by Jill Sanders
“Yes. I’m fine…” she began, but he shushed her while he listened to her heart with a stethoscope.
When he was done, he said with a grin, “This is my grandson, Doctor Aaron Stevens. He’s going to be helping me out for a while.” The older Dr. Stevens moved over and started poking at Todd’s hands while Dr. Aaron Stevens lightly shook Megan’s bandaged hand.
“It’s a pleasure, Miss Kimble,” the younger man said. “I hear from my grandfather that we’ll be neighbors. I’ve purchased the Bell place down the road.”
Megan had yet to see the house, but she’d heard it was an old ranch house that needed a lot of work. “Oh, congratulations. Please call me Megan.”
“Please call me Aaron,” he said.
“I hadn’t heard the Bells had moved,” Todd interrupted, causing the young doctor to glance over at him for the first time.
“They decided to downsize since their children are all grown and married. They didn’t want to maintain such a big place.”
“Oh, are you married then?” Todd asked a little too eagerly.
“No.” He turned back to Megan. “The place needs a lot of work. The Bells had let it go the last couple of years. It’s kind of a project for me.”
Todd let out a small grunt of disapproval. The young doctor started looking over Megan’s bandages.
“We’d like to do an ultrasound. There’s nothing to worry about. Everything looks fine, the baby’s heartbeat is strong, but just to be on the safe side,” Aaron said, continuing his exam of her arm and hand. Then he looked at the back of Megan’s head. She had a small bandage over the two stitches she had received. “You had a nasty bump here. Are you feeling dizzy or nauseous? Other than the morning sickness?”
“No. They gave me my medicine early enough this morning that I feel fine.”
“Good. Your stitches are clean; you should keep them dry for a few days.” He looked down at her shoulder, where she had five more stitches. As he pulled her hospital gown down, Megan looked over at Todd. She could see concern and something else in his eyes. Protection.
The older Dr. Stevens pulled Todd’s attention away, asking him to move his fingers. “Gave the man a good whooping, huh?” He chuckled. “From the sounds of it, he had it coming.”
“Yes, sir.” Todd pulled his gaze back from the old man to focus on the younger one, who was still checking out Megan’s shoulder.
Megan could hear him mumbling under his breath.
“My grandson is going to be taking over for me when I retire next month.” At this, Todd’s eyes went back to the old man.
“What? You can’t retire! I mean, who’s going to deliver our baby?” He knew he sounded childish, but he didn’t care.
Dr. Stevens saw the look and gripped Todd’s hands harder, causing Todd to wince. The old man might be about a hundred years old, but his grip was that of a thirty-year-old.
“My grandson has been practicing medicine for eight years in California. Don’t worry, my boy. I’ll still be around town, just doing a lot more fishing and golfing.” He smiled over at Megan and winked as he patted Todd’s arm.
“Well, now,” Aaron said, straightening back up and replacing Megan’s gown over her bandaged shoulder. “It shouldn’t take too long for the ultrasound.” He moved to the door and pulled in a machine on wheels.
Todd walked over and stood next to Megan. “We’d like to be the first to welcome you to Pride.”
Aaron looked between the two of them and smiled. “Thank you. Would you like to see your baby?”
Todd’s face turned a little white, then his chest puffed out, and the silliest smile crossed his face.
********
Megan had wanted some privacy with Todd so she could tell him how she felt, but there was a blur of visitors after the doctors left. She liked both of them, the old and the young, especially after the younger made a point to go out of his way for Todd. He printed out pictures of the baby, which looked like nothing more than a small blob to her. She really liked him because he had signed her release papers. She could also tell Todd had warmed up to him.
Their drive home was pleasant, but again, they weren’t alone. Lacey and Iian had arrived and insisted on driving them home. Lacey didn’t want Todd to drive with his hands bandaged up, and Megan wasn’t allowed to drive yet. Iian drove the Jeep home, and he reached the house a good five minutes before them.
In her absence, Lacey had seen to breakfast and lunch for her customers. She’d also cleaned both cabins and the main house. When they drove up in Lacey’s oversize sedan, a whole group of townspeople stood on the porch, their hands full of dishes. It was going to be a long night.
Megan was propped up on the living room couch. Boomer made a point of complaining about her not being home last night and then snuggled up in her lap and continued purring.
Now, as the evening drew to an end, her energy drained away. Faces blurred together. When her head almost rolled off her shoulders, Lacey ushered everyone out of the house.
Todd walked over and picked her up in his arms. “Let me take you upstairs.”
“I’m just a little tired,” she said into his shoulder. He was making a habit of carrying her around, and she liked it.
“Good night,” Todd said to Lacey.
Lacey already had a handful of dishes. “I’ll clean up and lock up. Good night.”
After Todd laid Megan gently down on the bed, he pulled off her shoes and sat next to her.
“You gave me a scare,” he said, gently pushing her blonde hair behind her ear. “Don’t do it again.” He leaned down and placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose.
“I won’t as long as you don’t either. When I saw him point the gun at you…”
“Don’t.” He pulled her in for a hug. “Let’s not talk about it now.”
“I couldn’t stand life without you. You know, I—I—,” she stuttered against his shoulder. Pulling back from him, she looked him in the eyes. She wanted to see his face. “I love you. I think I’ve loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. You’re my future. You’re everything to me. I love you so much. Marry me, Todd.”
Tears sprang to his eyes at the same time that a huge smile crossed his lips. Then he kissed her, and she knew she’d found what she’d always been looking for.
Epilogue
Megan’s stomach was full of butterflies, and it had nothing to do with her morning sickness, which had ended last month. She stood in front of the mirror. She could just make out a small bump, which caused her to smile.
The short sleeves of the loose, flowing dress showed off her shoulders. Her scratches and bruises were gone and her skin looked smooth and pale. The dress’s light cream color accented her complexion perfectly. Her hair was down, curling in small ringlets with flowers pinned in it. She glanced at her face in the reflection and enjoyed the glow in her eyes.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and she didn’t even jump. “Come in,” she said without taking her gaze from the mirror.
“Oh, you look wonderful,” Lacey said, crossing the room and smiling at her. “It’s time.”
Megan blinked and turned around. Lacey handed her a small bouquet of pink roses and quickly hugged her.
As Megan walked down the stairs towards her backyard, which had been transformed for the wedding, she knew she’d feel just like this for the rest of her life. Happy.
********
If you’ve enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review where you purchased it. Thanks! —Jill
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Discovering Pride Preview
Chapter
One
A cool breeze drifted over the tall trees, floating down towards the still waters of a large pond and causing the lily pads to stir. Dragonflies buzzed from flower to flower, and frogs hopped along the grassy shore.
Every now and then, a lone leaf would break free from a branch and float slowly down to the moss-covered forest floor. Soon it would be winter and this little piece of heaven would be covered in snow. All the insects and animals would be tucked away for the cold days and nights. But today the pond waters were buzzing with life.
Lacey Jordan was a free-spirited woman who enjoyed the fresh air, blue skies, and nature sounds that surrounded her home in Pride, Oregon. Even though summer was ending, the fall temperatures had reached a record high. A true Indian summer was in full swing.
Lacey was happily floating alone in the pond that bordered her property. Well, she wasn’t quite alone; Bernard had been running in and out of the water, digging in the mud near the shore. Bernard was Lacey’s first love, and to date, her only. He was everything she wanted in a man: loyal, loving, brave, and a great listener. Not to mention he was blond, brown eyed, and loved to snuggle. His only faults were that he hogged the bed, slobbered a lot, and was extremely hairy, but no one was perfect.
Bernard was Lacey’s three-and-a-half-year-old Labrador retriever.
As she floated in the water, her short black hair bobbed around her face, a face often described as pixie-like. Her straight nose was, in her opinion, her best asset, but most people claimed it was her crystal slate eyes that stood out the most. An artist who had once painted her compared her to an exotic creature from beyond this world.
A small crease formed between her eyebrows at the thought of being compared to an exotic or even mythical creature. It happened often and she was getting tired of it. To her, she was just Lacey, a down-to-earth woman in her mid-twenties whom, at this point, had yet to fall in love.
Most people in her town knew she had an uncanny way of predicting what was going to happen. Sometimes it seemed like she could even control the outcome. However, she knew that she just paid attention to everything more than other people did.
Today she didn’t want to think of the town or its inhabitants. She forced herself to relax again as she studied the bright clear sky through the blanket of leaves on the trees overhead. Today she was going to enjoy her favorite place, the pond, which was in the woods between her house and her brother Todd’s house.
Every once in a while Bernard would swim out to check on her or bark to make sure his presence was still known. She could spend hours out here, lost in thought, which would sometimes make her late for work. She was grateful she wasn’t expected anywhere today so she could continue floating and relaxing as she pleased.
Lacey had been born and raised in Pride, and this was home. There had been a time when she’d craved travel, wanting to expand her horizons and become a woman of the world. However, after spending over a year traveling around Europe, she had needed to be home again. She had missed taking walks along the beach or sitting in front of a fire with her father and brothers. She had made it home only to lose her father and she had struggled through her loss. Her family needed her close and she needed them in return.
She started treading water as she remembered the weeks after she had come home. It had been a difficult time for the Jordan family, adjusting to the changes after the accident that had claimed their father’s life and left their brother Iian battered and without his hearing. But the family had conquered a lot together, learning sign language and running the family businesses. They had learned to take care of each other.
Looking up, she saw Bernard happily running around the shore, chasing the ducks that kept trying to land.
********
Aaron Stevens was restless, hot, and sweaty. And he was horny. His need reminded him it had been over seven months since his breakup with Jennifer. He’d spent the last few days hammering away on his house, spending all his pent-up anger and hurt on demolition. Now, however, he was still hot, angry, sweaty, and horny.
When he had purchased the old house, he’d known it needed a lot of work. But he’d thought the project would help him keep his mind off the fact that he’d almost made the biggest mistake of his life. He had learned a valuable lesson in love, and it had only cost him his heart.
When he hit his thumb for the tenth time in the last half hour, he threw the hammer across the room. But because there were no walls in the place, it hit the floor with a dull thud, giving him no satisfaction.
The first thing he’d done was rip up the bright orange carpet, and now the entire house echoed. He had plans for hardwood or tile in the house, but he had yet to decide on which. All he knew was that the carpet had to go.
He stalked from the room, fuming and frustrated, his thumb throbbing like a bitch. When he reached the back door, he kept on going.
Soon he found himself on a path in a part of the woods he hadn’t explored yet. There was a fork in the path, one that led to his closest neighbors, Megan and Todd Jordan. They had been his first patients after taking over his grandfather’s medical practice.
He paused by the head of the path and remembered walking into the hospital room after Megan had been rescued from her crazy ex-husband.
Megan had seemed so small and pale, bruised by the whole ordeal, but she and Todd’s unborn child had survived. Her ex-husband, Derek, was now on trial for the murder of a federal guard. Todd had hovered over her and protected her, which gained him instant respect in Aaron’s book.
Aaron had done an ultrasound at the hospital, printing as many pictures as Todd had wanted. He felt compassion for the new family. They’d had a rough start, but he knew they would turn out okay. The pregnant mother had been fine, and he had seen them again just yesterday for another checkup.
Aaron was almost to a clearing before he heard the dog barking. He was so deep in his thoughts, he hadn’t realized how far and in which direction his wandering had taken him. Was he still on his property?
Just then, a wet yellow lab came running down the path towards him. The dog wagged its tail. Aaron held out his hand for it to smell as it ran up. The dog sniffed his hand and then licked it, wagging its tail at full speed the whole time. Then it quickly turned and ran off in the opposite direction.
Smiling after the animal, Aaron continued down the path. He came to a clearing with a good-sized pond in the middle of tall grass. The water looked calm and cool, so he decided to cool off before heading back to the house.
Tossing off his clothing quickly, he dove from a huge flat rock that hung over the water’s edge. Cutting deep through the cool crisp water, he was halfway across the small pond when his body hit something solid—solid, but definitely soft. He reached up and getting a hand full of soft skin, pushed up from the muddy bottom.
********
Lacey heard Bernard run off down the path, barking. Thinking he was probably chasing a bird, she dove under the water one last time. She wanted to stop by Megan’s later to see how she and the baby were doing. Maybe she would even make them dinner.
When she was in the middle of the pond, she bumped into something solid. Then she was grabbed and pulled upwards by warm hands.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she sputtered after surfacing, shaking her head to clear it.
“Take your filthy hands off me.” Lacey pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge. Shaking the water from her eyes, she got her first look at him.
Lacey felt his muscular, hairy legs against hers and she could see a light coat of blond hair on his tan chest. A chest, she noted, which was full of toned rippling muscles.
He looked like a Greek god. His hair was a mass of dripping, golden blond locks that were a little longer than her own. His skin was golden, his eyes were a deep rich brown, and he had a strong firm chin. His body was tight against her own and it was warm, firm, and naked. She pushed harder against his chest, but again he didn’t budge.
********
“What do we have here?” Aaron said holding the squirming woman. She looked like a drenched pixie as he smiled down at her.
“Hmm, I don’t think that my hands are dirty any longer,” he said with a slow smile. He kicked his legs a few times, making sure their heads stayed above the water. He felt her legs against his; they were soft and smooth, making him want to tangle in them. He could see her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. The water lapped lower on the most perfect pair of breast he’d ever had the pleasure of seeing in his almost thirty years. She tried to push him away again, but he pulled her closer until he could feel her cool skin against his burning skin.
“Let’s see what happens when I…” He lowered his head, intent on tasting.
When his head started descending towards her mouth, she whispered in a shaky voice, “Let me go before I scream.”
He heard the panic in her voice. Pulling his head away, he looked into her eyes and he could see the panic there.
Shaking his head to clear it, he pulled away from her just as she reached up and pushed his head under the water. He stayed under for a moment, allowing his mind to cool.
In that moment, he saw her duck under the water. She quickly ran her eyes over him, turned her back, and swam towards the shore at a speed that impressed him.
He drifted under the water for another few seconds, trying to clear his head. When he pushed himself up, he shook the water from his eyes and looked towards the shore. He didn’t see anyone. Where had she disappeared to? He glanced around, but she was nowhere to be found. How could she have disappeared so quickly? There were some bushes and a rock to the left, but nothing big enough to conceal a woman. Turning in circles, he scanned the entire area, looking for any movement. Nothing!
