Bernie swatted his arm. “You’re too much. So what are you going to do on your date? Do you have a plan yet?”
“I’m still thinking about it. Dinner, of course, somewhere wonderful. But I want to do something unique and memorable. Any ideas?”
Bernie thought about it for a minute. “Do you have any idea what she likes to do? Is she into outdoors stuff? You could go ice-skating and have hot chocolate.”
“That’s a possibility. Or hiking, maybe?
Bernie shook her head. “No. There’s nothing romantic about hiking. If she doesn’t like outdoorsy things, you could do one of those paint nights, where everyone paints the same picture. I did that with Lily one time. It was a lot of fun and we saw quite a few couples there. It gives you something to do while you get to know each other.”
“Hm. I kind of like that idea. I’ll let her choose.”
Their food arrived and the sweet smell of blueberries was intoxicating. Bernie drizzled real maple syrup over the pancakes and took a big bite. They ate silently for a few minutes and then Bernie said, “You’re not the only one going on a date soon.” She told him what Wade did and Jack burst into laughter.
“That’s excellent. I wish I could have seen your face when he told you he was giving you his date.”
“I think both David and I were speechless.”
“He seems like a decent guy, that David. Maybe it’ll be the start of something good.”
But Bernie shook her head. “It’s not a real date. I’m pretty sure it will be one and done. Still, it will be nice to have a fancy night out.”
Jack looked at her intently. “You really underestimate yourself, Bernie. You’re a catch, you know. And if David is smart, he’ll see it.”
Bernie smiled. “You have to say that. It’s required brother talk.”
“Very funny. Want a bite?” Jack pushed his plate her way and she glanced at the oozing yellow yolk that was dripping down the side of his sandwich and the pool of grease from the sausage.
“No, thanks. You enjoy it.”
* * *
“I owe you big time,” Clark said when he and David arrived at the hospital Monday morning.
“It really wasn’t that bad,” David said as they made themselves coffee in the break room before getting started.
“What’s she like? The one that bought you?”
“It was actually a he.”
Clark almost dropped his spoon. “What?”
David laughed. “Wade had his fiancée, Maddie, bid and then gave me to his employee Bernie as a bonus.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say to that. Is it a good thing? Is she cute?”
“She’s gorgeous. Really beautiful.”
Clark brightened. “So, that’s good then? I’m glad it turned out all right for you.”
“It’s not like that. Bernie and I have known each other for years. I think if there was going to be any kind of a romantic connection it would have happened by now.”
“Oh, so you were interested once but she turned you down?” Clark threw a pink Pop Tart into the toaster.
“Well, not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“She made it clear when we were young that she wasn’t interested. That was the end of it.”
Clark shook his head as he pulled his steaming pastry out of the toaster and took a bite.
“I know it’s not the most nutritious breakfast, but I like a Pop Tart every now and then.”
“I couldn't care less what you eat.”
“So, what I think I’m hearing is that you’ve never actually asked this girl out before now. It’s been a long time. Maybe you were a little jerk back then?”
David laughed. “That’s very possible.”
“So, give it your best shot. Take her on a date that will knock her socks off and see if there’s anything there. Then you’ll know.”
Chapter 7
What did one wear to a forced date? Bernie had been torn all week between dreading her date with David and sort of looking forward to it. It would be different if he’d chosen to ask her out, instead of getting stuck with her. But he hadn’t seemed to mind, so that was good at least. Bernie glanced out her bedroom window and noticed a few stray snowflakes drifting down. The forecast was calling for a good-sized storm, but not until tomorrow—which was good timing for her. She could hunker down for the weekend and not have to worry about getting to work until Monday. By then, hopefully her road and driveway would be plowed out if it amounted to anything significant. She had a guy on standby to plow her driveway whenever they had a bad storm, but he wouldn’t be able to even get to her driveway until the town plowed the main street out.
There was definitely a wet chill in the air, so she decided to dress warmly. There would be no fancy dress tonight. Instead, she pulled on black pants and a pale, aqua blue cashmere cable knit sweater. It was snuggly and pretty and one of her favorites. She added soft, worn cowboy boots in a similar blue shade and was just heading downstairs when she heard a car coming down the driveway. Tiny was sitting in the window, his tail twitching back and forth as he saw the vehicle approach. Bernie walked over and scratched him behind the ears. A moment later there was a knock on the front door.
Bernie opened it wide and David stood there, wearing a heavy leather jacket and a navy knit hat that was dusted with snowflakes. She stepped aside to let him in.
“I’ll just grab my coat and we can go,” Bernie said as she pulled her warm winter coat and gloves out of the closet and put them on.
When she turned around, David was patting Tiny, who looked like he was experiencing kitty bliss. He didn’t usually take to new people so quickly.
“That’s Tiny. Do you have any pets?”
David raised his eyebrows at the cat’s name. “Yes, a kitten, Buttercup. Just got her from the shelter a few weeks ago. Lindsey was allergic and the day the after we broke up, I went and adopted her.”
“Is she yellow?”
He laughed. “No, that’s the strange thing. She’s a Siamese blue. No idea where the name came from. But it seems to suit her. She’s a tiny little thing.”
Bernie glanced out the window at the snow that was coming down a little harder.
“I thought this wasn’t supposed to start until tomorrow?”
“It’s probably just passing flurries. Are you ready to go?”
“I’m ready.” She followed him out to his truck and climbed inside.
The snow swirled frantically outside and Bernie thought it looked like more than flurries, and hoped she was wrong. If it got worse, they could always have an early night.
“Do you have to work in the morning?” she asked as David backed his truck slowly down the driveway.
“No. I was scheduled, but Clark picked up my shift. Worked out for both of us.”
Once they reached the main road, David turned right to head toward downtown Riston. She wondered where he was taking her. And as if he’d read her mind, he told her.
“So, originally I thought we’d take a drive to Lewiston. There’s a great Italian restaurant there that my family likes to go to for special occasions. But, given the weather, would you mind if we went somewhere downtown instead?” he asked. “Giacamo’s is pretty good for Italian, too.”
“That sounds perfect to me.” Bernie didn’t go there often, but she loved Giacamo’s. And she was relieved that they were staying close to home.
“Where do you live?” she asked. She knew his family used to have a house a few blocks from Main Street.
“I have a place in the mountains on the opposite side of town. On Scargo Lake. I built it myself, actually. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple A-frame building, but it overlooks the water and has a dock where I keep a small boat for fishing.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely.” Bernie had seen some of those houses, and they were so interesting, with lots of windows which gave the effect of literally being on the water. Many of them were built right into the side of the mountain.
“Do you see bighorn sheep there?” Bernie had heard that they often roamed wild in the fields.
“Yes, quite often actually. Sometimes deer and wild horses, too. I haven’t seen any bears though…yet.”
Bernie shuddered. She’d never seen a bear up close, and hoped that she never would.
The snow seemed to be letting up some as they reached downtown Riston and turned onto Main Street. It looked as though David was right about it just being passing flurries. Traffic was light for a Friday night and as they pulled into the parking lot for Giacamo’s, Bernie was surprised by how empty it was.
“Looks like the weather is keeping people at home tonight. We’ll have the place almost to ourselves,” David said as he turned off the engine. They went inside and were seated immediately at a quiet table for two by a bay window that looked out over Main Street. The host handed them both menus and a moment later, a server appeared and poured water for both of them. He told them the evening specials and took their drink order. Bernie got a glass of Chianti and David ordered a beer.
“I’m not much of a wine drinker,” he admitted as he opened his menu. When the waiter returned with their drinks and a basket of bread and oil, they put their order in. David went with veal parmesan and Bernie decided on gnocchi with meatballs. A few minutes later, as their waiter set two garden salads in front of them, the lights flickered and Bernie looked out the window. It still wasn’t snowing very hard, but it seemed as though the wind had picked up.
“I think we might be in for quite a storm tomorrow,” she said as she dipped a piece of bread in oil, and then shook parmesan cheese over her salad.
“Let’s hope the worst of it holds off until tomorrow,” David agreed.
“I’m sure it will,” Bernie said as the lights flickered again and she laughed. “Okay, let’s just hope the power stays on long enough to cook our food.”
“Do you have a generator at your house?” David asked as he cut into his salad.
“No. I’ve been thinking maybe I should get one, though, for next year. I don’t lose power often, but it would be nice to not have to worry about it. At least I have a fireplace and a gas stove. Do you have one?”
David nodded. “I had one installed when I built the house. I’ve only had to use it a few times, but I was glad it was there.”
“Does your family still live in Riston?” Bernie asked.
“They do. My parents still live right around the corner from here, actually, and my sister, Sandy, and her family are over your way.”
“Is she younger than you?” Bernie vaguely remembered the name.
“She is, by a year. She married right out of college, though, and they have a three-year-old daughter, Amy. She has me wrapped around her finger.”
“I bet she does.”
“What about you? Any other family in the area besides Jack?”
“No. It’s just the two of us. We lost my parents first and a few years after that, my grandmother.” Bernie was quiet for a moment and then added, “And I don’t think Jack has any intention of settling down any time soon.”
David laughed. “No, it didn’t seem that way. Though you never know. If he meets the right girl, she could sweep him off his feet.”
“I would love to see that happen,” Bernie said with a smile.
“Tell me about your job at the ranch. Do you like working with Wade?” David asked as the waiter removed his empty salad plate.
“I really love it. Wade is great to work with. The first few years I mostly did assistant work for him, which helped me get to know just about everyone at the ranch and understand all areas. I was recently promoted so now I’m more involved in a lot of the ongoing projects. What about you? Do you like working in the ER?”
Their server returned with their dinners and took Bernie’s salad plate away.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” he asked.
Bernie still had more than a half a glass of wine left and David had barely touched his beer. They both said they were fine and David answered her question as they began eating.
“I love being a doctor. I’ve worked in other areas of the hospital, but the fast pace of the ER suits me. We see all kinds of things there.”
“Is it all life-threatening issues?” Bernie asked. She admired that he could do the kind of work that he did. She often got lightheaded just at the sight of blood.
David laughed. “It’s supposed to be that way, but it’s not. Plenty of people use the ER as an after hours doctor’s office. I had someone in earlier today for an ingrown toenail, if you can believe it.”
“Oh, that’s funny.”
“To be honest, I don’t really mind. It’s kind of nice to have the variety.”
“I wasn’t surprised to learn that you became a doctor. You were always so good at math and science.”
“I was a total geek,” David said.
Bernie laughed. “I didn’t say that! I used to admire how well you did.”
He looked surprised at the admission. “Really? I used to admire you, too, but in a different way. I had such a crush on you back then,” he admitted.
Bernie put her fork down. He’d just completely shocked her. “You did? I had no idea. You were always kind of a jerk to me.”
“I wasn’t very smooth back then. I think I was just trying to get your attention, but it always backfired.”
“It really did,” she laughed.
“I’ve improved my game a little since then,” David said. “Anyway, it took me a while, but I finally got the message that you were not interested. When you told my buddy, Jim, that you’d never in a million years go out with me—that one stung.”
Bernie’s jaw dropped as a memory flashed by, of Jim telling her that David wanted to ask her out and wanted to know what her answer would be.
“I thought he was teasing me. That it was just another prank you were pulling. I didn’t realize you were serious.”
“I was crushed. Devastated,” David said dramatically and this time she knew he was teasing her. “Okay, maybe not devastated. Disappointed.”
“If I’d known you were serious…” Bernie began.
“Would it have made a difference, really?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I wasn’t really thinking of you that way then.”
“But you are now?”
Bernie was spared having to answer by the waiter who came over to see how they liked their meals. They both assured him that they did.
“Have you seen the new Jack Raven movie?” Bernie asked in an attempt to avoid answering his question.
“No, not yet. I was actually going to suggest that we see a movie after dinner, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea tonight. It looks like the snow is picking up again out there.”
Bernie glanced out the window at the almost empty street that was usually bustling. The snow was coming down so hard now that the streetlight was blurred.
“Looks like most people stayed in tonight.” Bernie looked around the dining room. It was empty except for one other table and no one else had come in after they’d arrived.
“We should probably head home after this,” David said as their waiter took their plates away and wrapped their leftovers to go. They both had only eaten about half of their meals. David paid the bill, after refusing to consider letting Bernie pay. She thanked him and they bundled up to head outside. The wind whipped their faces and snow was blowing in every direction. Bernie took both of the to-go bags so David could drive and as soon as he brushed off all the windows, he joined her in the truck and slowly turned onto Main Street.
There were almost no other cars on the road and it was easy to see why. In the two hours since they’d left Bernie’s house, the light flurry had turned into a serious storm. The visibility was terrible, almost whiteout conditions as David very slowly drove back to her house. By the time they turned off the main road and onto her driveway, the visibility was even worse. They could just barely make out the normally bright
light above her front door.
“I think you should come in until this calms down. It’s too dangerous to drive anywhere right now,” Bernie said as he turned the motor off.
“I’m not going to argue. That drive home was not fun,” David agreed. Bernie grabbed their food and brought it inside. David followed her in. Tiny was sitting in his window spot, waiting for them. She took his coat and hung it in the closet along with hers and then put the bags of food in the refrigerator. They both left their shoes by the door.
“Would you like something to drink?” Bernie called from the kitchen.
“Sure. What are you going to have?”
“Now that we’re home and don’t have to go anywhere, I’m going to have a glass of wine. I have some beer, though.”
“I’d love one, thanks. I can get a fire going. It might not be a bad idea in case you lose power,” he offered.
“That would be great. I have more wood in the basement if we need it.” Bernie poured herself a small glass of wine and opened a beer for David, and brought the drinks into the living room. She set them on her coffee table and curled up on her leather sofa, and watched David build the fire. “Matches are on the mantel,” she said as he carefully stacked logs and kindling. A few minutes later, the fire was started and David joined her on the sofa.
“This sofa pulls into a bed and I’ll get you some blankets later,” she said.
“Thanks. Hopefully it won’t be too bad and I’ll be out of your way first thing in the morning.”
“I’m not worried about it.” She picked up the remote control and clicked on the TV. “I have Netflix. We can check and see if they have the latest Jack Raven movie. I haven’t seen his last one, have you?”
“No, not yet. That sounds great.” The lights flickered as the wind howled outside, and Bernie was grateful to be home and warm. Tiny came running into the room, spooked off his window perch by the wind rattling the panes. He jumped up onto the sofa between the two of them, glanced Bernie’s way and then stepped closer to David and plopped down next to him. David automatically reached over to pat him and he purred loudly.
Bernie found the movie they were looking for and they spent the next two hours watching it. The lights flickered a few more times and Bernie was sure at one point that the power was going to go out, but it managed to stay on somehow. When the movie ended, they put on the news and the storm coverage was in full force. The storm was worse than predicted and had hit earlier, taking everyone by surprise. Total inches expected were now increased to over a foot from a more manageable eight to ten inches.
Bernie's Birthday (River's End Ranch Book 22) Page 4