As she sat next to Lorraine Myers, her patient, Mallory resigned herself to the fact that she would only ever be a wedding guest and never the bride—not even a bridesmaid.
Nonetheless, it was a beautiful ceremony. Dave—the groom and the one who’d hired Mallory to provide post-stroke support to Lorraine—had planned everything in secret. As a surprise, all the bride’s brothers had flown in to Willow Oaks to walk her down the aisle.
The surprise proposal got everyone and there wasn’t a dry eye in the garden where the ceremony was held.
“It is with great pleasure that I conclude this ceremony of renewing the vows of marriage that binds you as husband and wife,” the celebrant said. “Dave and Jenna, you may now celebrate this renewal of vows with a kiss!”
The crowd erupted with cheers and Mallory joined as everyone applauded for the happy couple.
“Oh, wasn’t that just lovely, Mallory?” Lorraine asked and took her hand.
“Oh yes, it was just beautiful! I wish them many, many happy years together,” Mallory said. And just as she smiled dreamily into the distance, hoping that one day, her own happily ever-after would come, Mallory sensed someone’s gaze on her.
She glanced at the bride’s youngest brother, who was sat next to Lorraine. Ethan Myers, she thought. Was he watching her? Mallory smiled.
Ethan smiled back and immediately got to his feet and joined his sister, Jenna, and her friends.
Cute. Mallory smiled to herself. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. You’re not here to date. You’re here to look after Mrs. Myers, she scolded herself.
“Can I get you anything to drink, Mrs. Myers?”
“Darling, I told you—you can call me, Lorraine.”
“Oh, I couldn’t—”
“Yes, you can.” Lorraine gently patted her hand.
“Okay everybody!” Carly, who worked at the Strawberry Cafe, yelled over the crowd. “It’s time for the bride to toss the bouquet!”
One of Jenna’s friends laughed. “Leave it to Carly to lead the bouquet toss.”
“Calling all the single ladies—yoo-hoo!” Carly nodded to the violinist who hit play on a portable CD player. Beyoncé’s voice blasted through the little speakers singing, All the Single Ladies.
Like moths to a bright flame, all the single women jumped up from their seats and hurried to where Carly stood.
“Jenna!” Carly called out to her. “Get your fabulous butt over here—and bring that bouquet with you.”
Jenna playfully sashayed over to where all the single ladies gathered. “Are you all ready?” she yelled out.
“Hang on”—Carly turned and scanned the crowd—“Mallory!” Carly called to her. “You’re not getting out of this. Get in here, girl!”
Mallory felt her cheeks burn as she glanced at Jenna. “Oh no,”—she shook her head—“I couldn’t.” She smiled sweetly... or in embarrassment. “I’m working. I can’t.”
“Go on, dear.” Lorraine gave her a gentle nudge. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said with a smile.
“I can’t,” Mallory said again.
“Oh, you can. And you will,” Lorraine firmly repeated.
“Mallo-ry! Mallo-ry!” Carly began to chant and all the single ladies joined in.
“If you don’t go up there, then I’ll have to,” Lorraine threatened her with a smile. “I’m a single lady too, you know.”
Mallory laughed as she got up and smoothed her steel blue chiffon dress. Her long hair was loosely braided and fell gently down the center of her back.
“Wooohoo!” Carly and the single ladies cheered.
“Y’all ready?” Jenna said as she turned around.
“One! Two! Three!” the crowd counted aloud.
And with that, Jenna tossed the bouquet above her head.
Mallory stood back as she saw Carly jump up to reach for the bouquet. “I’ve got it!” Carly yelled. But instead of catching it, she accidentally pushed it further along as it fell into Mallory’s hands.
The crowd cheered.
Mallory looked at the bouquet of pink and white roses in her hands. It was beautiful, but it felt wrong to be the one holding it. She looked at Carly and motioned for her to take it.
“Oh no you don’t, honey!” Carly wiggled a finger at Mallory. “You don’t mess with the bouquet toss. You caught it—now you’re next,” she said with a grin.
Mallory looked nervously around and caught Ethan watching her. He smiled encouragingly at her and gave her a nod. Mallory noticed that one bridesmaid, Amy, whispered in Ethan’s ear and gave him a poke in the ribs with her elbow.
Ethan slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded.
“Mallory!” Amy called out to her. “Come over here... I want to introduce you to someone!”
Mallory saw Ethan grab Amy’s arm. Whatever it was he’d said to Amy, Mallory couldn’t hear though.
“Yeah, Mallory! Come here, quick!” The other bridesmaid, Charlotte, who was also owner of the Strawberry Fare Cafe, joined in.
Mallory turned to look at Amy. “Me?”
“Yes, you!” Amy laughed. “Come here!”
ETHAN RAN HIS FINGERS through his hair. There was something about Mallory that made him nervous.
There are two camps in this world. Those who believe in love at first sight, and those who don’t. Ethan was of the latter. That was... until he laid his eyes on Mallory Church.
Chapter 2
Present Day - December
Thirty-five-year-old Nurse Mallory Church sat at the reception desk of the Stewart Family Medical Center, where she drew little love hearts on a scrap piece of paper. She occasionally glanced towards the closed bathroom door where a hunky firefighter was filling a specimen cup with his urine. She laughed to herself at the thought of her pathetic doodling—or was she drooling?
Mallory rested her chin on her hand and sighed. She wasn’t sure if she preferred the slower pace of her new job as the Practice Nurse of the small town of Willow Oaks; or if she missed the hustle and bustle of being in a large hospital. Nevertheless, she was grateful for the opportunity that Dr. Stewart had given her. It was a chance for her to move forward and leave the past behind.
She heard the bathroom door open and looked up. “How’d you go?” Mallory smiled at Ethan Myers as he came up to her desk. He’d made her heart go ka-thump the first time she laid her eyes on him. And now, he’d done it again. How he always managed to make a simple T-shirt and jeans look so sexy, she didn’t know.
“This really wasn’t how I imagined our first date would go,” Ethan joked as he handed her a half-filled specimen cup.
She laughed. Even when he crumpled his face—he was cute. “We’re not on a date, Ethan.” Mallory relieved him of the cup. Cloudy, she noted. “Have a seat, and I’ll get this sent to the lab. Dave will come out to get you when he’s ready.” Ethan was Dave’s brother-in-law, so there was no point in referring to him as Dr. Stewart. “I won’t be long.”
“Mallory, wait...” Ethan called out.
She turned around and walked back to the desk. “What’s up?” Glistening, yet intense eyes, she thought. How could someone be so handsome? Surely it wasn’t fair to other men!
“About that date”—he rubbed the back of his neck—“do you wanna maybe go out for dinner tonight? Or Friday?”
Mallory bit her bottom lip and smiled at him. She first met Ethan at the wedding of her boss, Dave. It was actually a renewal of vows, but it was really sweet. She was a guest—or rather, she had been hired to support his mother-in-law, who had suffered a stroke. It was lucky that Mallory had post-stroke care experience and was only too happy to accept the job when the nursing agency had called her. She needed a good reason to leave Portland, especially since she’d left her job as a registered nurse at the Portland Hospital without any backup plans.
“Will you wash your hands before you take her to dinner?” A voice came up from around the hall. It was Dave—Dr. Stewart.
Mallory laughed again wh
en she noticed that Ethan had turned a bright shade of beet.
“Hey, man.” Ethan gave Dave a complicated bro-handshake that ended with a clap on the back.
“Don’t let me ruin your smooth style there, Casanova.” Dave encouraged him. “But wait—you did wash your hands, right? There’s some hand sanitizer there as well, if you didn’t.” Dave joked and winked, which earned him a shoulder shove from Ethan.
“I’ve got the specimen sample here. Would you like me to send it off to the lab?” Mallory asked. She gave Ethan a sideways glance and smiled at him.
“Yes, please, Mallory,” Dave said. “We need to put Romeo here out of his misery.”
“What—Dude!” Ethan protested and raised his hands. “You’re killing me, here.”
“You two have been dancing around each other for the last three months. I can’t take the suspense any longer.” Dave looked at Mallory. “Shall I say yes on your behalf?”
Mallory laughed and biting her lip, she nodded shyly. She hadn’t really thought about dating since she’d moved to Willow Oaks, but it was pretty hard to say no to such a handsome specimen.
“There you go—I just did you a favor,” Dave clapped Ethan on the back once more. “She says, yes. Pick her up Friday night after work. She can’t do tonight, because she’s a Thursday Night Hooker—I’ll let her explain that to you herself,” Dave said with a laugh as he disappeared down the hall. “Oh, and I’ll call you when I get the results back. See you later!”
Ethan turned to face her. “I’m not us—”
“He’s usually smoother than that, Mal!” Dave’s voice echoed from down the hall.
ETHAN WANTED TO WHACK Dave—but then again, he wasn’t sure of how to ask Mallory out given the circumstances. How smooth could he possibly be asking her out while holding a specimen cup? And yet, there he was—he’d just handed her one!
He should’ve asked her out some time ago when he’d first met her, but he wanted to take it slow. There was something about Mallory that said, go slow. He didn’t want to mess things up, especially since she was so close to his mom and worked for his brother-in-law. Having grown up in Willow Oaks himself, Ethan knew how quickly news traveled. He didn’t want to do anything that would scare Mallory off.
“Sorry about Dave,” Ethan said. “He can be a real slime ball sometimes, without even trying.”
“Funny”—Mallory quipped—“that’s what he’d said about you!”
“What?” Ethan curled his hand into a fist and bit into his knuckle.
“I’m kidding!” Mallory laughed.
She had a sweet laugh. There was so much about her that he wanted to get to know. “So, um... Thursday night hooker...?”
Mallory’s cheeks flushed a bright shade of crimson. “It’s not what it sounds like. I promise,” she said with a laugh.
“Oh, I’m sure—but that doesn’t stop me from raising an eyebrow... or two.”
“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”
“Right! Okay. So...tomorrow night, then? 7.00pm?”
“So it seems. Do you want me to meet you somewhere?”
“I’ll pick you up,” Ethan said. He couldn’t contain his excitement—it was enough to make him overlook the embarrassment of asking her out over a urine sample.
“Great—my address is—”
“Oh, I know where you live. I’ll be there at seven.”
Mallory wrinkled her nose. “Should I be worried that you know where I live? That’s a bit stalker-y, isn’t it?”
“That’s what you get for moving to Willow Oaks,” Ethan laughed. “Where everybody knows your name... and where you live.”
“And who likes who, it seems.”
“Ah...” Ethan eyed her. “So, you do like me...?” Ethan turned on his charms. Yes!
“Either that, or your brother-in-law is a nosy man,” she joked. “I didn’t know we were dance partners.”
That smile drove him crazy for her. “Hmm—sounds about right. You’ll fall for me soon enough,” he said with confidence.
“A bit too confident, don’t you think?”
“Should I turn it down?”
Mallory nodded with a smile.
“Consider it done.” Drat! Come on, man. You can do better than that, he thought to himself. “I’ll see you at seven tomorrow.” Ethan turned towards the door.
“Ethan, wait,” Mallory said.
He turned around to find her holding a bottle of Germ-X.
“Make sure you pump and rub,” she laughed.
“Funny,” Ethan pumped some hand sanitizer into his palm and rubbed his hands together. “Very funny.”
“Hygiene counts.” She winked at him.
Chapter 3
Mallory locked the medical center up behind her and headed to her car. It was such a treat to just walk out the front door and straight to her car. That was one thing she definitely did not miss about Portland—non-existent car parks or the long, tedious commutes. She looked up at the borderless afternoon sky and breathed in deeply. She hadn’t yet made her mind up as to whether the silence was golden or deafening—or maybe, both. But she enjoyed being able to call it a day at 5:00pm and carry on to do other things... like life.
She made her way to the local community center, which stood just next to the City Hall and the Willow Oaks Fire Station. Mallory unlocked the front door. She felt around the wall to the left of the door and switched the lights on.
It still astounded her that the local council had given her a spare set of keys to the center, like it was an ordinary thing to do. One thing was certain—that would never happen in Portland.
When the idea of the Thursday Night Hookers came to her, she simply walked into the City Council and was able to see and speak to an actual human being within five minutes. Crazy! No long lines or complicated forms to fill in. And when she told council representative about the Thursday Night Hookers—how she was working with an elderly woman and that knitting was good for finger dexterity, memory, and fine-tuning motor skills—they were only too happy to support her and had even given her a small budget to work with for purchasing yarns and needles. The next day, Mallory was even more surprised when they’d emailed her a copy of the next edition of the bi-monthly newsletter, What’s On in Willow?
What’s On in the Community? Thursday Night Hookers!
Did you know that knitting helps with hand dexterity and exercising your memory?
Join Nurse Mallory Church and the Thursday Night Hookers in their weekly Crochet and Knitting club.
Warm up your fingers, jog your memory, and make friends! Every Thursday from 5:30-7:30pm at the Willow Oaks Community Center. All welcome.
MALLORY HEADED TO THE small kitchen at the far end of the hall. Even the way the lights flickered as she turned the switch on was a reminder that life in Willow Oaks was slower and more relaxed.
She filled two thermoses with some boiling water. The others would arrive soon as it was a chilly day, and Mallory knew that they would want to wrap their hands around some warm drinks.
As usual, Lorraine Myers was the first to arrive. Mallory first met Lorraine when she was hired by Dave to be her post-stroke nurse. And after that, when Dave offered her a permanent job as the nurse at his private medical practice, she’d grown even closer to Lorraine—being just about the only other person she knew in town.
“Hello?” Lorraine sang out as she arrived. “Mallory?” she called out.
Mallory smiled. Each Thursday night was the same—it was like a well-rehearsed scene. “In the kitchen,” she answered. Then Lorraine, who would have already been making her way to the kitchen, would then pop her head in, surprised to find Mallory there.
“Oh, there you are! I wondered where you were.”
“Here I am,” Mallory smiled and gave her a hug.
“Mallory?” And then, of course, there was old Graham McReedy—owner of the local hardware store—who had thrown up a stink when he thought that the Thursday Night Hookers club was exclusive to
women.
“She’s in the kitchen!” Lorraine called out.
“What’s she doing in the kitchen?” Graham asked. “Isn’t it hooker night?”
“That’s what I thought,” Lorraine agreed.
“You’re both right,” Mallory said as she walked past them with the two thermoses she’d just filled. “It is Thursday night—so it is hooker night.”
“Oh Mallory, why must we have such a dreadful name for our club?” Lorraine followed her with a tray of tea bags, hot cocoa, coffee, and cream.
“It’s just for fun, Lorraine.” Mallory set the thermoses down on the trestle table.
“What’s wrong with the name? I like it!” Graham countered.
The doors opened and Elsa came through, followed by Murray and Judith. “It’s a bit chilly out there,” Elsa said as she rubbed her hands together.
“Oh, yes it is,” Judith agreed.
“It’s nearing Christmas—why are you all acting so surprised? Happens every year!” Graham grumbled.
The weather debacle went on for another five—maybe eight—minutes, and Mallory smiled as she listened. She’d always been more comfortable with older people. She never had to guess when she was with them. They always said it like it was. And she liked that. “Alright then, who’s ready to do some hooking and knitting?”
ETHAN’S MOBILE PHONE beeped. It didn’t take long for Dave to get back to him.
At the Community Center, was Dave’s reply when Ethan asked where Mallory met the Thursday Night Hookers.
He messaged back. Thanks!
All good. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
Ethan chuckled to himself and slipped his phone in his back pocket. He’d just finished his shift and as luck—or good town planning—would have it, the community center was right next to the Willow Oaks Fire & Rescue station. He’d been volunteering at the local station since he moved back home to Willow. Although he hadn’t quite decided on whether the move was permanent. He still had his full-time job at the Philadelphia Fire Department; but for now, he was on leave.
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