Page 73 of Happy Harbor
“Me too. Even though I’m new in town, this place already feels like home, and that restaurant is a part of my family’s history.”
“I’m sorry your family is going through this, Kendra. Are you sure you still want to go to prom? I mean, I would understand if it’s too much right now.”
She looked at him and smiled. “I still want to go to prom. Honestly, I never thought I would get to go.”
“Really? Why?”
“I wasn’t exactly a part of the popular crowd at my old school. I was the ‘troubled child,’” she said, using air quotes.
“That’s really hard for me to believe. I haven’t seen anything like that from you since you’ve been here.”
“Something about Happy Harbor just makes me wanna be a better person. It’s kind of weird.”
“I think it’s cool. Anybody can change their life when they want to.”
“At the risk of sounding really cheesy, I think it was you, at least partially.”
“Me? What did I do?”
She thought for a moment. “You chased me down and made me be friends with you. I didn’t have any friends back home.”
“Is that what we are? Friends?”
Kendra sat for another moment. Then, without thinking it through, she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Okay, maybe a little more than friends.”
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Josie rolled the silverware tightly in the white paper napkin before throwing it in the plastic tub next to her.
“Do you know how much Primmy raised?” her mother asked.
“I haven’t gotten a final tally yet. She’s doing another tour today, so I’m sure she’ll tell me then.”
“I know it seems like a huge mountain to climb, but this town comes together when needed. I’m excited to see how the event that Walker has planned does. He really seems to have put a lot of work into it.”
“Yeah, he has put in a lot of work.”
Diane looked up and smiled. “What’s going on between you two?”
“Why do you think something is going on?”
Diane laughed. “Because I’m not blind. I see how he looks at you, and I see how you look at him. He finds every excuse to come into the restaurant when you’re here.”
“He’s fixing the apartment,” Josie said, scoffing.
“He had you over for dinner. Guys don’t do that unless they’re interested.”
“I am his landlord, for goodness’ sake. He’s just trying to be nice. If I lose everything, he doesn’t have a place to live.”
Diane stopped rolling the silverware and stared at Josie. “Please tell me that’s not really how you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“You always assume the worst about people and their intentions. And yes, I know a lot of that is because of me, but you have a choice now.”
“A choice? What are you talking about?”
“I mean that when you’re an adult, you have the choice of how you perceive things. How you react to things. Your childhood is an obstacle, but it doesn’t have to mean you see everything through the lens of not trusting people.”
