Page 71 of Small Town Firsts

“It will. It so will.” His features return to normal, and he relaxes back into his chair. His easy trust in me has me feeling lower than the floor.

Fifteen minutes later, the nurse calls my name again, and we head back with her. “Sir, you can head on to the exam room, and as soon as your wife finishes with the nurse, she’ll join you.”

I’m about to correct her, but Cash just smiles and thanks her.

Five minutes later, I’m joining him in the exam room, and shortly after that, Dr. Mills is knocking on the door.

“Come on in.” He enters the room, seating himself on the swivel stool in front of his computer.

“Not alone today, I see, Ms. McGraw.”

“No sir, this is Cash Carson.”

His eyes widen at the name, and a barely-there smile graces his lips. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Carson. Glad to see someone’s looking after these two.” He clicks around my file for several minutes before standing. “Go on and lie back, and we’ll listen to little man’s heartbeat and double-check how he’s measuring.”

I follow his instructions, and he works in silence. Though it’s not an awkward silence like you’d expect, just a calm kind ofquiet. “All right, Ms. McGraw, you’re measuring right on time. The girls at the desk will get your next appointment set up. Have a nice afternoon, and it was very nice meeting you, Mr. Carson.” And just like that, he’s out the door and on to his next patient.

“Well, he’s . . .” Cash pauses, searching for the words. “Not what I expected.”

“Told you so, babe. Now, wanna meet everyone for lunch?”

“Sure thing, darlin’.” We walk hand-in-hand out to the parking lot. “I’ll follow you?”

“Sounds good.” I drop a quick kiss to his cheek before hopping into Bertha.

I guidethe Land Cruiser to stop right outside Dilly’s, a cute little lunch spot about a block from the salon. Cash pulls his truck into the spot behind mine before coming over to open my door for me.

“You ate here before?” he asks, helping me out of Bertha.

“A time or two. They’re so close, but I always forget they’re here. But the bean isn’t feeling Dream Beans, and this is close enough for the girls to join. OH! You haven’t met Magnolia. I hope she comes. Warning though, babe—she’s shy. Like super shy.”

“Well, we’re at no risk for me scaring her away. Azalea though . . .” he trails off, knowing full and well that I’m catching his drift. Girl’s a freight train gone off the tracks some days. Others, she’s the Southern belle her mama raised her to be. The fun thing is that you never know which you’ll get.

It seems we’re the first to arrive, and since I’m not sure on how many are joining us, the hostess seats us at a large table inthe back. Slowly but surely, our group starts to trickle in. First Drake, then Azalea.

“Hey, AzzyJo. Is Magnolia coming?” I ask her as she takes the seat next to me.

“Sure is,” she tells me before turning to face Drake. “So you sure as shit had best be on your best behavior.”

Drake holds his hands up in front of him. “Damn, Little Bit. Ain’t been here five minutes and you’re startin’ in on me.”

Azalea sighs loudly. “I mean it. She’s . . . fragile. So be nice, and calm, and quiet. You know, all the things you aren’t?”

“You wouldn’t like me if I was all those things, Bit.”

“I hardly like you now.”

“Not what you said last?—”

I can feel Azalea kick him under the table as she yells, “Can you just fucking agree to be nice?”

“Yeah, sure thing, Az,” Drake says, his eyebrows drawn tight.

“Is Seraphine coming with Magnolia?” I ask, attempting to slice through their tension, because damn, it’s thick.

“No, her dad’s nurse called as we were leaving. I’m finished with my clients, so we just shut down the salon. I made her swear she’d call if she needed us.”

I don’t like that, not one bit. That girl needs to realize that asking for help doesn’t make her weak, especially when she has so many people who love and want to help her.

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