Can't Stop the Feeling (Whispering Bay Romance 6)

Zeke was right. If it wasn’t for Jenna, tonight’s ending might have been completely different. Although words seemed insufficient, he needed to thank her again.

He followed the happy sounds to the kitchen where Rachel and Jenna were busy in front of the stove making pancakes. Neither of them heard him approach.

Jenna’s long red hair was pulled up in a clip and her heels were off. Standing there barefoot in her blue dress, she looked carefree yet elegant and sexy at the same time. Rachel was barefoot too, her shoes and socks strewn carelessly on the kitchen floor like she’d torn them off in a big hurry. She stood on a stool next to Jenna, helping her flip a pancake.

Watching the two of them, side by side, gave him an odd sensation deep down in his chest. The cynic in him said it was probably just heartburn caused by the stress of the last hour. But he knew better than that.

“You know, Rachel,” Jenna said, “when I was just a little older than you, I ran away, too.”

“You did?”

“The kids at school were teasing me, calling me Annie, and I told my mother I wanted to dye my hair brown, but she wouldn’t let me, so I decided to go to the store and buy my own hair dye.”

He smiled at her childhood confession. He should probably make them aware of his presence but he didn’t want to break the moment. Plus, he really wanted to hear this story.

“Why did the kids at school call you Annie?” Rachel asked, confused.

“You know, from the movie, Annie?”

Rachel shook her head.

“You’ve never seen Annie?”

“I’ve seen Trolls.”

“Everyone has seen Trolls. My favorite character is Poppy.”

“Mine, too!”

“Well, hel-lo! We like the same movies, which means if you like Trolls, you’ll like Annie. There’s a new version now and it’s pretty good, but in the original, the girl who played Little Orphan Annie had this curly red hair—”

“Like you do.”

“Yep, like me. And she has a dog named Sandy and she gets to sing ‘Tomorrow,’ and even though there’s a bad guy, in the end she gets parents.”

“Why does she get parents?” Rachel asked.

“Because she doesn’t have any. That’s what being an orphan means.”

“Then I’m like Annie, too, cuz I’m an orphan.”

Jenna froze. “Oh, honey, I didn’t mean—I’m sorry, Rachel.”

“It’s okay,” she said matter-of-factly. “Grandma says mommy and daddy are in heaven and that they’re really happy there and we can go put flowers on their head bones.”

Ben swallowed hard.

“On their… Oh! I think that’s a great idea,” Jenna said.

For a few long seconds, neither of them said anything.

“I like your hair,” Rachel said shyly. “I wish my hair was red like yours.”

“I like yours, too,” Jenna said. “And I wish my hair was brown.”

Rachel giggled. “We’re silly, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are.”