by Melissa Huie
“WE’RE GETTING MARRIED!”
I burst out laughing. “Oh good! He did it! Congratulations! How did he do it?”
Gushing, Sarah told me how Kyle had surprised her when she got home with flowers and candles everywhere. She described the ring in perfect detail. I had known that Kyle had given Sarah my Great Aunt Nancy’s engagement ring. Their marriage was the perfect symbol of love— sixty years of wedded bliss. My mother was all about preserving family heirlooms. In fact, Kyle would wear my father’s wedding band, just as I would wear Mom’s if or when that happy event happened for me.
“You do realize that as soon as the wedding is over Mom’s going to expect some babies, right?” I teased.
Sarah laughed. “I figured as much. But it won’t happen for a while. We have so much to plan. We’re thinking October. The weather is still nice and the fall leaves will make a beautiful backdrop. And of course, you’re my maid of honor.”
“Perfect!” I replied. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to help you.”
Sarah gave another squeal. We made plans to get together when she got back from school. Once we got off the phone, I smiled. After everything that Kyle had been through, Sarah was his guiding light. She had seen him through his juvenile delinquent stage, his angst about my dad. She had made my brother so happy. I was ecstatic for them. I wished for the same happiness for myself. Someone to come home to at night, someone to share the future with. Alex had potential, but I felt like he was holding back. Anytime I asked him a question about his home or his family, he got an uneasy expression on his face. Almost as if he didn’t want to talk about it. Whatever. I pushed the thoughts out of my mind and clicked off the TV. Like Scarlett O’Hara, I decided I’d think about it tomorrow.
Chapter 9
PENNY WOKE ME UP EARLY the next morning by licking my hand and whining. I looked at the clock with barely an eye open; it was only seven thirty. I glared at her.
“We have to get you off Mom’s schedule,” I grumbled, unhappy about getting up so early on a Saturday. I dragged myself downstairs and let her out, then checked on Shane. Still hot and flushed, I made sure he was still breathing. I brought him up some more juice and gently forced him to take another Advil. I felt bad for him. He was overworked and exhausted; no wonder this bug had hit him so hard.
I let Penny in and made breakfast. I checked my phone and realized Alex had texted me during the night. “Had to go out of town for a day or so. Hope to get back tomorrow. Happy V-Day.”
Well, that’s good, I guess. He hasn’t forgotten about me totally, I thought as I put away the dishes. Even though the sun was out, the temperature hovered around freezing and I didn’t feel like venturing out. I spent the rest of the day bringing Shane juice and Mom’s soup, and just hanging out with Penny. After the week I’d had, it felt good to sit and relax.
At a quarter to four, I got another text from Alex. “Will you be my valentine? I want to take you out to dinner tonight.”
My heart did a little dance. He wanted to meet tonight! I started typing “sure,” but hesitated. I really wanted to meet up with Alex but I didn’t want to leave Shane alone. Granted, he wasn’t my boyfriend and I wasn’t responsible for him, but he was my friend. I couldn’t leave him on his death bed. I felt conflicted. Deciding honesty was the best policy, I replied to Alex. “Would love to, but Shane’s sick and I don’t want to leave him.”
Immediately, I received a response. “I understand. I’ll see you soon then.”
Well that blew it. No guy wanted to date a woman who would choose to take care of their sick roommate over them. I sighed as I tossed my phone on the couch and headed upstairs. Shane was snoring softly. Poor buddy, I thought, as I gently checked his forehead. His temperature seemed to have gone down, but he was still slightly warm. I closed his door and took a long shower. I was oddly tired for just having lain around the house.
After throwing on some yoga pants and a T-shirt, I wandered downstairs and checked the fridge hoping that by some luck we had something for dinner. Nope, no such luck. Mom’s leftovers were gone, so it looked like takeout for us. I grabbed a bunch of menus and brought them up to Shane.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, standing in his doorway. There were dark shadows under his eyes. He looked exhausted.
“Feeling better than yesterday, I guess. What time is it?” he asked, sitting up in bed.
“It’s five. Are you hungry? I’ll even be nice and run to the store for you.”
“Nah, not right now. I may order something later,” he said, sinking back into the pillows.
I shrugged. “Okay. Do you want anything else? Some more juice?”
“Megs, I’ll get it. I’m feeling okay enough to walk. I’m not a kid, you know,” he teased.
“Whatever. You‘re such a baby when you‘re sick,” I teased back. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be downstairs.”
I padded back downstairs and let Penny in. I was mentally debating what I could eat that wouldn’t kill my diet when the doorbell rang. Hoping it was my mother with groceries, I dropped the menus on the table and rushed to the door.
“Hi Mom—oh!” I said with a start. Apparently, I had a knack for attracting good-looking men with food because Alex stood on my doorstep with a pizza from Ledo’s, a box of chocolates, and a bouquet of roses.
“Hi! What are you doing here? Come in!” I said, standing back. He looked absolutely gorgeous in a gray ribbed sweater that matched his beautiful silver eyes.
“Hi, beautiful. Surprise. I knew you couldn’t get out so I decided to come to you. Is that okay?” he said sweetly, kissing me on the cheek. I smiled like a goofball. What an amazing guy.
“Absolutely. I’m glad you came by,” I replied, taking the pizza in one hand and his hand in the other. I led him into the kitchen where Penny was anxiously anticipating her slice. I gave him some plates and busied myself with the flowers. Yea, he’s good. I grabbed a slice and sat down next to him.
“So where did you have to go in such a rush?” I asked, trying to make conversation. I hoped I didn’t sound nosy.
“I had to go to Virginia where my buddy Sean had a mare that was having a hard time foaling. It turned out okay though. She’s fine. The filly was born with no issues,” Alex said, gulping down his soda.
We had a good casual conversation and then headed into the living room to watch a movie. I turned on the latest Pirates of the Caribbean sequel and nestled in next to him. The moment I sat down Alex leaned in and gave me the softest kiss.
“I missed you. I really didn’t mean to leave you hanging on Valentine’s Day,” he murmured.
“I missed you too. I’m glad you’re here,” I whispered, losing myself in his eyes. I lifted my lips to his and kissed him harder. Alex pressed me to him, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me onto his lap. His soft hands roamed the inside of my shirt, shooting electric sparks all the way down to my toes. I could feel him about to lift off my shirt when I heard a low cough.
“Oh, sorry guys. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
I broke off mid-kiss and looked over at Shane. Fresh out of the shower and wearing nothing but low-cut sweats that left nothing to the imagination as to what was underneath. He had a serious issue with bad timing.
“What are you doing out of bed?” I asked, slightly out of breath. I felt a tinge of embarrassment and at the same time a bit smug. I knew it was juvenile, but I wanted to prove to myself that I was over him. He apparently didn’t care what he almost interrupted, because he came over and sat down on the couch next to us. He opened the box of chocolates sitting on the coffee table and popped one his mouth.
“I’m starving. Did you end up getting something for dinner?” he said pathetically. I sighed. I knew I shouldn’t be mad at him. After all, he was sick. I looked over at Alex with the question on my face.
Alex gave a resigned sigh and said, “Hey, man. There’s some pizza in the kitchen. Help yourself.”
Shane slapped his shoulder
and heaved himself off the couch. “Thanks, bro. I appreciate that.”
“Thank you,” I whispered to Alex, leaning in to kiss him. He gave me a beautiful smile.
“Maybe he’ll take that pizza upstairs with him,” he said with a wicked gleam in his eye. I giggled, but then gave a low groan when Shane plopped himself next to us again. I didn’t have to look at Alex to know the frustration he was feeling.
“Why don’t you go back to bed? You still look like crap,” I urged, hoping he’d get the hint.
He shrugged. “Megs, I feel lousy, I’m just tired of being in bed. Plus, I miss Penny,” he replied, handing Penny his crust. Out of habit and my mother’s internal nagging, I reached over and felt his forehead.
“You’re not terribly hot, but you should take some Advil—which is upstairs, by the way—just in case.” Shane ignored me. With a sigh, I got off Alex’s lap and stomped upstairs. I grabbed the Advil off Shane’s nightstand and started back down to the living room. I stopped when I heard them talking, their voices low. I felt like a teenage spy, but I couldn’t help myself from eavesdropping.
“I know you’re feeling ill, but why don’t you give Megan some space. You’re a grown man; you don’t need her to be your nursemaid,” I heard Alex say quietly.
“I know I don’t need her to be my nursemaid. She does it because she’s my friend,” was Shane’s dry reply.
“Yeah, I guess. But why doesn’t your girl come over and take care of you? Let me and Megan have some quality time,” Alex asked. I couldn’t see what he was doing but I was surprised at Shane’s tone.
“Really? I believe my girl is taking care of me. She is my girl, dude. I have her best interests at heart. Which is more than I can say for you,” Shane sniped back.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex shot back.
“What kind of man leaves a woman like Megan alone on Valentine’s Day? What the hell was so important that you had to totally ignore her?”
Silence.
“I don’t have to answer to you.” Alex’s voice sounded pissed.
“Actually, yes you do. Because if you hurt her or upset her, I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you do,” Shane said.
Oh shit, I thought. This wasn’t good. I hurried downstairs and found Alex and Shane standing up, facing each other.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” I asked. The air was thick with testosterone. What is this? Some sort of my-dick-is-bigger-than-yours contest?
Alex was the first to break the stare-off. “You know what, it’s late and I’m beat. I’m going to head out. Happy Valentine’s Day.” He gave me a quick peck and walked out the door.
I stared after him then spun around to Shane. “What the hell did you do that for?”
Shane looked indifferent. “He’s a jerk, Megs. He’s playing you.”
My temper, as well as a lack of good sleep, got the best of me. “What the hell do you mean, he’s playing me? How the hell do you know that? You don’t know him at all! I would have liked to spend a night with the man I’m interested in. But no! Not even on Valentine’s weekend. Seriously, Shane. What the fuck is your problem?”
He looked contrite, but that quickly changed when he opened his mouth. “Look. Whether you find out now or later, I can just tell that he’s a jerk. He’s a player. I know guys like him and they are only after one thing. And where the hell was he yesterday? Certainly not spending Valentines Day with you.”
The tiny seed of doubt grew bigger at Shane’s words. He said out loud what the tiny voice in my head had been saying all along. But I pushed back. Screw this. Shane has no idea what he’s talking about.
“So what! Who cares what he’s after? Maybe I want the same thing! You don’t know that! You don’t get to decide who I see. Next time let me handle my own business. Stay out of it,” I retorted. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed upstairs. My temper flared, but I wasn’t sure who I was more pissed at. Antagonizing Alex like that was a purely selfish move on Shane’s part, but Shane’s accusation echoed in my head. Is Alex really a player? Shut up! It didn’t matter if he was seeing someone else. We never said we were exclusive. I climbed into bed and sent a quick message to Alex. “Sorry Shane ruined our night. We’ll get together soon.”
And with that, I shut my phone off and closed my eyes. I knew Alex wouldn’t be angry with me so I wasn’t worried about a return text. I just wished I knew what had gotten Shane worked up.
Chapter 10
THE NEXT MORNING I woke up and Shane was gone. “Apparently, the sickly is unsick,” I said to Penny. It irked me that he could get up without apologizing. But his priorities were evident. Then I remembered that it was Sunday: Allison was due home. I banished all negative thoughts. Especially about Shane. Shane and Alex were going to have to get along if Alex and I were going to continue to see each other.
I made myself get dressed and sent a quick message to Jen. “Let’s do breakfast.”
Jen agreed and we made plans to meet at the diner down the street for some pancakes and coffee. I started to head up the street when I got a message from Alex. “We WILL get together soon. Don’t you worry about it. I’ll call you later.”
I let out a sigh. I knew he wouldn’t be mad at me; I had done nothing wrong. Nevertheless, the fact that he still wanted to get together was promising. And I knew full well what type of together he wanted and any type of together was fine with me.
* * *
I walked into the diner and found Jen and Lauren in a corner booth with Lauren’s array of distractions spread out in front of her.
“Hi, guys!” I exclaimed, giving them each a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi, Auntie Meg. I’m coloring a picture for you,” Lauren said brightly. She was dutifully working on a picture that I was unable to identify. Jen just shrugged.
“So what’s going on? How are things going with Alex?” she asked, sipping her coffee.
“Okay, I guess.” I proceeded to fill her in on what happened the night before. She was more clued into Shane’s mind than I was, so I was hoping she had some insight. Apparently, his behavior baffled Jen as well.
“I don’t know what’s been going on with him. He’s had some issues lately at the shop from what I can gather. Maybe Alex just pressed his buttons,” Jen offered, digging into her pancakes.
“You’re right, I’m sure.” I deftly changed the subject. I pushed the incident out of my mind. I wasn’t going to worry about it anymore. He’d been overstressed, and being sick hadn’t helped matters. “What’s going on with you?”
We sat and talked for the next hour and eating until we were stuffed to the gills. I put Lauren’s latest picture in my purse and promised her that I’d put it on my fridge.
* * *
Shane wasn’t home when I arrived, which I took as a good sign. Whatever his issue was, he needed to chill out. I spent the rest of the day texting with Alex. He was stuck at the emergency vet hospital so we couldn’t spend any more time together, and the way my work load was shaping up, it didn’t seem like we’d be able to get together any time soon.
Or so I thought. As the weeks went by, I saw Alex quite a bit. Not for long periods of time, but enough to keep up our mutual interest. He came over to the house and we would have dinner, or we’d meet for coffee. Shane always disappeared when Alex came around, which I took to mean that he still didn’t like him. Fine by me. I didn’t need that drama and Shane’s absence helped things progress between Alex and me. I felt like we were getting closer, but it never went beyond kissing. I was holding back but not entirely sure why. I enjoyed spending time with him though, so I was especially excited when he unexpectedly asked me over to his place for the first time.
I reminisced about my teenage years as I drove down the gravel path toward the farm. Cooper Ridge Farm was only fifteen minutes away from where I lived. It was a beautiful and picturesque farm with a guest and main house on top of a hill. The stables, pastures, and barns were the first things you saw when you came down the dr
iveway. Weather-beaten and a faded blue, the stables were still the way I remembered them. The smell of hay and horses brought me back to when Dad would drop me off at the crack of dawn to feed and water the horses, muck out their stalls, and clean the tack. I did it every weekend to pay for my riding lessons.
“When’s the last time you rode?” Alex asked. It was a beautiful, cool day with a light breeze coming from the west.
I glanced at him and listened to our boots crunching the small rocks. “Geez, it has been a while. I think it’s been at least two years.”
Alex led me down the concrete walkway past the empty stalls and stopped in front of my favorite old mare. Her dark brown eyes looked deep into mine, maybe seeing the teenager I used to be. I almost started to cry. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her neck.
“Wow. Coffee. She’s still here,” I said, amazed that she was still around. “I thought her owner had sold her.”
Alex gently ran his hand down Coffee’s shoulder, patting her lightly. “Mary bought her off of the owner about three months ago. She’s a great teacher for the kids.”
I brought her out into the barn’s hallway, hooked her up to the crossties, and quickly fastened her tack. Alex’s bay, Avery, was already saddled and ready to go. We rode up and down the hills, across the pastures, and through the woods. Being outside with Alex made me feel free and at ease. I felt so comfortable with him. The conversation never died. Despite the cool air, we returned to the stable flushed and sweaty. We cooled down the horses by walking them around the indoor ring. I missed this part of my life and welcomed the achiness I knew I would feel in the morning. After we put Coffee and Avery back into their stalls, we walked up the hill, hand in hand, to the cozy guesthouse. The light faded as the sun set; the promise of dinner had my stomach grumbling.
“I can’t make any guarantees that you’re going to be blown away by my cooking. But I promise that you won’t go hungry,” he joked, as he opened the door. The cottage had an open area with a bedroom and bathroom and a small galley kitchen. The beautiful brick fireplace was the main source of heat.