Twist of Fate (A Holiday Romance Novella) (8 page)

Kenzie smiled, fingering the soft pine needles. “No.
I
want this one. It’s perfect.”

Ty looked at the tree with raised eyebrows. “I hate to break it to you, but it’s not even close to perfect. Or do you need to get your eyes checked?”

“That’s
why
it’s perfect.”

“I’m not following.”

She pointed to the side of the tree. “See that hole? I bet it was caused by a hungry animal who needed something to eat on a really cold night. And notice how it leans to the side? It probably grew that way on purpose so that the little tree behind it would get the afternoon sun. And see that branch there? The one that’s lower to the ground than all the others? I’m sure it lowered it on purpose so small animals wouldn’t have a problem reaching safety when they needed a place to hide out from a storm.” Kenzie stepped back and studied the little tree with a smile. “Like I said, it’s perfect.”

When Ty said nothing, she turned and caught him staring—the same look he’d given her earlier. Her heart beat faster as he stepped closer and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I love how you see the world,” he said, his breath fogging the air between them, smelling of mint.

“Thanks.” Kenzie’s chest rose and fell as she stared up at him. She felt a sudden loss of control over her mind, her heart—everything. All common sense evaporated. If he leaned in and kissed her right now, she’d let him. She’d even kiss him back.

Not good.

Ty’s gloved finger moved to her chin, raising it ever so slightly. Kenzie couldn’t do this, she couldn’t. She closed her eyes, forcing a picture of Brad to her mind. He’s the one I want. He’s the one I’m going to marry.

Not Ty.

A warm, minty breath tickled her face, putting her senses on alert. She could feel Ty moving closer. Any second now his lips would touch hers, making her the kind of person who would kiss one guy while engaged to another. She’d never felt so conflicted. So torn. So completely messed up.

This wasn’t right.

Her eyes flew open, and she took a quick step back, away from Ty and away from temptation. Forgetting about the deep snow, she tripped and landed in the soft powder. The cold was a welcome shock, jolting her back to her senses. What was happening? Why did she want Ty to touch her and hold her and kiss her? Was this the pre-wedding jitters people talked about? One last fling before she committed herself for life?

No.

As she sat there, looking up at Ty, she knew it was more than that. She was falling for him—both literally and figuratively.

But she was engaged to someone else—someone who’d flown all the way to Madagascar to live in a tent and eat rice every day so that he could help build homes and start schools. Someone who’d be boarding a plane in a little over a week to return home to marry his fiancée.

Kenzie couldn’t do this to him.
She couldn’t.

Feeling tears sting the back of her eyes, she ignored Ty’s hand and scrambled up. Then she picked up the ax and started hacking away at the poor, forlorn pine tree that had withstood storms, provided food and shelter, and would bring the Christmas spirit to her apartment.

Kenzie needed to take a lesson from this tree. She needed to be strong.

ON HIS WAY home from work, Ty’s phone buzzed with a text from Kenzie:

Sorry but I can’t decorate trees tonight. Too much to do. Just go ahead without me.

Ty frowned, mentally kicking himself. If he hadn’t tried to kiss Kenzie last night, she wouldn’t want to avoid him now. But the way she’d looked at him, the way she’d leaned in just a little—and the electricity between them—made Ty believe that she felt it too. So he’d thrown caution to the wind and tried.

Stupid move because it had sent her scurrying back into her rock solid shell—one he wasn’t sure she’d be willing to come out of again.

Maybe it was time to tell her about the postcard. Was she holding back because of Brad? Or because she thought of Ty as a friend and only a friend? He didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to know.

Ty let out a breath as he pulled into the parking lot. He stopped the car and stared at his apartment building where his mother waited for him inside. It would be a long night with no Kenzie to act as buffer. No Kenzie to light up the room with her warmth and happiness. No Kenzie to joke with or tease.

Just him and his mom.

For a moment Ty thought about sending his mom a text, saying that he, too, had to work late. But knowing her, she’d head straight to his office and tell him that it was time to leave work behind and experience life—as she’d so often told his dad over the years.

Ty withdrew his key from the ignition and climbed from his car. He could handle one night alone with his mother.

“I’m telling you, Ty, any girl would love a new sweater for Christmas,” Ty’s mom said as they drove downtown. “You need to trust me on this.”

Ty refrained from commenting and focused on the road. The skies had darkened, making the high rise buildings either stand out or almost disappear. Some glowed with bright Christmas lights, some didn’t. Some sported wreaths on windows or doors, some didn’t. Some bustled with happy-looking people, some stood vacant and alone. It made Ty think of the contrast between him and Kenzie. Happiness and the Christmas spirit radiated from her, whereas he was more like one of those tall, bland buildings with mostly darkened windows and no color—not that anyone would know that if they walked inside his apartment.

Still, seeing the contrast in the buildings, Ty couldn’t help but wish that Kenzie were here, sitting next to him and making his world brighter and more colorful.

But he’d scared her away. So now Ty was stuck going Christmas shopping with his mom instead—
for
Kenzie. It didn’t matter that he was in the process of writing a computer program as her Christmas gift. No. Kenzie would prefer a sweater. Ty’s mom was sure of it.

Instead of arguing, he’d held his tongue and led his mother back outside, into the cold, dark night and here they were.

He mentally kicked himself yet again for trying to kiss Kenzie.

“So, how did work go today?” his mom asked as they navigated their way through the busy Rochester streets.

“Fine.”

“That’s it? Just fine?”

“Yep. That’s it. Fine.”

A pause. “Maybe I should call your receptionist and ask her.”

Ty should have known she’d say something like that. “Please don’t. She’s finally talking to me again now that she doesn’t have to field a bunch of calls from you anymore.”

“If you would’ve taken a few minutes to call me back, I wouldn’t have bothered her so much. But that was the only number I had for you.”

Ty suddenly missed Kenzie more than ever. If she’d come tonight, this conversation wouldn’t be happening. But maybe it needed to happen. Here. In this car—where neither of them could walk away or continue to dance around it.

Ty stopped his car for a red light before facing his mother. “And if
you
would just let me be a grown-up and trust me to make my own decisions—even if you don’t agree with them—we might have a decent mother/son relationship right now. I might even
want
to call you back.”

“I do let you make your own decisions.”

Ty shot her a yeah-right look.

“I let you move across the country from me and gave you your space, didn’t I?” she said. “But when six months came and went with no word from you, I couldn’t do it anymore. You’re my son, Ty. I carried you in my belly for nine months, I lost sleep over you, I took care of you when you were sick and supported you in every activity you wanted to try. I raised you and taught you and was there for you. And just because you went and grew up on me doesn’t mean I can stop caring about what you do with your life. I’m your mother. It’s my job to care.”

The light changed, and Ty returned his attention to the road. “I’m fully aware of how much you care, Mom. But caring and trying to make decisions for me are two very different things. If I don’t want Christmas decorations in my apartment, then I shouldn’t have to have Christmas decorations. If I want my dishes in a cupboard to the right of the sink, that’s my call. And if I want to marry someone you don’t like, you need to learn to live with it. Caring is letting me make mistakes and then being there for me when I do.”

“So you admit that marrying Nicole would have been a mistake,” she said with that I-told-you-so tone she often used.

Ty wanted to shake her. “It doesn’t matter if it would have been a mistake. What matters is that you should’ve let me make it. I’m not saying you can’t express concern when you think I’m doing something I’ll regret. But if I choose to disagree with you, then you need to take a step back and try to accept whatever it is I choose to do with my life.”

“So you’re telling me,” she said slowly, “that you would be happier right now if I would have stayed out of it and let you marry Nicole?”

“No. I’m saying that I wouldn’t ignore your calls if you had.”

Her hand came to rest on Ty’s knee, and she shook it gently. “But surely you can see that she wasn’t right for you, can’t you?”

Ty suddenly felt like he was stuck on a merry-go-round, going around and around in the same unchanging circle. “This is the root of our problem, right here. If you disagree with an opinion I have or something I want to do, then it’s always a fight. You’re right and I’m wrong. End of discussion. But you know what? Sometimes I’m right and you’re wrong. Like becoming a computer programmer or moving out here—hands down two of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

She tapped her finger on his knee. “Yes, but you wouldn’t have moved out here if you’d gotten engaged to Nicole. So I was right about one thing.”

Ty felt like banging his head against the steering wheel. She’d never get it. It was like her personality had been chiseled out of stone and refused to bend or give at all—not even for her son. “My point is, Mom,” Ty spoke slowly, emphasizing each word, “that
I’m
the one who gets to be right or wrong for me. So I’m going to tell you one last time: Stop trying to live my life for me or I swear I’ll change my name and move someplace where you can never find me again.”

Silence.

Nothing. No counter arguments. No buts. Only blessed quiet.

Maybe Ty’s empty threat had finally gotten through to her. Wouldn’t that be something.

When he finally pulled into the parking lot of the department store, her voice was quiet. “Okay,” she said. “If you’ll stop ignoring my calls and email me back once in awhile, I’ll promise to try to keep my opinions to myself.”

Ty suddenly felt like doing a victory dance. “But you also have to give me my space,” he added. “Which means no calling every day or multiple times a day, and no unexpected appearances. If you want to come for a visit, you need to run it by
me
and not my receptionist or Kenzie.”

“But—”

Ty held up a hand. “I know. You didn’t have a choice this time. I’m talking about the next time.” Wait, did he just say there would be a next time?

Her face brightened into a huge smile, making Ty grudgingly glad he had. He couldn’t help but think that if Kenzie were here right now, he might have just earned himself another hug.

Ty killed the engine. “What do you say we go shop for a sweater.”

Her hands clapped together. “Oh, I know just what she’ll lo—”

“No.”

“But—“

“No.”

His mom paused, pursing her lips for a moment. “What about a compromise? I’ll pick one and you’ll pick one. Then we’ll buy them and let Kenzie decide which one she likes better on Christmas morning. She can easily take back the one she doesn’t like.”

Ty raised an eyebrow. “So that discussion we just had about letting me make my own decisions…?”

“Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. You can’t expect me to change overnight.” With that, his mom opened the door and got out.

Ty nearly rolled his eyes. But then he pictured Kenzie’s reaction to being asked to return one of her Christmas presents, and he had to bite back a smile. She would laugh and somehow find a way to make his mother sound quirky instead of controlling. Because that’s the kind of person Kenzie was. She could look beyond the rough exteriors and somehow find the good inside—just like she had with her forlorn little Christmas tree.