Page 100 of Stolen Kisses
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Today had been an awful, wonderful, confusing day.
Krista stared at the stick she’d peed on this afternoon. Abby had left and Krista had spent the next couple of hours crying. She wasn’t sure why she was crying. Bringing a child into the world as a single mom would be hard on her and the baby. A lot of women did it, but it wasn’t ideal for Krista’s life right now. It wasn’t good timing, so it was for the best that the stick had read negative. And to top the pregnancy test off, Krista had gotten a voicemail from Karen, telling her she’d recommended Krista for the head nurse promotion. And crap, Krista wasn’t sure she even wanted the job anymore. Working with patients was her passion, not putting out fires and doing even more paperwork.
Nothing in Krista’s life made sense anymore.
Her phone dinged on the counter. Krista blew into a Kleenex and reached for it. It showed an incoming text from Grace, who was still at the Sawyer cabin on her honeymoon.
Brief moment of reception at the cabin!Grace’s text read.How are you?
Krista sniffled. She didn’t want to concern Grace with her messy life while she was on her honeymoon. They could discuss all of Krista’s troubles over coffee and muffins at the café next week.
I’m fine. How are you?she texted back.
An emoji of a smiley face with huge heart-shaped eyes popped onscreen and Krista laughed out loud.
We love the toys you left us. We’ve been exploring new things in the bedroom.
Krista grinned even though her eyes were sore and swollen from crying.Jack probably doesn’t want you telling me this,she typed back.
LOL. Just don’t tell Noah,Grace texted. Grace still didn’t know that Krista and Noah had broken up. She could tell her that later.
I won’t. I promise.
They texted a little more and then Grace’s reception seemed to drop. Krista was just about to turn on the TV and look for a sappy Hallmark movie to lighten her mood when her doorbell rang. Joey wasn’t home so she had to get it. And,gah,she probably looked awful.
Dragging herself to the door, she sniffled and slid her hands over her hair to at least tame the pieces that were sticking up. She turned the doorknob and the first thing she saw when she opened the door was a huge arrangement of multicolored flowers. There must have been a hundred stuffed into a large, pale blue vase. Below the arrangement, she saw a man’s body. Tall and built. The jeans he wore hugged his waist so perfectly. She’d know that body anywhere. Her heart ballooned in her chest.
“Noah, what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice coming out tired. Mixed emotions warred inside her. She wanted to see him, but she needed distance. How was she ever going to move on with him standing in front of her with flowers?
“I came to see you.” He held the arrangement to the side so she could see his face. He was beaming. Smiling. “Can I come in?”
Against her better judgment, she stepped back and nodded. He walked inside and placed the flowers down on the coffee table. “Are those for me?”
Noah walked to her and cupped his hands on her elbows as she folded her arms under her chest, striking a defensive pose. She couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t see him and not want to be with him. If she wanted to move on, she’d have to actually move away from Blushing Bay. And maybe that was for the best. She could get a nursing job somewhere else.
“Krista, I came here to tell you something.” His speech was pressured and excited. “I have so, so many things to tell you.” He laughed out loud. “I caught Mitsy today!”
A fish? This is about a freaking fish?“Okay,” she said, pulling her arms tighter against her body and stepping back.
“I let her go.”
“What? Why would you do that? You’ve been trying to catch that tuna for years.”
“No. I’ve been trying to catch something that I thought would make me happy for years. But I already had that something. It was you.Youmake me happy. You make me want to be a better man. A good man. The kind of man that you aren’t afraid to love. The kind that is solid and stable, as unmoving as a mountain.” He was talking so fast, so excitedly. “I can be that man for you, Krista. No.” He shook his head. “I already am that. With you. With you, I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’m rooted with you.”
Krista’s brow furrowed. Those pesky tears that had been hounding all day returned behind her eyes. “What are you saying?”
“Krista, I bought a house.”
“What?”
“A real house with a yard and a little pier in the backyard. Any kid would love to play out there. I can teach them to fish off the pier the same way I taught Adam. And I can’t wait. I can’t wait to teach our kid to fish.”
“Our kid?” She was trembling now and definitely crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks, melting over her shaky lips. “Noah, what are you talking about?”
“I love you, Krista Nelson. I have always loved you and only you. The only thing that ever scared me was losing you. I want to marry you, Krista. I want to share that house with you. And I want to make a family with you, whether that starts today or tomorrow or a decade from now. It’s you. It’s always been you.”
