“Hamilton is north just a few more minutes, but I prefer to stay away from the hustle and bustle. I live in the rural section of town.”
He turned off the pavement and onto a gravel road with timber on both sides. We bounced along, the ruts making it difficult to talk but easy to bump one another.
After about a minute, we went up a small hill and the trees opened up to a clearing. In the middle of the meadow was a house … or what would be a house. The foundation was done, as was the stick framing, but that was about it. There wasn’t any wood on the outside of the house, allowing us to see right through it.
The home both looked out of place with all the wildflowers and grasses shooting up around it—and exactly where it should be in relation to the trees and the pond.
We drew closer, and I gasped as I caught sight of a small table inside. It had a white tablecloth and was set with real dishes and crystal cups. There were green strands draping from the trusses. It took me a moment to realize they were fairy lights. I put my hand over my heart. How romantic.
I looked harder but didn’t see any electrical wires. How is he going to turn those lights on without power?
Andrew parked the truck and turned. “What do you think?” he asked, watching me intently. His voice was guarded … worried … hopeful. I was touched by how much my opinion meant to him.
“I think it is amazing,” I said, and it was the honest truth.
“Let me show you around before it gets too dark.” Andrew bounded out of his truck and ran around to the other side to help me out. His caution had evaporated, replaced with childlike exuberance.
We walked up the temporary wooden steps to the front entryway. The house was one story, but there were large beams framing the front door. Once stained, they’d be stunning. I pressed my palm against one and smiled. My house was a butter-yellow color. I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite. There was a cream-colored one down the street, with wainscoting of grey-toned river rock. The finish would be perfect for this home with a pond.
I bit my tongue before I blurted any of that out. This wasn’t my house, and for all I knew, it never would be. This was date one-point-five. When it came to Andrew, it was so easy to jump the next fifteen steps of dating and think we were already settled as a couple. I had to hold myself back or I’d scare him off.
He took me through the house and showed me the layout. It was a nice three-bedroom, two-bath home. The master suite was on one end, and the other two bedrooms were on the other. I liked the privacy that would afford when kids came along, and I wondered if he’d thought the same thing when designing the place.
“I want a huge porch that wraps around the entire house.” He waved his hands out to the side in an expansive gesture. “We used to sit on the porch when it rained and tell stories. Grandpa was the best.”
I smiled at the thought. It was so peaceful and so different from how I’d grown up in the city where you stayed indoors and only played with supervision. “Is that where you heard about the mayflies and the snowplow?”
He winked. “I guarantee it.” Putting his hands on my shoulders, he turned me toward the north. “That’s where the barn will go. And over there—” He turned me just a little more to the right. “—is where the turkey and deer come out in the mornings.”
My mouth dropped open. “Turkey?”
“Yeah, there are lots of them here.” He patted his belly. “There will be Thanksgiving dinners for years to come.”
I laughed. “I can’t imagine eating something that wandered into my yard.”
His laughter boomed over the meadow. “When you put it that way … it sounds horrible.”
I laughed with him. My heart was lighter than it had been all day. Something about being with Andrew put me at ease, and I was able to let go of the need to succeed that had pushed me throughout life. I smiled, watching him gaze into the trees. He was definitely in his element.
“Did you know Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird?”
“Way to ruin Thanksgiving!” I joked. “I’ll bet his whole goal was to skip right to the pie.”
He rubbed his belly. “No one ever said ol’ Ben was a dummy.” He reached for my hand. “Come on, I want to show you my fishing spot.”
I mentally groaned. My boots were made of leather, but I didn’t think they’d been waterproofed. If I’d had warning, I could have sprayed them myself. Not wanting to seem like a city girl who couldn’t get her hands—or boots—dirty, I put on a smile and followed him down a meandering path. The grass was up to our knees on both sides, and rocks littered the dirt, skittering away as we kicked at them.
“The biggest reason I bought this lot was because of the pond. It took some doing, but I’ve had it stocked and it should produce a lot of fish in the coming years.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to fry them up for dinner too.”
“As often as I can catch one. They’re good for you, Doc.” He tugged me over to stand alongside him on the bank.
A canoe was off to the side, tipped upside down and resting over a brace. Two oars lay on the ground under it. It was small enough for two people. I might even be able to get it off the brace and into the water on my own.
I prayed he wouldn’t want to take it out tonight. There were a few bugs skittering across the top of the pond, and every few seconds a fish would disturb the surface as it tried to catch dinner, creating ripples.
The shadows lengthened and he glanced over his shoulder at the house. “Can I serve you dinner, Miss Cahill?”
“Are you going to make me catch it first?” I glanced around, looking for fishing poles and didn’t see any. Thank goodness.
“What kind of a gentleman do you take me for?” he asked in mock offense.
I elbowed him. “A country gentleman.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Come on, dinner's waiting.” He tucked my hand into the crook of his arm, and we started back to the house. I let out a sigh of relief as the tension in my stomach over having to gut dinner evaporated.
Once inside, he pulled my chair out for me.
As I sat down, he leaned over, his mouth close to my ear, and said low and sultry, “I’ve been waiting all week for this.”
Goose bumps rose on my skin, and I sighed into the back of my chair. My heart was so full of this man.
His eyes lit up, and he pointed over my shoulder. “Look.”
I’d been facing east, but when I turned, I found out why Andrew bragged about the sunsets over the Mississippi. The sky was painted in beautiful corals, reds, and oranges. They reflected off the water, making the whole world look like it was on fire. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful—not ever,” I whispered, because the moment was too pure for sound.
He kissed my hair and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”
He trotted over to a tool shed not far from the house and opened the door, disappearing inside. I watched, curious as to what he was up to.
The fairy lights came to life, and I gasped in surprise. Tipping my head back, I looked up through the trusses and saw the first star twinkle in the night sky. The sun wasn’t gone yet, but there were signs that nightfall was coming.
“They look like fireflies,” I said, pointing at the lights as he approached.
“That was the idea.” He grinned. In his arms was a warming box. From inside, he retrieved a white towel, which he placed over his arm like a waiter in a fancy restaurant. “Dinner is served,” he said with a fake French accent as he set a plate in front of me.
Sitting before me was my favorite meal: grilled salmon steaks with cilantro lime rice. “Oh my goodness, how did you know?” I exclaimed, my hands covering my heart.
“Amy may have helped me a little bit,” he confessed.
“You two are in cahoots, huh?” I lifted my eyebrows, giving him my best tell-me-the-truth-doctor look. The one I used on my weight loss patients who tried to hide their caloric intake.
“You caught me.” Andre
w shrugged. “After last Tuesday, she said I shouldn’t be left to my own devices. Coming here tonight was my idea,” he added quickly. “She just helped me figure out what to make for dinner, and she and Nathan did the lights.”
That was sweet of them. I was quickly learning that people in town were willing to go out of their way for one another. And Amy had my best interests at heart, so I didn’t feel like she was butting into things. “Where did the power come from?” I asked curiously.
“It is stubbed over to the shed so I can plug in tools and things. Usually, this place is covered with extension cords. It was handy to plug in the warming box.”
I had no idea how much went into building a house. It sounded like there was a lot of physical labor, and he was doing the majority of it on his own. That was a new concept too. My parents had hired out simple household repairs. The handyman’s card was stuck to the fridge, the edges tattered. “Well, I’m impressed,” I admitted.
“Oh, this isn’t all,” he said, grinning as wide as the Mississippi. He jogged back to the shed and returned with a salad, two bowls of fruit, and Brazilian lemonade in a pitcher with a lid. Once everything was set out, he took his seat across from me.
“I was talking about the house.” I waved my finger around, indicating the bare bones. “It’s amazing to see your dream take shape like this. My dream isn’t something that I can drive other people to and have dinner inside.”
He glanced down at his plate.
“But …” I waited for him to lift his eyes to meet mine. “The food is downright impressive. And I didn’t even have to catch it.”
He chuckled. “It’s not much yet.” His head whipped up. “The house, I mean. The food is good.”
I leaned over my plate and took in a deep breath, savoring the aromas before taking my first bite.
As we started to eat, I noticed real lightning bugs coming out over by the trees. “Oh!” I exclaimed, covering my mouth with my hand. Their lights flashing in and out perfectly complemented the lights around the table.
“Don’t laugh at me for saying this, but I’ve always thought that lightning bugs were the most romantic bug on the planet.” Andrew toyed with his fork.
I schooled my grin.
He caught me and reached across the table and took my hand. At the contact, the energy around us sizzled. Our eyes met, and something shifted. I could only compare it to the stars in my sky coming to life. When I looked in Andrew’s eyes, I felt like I was looking at my forever.
I tried not to think about what that meant. About the changes I’d have to make, not only in my personal life but in my professional one. It was all too overwhelming and would immediately suck the romance out of this moment.
And I didn’t want this moment to end.
We finished dinner talking about our week and sharing jokes we’d started between us during our many phone conversations. When we were done, Andrew quickly cleared the plates. “I have one more surprise if you have time.”
“Sure.” I didn’t have anywhere to be, although I couldn’t imagine topping the most romantic dinner of my life.
Andrew tapped his phone a few times, and the evening air filled with Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” He slid the whole table over to clear a space while I sat in the chair and watched. “Can I have this dance?” He extended his hand.
I giggled as the first lines of the song rolled through the night. “… she’s wondering what clothes to wear …” How did he know I’d spent so much time worrying about that? It was like he’d read my mind when he’d picked this song.
He pulled me against him as we slow-danced on the bare wood floor. My head fit perfectly into the crook of his shoulder as the smell of hot cider once more filled my senses. I closed my eyes and felt my body pressed up against his and his strong hands gently pressed against the small of my back.
“Tonight has been perfect, Andrew. Thank you. I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
“To be honest, this is by far the most romantic thing I have ever done,” he admitted. “But I am trying to be more aware of it, for you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know if people ask this anymore, if it’s out of date or not proper, but will you be my girlfriend?”
I sighed as I melted even more into him. I didn’t care if people did it or not; I liked that he was clear on where he stood. It spoke to me. “I’d love to.”
Andrew put his head down and pressed his lips softly into mine. For me, heaven couldn’t be better than this exact moment. My heart was his, even if he didn’t know it yet.
After a while, the song ended and a new one began, but we didn't acknowledge the change in music. He held me close, and I wished time would stop for a while. That I wouldn’t have to make a decision about starting a fellowship program or leaving all this behind.
Eventually, it got dark enough that the sky was inky black and crickets sang along with George Strait. Andrew slowly came to a halt and said, “I don’t want to, but I think it’s time to go.”
The attraction between us had gone from a sizzle to a fire, our occasional kisses blending together and feeling urgent. I didn’t want to let him go, but it was late and I didn’t want anyone to think I’d spent the night with him out here. It was sweet that he cared too, though he didn’t come right out and say the words.
He quickly put the table and chairs into the shed, and I helped him load the dishes in a tote and the leftover food into a cooler, which he lifted into the back of his truck. We turned off the lights at the house and slowly made our way back to town.
Andrew didn’t say much, and I didn’t push for conversation. He seemed to be in his head for the moment; then, all of a sudden, he said, “Harper, I don’t want tonight to be over. Would you like some ice cream?”
“Sure,” I laughed. In that one innocent question, the fire simmered down to a sizzle once again. “Is there an ice cream shop in town?”
“No.” Andrew scowled. Then, lightening up a bit, he said, “But there’s a Dairy Queen with a late-night drive through on the weekends. Want to go there?”
“Dairy Queen it is,” I replied.
We drove back over the bridge, into the main area of town, and over to Dairy Queen.
“What would you like?” Andrew asked.
“It’s cookies and cream or nothing,” I said with authority.
“Good to know.” He gave me his sexy grin, and if I’d been holding a cone right then, it would have been in a puddle on my lap. He turned away from the speaker and told me, “That is my favorite too.”
Ah, the perfect man.
He ordered two shakes, and we drove around the building and picked up our order. We ended up on my newly purchased porch swing—thank goodness for two-day delivery—while Astrid sniffed the yard. As my spoon scraped the last of the ice cream from the cup, I turned to Andrew and said, “This may have been the greatest night of my life. Thank you.”
“I agree. I was worried because I was looking forward to it so much, and I didn’t think it could live up to the hype.” He traced my cheek.
“Did it?” I asked, breathless.
He shook his head, his eyes dropping to my lips. “It’s better.”
The passion behind the kiss took my breath away. With one touch, Andrew ignited the fire inside me. And in that one moment, it was as if my whole being shifted. That romantic part of me that I hadn't known existed only a few weeks ago was now branded into my soul. My whole world was different. Somehow, I was different.
I vaguely remember him walking me the short distance to my door and wishing me good night before he went home. Somehow, I got myself inside and ready for bed, though the motions felt like I was in a dream.
As I snuggled down under the covers and Astrid curled up by my feet, my analytical brain isolated the change. My whole life I had made decisions based around what I wanted: what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go to school, and who I wanted to be. It had always been about me. That was no longer the case. Now I realized I'd
never be able to make a decision about my future without including Andrew in the equation.
The problem was, I wasn't sure what that looked like or how to go about being part of a couple like that. It filled my black-and-white life with lots of grey and giant splashes of color, and I wasn't sure how to process it all.
As the minutes and hours ticked by on my clock, my brain wouldn't stop as it tried to reconcile these two different parts of me. Restlessness gave way to feeling mildly distraught and agitated. Sometime around 3 a.m., I stumbled upon the knowledge that I didn’t have to make a decision right now, and I fell over the cliff of consciousness and landed in a deep sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
Andrew
After taking Harper out to my house, every day after that was full of her. I texted first thing every morning just to say hello. I wanted to be the one that put the first smile on her face each day, because she was the one who did that for me.
She called when she was on her lunch break, though sometimes she didn’t get a lunch, depending on her patient load, and we had to settle for a quick five minutes while she scarfed down whatever Amy had run out to get for her. She was dedicated to being a good doctor, and that meant giving her undivided attention to the people who needed her. I was okay with that, but I missed our conversation on those days. Missed her.
We kept up a constant stream of texts, and I started to get a feel for her schedule and how it worked with mine. She had more time off than I did with the clinic closing at six. My work didn’t stop until the sun went down, and the only day I took off was Sunday.
But I’d asked Harper out for Saturday night, intent on doing something special. Except I didn’t have time to figure anything out or call Amy for advice. When Harper’s car stopped alongside the soybean field, I groaned and checked the time. She was early, and I was running late.
She hopped out of her car and waved, her eyes on the big tractor wheels. Man, she was beautiful. In a pair of jeans and a fitted shirt, she walked like a woman who was comfortable in her skin. I slowed to a crawl and set the tractor to idle.
Opposites Attract: His Country Doctor (The Journal of Medical Romances Book 1) Page 11
