by Molly Evans
“Wow. Not too many takers,” Aurora said, heartily disappointed in the number of people who’d stopped by their booth. “I’ve only had three BP checks and six flu shots.” She plopped down into her chair and shoved her hair out of her face. “This is discouraging. I thought more people would be interested in us. I mean, you. The clinic.”
“Oh, just wait until after lunch. People will settle down then, get something to eat, work on their indigestion, then come over to see if we have any antacids.”
Beau was looking at the situation a different way than she did.
“We don’t have any antacids. I never thought of that!”
Beau fished around in a box beneath the table, shook a giant bottle of antacids and sat it in front of her. “We do now. In a moment of clarity I grabbed some from the pharmacy on the way over.”
“Oh, you think you’re so smart, don’t you?”
“I try to be.”
Secretly pleased at his thoughtfulness, she felt a warmth pulse in her chest. Could they really do this together? This thing they were already doing?
Before she had any time to mull over that idea, there was a new arrival at their table.
CHAPTER TWELVE
AS BEAU HAD PREDICTED, the afternoon saw a flurry of increased activity at their little booth. People were looking for information on a variety of illnesses and there was renewed interest in flu shots.
“I’ve started an email list for people to subscribe to your newsletter.”
“I don’t have a newsletter.”
“You do now.”
“Awesome.” Beau patted his stomach. “The smell of that chicken is driving me nuts. How about I go get us some lunch?”
“I haven’t had it in years, so I’m overdue.”
The first piece of smoky barbecue chicken to hit her tongue brought back so many memories for Aurora that she closed her eyes and squealed.
“Too hot?”
She shook her head.
“Must be good, then.”
She nodded her head and silently chewed as memories assaulted her from every direction.
So many things that one bite of food gave to her. Memories of family excursions to the fair, memories of her teenage years, going on dates to the fair, or hanging out with her friends. Memories assaulted her, overwhelmed her. Friends she’d lost track of, family who were no longer with them, events she’d missed.
Pain suddenly hit her in the gut as she chewed. Tears filled her eyes, then overflowed.
“What’s wrong? That bad?”
She choked down the piece of food and opened her watery eyes to Beau, now stooped in front of her. “No. I’ve missed so much.” She hiccuped in a breath. “Being gone. I’ve missed it here, but I’d convinced myself I didn’t belong here, that my life was elsewhere.”
“One bite of chicken told you that?”
“Yes.” Again and again memories of years past trickled into her brain, and she placed her hand on his strong shoulder, needing a connection with him right now. “I ran away, and I kept running and running, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did, but you had reasons for it, right?”
“I did. I had to go. I had to get out of here. I had to find my life, to make my life somewhere else—or at least that’s what I thought at the time. But now I just don’t know.”
“You did. Now it’s time for you to come home, Aurora. Come home to the people who love you, and miss you, and want to see you here every day.” He stayed in front of her, with not a care about the people flowing around them.
“How can I do that when I’ve hurt people, cut them out by leaving? My friends. My family. I don’t want to hurt anyone else. Especially you.” She placed her hand on his face. “I’ve hurt you, and I keep doing it, don’t I?”
“Shh, Aurora.” He pulled her close and hugged her. “You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, and you don’t have to. Just be you, and everything will be fine.”
The reassurance in his voice comforted her in the moment.
“When you said you weren’t prepared to take the risk you shocked the hell out of me. Everything you’ve done with your life—building your career from scratch in a new state, returning here and starting again, all the chances you took... But I wasn’t worth the risk. I wasn’t ready for that and it was a slap in the face.”
“I’m so sorry, Beau.”
“You were right.” He nodded and held her gaze. “But you were wrong, too.”
“Er...what?”
“We are worth the risk. We’re already better than I ever could have imagined. I loved Julie, and I always will, but I’m in love with you.”
A few seconds passed before the impact of his words sank in. “Really?” She sat bolt upright in the chair and nearly knocked Beau over.
“Yes, really.” He cupped her face in his hands and drew her closer for a hard kiss. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to keep you here and the answer was as simple as being honest with myself and with you.”
“Beau, are you sure? I mean, are you really ready for this? What about Chloe?”
“She’s already fond of you and has accepted you, so with time I’m sure she’ll love you as much as I do.” He cleared his throat and glanced away. “So, Aurora Hunt, will you stay in Brush Valley, with me, with Chloe, and someday be my wife?”
“Beau...” The word was a breath on the air, a sigh from her soul. Everything was in that one word. “Yes, I’ll stay. I don’t know what I’ll do for work, but I won’t leave. I won’t leave you and Chloe. I love you both so much.”
“We’ll find a job for you somewhere until the clinic is busy enough for two nurses. I just don’t want you to go. I want to give us a chance.”
“I want that, too.”
Lunging from the chair, she launched herself into Beau’s arms and hung onto him.
Someone nearby cleared his throat loudly and a familiar voice interrupted them. “Hey, you two. Just who I was looking for.”
Aurora pulled back and wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands, hoping she hadn’t smeared her mascara.
“Tim!” Beau stood in front of Aurora, giving her a minute to catch her breath while he still trembled from the effort to control his emotions in the moment. “What can I do for you?”
“I got my dressing all torn up.”
He held up his hand. It was not the pristine white dressing that he’d left the office with. It was falling off and streaked with smudges of who knew what?
“Come over here before Aurora sees it.” Beau led him to the opposite side of the tent. “You just can’t stay out of trouble, can you, Tim?”
“You know me, don’t you, Beau?” Tim gave a laugh and sat on the chair and began to unwrap the dressing by himself. “I got a new horse who needs some extra attention. Got my dressing wrapped up in the bridle. He spooked, then we both ran around the corral like maniacs until the wrapping tore away. It’s all dirty, and I knew Aurora would probably give me hell, so I decided to man up and come to you before she finds out and yanks me around by the ear.”
“I wouldn’t do that, Tim Verner.”
There she stood with her hands on her hips, looking like she would do exactly that, and Beau allowed one side of his mouth to curl up. She was a force to be reckoned with, and he loved her with all his heart. In that moment, as he stood there watching her give his patient a hard time, the broken pieces of his heart were melding back together again.
Yes, he would always love Julie. She’d given him the best piece of herself before she died, and he would honor her and their love all the remaining days he spent on earth. But the earthbound man needed to move on, had to move on. With Aurora by his side, he knew he could do it. He could have a good life, raise his daughter, and maybe have a few more running around.
“Neither will I.” Beau rubbed his ear, which suddenly burned from the memory.
Aurora’s eyes went wide and she clapped a hand over her mouth. “I totally forgot about that.” She stood upright, like every stern teacher they’d ever had. “But I’m going to remember it now if you really did what you said you did.” She gave him a stern look. “Thanks for the refresher, Tim. Now let me see what damage you did while wrangling a wild horse.”
She brushed aside Beau’s hands, obviously recovered from the bout with her emotions, but her gaze kept darting toward him. That was good.
He watched Aurora give Tim an earful about bacteria and flesh-eating staph, gangrene, and all manner of ills that would befall him should he choose to ignore her instructions. Again.
“Okay. Okay. I’ll behave myself.” He shook his head and looked at her sheepishly from under the rim of his dusty cowboy hat.
“Your definition of that differs a lot from mine.” Aurora snorted and added an extra layer of tape, giving him a dose of the stink eye as she did so. “Don’t get it dirty—or I’ll be calling your wife to watch you closer.”
“Please don’t do that.” Tim squirmed a little in his seat. “That’s really unnecessary.”
“Then behave yourself. The longer you keep irritating the wound, the longer it will take to heal.”
“I know. I know.”
“Then do it. What you resist, persists. Have you ever heard that?”
“No. But I get it.” Shaking his head, he widened his eyes briefly. “Boy, do I get it.”
“Okay. Lecture over.” She gave him another look, watching to see if her words had really sunk into his brain. “For now. Don’t screw this up before you even get to see the hand surgeon.”
“Beau? Can you do something about her?” Playful as ever, Tim teased him.
“What? Me? No way. Not touching that one.” Beau held his hands up like he was facing a rattlesnake.
It turned into a good-natured argument about who was going to do what. This little moment was just the kind of fun Aurora needed. Another person from her past reinforcing how much she was needed here. How much she was wanted here. Not just because of him and how good they were together.
“Excuse me. Is this a bad time?” A woman stood a few feet away, hesitating.
“This is a perfect time.” Beau stood and greeted her, glad that people were still stopping by for a variety of reasons. “I’m Dr. Gutterman. What can I do for you?”
“I was interested in getting a flu shot.”
“Great. My nurse Aurora is in charge of those, so I’ll place you in her capable hands.”
After Aurora had finished up, he approached her.
“I never could have done this without your input and help, Aurora. Never.”
“Oh, it wasn’t that much. Really...”
She dropped her gaze as a flush colored her neck and face. Though she tried to brush off the compliment, he could see that she was pleased.
“Just take the compliment and my gratitude for what they are.”
“What are they?”
“Sincere.”
“Beau...”
Now she met his gaze, her eyes glistening with the happiness that he’d wanted to see there for a long time. Knowing he’d put it there pleased him. He’d like to spend all his days looking for that ray of sunshine in her eyes.
“It’s true.”
He leaned over to kiss her cheek, then turned as he heard a familiar little voice. The squeal let him know who was coming.
* * *
“Chloe!”
He greeted the toddler with all the enthusiasm that Aurora expected to see—had missed seeing in the men in her family. What was so different about him? He was certainly manly, masculine and strong, but he had a soft side when it came to his daughter. It was lovely to see and something in her heart turned.
Was she really looking at this man who’d been her friend for years in the right light? Could he really be a partner to her in work and in her heart? Letting him in could risk heartache again, for both of them, but anything in life that was worth having was worth taking a risk on, wasn’t it?
As the thrumming in her chest made her breathing tight she watched as Beau clasped Chloe in his hands, then gave her a little toss in the air, and she knew she was done for. There was no way she was leaving Beau and Chloe.
Nothing was as important to her as they were.
The baby squealed, delighted with the play. Then Beau tucked her against his side, pressed a kiss to her chubby little cheek. The pain in Aurora’s chest burst and tears filled her eyes as she watched the man she’d fallen in love with play with his child.
The sun continued to move westward, casting the man in a bronze glow. His shoulders looked broader, his hips leaner, his legs longer, and when he turned to face her with a grin he was more handsome, his hair more golden blond, and his skin glowed in a way she’d never noticed.
When he looked at her that way, with pure joy in his eyes, her heart cramped in her chest and her knees felt weak and trembling.
She was completely, totally, outrageously in love with Beau Gutterman. Hopelessly in love with him.
As he approached, Chloe reached out to Aurora and her heart beat a little faster again. Tears pricked her eyes at the little girl’s plea, and she took Chloe from Beau.
“How’s Chloe doing today?” She smiled and gave her a kiss.
“She’s been a good baby all day, but somehow she knew it was time to see her daddy,” said Dolly, Beau’s mother.
The woman turned and approached Aurora with an assessing look on her face. Her eyes were the same vivid green as Beau’s, and it was obvious where his looks came from.
“You must be Aurora?”
“Yes, I am.” With her hands full of baby, she couldn’t shake Dolly’s hand, so she nodded. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Oh, yes. I do recall meeting you once or twice when you kids were in school. Beau tells me you’ve been a godsend to him at the office.”
“He does?”
She cast a quick look at the man whose face was unreadable at the moment. Aurora couldn’t tell anything of what he was thinking or feeling from the way his eyes were guarded and the firm set of his mouth. All moisture left her mouth as she stared at him.
After a short visit, Dolly took Chloe and placed her in her stroller. “I think I’ll take her home before the fireworks get started. They’ll be too loud for her.”
“Good idea.” Beau leaned over and pressed a kiss to his mother’s cheek. “Thanks for taking her today.”
“It is a joy. She’s a good baby, and I love having her.”
“You have to tell me, though, if she gets too much for you.”
Dolly Gutterman pulled herself upright and raised one brow at her son. “Are you trying to tell me that I’m getting too old to handle a baby?”
A flash of a grin took over Beau’s face for a few seconds before he controlled his expression. “No, ma’am. I’d never do that.”
“Good. Having a baby around makes me feel younger every day.” Her bright look was taken over by a sad grief for a few seconds, as Dolly looked at her granddaughter, who was falling asleep right in front of them. “I just wish things were different. That she had a mom to love her, too.”
“She will. I promise.” He placed a hand on Dolly’s arm and gave a little squeeze. “I’ll give you a call when we’re all wrapped up here.”
“Okay. By the
n I’m sure she’ll be asleep. She can stay overnight. I don’t mind at all.”
“If you don’t mind... Aurora and I have some things to finish up and it could get late.”
“Call me in the morning.”
She raised her face to his and he kissed his mother on the cheek, then kissed Chloe and watched as they moved away.
Aurora had stood transfixed, watching the conversation between Beau and Dolly.
“Beau!”
A feminine voice called to him, and both he and Aurora turned to look.
“Don’t leave yet.”
“Cathy?”
Beau placed his hands on his hips and grinned at the woman coming their way. A baby was strapped to her chest and her husband kept pace with them as he toted a diaper bag.
“You look fabulous.” The awe in his voice was almost tangible. Beau eased the blue cover away from the baby’s face. “He’s beautiful!”
Despite herself, Aurora was drawn closer to the new family too. This was the baby that she and Beau had delivered together her first day here.
“Oh, he’s a beauty, for sure,” Aurora said, and the pain, the hurt in her chest dissipated as the baby shifted position and yawned, then settled down again. “How are you doing?”
“I feel great.” The look of adoration Cathy cast on her baby was pure bliss. “He’s a good baby, and sleeps most of the night.”
“That’s a miracle in itself,” Aurora said, knowing that not every baby slept through the night.
“I’m so glad you stopped by.” Beau stretched around her and shook hands with Ron, her husband. “Are you ready to come back to work yet?”
Aurora held her breath. Her future rode on the answer to that question. Moisture broke out on her palms and her tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth. Her heart, which had just been quiet, now thrummed with anxiety. She waited for Cathy’s answer.
“Oh, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” She looked at her husband, then a grin erupted on her face. “While I’ve been off, Ron got a promotion, and now I don’t have to work at all!”
Cathy practically glowed as she announced that her dream of becoming a full-time wife and mother had actually come true.