When We Met

by C J Marie

  “I’m nervous,” Jo admitted.

  “Why? You’re not planning to propose to the man are you?”

  “No, but Zac…used to do all this with his dad.”

  Dot’s grin faded. “As I said, Jo, I’ve never seen Zac like this. If anyone can get him out there, you can.”

  Jo smiled. “We’ll see, I guess.” She placed the supplies on the counter, and turned to Dot as the cashier rang it up. “What do you think about all this? Honestly.”

  “What do I think about you staying?”

  “I was only given an extra week.”

  “But you asked for it, so that means you wanted to stay longer, right?”

  “It’s crazy right?”

  Dot leaned in as the cashier handed a plastic bag over the counter. Jo handed over her credit card without looking at the kid. “If love isn’t a little crazy, it’s not worth it in my opinion. Listen, Jo, take it from me who has a slew of romantic regrets - if you care about the man, you let him know. Don’t just settle. I let a guy get away from me, and never told him how I really felt. Who knows what could have happened? If you can see yourself with Zac, then you need to do what feels right.”

  Jo slipped into the passenger seat once the AC was blasting in Dot’s car. “Moving somewhere else, for a guy I just started dating. Seems…nuts, and it’s not like I’ve got the cleanest record with men. The guy I thought I’d end up with found someone else in a matter of days, so…”

  “That’s his problem. If Zac did that, Agatha would cut him at the knees. Look, according to Olive, who is our eyes into Zac’s psyche through Rafe, Zac’s never told a women he loved her. Why do you think Olive nearly split her skin when you told us? But I also understand it’s a lot to ask you to give up your life up north. My suggestion, take the week, and at the end see how you feel. It’s not like long-distance relationships are impossible in the modern world.”

  With a nod, Jo relaxed. “You’re right.”

  “I know.”

  “This week will be all about relaxing, and just…being okay with it.”

  “It’s exciting to start something new. Enjoy that feeling for a little while.”

  Dot wasn’t wrong. Jo had hardly stopped smiling since the night Zac had confessed he loved her on the beach. The heart clinic director hadn’t put up any sort of argument when she’d fibbed and said her service had to extend an extra week. Thankfully, Mr. Randolph of Boston found the sticky situation hilarious. He’d assured her patients’ hearts would still need her touch whenever she’d ‘done her time’. It wasn’t as funny as all that, but Jo had a good laugh when he’d snorted at his own jokes.

  Zac’s face when she told him they had an extra week to wade through these new feelings had been priceless, and nearly made her do the frivolous thing and give her instant resignation right there. She’d planned to spend as much time together as possible. Zac had taken three days off at the shop, and though Jo didn’t technically have any official commitment to the clinic since her time was served, she still submitted a days off request.

  Now, though, she was second-guessing her first pick of outings.

  She pulled her rental car up to Zac’s house. Olive had offered the silver-bullet for another week, but Jo felt bad taking it much longer. The SUV was comfortable, and smelled like clean leather with a hint of fish with all the bait and tackle in the back seat. The kitchen light was on, and through the front window Jo could see the warm glow it cast throughout the front of the house. With a deep breath she stepped out of the car.

  Zac was inside the kitchen, she could hear him ruffling through his cabinets, and Jo found a moment of pause to study him when she peeked around the corner. His back was toward her, and a lump lodged in the back of her throat. It was almost laughable as she remembered the day at the airport when Zac had picked her up. She’d vowed to despise the man. He was meant to be awful, terrible, dirty, a flat out jerk. Now, her heart thudded like a stampede at the sight of him, his hands left fiery prints along her skin at every touch, and he’d become the desire of her soul. How could she leave? Yet, her logical side demanded the opposite questions, how could she stay after such a short time?

  “Hey there,” she said after a few minutes.

  Zac glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Hey.” He crossed the kitchen in three paces, and had Jo in his arms in one heartbeat. If her body always burned the same way at his kiss as it did now, Jo imagined nothing in life could ever ruffle her again. Her fingertips tingled along his scruffy cheeks. Fishing might be on hold if he kissed her any longer.

  But, he pulled back. “Weren’t you going to take me somewhere?”

  Jo bit her bottom lip as she tossed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “It’s hard to go anywhere when you kiss like that.”

  He smiled. “Well, I live to please.”

  Jo twiddled her thumbs when Zac gathered his wallet from the counter and his keys from a ceramic bowl. “You know, maybe it’s a bad idea.”

  One brow lifted as Zac scoffed. “You look nervous. Now, I’m even more curious.”

  He led her toward the front door, and held open the driver’s door. Jo tapped the steering wheel as he hopped into the opposite seat.

  “It’s fishing,” she blurted before he could glance in the backseat.

  “What?” He did glance in the back.

  “Now that I think about it, this was probably a bad idea. You told me it’s too hard, and I—”

  Jo sucked in a breath when Zac’s hand covered her palm and shot warm sparks up her arm. “Jo, relax. If I remember right, someone told me it might be because I haven’t found the right fishing partner. Why not try out a girl from Boston?”

  She chuckled, and threaded her fingers with his. “That was my thought, but now how awkward will the drive home be if I’m not the right partner.”

  Zac shook his head and smiled. “Josephine, you worry too much. No worrying with fishing. Just drive.”

  ***

  Flickers of pale yellow ignited around the lake from fireflies, and the water lapped along the shore in soothing ripples. Zac leaned back against the bank so the humid air coated his face like a warm blanket. It helped to have Jo’s head resting against his shoulder, but Zac wasn’t sure he’d ever felt so at ease before.

  “Nothing is happening,” she whispered.

  Zac chuckled, and kissed the side of her head. “I told you it’s boring sometimes, but if you’ve got the right company it’s the best.”

  For an hour their hooks had dipped into the water without so much as a tug. Eventually, they propped the line, and took to watching the fading sun.

  “Okay, well I want to get to know the little things, Zachariah.” Jo traced his knuckles, then his palm, then back to his knuckles. He’d wondered about the touch between lovers that left a lasting imprint no matter how small before. It was better than he imagined.

  “I’m an open book, Jo.”

  She sniggered, and wrapped her arm tighter around his waist. “Okay…favorite food?”

  “Pizza.”

  “Really, that’s what you’re going with?”

  “Yep. Cheap, greasy, and cheesy. That’s all I need in life. What about you? No, let me guess—clam chowder.”

  “That’s a stereotype,” she said as she pinched his side. “Actually, I love Chinese food. Noodles specifically. I live for the stuff. Probably comes from growing up with a busy doctor for a dad, and all those late night study sessions in school. Okay, what were you like as a kid?”

  “Stupid.”

  “Come on, everyone was stupid.”

  Zac shrugged. “I don’t know, I spent most days with Rafe and August as a teenager. We’d go to the beach, have bon fires, I’d work at the shop. Go to church on Easter. Sometimes, I’d be a good son and watch movies with my mom on Friday nights. Sometimes, I’d be a rebel and drink at the shore with my friends. I bet you never rebelled.”

  “Oh, I did…once.”

  Zac laughed, and propped up on one elbow. Jo’s face glowe
d against the sunset and he was certain he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. “Once. What did you do? Smoke, drink, drive over the speed limit?”

  Jo rolled her eyes, and traced his chin. “More like breaking into a rival school and replacing their display mascot with ours. I might have lied—this wasn’t my first time being arrested.”

  “Josephine, you are a felon.” His eyes widened.

  She sat up, and pointed a finger in his face. “Hey, I am not a felon, at least not a good one since both times I’ve done anything I’ve gotten caught. My friends and I thought it would be funny since their football team had lost to our school for homecoming.”

  “Mean, Jo. You wanted to rub salt in the wounds.”

  She grinned. “Exactly. But, we didn’t even get by the front office before we got caught. I thought I was done for, but it helped that my dad was the rival principal’s doctor, the sheriff’s, and my entire school board’s physician. He bailed us all out, and everything was dropped.”

  “So what did he do after he bailed you out?”

  Jo flushed, and tilted her head so her hair cascaded over her shoulders. “Remember my deal with Will? I had to do everything he did. I scrubbed my dad’s office until it sparkled for three weeks.”

  Zac cupped the side of her face, and pulled her mouth close enough his lips tingled with want. “I like the rebellious side of you, Jo.”

  She rolled so her body spanned the length of him. Her kiss would never get old, Zac couldn’t imagine how that would ever be possible, and he claimed that kiss until the sun was only a dusky, blue line in the sky. Jo lit a lantern she’d brought and stared at the stars.

  “What scares you?” she whispered as crickets welcomed the night.

  Zac swallowed, and glanced at her from where she’d nestled against him like she was a part of his body. “Losing people,” he answered slowly. “Losing you.” Jo trapped the sides of his face, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “What scares you, Jo?”

  She smiled gently. “The same.”

  Zac dipped in for one more kiss, but Jo shrieked when the pole lurched and a violent splash threatened to rip the pole from its notch on the shore.

  “What do I do?” She danced on her toes and squealed against the tug on the line.

  “Grab it. Reel it in carefully,” he laughed. Jo wasn’t being careful. Eventually, Zac clasped to the handle on the pole, and helped pull the fighting fish into the shallows. “You’re going to scare everything else off if you keep screaming.”

  Jo only bounced more when the flapping fin broke the surface. “Look at it! Zac, it’s huge. I’ve never caught a fish. Look how big it…oh, it’s actually kind of small.”

  He laughed again as she held up the tiny trout proudly, and tucked it into the bucket they’d brought with high expectations. Fishing had been painful after his father died, but Zac had been right. All it took was the right partner, and it brought the same peace and satisfaction as it had all those years ago.

  Chapter 17

  “So, are you staying or not?” Abby asked once the last patient had cleared out of the clinic. Jo loved when the place was dim and quiet. Maybe it was a little strange, but antiseptic, rubber gloves, and sterilizers were among her favorite scents. “I’m only asking because you’re starting to say y’all.”

  Jo rolled her eyes, and stacked the files next to the monitor. “I am not.”

  “Yes you did. Mr. Bluff said bye, and you said take care y’all. Only a month in and you’re already one of us.”

  “Why are you so pushy, Abs?” Jo shoved away from the desk, and gathered her messenger bag. “Sort of seems like you want me to leave.”

  Abby clicked her tongue and cracked her neck, a habit Jo encouraged her to break, and gathered her tattered purse filled with suckers and bubble gum for her son who’d been potty-training. “Quite the opposite, sugar plum. I wouldn’t mind seeing your face on a regular basis. And if you don’t mind me saying, I know we don’t know each other all that well, but you seem…happy. I know this is like a new world, I know you’ve got yourself a life in Boston, but it’s just been my observation, that you’re happy.”

  Jo sighed, and leaned against the wall. “I do feel happy, almost free, since coming here, but…”

  “But, what?”

  “My heart is begging me to throw caution to the wind and rent a U-Haul tonight, but in my head it seems nuts. How can I leave everything for…someone I’ve just started seeing?”

  Abby grinned. “If you want my advice, and you’re going to get it whether you want it or not, make the move for yourself. Or don’t, for yourself. Do I think you and Zac are the real deal? Sugar plum, there isn’t a more real deal than the way that boy drools over you, but no one knows what the future holds. If you’re happy here, if you love the guy, if you want this place to be your future, I say make the move.”

  “And you wouldn’t mind seeing my face more often.”

  “Well, there’s that too.”

  Jo chuckled, and twirled her braid around her fingers. “As ridiculous as this sounds, it feels like forever since I’ve made really huge life decisions for myself.” Abby lifted a brow, and Jo felt her own cheeks flush with heat. The truth was embarrassing. “Since we started dating, Emmitt kind of directed our paths. I didn’t realize how much control I’d given him until now. Before that I wanted my father’s opinion, or school counselors. I feel sort of lost, almost.”

  “Have you talked to Zac?”

  “I don’t want him to misunderstand.”

  “Girl, you’ve got to talk if you’re going to be with someone. I know that oaf up north did most of the talking for you, but don’t do the same with Zac. He’s not that guy, you know. I might not have the perfect marriage, but one thing I know is my guy and me talk to each other. Even if it’s something unpleasant. Believe it or not, flapping our lips has gotten me and the man through a lot of bumps in the road.”

  The bell at the front of the building dinged. Jo strung her bag over her shoulder. “Sounds like the custodians are here.” Abby turned out the light to their shared office, and stepped into the hallway with Jo. “You’re right, Abs. This is a big decision, and if we’re going to be together everything needs to be out in the open.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  Jo’s heart swelled with excitement for the first time in years at getting Zac’s take on everything. At the chance of speaking her heart without worry of a fall out. The moment they stepped into the front lobby together, the excitement burst like a bubble popping on blazing asphalt. Her eyes widened, and she clasped Abby’s wrist for balance support.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Abby’s brow furrowed, and Jo was pretty sure the shorter woman took a protective step in front of her.

  “Emmitt, I asked you what you’re doing here.”

  Emmitt’s brown hair was slicked to one side. Not a single whisker coated his face, and there was a condescension in his eyes she’d never noticed until she’d spent time looking into Zac’s unassuming, playful gaze.

  “This is him?” Abby said with a stomp forward. Her mouth tightened, and for a second Jo thought she might reach up and slap Emmitt. Her finger in his face seemed to catch his attention well enough. “You get on out of here, now. We don’t need the sleezy likes of you running around our place of business.”

  Emmitt glanced over Abby’s head, and offered Jo and exasperated look. “Sounds like word travels fast down here. Jo, I came to speak with you.”

  “Good, you’ve spoken. You can go home now.” Jo stomped toward the door, taking a wide stance to avoid Emmitt as Abby held the door open for her.

  Emmitt seemed ready to reach for her arm, but Jo jerked away so he recoiled. “Come on, Jo,” he said softly. “I’ve come all this way.”

  “I guess you should have called.”

  “Something big has happened. If you don’t want to talk about us, I understand, but there’s something I needed you to know.”

  Jo took a deep breath
and stopped. Abby stopped too. Emmitt stood with his hands shoved in the pockets on his tidy slacks.

  “You can go on home, Abs.”

  “I can stay. I don’t like leaving you with cockroaches.”

  Jo squeezed her shoulders. “I’ll be fine.”

  Abby offered a glare at Emmitt before giving Jo a quick hug. “Call me so I know you’re alright.”

  Jo nodded, and watched Abby drive away, her face set in a harsh scowl. With a few gasping breaths, she slowly faced Emmitt. “What do you want?”

  He swallowed so his Adam’s apple bobbed a few times before he dared to take a step closer. Emmitt had a clean masculine scent that revived her senses, but her heart didn’t patter for the man—maybe it hadn’t pattered for a long time. His stony expression wasn’t welcoming, it was stern, like he approached every conversation like a business arrangement.

  “I’m sorry, Jo.” He reached out his hand, but she jerked away again. “I needed you to see how torn up I am about—”

  “I don’t want to talk about you sleeping with someone else. And I really don’t want to hear how torn up you are. You said we didn’t need to talk about us, and as far as I’m concerned there isn’t an us. Now, what do you want?”

  “Are you in a rush? You seem ready to run away.”

  “I’m meeting someone later.”

  He furrowed his brow and scoffed in his typical arrogance. “Who? Made a few friends down here?”

  “None of your business, but yes, I have.”

  Emmitt sighed, and stared at the gravel parking lot. “Okay, I know you’re mad, but I hope you’ll really consider what I’m about to say. Do you remember telling me once how you always dreamed of running a practice like your dad?”

  With Emmitt, talking about her father ached, but with Zac it was almost a relief to relive memories. “Yes, I probably said that before.” It wasn’t a lie. Jo had always dreamed of becoming a doctor, but found she favored physician assistant more once she got into the thick of school. It didn’t change her desire to run and operate a clinic. Only now, she’d need a doctor on board.

  “Well,” Emmitt said the word slowly to build anticipation. It only caused frustration. “You’ve got the opportunity.”