Date Next Door

by Gina Wilkins

  She could handle another hour or so, Nic promised herself. She could keep smiling and nodding and pretending there was nothing on her mind but socializing with Joel and his friends. And when she returned home, she would stay very busy with work, giving herself—and Joel—time to decide if they had been swept up in a moment, carried away by feelings that couldn’t last.

  Joel was dressed before Nic. He could hear her moving around in her room as he passed by, but he didn’t stop to knock. She would come out when she was ready and she didn’t need him to escort her downstairs.

  He walked through his mother’s hallway photo gallery, somberly studying the images as he passed them. He hadn’t actually realized until now how many photos of Heather his mother had on display. Nor had he given a thought to how a new woman in his life might feel about walking through this shrine to his late wife.

  It hadn’t been necessary to think along those lines before. Nic was the first woman he’d brought to his parents’ home since Heather died.

  Though he hadn’t intended to, he paused in front of a huge framed photograph of himself and Heather on their wedding day. She had been so beautiful, and he had looked so happy. And though they had waited longer than some young couples to marry, preferring to finish their career training first, they had both looked so damned young.

  Just over five years had passed since that photo was taken, but he felt so much older. So different. Maybe that was why he found himself falling now for a very different type of woman.

  He had known Heather better than he’d ever known anyone, including his family. He had watched her grow from a giggly girl to a polished, professional woman. They had shared everything with each other, their dreams, their fears, their joys and disappointments. And yet he couldn’t say with any certainty now how Heather would have felt about Nic. What she would think about his growing feelings for Nic.

  Like most couples, they’d had a talk soon after they married in which they’d discussed the unlikely event that one of them would die an untimely death, leaving the other widowed at an early age. Smug in their confidence that nothing like that could ever happen to them, the golden couple of Danston High, they had earnestly made each other promise that they would never be lonely and miserable, no matter what.

  “I would want you to fall in love again,” Heather had assured him. “You’re the type of man who thrives in a steady, supportive relationship. I would never want you to be alone.”

  “And I would want you to remarry,” Joel had assured her in return, knowing even then that he was lying through his teeth.

  Yeah, he’d wanted her to be happy—but he couldn’t imagine her with anyone but him. Couldn’t bear to think about it. Had Heather felt the same way despite her unselfish words?

  “Joel?”

  He hadn’t heard Nic’s door open. Hearing her voice right behind him made him turn away from the wedding portrait with a start that felt unjustifiably guilty. “Oh. Good morning.”

  She glanced from him to the photograph and back again, but her smile was bright and unrevealing when she replied, “Good morning. Were you waiting for me?”

  “Yes,” he said smoothly. “You’re right on time.”

  The breakfast was the usual end-of-the-weekend gathering. Everyone looked a little tired, ready to get back to their usual routines.

  The caterers were running a bit behind, and the breakfast tables weren’t open yet, so groups gathered around the room and on the lanai to sip coffee and rehash the weekend. It was a smaller group than the one from last night, so the noise level was considerably lower, though there was still plenty of conversation and laughter. Nic heard several people say they were looking forward to the next reunion in five more years.

  She wouldn’t be around for that one, of course, but for Heidi’s sake, she was glad this event had gone so well that everyone seemed to be looking forward to the next one. It seemed to mean so much to Heidi.

  And speaking of Heidi…

  Taking advantage of Joel being across the room, reliving a high school football game with some of his old teammates, Heidi pigeonholed Nic at the pastries table and all but dragged her out onto the lanai. “So, Nicole, did you have a nice time at our reunion?”

  “Yes, I had a great time. Thanks.”

  “We certainly enjoyed having you here with us. It was so nice to meet one of Joel’s friends from Arkansas. We all worry about him, you know. It makes us feel better to know he has people to hang out with there.”

  Brushing her breeze-tossed hair out of her face, Nic found herself analyzing Heidi’s words, trying to read the subtext. “Joel has lots of friends,” she said noncommittally.

  “Oh, I’m sure he does. He always has had a way of making people love him. That’s why we fret about him being happy, I suppose.”

  “It seems to me that everyone worries too much about Joel. He’s pretty much the most self-sufficient guy I know. And one of the most content, for that matter.”

  Heidi patted her arm in a rather patronizing manner that set her teeth on edge. “Yes, well, you didn’t see him at the last reunion or you would understand our concerns. He was in terrible shape then. Frankly I was afraid for his well-being, both emotionally and physically.”

  Not only did this feel entirely too much like gossip for Nic’s peace of mind, but she knew how much Joel would hate having Heidi portray him as an object of pity and concern by his former classmates. “You can put your mind at ease. He’s fine.”

  If Heidi was daunted by Nic’s chilly tone, she did a good job of hiding it. “You’re a good friend to him, Nicole. I’m surprised the two of you have never dated….”

  The implied question mark at the end of the statement made Nic shake her head. “We’ve never dated,” she said completely candidly. “As we’ve said, we’re neighbors. This is the first time we’ve actually spent this much time together.”

  And doing so had led to complications neither Nic nor Joel had predicted, though she saw no reason at all to mention that to Heidi.

  “Does Joel date anyone in Arkansas?” Heidi asked. “I’m not trying to snoop, really. I just want to know, as his friend, if he’s getting on with his life.”

  “He dates when his demanding career allows. But really, Heidi, this is sort of personal, don’t you think? If you really think he wouldn’t mind you asking, these are all questions you should ask Joel.”

  “Oh, I know, I’m coming across as really nosy,” Heidi said with a little laugh. “It’s just that he’s so special to me. I think of him almost like a brother. And if he’s making himself available, I have someone in mind that I think would be perfect for him. A cousin of my husband’s. She’s twenty-five, single, pretty, bright. She’s a high school teacher, a former Danston High cheerleader who was valedictorian of her class. She has a master’s degree in history.”

  “Um, Heidi—”

  “She reminds me a little of Heather, actually. She wants a family, but she hasn’t met anyone who was right for her yet…and I have this feeling that Joel could be the one. I’m pretty good at matchmaking, actually. I’ve put several successful couples together.”

  “Lucky them,” Nic muttered.

  “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “Nothing.” Nic abruptly changed the subject. “It’s really nice out this morning, isn’t it? Warm for October.”

  Heidi wasn’t one to be distracted by talks of the weather. “You know Joel pretty well, being such good pals with him. How do you think he would feel if I suggested that he meet Jenny? Do you think he’s ready to consider another serious relationship? Have you and he ever talked about anything like that?”

  Nic was starting to get irritated. Really, who talked like this, outside of TV shows? It was none of her business how Joel felt about dating, and none of Heidi’s either, for that matter. And if Heidi really wanted to know, anyway, she should ask Joel.

  She wanted to tell Heidi in no uncertain terms that she should keep her matchmaking urges on a leash, but she bit dow
n on her tongue to lock the acerbic words inside.

  “No,” she said instead, unable to keep her tone from sounding clipped. “We don’t talk about things like that.”

  “Oh.” Heidi sounded disappointed and a bit abashed. Maybe she had finally taken the hint that Nic was not going to gossip about Joel, nor give Heidi any fodder for doing so with others.

  Nic half turned to look around them, searching for an excuse to escape. She and Heidi weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the warm, clear morning to enjoy the view. Nearly everyone had strolled out through the open glass doors to the lanai, and cozy little groups had gathered around the railing. A brisk summer breeze tossed hair and caused white paper napkins to flutter out of inattentive hands and fly gleefully to freedom.

  Suspended over the hill that sloped steeply down toward the lake, the lanai swayed a little in the breeze. No one appeared alarmed by the movement beneath their feet, nor the accompanying creaks of wood, so Nic put it out of her mind.

  With a sharp gasp, Heidi suddenly caught her arm. For a moment, Nic thought something was wrong, but then she followed the direction of Heidi’s pointing finger. “Look!” Heidi said with a little squeal of pleasure. “Deer. Aren’t they beautiful?”

  Relieved that something besides Joel’s social life held Heidi’s attention now, Nic dutifully stepped forward with her to the railing, where they could both admire the deer strolling through the high grass near the lake. There were five of them, four does and a fawn, and they posed by the water in a postcard-charming tableau. Alerted by Heidi’s reaction, others moved to the railing to admire the scene, so that perhaps fifteen people were gathered in one area of the lanai.

  Jostled to one side, Nic smiled ruefully. One would think unicorns had just appeared out of the mist. How bored was this group that a small herd of ordinary deer could cause this sort of excitement?

  She turned her head and spotted Joel and the Watson twins. Meeting her gaze, Joel smiled, and her breath caught hard in her throat. The sexy curve of his lips reminded her of how they had felt pressed against her own and ignited a strong craving to sample their taste again.

  She thought suddenly of Heidi’s matchmaking plans on Joel’s behalf and found her fingers curling into fists at her side in response. Hastily she straightened them, smiling back at Joel.

  Someone called out that the breakfast buffet was now open, and everyone forgot about the deer, moving away from the railing and toward the ballroom. Nic noticed that the Watson twins both made U-turns and headed back inside for food, though Joel stood his ground as the others swarmed past him.

  He didn’t look away from Nic, and she waited where she was for him to join her. She didn’t think he would mind being at the back of the line, and she wouldn’t mind a few minutes alone with him out in this lovely setting.

  “Nicole.” Maybe Heidi had noticed that intimate exchange of smiles and was deliberately trying to interrupt. She hadn’t moved away from the railing. “Come look. The little fawn is so cute.”

  Dragging her gaze from Joel’s, Nic turned obediently to take a step toward the other woman.

  She felt the quiver of the wood only moments before the floor beneath her feet seemed to shift. And then one corner of the lanai—the corner closest to where Heidi stood—simply collapsed.

  Someone screamed behind her. Heidi stumbled, her arms flailing. Feeling the wood shift beneath her again, Nic was instantly aware that she should throw herself backward, toward safety.

  She shot forward instead, toward Heidi and the crumbling corner of the lanai.

  Joel was walking toward Nic, his pulse thumping at the base of his throat in response to the smile they’d exchanged, when the deck collapsed. His heart stopped altogether when he saw her stumble toward the broken edge of the two-story lanai. She caught herself immediately, but then, to his horror, threw herself directly toward the break.

  The lanai shuddered again beneath him and people began to scream behind him. He surged forward, calling Nic’s name.

  He saw her grab Heidi and all but shove her toward Joel. Joel managed to catch Heidi without stumbling, and he acted on pure instinct when he half turned to push her toward the doors and safety. She fell, but Ernie Watson caught her arm and half-pulled, half-dragged her inside.

  Nic threw herself toward Joel the moment she was certain that Heidi was safe, but the collapsing foundation had started a chain reaction that made the whole lanai start to crumble. She stumbled and slid backward as the wood sloped beneath her.

  It all happened in a fraction of a second, but Joel felt as though he were watching Nic fall in slow motion.

  “Nic!” he shouted again, reaching for her.

  She jumped toward him. He made a desperate grab, but his grasping fingers closed around empty air. Someone latched on to him from behind just as the lanai split again with a loud crack. Even as he struggled against the force pulling him back toward the doors, Nic tumbled over the broken edge and out of his sight.

  Nic’s head hurt. She didn’t often wake with a headache, she thought without opening her eyes. And why did the rest of her body feel so stiff and sore?

  Her bed felt odd. Hard. Lumpy. Strange noises surrounded her, and an acrid antiseptic scent tickled her nose. Some part of her mind was aware that she wasn’t in her own bedroom, but she was having trouble making her eyelids open so that she could figure out exactly what was going on.

  “Nic?”

  Joel’s voice. She latched on to the familiar sound and tried to force her eyes open. She wanted to see him.

  Her vision was blurred. His face was seriously out of focus as he leaned over her, saying her name again. She blinked rapidly—or tried to. It seemed as though even her eyelids were moving slowly. “Joel?”

  What was that funny croak? Surely not her voice. She cleared her throat, then winced when another bolt of pain shot through her head.

  “Hey,” he said softly, very lightly brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”

  “I, um…” Her mind was still hazy, the words hard to retrieve, but she was relieved to see that his face was slowly coming into focus. He was smiling, though his eyes were very grave. “I’m okay. Where…?”

  “You’re in the hospital, but you’re going to be okay,” he assured her quickly. “You fell. Remember? The lanai collapsed. Some sort of structural defect.”

  Though he was still smiling at her, she heard an underlying fierceness in his voice. She’d rarely seen Joel angry, but something about his tone made her glad it wasn’t directed at her.

  “Is everyone else okay?” she asked as the memories began to creep back into her aching head. “Heidi?”

  Joel’s smile broadened. “Heidi’s out in the waiting room, telling everyone in sight that you are a hero. She says you saved her life with your quick thinking. She’ll probably cry all over you the minute she has a chance.”

  Nic grimaced. “That’s really not necessary,” she said fervently.

  He gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I’ll hold her off as long as I can.”

  “Thanks.” Shifting on the bed, she winced again when her movement tugged at the IV taped to her left hand and sent shooting pains through various parts of her body. “Was anyone else hurt?”

  “Earl Watson twisted an ankle when he made a grab for me when the lanai collapsed. He was still able to hold on to a doorway and keep us both from going over after you. Heidi skinned her knees when she fell scrambling to get inside, but she’s fine. Everyone else had just gone inside for breakfast when the structure gave way. We don’t know whether it was already broken while they were standing out on the deck or gave way just as they moved inward.”

  “It’s sort of coming back to me now. I remember the lanai falling and I sort of remember being in an ambulance.”

  “It’s natural that you would have some memory gaps. You have a concussion.”

  “A concussion. Okay. Anything else?”

  “Quite a few br
uises. You’ve got six stitches just under your chin—you’ll have a scar, but it’ll fade to a very thin line, barely noticeable, with time.”

  Wiggling her jaw tentatively and feeling the gauze taped to her chin, she nodded. She wasn’t worried about a scar—she had several of those already.

  “You’ve got some other minor cuts, none of them deep enough for stitches, and you’ll have some spectacular bruises. A particularly nasty bruise on your right shoulder, where you took the brunt of the fall. For the next few days you’re going to feel like you were beaten up, but that’s the extent of it. You were very lucky that you landed on a slope and rolled rather than hitting a solid surface and having debris fall on top of you.”

  She sort of remembered Joel getting to her while she’d lain on the ground, dazed and not yet feeling the pain that would hit in the ambulance. He’d sounded frantic when he’d said her name, more rattled than she’d ever seen him. He’d have felt the same way about any of his friends, of course, but she remembered how safe she had felt at knowing he was nearby and watching out for her.

  “No broken bones?” she asked just for reassurance.

  “No, thank goodness. Anyone else might have been badly hurt after a ten-foot drop, but I’ve always said you were the toughest woman I know.”

  She smiled faintly. “And don’t you forget it.”

  “Not likely.” He leaned over to brush a kiss across her forehead. “You scared the stuffing out of me.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what I was hoping to do,” she murmured, letting her heavy eyelids drift downward again. “I’ve been planning it all weekend. Just to make the reunion a little more exciting, you know.”

  He chuckled softly, but there was an odd little catch in the sound. “Next time let’s just keep things nice and dull, okay?”

  She started to tell him that there wouldn’t be a next time. By the time his next class reunion rolled around, she and Joel would be living different and very likely separate lives. But suddenly it just seemed like too much trouble to try to form the words. She made a murmuring sound and closed her eyes.