by Morgan Utley
Her face flushed. “Yep,” she breathed out. “This is where you can usually find me, somewhere around here.” She smiled and tried to regulate her breathing again.
“Do you have a favorite spot?” he asked.
“You know, as a matter of fact, I do.”
“Can I see it?” She looked up at him and could swear he had a twinkle in his eye as he smiled down at her. Even though he had sweat dripping down his face, he looked like he had stepped off the pages of a magazine. His shirt was clinging to his chest from the sweat, and she could really make out his muscle definition. His arms were slightly flexed from running, but she could tell he was strong. His hair was even messier, but it still looked like something he had done on purpose. And when he smiled, it just took her breath away every time. His teeth were white and perfectly straight, and laugh lines would wrinkle around his eyes. It was so genuine and playful she couldn’t help but react to it every time.
“Sure, sure. Yeah, you can see it. Right now?” She slowed down to a jog and waited for him to answer.
“Sure, if that’s okay with you.” He had slowed down to a jog as well. “If you want to finish the run though, I understand.”
“No, we can go right now,” she said and slowed down to a walk. “I think we’ve done about three miles anyway, and that’s good enough for me.” Noah walked alongside her but stayed very close to her. Just a few centimeters closer, and they would be touching. It was as if she could feel the energy bouncing back and forth between their two bodies.
“So, I’ll show you the garden because it's on our way to the spot, and then we’ll head over there. Is that okay with you?”
“Yep! This way I get to see two things.”
“Cool, so the garden is just over here…” she trailed off and walked toward the garden. It really was beautiful. Her mom had her build a white picket fence lined with chicken wire all around the garden to help keep critters out. She opened the gate to the garden that had a beautiful arch above it with blush pink roses climbing all over it. With it being spring, all the flowers were beginning to bud and bloom, which made it exciting as everything turned from green to a bounty of colors.
“This is pretty,” Noah said, sounding amazed.
“Yeah, it makes it feel like you're entering a completely different world.” They walked around the garden as Noah looked around and witnessed all the beautiful colors and greenery around him. Her mom had roses around the entire garden as it was her favorite flower, along with plenty of hydrangeas, sunflowers, daisies, zinnias, pansies, impatiens, and other flowers that Peyton didn’t know the names of. In the back of the garden was where most of the vegetables and fruit were grown. She had a few rows of corn along with pumpkins, zucchini, squash, green beans, lettuce, carrots, lots of tomatoes, and just about every herb that she could grow. There were some blueberries and raspberries as well. It was like her mom’s own personal Garden of Eden.
“Okay,” Noah began, “This is by far the coolest, most beautiful garden I have ever seen. How is she able to keep track and take care of all of this?”
“She spends a few hours a day out here picking the weeds and pruning bushes. My dad set up a sprinkler system that automatically turns on every day so that takes care of the watering. I come out here, too, sometimes when I have all my paperwork done and help pick the vegetables or weed or something. It’s a group effort, but she has definitely done most of the work.”
“Your mom is a garden wizard,” he stated.
Peyton laughed, “I’ll be sure to tell her you said that. There are also a couple of fruit trees, too, but they aren’t in the garden. There are a couple of apple trees in the horse pasture and some behind the garden over there,” Peyton was pointing beyond the garden a little farther. “There is also a pear tree and a plum tree.”
“Talk about being self-sufficient. I’m impressed,” Noah sounded blown away and kept looking around.
“Yeah, my mom always wanted to be prepared and self-sufficient as you said in case anything ever happened. I guess self-reliance is another way I would call it.”
“Well, now I know where I’m going in case anything happens,” Noah smiled, and butterflies started flying around in her stomach.
“Anytime.” She smiled back and looked into his eyes, and he was staring right back. It seemed like minutes that they stood like this, smiling and staring at each other. In her mind, they probably resembled a scene from a romantic movie where the two love birds were standing in the middle of a beautiful garden about to kiss and live happily ever after. Of course, once she started thinking that, her cheeks started to burn red, and she looked down.
“Well,” Noah said, and Peyton looked back up at him, “as much as I have enjoyed seeing the garden, and it definitely exceeded my expectations, I’m ready to see that secret spot of yours.”
“Alright, let’s go!” She tried to play it cool, but she was pretty sure this secret spot was going to be a major let down after her mom’s gorgeous garden. Along the way, she pointed out the barn, the chicken coop, where the cows and horses were, and told the story of the time she was chasing around a calf and slipped in a mud pie. And no, not the chocolate kind.
With a couple of good laughs along the way, they reached the edge of the trees. “So, this is actually part of my little running trail, and it just keeps going and loops around the barn all the way back to the house.”
Noah looked around and followed to where she had pointed, “That's cool. So, is this the spot?” he asked coyly.
Peyton shook her head, “No. It’s through here.” She pointed to another path that cut through the trees.
“Another path? You guys must be outside all the time trying to keep up on everything,” he pointed out.
“It’s just kind of our way of life out here, I guess. An escape to a simpler place where you’re not distracted by the hustle and bustle and the next new thing, ya know?” Peyton shrugged, “I like it. Being this close to nature helps me remember how blessed we are to live on such a beautiful planet.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Noah smiled his wretched crooked smile again that caused Peyton’s stomach to stir again. She smiled back and started walking onto the dirt path through the trees.
“You’re not going to murder me out here, are you?” Noah asked playfully. “Because it seems as if you're leading me to the middle of nowhere.”
“No, my dad would find you out here eventually, and I would be the first suspect.” She smiled up at him, and he laughed.
“Oh, I’m glad that’s the only thing preventing it from happening,” he teased.
She glanced behind her to look at him and said with a smile, “Not the only thing.” Had she just flirted?
Before he could respond, they came into a clearing that revealed a couple of acres of grass and a river flowing slowly not far from them. There was a dock with a bench at the end of it, and some fly fishing poles they left there in case they wanted to fish. A few feet away from the river was a fire pit and some picnic benches where they had spent many nights around a campfire staying up late.
They stopped walking just before stepping onto the dock and listened to the water trickling downstream. It was Peyton’s favorite sound in the world. Well, now it was. Before her favorite sound was Derek’s laugh, and now that it was taken away, all she had to rely on now was this river. Despite it sounding sad, it held a lot of memories. Both good and bad, but she couldn’t seem to stay away from it. It brought on a feeling of peace and tranquility to her that it became her favorite spot to pray and talk to her Heavenly Father about her deepest, darkest thoughts and feelings.
“This place is amazing,” Noah said.
“Yeah, it really is,” Peyton said while scanning around and taking in the scene.
“I can see why this is your favorite spot. How often do you come here?” he asked.
“Almost every day. It’s my place to ponder and think, ya know?”
“Yeah. If I had a spot like this, this is where I wou
ld go.” He stopped talking when he felt a buzz in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “That’s my uncle. He needs me to pick him up a bagel before going to the office. I should probably head out.”
Peyton thought the last thing Dr. Schoenborn needed was a bagel. “Alright, let’s head back.” She turned around and headed back to the house with Noah following behind her.
They walked quietly through the trees and past the garden and didn’t say anything until they were close to the house, still walking but at a slower pace.
“Well,” Noah began, “thank you for the run and for showing me around. Especially your secret spot. It was a lot of fun, and the scenery was beautiful.” Noah’s eyes seemed to be smoldering. Almost as if he meant a different kind of scenery.
A blushing Peyton answered, “You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it all.”
“I definitely did.” Noah smiled and looked at his phone again. “I better get going, I have work soon. Will I see you around?” he asked, almost sounding hopeful, but still maintaining a level of mystery to where she wasn’t sure if he sounded hopeful or not.
“Oh, I’m sure,” she stammered. She wasn’t sure if her beating heart could take anymore.
“Awesome. Bye, Peyton, and thanks again!” He waved goodbye and slowly turned around, walking away as if he wasn’t sure what he was doing. It made Peyton wonder what he had wanted to do.
“You’re welcome!” She waved back and walked up the front steps of the house and through the front door. She jogged over to the window, peered through the blinds, and watched him drive away down the dusty gravel road.
Chapter 7
“Well?” her mom screeched from behind her back.
“Whoa!” Peyton felt as if she had just jumped ten feet in the air. She had not anticipated her mom standing right behind her. “Mom, a little warning next time!” Peyton shrieked. She walked away from the window to sit down and pull her shoes and socks off.
“Sorry! I’ve been waiting around the house this whole time, and I wanted to hear about it as soon as you came in. Is he gone?” Her mom followed behind and sat at the table next to her.
“Yes, he’s gone,” Peyton confirmed, looking at her hyper mother.
“Well? Are you going to tell me about it?” she asked.
For her sake, Peyton went on to tell her mom about the entire run. She told her about where they ran, how far they ran, and what they talked about, and she answered all of her mother's questions on top of it. She was fine with this and let her mom hear everything she could until her mom asked the last question, “So, did he ask to see you again?” And to Peyton’s disappointment, whether she knew it or not, he hadn’t asked if they could get together again. Which made her wonder why? Had she done something wrong?
A couple of days passed, and she still hadn’t heard from Noah. The last thing she heard from him was a text a few hours after their run saying thank you. She had replied, and then she received nothing else.
She tried not to make anything of it, but it didn’t help that her mom kept asking her if she had heard from him yet. She went on her usual runs, got caught up on all her billing and paperwork for her dad, and did extra chores around the house. All these things helped but not completely. She still wondered if she had put him off somehow or said something wrong. Part of her was upset because she didn’t want to bother putting herself out there anyway. The last thing she wanted to think was that it was a waste of time, but her thoughts were headed in that direction.
The thing she was genuinely dreading was going to her therapy appointment. She knew he was working the front desk temporarily, and she didn’t know how to act. She couldn’t decide whether or not they were platonic, friendly, or extra friendly.
She didn’t know. So, when her mom told her it was time to go into town for her appointment, she did what she thought was best. Tried to get out of it.
“You know, Mom. I don’t think I’m feeling well,” Peyton admitted then coughed.
“You seemed fine this morning when you went on your run,” her mom pointed out. Strike one.
“Wasn’t there something you had to get done today? If you need to, we can totally reschedule, and I would be fine with that,” Peyton said to her mom.
“Nope, I think today is the perfect day for your appointment.” Strike two.
Peyton walked over to the back door in one last-ditch effort.
“What’s that, Dad?” Peyton yelled and opened the door. “You need my help with the cows? Sure, I’ll come right now.” Peyton tried to walk out the door, but her mom stopped her.
“Peyton! Get in here,” she said sternly. “I know you don’t want to go. I know you're disappointed, but the last thing you need to do is make it awkward by canceling and not going to your appointment. You walk in there confident, with a smile on your face, and pretend nothing has happened. You understand me?” Her mom was staring at her, and Peyton knew she was out of hits. Strike three.
“Yes, Mom,” she mumbled and sulked out the front door toward the car.
Her mom followed behind her and climbed into the car. “You know I only tell you these things because I love you, right?”
“Yes, Mom, I know,” Peyton said and got into the passenger seat. Her mom pulled out of the driveway and began the fifteen-minute drive into town.
Once they arrived at the office, Peyton hesitated before stepping from the car. She knew that she had to regain her composure before going inside the office.
“Are you going to make me hold your hand and walk in there with you?” her mom challenged her.
“No, Mom. No, I’m going, really. I just need a minute to collect my thoughts,” she admitted. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. She could imagine it going so many different ways, but she knew she couldn’t let herself think too much about it. She just had to get in there and be confident as her mom had said.
“Remember what I said, honey—smile. It’s all good. And you don’t know, maybe it's genuinely nothing, and he’s just been super busy. You said he was in dental school, right? And he’s graduating this year? Anything could have happened. No worries. Confidence is key.” She felt her mom grab and squeeze her hand. She opened her eyes and saw her mom smiling at her. “You can do this,” she whispered and smiled.
“Okay, I’m ready.” She took a deep breath and opened the car door. “Oh, and hey, Mom,” she spun around to look at her, “please don’t be late. And turn your phone up.” Peyton requested.
“OK, I will. See you later!” She waved.
Peyton shut the door and walked toward the front doors and entered the office. At the front desk sat Noah. He looked up and smiled at her, and for a minute, Peyton forgot she was upset. His hair was tousled around, his crooked smile showed just one dimple on his right cheek, and he was wearing a navy blue shirt that made his eyes pop.
“Hi, Peyton, how are you doing?” Noah asked in his deep voice.
Peyton cleared her throat, “Uh, you know, just fine. You?”
“I’m doing good. Are you here for your eleven o'clock?” he asked.
“Yep. Yep, I am.” She looked down at the floor, and he checked her in on the computer.
“Alright, you’re all set. I’ll let him know you’re here, Peyton,” He smiled at her, and she felt her heart speed up.
“Thanks,” she turned around and sat down in the waiting room.
She tried to pick up a magazine or browse on her phone, but she kept looking up at Noah going back and forth between the computer and a notebook he was writing on. She kept promising herself that she would just look one more time, but somehow she continued looking up. It was getting to the point where she was counting down the minutes in between each glance or trying to stretch herself for as long as she could before looking at him again.
Before she stole another glance at him, Dr. Schoenborn came into the waiting area. “Hello, Peyton, you ready?” He was wearing khaki pants with a purple checkered button-up shirt that appeared to have a jelly
stain on it. She was guessing it was from a jelly donut from breakfast.
“Yup, I am!” She tried to sound like she didn’t have a care in the world and forced herself not to look at Noah as she followed Dr. Schoenborn.
Peyton followed him into his office and sat down in the same chair she had sat in for months. She looked around the room and nothing had changed. The walls were painted a neutral beige color with a few pictures of mountains that Dr. Schoenborn had no problem telling Peyton he had taken himself. At one end of the room, his desk, scattered with papers, sat in front of a big window. There were also a few pictures of him and his family on the desk. He had a few file cabinets that Peyton assumed had his patients' files in them with random knick-knacks that sat on top of them. The other end of the room had a big brown couch along with two dark blue accent chairs that Dr. Schoenborn and she preferred to sit in.
“So, Peyton, how was your week?” he asked, pulling out his pen, ready to scribble away on his notepad.
“It was fine. Same thing, nothing new. I ran every day, did some work for my dad, and mostly stayed home,” she shrugged, and her shoulders ended her sentence.
“I heard you had some company on one of your runs this week,” he smiled and waited for her response.
“Uh, yeah.” she looked down, twirling her thumbs. “Noah, your nephew, actually came and ran with me a couple of days ago, and I showed him around the farm. It was fun.” She could feel herself blushing and becoming hot. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about his nephew.
“Yeah, he told me about it and said he had a lot of fun.” He raised his eyebrows and smiled a frog-like smile that made Peyton squirm in her seat.
“Oh, did he? Well, I’m glad. I did too.” she said quietly and continued to look down at her fingers trying to control the sweating she could feel building up in her armpits.
“I’m glad to hear you had a date. It’s been a while since you’ve done something like that, hasn’t it?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow.