Page 46 of Carpenter's Christmas Bride

They drove on in silence for a while, and Kenzie found herself gazing out the window at the dormant fields. When spring came they would be golden and green with wheat and corn, but for now they slept beside the bare-branched trees lining the road.

Will I still be here in the spring?

The question had been in her mind in a negative sense so many times lately, as she found herself facing up to how serious her injury was. Even if she did manage to heal enough to dance again, rupturing one Achilles tendon made it all the more likely that she might rupture the other or get hurt in some other way while trying to protect that leg.

This was the reality of aging in the dance world. Trying not to get injured, guarding small weaknesses, and working through pain were just part of life. There was no such thing as a perfect dance body, and the longer you danced, the more you broke down the one you had. Only experience, care, and luck could keep a dancer in her pointe shoes past the age of thirty.

When she thought about being home permanently, it had been with a sense of loss and sadness.

But the longer she was back in Trinity Falls, the more she felt that coming home might just be fate. After all, Grandma Lee had made her an incredible offer, and of course she had always wanted to fall madly in love and get married someday…

“Here we go,” Aidan said, bringing her back to the present before she had time to follow that line of thought to somewhere dangerous.

Kenzie looked up, and there was the same old wooden sign, freshly painted.

“Oh my gosh, they didn’t change it,” she said, delighted. “It still has the apples and the horse.”

“They should never get rid of it,” Aidan said firmly.

“You’re right,” Kenzie agreed. “It’s iconic.”

“What’s that?” Walt asked from the back seat.

“Someone’s awake,” Aidan said. “We’re here, bud. Great timing.”

Kenzie smiled at the way Aidan’s voice always warmed and softened when he spoke with his boy. Walt definitely brought out the best in his dad.

“Can we get a snack?” Walt asked hopefully.

“Sure,” Aidan said, glancing at Kenzie. “As long as our guest doesn’t mind.”

“I’d love a snack,” Kenzie said. “Great idea.”

Aidan pulled into a nice spot in the gravel lot and turned to Kenzie with a stern look.

“Wait there,” he told her.

“Uh, okay,” she said.

He got out and closed the car door behind him, heading over to her side.

“I have to wait too,” Walt told her sympathetically.

“Your dad takes good care of you,” she told him.

Aidan opened her door and then lifted her gently to the ground. For a moment she was encircled in his warm arms. He smelled like fresh-sawn lumber and the spicy aftershave her grandpa used to use. Too soon, he was grabbing her crutches and handing them to her before going back to get Walt out of his car seat.

Kenzie took a deep breath and tried to get herself together.

Don’t think about what he smells like.

“I want my snack,” Walt said, the minute his feet hit the ground.

“Let’s go then,” his dad said. “We have to take our time though, because Kenzie is on crutches.”

“And because I have short legs,” Walt said.

Kenzie smiled and waited so she could walk beside Walt. The little guy reached up for his dad’s hand.

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