Not His Type

by Shanna Hatfield

  Pulling up in the driveway, it looked like all the house lights were on. Anna could see Jake sitting at the table with his parents, laughing over something and the sight of it made her smile. She sat and watched them a moment before walking to the door. Ringing the bell, Jake was soon there pulling her inside into the warmth of his embrace.

  “Hey, Sugar,” he said into her good ear. “Thanks for coming.”

  Anna went into the kitchen and gave Maggie a hug. They sat and visited for a few minutes before Jake got antsy and said they needed to get going. It was starting to get dark as they headed toward the horse barn. The evening was still warm, but a hint of cooler temperatures hung in the air. Anna was glad she remembered to grab a warm flannel lined denim jacket on her way out the door. Jake told her to wear boots, so Anna came dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved chamois shirt and her old purple cowboy boots that she usually wore when she rode.

  Walking into the barn, Anna saw Jake already had his favorite riding horse, Duke, and his mom’s mare, Queenie, saddled and ready to go. They led the horses out of the barn and Jake waited until Anna was settled in the saddle to adjust her stirrups. Mounting Duke, he turned toward the pasture and they rode across the field to an irrigation road, following it to where it crested a steep hill.

  Jake stopped at the top of the hill and waited for Anna to come alongside him. As she did, a full harvest moon loomed overhead and Anna caught her breath. It was one of the loveliest things she had ever seen. Bright orange and colossal, from their vantage point on the hill Anna felt like if she stretched her fingers far enough she could almost touch it.

  “Wow, Jake. Is this why you wanted me to come out tonight?” Anna asked, her face glowing in the golden light.

  “Yep,” he said, unable to take his eyes from her. He ached for her in ways that were beyond his ability to comprehend. But for tonight, it was enough to watch her wonder at a harvest moon, to admire the way she looked in the saddle, to see that mass of tempting hair bounce and sway in the moonlight. He would behave tonight if it killed him. If he didn’t, his mother would personally see to his demise.

  Grinning over that last thought, Jake watched Anna as she watched the moon move across the sky until the air took on a deeper chill. Turning Duke around, he drew as near to her as he could and gave her a long, slow kiss.

  Pulling back, he brushed his thumb across her cheek and felt dampness there. Lifting her chin in his hand he looked into her face, illuminated in the moon glow.

  “Anna? What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, disquieted by her tears.

  She didn’t answer right away. Instead her chin quivered in his hand and she took a deep breath, then another.

  “I love you, Jake. I miss being with you so much,” she whispered, grasping his hand like a lifeline, holding it to her chest. “It seems like we never have enough time to spend together.”

  “Anna,” he said, wiping at her tears with his free hand. “Don’t cry. It will be okay. Things will slow down soon and then we’ll have all the time in the world together. I promise.” Jake didn’t want just one moonlit night under the stars with Anna. He wanted a thousand of them. Anna had already twined her way around his heart and he wanted her wrapped completely around his life forever.

  Releasing a sigh, he leaned over and pulled her onto his lap, looping Queenie’s reins over his saddle horn. Holding Anna so close, he could smell her wonderful floral scent, could see the moon’s bright orb reflected in her huge violet eyes, could feel her love as an almost physical thing that floated between them. This was not exactly how he had planned the evening, but somehow it felt right, especially having Anna held close in his arms.

  “Anna,” he began, clearing his throat. “Since I met you my life has taken a whole new direction and purpose. You make me laugh, you bring me more happiness than I ever thought possible, and you’ve become my best friend. I love you, with all my heart. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?”

  Jake dug in his shirt pocket, pulled out a jeweler’s box and handed it to Anna. As she opened the top, a single, perfect diamond glistened in the moonlight.

  “Oh, Jake,” Anna said softly. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

  Jake pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on Anna’s hand then gave her a kiss that nearly unseated them. The horses whinnied and tossed their heads. Jake didn’t know if it was in approval or in a warning not to get carried away.

  Laughing, he hugged Anna tightly to his chest. “I love you. I’ll spend my whole life showing you just how much.”

  “I love you, Jake, and I’ll do my best to be a good wife to you and make you happy,” Anna said, wiping at the tears that trickled down her cheeks. “You are the most wonderful man in the world and I am honored to be loved by you.”

  “Sugar,” Jake moaned, giving her one more passionate kiss before pulling Queenie next to his leg and setting Anna back in her saddle.

  When they returned to the house, the lights were all still on, so Jake and Anna went inside. His mother was sitting at the table fairly dancing in her chair waiting for them to deliver the news she so longed to hear.

  “So, how was your ride?” Maggie asked, trying to be nonchalant and failing miserably.

  “It was lovely,” Anna said. “I’ve never seen a moon quite like the one out tonight.”

  Jake told Anna on the ride back to the house that his mom helped pick out the ring and couldn’t wait to make the news official. He’d decided to let her squirm for a minute or two, which was why Jake had Anna’s left hand hidden away in his own.

  “Yeah, it was pretty cool. Have you ever studied the harvest moon, Mom?” Jake asked innocently. “Did you know it only comes out between mid-September and early October and the reason it looks so big and orange is because…”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, I don’t care about the moon,” Maggie said, exasperated. “Did you ask her Jake?”

  “Ask me what?” Anna asked naively, turning to look Jake in the face. Jake thought she was giving a stellar performance.

  “Oh, well, I was, um,” Jake said, further frustrating his poor mother, who had by now grown quiet and looked like she might swallow her tongue or crawl under the table, whichever would end her suffering faster.

  Jake let a lengthy pause fill the kitchen before winking at Anna. She whipped out her hand and wiggled it in front of Maggie.

  Maggie let out the breath she’d been holding, jumped up and hugged Anna with a squeal of joy. This brought Tom running in from the living room. When he saw the diamond, he slapped Jake on the back and said “It’s about time you realized you’ve got the sweetest girl in the world. Congratulations, son.” Tom then gave Anna a warm hug and welcomed her to the family.

  Jake hugged his dad and kissed his mom, who immediately ran to the phone to tell Bobbi the good news.

  Walking out to Anna’s car, they moved slowly, swinging their joined hands, not quite ready for the evening to end.

  Leaning against her car, Jake kissed her again, a sweet kiss filled with promise and love. Anna sagged against him, clinging to his jacket, her head beneath his chin, her breath warm on his neck. Holding her close, he stroked her back, told her how much he loved her and thanked her for loving him. “We’ll be so happy, Anna, just you wait and see.”

  “I don’t have to wait, Jake. I’ve never in my life been any happier than I am right at this moment,” Anna whispered, raising her head to look into his warm blue eyes. “You’ve already brought so many wonderful things into my life. Things I would never have known or experienced without you. Just like tonight. Until you, I’d never taken the time to stop and look at a harvest moon or gaze up at the stars. The gifts you give me are beyond measure and your love is the best of all.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Anna and her mom were filling the last of a tray full of treat sacks with candy and tying them with orange and black ribbon when Jake tapped on the kitchen door and came in.

  “Happy Halloween! It looks like the little go
blins will get some great treats here,” Jake said with a smile, snagging a lollipop out of an open sack.

  Anna gave him an indulgent smile. When he reached for another she slapped his hand. Taking pity on him, her mom gave him his own sack of candy. “At least your mom likes me,” he said, sitting down next to Sue and giving her shoulders an affectionate squeeze.

  “How’s my favorite future son-in-law?” Sue asked with a smile. She couldn’t wait for Anna and Jake to get married. If the two of them could just get around to setting a date, everything would be perfect. It had been three and a half weeks since Jake proposed and he and Anna still hadn’t picked a day. Sue didn’t know why they were wasting time when there were wedding plans to be made.

  “Doing fantastic. I came to see if I could steal Anna away for a while to do a little trick-or-treating,” Jake said, giving Anna a wink, sucking on his lollipop.

  “Trick-or-treating?” Anna asked on a laugh. “Are you serious? That is the silliest thing I’ve heard all day. We’re way too old!”

  “Who says?” Jake teased. “Come on, grab your coat and let’s go. It’ll be fun.”

  “Why do I think you’ve got something else planned besides ringing doorbells and snitching candy?” Anna said, getting up from the table and heading toward her room. She soon returned wearing a warm sweater, jeans and hiking boots, a jacket draped over her arm.

  “I’m as ready as I can get,” she said. Leaning over to kiss her mom’s cheek, she followed Jake out to his pickup and climbed in. He shut her door and ran around to the driver’s side, barely able to contain his excitement.

  Pulling out on the highway he headed back toward town.

  “Where are we going, fancy boy? It’s not a Halloween party is it?” Anna asked, starting to look a bit panicked.

  “No party,” Jake said flatly, remembering the fiasco that resulted from the last one they attended. Or maybe it didn’t turn out so badly after all since the end result was them admitting they loved each other.

  “Am I going to have to pry it out of you,” Anna asked, gently twisting his thumb in her hand.

  “No, Sugar. Just sit tight.” Jake laughed and brought her hand to his lips for a quick kiss. Sensing a need to keep her occupied, Jake asked, “What was your favorite Halloween costume when you were a kid?”

  They discussed fond Halloween memories before Jake pulled off the highway onto a side road about half-way back to town. A few more miles and he turned on a narrow dirt road that wound around a little hill, ending in front of an English style cottage. Twin lights blazed on the porch, throwing a warm glow out into the fading evening light.

  Anna could make out a barn, shop and other buildings. The house was picture perfect. Painted a soft buttery yellow with white trim, six white posts held up the wide porch, fronted by pretty balustrade that curved around and down the front steps.

  “Who lives here, Jake?” Anna asked as he opened her door and took her hand, leading her down the sidewalk and up the wide porch steps. “What a beautiful house.”

  Jake rang the bell then started patting his pockets and acting like he’d forgotten something. Backing down the steps, he instructed Anna to wait right there and he’d be back. He pretended he was going to his pickup, but as soon as Anna turned back to the house, he ran around to the back door.

  Anna was slightly annoyed. If Jake was going to run off, he shouldn’t have rung the bell. She could hear hurried footsteps coming toward her and was completely shocked when Jake opened the door with a broad grin. “Trick-or-treat!”

  “Jake, what are you doing?” she asked as he opened the door wider and smiled at her. She started to take a step inside, but Jake scooped her into his arms and swung her around as he walked into a well-lit foyer.

  Anna was looking around, trying to figure out what had come over Jake. “What are we doing here? Whose house is this?”

  “Ours,” he said, his voice filled with emotion as he looked deep into her eyes. “It’s ours. Welcome home, Anna.”

  Anna looked around then looked back at Jake, who slowly set her down.

  “Ours?” Anna asked, still not sure she was hearing things correctly.

  “This will be our home. Once we’re married, I want to spend the rest of forever here. With you,” Jake said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his cheek against her head.

  “Oh, Jake,” Anna whispered, turning in his arms so she could see his face. “You mean it? It’s really ours?”

  “Yep.”

  Anna threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. “Has anyone ever mentioned that you are the most wonderful man in the world?”

  “Not for at least a day or two,” Jake teased, kissing her again.

  “Tell me everything. How did you find the house and how old is it and what’s outside and everything? Tell me everything.”

  Jake told Anna how he came to own the house, about all his friends and family chipping in to help renovate it, even about how he had her pick out things for the house without her knowing she was choosing it for herself.

  Giving her a tour, Anna was thrilled. She thought the cottage style home, with the wrap-around porch and dormers was absolutely charming. Inside, she couldn’t have loved the house more if she had designed it herself. Hardwood floors ran throughout, doorways were wide and curved and unique architectural touches provided a reminder that the home was originally constructed in an era nearly forgotten.

  The foyer offered a coat closet to her right and a doorway into what would be the dining room to her left. Straight ahead, she could see into a great room with a large fireplace and a bank of windows that overlooked the backyard as well as a door leading out to the porch. A short hallway to the right led to a bathroom and two bedrooms. A hallway to the left led to the kitchen, across from the dining room, and continued on to two other closed doors.

  Jake knew she’d love the breakfast nook with bay windows as well as the configuration of the cabinets in the kitchen. A walk-in pantry sat next to a doorway that opened to steps going both up and down, as well as a small mudroom and outside entry. A trip upstairs revealed another bedroom and bathroom, two large storage closets and an open gathering area. Anna could envision an office there where light from the dormered windows would spill across the space creating a sunny and airy atmosphere. There would be plenty of room for bookshelves as well.

  Down in the basement, Anna discovered a large open room that Jake thought would work well as a family room and a place to put his gym equipment. Back on the main floor, Jake opened a doorway just down the hall from the kitchen to reveal a good sized laundry room with a large sink and a set of shelves. There were also several storage closets and cupboards tucked into nooks and crannies throughout the house.

  Though the rooms still needed paint, the floors finished and there wasn’t a stick of furniture in the house except for a card table and four chairs, Anna could picture the haven this home would become for them in the years ahead.

  Continuing down the hallway past the laundry room, Jake stopped outside another door. “Anna, I … umm… well, this wasn’t…” Jake took a deep breath and started again. “This room wasn’t part of the original house. We added it on. I wanted it to be special for you, for us.”

  Jake opened the door and Anna walked into a spacious room. French doors opened out onto the porch and a fireplace marked the corner of one wall, highlighted by a beautiful carved mantle. A smaller doorway on the other end of the room opened into a wonderful bathroom complete with a walk-in shower, deep garden tub and double vanity. A private toilet was behind a door at the far end of the bathroom, across from a massive walk in closet with built in shelving.

  Turning back to Jake, she gave him a warm smile, tears forming in her eyes. “How did you know? How could you choose everything so perfectly, Jake? It is so much better than anything I could ever have dreamed.”

  Jake hugged her tightly to his chest. “You’re better than anything I could ever have dreamed. I can’t wait to ma
rry you and get started on our forever.” As they walked back into the bedroom, Jake gave her the smile he knew made her knees go weak, then dropped his voice to a low rumble, “And get started on a few other things as well.”

  “Oh, you,” Anna said, slapping playfully at his chest. Jake engulfed her in a bear hug, tickling her sides until she begged for mercy.

  After wandering through the house again, Anna didn’t want to leave. Jake ordered some take out and ran into town to pick it up. Anna stayed behind admiring every inch of sweat and labor Jake, along with his friends and family, had put into the place. Overwhelmed by what had been accomplished, she bowed her head and said a prayer of thanks for the wonderful man God had sent into her life. Brushing away a tear, Anna looked up to see Jake watching her, smiling.

  The gas fireplace in their future bedroom was functional, so they sat on folding chairs and ate Chinese food in the warm glow from the fire, talking about their dreams and making plans for their home.

  By the time Jake took Anna, home, he didn’t know if he could handle any more gratitude. She thanked him repeatedly and was so excited about the house. “Tell you what, Sugar,” he teased as he walked her to the kitchen door. “I plan on you thanking me properly just as soon as our wedding is a done deal.”

  Anna blushed as she tugged him inside the house, calling for her mom. “You’ll never believe the treat I got, Mom. Jake gave me a house!”

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  Any spare moment they had, Anna and Jake could be found at The Cottage, as Anna decided it would be called. She was not impressed with the “dung heap” name Jake had given it and everyone agreed it was no longer Grammy’s place. Both her family and his stopped by to help when they could, wielding paint brushes, making repairs in the out buildings, anything that needed to be done.

  Trying to decide how to furnish each room was a huge undertaking. Jake and Anna stood in a furniture store unable to decide on colors and styles. Anna finally turned to Jake, looking fatigued and deflated.