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Kelly got up to clear the dishes, quickly swiping a tear off her cheek. Ted had never shown an interest in Danny before, and now he wanted to include him on an outing. She was going to go with it and not get paranoid. If a guy was interested in her and her kid, then that sounded like a win-win situation.
“Do you want to think about where it would be best for us to live? I know you’d probably be more comfortable close to the clinic.”
“Not necessarily,” he replied. “Let’s take Danny over there for a sleepover one of these nights and see how he likes it. But what about you? Where would you be more comfortable?”
“If I’m going to be at Maggie’s every day, your place would be more convenient. I’d have to take the back trail and jungle cruise part of it, but it’s only about five miles that way.”
“Again, there’s no rush, correct?” Ted asked. “We have all the time in the world.”
“Well, here’s another thought. If I move in with you, my brother and his wife can move in here. They’re expecting, and they currently live over the hardware store in a tiny apartment.”
“There you go. I knew we’d figure it out. You about through? I want to get a tree.”
“Let’s go!”
***
The sun beat down on Amber through an open window, and she woke up in a sweat.
“Wha’?” Looking next to her, Dave Chastain was out cold on his back, snoring with his mouth open.
“Oh god, what the hell did I do?” she mumbled.
Carefully sliding out of bed, she needed time to think before he woke up. Her clothes were neatly folded on her dresser, and that brought back the events of the night. Sober and emotional, they made love shortly after he’d arrived. Then, like idiots, they’d ordered pizza and drank the six-pack he’d brought, along with tequila shots, and after that it was a blur.
“Ugh!”
She closed the bedroom door and tiptoed into the bathroom. A shower would further clarify that she had made the decision that she was going to fall in love with Dave Chastain after he told her he was in love with her.
Next, coffee, and lots of it. She poured a cup and went out on the balcony to drink it. Her view was all woods, bottomland hardwood forests that were fairly dry at that time. Sitting outside without being eaten alive by flying insects was a rarity, and she’d enjoy a moment of peace that morning.
The night had been full of surprises, and although she doubted he meant to tell her he was in love with her, she didn’t doubt his sincerity.
“We’re the last two people under thirty-five who are single, did you realize that? If you refuse me, it’s online dating for us or, worse, the fix-up.”
“Oh god, you make me sound so appealing,” she cried, laughing out loud. “So we’re hard up, is that what you’re trying to say?”
“Unless you want to make a play for old cray cray LeBlanc, I’d say that about sums it up. We’ve got each other and no other,” he sang.
Then in the morning, he found her out on the balcony. “I wondered where you went.”
Fresh out of the shower, Dave had that dewy look men get when they are hungover but too proud to admit it. She looked up into his blue eyes and all his glory, and it was pretty breathtaking. Having that to look at the first thing every morning wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it?
“I’ll get you coffee,” she said, starting to stand.
“You stay put.”
He disappeared and came back a minute later with coffee, pulling the chair next to her away a little, and sat down.
“I wondered if I was alive when I got up.”
“Ha! Me too,” she replied. “But strange thing, I regret nothing.”
“Me either. As a matter of fact, I want to solidify some of the things I remember talking about.”
“Oh no,” she said, laughing. “Go ahead.”
“Okay, decision one. Can I still move in with you?”
