The Mountain Man's Secret Twins(20)
“I am. Back in the newly emptied apartment,” Kenzie said, her words slightly sarcastic.
“I’m sorry about that. I wanted to talk to you about it before I moved everything out, but you weren’t picking up your phone.”
“I didn’t have much signal,” Kenzie said. “And besides, I’m the one who told you to leave as soon as you could. Thanks for doing it. Now I can move on.”
“Kenzie, it’s going around the office that you’re going to keep working there.”
“I don’t really know where else to go,” Kenzie said. No sadness filled her. “It was my job first, and I’m good at it.”
“But Tori and I feel it would be much more comfortable for everyone if you found something else. We’ll be happy to help you.”
Kenzie felt chilled just hearing him speak her name. For so long he’d avoided the subject of her, trying to dance around any attraction he felt for her. Now this was their reality.#p#分页标题#e#
“I think you and Tori better grow up then,” Kenzie said, knowing she was completely over him and not jealous in the least. She wanted to throw her memories with him in the trash. “Please don’t call me on this phone again.”
“Kenzie, I’m so sorry. If that’s any comfort to you…”
“It’s not,” she said. She hung up the phone and hugged it close to her chest, forcing herself to take deep breaths.
Bryce was out of her life. Austin had moved on. She needed to find a way to get over the events of the previous few days, despite knowing she might never feel the emotion she had with Bryce again.
When she’d been younger, after her father had left, she’d spent long nights in her room gazing at the ceiling and feeling the pain of abandonment. Sometimes she’d press her lips close together, squeeze her nostrils with her fingers, and hold her breath for as long as she could. She could get up to 90 seconds. Afterward, she’d gasp for air, blinking wildly and seeing dark dots in her field of vision. Then she’d do it again, wanting to push the limits of her bodily pain.
Now, on her couch as an adult, she closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then held her breath. She listened to her heartbeat, which grew louder and louder as she voided her bloodstream of oxygen. You’re going to be okay, she told herself. Just keep going.
CHAPTER SIX
At the beginning of April, Kenzie stood on the front steps of a suburban Concord house, her high heels making her feet ache. The house was a three-bedroom with a massive backyard, perfect for a dog and kids. But the place had been difficult to sell, the sellers consciously clinging to their initial price. This was the fourth time in the last three weeks Kenzie had shown it. She’d grown tired of trying to make it sound like a steal.
Around her, the first spots of spring had begun to appear. Buds sprouted on the tree limbs and the grass of the well-manicured lawn was beginning to green. Kenzie hadn’t seen Bryce in nearly two months now, and yet she couldn’t help thinking of him then as she listened to the silence of the surrounding nature and wondered what his mountains looked like with the changing of the seasons.
Interrupting her reverie, a husband and wife, both of whom worked in the medical field, parked their van in the side driveway and gave her a flat-palmed wave. Kenzie bowed her head as she shook each of their hands, looking humble yet bright. She had her real estate technique down to a science.
“Thanks for meeting me today,” she said. “This place is an absolute dream.”
“You said three bedrooms?” the husband asked, chomping at the bit to get inside. “But a bit out of our price range.”
“But the school district is impeccable,” Kenzie said, flashing her bright teeth. “Let’s go inside, shall we? I just put some cookies in the oven.”
She opened the door and stepped into the foyer, which had wooden floors and a gleaming antique mirror. A winding staircase with a swirling bannister met them near the front entrance. The house was quiet, empty, since the owners had moved away quickly after their divorce. The carpets had been newly cleaned, and the windows had been scrubbed by Kenzie that morning as she’d whistled along to oldies on the radio. In the silence after Kenzie closed the door, she waited for the full effect of the place to take hold.
“Wow,” the wife finally whispered, clearly impressed. The husband followed up with a whistle.#p#分页标题#e#
Kenzie breathed a sigh of relief.
But after showing them the house and watching them carelessly gobble the cookies, the chocolate getting smeared on their lips, Kenzie found her smile faltering.