The End
These Words
Tressie Lockwood
Chapter One
Kenzie sniffed, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She gave the letter one more read through and then folded it to place back in the drawer where she’d taken to keeping it. Glancing over at the portrait on the wall, she let out a shaky breath, and the waterworks threatened to begin again. No, I am not starting my day off like this. She rolled her shoulders and stood straighter. With a kiss to her fingers, she pressed them to the glass covering her dad’s face.
“I love you, Dad.” She cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Lisa, one of her workers and right-hand woman, had just stepped through the front door, having used her key. Kenzie thanked the good man above that she’d gotten rid of all evidence of her emotional state.
“Hey, girl.” Kenzie held up the sign displaying the herbal turkey melt special. “Ready for more of the crazy?”
“Please, you start half of it.”
Kenzie laughed. “I do not.”
“Uh-huh, okay, whatever you say, boss lady.”
The day opened smoothly enough despite Lisa accusing her of starting mess. Kenzie loved her little shop where she specialized in good coffee and great sandwiches. These Words was her baby, and she’d dreamed of it for years, sweating and slaving away for others in order to make the shop a reality. Each cup and sandwich wrapper was decorated in little encouraging sayings that Kenzie had written herself. To keep it fresh, she sometimes handwrote a new message to someone who appeared to need it and left it on a receipt, a napkin, or even a sticky note. Not a day went by without someone telling her how the notes helped them when they needed it most. Nothing gave Kenzie more gratification.
“Order up,” Lisa called out, and Kenzie stuck a pen behind her ear and dashed to grab the grilled chicken club. She checked the slip and turned toward the crowd, people occupying every table. Her steps faltered when she met the interested blue gaze of a man she would have remembered had he ever set foot in her shop before.
Doing her best not to stare, she found the customer who’d ordered the chicken and returned to the counter.
“Damn, he must like what he sees,” Lisa commented.
Kenzie pinned her friend with a stern glare. “Watch the language, and I’m not looking.”
Lisa smirked. “You’re a woman. We’re all looking.”
Kenzie laughed and shook her head. Lisa was always trying to get her to work less and go out more. The problem Kenzie often ran into was, men were predictable. They liked and hated her independence at the same time, which made it hard to move past. The moment she broke a date because of some crazy project, things got complicated. She’d been on a break lately, but a woman did have needs. Sexual desires, unfortunately, did not understand her decision for abstinence.
The day passed, and she expected Blue Eyes to leave, but he sat where he was, unmoving. His attention didn’t stray far from her except the times he answered his cell phone. She had to give it to the man. He sat right there in the chair nearest the window overlooking the street.
Lisa drew up beside her as she bussed a table. “He hasn’t moved.”
“I think he went to the bathroom a couple times.”
“Think he’s a freak?”
Kenzie grinned. “That wouldn’t be my first time either.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “I know that’s the truth!”
At day’s end, she wandered over near him. The coffee he’d ordered earlier appeared untouched, and so did the sandwich. Kenzie’s hackles rose, but she swallowed the attitude.
“We’re closing now. You didn’t like the food?” He shouldn’t have an opinion. He didn’t touch them.
“They were tasty,” he lied.
She waited for the friendly, ingratiating smile, but it didn’t come. What she did notice was how the broad shoulders shifted in his suit jacket as if he were uncomfortable. Unless she missed her guess, he’d had his clothing tailor-made, so it must be what he intended to say that made him feel this way. Couldn’t be little old me intimidating him. She smiled in an effort to relax the man. That’s what she did, after all.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, but welcome to These Words. We’re always glad to have new additions to the our little family.”
“Are you Kenzie Bridges?”
She hesitated, again surveying the ice-blue eyes, the strong jaw, the midnight hair, and muscular build. He fit his suit in a way that made her speculate on the man beneath, but the arrogant air turned her off. He wasn’t her type—aside from the physical, of course.