Love Me Again

by Melissa Crosby

  “I want us to buy it.”

  Jenna looked up at him, surprised. “The church? To do what with exactly?”

  “It’s amazing, Jenna. I went and visited it a few months ago. You’ll love the old native timbers and high ceilings. It’s got the original trusses exposed and the light that filters through the windows it’s just amazing.”

  She didn’t want to burst Dave’s obvious bubble of excitement, but she wasn’t sure where this was going. “Okay... but why do you want to buy it?”

  Dave kneeled beside Jenna and took her hands. “I want to build a small medical practice—right here, in Willow.”

  Jenna searched his eyes as they beamed with eagerness and exhilaration. She could feel the energy bursting from his pores.

  “Think about it—ever since Dr. Waters passed away, the nearest medical practice is in the next town. People have to drive out of Willow or go to County Hospital to see a doctor. I can be the town physician. Hire a nurse to assist me or get an office person. That means creating a couple of jobs for the town.” Dave beamed like she’d never seen him before. “What do you think?”

  She had to admit; it seemed like a real possibility. Jenna liked his enthusiasm. It’s the happiest she had seen Dave in a long time. She felt a surge of guilt rise within her for not knowing how unhappy he had been all this time. “I don’t know... do you think it will work?”

  “Of course it will! It’s high time that the town got its own practice again.” Dave turned the chair so Jenna faced him. “I think it can really work. But I can’t do it without you—without your support.”

  That night, Jenna and Dave lay awake in bed dreaming about what could be. Swept by his excitement, Jenna wondered if she too could start chasing—re-chasing—her dreams. Maybe she could open up a theater school? A dance school? No, she wouldn’t want to compete with Ms. Emma’s ballet. Although maybe they could team up? Jenna was always good in jazz. She could do contemporary. Or she could do a drama school for kids. The possibilities seemed endless, and for the first time in a long time, Jenna felt hopeful. Excited. Energized.

  As Dave held her in his arms, Jenna ran a hand over his chest. She’d forgotten how manly—muscled—he was. His scent invigorated her senses, and she wanted him for herself. Jenna pressed a kiss on his chest. And then another—and another.

  She looked up at Dave to find him watching her. His eyes darkened with desire, making her feel like a new woman.

  “Okay,” she said quietly, as she pressed a trail of kisses on his chest and up to his neck. “Let’s do it.”

  Dave looked at her, and in one swift move, Jenna lay beneath him.

  Wrapped in his masculinity, Jenna bit her bottom lip and reached up and ran her hands all over his arms.

  Dave shook his head and took a deep breath in. “Baby, you drive me absolutely wild,” he growled.

  Chapter 19

  Over the next few days, Dave and Jenna stayed in their safe love bubble. Like two newlyweds, they discovered—and re-discovered—each other.

  They visited the old church, looked at the plans, and discussed what renovations they would need to have done to get the new practice up and running. They even took it a step further and met with a local engineer, Earl Morgan, to find out how long it would take and what it would cost. Ray Prebble, the town realtor, was only too happy to show them through each time they’d ask to go for one more look. After all, it had been many years since anyone has shown any interest in the old building.

  Dave held the door to the Strawberry Fare open for Jenna as she walked in ahead of him.

  “Oh my gosh, Jenna!” Carly squealed from behind the counter.

  “Oh dear, I wonder what it is this time?” Jenna mumbled to Dave. “You look like you’ve got some gossip up your sleeve, Carly.” Jenna teased as she approached the counter. “Spill it.”

  “Well!” Carly fanned her young, blushing face. “Is true that you and Dave were out skinny dipping in the lake?”

  Jenna’s eyes widened in horror and embarrassment. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Carole-Ann told Ginny that she called the Chief of Police because she’d seen some young ones swimming in the lake—it was late in the day you know, so she was making sure they were safe.”

  “Sure.” Jenna rolled her eyes.

  “And then Ginny told Olivia Marks—the new hairdresser—while she was getting a perm that it didn’t look like any of the town teens and instead thought they were adults. So she, Olivia, told Martha, who then—”

  “Who’s Martha?” Jenna asked and looked at Dave, who shrugged his shoulders.

  “You know, Martha! Martha Mae Jennings—she owns the hairdresser down the road!” Carly said with her hands on her hips. “Anyway, so she—”

  Jenna groaned and waved a hand. “I don’t wanna hear any more, sweetie. Y’all should just open up a little gossip chronicle.”

  Carly’s eyes widened with excitement. “Oh my gosh, that’s a great idea!”

  “I’m joking, Carly!” Jenna laughed.

  “Well, so was I.” Carly frowned and then smiled again. She leaned over the counter. “So, was it you guys?”

  Dave laughed.

  “First of all,” Jenna put a hand on the counter and leaned in closer to Carly. “We weren’t skinny dipping!”

  Carly’s face crumpled. “But it was you?”

  “We were just out for a swim,” Dave offered.

  “But y’all weren’t like—in your birthday suits? Doing the nudies?”

  “We were both fully clothed.” Dave placed a hand on his heart. “I promise.”

  Carly’s shoulders slumped forward. She rested her elbows on the counter and rested her chin on her hands. “It’s still sweet though... married couple out for a romantic swim in the moonlight,” Carly sighed. “I’m never going to find my prince. I’m going to die an old spinster.”

  “I’m sure you’re not, Carly. And besides—what’s wrong with not getting married? Lots of people choose not to.”

  “They choose not to! I’ve made no such choice,” Carly said. “Hey! Do you think you could set me up with one of your fine doctor friends?” she asked Dave.

  Dave laughed nervously at Jenna. He wasn’t the matchmaking type.

  “I’m sure you’ll find someone, Carly.” Jenna said.

  “But Dave can help me—won’t you Dave?”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Dave relented.

  Carly jumped up in excitement and ran into the kitchen.

  “Can you tell Charlotte we’re here?” Jenna called out behind her.

  “I’m on it,” Carly sang, her ponytail swaying.

  “SO, WHAT’S BEEN GOING on with the two of you?” Charlotte asked with a twinkle in her eye.

  Jenna smiled knowingly at her. She was glad to have a friend like Charlotte with whom she could share not just the highs in life, but also the devastating lows. “Oh, you know... just prancing about.” Jenna looked sideways at Dave, who was seated with his arm around her.

  “So I heard!” Charlotte raised her eyebrows at them. “Wanna tell me about that, hmm?”

  Dave laughed. “It’s crazy how quickly word gets around. I can only imagine what else I’ve missed all these years holed up in the hospital.” Dave took a sip of his coffee. “Oh! Speaking of the hospital—when are the babies due?”

  “Arrgh!” Charlotte growled playfully. “I wish they’d come out now. I’m so over being pregnant.”

  “Aww,” Jenna empathized. “Hang in there. You’re on the homestretch.”

  “I’m totally stretched, alright!” Charlotte leaned in. “I can’t believe the stretch marks on my belly!” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s like they’re clawing at me from the inside.”

  “Marks of a true warrior,” Dave winked.

  “Those will lighten and disappear soon enough,” Jenna promised.

  “Easy for you to say.” Charlotte sat back and rubbed her belly. “We’re not all skinny-minis. Must be all those green smoothies you dri
nk! Meanwhile,”—Charlotte waved a hand towards the cabinet filled with cakes and pastries—“I think I’m doomed.”

  They all laughed in unison.

  “You’re getting a c-section though, aren’t you? When’s that scheduled for?” Jenna asked.

  Charlotte nodded. “The doctor says it’ll be safer, because I’m carrying twins. Four more weeks!” She grinned. “So aside from skinny dipping in the lake, what else have you two been up to?”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “We weren’t skinny dipping.”

  “Yeah, yeah—whatever,” Charlotte waved a hand and chuckled.

  “Dave’s thinking of opening up a private practice here.” As Jenna said it aloud, she realized she liked the sound of it. Having Dave working as the town doctor would be great and to have him so close to home was even better.

  “Really?” Charlotte clapped her hands together. “That’s wonderful news, Dave!”

  “We’re really considering it. Jen and I have had a few meetings with Ray and Earl. It could be a real possibility.”

  “Ray... Prebble?” Charlotte asked. “He’s the realtor, right?”

  “Yup—and Earl Morgan.” Jenna said as she looked adoringly at Dave. She was so proud of him.

  “That’s so great! It will be so good not to have to leave town to see a doctor.”

  “It’s still confidential at the moment, so just keep it to yourself first.”

  “Oh yeah, totally.” Charlotte zipped her mouth. “My lips are sealed! But I can tell Ben though, right?”

  Dave’s phone rang. “Hello?” Dave frowned, his eyebrows meeting at the center.

  Jenna observed the immediate change in his face.

  “Is she okay?” Dave asked as he stood up from the booth.

  “What’s wrong?” Jenna whispered and put a hand on his arm.

  “We’ll be right there.” Dave ended the call and turned to Jenna. “We’ve gotta go.”

  “What is it?” Jenna felt goosebumps rise along the back of her neck.

  Dave looked at her. “It’s your mom.”

  Chapter 20

  Jenna bit her fingernails as Dave sped through Main Street, turning right on to Valley Drive. The morning’s sparkle and playfulness faded. She paid no attention to the beautiful trees that lined the streets or the children that played by the lakeside park. This is all my fault, she thought. She turned to Dave. “What did Brad say?”

  “There’s been an accident and emergency services are at the scene,” Dave said. He kept his eyes on the road.

  “For crying out loud—speak English, Dave,” she snapped. “Don’t talk to me like one of your nurses. This is my mother we’re talking about!” She didn’t mean to lose her temper, of course, but the lid had flipped and there was nothing she could do to shut it firmly back in place.

  Dave glanced at Jenna and took her hand. “Hey,” he said softly. “Don’t worry, okay? We’re almost there.”

  Jenna’s mind was racing. “What about the kids? Are they okay?”

  “Brad didn’t get to tell me too much—just that there’s been an accident and there are paramedics doing what they need to do.”

  “This is all my fault.” Jenna covered her face with her hands. “We’re not teenagers, Dave! We’re adults—we have responsibilities!” Pangs of guilt rushed through her, determined to slam against and burst the cozy bubble they had lived in the past week. “We shouldn’t have been frolicking around, pretending like we’re newlyweds without a care. What if something’s happened to the children?”

  “There was no mention that anything had happened to the kids, Jenna. Like I said, we’re almost there.” Dave indicated left and turned into Orchard Grove. Unmistakable tension hung between them.

  In the distance, Jenna could see a big white ambulance parked outside her mother’s house—as was a police car. As they got closer, Jenna could see Macy and Rory sitting on the front steps with Chief Knight.

  Dave pulled up behind the ambulance, and Jenna all but jumped out of the car as she ran to the children.

  “Mommy!” Macy yelled as she spotted Jenna and ran towards her. Rory was busy playing with Chief Knight’s flashlight.

  “Macy!” Jenna fell to her knees and pulled Macy into an embrace. She held Macy’s head in her hands and looked her over for any injuries—bumps, scratches, cuts, blood. She turned Macy around to check the rest of her body.

  “Mommy, stop it! What are you doing?”

  “Are you okay?” Jenna asked. “Is your brother okay?” Jenna looked up to see Dave carrying Rory and walking towards her.

  “I’m fine, Mommy.” Macy said. “But Grandma fell and hurt her head.”

  Jenna looked around. “Where’s Grandma?”

  “She’s in the ambulance now. We’ll follow them to the hospital.” Dave said just as the sirens wailed and the ambulance pulled out of the curb.

  “Do we know what happened?” Jenna got up off her knees and kissed Rory’s cheeks. “Are you okay, buddy?”

  “I’ll see you folks at the hospital,” Chief Knight said from behind Jenna.

  She turned around to face him. “Brad! Did you see Mom? How is she?”

  “I’ll let the doctors tell you,” Brad said. “I don’t want to say anything out of line. But she’s stable now and y’all just need to get to the hospital. She was worried about the children. I’m sure it would be a comfort to her to see them with you.”

  “Thanks, Chief,” Dave said as he shook his hand.

  Brad turned to the children. “Now you kids look after your Mom and Dad, you hear?”

  Macy nodded and Rory buried his face in Dave’s neck.

  THAT NIGHT, AFTER DAVE had tucked the children into bed, he joined Jenna who he thought would be sitting on the couch with a cup of tea in hand. Instead, he found her frantically vacuuming the floors. “What are you doing?” he asked over the whirring noise.

  Jenna looked up and vacuumed around Dave. “Vacuuming!”

  Dave stood with hands on his hips. “I can see that—but why?”

  “What? I can’t talk when the machine’s on.”

  “I know!” Dave pulled the cord from the socket and the whirring of the vacuum slowed down to a soft purr before shutting off completely. “I said—why are you doing the floors now?”

  Dave sat on the sofa and moved aside to make some space for Jenna to join him.

  “This house is a pig-sty! I can’t sit down until it’s clean.”

  Dave watched as Jenna turned the vacuum on again. Lorraine Myers had suffered a stroke. It was lucky that the paramedics were able to give her the right medication to reduce the severity of the stroke she’d suffered. Dave had spoken with the ER staff and was told that Lorraine would be staying in the hospital for the rest of the week. She’d need to get a CT scan, and if needed, an endovascular thrombectomy would be performed.

  Dave got up and turned the vacuum off again, this time taking it from her. “The kids are finally asleep,” he said. “Can I get you a drink? Coffee or tea, maybe?”

  Jenna shook her head. She looked tired. “This is all my fault,” she said as she sat down.

  “It’s not your fault, Jenna.”

  “The kids should never have been put in that position. They must have been so scared.”

  “Look, all we know is that those two kids were heroes today. What they did—to have the presence of mind to call 9-1-1, Jenna—that was really good. Not many kids would have acted the same in that situation. We should be proud of them.”

  “But I should have been with them!”

  “But you weren’t. We weren’t.” Dave could see the wheels turning in Jenna’s head. “What are you thinking right now? Let’s talk about it.” Dave sat down next to her.

  “If the kids were with me, then they wouldn’t have had to go through that.”

  “Think about this for a moment—if the kids weren’t with your mom, then she might not have survived that stroke.” Dave pulled her legs up to rest on his lap. He smoothed his hands to warm the
m and then gently massaged her calves. “It was a blessing that they were with her at the time. Having the kids there with her probably saved her life.”

  “Dave,” Jenna looked at him with tears in her eyes. “We’re not kids anymore. We shouldn’t have been out traipsing across town like two teenagers without any responsibilities.” She rubbed her eyes with the cuffs of her sweater. “To let go of everything we’ve worked so hard for—that you’ve worked so hard for—that’s foolish! You can’t just quit your job and buy an old church. Life’s not like that!”

  Dave knew that this was where it was going. “Why not, Jenna? What’s so wrong with pausing for a moment and taking another direction?”

  Jenna sat up, pulling her legs away from Dave’s grasp. “Because we’re grownups! It’s too risky. What if renovating the church is too hard? What if it costs too much? What if you don’t earn enough with a small-town practice? What if—what if it doesn’t actually make you happy? What then?” Her exasperation seeped through her skin.

  Dave looked at her.

  “And when mom gets out of the hospital, she might need to go into rehab. She’ll need someone to take care of her. Guess who that’s going to be? Me!”

  “We don’t know that, yet.” Dave remained calm. “And you’ve got me to help you. I’m sure your brothers will help as well.”

  “Ha! Fat chance of that happening. They come home once a year!”

  “Look, we don’t know what’s going to happen. All we know is what we’ve been told.”

  “That’s right—we don’t know! We don’t know how things will work out. Or what will happen—or even what kind of money we might need.”

  “It’s all about the money for you, isn’t it?” Dave shook his head. “It’s always been about the money for you.”

  “That’s not true!” Jenna protested.

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s too risky, and I don’t like risks.” Jenna hissed.

  Dave sat with his elbows on his knees. His head was bent as he clasped his hands together. “I gotta do this, Jenna,” he said with a sideways glance.