Free Reserved by Tracy Ewens Page A

things, important things. She was thirty, and a girl couldn’t live on laptop screens, Littlest Pet Shop, and muddy boots alone. This project would keep her occupied, and working with Travis would be good. Wow, this was it, that delirious talking to herself moment right before she slid into complete meltdown.
    “Ken.” Garrett touched her shoulder. “You all right?”
    “It would be great if everyone stopped asking me that. I was just thinking of ideas. Yes, of course I’m fine.”
    “I was just giving you crap. If it’s too much, with Paige and all, I get it. We can hire a coordinator, even just for this one project.” Logan’s face grew serious.
    “No.” She added a new calendar to her list—Malendar-Galloway Wedding.
    “You sure?”
    “I am. Done. I’ll set up some meetings for you, me, and Travis to sit down and make sure we’re on the same page. I’ll also call Grady and Kate to see if there’s anything we are missing or other things we can contribute. I’ve got this.”
    Logan smiled. On some level she’d probably never understand, seeing either of her brothers smile was worth any backflip. She supposed she could blame her need to keep everything together, especially when it came to money and their security, on her mother. More like her lack of a mother. She left when Kenna was five, right about Paige’s age. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach ever since she became a mother herself. What kind of woman left her children? She had no idea and had probably spent most of her life working to make up for something lacking. She took another sip of her Coke and moved on to asking Garrett for the new-hire paperwork for the two new farm hands he’d hired. There was no point in dwelling on the past. Makenna never dwelled. Ever. It didn’t help the sun rise any faster and it never made anyone rest easy. That’s what her father always used to say when any of them started to get sappy.
    “It’s somewhere in my truck,” Garrett said, finishing his coffee and standing.
    “Yeah? Well, let’s go find it because your new guys won’t get paid without it.”
    The Rye family exchanged kisses and pats on the back. All the men took turns snuggling their favorite little waitress, and Kenna thanked Libby once again.
    “Pleasure’s all mine. Anytime.” Libby smiled, winked at their father as she always did, and then blended into her morning breakfast rush.
    Sometimes when Kenna tucked Paige in and the house was quiet, she felt alone. Left behind. But most days, such as this one, she realized that she and Paige had people who loved them. They were their tribe, or her pack as Paige liked to call them. Was it possible for a little girl to watch too much National Geographic? Kenna would have to worry about that some other time.

Chapter Eight
    T he polka-dot weekend bag was all packed and sitting on Paige’s bed. She and Kenna were collecting an assortment of books from the bookshelf while Fritters took a few more spins in the dryer. Paige would be gone for four days with Adam’s parents on Coronado. It wasn’t far, but Kenna was still buzzing around making sure she had everything. They had stopped at Walgreens last night to pick up a new elephant-shaped toothbrush and a pack of colored pencils. The latest issue of National Geographic Kids had arrived in the mail on Monday, so Paige would have plenty to discuss with her Nino and Gigi, as she called them. More nicknames, which pissed Garrett off to no end and made Kenna smile.
    Karen and Bill Conroy had arrived in LA on the 9:15 from JFK. According to a text Kenna received, their driver had hit some traffic and they were due at her house in about an hour. That was a half hour ago and her pulse was starting to quicken. They came to visit twice a year, and every year Kenna felt as if a piece of a life she’d barely started popped in to say hello. Bill looked so much like Adam, well, what Adam might have looked like as an older man; Karen had her son’s