Page 15 of Tempting Bo (Montgomery Dreams #2)

BO

Time marches on and on and on, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Every second feels like a thousand grains of sand slipping between my fingers, and the harder I hold on, the more I lose. Minutes turn to days to weeks, and the start of winter is nipping at my heels before I know it.

Savannah hasn’t been persistent over the past two weeks, and I’m tempted to assume she’s just grown tired of the whole charade. I haven’t answered her texts in over ten days, and I’m happy enough to let sleeping dogs lie.

Figuring out how to navigate everything with Kenzie is hard enough without Savannah sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.

It’s been more than two months since I woke up next to Savannah, and while I’m not familiar with the timeline of these sorts of things, it strikes me as odd that she hasn’t seen a doctor yet.

The way she spoke made it seem like her parents knew all about it, so I don’t see why she’d avoid my questions about ultrasounds and all that junk.

Maybe she’s just not supposed to go yet.

She’d know more about that than I would.

Either way, it's eating me alive.

I finally told Kenzie, but that went about as well as swearing at a preacher. Telling the rest of my family isn't going to go any better. Oakley was mad as a cat when she found out, and I haven't heard much from her since she headed back to college, no matter her promise that she'd figure this out.

Dad walks into the kitchen as I'm drying my hands off on a terry cloth towel, and I flush in instinctive shame. I don't even want to think about the way he’s going to look at me when he finds out about all of this.

Not to mention Mom.

“Oh, there you are, Bo,” he says. “I was worried I’d have to hunt you down in the barn. We’ll have company in a few here, so do your best to be friendly, kiddo.”

He claps me on the shoulder teasingly and nods his head toward the front door.

“Company?” I ask, slinging the rag I was using over my shoulder and following him.

I’ve been keeping myself buried neck-deep in work recently, but I don’t remember him saying anything about having people over. Maybe a distraction will be good.

“Kenzie put together a little farming volunteer program for kids who want to get their hours done before break. Might get a few new 4H signups out of it too.”

Scratch that. Not good at all.

Dad is positively jovial as he wanders down the patio steps, one hand raised to wave at the oncoming cloud of dust-coated cars. Me, on the other hand? I’m about half an inch from blind panic.

I haven't talked to Kenzie in almost a week, and I still haven't figured out how to explain all of this to her. If I’m put on the spot like this, I'll fuck it all up.

The throng of approaching cars grows ever closer.

Oh fuck, not now .

I turn to my dad frantically, eyes wide, and give him my most winning smile.

“Well, I'm sure you've got it all covered out here. There’s a ton of stalls that need to be mucked, I’ll get to work on that.”

No one in their right mind would turn down the offer of someone else mucking stalls, and Dad’s back has been acting up recently. It should be an easy sell.

I’m not avoiding Kenzie, exactly, I just…

I’m not ready to face her. Not now, not like this.

I have a million things to say to her, and I can’t say them in front of a bunch of random high schoolers.

I haven’t even figured out how to put half of them into words yet.

If I have to look into those perfect green eyes and make small talk, I’ll explode.

“Look at you, already got your eye on what needs to be done,” Dad praises with a grin.

“Your mom and I have to meet with Principal Arthur to sign some of the last bits of paperwork, so I’ll leave it all in your hands.

Just make sure everyone’s with someone who works on the ranch, we shouldn’t be long. ”

He saunters toward the principal’s car, sending a proud smile in my direction, but all I can do is stand here as horror drips down my spine.

God, I’m so fucked.

Kenzie piles out of her little sedan, several gawky high schoolers following suit.

A few more cars park behind her in the open lot between the house and the barn, but I can't take my eyes off her even as a gaggle of teenagers and a few other teachers join her in a huddle along with my dad and the principal.

She might as well be glowing.

Her copper curls are loose today, tucked behind her ears by a headband but left free to dance in the wind. Her hair is longer than I realized, well past her waist and teasing at her hips. It looks so vibrant against the navy sweater she’s wearing, and my fingers itch to run through it.

Who am I kidding? I just want to touch her in any way I can, wrap her up in a hug and hear her squeal out a laugh into my ear as I lift her off the ground. I want to kiss her a million times over, audience be damned.

But I've been… well, shitty is a kind way to put it. I've been distant, and cowardly, and she deserves better than someone who can't figure out a single thing in his life.

Sure, Oakley’s pretty damn convinced that Savannah’s making it all up, and I'd love to believe her. But if she's wrong, I'll have just made everything worse, and I'm in enough hot water as it is.

I trudge over to the group of kids when Dad waves me over, keeping my eyes on the ground.

He explains the most basic rules—don’t hurt anything, don't eat anything, don’t throw cow patties around—before leaving me and a few of the other farmhands to oversee things.

They seem to have been given more of a briefing than I was, as they start dividing the kids up into groups and assigning them jobs.

I'm useless the whole time, my eyes glued to Kenzie.

When she shoots me a friendly wave, it feels like the whole world tilts on its axis. It takes me a few moments to realize that the two of us are alone with the last few kids, and I force myself to focus on the task at hand.

“What are y’all’s names?” I ask the kids.

They’re burly-looking boys, hands stuffed in their pockets and annoyed frowns on their faces.

They look like they’d rather be absolutely anywhere else, probably lured in by the promise of easy volunteer hours.

I get a slew of mumbles in response, and don’t bother to try figuring which jumble of letters belongs to who.

They’ll either like what they’re doing and come back, or I won’t see them again.

Once I start recognizing faces, I’ll worry about learning names.

“I’ll have you three start in the stables with Mikey.”

Like I said, you’d have to be insane to turn down a chance to get out of mucking stalls. Mikey can take over from me, and I can go hyperventilate behind the outhouse until I figure out what the hell to say to Kenzie.

It’s a good plan.

Minus the part where she follows me and the three boys into the barn. She doesn’t say anything as I pass the boys off to Mikey, but she stands quietly behind me. Waiting. I babble for longer than I need to about rules and expectations, but it doesn’t take long for me to run out of things to say.

Soon enough, all that’s left is to turn around and face the music.

My breath catches in my chest when I see her, hardly three feet from me. Her hands are clasped in front of her, fingers tangled together nervously, and the edges of her smile flutter with anxiety.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

We both speak at the same time, jolting in surprise as we talk over each other.

“I, sorry?—”

“No, go ahead, I didn’t?—”

“Did you want?—”

“Shit, sorry.”

We snap our mouths shut and stare at each other, nerves slowly fading away as laughter bubbles up between us. Thankfully, Mikey took the kids down to the other end of the barn, because we dissolve into a fit of giggles that takes our breath away.

“How’s that for cool and collected?” I ask, swallowing down my laughter. “I was trying to figure out how to talk to you and sound normal, and I just made myself look like an idiot instead.”

“I kind of like it when you make a fool out of yourself,” she tells me.

The words startle me, but not as much as the unbridled warmth in those pretty blue eyes as she steps closer. She reaches out to grasp my hand in hers, and it’s a little relieving to feel her trembling too.

“This is hard,” she says, ducking her head down to hide her eyes.

“Yeah,” I whisper.

“Look, I don’t blame you for taking some time to yourself right now.

I totally understand needing space with…

all of this.” She takes a deep breath before meeting my eyes again, and the smile on her face is the most precious thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

I want to wrap her up in my arms and never let anything hurt her again.

“Just don’t take too much space, alright? I’m still right here.”

My breath rushes out of me on a wavering sigh, and I yank her closer.

She melts into my chest as I envelop her in a hug.

The scent of her shampoo makes my heart skip a beat, then settle into a steady, soothing rhythm.

I feel like I’m home when I’m with her like this, everything right where it belongs.

“I’ve been so worried about dragging you into all of this,” I confess, the words quiet and weak. “Half this shit doesn’t make sense, and the other half I can’t even remember. I'm torn between not believing it's real and trying to figure out my entire life all at once.”

Her arms are steady as she holds me tight, and the steel in her spine helps me feel a little less scared.

“I know it's not easy,” she says quietly. “But you don't have to do it alone. I'm not going anywhere, not unless you want me to. Even if the baby is yours, that doesn't have to mean the end of us. We can figure things out together.”

Relief crashes down on me at the suggestion, gratitude welling up at how understanding Kenzie is being.

I don't know where to begin with figuring this whole mess out, but I've been too scared to pull at any of the strings for fear of everything unraveling. Kenzie’s certainty that things will work out is soothing, and I press a trembling kiss to the side of her head.

I can't find the words to explain how much that means to me—how much she means to me—but maybe she understands anyway.

“I want that.” I say the words quietly into her mess of copper curls, holding her close, a little scared to admit it out loud. “Kenz, I want you. It's always been you, and I don't want to fuck it up after waiting this long to finally admit it.”

She pulls back just far enough to cup my face in her palms, small and warm and so soft compared to the thick calluses on mine. The smile on her face is still a little tentative, but hope and trust both glimmer in those pretty green eyes I dream of so often.

I don't know what solution she's scheming up to save me from being forced to be with Savannah, but she seems to genuinely believe there's a way out of this. The least I can do is believe in a future for the two of us too.

“Then don't let me go.” It sounds so simple when she says it like that, but I know we can both feel the weight of the words. “I’ve got to keep an eye on all the kids, and I'm sure you're busy. Come by my place this weekend? We can make dinner together, talk a little.”

“Dinner sounds good,” I agree.

She leans up to press a chaster kiss to my cheek, just a fluttering moment of warmth against my skin before she pulls back. I wave goodbye as she walks back toward the house where most of the kids are working in the garden.

I still kind of want to hide behind the outhouse and hyperventilate, but there's a little twinge of hope poking through the blanket of panic now.

Maybe there's still a way out of this.