AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His buddy patted him on the shoulder. “It has to be the right time. Give yourself some space to not think about it. Enjoy your land and having your family around you. And your woman.”
Joe snorted out a laugh. “My woman?”
Sam grinned. “Yep. I don’t think Tansy had any intention of match-making when she asked you to pick Lia up at the airport, but it looks like it’s working out between you two.”
Joe shrugged. “She’s really great. She makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time.”
Sam raised his eyebrows. “Your words are good. Your tone tells me you’re worried.”
Another shrug. “A bit. My feelings are pretty intense for how little time we’ve spent together. I don’t know if they’re tied up with the shit that went down in Atlanta and my feelings about the job.”
Sam grunted. “If it helps, I’ve never seen you this happy with anyone. Ever. I like her. She’s been through some heavy stuff, but she’s not wallowing. She’s focused on finding a way to keep busy instead of just sitting around feeling sorry for herself.”
“We’ve got an appointment in a bit to check out some of the buildings in town. She wants to investigate whether she could turn one into a health center for the town.”
Sam grinned widely. “Nice. She planning on doing the local doctor thing?”
“She’s qualified and interested, but not licensed in Vermont yet. We’ll see how it goes when we meet up with Troy.”
He and Sam jogged back to the Lodge and he showered before knocking on Lia’s door. She was curled up in the armchair in front of the window working on a laptop. His entire body lit up just seeing her so at home here. His heart lit up too.
She smiled at him and he walked over and squatted down beside the chair so he could kiss her. “How’s it going?”
“Better now.” Then she kissed him again. “How did your sessions go? Was it fun?”
“It really was. Great team to work with. They’re staying at Jim and Carl’s B&B tonight and working at the Runway tomorrow. Jim and Carl are offering them dinner tonight, so I asked if they had room for us as well. Want to grab dinner there or take something with us when we head into town?”
She looked at her laptop and her eyebrows shot up. “It’s way later than I thought. I’ll just have to get ready.” She placed the laptop down on the table and moved to her dresser.
“What were you working on today?”
“Researching the qualifications I’d need for becoming a doctor here in Vermont. It’s not a big deal to transfer licenses state to state, so I started that process.”
As she spoke about the ins and outs of getting her Vermont license, she poked through her drawers. Twice she picked up jeans and put them down before choosing leggings.
He knew her hand didn’t handle fine tasks well yet and his heart broke a little for her. He walked over and picked up the jeans. “I don’t care what you wear, but if you want to wear these, I can help. It’s not a big deal.”
Her shiny big brown eyes looked up at him. “It’s so silly, but I never worried about clothes before. Scrubs were easy. Now, I want to wear jeans like a regular person but I can’t do it alone. I’m so lucky that my hand is improving and I hate that I’m feeling sorry for myself over jeans.”
Joe cupped her face in his hands and lifted it to drop kisses on her cheeks. “You’re allowed to be annoyed with the injury. I think that’s pretty normal. Let me help.”
She sighed and leaned in to wrap her arms around his waist. “Thanks. I ordered some clothes online today. I was too sad to do it before. Once they come, I won’t feel as down about it all.”
This woman. Joe held her tightly and kissed her hair. When she pulled back, she took the jeans from his hand. “Okay, let me see what I can do with these first, find out if they even fit, and then I’ll get you to help.”
Her smile was back and Joe wondered if she knew just how resilient she was. She walked into her bathroom and he waited, hoping the task wouldn’t stress her out.
“They fit.” Her happy statement had him smiling too.
In moments she emerged with the jeans on but undone, the edge of her pale pink panties showing through the gap.
“Well, this will be a hardship, but I’m still willing to help out.” His husky voice had her gaze slamming up to his. The worry disappeared, to be replaced with humor and desire.
He stepped toward her and ran his fingers over the exposed skin. He traced the edge of her panties and leaned in to growl in her ear. “It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.”
She laughed and turned to kiss him.
Someone knocked on the door, then Sam’s voice carried through. “You guys want company to check out the buildings? You’ve piqued Tansy’s curiosity, and you know what that’s like.”
