-ballet-studio with brilliant light. He couldn’t help thinking of Kenzie herself and the way she had lit Walt up with happiness this morning, just by making toast.

Aidan could hear the two of them in the kitchen now, talking softly, most likely reading the stack of ballet books Walt had brought.

The way she told him that reading his small words could be a help warmed Aidan’s heart. Everyone wanted to be of service, even a four-year-old, and Kenzie had somehow sensed that longing in Walt.

Aidan shook his head and applied himself to his work again, trying his best to get back into the zone. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the soft sounds floating down from the kitchen got louder.

He paused for a moment, listening as Walt’s voice got louder. He was yelling or crying, and Aidan was pretty sure he heard the word no.

Aidan was on his feet in an instant, already furious with himself. He should have known better than to leave Walt with Kenzie for so long. She’d said herself that she hadn’t watched children since high school, and she was hurt on top of it. Walt had clearly gotten bored and started to misbehave.

When he stuck his head in the kitchen, it took Aidan a moment to put together what was happening.

Walt wasn’t crying, and he wasn’t yelling either. He was standing on one foot with his hand on his nose, laughing his head off as he tried to keep his balance.

“Now, hop,” Kenzie told him, her eyes twinkling as she smiled at Aidan over Walt’s shoulder.

“No,” Walt managed to yelp as he bubbled over with laughter. “No, you didn’t say Simon Says.”

“Ah,” Kenzie said, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe it. “You are just too hard to trick, Walt. Simon says hop up and down.”

Walt hopped once and then melted to the floor with laughter as Kenzie smiled fondly at him with real warmth in her eyes.

“Sorry if we were too loud,” Kenzie said, glancing up at Aidan.

“It’s fine,” he told her. “It’s great.”

“When I was little I wasn’t very good at sitting still at school,” she said. “My teacher used to give me wiggle breaks to help, and I thought Walt might like to have one since we were reading so much.”

“You’re good at sitting, Kenzie,” Walt said brightly, popping up from the floor.

“Well, I sort of have to be right now,” she said, pointing at her boot and laughing. “But when I was a kid, what helped me the most was dance classes. That got all my wiggles out every time.”

“Like Vampirina Ballerina,” Walt said wisely.

“Yes, I went to dance class like the ballerina in the book,” Kenzie said. “My grandma was the teacher, so that was really lucky.”

“I’ll just finish up,” Aidan said quietly and slipped out, feeling overwhelmed, though he wasn’t sure why.

He’d had trouble sitting still in school himself, and he was pretty sure Walt was going to have the same problem. He’d been wondering how a benched ballerina was doing such a good job with Walt when the professionals at the preschool kept telling him ominous things about it being best to hold the boy back from entering kindergarten next year?

But the idea that Kenzie had been restless herself really surprised him. He’d thought all ballerinas were naturally disciplined and well-behaved. It never occurred to him that all that jumping and dancing might have helped her sit still in school.

How must she feel now that she can’t dance?

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