Page 56 of When You Got a Good Thing (Misfit Inn 1)

KENNEDY WAS A LOT less confident about her plan than she’d let Xander believe. She wasn’t finished with the formalized proposal for the business. The necessary number crunching had taken a backseat to work and spending time with him. Given the time constraints, she didn’t think she’d be able to pull all of it together by tomorrow morning, especially since she had to work tonight to help cover the Friday night rush. But if a picture was worth a thousand words, hopefully a fully set up room would be worth more. She sent a quick series of texts to Denver, to see if she could go in late. She had a busy day ahead of her.

Figuring out how to buy paint and supplies and sneak them into the house without Pru knowing made Kennedy feel a little bit like a spy. She’d memorized Pru’s whole client schedule for the day and deliberately picked one of the third floor rooms to avoid likelihood of discovery. With a hastily scrawled note left on the kitchen counter, she told Pru she was running a quick errand, then catching up on sleep. God bless her soft-hearted sister. Pru would believe it and keep quiet and out of the way.

She thought of Xander on the drive into town. He’d been avoiding his father for more than week, and Kennedy was worried about how this would go. He wasn’t going to just forgive and forget. She knew there’d been one blow up already before he’d come to her about it, but there’d been no resolution. The fact was, they worked together and had for the better part of a decade. So either they figured some way to work things out or one of them left the job. Kennedy couldn’t see any middle ground. As they were law enforcement in Stone County, it wasn’t like there was really another option here. Xander could leave—take a job elsewhere. But he wouldn’t go without her, and she wouldn’t go because of Ari. She’d promised. Which put them between as much a rock and a hard place as the original devil’s choice Buck had given her.

Kennedy made it back to the house while Pru was with her first client of the day. She hustled upstairs with her purchases. In less than an hour, she had all the trim taped off and had poured the first glug of paint into the tray. She’d chosen a palette of soft grays and misty greens in shades that reminded her of the mountains she so loved. The dove gray walls would bring the outside in, especially on misty mornings with the sun shining through the dormer window, and the bedding she’d bought would, hopefully, make guests feel like they were napping in a mountain glen.

Her phone dinged with a text. Xander to say how the briefing went? She checked the display. But it was her boss, granting permission for her to come in late. She sent off a quick thank you, then texted Xander because she was worried about him.

His reply came back almost immediately. It’s done.

It’s done? What the hell does that mean?

But text wasn’t the way to get into it. They’d talk later. She had way too much to get done first.

Kennedy: Going into work late tonight. Can you swing by after five to help shove this furniture back in place?

Xander: Sure. Good luck.

Dipping in the roller, Kennedy got to work.

Hours later, the door swung open. Crouched down on the floor painting trim, Kennedy couldn’t hold in the squeak of surprise. Excuses jumbled in her mind, but it was Ari, not Pru.

“Wow! Who knew paint would make such a difference?”

“Quiet!” Kennedy hissed. “Come in and shut the door if you’re coming.”

Ari did as asked. “So you’re getting ready to show Maggie the idea for the inn?”

“That’s the plan. If I can get ready in time. The walls are pretty much dry, but the trim will take until much later. I think, if we’re careful, we can get the furniture back in place without messing anything up, though.”

The girl eyed the massive armoire. “I’m not sure we can move that carefully. Or quietly.”

“Xander’s coming back by to help me shift things around before I leave for work.”

“Oh, Xander.” She drew his name out in that knowing, sing-song tone only teenage girls could pull off.

Kennedy fixed her with a flat stare.

Unperturbed, Ari just grinned. “So what’s the deal with you two?”

“The deal is that I need help finishing this trim. If you’re going to interrupt me, you’re going to work.”

She grabbed a brush and plopped down on the floor beside the paint bucket.

“Don’t drip,” Kennedy cautioned.

“I won’t. So, you and Xander. Tell me the story.”

“There’s not much to tell.” There was so much to tell, but much of it wasn’t appropriate for teenage ears. “We used to be together back in high school. Now that I’m back, we’ve got a second chance, and we’re taking it.”

“Oh no, that’s not enough payoff for painting. Tell me about you back in high school.”

This Kennedy could talk about. She’d spent so long focused on the sadness and regret that this—getting to share all the good memories she had with Xander and remember how happy they’d been—it felt like a gift. “He was the star running back for the football team.” They painted and she talked, telling Ari about their love story—leaving out the steamier bits. Kennedy had no idea if Ari had a boy she liked, but no reason to give her ideas. And it was good to remember all those early days and how in love they’d been.

“Joan kept pictures of the two of you.”

“Did she?” Those hadn’t been in the travel scrapbooks. She’d have to go hunt them up later.

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