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Four weeks later…
Four weeks in New York was all I needed of city life to last a lifetime. We’d still flown out of Jackson that day—together—because moving back to Wyoming wasn’t the kind of thing Reese could do in a day.
She had responsibilities. Her job. Her patients. And I didn’t care if I had to wait four weeks or four months, I would do it if it meant bringing her home with me.
And today, that was what I did.
We flew back to Jackson, headed first to my place—our place—and then over to Arlene’s for dinner and poker.
“Gosh darn it,” Arlene griped when Cheryl won the hand again and scooped up all the jelly beans to her side of the table. “Are you cheating, Cheryl?”
Our first night back, and already we were back in a routine the both of us had missed: spending time with her family before we’d head back home, and I’d have her all to myself.
“Absolutely not,” Cheryl scoffed. “I’m just no longer going easy on you since you’re no longer an invalid.”
Reese and I shared a look and tried to stifle a laugh.
Arlene was recovering great. She was walking almost completely without a cane and only had one more week of physical therapy left.
“I don’t know about that,” Arlene grumbled and then turned to Reese while Cheryl dealt the next hand. “When do you start at the hospital?”
“Monday,” Reese said with a smile.
We’d stopped in earlier today for her to fill out her paperwork and pick up her badge. I swore the moment we stepped through the doors, her shoulders relaxed, and she looked at me with this sense of calm I hadn’t seen before—as though she realized she was exactly where she was meant to be.
“Tim is so excited to have you.”
“Tim?” Reese arched a brow.
“Dr. Kay.” Arlene blushed.
“Mom…”
“Spill the beans, Arlene. As we’ve already determined, you’ve got a terrible poker face.”
Everyone looked at Arlene who hesitated and then confessed, “Oh, it’s nothing—”
“Dr. Kay asked her out to dinner last week after her last appointment with him.”
“Mom!”
“I know, it’s ridiculous. I should tell him no—”
“Absolutely not,” Reese argued and reached for her mom’s hand, smiling. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
“You do?”
My woman’s smile grew. “One worth all the jelly beans.”
I tipped my head. I didn’t understand the reference exactly, but it meant something to the two of them because Arlene smiled warmly and squeezed Reese’s hand.
“Thank you.”
We all picked up our cards, ready for the last hand of the night.
“So, Reese, what do you think your story will be for your kids when they ask how you and Decker fell in love?” Cheryl teased, looking up over the edge of her cards.
Reese laughed, the full and throaty kind that made my blood hum with want, and then she winked at me.
“Accidentally, that’s how.”
“Bullshit,” I called and bent toward her, giving her no choice but to meet my gaze. “You fell in love with me on purpose.”
She grinned and licked her lips. “Alright,” she murmured. “Maybe it was accidentally…on purpose.”
The End
