*“You do pick your moments.” Brant said, beating down the swell of emotions that had tightened his throat. She loved him. And more than that, she’d said the words aloud.
“Declarations are not my strong suit,” Stevie replied, reaching for the door handle. “But I do love you and I need to know that my dad is all right.”
“Which is why I brought up timing,” he said, getting out of the truck. “Let’s go see about your dad.”
Their doors shut in unison, and they met at the rear of the truck, coming to a stop near the trailer hitch.
“You love me.”
She nodded. Brant held out a hand and Stevie took it, lacing their fingers together. Her small action was as much of a declaration as her words had been. He pulled her a step closer. “You know that I love you. Right?”
A smile curved her lips. “I kind of suspected.”
“Consider your suspicion confirmed.” Brant leaned down to kiss her, a quick we’ll-do-more-of-this-later kiss, but she touched her hand to his face as he lifted his head, and brought his lips back to hers.
“We’ll figure this out,” she said when the kiss ended. She let her hand slide down the front of his coat then turned to face her brick and mortar nemesis.
“I’m here,” he said as they started across the freshly plowed and sanded parking lot. Her grip tightened as they approached the glass double doors, but when the panels slid open, she marched through without slowing, leading the way to the check-in area.
Pauline Crate was on duty at reception, just as she’d been when Milt had come in with his sprained wrist.
“I’m seeing too much of you guys,” she said with a sad shake of her head before saying to Stevie, “Your dad is getting his leg set. Sandra Norris has phoned with her insurance information and I already have Pete’s information on file.”
“Everything is taken care of?”
“It is. You can sit in the waiting area around the corner and someone will be out to see you as soon as they have him fixed up.” Pauline looked at Stevie over the top of her glasses before adding in a kind voice, “Unless, of course, you’d prefer to wait outside. It’s a pretty day and I can have someone notify you—”
“I’ll try the waiting room,” Stevie said. “But thank you.”
Pauline gave her an atta-girl smile, then nodded at Brant, who had his hand resting on the small of Stevie’s back.
“Part of me says that I should send you home to prove I can do this,” she said as they rounded the corner to the waiting area.
“Or you can sit next to me and we can be nervous together.”
She managed a smile. “That’s what the sensible part says. It’s not the hospital. It’s the memories.”
“I’ll sit beside you for those, too.” He took her fingers in his and set their linked hands on his thigh, giving her a look that silently asked if she understood that he was there for her through thick and thin.
She nodded. “I’ll do the same for you.”
“I know.”
The corners of her mouth tilted up. “We have other stuff to deal with.”
“We do and we will,” he assured her as an elderly woman came in on the arm of a man in his midfifties. They smiled and took seats under the painting.
Stevie leaned her shoulder more firmly against Brant’s and let out a small breath as she closed her eyes. He gave her a sideways look and saw that despite the lines of strain near her mouth, her face was decidedly more relaxed than it had been the last time she’d done battle with the hospital.
They were still holding hands when Tess and Felicity hurried into the ER waiting area fifteen minutes later, startling the elderly woman. Stevie instantly got to her feet and went to meet her sisters.
“Is it the same leg he broke last time?” Tess asked.
Felicity’s blond hair was all but standing on end as if she’d been shoving her hands through it. “He’s going to need help finishing this project.”
“The same leg, yes,” Stevie replied. “They’re setting it now.”
“He was attacked by a dog?”
“A clumsy Labrador retriever got loose and hit him from behind on the slick sidewalk. Matt Mufalino is beside himself.”
“Muff?” Felicity said. “It figures.”
“You know that he’s reformed,” Stevie said before Tess could, because Tess and Muff were good friends. “And he and his girlfriend feel awful. Her insurance company will probably pay.”
“Okay. I guess I can’t blame a dog, but talk about bad luck,” Felicity said. “I’ve got to figure out my schedule.” Before she could explain, Sue Barker, the OR nurse, came through the double doors.
“Felicity,” she said. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
“I was leaving today, but something happened. How is he?”
“Your dad is doing great,” Sue said. “The break was clean, and doctor has set it. He’ll probably be able to go home tomorrow.”
“Excellent,” Stevie said.
“He’s in room 111. You can see him now, but be warned that he’s a little loopy from the painkillers.”
“Thank you, Sue.” Stevie glanced at Brant, then started down the hall with her sisters. He followed a few steps behind, holding back when they reached the room.
Stevie was the first to reach Pete’s bedside where he lay with his leg encased in fiberglass from the ankle to the knee. “Taken out by a dog,” she murmured, patting his arm.
He smiled weakly. “Different bone, this time,” he said. “Same leg.”
“Don’t you worry about your project,” Felicity said as she stepped forward. “I’ll make sure it gets done on time.”
“Thanks, kid,” he muttered.
“We’ll all pitch in,” Stevie added.
Brant pushed his hands deeper into his pockets as he watched from the door of the small room. Of course they would all pitch in. They were family. He’d help, too, if they needed him, because it was common knowledge that this contract was a do or die matter for Pete.
How are you going to help from Austin?
Easy answer to that question. He wasn’t.
*
“It’s actually a very good break,” Dr. Duncan told Stevie and her sisters after Pete had conked out thanks to the painkillers. “It was clean and should heal well. We’ll keep him here until tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’m worried about him trying to get around too much once you set him free,” Stevie said to the doctor, knowing her father all too well. “Can you give him a stern warning?”
“I’m finishing the project,” Felicity said, sounding as if she was already making mental lists of things to accomplish. “I just have to catch my flight home so that I can wrap up a few matters before heading back.”
“That’s good,” the doctor said, “because at his age, Pete needs to take care not to compromise the healing process.”
“We’ll make sure there is no compromise,” Stevie said, meeting Brant’s gaze. “Trust us on this.”
The doctor laughed and then lowered his metal clipboard to his side. “I will trust you. He’s lucky to have the three of you keeping him in line.”
“Attempting to keep him in line, you mean,” Tess murmured. She shot a look at the wall clock, then said to Felicity, “We have to leave now if you’re going to catch that flight.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow before he checks out,” the doctor said, lifting the folder in a farewell gesture before heading in the direction of the nurse’s station.
“Can you make the flight?” Stevie asked as the four of them headed to the exit. She tucked her hand into Brant’s arm as they walked.
“Probably,” Felicity said. “I’m leaving my luggage, so I just have to make it through security.”
“The roads are clear,” Tess added. “We’ll make it.”
“Is this going to play havoc with your job?” Stevie asked Felicity.
“Yes,” her sister replied, “but I’ll make it work. I have comp time coming and a family emergency is a family emergency. The firm can muddle along for two weeks without me.”
Brant slid an arm around Stevie’s shoulders as they headed out the automatic doors into the crisp winter air. Stevie pulled in a lungful, thankful to be out of the hospital at last. Brant felt the movement and gave her shoulder a squeeze, as if to say she’d done well, and she shot him a quick smile.
“I’m the man,” she murmured, and he gave a low laugh.
She did feel like the man now that she knew her dad was going to be okay and that Felicity would take over the reins of the project. Relief stacked upon relief.
And she’d been open and honest about her feelings for Brant. As he’d said, her timing wasn’t the best, but she’d gotten the job done. He would work in Austin, she would be here, but they understood where they stood and that was the important thing.
So many fears tackled, and it wouldn’t have happened if Kara hadn’t asked her to help plan a beautiful winter wedding STAT.
“Okay,” Felicity said in her take-charge older sister voice as she opened the door to Tess’s car. “I’ll be in touch. If all goes well, I’ll be back tomorrow night. Tuesday morning at the latest.”
“Good luck,” Brant said.
“Drive safely,” Stevie added in a stern voice.
“Of course,” Tess said. “One thing though. I’ll be late getting back. Would you stop by the shelter and do the afternoon feeding?” She tossed Stevie the keys, taking her acquiescence as a given.
“Of course,” Stevie said, catching the keys.
Tess gave her a quick thumbs-up before starting the car. A few seconds later Stevie’s sisters were once again on their way to Boise, leaving Brant and Stevie alone in the hospital parking lot.
“Life is never dull with you guys,” Brant murmured.
“You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg,” Stevie said as they started for the truck.
“Sounds like I’m in for a ride.”
“Probably,” Stevie agreed as she once again got into the passenger side of the truck. The shelter was only a few blocks from the hospital and after Brant parked, she gave him a long look. There were so many things she wanted to say. Things that involved them and the future. Promises that she could roll with whatever life sent her way, and that she was willing to face anything with him.
There was time for that later. Instead she said, “Shall we go feel a bunch of hungry cats and dogs?”
“Can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”
“Plan a life-changing major event in four weeks?”
He smiled. “I’d do it again, if you’re involved.”
“Part of me is sorry the wedding is over. I want to keep falling in love with you.”
He gave her the smile that creased his cheeks and crinkled the corners of his eyes and made her insides go all warm and mushy. “You haven’t hit capacity yet?”
“That could take a while,” she said in a low voice.
“I know the feeling,” he replied, his gaze growing intense. “Let’s feed some dogs.”
Stevie smiled and reached for her door handle.
A muffled cacophony of joyous canine voices became louder as they approached the door. Stevie pulled the keys out of her pocket and as she fit one in the lock, Brant said, “I learned something today.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. “That I love you?”
“That was the biggie,” he said.
She abandoned the key in the lock and turned, moving a step closer so that the toes of their boots were touching.
“Perhaps you should tell me.”
“I learned that even when everything is going according to plan, you can get hit from behind by a Labrador retriever.”
She made a silent O with her mouth before saying, “The Labrador Retriever Theory.”
“Similar to the Chaos Theory, but more canine.” He leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers. “I owe Griffin Systems some time, but I’m not moving to Austin.”
“I hope I heard that correctly,” Stevie said as a spark of hope ignited. Maybe they didn’t have to factor in distance as they figured things out.
“You did.”
“What are you going to do instead?”
“I’m going to put in a lavender field. And a pumpkin patch.”
“Brant…”
“I’m doing it for me and for you, because do you know what I am certain of, regardless of chaos and rampant Labrador retrievers?”
She shook her head.
“I’m certain there will be a you and me. And the me that’s hooked up with you doesn’t want to commute to Boise. He wants to live on the edge.”
“The tree farm edge. Very dangerous.” Her heart was thudding slowly against her ribs, but it wasn’t from fear.
“It all depends on the company you keep.”
“Well,” she said, sliding her hands around his neck, “this is good news because I plan on keeping your company for a long, long time.” She raised her eyebrows at him. “Maybe we should make a plan.”
“Yes,” he said in a low voice, his lips a whisper away from her own. “And we will never, ever congratulate ourselves on things going smoothly.”
“Deal,” she said as his lips touched hers.
One of the dogs, unaware that Stevie was at least an hour early for feeding, let out an impatient howl and Stevie let out a breath. “Shall we make someone else happy?” she asked Brant.
“Always glad to share the wealth.” Stevie unlocked the door and as they stepped inside, he said, “I should adopt a dog, since I’m staying close to home.”
“Big commitment.”
“I like commitments. I’m good at them.”
Stevie turned and took his face between her hands, kissing him hard. She did love this man.
“I’ll help you choose when the time comes.”
“And when we’re done feeding here, how do you feel about a quiet dinner on a tree farm? I know of one that has excellent catered leftovers.”
“So tempting…but what about your flight?”
“I’ll make my flight tomorrow morning, but tonight I’d like to be with you.”
“Then it’s a date,” she said, sliding her hands around the back of his neck. “I love you, Brant Gilroy.”
His forehead came to rest on hers, sending a pleasant surge of warmth through her. “I love you, too, Stevie. So much.”
A cranky howl from behind the door made them both smile.
“Time to feed our furry friends?” he asked.
Stevie stepped back, letting her hands drop to her sides. “Yes. I think they’re saying we can pick this up later.”
Brant smiled and slid a hand around her neck, pulling her in for one last kiss. “They’re right. It’s a date.”
The End
Want more? Check out Jason and Tess’ story in A Home for the Holidays!
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