Page 54 of Chasing After You
She’s always been one to leap. Always.
Which makes the nagging at the back of my mind echo a little louder. She didn’t leap with me this time. When I told her why I was here, she needed convincing. Needed me to sway her to let down her guard and give us another shot.
Maybe it’s not fair to compare the two. I’m not a new adventure. I’m one she’s already been on. One that left her wounded. It’s not the same. And it’s not surprising she’d be hesitant to leap heart first again.
However, looking at it from that perspective doesn’t ease my fears any either. Because then maybe this is all too easy.
No matter which way I look at it, something is off.
But since I can’t put my finger on where the issue is, I shake the worries from my mind and anchor into the present. It’s not hard.
Not when she’s here.
When she’s laughing, talking a mile a minute because she’s excited and every thought comes bursting out of her.
Before long, her siblings overhear our chatter of horses and turning our kids into ranch hands, and it becomes a whole familydiscussion. Banter flies, arguments get made and, in the end, we’re all cracking up about one thing or another again.
“I can’t believe you guys thought you could just replace me,” I shake my head at Roni. We’re rounding the corner back to the barn and conversation has lulled accordingly.
“I can’t believe we came so close to having two doctors in the family and you showed up and screwed it up.” She makes a face at me. “Seriously though. I’ll get over it if Nessa keeps smiling like that.” She grins, glancing over her shoulder at her little sister.
“Personally,” Clark adds from the other side of her, “I’ve always thought one doctor and one rock star per family was the perfect balance.”
“Yeah, two doctors would have been way over the top,” I agree.
“Whatever,” Roni chides. “You would have been unhappy with any dude of any profession taking your place at Nessa’s side.”
I can’t exactly argue with that. “Yes, yes I would have.” Though I would have accepted it. Supported it even if he’d have made her happy.
“I’m just glad all the matchmaking is over,” Clark says as we slow to a stop in front of the barn. “Now you four can go back to taking your chick vacations without dragging us along.”
Roni glares at him. “I’m sorry, are you saying you’re not enjoying this extra time with me? And my family?”
I don’t wait to hear how this plays out for Clark. Instead, I take this opportunity to dismount my horse and take him inside.
What I missed in getting Jasper saddled up, I learn in taking all the gear off of him again. By the time I’m taking his saddle and bridle back to the tack room, I can’t stop chuckling at myself and the irrational fear I carried around with me all these years. It seems ridiculous now. But I suppose it’s that way with mostthings once we face them. We let our fears make mountains out of molehills all the time.
“So, what’s next on your agenda?” Ness asks, meeting me back out in the barn aisle, apparently having completed her chores as well.
“How does food sound?”
She pats her belly. “I could eat.”
She could always eat. It’s one of the things we’ve always had in common. An insatiable hunger. For life. Food. And each other.
“Kenley and Knox were going to skip the rest of the horse stuff after the orientation this morning and explore the area. Hit some local markets and such. Wanna see what they found?”
She smiles. “Have lunch with the crew?”
“Unless you want to hang with your family?” I offer. “Or I could see about throwing some outing together for just the two of us?” It’s strange in a way, us being together here now. On the one hand, it’s the most natural way of being and doesn’t feel like it should warrant any significant actions or gestures. On the other, this may well mark one of the most monumental moments of our lives, the significance of which should be celebrated, acknowledged in a way that will mark the occasion for us for the rest of our lives. Because it literallyhas changedthe rest of our lives.
“We’ve been with my family plenty,” she says, taking my hand. “Let’s go spend some time with yours.”
“Alright, let’s.” I entwine my fingers with hers. Maybe this is all the celebration we need. The small things. The little moments that make up the life we’ve been missing. The significance of holding her hand may never be lost on me again.
NESSA
It feels like old times when I step into the cabin Matti rented here. Cass and Jason can be heard mid-tiff somewhere in the house while Knox is busy strumming on his guitar, mumbling verses to himself in the living room. The only thing different is Kenley who’s at the center of it all, zipping about in the kitchen, clearly whipping up something amazing judging by the delicious scent wafting through the place and hitting my nose the second we enter.
