“I understand. Our parents moved to Florida and bought a resort after we all went off to college. We’re not that close, but we see each other once or twice a year.”
“And your family in Kentucky. Do you see them often?” Kenzie asked as they carried their plates and coffee to the patio.
“Yes. We see them quite a bit actually. Great-Aunt Marcy is like a grandmother to us all. Then her kids, who are actually our parents’ cousins, we call aunt and uncle because of how close we are to them. They’re very much parental figures in our lives. Then their kids are our age. Some older, some younger. But we’ve all become very close,” Ryker explained to her.
“I’d love a big family like that. Your cousins here are great. I can’t imagine even more of y’all,” Kenzie laughed.
They talked over breakfast and then it was on to showers and packing. For the car ride, she decided to wear a little sundress with magnolia flowers on it with a sweater. The town might be small, but Southern fashion was big. Kenzie packed everything she’d need for the reunion and then for the ride home the next morning and met Ryker in the living room.
“Ready?” he asked as he grabbed her bags.
“I am,” Kenzie agreed as she followed him to the garage. She couldn’t ask him to take the pickup and he’d shot down her idea of driving her car that morning. Every other car in the garage cost more than her parents’ house.
“Don’t worry, we’re not driving my car there,” Ryker said, reading her mind.
“Then how are we getting there?”
“You’ll see,” Ryker grinned.
Getting to Hanover had never been easy, but a private jet from Charleston to Asheville, North Carolina, and then transferring to the most ridiculously expensive private helicopter was not something Kenzie could ever imagine.
“You’ve ruined me forever,” she said as she looked down at her small town from the air as they circled it before landing in the empty parking lot of a factory that was closed for the weekend. Two cars waited for them. One was a town car. The other was the sexiest Mercedes sedan she’d ever seen.
“How so?” Ryker asked as he helped her out of the helicopter and walked with her toward the Mercedes.
“This trip is all mountain roads, truck traffic, and construction. You flew me on a private jet that took less than an hour to get to Asheville, then a short helicopter ride to town. It’s not even lunch yet and we’re already here. I’ll never be able to drive it again. That would be like flying first class and then going back to the bus. You’ve ruined me!”
Ryker chuckled as the driver tossed him the keys and moved to place their bags in the trunk. “I should be sorry, but I’m not. I plan to ruin you for many other things, too. It gives me great pleasure, in fact, to do so, and I guarantee it will give you pleasure as well.”
Holy smokes.
Kenzie fanned herself as she slid into the comfort of the Mercedes. Ryker walked around to the driver’s seat and put the car into gear. “Where to first? The bed and breakfast or your parents’ house?”
“My parents. I’ll send Mom a text.”
Kenzie texted her mom that she’d be there in ten minutes and then gave Ryker directions to her house.
“I take it this is the high school,” Ryker said as they approached the small brick building with balloons out front. There were cars parked in the lot and she was sure the reunion committee was in full decorating mode.
“Yes. I’m sure the reunion will be in the gym like our prom was. At least it opens up to the football field so we can get some cool air in there since we don’t have air conditioning.” Memories from prom flooded her. She thought she’d planned her life out so well. She and Bo would be in Charleston while she went to nursing school and then they’d move back and be the king and queen of Hanover. Over the years, the desire to be popular faded. Popularity wasn’t the point of life. It took getting away from high school to realize that. It was good friends, a job you were passionate about, and a love that supported your passions in every way.
Kenzie glanced over as Ryker drove effortlessly through her small town. He saw her looking at him and smiled at her before placing his hand on her thigh. “Does it feel good to be home?”
Kenzie frowned a little at the word home. “I don’t think it feels much like home anymore. It feels as if I’ve moved on and found a new home and then have to play a part when I come back here. I loved growing up here, though. I guess I just outgrew it.”
Something about admitting that made her relax a little. What happened in Hanover really didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if Bo and Hailey-Jean were jerks. It didn’t matter if her parents lectured her on how disappointed they were in her for leaving for the “big city,” and it didn’t matter what drama happened at the reunion. This wasn’t her life anymore. It was time to just sit back and enjoy a date with Ryker.
“Turn right here,” Kenzie told Ryker as he turned down her street. “Third house on the left.”
Kenzie saw the cute house she’d grown up in with a new eye. The flowers were beautiful. The lawn was impeccable. The house had been painted recently, too. A huge maple tree sat in the front yard casting shade onto the front porch, which was where her mother and father sat.
Kenzie smiled at the confused look on her mother’s face when Ryker pulled into the drive. “I guess I should have told my mother I was bringing a date.”
“I would say that mothers love me, but I haven’t met anyone’s mother in the past fifteen years so here goes nothing.”
Kenzie couldn’t stop the silly grin that broke out on her face. “You’re nervous. The powerful Ryker Faulkner is nervous about meeting my parents. I love it.”
“I do not get nervous.”
“Liar,” Kenzie told him before placing a quick kiss on his cheek and throwing open her door. “Mom! Dad! The house looks great,” Kenzie called out as she walked up the brick path lined with multicolored impatiens to the house.
Her mother stood and kissed her cheek, but her eyes were on Ryker. “Who is your friend, dear?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Carys,” Ryker said formally. “I’m Ryker Faulkner, Kenzie’s boyfriend.” Ryker held out his hand and Kenzie watched as her father shook it.
“Mac Carys and this is my wife, Leah,” her father said, glancing between Ryker and his car.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ryker said and Kenzie loved that he looked a little uncomfortable. She should take a picture because no one would ever believe it.
“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Or that you were coming to the reunion,” her mother said with a smile that might border on annoyance. “You know that Bo and Hailey-Jean are married now, and I’ve heard a rumor they’re trying for a baby. Bo is such a good young man. He’s worked his way up to assistant manager at the factory. He’s overseeing the chicken vests and you know that’s our top seller.”
There it was. The knife to the back and the gentle twist. “I’m so happy for them,” Kenzie said automatically. Ryker put his hand on the small of her back and Kenzie realized she might actually be. The bitterness didn’t seem so important to hold onto anymore.