“I’ve got this, son.” Grandpa jiggled his walker. “If I need to rest, I’ll just sit in the seat on my walker, and yes, I’ll remember to put the break before doing so. I think you have somewhere you need to be.” He went a few steps and then turned back. “Looks like the secret worked.” He tapped the side of his nose.
I shook my head ruefully. I hadn’t filled him in on my apology—some things a man just had to keep close to the chest. “I owe you one.”
“I like grasshopper shakes from the Dairy Queen. Haven’t had one in ages.”
Because he was diabetic. “I’ll talk to your doctor about that.”
“See that you do,” Grandpa replied as he turned his walker and started the trek back to the house.
Harper climbed out and Astrid bounded out after her, not stopping until she was in front of me, her tail sending dust into the air. Harper called her back and put on her leash.
She was wearing a pair of jeans and her boots. My heart leapt at the sight. For someone who claimed to be a city girl, she sure knew how to wear a pair of jeans.
Once Harper had Astrid under control, she hurried over to Grandpa, who was taking one of his breaks. She folded her arms. “Are you telling me you won?”
He took on a smugness that only younger men could pull off. But maybe he felt younger, or more alive. “I think what I’m actually saying is, you lost.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. To see him trash-talking his doctor from the seat of a walker was too much.
“Don’t get used to it.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Good job.”
He grinned so big I think his dentures might have slipped.
I didn’t mind sharing my hello with Grandpa, but now that they’d gotten that out of the way, I was ready for some Harper. I walked over and picked her up in my arms, giving her a big kiss.
Grandpa cleared his throat, but I didn’t stop until I was good and ready.
Astrid wrapped her leash around our legs. Harper laughed and worked to free us. “Here.” She handed him the leash. “Go introduce her to the cows. I have a horse to saddle.”
“You still want to ride? The bet’s over—you don’t have to.”
The light in her eyes told me the answer to that question. I had one determined lady on my hands. I’d best get out of her way and watch in wonder. I wasn’t sure what she’d tackle once she learned to ride, but I was looking forward to finding out.
Harper
I caught myself humming as I brought Ginger from the pasture to the hitching post. I picked up her foot to check for pebbles. When I looked up, Grandpa was sitting there in his wheelchair. I must have been in my own head.
I smiled. “Nice evening, isn’t it?”
“Too good to be inside,” Grandpa replied. “Andrew just went to get Ace. I’m sure he’ll be back here in a minute.”
“That’s all right. I think I can handle this.” I went in and grabbed the saddle pad and brush. I’d been saddling Ginger on my own for a few days, so the movements were becoming muscle memory. While I worked, I asked a few questions about his progress and how he’d done moving about.
“I have to take a nap, but I don’t feel bad about it because I’m working hard.”
I nodded. “Your stamina will only increase if you keep moving. You might work yourself right out of those naps.”
He rubbed his jaw as he thought that over.
I had my own things to think over. I had yet to tell Andrew—or anyone in Keokuk that I’d applied for the residency. Every day that went by without a rejection or acceptance email felt like borrowed time.
If I was rejected, my dream would be dashed and I’d have to let it go all over again.
If I was accepted, I’d have to say goodbye to all the people I’d come to love in Keokuk. Andrew was at the top of the list, but Amy and Nate were on there too. Plus Grandpa and a handful of other patients I treated with chronic illnesses. They looked to me as a healer, a helper, and even a friend—stopping me to say hello in the grocery store or when Andrew and I went to the Dairy Queen for cookies and cream shakes.
I’d made up my mind not to say anything. After all, the chances of me getting in were slim. Add to that my medical history and … well, I just shouldn’t get my hopes up.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced over to see Andrew lead his horse out of the barn. He looked so good, all big and strong wearing a plaid shirt and a pair of worn jeans. I enjoyed seeing him cleaned up, but there was something downright hot about seeing him at work.
We chatted while we saddled, Grandpa throwing in a bit of advice here and there. He offered to hold on to Astrid’s leash for me. I wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing me on a horse, so I said, “Let me tie her to the fence by where you’re going to sit. I’d hate to find out she had some sled dog gene I didn’t know about.” I could just picture her taking off and dragging Grandpa’s wheelchair with her.
Grandpa chuckled. “Good point.”
I stuck my foot in the stirrup and swung my leg over Ginger’s back, then gave her a small nudge to start moving forward.
“Look who’s becoming a cowgirl,” Grandpa commented.
“I may have just won that bet if you hadn’t had two days on me.” No sooner had the words come out of my mouth than Ginger decided to stop unexpectedly and look around … and I felt my body go up and over the horse’s shoulder. I landed in the sand with a grunt and came up laughing.
My laughter was echoed by Grandpa’s. “I’m still feeling good about my chances.”
I tossed sand his way. It fell extremely short. Astrid lunged at her leash in an effort to get to me. “I’m fine,” I told her as I brushed off my behind and got back on the horse. I’d fallen off so many times, I’d finally told Andrew to quit getting down to help me. He spent more time off his horse than he did on it. “Whose side are you on, anyway?” I asked Ginger as I rubbed her neck.
Grandpa grinned. “She just earned an apple for dessert.”
Andrew shook his finger at Grandpa. “Be nice. We want Harper to like us.”
I bit my lip, thinking of the sweet words he whispered to me every night before we parted.
He jumped off Ace and tied his reins to the fence. “All right,” he said as he approached. “Let’s try something new.” He surprised me by grabbing the horn and swinging up behind my saddle. The scent of warm cider filled me, and my body warmed with his nearness.
I instantly liked riding so much more.
He rested his hands on my hips and gave a little cluck to Ginger. Automatically, the mare resumed her slow walk around the edge of the arena. “As she moves, you move with her. You can sync your movements, and then will be able to tell which way she is going and keep your seat.” He brushed my leg off. “You’ll save on laundry too,” he teased. His hands guided my hips from side to side with the rhythm of the mare’s movement. My insides warmed up and then melted completely. All I could feel was my body moving in rhythm with the cowboy behind me. I reached back and dug my fingers into the hair on the back of his head. He moaned softly in my ear, sending shivers across my skin.
Grandpa’s voice brought me back to the present. “That doesn’t count. You have to stay on by yourself.”
My cheeks burned. I’d been so lost in the moment, I’d forgotten that Grandpa was watching.
But Andrew didn’t miss a beat and called back, “You told me I needed to start courting—you didn’t say I couldn’t do it on a horse.”
Grandpa’s only reply was to smile. He turned his attention to Astrid, who looked up at him as if she understood what he was saying.
I twisted in the saddle and kissed Andrew—his lips firm and warm and delicious. “Don’t let me fall,” I murmured.
“I won’t.”
I believed him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Andrew
As the month wore on, Grandpa’s endurance gradually built until he was only resting a handful of time
s … then twice … once … and then not at all. Watching him stroll around the barnyard with his walker was a balm for my soul.
I’d grown up following Grandpa around, and now Grandpa followed me when I did chores. He helped where he could.
When I got home late one night after a long day in the field, Grandpa hollered at me from the barn, “I already filled the water troughs, so you just have to feed.” The pure pride in his voice made my eyes sting with tears.
Quality of life indeed. Harper added so much richness to my life—she was the quality I’d been looking for but didn’t know it. It was good to see Grandpa getting out and about again, putting some of that stubbornness to good use.
Harper proved to be just as stubborn as Grandpa. She came out every night and tried to ride for at least an hour. I say tried because she couldn’t seem to find her center of gravity. It had been a month of falling in the sand and sometimes bruises—but she just wouldn’t quit. I admired her to no end, but I also wanted a girlfriend when it was all said and done.
“Don’t let that old nag run away with you! She’s lifting her feet so high I might be able to slide a piece of paper underneath them,” Grandpa ribbed one night as he walked towards the arena when Harper was trying to learn to canter.
The two of them had kept up their banter—rain or shine. I did my best to stay out of it. Neither wanted me coddling them, so I kept my mouth shut.
“That’s all right, Grandpa,” Harper had countered. “Even if she’s walking, we’re still be fast enough to beat you back to the house.”
Grandpa threw his head back and laughed. Astrid hung around next to him. She’d taken a liking to Grandpa, which I suspected had to do with the bacon he slipped her every now and again when Harper wasn’t looking. She didn’t run circles around him like she did me or Harper. Somehow she knew she had to walk by his side and give him a little distance.
That night, something clicked. Maybe she’d finally figured out how to squeeze with her thighs. Or it could have been that she just found her seat. Whatever it was, Harper stayed in the saddle all evening long.
We celebrated in the barn, stealing kisses where Grandpa couldn’t see.
After that, it was impossible to stop her. Within seven days, she had Ginger walking, trotting, and cantering without assistance. I didn’t worry if she started riding while I was still bringing in the hay. She’d found her seat.
And she looked darn good in it too.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed how great Harper was. People would stop us when we were out together and thank her for helping their son, daughter, aunt, second cousin—you name it. Their comments always made Harper blush.
Some of them would pull me aside and tell me to make sure to keep her happy so she’d stay in town. More than a few mentioned buying a ring.
I wasn’t sure about that just yet, but my heart was hoping that we were headed in that direction. Sometimes, I got a feeling that Harper wasn’t … well, that she had left a door open somewhere. I just wasn’t sure where it was. Her contract was only for a year, but we still had months and months before that was up and I didn’t think renewing would be a problem.
But that feeling didn’t fade away.
Late in August, I decided to take Harper on a drive to see the corn.
“I know it sounds like a corny date—” My pun earned me an elbow to the stomach. “—but you’re going to love how beautiful the fields are.” The crops were fully grown now, and in another month it would be harvest time. “It’s my favorite time of year,” I explained as we bounced down the country road. “The combine goes through the field and sucks up the stalks; then the threshing segment of the machine shakes the corn away from the stalk and collects all the ears in the grain tank. Can you imagine having to do that all by hand? That would be miserable.”
“Sounds exciting,” she replied, but she didn’t have her usual intensity or curiosity with her. I’d thought for sure this would open up a hundred questions in her mind, but she stared out the window.
I shifted in my seat. Maybe the fields were boring. Row after row of the same thing. Then again, she didn’t seem to mind before.
She seemed … distracted.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m all right,” she replied, staring out of the window. Her body was right here, warm and curvy and perfect. But her mind was a million miles away.
I was quiet for a moment, not knowing how much to push her. Harper had done so much help and support me this summer, and I wanted to do the same. But it wasn’t like I could trail her from exam room to exam room. There were actual laws against that. Still, there had to be something …
I took a deep breath. “Harper, I know the past couple of months have been busy for you. New town, new job, and a new boyfriend.” I reached for her hand and laced our fingers together. “I just want to let you know that I’m here for you. If there is anything that you need help with, or anything that you enjoy doing, I would be happy to learn to do it too. We don’t always have to do what I am used to. Heck, maybe we could even go to Washington sometime. I would love to see your old stomping grounds and meet your family.”
My comments seemed to catch her off guard. She turned her head and faced me, scanning my expression, which I worked to make as earnest as possible. She flashed a big smile and scooted closer to me on the bench seat. “I know you would, Andrew. You aren’t a selfish person. My mind is just a little distracted today. I’m sorry.”
“Is there anything you would like to do?” I asked, genuinely meaning it.
“You know me well enough by now to know that most of my hobbies have always revolved around school.” She sighed as she ran her free hand back and forth over the back of my hand. “Even softball was to just fill a blank on my med school application.”
“There’s more to you than school. If you could do anything you wanted for fun or relaxation, what would you do?”
“Honest?”
“Honest,” I replied.
“Right now—” Harper laughed at herself. “—I would like to ride Ginger. I actually really love riding.”
I didn’t want to squish that, but I was looking for something else. I swallowed. “Before me, what would you do for fun?”
Harper thought for a moment. “Hiking and reading. That is what I used to do to de-stress. But for some reason, today I’m tired, so can we please not go hiking?”
“Reading it is.” I laughed, turned the blue Ford around, and headed to the library.
The library was an old church, converted with lots of shelves and a new wood floor. The city kept the stained-glass windows that colored the interior like the pages of a children’s book.
I had Harper show me her favorite book collections. Once she started talking about them, her eyes lost the dullness that had followed her around all day, and she came alive, explaining the plotlines in detail.
Her favorites were fiction of all varieties. “Because they let my brain take a break and take me somewhere else,” she told me. The thought of it made me think of an old children’s show that revolved around books. I pictured Harper on the show, becoming the hero of every book she read.
We checked out two of her favorites and went back to her house, popped a large bowl of popcorn, got some lemonade and a soft blanket, and settled for an afternoon of storytelling … and snuggling. We took turns reading the chapters and talking about the story. I tried to predict what would happen next. Harper would give hints if I was close and laugh hysterically when I got it wrong. I found myself giving more elaborate answers just to see her laugh. It made my chest lighter.
As the evening came to a close, we let Astrid outside and went and sat on the porch for a moment before I had to leave.
“Thank you for the relaxing day, Andrew,” Harper said. “I’m sorry I’ve been a bit distracted.”
“I had fun,” I replied, not wanting to focus on the clouds that had been in her eyes for fear they would come back. “I can’t wait to find out what
happens to Mr. Darcy. I’ll come over tomorrow and we can read a bit more, if that is okay.”
“That would be great.”
I bent down and gently kissed Harper’s lips, savoring the sweetness of her full mouth and the warmth of her body against mine. I never wanted to let her go.
After a moment, our lips separated, but our foreheads still rested against each other. I just couldn’t help it. I had to tell her again, “I love you, Harper Cahill. Thank you for being the light of my life. Thank you for helping my family, and for being an answer to my prayers.”
“I love you too, Andrew David Allred,” Harper said easily. “Thank you for being the calm to my storm, and for showing me a part of life I never knew.”
I pulled her in for another kiss, but this time there was an intense passion that hadn’t been there before. My senses drank in everything about Harper. I knew I could never get enough of her. This time when the kiss ended, we were both breathing heavily, but in a happy, content way.
“I love you, Andrew, and I want to be with every part of you. But you had better be going, or we are going to give my neighbors a show we might not want them to see,” she said with her playful grin. She grabbed the front of my shirt and winked. “I will see you tomorrow, Mr. Allred.”
Another quick kiss, and she called Astrid and then went inside.
I climbed in my truck and started home to Grandpa’s, but deep down inside, I couldn’t wait for the day when my home was Harper’s home.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Harper
I closed the door behind me and leaned against it.
Astrid whined.
“I feel the same way.” I pressed my hand into my stomach, willing it to stop churning. Today was a wonderful day, maybe one of the best I’d ever spent with Andrew.
Yet it was torture.
Opposites Attract: His Country Doctor (The Journal of Medical Romances Book 1) Page 15