Heart to Heart

by Meline Nadeau

  “Well, Prince, you’ve got yourself a non-date to go to some small-town coed baby shower,” he said to himself.

  He didn’t know why he felt so happy about it.

  CHAPTER 11

  The first thing Dan heard when he and Amy pulled up beside a green pickup on the farm property was a metallic clink followed by male jeers.

  “Feel free to join the men,” Amy said, speaking for the first time in the last ten minutes. “I guess horseshoes are the grown-up boys’ version of pin the tail on the donkey.”

  “I don’t have to be here,” he said, giving vent to his growing irritation. She acted as though he’d forced himself on her when he’d only come as a courtesy.

  “Just remember, this wasn’t my idea,” she said as she got out of his van and started walking toward the noisy group. She rejected his offer to carry a large box wrapped in blue paper with baby angels — or maybe they were cupids. He’d never bothered to distinguish between them.

  “You didn’t try to talk me out of it,” he pointed out, taking long strides to catch up.

  “I told you there wouldn’t be much mingling of the sexes, so go circulate. I’ll join the women. Apparently the landlords have loaned their parlor because Gayle and Greg don’t have room for a big group.” She stalked off toward a bunch of balloons on the porch of the large two-story yellow farmhouse.

  Everywhere he looked, fields were green with corn, the stalks already knee-high or taller. In spite of his big-city upbringing, he marveled at the unbroken vista of growing plants. He’d heard that each stalk of field corn only produced one ear, but huge silos would fill with golden kernels at the end of the season. He looked forward to harvest time when big wagons would haul the corn to Heart City to be dried and eventually sold. He’d been there long enough to know the railroad cars full of corn were the lifeblood of the town.

  Dan had never been shy, but he still felt uncomfortable approaching a group of men who were mostly strangers. He didn’t feel part of the community, and these friends who all knew each other made him feel more of an outsider.

  “Hey, Doc!” The recent groom, Judson Carter, stopped hooting at the failure of a burly redhead to wrap a horseshoe around a stake in the ground and called out to him.

  “Judson, nice to see you,” Dan said, appreciating the welcome. He almost asked how the honeymoon was but decided he didn’t know the man well enough. Who knew what constituted prying in rural Iowa?

  “You can be on my team,” Judson said. “We’re a man short.”

  “I’ll give it a try,” he said, although he’d never played it. How hard could it be to toss a horseshoe?

  He watched the technique — or lack thereof — of a few players before it was his turn. Meanwhile, Judson introduced him to a few of the others, including the father-to-be. The majority were young farmers but there was also a construction worker, a plumber, and a guy who ran the garden center with his father. Ordinarily, he’d only meet them as patients, but being part of this group made him feel younger and more relaxed.

  His first throw was way off, but with encouragement from his team, he finally landed a horseshoe around the stake.

  “Way to go, Doc,” Judson said.

  “Call me Dan.” He felt surprisingly proud of himself for scoring.

  When a portly middle-aged woman came out on the porch and called out for the men to come inside, Dan would’ve preferred to stay outside pitching horseshoes. A grumble or two told him he wasn’t alone there.

  How was he supposed to act with Amy? Should he pretend they really were a couple? Or maybe they could ignore each other without attracting attention. After all, they weren’t the guests of honor.

  The sun was hot, and he could feel his white polo shirt clinging to his back. Why did the women want this sweaty group of men to join them? He clenched his jaw and prepared to endure whatever came next.

  • • •

  Amy dug her nails into her palms, not sure what to expect from Dan when the men came inside. Much to her relief, the women’s conversation had been all about babies and Gayle’s struggle to get pregnant. Every mother there had to relate her birth experiences, and Amy found herself pretty much left out of the talk that swirled around her.

  Would that change when Dan came inside? She desperately hoped they wouldn’t have to play any silly boy-girl games that would stir up people’s curiosity about their relationship — or lack thereof.

  “Hi.” He came to stand beside her as the men mingled with their spouses and girlfriends.

  “Enjoy the horseshoes?” she asked for lack of anything else to say.

  Unlike most of the men, he hadn’t worn a hat outside. His face was flushed and his dark hair was moist and clung to his forehead in curly tendrils. When the hostess, Mrs. Lacey, offered him a glass of hand-squeezed lemonade from a tray, he took it gratefully and downed half of it in one big gulp.

  She’d never seen him sweaty and red-faced. Much to her surprise, it only made him hotter in the I-want-to-jump-your-bones way. This was not good. Instead of blending in, he stood out like a Greek god, and she wasn’t the only woman who noticed.

  “I’m Gayle Briggs,” her pregnant friend said to Dan. “I’m so happy you could join us. Because of all my problems, I’m giving birth in Des Moines, but I do hope you’ll provide care for the baby when he arrives.”

  “I’d be pleased to,” Dan said, apparently oblivious of the attention he was attracting from the female guests.

  Not that she was jealous, Amy told herself. She was done with Dr. Prince, and he’d better know she had nothing to do with roping him into this party.

  “Okay, boys and girls,” Marge, Gayle’s mother, said. “We have one game all of you can play, then our mom and dad-to-be will open their gifts.”

  Her heart sinking, Amy hoped it wasn’t some silly charade that would call more attention to Dan or her.

  “Doreen made this up herself,” Marge said, nodding at one of the single women. “Here’s how it goes. Everyone make a big circle.”

  Even in the roomy parlor, it was a bit of a squeeze. Amy managed to take a position several spots away from Dan. If this involved teaming up, she would pick Logan from the feed store or one of the other single men, safer choices than the doctor.

  “Here’s how it works,” Doreen said, preening when she became the center of attention. “Pretend this is a hot potato.”

  She held up a beanbag in the shape of a cat and wiggled in her ultra-short crimson dress. Doreen was the town’s self-styled vamp, and any game she invented was likely to have suggestive undertones.

  “You can toss it at anyone in the room. Mrs. Lacey is going to play music while this is going on.” She nodded at the landlady sitting at the upright piano in one corner of the room. “When the music stops, whoever has the bean bag can kiss the person of his or her choice. Then those two are eliminated, and the game goes on. There’s a prize for the last couple standing.”

  Doreen made a big deal of counting to be sure there were an equal number of men and women. A few of the older guests had wisely opted not to play.

  Music boomed, the bean bag flew around the circle, and Amy wanted to go home. When the bag landed against her chest, she passed it on as if it were burning hot but not to Dan. That’s what her face would be if she had to kiss him in front of all these people.

  The first person to catch it was a man who dared his wife’s wrath to kiss the guest of honor, Gayle. People hooted and cheered, even though his kiss was so chaste not even his spouse could object.

  Mandy, wearing her glasses on the tip of her nose, was the next to get caught with the bean bag. She planted a noisy, enthusiastic kiss on her new husband’s lips. It went over well with the other guests.

  The circle grew smaller, and Amy grew more nervous. She’d rather kiss any other man in the room than go through the emba
rrassment of being Dan’s choice. Her best hope was that he’d choose someone else, given that their ride there hadn’t been exactly cordial.

  When Doreen got to choose, Amy hoped Dan would be her choice. It was her big chance to make a play for the doctor, and her “date” was really her second cousin, probably doing her a favor by coming with her.

  Instead, the town’s biggest flirt planted a noisy kiss on the father-to-be. Greg didn’t seem to mind, at least not until he caught his wife’s eye.

  The eliminated guests were having a great time, calling out encouragement and cheering when the kisses were especially emphatic. The circle had closed now with only six players left. Dan had a firm grip of Amy’s hand, or she might have tried to duck out of the game. When the bean bag came to her, she threw it frantically, and then realized she should try to keep it. She could give one of the other two men a peck on the cheek and be done with it.

  The music, simple numbers Amy hadn’t heard since elementary school, came to an abrupt stop, and Dan dangled the bean bag from his fingers.

  “Your turn, Dan,” Judson called out with glee.

  Amy wanted to put her fist in his mouth. Her only hope was that Dan would choose Josie because she was cute or Gayle’s cousin from Dubuque who might have hurt feelings if she was the last one kissed. From what she knew of him, Dan was a kind person.

  Before she could second-guess his choice, he spun her around into his arms and brought his lips down hard on hers. She opened her mouth to protest. Wrong move. His tongue slid deeply into her mouth while his lips did wonderful things to hers. She almost lost herself in his demanding kiss, but laughter and shouts of encouragement brought her back to the cold reality of the game.

  “That is enough!” She pushed hard on his chest until he released her.

  If he’d intended to embarrass her, he’d succeeded. She wanted to sink into a deep hole where she couldn’t hear the congratulatory comments or the appreciative whistles. Before she could run from the room, Dan took her hand in his and pulled her to the back of the group. The last four people still had to compete for the prize. When it turned out to be a coupon for six free car washes, the crowd’s attention turned to talk about what a good prize it was.

  “Now it’s time for the mommy and daddy to open their gifts,” Mrs. Lacey said. The landlady and her quiet husband had five grandchildren, but it didn’t diminish her enthusiasm for babies — anyone’s babies.

  When all the parlor furniture and a number of folding chairs where occupied, the guests still standing sat on the floor, not a hardship because it was covered with thick forest green carpeting to go with an assortment of antique furnishings and a few comfortable modern pieces.

  Pulling hard on her short pink skirt to preserve modesty, Amy sat down next to Dan, leaving a comfortable space between them. Trying to avoid him would only make her more conspicuous, but she pointedly ignored him through the lengthy process of opening presents. Maybe because Gayle had waited so long to get pregnant, she seemed determined to take as much time as possible to open each and every package. She peeled off tape, carefully removed ribbons so a friend could save them for her, and opened gift wrap as though it were gold leaf. That was the faster part. She and Greg both exclaimed over every gift, pointing out all the reasons why it was wonderful for their baby.

  Dan squirmed, but Amy still ignored him.

  “Did you sign my name?” he whispered when they finally came to her gift.

  “Yes.”

  “Then I owe you money.”

  “Forget it,” she hissed.

  “Look at all the things we’ll really need,” Gayle said, pulling each and every item out of the box. “Diapers, baby powder, baby oil, and oh look, ointment for diaper rash. Thank you so much, Amy and Dan.”

  Well, no one could doubt they were a couple now, Amy thought, wondering how much longer this torture would go on. Dan reached over and patted her knee, which she’d failed to keep covered by the skimpy skirt. She wanted to slap his hand away, but it would only stir up more speculation about their relationship.

  After the gift opening ordeal, Amy headed for the restroom, only to find a line of women waiting to use the facility. At least the delay gave her an excuse to avoid Dan for a few minutes.

  When she returned to the party, the dining room table was loaded to capacity with good things to eat. Dan was among the first to fill a sturdy throw-away plastic platter, which thrifty Iowa homemakers almost always washed and reused.

  “I didn’t wait for you,” he said, seeking her out even though she tried to be inconspicuous. “Try this.”

  He lifted a fork to her lips, and she had little choice but to take the morsel of chicken salad with walnuts and grapes. It was one of her favorites, but she could hardly swallow. Feeding her seemed even more intimate than the kiss. Her friends would be expecting wedding invitations before the summer was over, little that they knew.

  “Mad at me?” he asked when she turned her head away to refuse any other samples from his plate.

  She let her expression answer, narrowing her eyes and pressing her lips into a tight line.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, not sounding nearly as disturbed as she felt.

  A few of the older people left, the first signal the shower was winding down.

  “We can leave now,” she told Dan, who’d finally had his fill of buffet food.

  “A couple of guys are going to throw some more horseshoes,” he said. “I won’t be long.”

  Predictably, the separation of the genders left the women inside exclaiming over the gifts and trading pregnancy stories. Amy tried to muster some enthusiasm, but she kept in the background, knowing sooner or later her friends would ask questions about Dan.

  It was another hour before Dan came inside to ask if she was ready to go. The leave-taking took another ten minutes as she thanked Gayle’s landlady and mother and complimented a few others on the delicious dishes they’d contributed to the buffet. Apparently, her own reputation as a non-cook had excused her from bringing something. Finally, she hugged Gayle and sincerely wished her good luck. In spite of the celebrating, she could tell her friend was nervous about her big venture into motherhood.

  Getting into Dan’s van before he could open the door for her, she stared straight ahead and didn’t say anything. The couples’ shower had been a fiasco, but she didn’t want to rehash it.

  “Well, that was more fun than I expected,” he said as he buckled in. “I guess a shower is as good an excuse as any for a party.”

  “I don’t know what you were thinking,” she said.

  “I tried to get into the spirit of things,” he said.

  “By — you know.”

  “By kissing you like I enjoyed it?”

  “We’re not a couple, and we’re not going to be a couple. I don’t know why you made such a production of kissing me.”

  “Because you taste so good?”

  “That’s no excuse! My friends are going to want a follow-up report, and I have better things to do than trying to convince them we’re only acquaintances.” She didn’t like the way she sounded, but he’d really rattled her.

  “Is that what we are?” Either he was a great actor, or he was genuinely puzzled.

  “Look, I’m happy with my life here. I had a serious boyfriend once, but it didn’t work out. I’d rather things stay the way they are for now. Maybe someday … ”

  “Someday you’ll let yourself fall in love?” He was driving so slow it didn’t seem as if he wanted to get back to town.

  “You’ll be long gone by then,” she said in a soft voice.

  “I met a lot of nice guys today, but I don’t see you hooking up with any of them,” he said thoughtfully.

  “I don’t see why not.” Really, this conversation was going nowhere.

  “You
’re smart, you’re beautiful, and you’re ambitious. Someday you’ll wake up and realize you’re also lonely.” He slowed the van to a crawl and pulled off on the side of the road.

  “Why are you stopping?” She wanted this conversation to end.

  “Because I want you to stop being afraid of me.” He turned off the motor and stared at her.

  “That’s ridiculous! Why would I be afraid of you?” She clenched and unclenched her hands, keeping her eyes averted.

  “Because we might get involved, and it might not work out. You’re afraid to take a chance.” He sounded angry.

  “You’ll be leaving … ”

  “It has nothing to do with that.” He reached over to take her hand, but she pulled it away.

  “You had someone, and apparently she dumped you. I don’t want to be your consolation prize.” There, she’d said it and didn’t regret it.

  “You must think I’m pretty shallow.”

  “No, I think you’re a good person and probably a competent doctor. That doesn’t mean we should have an affair.” She wanted to take back the last word, but it was too late.

  “Have I asked you to sleep with me?” The intensity in his voice did scare her just a little.

  “No.”

  “I know perfectly well we couldn’t keep it a secret in this town, and apparently you care more about gossip than me.” He gripped the steering wheel but made no move to restart his vehicle.

  “I don’t base my life on what people might say,” she snapped.

  “You could’ve fooled me. Why else would you be so upset because I kissed you?”

  “You practically sucked out my tonsils in front of dozens of people!”

  “And you hated it?”

  “Yes!”

  “I don’t believe you,” he said, leaning over and taking her head between his palms.