by Jaclyn Hardy
“Okay.” She climbed back in, mentally apologizing to her aunt for ditching her yet again. “Where are we going to eat?”
“You’ll see.” Stuart smiled and pulled away from the curb.
Stuart couldn’t believe he’d kissed her. But when she’d closed in, he couldn’t just let her kiss his cheek again. Not after how she’d reacted to the secret he’d been keeping. He glanced over at her as she watched the buildings go by. Man, she was beautiful. And a surgeon? He was way over his head here.
He pulled in to the diner parking lot and had to pump the brakes so his truck wouldn’t slide into the building. “Welcome to our local diner.”
“Wow. I didn’t know this place was here.”
“How many times have you actually visited?” Stuart asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I came several times when I was younger, but then life got too crazy.”
Stuart climbed out of the truck and helped her out. He put an arm around her so she wouldn’t slip as they walked into the diner. A blast of warmth hit them when Stuart opened the door.
“Hey, Jamie.”
The waitress brightened when she saw him. “Hey, Stuart. Slow day?”
“We had to close. One of the freezers died during the night.”
She gasped. “Oh, man. Was anything ruined?”
“We’re not sure yet, but it looks like my dad caught it in time.” He glanced around the diner. “Looks like it’s slow here, though. I expected it to be packed for lunch.”
“It’s the storm. Not too many crazy enough to go out in it.” She grinned. “So, two for lunch?”
Stuart nodded. “This is Heather. She’s Mrs. Peterson’s niece.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Jamie gestured toward a booth. “How is this?”
“Perfect. Thanks, Jamie.” Stuart slid into one side of the booth and Heather sat on the other side.
Heather shook her head with a half-smile. “You know everyone, don’t you?”
“Pretty much. Happens when you’re the only butcher in town.” Stuart smiled up at Jamie when she brought hot chocolate for both of them. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” She walked away to help another customer.
“Wow, free hot chocolate?” Heather took a sip of it. “Oh, man. That’s amazing.”
Stuart nodded. “It’s her mom’s special recipe. They give it to their customers when it’s snowing or super cold outside. Keeps people coming back.”
“Well, it worked for me.” Heather scanned the menu. “So what’s good?”
“Their pancakes and eggs are really good—wait, you can eat eggs, right?”
Heather nodded. “I couldn’t give those up. Or dairy. I’ll even eat the occasional fish if I’m in the mood.”
“So you wouldn’t say no to ice fishing?” Stuart figured Patrick wouldn’t care if he invited her along. It wouldn’t be the first time one of them had brought a date along.
“Depends on when you’re going. We leave on New Year’s Day.”
Stuart’s stomach dropped. That was only a few days away. They’d just started getting to know each other. “I’ll have to ask Patrick. Maybe on New Year’s Eve? He just said next week when he mentioned it.”
“It sounds like fun if I’m still around.” Heather sipped at her hot chocolate.
“What can I get you two?” Jamie asked.
Heather handed her the menu. “I’ll have some pancakes, eggs, and toast. Oh, and a side salad.”
“Perfect. And the usual for you, Stuart?”
“Yep.”
“Sounds great.” Jamie wrote down his order and walked away.
Stuart folded his arms on the table. “So how much school do you have left?”
“This is the last semester.”
“Wow.”
Heather smiled. “Wow is right. It feels like I’ve been in school forever.”
“And then you become a world-famous surgeon?”
“I wish.” Heather sighed. “No, I still have to go through residency. I’m so nervous. I have my interviews starting in a couple of weeks and I have to decide where I want to go. And then I have to pray they’ll want me.”
“They’d be crazy not to pick you.” Stuart put his hand on hers.
Heather raised an eyebrow. “I’m not so sure about that. I mean, I’ve studied like crazy, and I’m the top of my class, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be good under pressure.”
“True.” Stuart caressed her hand with his thumb. “So, what schools are you looking into?”
“Let’s see. I applied to hospitals in Seattle for my parents’ sake, Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta. Plus, a children’s hospital in Salt Lake and another one back east.”
Salt Lake wasn’t too far, but the other locations seemed like a universe away. “That’s cool. When do you find out again?”
“March.” Heather picked up her phone. “It’s my parents. One sec.”
She stood and left to take the call, leaving Stuart alone in the booth. He should just take her back to the hotel and let her out of his life right now, because if they spent any more time together, he was going to fall head over heels for her. He could still feel her slender fingers in his, and that kiss . . . he ached for another one.
“Sorry about that. Mom just wanted me to grab a few things that were left at Aunt Cassie’s. Think we could run by there on the way back to the hotel?” Heather paused. “Um, that is, if you’re okay taking me back there.”
“Sure. The snow has stopped, and it looks like the wind might be dying down for now. We’ll see if we can grab my uncle’s plow for the front of my truck just in case.”
Heather raised her eyebrow. “Your uncle has a snow plow just sitting around?”
“The county isn’t great about getting our roads cleared, so we just take it into our own hands. Most of the time we can get away with not plowing, but we’ll want it on the way back.”
The food arrived just then. Stuart got the same bacon burger he always had along with fries and a milkshake.
“You really want to eat that around her, Stuart?” Lance, one of Stuart’s friends, stood next to the table along with a few other guys.
“Hey, Lance. What are you doing out in the snow? I thought your mom banned you from going out without a coat.” Stuart glanced over at Heather and caught her glare at Lance.
The other two—Carl and Thomas—snickered. Stuart sighed and scooted over. So much for a quiet meal. Lance and Carl sat next to Stuart and Thomas slid in next to Heather.
“Don’t mind Lance. He doesn’t know how to act around women, which is why he doesn’t have a girlfriend. I’m Thomas.” He held a hand out, but Heather just glared and went back to her pancakes. Thomas shrugged and stole one of Stuart’s fries. “Hey, so we’re looking at going fishing tomorrow if we can make it up to the reservoir.”
“What happened to the pond out by Rachel’s?” Stuart swatted Lance’s hand away from his plate.
“It’s not frozen enough. Carl tried to walk out on it and we had to pull him out.” Thomas turned to Heather. “Are you coming? Or is that against your vegetarianness?”
Heather snickered. “Vegetarianness? Nice word. And yes, I’m coming. That is if your group can handle having me there.”
“Sure you can handle it? I mean, we use bait and stuff.”
Stuart put a hand up. “Hey, guys? Lay off her. Besides, Heather is going to be a surgeon. I think she can handle worms on a hook.”
“Whoa. Seriously?” Thomas leaned in. “Have you had to cut anyone open?”
“I’ve worked on cadavers, yes.” Heather held up her fork. “Think I can eat my food now?”
Thomas stood. “Right. See you two tomorrow.”
The guys found a booth across the diner from Stuart and Heather.
“Sorry about them. They’re good guys for the most part. They just don’t think before they speak.” Stuart thought back to the night at the hotel when he’d made a snide comment about Heather’s diet. “I gu
ess I’m not much better.”
“At least you didn’t ask if I’d cut anyone open while we were trying to eat.” Heather took a drink of her hot chocolate. “So where is the reservoir?”
Stuart gestured to the south of them. “I’ll show you when we leave. I’m not sure I want to head up there, though. If the roads are bad here, I don’t even want to know what they’re like on the winding roads.”
“Winding roads and ice don’t sound like a good mix to me.” Heather finished the last bite of her pancake and pushed the plate away.
“We can go check out the pond and see if it’s okay if you want. No hills and we’re headed that way anyway.”
Heather nodded. “Let’s do that.”
Stuart pulled out his credit card and picked up the receipt. “We’d better head out then. Especially if we need to run by your aunt’s house first.”
“Sounds good.” Heather grabbed her coat and followed him to the front of the diner. “I can pay for mine.”
“I was the one who insisted on going out to eat.” Stuart handed the card to Jamie. “Besides, my mom would never forgive me if I let you pay for yourself.”
Heather grinned. “I don’t think my mom would either. But I wanted to offer anyway.”
“Then I win points from both moms. Works for me.” Stuart took her hand as they walked out the door. “Careful. It’s probably still slick.”
He helped her in, then walked around to his side. Thomas and the others caught his eye as he climbed in. They were making faces and pointing at Heather then shrugging. Stuart shook his head and climbed into the truck, hoping she hadn’t seen anything.
“Your friends are classy people.” Heather frowned at the window of the diner.
Stuart groaned inwardly. She’d seen. “They’re pretty good guys for the most part. But put them in front of a beautiful woman and they turn into cavemen.”
Heather laughed. “I guess that’s one way to put it.”
“I guess it wouldn’t surprise you that they’re all single?” Stuart pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Mrs. Peterson’s house.
“Not at all.” Heather stared down at her phone and suddenly brightened.
“Good news?”
Heather let out a whoop. “Yes. Sorry. I’ve been waiting for days for my grades to post. Straight As. Well, not quite. I got an A-minus, but close enough.”
“Congrats! That’s amazing.” Stuart reached over and squeezed Heather’s hand.
“It’s beyond amazing. I was really stressed about a few of them, but I guess I knew the information better than I’d thought.” Heather leaned her head against the head rest and let out a sigh. “I can’t believe it.”
“So, I guess this means you get to relax for the rest of your vacation then.” Not that he’d given her much time to do anything else.
Heather shook her head. “I wish. This just reminds me of how much work I need to do to get ready for my last semester.”
Stuart tried to push the disappointment away. Of course she would need to study. “Do you want to just go back to the hotel and not worry about the pond?”
“What? No. I want to see the pond. But then I should head back and start studying. Between the interviews and classes, I’ll have a full plate once school starts up again next week.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure.” Heather set her phone down on the truck seat when they pulled up to Mrs. Peterson’s house. “I’ll be right back.”
Stuart nodded and took out his own phone. “Hey, Dad. How are things looking?”
“So far the other freezer is holding up so we’re good. I pushed back a shipment for another day or two so we have time to get the part in. Did you order the stuff to do electric and heating yet?”
“Yeah, it’s supposed to get here tomorrow. If the truck can get through. Guess we’ll work on the house if we can’t work at the butcher.”
“Sure you don’t want to hang out with Heather? She’s a great girl, you know.”
Stuart sighed. “Yes she is. But she’s leaving in a few days. Besides, she has to study for school, so I think today and going fishing tomorrow will be it.”
There was a pause. “That’s too bad. I like her. Oh, I have a call on the other line. Let me know if you get the parts and I’ll be out there to help you.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Stuart hung up and checked his email to see if there was any news on his shipment. He’d worried that they would be late with the weather, but it looked like they were out for delivery that morning. That meant he could work on it in between fishing the next day.
Heather came out a few minutes later with a bag and a plate of cookies. “Aunt Cassie wanted you to have a treat for giving me a ride.”
“Sweet. Her cookies are the best.” Stuart took a cookie off the plate and bit into it. Perfection. It was still hot, so the chocolate was melted. “She knows exactly what I like.”
“That’s what she said.” Heather set the bag on the floor of the cab and took a cookie for herself. “Did you find out about the plow thing from your uncle?”
Stuart shook his head. “Totally forgot. Want to run by or should we chance it?”
“Let’s just go. We made it here, right?” Heather put on her seatbelt.
Stuart glanced up at the sky. The sun poked out between the clouds, but it was still pretty overcast. He wouldn’t go to his uncle’s, but he did need to grab a few things. He wasn’t about to sleep on the floor again.
A few minutes later, he pulled up in front of his parents’ house. “I’ll be right back. Unless you want to come in and meet my mom.”
“I’m good. I need to call my advisor back really quick.”
Stuart picked his way across the sidewalk and up the steps to his house. He found his mom standing at the sink washing dishes. “Hey, Mom. Grabbing stuff and then I’m taking Heather back to the hotel.”
Mom dried her hands and turned to face Stuart. “Okay, sweetie. Oh, I have Rachel’s pie plates. I’ll send those with you.”
“Sounds good.” Stuart went up to his room and grabbed a bag for his clothes and other items he’d need, then went down to the basement to find his sleeping bag and mat. His mom stood at the kitchen door with pie plates in her hand. “Thanks. I’ll be back later tomorrow. The supplies are coming in today, so I’ll be working on my house and then go fishing with Thomas and a few other guys.”
“And Heather?”
“Probably.” He opened the door. “Love you. Oh, and can you let Dad know I’ll be working out there tomorrow?”
“Love you too, sweetie. I’ll let him know.”
“Thanks.” Stuart went out to the truck, shoved his things in the backseat, and climbed in. “Okay, now I’m ready to go.”
The roads were still pretty slick on the way, so he had to go slower than he would have liked. New drifts had taken the place of some of the older drifts in places. Other spots still had his tracks where he’d broken through.
“So how far is your house from the hotel?” Heather asked.
“About ten minutes when it’s good weather.” Stuart grimaced as they came up against a larger drift. The back tires slid a little as he gunned the engine. He shoved the truck into reverse, then went forward again. This time they were able to break through. “Well, that was fun.”
Heather gripped the seat. “Let’s not have that happen again, okay?”
“I’d prefer not to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere as well.” Stuart swerved around another drift. “Maybe we should have grabbed the plow.”
“I guess so.” Heather laughed as they went over another bump. “I have to say, though, that this is way more fun.”
Stuart glanced over at her and smiled. She could be so serious when talking about school and her job, but then her humor and playfulness would come out. He just wished there was a way to get her to stick around. New Year’s Day was coming too fast.
It was a relief when they finally saw the hotel up ahead. The roads cleared up a lit
tle in the area, which meant that Rachel’s dad must have been out with his tractor. Several cars were still parked there, but it had cleared out a little since that morning.
“Looks like people wanted to beat the next storm.” Stuart climbed out and grabbed his things.
“So, you’re still staying here tonight?” Was that hope in Heather’s voice?
He nodded. “I figure this way I can get to my house quicker and get started on the electrical.”
“You know, if you’d like help, my dad is probably bored out of his mind. He could help out.” Heather nodded toward him. “He’s reading a magazine right now, which means he’s going even crazier than I thought.”
Stuart wanted to say he was fine, but the truth was, the more help he could get, the better. “Sure, that would be great.”
Heather walked over to her parents. “Hey, we’re back. Aunt Cassie says hi and wants to know if we’re going to make it to the New Year’s party.”
“That’s the plan.” Her mom stood and took the bag from Heather. “Thanks for grabbing these things. It amazes me what the boys can forget sometimes.”
“No kidding.” Heather turned to her dad. “Hey, want something fun to do tomorrow? Stuart’s working on his house and could use some help.”
The magazine was dropped immediately, and her dad leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “Oh? How can I help?”
“However you can, really. With this storm, I need to make sure nothing was damaged, and then I’ll be doing all of the HVAC stuff so we can get the heat on and get to work on the drywall.”
“Sounds good. What time are you heading over?”
Stuart thought for a moment. “Probably after breakfast, so around eight. That’ll give my dad time to get here.”
“Sounds great.” Her dad picked up the magazine and opened it.
Stuart raised his eyebrows at Heather, who shrugged. Apparently, the conversation was over. He went over to the desk where Rachel sat at the computer. “Hey, Rachel. Did anything open up for tonight?”
“Oh, hey. I thought you were back home.”
“I headed in this morning because of a broken freezer, but I had to bring Heather back out here. And since I’m going to work on the house tomorrow, I figure it’s easier to just stay.”
