Should’ve Known It’s You (Not You Again #7)

Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

AUSTIN

T he go-karts were pretty tame, made for little kids and dads with toddlers in the passenger seats, but as Kenny and I raced around the track, I couldn’t stop grinning. My helmet pressed into my skin and squeezed the sides of my head. My shins hit the bar under the steering wheel, but not even that ruined the fun.

Engines whirring noisily, the go-karts sped around the track. Both Kenny and I were occasionally slowed down by a child swerving in front of us. With the general hum and laughter in the arcade drowned out by the engine noise and the warm air inside the building washing over my skin as I put my foot down—for a split second whenever I had a gap—I wondered when the last time had been that I’d had so much fun.

It was strange how these places were supposed to be for kids, yet when adults got into them, they put us in touch with the children we had been and we ended up appreciating and enjoying them so much more. I could see that Kenny felt the same way, constantly laughing and smiling, even when she got cut off by the little humans.

Lap after lap, I managed to beat her, and by the time the buzzer went off to signal the end of our session, I slowed my kart next to hers and waggled my eyebrows. “One each. What’s next?”

Her eyes were sparkling with barely restrained laughter, but I knew she was just as competitive as I was. She’d want a chance to break the tie for sure, and the longer we kept at this, the further away that unpleasant encounter with her ex got.

It was an absolute win-win.

She climbed out of her go-kart and tucked the helmet under her arm like some kind of badass biker gal and smirked at me. “Let’s see who can win the other the most stuffed animals.”

“I prefer those fidget toys.”

Her brows quirked up, but then she nodded and stretched her hand out toward me. “Fidget toys, then. May the best competitor win.”

I smacked my palm into her offered hand and shook it, but hung on to it after the shake, simply adjusting my grip to hold her hand instead. Sliding my fingers around hers, I tugged her to my side and we made our way to the counter to pay for our games, and then we set off, taking turns to choose which game we were going to try our hands at.

Mini basketballs thumped as they rolled toward us down a short, slanted lane, and clowns reared up for us to try and knock them down at the next machine. We whacked aliens, sprayed water-guns at ducks, and took silly pictures in a photo booth before we returned to the counter, approaching the side where we collected our prizes this time.

Neck and neck as the virtual tickets we’d earned were counted, Kenny glanced at me, smiling radiantly while we waited for the final verdict. “Whatever happens, thank you for bringing me here tonight. It was exactly what I needed.”

“Our night isn’t over yet,” I said, bumping my elbow gently into her arm on the glass-topped counter with all the colorful prizes waiting underneath. “What kind of date would this be if I didn’t feed you?”

She looked around the chaotic interior of the arcade and arched an eyebrow at me. “They seem to have pizza, burgers, and corn dogs. What’s it going to be?”

“None of the above. I thought maybe we could go someplace a little quieter for dinner. My ears are starting to ring.”

“You sound like an old man,” she teased.

I shrugged. “Ask any kid in here if thirty-four is old, and I bet they’ll say yes. I am an old man. Besides, there’s a little Mexican place across the park I’ve heard good things about.”

“All I’m hearing is tequila,” she joked, turning back to the young employee who’d tallied our tickets. “And? Who won?”

The guy blanched. “I thought you were playing together. There’s a total of three hundred and thirty tickets, but I don’t know which card belonged to which player.”

I laughed, Kennedy groaned, and the poor guy nearly soiled himself. Then I reached out to point at a pile of fidget toys. “We’ll take as many of those as we can get.”

“And one of those,” Kenny said, following my lead and pointing to a tiny pink stuffed elephant on a keychain. “I told you I’d win you a stuffed animal.”

I chuckled and held out my hand for the elephant after the employee slid one out. “I’d be honored to have you guarding my keys, little guy.”

As the employee handed over a few fidget toys, I noticed that two of them were also tiny and on keychains, and I handed both to Kenny. “One for your house and one for the hotel. Something to remember me by.”

Her fingers closed around them and she smiled. “I hardly need these for that, but thank you. I love these things. They’re so addictive and weirdly satisfying.”

I nodded my agreement. When we were finished, I led her back to the car and drove us the short distance to the cozy Mexican restaurant I’d checked out online. “Reviewers call this place a hidden gem. Apparently, their back patio borders on the park and they’ve created a lantern-lit path around the grounds. They’re also supposed to make a mean margarita.”

“Check and check,” she said happily, taking my hand again. We walked into the somewhat trendy, yet nice and comfortable restaurant.

We followed a hostess to our table, sat down near the roaring fireplace in the corner, and placed our drink orders before the hostess left us alone. Kenny glanced at me from across the table. “Now that we’re away from the noise, I’m starting to realize my ears are ringing too. It was really crowded in there, wasn’t it? Awesome but crowded. I’m glad you suggested going someplace else for dinner.”

“I figured we’d want to grab a bite to eat somewhere we can relax and unwind after all our pent-up, competitive energy came out.”

Kenny laughed, twisting her hair around her finger into a bun and then moving it over her shoulder so it tumbled down her back. “It was a really good idea. Especially with the parade coming up tomorrow. I don’t think I would’ve been able to sleep tonight if not for all this.”

Nerves tightened my belly, but I breathed through them. “Our float is going to be a hit and people are going to be clamoring to get into your hotel once they see it.”

She drew in a deep breath through her nose, her chest rising a little. Then she held it for a beat before exhaling slowly. “I sure hope so. I guess we’re going to find out soon enough, though. There’s no use stressing about it, but I’m still stressed.”

“So am I,” I admitted, chuckling when her eyebrows shot up. “I’m expecting our upcoming fundraiser is going to be the talk of the town after people see that float tomorrow, though. It’s incredible, Kenny. This is all going to go well. Some nerves are a good thing, but we can’t let them get us down.”

She held my gaze, swallowing hard before she nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Of course, you’re right. Let’s talk about something else. Are you excited for dinner on the farm this weekend? I’ve heard so much about your mom’s cooking over the holidays. Jess is always carrying on about it.”

“Yeah, you might want to take clothes that are a little bit looser on the trip,” I joked, but also not really. “My mom tends to go overboard every day, but on holidays? She’s out of control. There will be enough food to feed two armies and then some.”

“I hope your mom didn’t mind delaying Thanksgiving for our sakes,” she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “I feel kind of bad that we won’t be there for the actual holiday. We kind of mess it all up for everyone.”

“Don’t be silly. Mom is just happy to have us all there together. Jess said as much the last time I talked to her. They’d all rather have dinner late than have it tomorrow without us.”

“Okay. Okay,” she said as if reassuring herself. She averted her eyes for a moment before she glanced back at me. “I’ve really been looking forward to this.”

Our drinks were delivered and we raised our margaritas to clink our glasses, but as I looked at Kenny, I realized coming to Thanksgiving really meant something to her. She seemed all vulnerable and a bit shy all of a sudden, which was very unlike her.

“You’ve really been looking forward to it?” I asked after swallowing my drink. “It’s just a family dinner with way too much food. I mean, it’s fun and we all love it, but I hope you’re not expecting anything fancy.”

“It’s not that,” she said quietly, her chest rising on another deep breath before she came out with it. “I’m looking forward to spending it with your family because it’s been a really long time since I’ve had a holiday I could enjoy without my parents spoiling it.”

My heart stuttered at the flash of genuine pain in her eyes before she blinked it away. “You’ll always be welcome at Merrick Meadows, Kenny. I can’t guarantee that my parents won’t spoil it, but it’s more likely that they’ll only embarrass me. You should be safe.”

She laughed, nodding slowly as she looked into my eyes. “I’d love it if they embarrass you. I can’t wait to see pictures of you as a chubby baby in the tub.”

I groaned and smacked my hand over my face. The server came to take our food orders. We got a variety of tasting plates and appetizers, and once he was gone, Kenny sighed. “I’m just worried about Winrey and Benji. Tonight is their last Thanksgiving as just the two of them and I’ve been trying to think of a way to make it special. I just wish the hotel was open already. I know they would’ve loved that.”

“Next year,” I promised. “In the meantime, we could still do something nice for them this weekend.”

“Like what?” she wondered out loud. “I’ve been wracking my brain, but I can’t come up with anything.”

“They could come stay at my house,” I suggested. “There’s a really nice guest suite they could live in and have a little staycation. I could hire caterers to cook them a nice meal, and any requests made by the pregnant woman will be considered law. What do you think?”

She blinked at me. “Are you sure? That’s a pretty big offer to share your home like that.”

“It’s actually my brother-in-law’s place,” I joked. “Slate offered it to me when he moved out to the farm and it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Just at the time?”

I shrugged. “I should’ve moved out ages ago, but I like the area and Slate has appreciated having someone there to keep an eye on the property. When the right place comes along, I’ll move out, but for now, it just seems wasteful to have it standing there, empty, and paying for a different house that I don’t love. Tell your sister it’s hers for the weekend while we’re on the farm.”

She paused for a moment, but then she shot me a beaming grin. “I’m not even going to argue. They’d love that. Thank you. They could so use a break and I can’t wait to tell them they’re going to get one.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad we can do something to make it special for them after all.”

Throughout dinner, we talked about her sister and her boyfriend, their parents, and then eventually, once we were done eating, we went for a walk through the park. Hand in hand, we strolled along the paved path lit by orange lanterns placed every few feet, and the conversation drifted to favorite childhood memories of growing up in Firefly Grove.

“I used to love the summer markets,” Kenny said with a wistful smile on her face. “To this day, I miss that feeling of walking down the street to the market with the sun on my face and all those delicious scents wafting through the air when you got close.”

I inhaled deeply, the memory of the scents she was describing so strong that it was almost like I could smell the meats in the smokers, the sweet churros, and the frying potatoes. “The pop-up fairs that used to roll into town were also pretty good, but those definitely aren’t the same as they used to be when we were kids.”

“Nothing is,” she said with a twinge of longing in her tone. “I’ve always dreamed about taking my own kids back to Firefly Grove in the summer. To show them the markets, and the fireflies, and even Merrick Meadows.”

“Are we talking about hypothetical kids, or is there something you need to tell me?”

She laughed. “Hypothetical, my ‘one-day’ kid. Or kids.”

“Yeah?” I asked. “Does that mean you want to be a mom?”

“Eventually,” she said, glancing up at me with a soft smile on her lips. “How about you?”

“Well, being a mom would be difficult for me.” I laughed when she gave my shoulder a playful smack. “Kidding. I’d love to have kids one day. How many do you want?”

“At least one,” she said. “Maybe two if I’m lucky. I just feel like motherhood is my chance to do something truly special and to leave a positive mark on the world, and I definitely have enough love to give for at least two.”

Something weird happened in my chest, like a constricting flutter of some kind. “Yeah, I feel the same way. I know a lot of people don’t, but I still believe in the good in people.”

“Exactly,” Kenny said excitedly. “You took the words right out of my mouth. In my core, I know I can spread that good through a child.”

“I love the sentiment,” I agreed. “It’s the same one I was raised with.”

“How many kids do you want?” she asked as we kept walking, and I could feel her eyes on my face as I stared at the lit path ahead of us.

“A lot,” I said honestly, realizing that this was probably the first time I’d said it out loud. “I’ve always wanted a big family. Maybe it’s the farmer in me, but I’d love as many kids as I can have.”

When I glanced at her, she gave me a glowing, radiant look. “A big family could be fun too.”

We’d circled back to my car now, and as I opened the passenger door for her, she stopped in front of me, lingering for a moment and staring up into my eyes. As I looked down into hers, all I could think about was how incredibly fucking perfect this girl was for me, and how far I would go to keep her.