by Erin Wright
“‘Spoiled’?” she echoed.
“Yeah, spoiled. Because of the most amazing secretary on the face of the planet, I actually have money in my bank account to spend on my sexy, sexy girlfriend.” Her mouth made an O as she stared at him. Sexy? Maybe Gage wasn’t the only Sawyerite in need of glasses. Her waistline was getting thicker by the day, and she was already getting stretch marks that she was pretty sure she was stuck with for life.
Before she could inform him of his apparent need for glasses, though, he planted a kiss on her lips – a short one for realsies this time – and whispered, “Let me spoil you. Let me do everything I’d wanted to do with Wendy but couldn’t. God has given me a do-over, and I’m not going to mess it up this time.”
She nodded and settled back against the seat. She, too, was getting a do-over. There was a chance that she could finally have the relationship she’d thought she was building with Norman.
If she just didn’t screw it up, she might get her happily ever after, after all.
Chapter 26
Kylie
With her small shopping basket slung over her arm, Kylie wandered the aisles of Second Time Around, pulling whisks and wooden spoons and a beat-up set of measuring cups out of the tangled piles on the shelves. She’d come down to the thrift store after work with the intention of buying a couple of things for the living room – maybe a lamp or end table – but had somehow found herself in the kitchen area instead.
Ahem. Yeah. Somehow…
She rolled her eyes at herself. She was incorrigible, truly.
Even though she really shouldn’t be buying another large mixing bowl, she told herself that it’d make the Keep Adam Fed project a lot easier if she had two, and snatched the rose-patterned bowl off the shelf. It was gorgeous – a pale pink with hand-painted roses on the side, it would absolutely look at home in Ruby’s kitchen. Even better, it’d look at home in Kylie’s kitchen, what with the shabby-chic vibe she had going on.
Shabby chic was a decorating trend that Kylie was almost positive originated with women who hadn’t been blessed with deep pockets, but had been blessed with a sense of style. It was one of the few trends that was actually friendly on ye olde budget, something Kylie appreciated to the depths of her very empty bank account.
As she continued to browse, looking through the plates for some decent ones that could be vaguely thought of as matching, she spotted a small sign at the end of the aisle and wandered over to take a closer look.
Shopping at Second Time Around helps support the residents of the Long Valley Senior Citizen’s Center. All profits are used to run activities and to provide creature comforts to the elderly in our community. Thank you for your support!
Huh. Kylie hadn’t exactly shopped in Second Time Around as a high school student, and so somehow, she’d missed this piece of information.
She carted her overflowing basket up to the front counter and set it down with a thump. The older woman behind the counter, a cloud of white hair bobbing around her face with every movement, laughed a little as she began sorting out Kylie’s haul so she could ring it up.
“You found some nice items in here,” the woman said admiringly. “I do love shopping at a thrift store. It’s like a treasure hunt!”
“It really is,” Kylie said with a satisfied grin. It was a treasure hunt, and she’d struck gold. “So, I noticed the signage back there about the profits going to the senior citizen’s center. Somehow, I’d missed that before. How long’s that been going on?”
“Well now,” the woman said, ruminating as she separated the items into piles, “a long time, I s’pose. Second Time Around used to be run by the Methodist Church, but they had a hard time finding volunteers who were reliable enough to keep a store like this open.”
She shrugged. “It’s damn hard to find people who want to work for free all the time. Funny that.” She let out a boisterous laugh. “But the gal who runs the senior citizen’s center came up with the idea of taking it over; she said that one thing that seniors miss the most is a purpose in life. Although it sounds like fun to do nothin’ but sit around on your hindquarters all day and play pinochle, you start to get bored after a while. Grandkids and kids…they have their own lives. They can’t spend their days entertaining their grandparents. So, the Methodist Church signed the store over to the center with a real strict contract that it can’t ever be converted to for-profit, and all revenue has to go back to the center. We’ve been keeping it running ever since.”
She’d been steadily beeping the items through the scanner as they’d talked, and once she’d worked her way through the pile, she looked up at Kylie. “That’ll be $39.42, please.”
Kylie gulped, but handed over two twenties. She obviously couldn’t indulge in a shopping spree every day after work, buying up gorgeous mixing bowls, but just this load would be a huge help in making her rental into a home.
As the volunteer was counting back her change, Kylie’s mind jumped back to Ruby, sitting at home, gnarled hands keeping her from doing much, but a real desire to still contribute to the world. “How long are the shifts when you work here?” she asked, dropping the coins into her purse and slinging it over her shoulder.
The older woman shrugged. “As long as you can work,” she said simply. “You tell the director what you’re physically capable of, and she puts a schedule together. They have a bus that runs back and forth from the center to here pretty much all day long. Some people like to sort donations in the back, some people like to stock the shelves, and some like to run the cash register. Up here is my favorite because then I get to talk to people all day long, and not a soul who shops here wants to discuss how many times a day they drink Metamucil to keep themselves regular, either!”
Kylie snort-laughed, her eyes huge as she stared in disbelief at the elderly woman. “Metamucil?” she choked out.
“Some of the topics they talk about over breakfast at the center…” The woman shook her head in disgust. “I try to tell ‘em it isn’t good for digestion, but they still keep talkin’ about it anyway. Working here…I can’t stand too long—” she gestured to a cane in the corner, “but it’s amazing how having something to do each day changes your mindset.”
“Thank you,” Kylie said with a grateful smile. “I appreciate the information, and your hard work as a volunteer here.”
“Sure, sure!” the woman said cheerfully. “Be sure to come on back real soon; we get donations all the time.”
With a wave to the friendly woman, Kylie carted her treasures out to her new-to-her car and loaded it up. After Adam had taken her out on their first real date the day before, he’d cancelled all of his appointments this morning and had spent the day tuning up her car instead. He’d proudly handed over the keys to the Grand Marquis at closing time.
Despite the fact that it was so oversized, calling it a boat didn’t quite do it justice, Kylie still couldn’t believe it was hers. Or that she had a whole house to herself. All the way home, she just kept shaking her head in wonderment. It was like she was a real adult or something, with a car and a home of her own.
Home. What a lovely word. As she began putting her thrift store finds away, she looked around her with a huge grin. The old farmhouse was slowly becoming hers, a reflection of her values and what made her happy.
She ran her hand over her rounded belly and said softly, “You hear that, baby? We’ve got ourselves a home, you and me. I can’t wait to show it to you.”
She grabbed her laptop from the corner and settled down into the worn couch, the springs creaking beneath her weight as she began browsing the internet, doing another round of research on ways to use goat and cow’s milk. She didn’t want to be in charge of pasteurizing the milk or getting a health and safety certificate in order to sell milk or cream to others. But lotion, soap, and other body products didn’t require any certification at all, and as long as she only mixed in healthy ingredients to provide a rich scent, she certainly couldn’t make someone sick from the prod
ucts.
She pulled up a how-to article and got to work with a piece of paper and pen, taking notes. She’d crack this yet.
Chapter 27
Adam
Adam pulled the front door open, the doorbell jangling overhead, and breathed in deep. Ahhh…coffee. Even if Kylie did nothing but make coffee for him every morning, he’d still think she was amazing.
The fact that she did so much more than that…he really felt like God had been smiling down on him when she’d shown up at the clinic all those weeks ago.
Kylie came hurrying up from the back. “Good morning!” she said cheerfully when she spotted him. “I have the coffee started.”
“I could smell it as soon as I came in.” He pulled her into his arms and nibbled on her neck. She squirmed at the contact, moaning sexily with pleasure, and he felt his dick rising to the occasion, happy for the contact. Down, boy. Not now.
He pulled back, if only to give himself some breathing room from her. “I used to think that one of my favorite smells in the world was the scent of animal and coffee together.”
“Animal?” she repeated, looking at him askance.
“Yeah, but I’ve changed my mind.” He bent back and began nuzzling her neck again, and his dick sprang right back up. “I like wildflowers more.”
“Oh, really,” she said faintly, tilting her head to the side to give him better access to her neck. “You’re a flowers kind of a guy, huh?”
“Your perfume has been driving me wild since day one,” he admitted as he breathed in her unique scent. “I even thought about telling you that I was allergic to it, because my self-control was struggling with the idea that I had to keep my hands to myself.”
She looped her hands around his neck and sent him a saucy grin. “Hmmm…good to know…I may just have to use this information at a future date.”
He rubbed his stubble against her neck, and she collapsed with laughter against him. “Be kind to me,” he murmured in her ear. “It’s been…a long dry spell. A man can only take so much.”
She pulled back and bit her lower lip as she looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Something else I will keep in mind…”
The neanderthal in him wanted to throw her over his shoulder and cart her back to her place and make love to her all day and if he was lucky, all night, but he barely restrained himself.
Barely.
He had a full load of patients today, all here in the clinic, which meant that he got to spend the day around Kylie. He wasn’t sure if this was the best thing that had ever happened to him, or pure torture. Keeping his hands to himself in front of the clients was gonna be a real test of self-restraint.
Speaking of, he needed to get to work. He reluctantly moved away from Kylie and headed to the back where he grabbed a mug off the shelf. “Today’s the last day of therapy camp using the school schedule,” he said over his shoulder as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Then I have a two-week break, then we start summer camp. I was thinking you might have fun coming over today and helping out with it. You’ll love these kids – they’re a real handful but boy, are they sweet.”
“Oh, that sounds like so much fun!” Kylie said excitedly, shooting him one of her 100-watt grins. “I’d love to. Are you thinking we’ll close the clinic again so I can come with you?”
“Yeah, one afternoon won’t kill anyone,” he said as he went to work checking on the patients, barking and meowing their hellos to him. “The kids are gonna think you’re the best thing since sliced bread.”
“Well, I can’t wait,” Kylie said happily, and then headed back up front to get to work.
Adam found himself whistling a tuneless song as he checked the animals over. When was the last time he’d been this happy? He couldn’t remember. Forever, it seemed like.
Life couldn’t get much better than this.
Chapter 28
Kylie
There were about a million of them milling around, talking and laughing as they waited for class to begin. Most of the students had some sort of physical impairment that Kylie could spot – coke-bottle glasses or a limp or a protruding tongue. A few showed no scars on the outside, and Kylie knew that for these students, the hidden scars were probably even worse.
The scars you couldn’t see were the hardest ones to get over, something she knew all too well.
“Okay, everyone, listen up!” Adam was standing up at the front of the barn, and almost instantly, every pair of eyes were trained on him, and the constant hum of noise disappeared. Kylie was impressed – Adam had obviously been working with these kids for a while now to garner that sort of attention so quickly. “I have a helper here today who I want to introduce you to. Kylie, can you come up here?”
“Oh, sure,” she said, embarrassed as every eye in the place swung towards her. She hadn’t expected this and gave Adam a playful glare as she walked up to the front. He winked at her in return.
He’d obviously been intimidated. She sighed to herself. She really needed to work on that steely-eyed glare…
“This is Kylie VanLueven,” he said to the group. “She’s my secretary back at the clinic, and will also be coming out here to help with the camp sometimes. Can everyone say hi to Kylie?”
“Hi, Kylie,” came a chorus of voices.
She looked at the group of eager faces and couldn’t help but grin back. “Hi! I’m so excited to be here. I can’t wait to get to know you all.”
“Are you Dr. Whitaker’s girlfriend?” shouted one of the boys in the back. Tittering and laughter spread through the kids at the question.
Kylie did a fine impersonation of a goldfish for a moment, mouth agape, not sure what to say, when Adam countered back smoothly, “Wouldn’t you like to know! Quick reminder everyone, today is the last day of school hours. After this, we do summer camp hours. Did you guys all enjoy your last day of school?”
“Yeah!” a couple of the boys shouted, and then pandemonium descended as every student tried to tell Adam and Kylie what had happened that day. From what Kylie could gather, not much had changed since she was in elementary school – they’d had a water day, had eaten ice cream sandwiches, and had cleaned out their lockers. The city fire department had even driven a firetruck over to the school. The firefighters had turned on the siren while shooting a stream of water into the air for the kids to run under, which according to everyone there, was the highlight of the day, even above and beyond the ice cream sandwiches.
Hmmm…ice cream. I could eat some ice cream right now.
She felt her stomach rumble at the thought, but forced herself to concentrate. She could eat ice cream later. Oh yeah…I could eat french vanilla ice cream with blueberries and chocolate syrup and gummy bears and coconut shreds and…
Focus, Kylie! She was supposed to be supervising children, not daydreaming about cookie dough ice cream, with raspberry syrup and—
She forced herself to start walking around, and soon found herself working with a girl, brunette hair in pigtails and braces on her teeth, who quickly began giving Kylie lessons on how to brush a horse. “You have to go from the head to the tail,” the little girl said seriously, flashing a mouth full of metal up at Kylie. “Horses don’t like it if you go the other way. Sonny loves everyone but he loves me the mostest. Can you get the oats out of the barrel? I need to feed him.”
Kylie’s head spun, trying to keep up with the little girl’s stream of thoughts, but hurried over to the barrels that she’d pointed out. Kylie grabbed a small bucket off the top of the stack and a scoop, and filled up the bucket.
“Thank you,” the girl said politely, before turning to the horse, bucket in hand. Sonny began snuffling up the oats in record time, using his lips to suck up every last one in the bucket before plaintively nudging the little girl’s shoulder for more. “Can we give him more?” she pleaded, her big eyes begging Kylie adorably.
Kylie looked down at her and panicked a little. “Uhhh…let me ask Dr. Whitaker. I’ll be right back.”
She
hurried across the dusty barn to Adam, who was busy refereeing a dispute between two boys. When he finished and sent them off in opposite directions to get back to work, he looked up with a harried smile.
“Ummm…that little girl over there—” she pointed towards the pigtailed girl who was brushing Sonny carefully from head to tail, “—wants to know if she can give her horse a second bucket of oats.”
“No,” Adam said with a laugh. “Jenny knows better. She’s just hoping that with you being the new person and all, you won’t. Don’t let her talk you into giving Sonny more than one bucket per day. She knows the rules.”
“Okay, thanks,” she said, flashing Adam a quick smile before turning to head back across the barn.
“Kylie!” he called out, and grabbed her hand.
She turned back, surprised, even as bolts of excitement shot up her arm. Would she ever tire of being around Adam? It was hard to imagine that happening, although intellectually, she understood that it was possible.
Just like it was possible for the moon to fall from the sky.
“Thanks for the help,” he said softly. “And thanks for asking. Jenny would do almost anything for that horse, and that includes trying to bend the rules.”
“Of course,” she said, and reluctantly pulled away. Leaving Adam’s side was painful, to say the least, but she wasn’t here to make googly eyes at her boss/boyfriend. She was here to work with the kids. She hurried back across the barn.
“Okay, girlfriend,” she told Jenny, “Dr. Whitaker said only one bucket per day.”
Realizing that her attempt to play the new person had failed, Jenny instantly decided to change the topic. “My name isn’t ‘Girlfriend,’” she told Kylie seriously. “It’s Genny with a G.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.” Kylie hid her grin behind her hand. “Well, Genny with a G, are you ready to saddle Sonny up?”