Page 99 of Renewal After Dark

As they went outside together, McKenzie was aware that there was no greater demonstration of trust than to let him take her child out of her sight. But she did trust him, and not just because her grandmother had. No, at this point, it was because he’d repeatedly shown her that he was worthy of her trust and respect.

She made good use of the time alone to finish going through the drawers and organizing a year’s worth of paperwork into neat, chronological piles.

While Duke had Jax, she decided to run next door to check in with Sierra about her books. She loved the idea of running a business helping people with their bookkeeping and taxes while she also worked for Tiffany. She could tend to her own clients at night after Jax was asleep. Between those two things, she should be able to support them since she wouldn’t have to pay rent or a mortgage.

“Thank you, Gran,” she whispered as she stepped into the glorious September sunshine. Across the parking lot, she spotted Duke and Jax. He’d seated him in the driver’s seat of one of the forklifts the ferry workers used to move pallets around. Jax had his hands on the wheel and was pretending to drive.

It was the sweetest thing McKenzie had ever seen, especially the way Duke was clearly enjoying it as much as Jax was. He looked up, saw her there and waved.

She waved back and then put her hand over her heart to let him know how much she appreciated him.

His smile warmed her all the way through.

She was in big trouble with this man, and it was getting “worse” by the minute.

Chapter21

As she stepped through the doors of the massage studio, which was called Refresh and Renew, a warm, earthy scent greeted her. Whatever it was made her want to settle in for some relaxation of her own. As if that was going to happen any time soon.

Sierra was at the reception desk, chatting with a blonde woman who handed over her credit card.

“That was amazing,” the client said. “Thank you so much for squeezing me in.”

“My pleasure. I’m glad it worked out. Your hubby is the best for setting it up.”

“You know it. After being marooned for days with three little ones and no power, he knew I needed it.”

Sierra returned the credit card with a receipt to sign. She leaned around the client to say hi to McKenzie. “Be right with you, McKenzie.”

“No rush.”

“McKenzie has come to save my ass. She’s a whiz with QuickBooks.”

McKenzie would never use the wordwhiz, but before she could say so, the blonde woman at the desk turned to her.

“I’m Laura Lawry, owner of the Sand & Surf Hotel, and if you know QuickBooks, I want you to work with me like yesterday. Or actually more like last year…” She added a sheepish grin that made McKenzie laugh.

“Nice to meet you.”

The two women shook hands.

“Will you help me?Please?”

“Of course. I’ll stop by in the next few days if that works.”

“That’d be perfect. This is truly turning out to be the best massage I’ve ever had.”

“We aim to please,” Sierra said.

“I have two friends who work out of the hotel who will want you, too. Is it okay to tell them about you?”

“Sure, thank you.”

“No, McKenzie, thankyou. This will change my life! Give me your number.”

As McKenzie recited her number, Laura punched it into her phone.

“You’ll definitely hear from me.”

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