Chapter 9

"HAVE A GOOD DAY at school, sweetie." Maggie hugged Ari.

The girl submitted to the embrace for a few moments before edging away with an awkward shuffle of feet. "Have a good trip back." Ari focused on the toes of her hot pink Chuck Taylors.

"I'll be back as soon as I'm able to rearrange some things at work," Maggie promised.

Another small head bob from Ari.

"Got your lunch, kiddo?" Kennedy asked. She got actual eye contact, and that felt like a victory.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Mrs. Balzli is waiting in the driveway," Pru said gently.

With another shy wave, Ari headed out the door. As soon as it closed, Maggie blew out a breath. "I thought we'd be on better footing by now."

"You're intimidating," Kennedy told her.

Insult whipped color into Maggie's fair cheeks. "I am not."

"You kind of are," Pru said. "It works for you. Most of the time. You're the woman who Gets Things Done."

"Pru is the warm, fuzzy one," Kennedy said.

"What about you?" Maggie demanded. Was that jealousy in her tone?

"I'm the most like Ari. She relates to me."

An almost imperceptible shudder passed over Maggie, as if perishing the thought of having another sister like Kennedy. "Well, it's good she'll open up to at least some of us." Turning on heel, she strode with purpose into the kitchen.

Kennedy and Pru exchanged a look. "Business mode," Kennedy murmured. Not quite ready to face whatever her middle sister wanted to discuss, she said, "I'll be right back. Need to run upstairs for a minute."

It was a foolish and unnecessary delay, but she retreated to her room, pulling out her laptop and compulsively checking email. Maybe there'd be something from Flynn.

But it wasn't email from Flynn that snagged her attention. It was an email from the book editor.

Hey Kennedy,

I was just following up on our conversation from a few weeks ago. Tried to call you at the pub and was referred to one Flynn Bohannon. He told me about your mother. I'm so very sorry for your loss. I know you're dealing with a lot, but I just wanted to keep the lines of communication open. Still very interested in the book project, and the powers that be are pumped. Ready and willing to discuss when you're in a better place.

Enthusiastically yours,

Elena Beckhoff

Kennedy read the email through twice more, feeling her pulse jitter. The whole thing was still on the table. Her eyes fell on the stack of scrapbooks piled on a chair in the corner. She'd almost swear she caught a whiff of violets from that direction. Mom would want her to do this. Or at least talk to the woman about it more in depth. Deciding that was scarier than whatever Maggie wanted to discuss, Kennedy shut the laptop and went back downstairs.

She found Maggie fiddling with the coffee pot instead of ready to get down to brass tacks. Needing something to do herself to dispel the nervous energy coursing through her from the email, Kennedy moved to tackle the breakfast dishes.

"So how did your date with Xander go last night?" The question itself wasn't unexpected. That it came from Maggie was.

"Fine." Which told them exactly nothing.

One fair brow winged up. "You were home awfully late for it to just be fine."

Kennedy plunged her hands into the sink and began scrubbing at the sausage drippings in the skillet. "I didn't sleep with him, if that's what you're asking." Not for lack of trying. There was no sense in being embarrassed by that. His rejection had nothing to do with not wanting her. That much had been clear.

But instead of taking what she'd offered, he'd denied his own needs and given her what she'd needed. He'd listened. He'd defended. In the face of lackluster support from her family, Xander's unwavering belief was humbling. Beyond that, he'd given her something infinitely more precious. A second chance.

There'd been more to his kiss, more to his touch last night than the old, familiar heat and affection. Like stumbling across a unicorn on a hike, she didn't want to look too closely, lest it disappear. Whatever it was left her feeling shaky and fragile inside, and so very, very needy. She didn't know how it could work, didn't know if she'd ever be free of the ghosts from her past. But for the first time she felt brave enough to try. To have Xander back, she'd be willing to endure almost anything.

From the other side of the room, Pru studied her with a serious expression that had discomfort crawling up Kennedy's spine.

"So we had business to discuss?" she prompted. Might as well take the pressure off herself somehow.

Maggie poured them all fresh cups of coffee and gestured to the big farmhouse table. Kennedy set the clean dishes in the dish drainer, and they took their seats.

"Do we need to call Athena, get her on speakerphone?" Pru asked.

"I already talked to her about this on the drive to the airport yesterday."

"And you waited to loop us in why?" Kennedy asked.

"You were off with Xander, and I wanted to have this discussion with Ari out of the house."

That sobered Kennedy right up. "What's going on, Maggie?"

"As you know, I've been in close contact with Robert about the state of Mom's finances. In particular the trust responsible for paying the property taxes, upkeep on the house, and other expenses associated with having this much acreage." She paused and sipped at the coffee. "It seems Mom took a great deal out of the trust over the last decade or so to pay for college expenses, not only for us, but for quite a few other fosters."

Pru's hands laced around her coffee mug. "How much?"

"A lot. Which would have been bad enough but could've been recouped. Except the bottom fell out of the stock market last year."

"So how much is left?" Kennedy asked.

"Not even enough to pay off the lien. It may rebound some eventually, but given the economic forecast for the country the next few years, we're going to be on our own covering all those expenses, for a while at least."

Kennedy read between the lines. "So we could lose the house."

"It's not quite that dire yet. Athena and I will help as much as we can financially."

Pru wasn't rolling in it with her massage business, and, of course, Maggie assumed Kennedy had nothing to contribute financially after the way she'd lived. She had some, but given the scope of what they needed, it might as well have been nothing.

"Why do you have that tone like there's more bad news?" she asked.

"Because there is."

"There's something worse than possibly losing the house?" Pru asked.

"Mom's life insurance had lapsed. The renewal got lost in the shuffle while she was dealing with the adoption, so there won't be anything incoming there either."

Pru just closed her eyes. "We were counting on that."

"The important thing that Robert keeps emphasizing is that with the probate, we have time to come up with some kind of a plan. I've got to catch up on work as soon as I get back to L.A., but I'll keep working on this. Meanwhile, it might be worth going through the loft more thoroughly to see if there really are any antiques up there worth anything. It wouldn't make much of a dent, but it would give a little bit of a buffer for normal expenses."

"We're not so bad off," Pru insisted. "Now that I'm back to work, I've got steady income again."

"And I'm not destitute, despite what you may think," Kennedy said. "I haven't been a leech before, and I'm not going to start now."

Maggie looked chagrined. "I don't think you're a leech. And if I've made you feel like I do, I'm sorry. This whole situation has me upset."

"I know. There are a lot of unknowns and a great deal of this is entirely out of your control. You don't handle that well." Understatement of the century. "But there's one thing I handle better than anyone else in this family - and that's maintaining the optimism that it will all turn out all right in the end, even if we don't know how. I've lived my life by that for ten years, and I haven't been wrong yet. I don't plan to start now."

"I don't think optimism is going to carry the day here."

"My sunny, can-do attitude isn't the only thing I plan to throw at this situation. I'm going to brainstorm and help you come up with a plan." Kennedy rolled on before Maggie could utter the Thanks, but no thanks on her tongue. "I know I don't have your business training or financial knowledge, but I do have a lot of life experience in a lot of different areas. It may be that I can think of something outside the box."

She thought of the book option. Yeah, that was definitely outside the box. But when and if that happened, it would be a long time in the future. As little as she knew about publishing, even she was aware it was a slow process. They needed an influx of cash now.

Maggie was silent a moment. "Well, nothing has popped for me inside the box, so go for it."

"I intend to. And in the meantime, I'm headed into town." Kennedy shoved back from the table.

"What? Now?"

"Yes, now."

"For what?"

"I'm going to find a job."

* * *

Stone County encompassed two-hundred square miles of mountain and valley. Xander spent a lot of his time driving from one end to the other, answering calls, working cases. But at least two or three times a week, he liked to do a foot patrol of downtown Eden's Ridge. To his mind, it was good to be a visible presence - not that the Ridge suffered from much in the way of crime to begin with. Beyond that, he just liked getting out from behind his desk or the wheel of his department cruiser to move.

Today was especially nice, with the weather warming on up to true spring and flowers nodding in the breeze from various pots and planters in front of the shops on Main Street. It was the kind of day worth grabbing take out from Crystal's Diner and finding a bench somewhere to soak up some sun. That idea took on even more appeal as he spotted Kennedy striding down the sidewalk from the opposite direction. Her blonde ponytail bobbed back and forth with her purposeful stride - as close to Woman On A Mission as she ever really got.

Checking traffic, he crossed over to intercept her. "Fancy meeting you here."

Her smile was quick and warm. "Well, you've just made my trip to town doubly worthwhile."

"Yeah? What'd you come in for?"

"Job hunting."

"Already? I'd figured you'd take a little more time to settle in."

The smiled turned into more of a wince. "Well, things are a little dicey with the house and the rest of our property. It seems Mom has been robbing the trust that pays for it to hand out college educations. A lot of them. So we're working on figuring the finances out and how we're going to pay for upkeep. In the meantime, that means we're all working girls. Hence, job hunting."

"Success?" he asked, though he knew the answer from her faintly triumphant expression.

"You're looking at the new bartender at Elvira's Tavern. It may not be glamorous, but, it's something I'm good at that'll bring in a steady paycheck."

"What happened to Denver?"

"He wanted to make me just a waitress. They're short-staffed, apparently, but then I got behind the taps and worked some magic. He's decided he doesn't need to work every blessed night of the week. With me on board, he's got more free time to woo Misty Pennebaker."

Xander went brows up. "He tell you all that?"

"Oh no. The gossip portion of that was opining from Trish Morgan. I think I like her better now than I did in high school. Anyway, I have no idea who Misty Pennebaker is, but I hope she digs the strong, silent type, because Denver seems like a really good guy."

Xander pointed across the street to the new-agey curiosity and florist shop. "Misty owns Moonbeams and Sweet Dreams over there. Relatively new to the Ridge. Been here maybe three years now, I think."

As they watched, Misty herself emerged from the shop, a watering can in hand and what appeared to be a crown of daisies in her dark brown hair. Her long, flowing skirts swished as she bent to water the flowers rioting in profusion from the boxes out front. The flower child and the ex-biker. Now there was a romance he wouldn't have called.

Apparently following the same line of thought, Kennedy muttered, "It'll be interesting to be a fly on the wall for that one."

"Yep."

"Anyway, as of tomorrow night, I should be gainfully employed."

"That should make Maggie happy."

"Happy or not, she heads back to L.A. today. Since things are not awesome with the financial situation of Mom's estate, she's wigging. And her stress over it is stressing us out. It'll be good to be down to just Pru and Ari for a little while."

"You had lunch yet?" Xander asked.

"I have not."

"Buy you some."

"If it comes with your charming company, the answer's yes."

"Let's walk on down to Crystal's."

Kennedy fell into step beside him. "Do they still have the grilled mac 'n cheese sandwich?"

"Of course. It's a diner staple."

"It's nice to know some things stay the same. I've been really surprised by all the new businesses in town. Main Street has a whole extra block than when I left, and it seems like a bunch of the businesses have changed over."

Because he couldn't think of a good reason not to, Xander took her hand. She glanced up at him, the corners of her mouth tipping up in a way that made him want to kiss her. Eyes twinkling, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking, she swung their joined hands in a wide arc, as they used to back in high school.

"We've had a little bit of growth. There are those trying to bring tourism to the Ridge. We get dribs and drabs of people. Lot of hikers. Folks doing antiquing. But the powers that be are wanting to do a big push for more since the Gatlinburg fires. It's kinda mercenary, trying to capitalize on their misfortune, but it's probably the best shot we've got. There's even been some talk of building a resort."

"A resort? In Eden's Ridge?"

He shrugged. "Tourism and resorts are big business down in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Mountain vacations and a little luxury for common folks."

"Definitely not arguing that point. But wouldn't a resort be too late to take advantage of the fires? I mean, they'd have to build it, so that puts the whole thing off into next year at the earliest."

"Maybe. There have been a growing number of rental cabins being built, and quite a few people are taking advantage of AirBnB. It's a small start, but it's a start getting people here. If the town makes a good impression, people are liable to come back. Especially people who don't like all the congestion and tourist trap feel of Gatlinburg."

She hummed a considering noise. "I'll have to research what's here and make a post about it on my travel blog."

"Your what now?"

"My travel blog. It's monetized. That's part of how I've funded my travel all these years. By chronicling all the places I've lived and visited and talking about how to travel affordably. It's not huge, but it's got a pretty decent following. And somebody might find the Ridge that way."

And she just kept surprising him with her resourcefulness.

Xander tugged open the door to the diner. "Your sisters know about that?"

"It's never come up. I started it more for me, to keep up with where I went. And it just kind of grew." She made a beeline for their old booth by the window.

"What's it called?"

"Not All Who Wander."

"Because you weren't lost."

Kennedy inclined her head. She plucked a menu from the holder on the table and began to scan it.

In his pocket, Xander's phone began to vibrate. He fished it out and checked the display. His father. No way in hell was he answering that right now. If it were an actual emergency, he'd be hearing from Essie as dispatch over the radio. More likely, somebody saw him and Kennedy together and told Buck. Sending the call to voicemail, Xander shoved it back into his pocket.

Nicky Blue, daughter of the diner's namesake, swung by their table, order pad in hand. "What can I get you, Deputy?"

"I'll take the meatloaf special."

The girl scribbled it down. "And you?" She turned curious eyes on Kennedy.

"The grilled mac 'n cheese sandwich with a pile of curly fries. And a root beer."

"Comin' right up." She started to turn away but Xander stopped her.

"Let's add an Oreo milkshake to that, too. Two straws." Very deliberately, he reached across the table to tangle his fingers with Kennedy's.

Nicky's brows disappeared beneath her teased bangs. "Yes, sir."

Kennedy's lips twitched as the waitress disappeared into the kitchen. "Felt like making an announcement, huh?"

"Seemed more expedient to get the word out." He met her gaze. "Is that a problem for you?"

She shook her head and squeezed his hand. "No problem at all."

"So. Blogger, huh?" He pulled his phone back out and opened a browser, running a quick Google search for Not All Who Wander.

A blush crawled up Kennedy's cheeks. "Don't go look it up."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. It feels weird to have anybody from home know about it. It's weird having anybody important know about it."

There was something in her tone that had him studying her face. She was looking down at their joined hands, chewing the inside of her lip in an old gesture that told him she was worried about something.

"Who else knows about it?"

She lifted her gaze to his before glancing around the diner to see that no one was close. When she spoke, her voice was low. "There's this editor. She wants to talk to me about turning the whole thing into a book."

"That's awesome!"

Her shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug that wasn't near as casual as she wanted it to be. "I don't know. It all happened before Mom died. I haven't given any kind of answer, but she emailed me about it again this morning."

"Well, of course you should do it. Joan would've been tickled pink at the idea of you being an author."

"I'm not an author."

The site loaded on his phone, and he saw the note in the banner. "Pretty sure you wouldn't be award-winning if you weren't."

Kennedy dropped her eyes again. "It was just some web award. Nobody outside the industry would've heard of it."

Xander set the phone aside and took her other hand. "Hey, why are you minimizing everything you've accomplished? You did all this, on your own, and it's amazing. Imagine what you could do with the backing of a publisher. You could make a career of this."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what he was suggesting. Kennedy could have a career as a professional travel writer. Which meant she'd have to travel. She could hardly do something like that from the Ridge. He'd only just gotten her back and here he was encouraging her to leave again - albeit indirectly. That was fucked up.

She shrugged again. "I can't be a travel writer without traveling, and I'm needed here."

Which wasn't at all the same thing as I don't want to be a travel writer.

But Xander shoved down the flutter of panic in his gut that she'd disappear on him. She was committed to being here. For Ari and Pru and, at least in part, for him. She needed someone to support her absolutely. She wasn't getting that from her sisters. Even if she told them about the opportunity, he doubted they'd rave about it. They were the ones who'd made her feel like a screwup again since she came back, erasing the easy confidence she'd had when he first saw her at the cemetery. He wanted to give that back to her.

So he squeezed her hand and forced a smile. "Maybe don't think about it in broad strokes of career. Talk to her about what you can do with what you've already written, the places you've already been. You owe it to yourself to explore the option."

As Nicky came back with their lunch, Kennedy pulled her hand from his and leaned back to make room for the plate. "I'll think about it."