“What if your mom can’t keep the kitten?” he asked.
She stopped and turned, not able to keep the scowl off her face. “Guess Sassy will have to make it until my lunch hour,” she answered glancing down at the kitten.
Justin pulled in a deep breath and studied the kitten. “I can take her if your mom can’t,” he finally said. “I’ll put her in the office when I go to work and, yes, I’ll be sure and feed her every four hours. I’m sure any of the waitresses would love to help out, too.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Paige said.
He walked up to her. “I wouldn’t be happy with myself if I didn’t help you.”
Paige closed her eyes on a sigh of relief. “Thank you. This won’t last long, and then she’ll be very independent.”
Justin took her hand and led her back to bed. Paige crawled in, hoping she could get some sleep before her long day started, but when Justin pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers, she forgot about everything except being with this man.
Chapter Eight
Justin laughed as he overheard his waitresses arguing over who got to feed Sassy next. Thank God for his employees. As soon as Paige got here and they ate, he was heading home to his own bed and crawling into it for about twelve blissful hours of sleep. Thank goodness her mom had offered to run over here during her planning period and help out tomorrow, because one day of babysitting this kitten was enough for him.
It was all he could do not to sneak back to his office and lay his head down on his desk. If the kitten weren’t in there, he’d probably give it a try. No wonder new parents could barely get through each day. Their time of no-sleep lasted a lot longer than a week or so. At least Jillian’s had.
Maybe he should re-think his parenting strategy and start his family while he was young enough to survive those first few grueling months of sleepless nights. Paige could probably handle that sort of thing better than he could, because she was used to being called in to deliver babies in the middle of the night. How the hell she managed to do that was beyond his comprehension, but he had no doubt that when she had her own baby she would be a fabulous mother. The thought brought him up short. Sleep deprivation obviously did weird things to a person’s mind.
He wiped the counter down and mulled over how much Paige had come to mean to him. If her mom would keep the kitten the next few days, he’d offer to take Paige on a weekend trip. See some sites together. Sleep in peace and quiet in a nice hotel. Get served breakfast in bed.
He wondered if Paige would go for his plan.
A few minutes later, she stepped into the pub and his day-long fatigue evaporated. Dang, she looked pretty. She also looked wiped out. At least he’d had the chance to snooze off and on this morning before coming to work. She’d put in a full day. She must be about to drop.
He greeted her with a kiss and a hug. “Let’s sit and eat, then we’ll get out of here.”
“Is my kitten still alive?” she asked, giving him a fake smile.
“Alive and well. A couple of the gals are in the office with her now, giving her their undivided attention. I’ve had to drag them out to work several times.” He grinned. “Besides being exhausted, how was your day?”
“Long,” she said around a yawn.
“You on call this weekend?” She shook her head. “Thank goodness,” she added, closing her eyes on an obviously weary sigh.
“Great. How about you see if your mom can keep Sassy this weekend so we can get away?” She started to protest but he cut her off. “Just think about it. Long nights. No interruptions. Nothing to do but be lazy and hang out. We can go the hotel route or the cabin route. If we stay in some cabins I know about, we’d be on the Broad River and close to several cool hiking trails in the foothills of the mountains.”
She rested her chin on her hand, her eyelids at half-mast. “They both sound great,” she said, “but a cabin by the river is my first choice. If we take off for the weekend, who will run the pub?” she asked.
“My manager. They don’t really need me here. I only hang out for fun and because I keep the books.” He grinned at her and she smiled back—a warm, inviting smile that made his heart swell with feelings he wasn’t quite comfortable with, but feelings he was pretty sure he’d like to explore. “So how about it?” he pushed.
Her eyes opened wide. “A cabin by the river sounds delightful. I’ll call Mom now.” She pulled out her phone and made the call.
Their idle chit chat seemed to go on forever. How did women do that anyway? After a few minutes, Paige hung up. “Guess you and I are taking a weekend trip to the Tennessee wilderness.”
“A trip that does not include riding a horse,” he said. “But I did talk Ashley into giving me a few riding lessons. I figured since you like to ride horses so much, I needed to man up and learn how to not make a fool of myself.”
Paige’s face lit up. “You’d do that for me?”
“I’m beginning to think I’d do just about anything for you,” he said, taking her hand and drawing circles on her palm. He thought his words would make her smile, but for a split second she looked uncomfortable.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He tucked her hand onto his lap. “This trip will be great. I think we are both ready for a nice, relaxing break.” He also hoped this trip would give him the opportunity to show Paige how much she’d come to mean to him.
* * *
“I haven’t been to Gatlinburg in years,” Paige said, not able to hold back her excitement as she strained her neck to watch the river rolling alongside the road on Justin’s side of the car. “I’ve always loved the Broad River,” she said with a big grin.
“Me too. I’m glad we got a cabin beside it. Nothing like sitting on the porch listening to the river roll by to mellow a person. Fishing helps too. I brought my fishing rod just in case there’s time for some of that.”
“I didn’t know you liked to fish.”
“There’s lots you don’t know about me. I not only fish, I cook and clean ‘em, if I’m lucky enough to catch something. The Smoky Mountain Trout House has fabulous trout, though, so I’ll probably only fish to relax and enjoy the view. I brought two pairs of waders in case you want to join me.”
“Only if you promise to rescue me if I fall in.”
“Aren’t you the optimist.”
She laughed, feeling more relaxed than she had in a long time. “I’m so glad you found a cabin on the river. I love the sound of flowing water. Plus, we’ll have lots of privacy and, hopefully, wildlife.”
“That’s the plan. Gatlinburg has become such a tourist destination, at this point it’s nothing but one shop after another and wall-to-wall people. A cabin will be much more relaxing.” He reached across the console and rested a hand on her leg. “What do you want to do first?” he asked. “Shop? Hike? Raft the river?”
“You sure you don’t want to go on a horseback ride?” she asked, holding back a smirk. “Their trail horses have been ridden by hundreds of people, and all they do is plod down a trail.”
He shot her a look and she swallowed down a laugh. “Lucky for you, we’re rafting tomorrow so you’re off the hook with horseback riding.”
Smiling, he rubbed her leg. “I’m sure looking forward to having you all to myself this weekend,” he said with a wink. She loved the way he winked at her. Turned her insides to mush every time. “I hope your mom manages okay and doesn’t call and beg us to come back early. I have a feeling she’ll have her hands full with Miss Kitty.”
“Her name’s Sassy, and Mom was thrilled to keep her. They’ll be fine.”
“Let’s make a bet. Ten bucks says she’s not near as thrilled to be kitty-sitting by the time we get back.”
“You’re on. Mother is a sucker for animals. I take after her in that respect.”
“Do you look like her?” Justin asked.
“I’ve been told that.”
“And what about your dad
?”
“What about him?” Paige asked.
“Do you have some of his features? After all, it takes two to make a baby.”
“No one has ever said I look like him.” She had no idea if she took after her father in any way. It was hard to remember much about him, but lately she’d thought about him a fair amount. She wondered if it had anything to do with seeing Justin’s family and knowing how important their dad was to all his kids.
She shifted her thoughts, not willing to have anything put a damper on this weekend.
Look,” Paige said pointing over Justin’s shoulder. “A mama deer and her baby. Oh, this is going to be such fun.” She craned her neck and watched the deer until the car took a curve and they were out of sight. “You think we’ll see a bear?”
Justin looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “I hope not, especially if we’re hiking.”
“I thought you were an outdoors man. What if one ambles up to our cabin?”
“I’ll open the door and invite it in. Will that make you happy?”
She slapped him playfully on the arm. “How much farther?”
“Almost there,” he said as they rounded a corner and he turned onto a dirt road.
“We’re out in the middle of nowhere. How did you know where to turn?”
“I have my ways, Paige.” The muscles in his cheek twitched.
“You’ve been here, haven’t you?”
He smiled. “Guilty. We used to come here when I was a kid. With six of us, we often rented two cabins, especially once we kids were older. Logan and I had the cabin I rented for us, and the girls and folks had the one next door.”
“Bet it made your sisters mad to not have their own place.”
“You’re right, but Logan and I thought it was great. We sneaked out most nights.”
“And did what?”
“Hunted for bears,” he said with a grin.
She shoved his shoulder. “I hope you know how lucky you were. Mom and I didn’t get to vacation much. Money was always an issue.”
Justin pulled up to a cabin and cut the engine. “Tell me what your mom does for a living again.”
“Teaches first grade. She loves her job, but she’s always had to pinch pennies.”
“I gather that means your dad didn’t send money.”
“It was rare. Almost as rare as coming to see me. I got a job the minute I turned sixteen, so I’d at least have some spending money.”
Justin scowled. “He sounds like a royal jerk.”
Justin was right, but Paige didn’t want to talk about her father. “How about you show me around,” she said, opening her car door.
He took her arm and stopped her from getting out. “I’m sorry you had such a rough time growing up, Paige. I’d have a hard time being nice to your dad if I ever met him.”
“It’s pretty doubtful that will happen.”
Justin rubbed the back of her neck. “I would never do that to my family, especially my kids.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t,” she said. “You’re a much better man than he is.”
Justin leaned over and kissed her, and with a shock, she realized he was the first man in her life who made her feel cherished. Her father certainly hadn’t, and neither had her ex-husband. In fact, Derrick had been a lot like her dad. She couldn’t believe she’d never realized that until now.
“Come show me the cabin,” she said, stepping out of the car. She was here to have a good time, not think about old hurts that she’d thought she’d buried years ago. She glanced at the log cabin where she and Justin would spend the weekend and imagined his family staying here and filling the place with laughter and love. She smiled at Justin as he rounded the Suburban and took her hand. This weekend would be terrific. It was always wonderful to be with Justin, and she refused to let uninvited memories of a father who deserted her spoil one minute of her time with the man who had, when she wasn’t paying attention, become unbelievably important to her.
* * *
Justin sensed a wave of sadness settle over Paige and vowed to make her forget whatever it was that troubled her. He led her onto the cabin’s rustic porch with wooden rockers and two long wooden planters filled with pansies. “We’ll get the luggage later. I want to see if Logan and my initials are still carved in the upstairs bedroom window sill.”
“Did your folks know you and Logan were vandals?” Paige asked, shooting him a feisty grin.
“Not for years.” He chuckled. “And boy did we get in trouble when they found out.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t make you sand it off and re-paint it.”
“It was a little late for that, but we both had to apologize to the owner of the cabin. She went easy on us. Told us she’d had comments about our initials over the years, and people wanted to know who had done it. Mom and Dad weren’t near so understanding. We had to scrape and paint the outside of our house that summer. Longest summer of my life.”
“Unlock the door. Let’s go see if your initials are still there.”
Justin pulled the key out of the mailbox beside the front door, unlocked the door and opened it. “I feel like I’m in a time warp,” he said as they entered a large living area with two worn, brown leather couches and a green recliner. The connecting kitchen and small dining area by a bay window looked the same as the last time he’d seen it—a round table with worn yellow Formica and chairs with yellow vinyl that had seen better days.
He headed for the stairs and took them two at a time, pulling her along with him, then opened the door to the last room on the right. He stepped into it and headed straight to the window. Unlocking it, he tugged the wooden framed window up. “It’s not here,” he announced, feeling disappointed.
“I guess that’s one of the upgrades they made,” Paige said with a grin.
He picked her up and carried her to the twin bed, then dropped her. Laughing, he lay down beside her and tucked her head onto his shoulder. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever had up here,” he said, rolling to his side and laying a hand on her stomach. “Wanna neck? My folks will be gone for a while.”
Her stomach growled and they both laughed. “I guess you have your answer,” Paige said, jumping up from the bed and pulling him with her. “Let’s go explore and then grab some food.”
“Or grab some food and then explore,” he revised. “I brought a picnic for us.” He jogged down the steps and out to the Suburban. Within minutes all their luggage was inside the cabin, and the food and drinks were spread out on the concrete picnic table under the trees.
Paige took one of the chicken salad sandwiches and pulled the plastic wrap from it, and he did the same. They ate quickly and tossed their garbage in a large container with a lid on it. “You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked as he locked the lid.
“We’re sharing the woods with bears,” she said. “Maybe we’ll see one.”
“Let’s hope not,” Justin said, grabbing her hand and starting toward the walking trail. “I’ve traipsed down this trail a million times, and I’ve never seen a bear. A couple of coyotes once, though.”
“Really?” she asked with glee.
Before Justin could respond, a woman’s scream tore through the silence. His heart practically pounded out of his chest. “Go back to the cabin and get inside,” he ordered as he broke into a jog.
“No way,” Paige said, pulling her cell out of her jean pocket. “I’m calling 911.”
Paige caught up to him and shoved her phone at him. “You need to tell them where we are. I have no idea.”
Justin stopped and barked out directions then handed her phone back. “Please wait in the cabin, Paige. When the ambulance gets here, you can show them which way I went.” Another scream tore through the air.
Justin turned to go and almost ran smack into a man who looked terrified.
“My wife. She’s having a baby, and she’s not due for five more weeks.” The man rested his hands on his knees and gasped for air. “We need help.
I called 911 but I’m not sure they can find us.”
“I called them. They’re on the way,” Paige said.
“And I gave them directions.” Justin held out his hand. “I’m Justin.”
“Zach,” the man said. “I hope they get here soon.”
Paige rested a hand on the man’s arm. “I’m Paige Dillingham, and I’m a midwife in Nashville. Take me to your wife.”
The man blew out a relieved breath. “Thank God. Let’s go.” He turned and took off at a jog, Paige right behind him. Cursing under his breath at what they might find, Justin caught up with them.
About a quarter of a mile into the woods, Zach took a left fork. “We’re almost there,” he hollered over his shoulder just as the woman screamed again.
Justin’s stomach rolled. He’d almost rather be dealing with a bear. So much for a relaxing hike in the woods, he thought. “I should have stayed and waited for the medics,” he said to Paige as they jogged. “I don’t have any idea what I could do to help.”
“If I need you, I’ll tell you what to do,” she said, her expression grim.
Damn. He so did not want to do this. Whatever this was. Another scream rent the air. He heard Paige curse just as they turned a corner and saw the woman lying on her side doubled over with pain. Her husband squatted down beside her holding her hand. “Hang on, baby. I brought help.”
Paige sprinted to them. Kneeling down, she lay her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “My name is Paige and I’m a midwife. I’ll take care of you until the medics gets here.” Another pain assailed the woman, and she screamed as if she were being torn apart. Justin’s insides heaved and he felt like he might lose his lunch any second. Good Lord, was every birth this painful? He wasn’t sure he could handle seeing his wife go through this. Talk about brutal.
Paige held her hand out to the husband. “Give me your watch, so I can time her contractions.”
He pulled his watch off and handed it to her. “I timed them at two minutes apart before I took off for help.”
Since I Found You (Crystal Springs Romances: The Wedding Chapel Book 2) Page 11