Page 18 of Tumbleweed Temptation
“Well, there aren’t a lot of jobs around, and that was a place where I saw a need, so I put that as my focus.”
“That’s awesome. So other than school, you’ve been here? You never left.”
“Nope. I know you hate this place, but I love it.”
“Yeah, well, it’s been a little easier on you than on me.”
“I know.” She placed a gentle had on his arm “So tell me about med school. Tell me about Baylor. Tell me about Waco.”
He’d just drawn in a breath to start talking when Beck reappeared. “How are you doing? Any more contractions?”
“It’s only been a couple of minutes, so no. Austin’s going to tell us about the hopping metropolis of Waco, Texas. Was med school fun? What was your favorite rotation?”
“Honestly? I loved orthopedics best. I could totally see myself being an orthopedist when my time here is done. I liked the puzzle aspect of it. I liked the way the bones heal themselves.”
“The good thing, you’ll probably get a lot of practice setting bones out here,” Lacey said.
“Yeah, I can see that. Someone always falling off a horse, or a tractor. But I’m ready to treat just about anything, I guess. One day when you’re not possibly in labor you’ll have to come by and I’ll show you around the office and the apartment.”
“I’d like to see it. This place has been empty since we were kids, so I hope they fixed it up well for you.”
“It’s okay. Definitely bigger than the apartment I had in Waco.”
Lacey grimaced as her stomach tightened again, and Austin wrote something on his chart. Beck reached over and took her hand, and she gave him a little intimate smile that Austin envied, just a bit.
“So what about a social life at Baylor? Did you have one of those? Was it likeGrey’s Anatomywhen you were studying?” she teased with a wink.
“Yeah, all we did was stand around and flirt.” Austin rolled his eyes. “That’s how I got my degree. I slept my way to the top. No, I barely slept at all, much less had a wild romance.” Okay, so there was one, but that had been years ago, and maybe there had been a few casual hookups. Nothing serious.
And he hadn’t thought he wanted anything serious, but the way Lacey and Beck were looking at each other, like they had a secret no one else could know, made his heart hurt just a little. There was no one in his life like that. No one.
He was a hundred percent alone.
*****
AUSTIN WAS GLAD HEhadn’t been recruited to help with the baby shower on Sunday. He thought it was weird enough that he was invited, but then Ginny had told him they wanted all of Lacey’s friends included.
He was actually pretty impressed with the spread at The Wheel House—aluminum serving trays with chopped brisket and ribs, plastic bowls brimming with potato salad and macaroni salad. The girls had draped the stage with pink and blue streamers, and framed a few cute vintage baby pictures to set on the serving tables.
He wasn't super excited to be around the townspeople all at once so soon after the last party. He didn't mind dealing with them one on one, but as a group, he didn't care for their mentality.
Fortunately, he’d arrived just before Lacey and Beck, and he saw by the way his friend was beaming that she was excited about more than the shower.
Poppy was the first to notice the ring on her finger, and the shouts and exclamations had her friends and family surging forward, embracing them both. Austin watched and waited his turn to offer congratulations.
He hugged her when he got his chance, glanced at the ring on her hand. “That happened fast, didn't it?”
“Well, yeah, I guess. But it’s good.” She was glowing. “It’s really good.”
“I’m happy for you, Lace. Wow. Really happy for you.”
But there was a twinge, maybe a little, for the one friend he’d been looking forward to seeing again.
She moved away to look at the set-up for her party, and Hailey invited everyone to fill their plates.
Austin eased back to the edge of the crowd to wait until her family and closer friends served themselves. Ginny appeared at his side.
“Y’all did a nice job,” he said.
