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She shook her head and blinked her eyes rapidly. "No." It came out as a whisper. A sweet, whisper.
He turned into the driveway and stopped the truck close to the house. She glanced at the porch and gasped. "When did you get rocking chairs?"
He chuckled. "Today. My parents got them for me. There's also a cooler on the porch with dinner inside. It's likely only sandwiches or something simple, but I figured you'd be hungry."
She turned her head and stared into his eyes. Hers were watery, her nose a cute pink. "That's very thoughtful."
He grinned and nodded. He didn't get that emotional. Nope.
Moving around the front of the truck he helped her down and took her hand in his left hand as he escorted her to the porch. "Take your pick of chairs."
She giggled and took the one to the left. The chairs were shiny black, like she'd suggested, with red cushions on the seat. He pulled the cooler toward them and knelt down to pull the contents of their dinner out. His parents had also purchased a small round table for between the chairs and he set their wrapped sandwiches on the table. He chuckled when he saw a bottle of wine and read the note attached to the neck of the bottle out loud.
"Henry and Everleigh, enjoy your peaceful dinner. Tomorrow, we get to work. Happy Housewarming. Love, Mom and Dad."
"Your parents are so thoughtful."
"They are the best."
She nodded and he noticed the wistful glance over the field. He knew her parents were hands-off and not communicative. It was sad really. They were missing out on a beautiful human being. Smart, sweet, gorgeous. All of the things any man would love in a life partner. All the things he wanted in a life partner.
“My mom said she felt you stiffen up when she hugged you last night.”
Her head dropped and she stared at her fingers in her lap for a long time. “She wasn’t criticizing, she just noticed and asked if she shouldn’t have hugged you.”
Everleigh swallowed then her chest rose and fell. “I’m not used to being hugged. My parents did it so seldom that it’s weird for me to be hugged by someone I barely know.”
He nodded, a knot formed in his stomach as he processed her words.
“My family, biological and family by choice, are huggers. When the women get here tomorrow, you’ll likely be hugged a lot. If it will be terribly uncomfortable, I can ask Mom to warn them not to hug you.”
A soft smile made that cute little dimple appear. “I’d like to get used to being hugged. I’m conflicted though. When I leave here, I may miss not having people to hug me.”
“Maybe you need to stay here for a while longer to absorb those hugs. And, maybe you’ll find yourself here.”
He rose and sat on his chair and they proceeded to open their sandwiches and eat. He stopped and opened the wine, digging into the cooler once more for glasses. He laughed when he found glass wine glasses. "This is courtesy of my mom, I can assure you. Dad would have packed plastic cups."
She laughed. He poured them each a glass and she held her glass out to him.
"I'd like to make a toast. Henry Delany, congratulations on the purchase of your very own farm. I have no doubt you will make this place flourish and shine. You have support. You have a dream. You have what it takes to make it all happen. Cheers."
"Cheers." It came out a bit shaky. He didn't quite have everything.
They sipped their wine, and ate their sandwiches, then sat back and stared out over the fields. She softly muttered, "This is like a slice of heaven. When you have animals out there to watch, it's going to be amazing."
He reached over and took her hand in his. And they sat like that in the quiet for a long time. Bugs flitted around the weeds, bees and flies and other flying creatures, doing what they do to pollinate and eat. A bird swooped down from overhead to grab a fly in its beak, then flew into the trees. The circle of life.
The sun started its descent, creeping ever closer to the landscape. The color changed, and turned the sky a brilliant orange, fading to yellow.
Everleigh sighed. "Stunning."
"It is."
"This is the stuff dreams are made of."
His thumb brushed her fingers. He was loathe to lose the connection with her so he held her hand. They sat in comfortable silence, looking at his farm, enjoying time with each other. His heart yearned for more of this. With her. With Everleigh. They'd only known each other for a few days, but there was something about her that called to him. He'd never had that weird connection or pull to a woman before, his brain scrambled now to figure out if someone could fall in love this fast. Then he remembered his parents' story of how they met, and he knew it absolutely was possible, even in the worst of times.
The sun had sunk halfway into the earth, and they'd lose all their light in a few minutes. "I hate to say it, but we'll have to go soon."
