Page 51 of Home Between Homes

After that, we went back to the house. The kitchen was filled with the fresh smell of pies. Jack was wearing an apron, and his nose was covered with flour as he helped Laura make the dough. It was absolutely adorable.

We all ate together, including Alex, who didn’t say a word the whole time but glanced at Jack and me whenever he thought we wouldn’t notice.

When the meal was over, Jack and I thanked them for everything and said goodbye for the night.

As soon as we were in the car, Jack stared at me with wide eyes. “And?”

“Not even a second,” I laughed.

“I don’t want to know if you’ve decided. I’m just curious about what you think.”

I let my head fall back into the seat. “Just talking about it, it sounds amazing. It would be silly not to take it. I'm still a little scared about going back to work, but Dorian said he's happy to give me plenty of time to adjust.” I turned to Jack. “What’s the catch? There must be a reason they couldn’t find anyone.”

“Seastone is the catch. There is nothing here—no movie theater, fancy shops, or even a bar. Most people are over forty.”

“But you moved here. If it’s so awful, why do that?”

Jack took a deep breath. “Staying this long wasn’t really part of the plan. I drove through town, thought it looked nice enough to get my head out of things, and rented a room from Dany for a week. I wanted to hike and be on my own. But then he had this temp job, and one thing led to another.”

“I get it. I mean, everyone I’ve met so far has been nothing but nice to me. The town might be boring, but it’s all about the people, right?”

“It is. And if you know the right people, you’ll get some amenities back. That other gay couple I told you about? They have their own private home theater. They let me use it before, so if you want, I can take you there on our first date.”

“First date? I like the sound of that.”

“I mean, yeah. We’ve only ever lived together. We’ve never been on a proper date. And I want you to see that you won’t be bored here.”

It was cute how his words still tried to hide the fact that he couldn’t believe I was staying, how he still felt the need to convince me. But I had already made my decision. Of course, I was going to take the job. I had to give it a try. Here, I felt like I had a support network that I didn’t have before, and by that, I mean Jack.

I leaned over the shift stick and kissed him. “I can’t wait to go on a proper date with you—hundreds of them.”

“Let’s start with one, shall we?”

FIFTEEN

THE HOTEL IN THE WOODS

Jack mademe wear a blindfold as he drove me to our first official date. It was the third Saturday in January, and it was a shame we hadn’t found the time sooner.

We had three turbulent weeks behind us, filled with me visiting the clinic (it was everything Dorian had promised), signing a contract two days later (with a start date of January 15th), frantic phone calls with my parents (let’s not get into that), driving to Glenn’s Creek together to get the most important things (more clothes, documents, and my coffee maker), and a lot of one-on-one action with Jack.

After finishing my first week at the clinic yesterday, we both finally had enough headspace to go out on a date. Jack spent the whole day preparing (he insisted) while I stayed at our modest home and let it all sink in.

It took me much less time than I thought to adjust to working as a veterinarian again. Even though I was seventeen years younger than the youngest assistant working there, everyone treated me and my training with respect, which, to be honest, surprised me a lot. Dorian looked over my shoulder for a few appointments, but on my third day, he patted me on the back and said, “You’ve got this, doc.” The best part was thateverything I feared would go wrong didn't. I clocked out after eight hours every day, and Dorian made sure that everyone respected that boundary from the start. That meant I could head home to Jack, my evenings free of after-hours calls and sleepless nights. Even though my decision to stay was basically a knee-jerk reaction, and those three weeks were packed, I never felt more at ease.

Until I sat in Jack’s car, blindfolded and sweating, that is. Seastone was so cold that I bought a new winter jacket with some of the money I earned from the McCormacs. I wore it every time I left the house, and so far, it had served me well. I shouldn’t have worn it in the car, though. The heater filled Jack’s pickup with so much warm air that I regretted keeping it on.

Jack hadn’t told me what we were doing. All I knew was that he had parked somewhere and was now shuffling around.

“How much longer?” I asked, eager to get some of my clothes off.

“Just one more second.” He leaned over me, and I could hear him putting some things on the dashboard. “Andanother...now.” His fingers slipped under the blindfold and pulled it off my face.

We were high in the mountains with a view of the snowy valley that was home to Seastone. The setting sun painted the sky in a magnificent gradient, from deep red on the horizon to pitch black behind us. The trees in the distance swayed in the wind, and the surrounding mountains looked like something out of a painting.

“Wow.”

Jack pursed his lips. “This is Seastone’s make-out spot. Well hidden from outsiders and not very crowded thanks to not many young people.” On the dashboard was a charcuterie board with various cheeses, crackers, and salami. “I hope this is okay. I didn’t want to go to Ashbourne for dinner because we have tobe somewhere in about thirty minutes and...” He looked down at his lap and bit his lower lip before his eyes searched for mine again. “And...”

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