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This was the man I wanted to entwine myself with for all of eternity.
I probably should have felt something other than bone-deep contentment at the idea.
“To put your mind at ease, I’ll tell you that this is very ‘romantical.’” I tapped my wreath. “You know Dunn and I go fishing a lot? Well, back when we started spending time together, I thought he was the handsomest man I’d ever seen. There was just something about him that made my heart say this guy right here, you know?”
“Aww.” Vienna’s mouth pursed in an exaggerated frown, and she pressed a hand to her heart.
“I got so nervous around him. So nervous, Vienna. My stomach would flutter, and my breath would get caught… and even though I’d been tying clinch knots since my pawpaw taught me to fish when I was four, I could not for the life of me make my fingers cooperate. I’d end up tangling the line every single time. So Dunn started doing it for me.”
He’d slide over next to me, whether we were sitting up on the bridge or down on the dock at his cabin, frown down at what I’d attempted, and then give me a sweet smile. “Don’t you worry, Tuck,” he’d say. “You can’t be good at everything.”
“And I kept letting him.” I laughed lightly. “All this time, I’ve let him. All these months and years. And now… well, now it’s time to tell him why.”
“Is he coming over to get you, then?” Vienna asked excitedly. “Now?”
“Er. Not exactly.” I stared down at my phone, which had remained stubbornly silent all day, despite me leaving Dunn half a dozen messages and texting at least a few more. It wasn’t like him not to answer me.
Then again, he’d never been quite as mad at me as he’d gotten this morning, and I didn’t totally blame him. That was why, as the day went on and he still hadn’t returned my calls, I’d thrown myself further into making my wreath, snatching pockets of time between patients and during lunch, when I should’ve been talking to Dr. Petersmith.
If Dunn needed me to make a big apology, I would. He deserved at least that much from me.
“I’m heading out to his farm to see him,” I decided on the spot, standing up and dusting off my pants.
“Good idea. Maybe bring him some of that cake you’ve got in the kitchen freezer under the asparagus spears. Or the chocolate pie you’re hiding out in the garage.”
I paused and blinked up at her. Clearly none of my secrets were as secret as I’d thought.
“You go on,” she said, shooing me out the door. “I’ll clean up the mess.”
I grabbed my wreath… er, wreath-esque creation… off the desk and pressed a quick kiss to Vienna’s cheek. I called Dunn’s number one more time as I headed for the front stairs, but it just kept ringing.
“Oh, hey, Jenn?” I called as I passed the reception desk, tucking the phone against my chin and my wreath under my arm. “Do me a favor and reschedule my first couple morning appointments tomorrow, please?” If everything went as well as I expected, I’d be spending the evening at Dunn’s place, and I didn’t want to rush back.
“Oooh, sorry. Can’t,” Jenn said. She finished applying lip gloss and made kissy-faces in her little mirror before shutting the mirror with a snap. “I’m heading out any minute.”
“Out?” I frowned as I glanced down at my phone and disconnected the call. It was just about five thirty, and even though my last scheduled appointments were done, she was supposed to be here booking appointments and taking messages until six. “Did you clear that with Vienna?”
“I didn’t think I had to,” she said, sounding bored. “You might not be aware, Doc, but today’s the Entwinin.’ Those of us who have sweethearts have plans. It’s an expected thing. You don’t ask for the day off on Thanksgiving.”
I blinked. Jenn had a sweetheart? I had no idea. I wondered if she’d gotten back with Monster from the Devoted Dogs, and then wondered uncharitably whether he had an “in” on the Beautification Corps, since that seemed to be Jenn’s criteria for romantic partners. For all I knew, he did.
“It’s not quite like Thanksgiving,” I said wryly. “But far be it from me to stand in the way of you and your sweetheart. Just let Vienna know when you’re—”
The front door opened with a jingle of bells and Cody Remer from Jackson’s Flowers stepped inside, panting and sweating despite his uniform of shorts and a polo shirt. “Uh. Hey, Doc. Hey, Jenn. I, uh.” He pressed a hand to his stomach and stood straight, trying to draw oxygen. “Phew. Sorry it’s so late, but I’ve got a wreath delivery for you, Jenn. The guys’ve been working on it all day. They said they’ve never worked on one so big before. I’ll just, ah…” He glanced out at the front yard uncertainly and then seemed to size up the doorframe. “I mean, I guess I could bring it in? But it might be a bear and a half to get it back out. It was all I could do to hustle it down the street. Had to stop for water twice,” he added as an aside to me.
