Private Parts (12 page)

Earnest, Washington—Spring

M
AIN
S
TREET WAS AWASH
with color, with nearly the entire town out for the Memorial Day festivities that were also doubling as the groundbreaking celebration for Earnest, Inc. The factory was converted; not up to the original, grand specs, but more moderate workable ones, designed for expansion at a later date.

Philippidis had tried to throw up an injunction, but due to a combination of the absence of the original contracts, and the hard work of their dedicated legal team—which now included Kendall—he had succeeded in only further frustrating himself.

All remnants of the mudslide had been removed, the hillside planted and shored up with a new retaining wall behind the remaining buildings to protect them from any future onslaughts. There were no plans to replace the destroyed structure. At least
not currently. Perhaps once the economy got up and running again.

Hope. It was everywhere you looked. From the colorful banner strung across Main Street to the updated restaurant-front that now read Verna and Elena’s Quality Diner and boasted as many ethnic Greek items on the menu as American ones.

Troy’s father had gone on that trip with Phoebe Payne. In fact, they’d left two months ago and showed no signs of returning anytime soon. Last they’d heard, they were in the Australian outback somewhere.

Ari and Elena had gotten married as soon as their little Amy had been released from the hospital and could participate in the ceremony, cradled tightly in her father’s arms as the two exchanged vows before an intimate gathering of family members.

As for him and Kendall…

Troy’s gaze trailed to the woman in question, experiencing the familiar rush of need that suffused him every time he saw her. She’d moved into Mrs. Foss’s bed-and-breakfast, more family member now than paying guest, and claimed a room as far away from the homeowner as possible. They’d also invested in a quieter bed.

God, what he wouldn’t give to be able to back her into a shadowy alcove and explore the delectable wonders hiding under her summery dress. And he would have done exactly that if he didn’t have
his hands full looking after his dog, Spike, and the youngsters that had gathered around to pet him while she saw to the cotton candy machine, handing a ball of pink fluff to a freckled five-year-old girl who would probably get half of it stuck in her curly red hair.

His hand automatically went to his front jeans pocket, feeling the outline of the item he had tucked away in there. Just two more short hours and they would all head to the fairgrounds outside of town for the fireworks…where he planned to propose to Kendall.

If someone had told him six months ago that this was where he’d be now, he’d have called them a liar. He’d been so fixated on his goals that he’d been blind to everything else. Until Kendall had yanked open the curtains and let the light shine in. And fate and family had finally made him realize that he wasn’t in this alone…and sometimes you had to give up control in order to get everything else.

“Cotton candy, Mr. Metaxas?” Kendall asked, coming to stand before him in that sexy summer dress.

“Don’t mind if I do.”

He snaked his free arm around her waist and pulled her to him, no longer caring who saw…