Cowboy Kisses (9 page)

At work on Saturday, Kenzie disc
overed that Steve would be gone
all day, doing errands in town with Hank. Around noon
,
Sarah joined Kenzie in the tack room where she was cleaning some saddles.
“
Ready for lunch?
”
she asked.

“
I thought I'd skip lunch today and ride Ali for a while.
”
Kenzie said. Remembering that Sarah didn’t have her own horse, she added,
“
Could you take one of Hank’s horses and come along?
”

Sarah shook her head regretfully.
“
My mom’s coming by to borrow some special cake pans from Nora and I told her I’d meet her here.
”

“
Okay. See you later then.
”

Though Kenzie would have welcomed Sarah’s company, she thoroughly enjoyed being alone with h
er beloved horse. She was sure th
at Jeanette would love riding across the vast acreage of the ranch instead of on the tame bridle paths
at Silver Hills. Convincing Jea
nette to move Zenith to the Lucky R would take some doing, but Kenzie decided it would be worth the effort.

After her ride, Kenzie helped Dennis and Greg with various stable chores—Sarah had gone home early to p
repare for her party, so Kenzie
didn’t see her again until she arrived at the Whitmans’ house that evening.

“
I’m so glad you came!
”
Sarah said when she met Kenzie at the door. She was wearing a blue sundress that brought out the blue of her eyes, a
nd Kenzie thought she looked re
ally pretty.

“
Am I late?
”
Kenzie asked. Ironing her jade green skirt and multicolored floral blouse had taken a lot longer than she had anticipated since she’d never done much ironing before.

“
Oh, no. But the others were early.
”
Sarah giggled nervously, smoothing down the hair that covered her hearing aids.
“
You look great, Kenzie. Did you do the French braid yourself?
”

“
My mom helped,
”
Kenzie said, following Sarah inside. The house was small, but clean
and well kept. She put Sarah’s gift with the other presents on a coffee table in the living room.

“
I’d love to wear my hair like that,
”
Sarah
said with a sigh.
“
But—
”

Kenzie cut her off.
“
I know about the hearing aids. I noticed them one day at work. You want to keep them hidden, don’t you?
”

Sarah nodded.
“
You—you haven’t told any
body, have you?
”
she faltered.

“
No,
”
Kenzie said,
“
and I won’t either. But you know what?
You
could
try a different hair
style that would still cover your ears. How about a permanent? I gave a home perm to my friend Jeanette a while back. If you like, I could give you one sometime.
”

After a brief hesitation, Sarah smiled. Eyes twinkling, she said,
“
Okay, on one condition. Get a written statement from Jeanette saying that her hair wasn’t fried and she didn’t go bald, and you’re on!
”

Laughing, the two girls stepped out onto the patio at the rear of the house. The first person Kenzie saw was Steve, looking terrific in khaki slacks and a yellow polo shirt. He was talking with Greg and two little boys—Sarah’s brothers, Kenzie assumed.

“
Steve’s cousi
n was supposed to come with him,
”
Sarah murmured to Kenzie, blushing,
“
but he couldn’t make it,
so Steve brought Greg instead.”

“
That’s nice,” Kenzie replied with a smile.

“
Nice
!
”
Sarah wailed softly.
“
I’m so nervous I don’t know what to do!
”
Glancing at Kenzie, she added,
“
I
guess you’ve figured out how I feel about him, huh?
”

Kenzie nodded. “
What are you worried about? You look great in that dress. Greg won’t be able to resist you.
”

“
Thanks, but I’m not so sure. Do me a favor, Kenzie—keep an eye on me, and if you catch me saying or doing something really stupid,
stop me
,
”
Sarah begged.
“
When I’m nervous, I can’t think straight!
”

Kenzie laughed.
“
Will do.
”

Sarah led the way into the backyar
d and in
troduced Kenzie to her parents, grandparents, and younge
r brothers. When Mr. Whitman an
noun
ced that the burgers were ready,
Steve came over to Kenzie. His expression told her that he liked the way she looked, but all he said was,
“
No country club
service here, Ken
zie.
”
He handed her a paper plate.
“
We all wait on ourselves.
”

“
Just like home,
”
she replied sweetly.
“
Only at home, we all take turns cooking.
”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up.
“
You actually cook?”

“
Sure. I do my own laundry, too,
”
Kenzie i
n
formed him.
“
And
I put out the garbage. Sometimes I even wash the floor!
”

She thanked Mr. Whitman for the juicy hamburger he put on her plate, then joined Sarah at the picnic table. Steve sat down next to Kenzie, and Greg took a seat beside Sarah. As
ev
eryone ate and chatted, Kenzie noticed that Sarah’s nervousness seemed to have subsided. In fact, she and Greg had their heads together throughout the meal, talking nonstop.

“
I guess your matchmaking scheme wasn’t so lame after all,
”
Steve said to Kenzie.

Before she could think of a comeback to his faint praise, Greg looked over at them and said,
“
Sarah and I were just talking about the barn.
”
How romantic
,
Kenzie thought,
stifling
a giggle.

“
It really needs painting
,
”
Sarah said.
“
Hank and Nora can’t afford to have it done, but Greg has a great idea.
”

Greg grinned shyly.
“
My uncle owns a hard
ware store. I thought I could talk to him about giving us a break on the price, and then we
could have a painting party and do the work ourselves. We could make that our anniversary present to H
ank and Nora—their twentieth an
niversary’s coming up soon.
”

“
That
is
a great idea, Greg!
”
Kenzie exclaimed.
“
I bet I can get some of my friends to help out, too. It’ll be fun.
”

Steve looked at her skeptically.
“
You sure you’ll still be around. Kenzie?
”
he asked.

“
You bet I will,
”
she said with a toss of her head.
“
And by then we’ll both be a whole lot fatter from all the pizza we’ve been eating!
”

Sarah and Greg both looked puzzled by the reference to pizza. Kenzie was about to explain when Mrs. Whitman came out of the house carrying the birthday cake, followed by Sarah’s little brothers with their arms full of presents. After Sarah blew out the candles and served the cake to her guests, she began to open her gifts. When she unwrapped the package from Kenzie, Sarah’s face lit up at the sight of the cut-glass perfume bottle.
“
Thanks, Kenzie!
”
she exclaimed, spraying a fine mist onto her wrist.

Steve sniffed the air.
“
Another insect attracte
r.
Pretty expensive, too, I bet.
”

Kenzie’s pl
easure at Sarah’s reaction imme
diately faded.
“
For your information,
”
she whispered angrily,
“
it’s cologne, not perfume, which is all I could afford!
”

He shrugged, looking as if he didn’t believe her.
“
Come off it, Kenzie. Who are you trying to kid?
”
he asked softly so only she could hear.

Seething with rage, Kenzie stood up.

“
How about another piece of cake, Kenzie?
”
Mr. Whitman offered.

Forcing a smile, she said, “
So
rr
y—I’ve got to go, but thanks anyway.
”

Totally ignoring Steve, Kenzie said her goodbyes to Sarah, Greg, and Sarah’s family, and hurried around the side of the house to the car.

“
Kenzie,
”
Steve called, running after her.
“
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you leave the party.
”

“
You didn’t,
”
Kenzie snapped.
“
I have to be home by eight thirty.
”

Steve folded his arms across his chest.
“
Your usual Saturday night curfew is
eight
thirty
?”
he asked skeptically.

“
My mother needs the car. It’s the only one we have,
”
she told him. Obviously, he didn’t believe that either. Sighing, Kenzie said.
“
For
get it, Steve. You don’t understand.
”
She reached for the door handle.
“
You don’t under
stand
anything
!
”

Steve put his hand over hers.
“
Then why don’t you explain?
”
he asked gently.

Kenzie was silent. Except for Jeanette, she’d never talked to anyone about her
family’s trou
bles. So why should she tell Steve anything?

Shaking her head, she said.
“
It’s a long story. You wouldn’t be interested.
”

“
Try me.
”

“
I have to be home
…”

“…
By eight thirty. I know.
”
Steve smiled.
“
I could come by your house for a while.
”
When she hesitated, he added,
“
Unless you have other plans. Like a date?
”

“
No,
”
Kenzie answered quickly.
“
I don’t have a date.
”

Steve looked relieved.
“
I’m pretty sure Greg won’t mind hanging out at Sarah’s for a while longer. What about you? Do
you
mind my coming
by?
”

“
No,
”
she murmured.

“
Great!
”
He
squeezed her hand before releas
ing it.
“
Give me your address. I’ll be there as soon as I tell Greg what’s up.
”

CHAPTER TEN

Less than
twenty minutes later, Kenzie an
swered the front door, holding a large bowl of hot buttered popcorn. Steve stepped inside and handed her a bouquet of white daisies.

Kenzie raised an eyebrow.
“
From Mrs. Whit
man’s yard?
”

“
Yes
, as a matter of fact,”
Steve said with a grin,
“
but there are plenty more. She’ll never miss them. I thought I ought to bring a peace offering.
”
Taking the bowl from Kenzie, he added,
“
Why don’t you put them in water and let me sample this popcorn?
”