Page 56 of Finding You

MacKenzie rested her head on Devin’s shoulder Friday night as they watched the fireworks show for the third night in a row. Tonight they decided to join the crowd and watch a concert from a little-known country music duo and then stay for the fireworks. It would be slow getting back to the truck, but they were willing to deal with it. She sighed happily. “It seems weird to see fireworks and it’s not even the Fourth of July yet.”

He chuckled. “We do an even better show then.”

And she didn’t doubt it for a minute. It seemed like this little town had a way of making everything better, more enjoyable. Last night, before the sun went down, they tried the ATV trails. She had never ridden one before, but after a quick lesson, she felt confident driving her own. The trails and the view had been spectacular, but she didn’t realize just how sweaty and dirty she had gotten until they had gone home after the fireworks.

“Oh, my God! Why didn’t you tell me how gross I looked?” she cried out from the bathroom after checking her reflection.

“You didn’t look gross,” he replied from the bedroom. “Besides, it was really hot out today. Everyone looked like that by the time we left.”

Somehow she doubted that, but kept her opinion to herself.

However…lesson learned.

Today, she packed some body wipes in her bag along with a compact so she could check her appearance when she started to feel a little too hot.

And now, laid out on a blanket and staring up at the sky, she felt so completely at peace and it was wonderful. Between the fresh air, the fireworks, and the man beside her, life was good.

“Do you think it’s the same show every night?” she asked. “I mean…can it really be the same? I get so giddy every time the show starts that I forget if it’s the same fireworks from last night or the night before.”

“I’m not sure. Either way, it’s been really impressive.” Then he paused to watch the show in the sky. “I kind of feel like every night I’ve seen something new and things we’ve already seen, so…”

“I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s still fun to watch.”

On the blanket beside them was the Donovan family–Billie, Chloe, and Ashlynn. Reid had a shift with the fire department, so he wasn’t with them. And then on the other side of their blanket were Jade, her son Silas, and Levi Donovan. MacKenzie smiled every time Silas got excited about something he was seeing. He must have said, “Wow!” about a dozen times already, and the show was only halfway over.

“Remember being a kid and being amazed at everything,” she said as she snuggled closer to him. “I don’t think Silas has blinked once since that first rocket went off.”

Devin glanced over at the boy and grinned. “I’ve been hearing him for the last few minutes and his face is just total awe. I remember looking the same way every year at the Fourth of July festival. I’d say all kids look like that, but I have a feeling a lot of the adults here are looking the same way.”

She chuckled. “I know I am.”

And then they simply lay in companionable silence and watched the rest of the show. After the big finale, neither was in any rush to get up and go. Other than sitting up, they just watched the throng of people making their way toward the exit.

Apparently, the Donovans felt the same way.

“I think three’s my limit,” Billie said with a small laugh. “I’m all for a good fireworks show, but I think I’m going to skip tomorrow and Sunday.”

“You can’t skip Sunday,” Chloe argued lightly.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s the last night of the festival! They’re probably going to do something really spectacular!”

But Billie didn’t look convinced. And as the sisters continued to discuss why each one was right, MacKenzie pulled out her phone just to see what time it was. There was a notification from Facebook Messenger and she tapped it without really thinking.

Her mother had responded.

Suddenly, she felt like she was going to be sick and she did her best not to go into a full-blown panic attack in front of everyone.

“You okay?” Devin asked. “You suddenly tensed up.

She’d ask how he knew, but she was still leaning against him even though they were sitting up. “Oh, um…yeah. Sorry. I zoned out for a minute.” After immediately closing out of the app, she looked over at him and smiled. “Sorry.”

He chuckled. “You don’t have to apologize. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Devin, we have one last snickerdoodle cookie left from our stash,” Jade called over. “Any chance you’d like it?”

“Hell yeah!” He got to his feet and walked over to the other blanket and MacKenzie nearly sagged with relief even as her mind continued to race.

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