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Finishing up making my tea, I brought it over to the table and smiled. “Yes, once I figure out what I’m doing, then I’ll have a tea party with Kenzie and probably Lorne. He likes sparkly things, so I think that means he should be amenable to tea parties.”
I had a few questions on what he liked and how he defined himself but none that I thought were appropriate for our level of acquaintance yet. Part of me was hoping that Kenzie would inadvertently answer them for me by oversharing but he’d been too focused on me for that to work yet.
I had high hopes for it, though.
Kenzie liked talking about everything and now that the deputy had figured out whatever had been making Lorne steal from the dollar store, it seemed like we were at the right spot for him to share new things. I just needed to figure out how to shift the conversation in that direction the next time he came into the library.
Yes, I needed to plan better so I didn’t look like a startled rabbit when he came in. With a bit of research and a lot of planning, anything could be accomplished.
Chapter 4
Boyd
“We need to talk to you.” Kenzie looked ridiculously serious as he and Alick sat down across the table from me. “This can’t continue.”
Considering he’d started several lectures the same way, I wasn’t worried and just took another bite of my sandwich. Nothing was ever as dramatic as Kenzie thought it was, and Alick was trying not to laugh.
“I’m glad you know you can come to me with anything.” Even if sometimes that was about my unwillingness to argue with Miss Nancy over her soup punishments…Kenzie didn’t appreciate the fact that I wouldn’t stand up for him.
For some reason, Kenzie thought our friendship alone should make me willing to go to bat against that crazy woman, but even his Daddy wouldn’t do that.
“I appreciate that.” Sitting straighter, Kenzie frowned and wiggled like he was trying to find the perfect position to look like a good grown-up. “This is going to be difficult for you, though.”
What was he obsessing over?
Alick was down to biting his lips and looking up at the ceiling to keep from laughing.
“Then we probably shouldn’t beat around the bush.” I thought it was a reasonable response and wasn’t deliberately poking fun at him, but Kenzie’s frown shifted to confusion as I took another bite, unwilling to give up on my lunch even if he was feeling dramatic.
“What does that expression mean? What bush are we beating?” His head cocked and he slumped back. “Why are we beating a bush? Why are we beating around it? Why can’t we beat the top of it? Wouldn’t that be much more efficient?”
His mental wandering was taking us further and further from whatever he’d been worried about, but I couldn’t decide if I wanted to get him back on track or not. Depending on the insanity level of the original topic, pulling up Google and figuring out his bush questions might be a better way to spend lunch.
Unfortunately, Alick helped get us back on track before I could make the decision. “Not relevant at the moment.”
Kenzie sat up, nodding as he realized he agreed with Alick. “Yes, Mr. Librarian is much more important than an unknown bush.”
Dammit.
He wasn’t wrong but I’d found several good ways to put off going to the library, and I wasn’t happy with his fucking with my procrastination techniques. But explaining that would’ve meant revealing my procrastination, so I had to sound reasonable. “Can I ask what’s wrong with the librarian?”
“I can tell you.”
Ignoring the peanut gallery as I took a sip of my iced tea, I focused on Kenzie but he couldn’t do the same. He beamed and leaned over the back of the booth. “No, thank you. I can handle it.”
Lovely.
Now half the town would know what was going on in the next ten minutes…there would be no way to put off the conversation any longer.
“I was discussing the playdate party with Daddy and we both agreed that part of Mr. Librarian’s reservations was because he’s ready to know about us. He’s theneeds knowledgetype of sub and we’re not giving him what he needs to find the right headspace.” Kenzie was either having a moment of brilliance or his Daddy had been focusing on my librarian entirely too much.
Hearing the bell on the door of the diner ding made me stop and go over what Kenzie had said. Shit. I stretched up and looked around the diner but didn’t see anyone concerning right off the bat. Kenzie hadn’t said the D word but he’d come entirely too close.
“We’re fine. I chased off a tourist who tried to come in.”
For fuck’s sake.
That was going to be one online review I didn’t want to read.
