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I kept my hands off her while she was changing. We were going to be late anyway, and I was still high off the encounter in the shower. We drove to work and got out of the car together, spotted by at least two employees. I gave her a kiss, not caring who saw, and went to the barn to clock in.
“Why didn’t you need a ride today?” Danny asked from his habitual chair.
“I got back together with Aly,” I explained.
“I knew you would,” he said.
“And she’s going to help me go car shopping, so pretty soon I should be able to drive myself.”
“I’ll miss the morning carpools.”
“Will you?” I wasn’t sure if he was kidding.
He shrugged, not committing one way or the other. I let him know how much I appreciated all the drives either way. At lunch, I went up the hill to see if Aly wanted to grab lunch. We were about to leave when Porter emerged from his second-floor office.
“I see the dress worked,” he commented.
Aly blushed.
I looked at her, wondering how Porter had known about the red dress. It hadn’t been the first thing I noticed about her—just herpresence in the park had been enough to fuel my desire. But the dress had been attractive. There was no denying it.
“Gina lent it to me,” Aly said.
“I guess I owe her a thank you,” I said, shaking my head.
“I’ll tell her,” Porter said, laying a hand on my shoulder. “I’d tell you not to hurt her again, but you’ve proven that I can’t threaten you.”
I smiled. “You don’t need to threaten me. What you all did by supporting me is what really brought me back.”
“You can always come to Gina or me if you have any problems,” he offered.
“Thanks.” I put a hand against Aly’s back, opening the door. “But I agreed to talk to Aly next time I have an issue.”
“Sounds good,” Porter said.
Aly and I smiled at each other, breaking out into the afternoon to enjoy our hour off the clock together.
EPILOGUE
ALY
Ipoured myself a glass of sweet tea. Standing at the kitchen counter, I thought about all the wonderful things that had happened in such a short amount of time. It had been a year since Linc had returned to Singer’s Ridge, and most of that time, we had been together.
He had moved out of his basement apartment and began sharing my cabin. Having his help with the rent allowed me to put more money aside for the eventual purchase price. We found him a car, so he didn’t have to walk everywhere anymore.
My problems with insomnia were in the past. As long as I was careful not to eat too much or watch television too close to bedtime, most nights I could get a good seven or eight hours of sleep. Linc still struggled, but instead of walking around town on his own, he built a shed in the backyard. The cabin was far enough away from the neighbors that he wasn’t annoying anyone with construction late at night, and the noise didn’t bother me.
Pretty soon, he was on to building a deck for my lawn chairs and a couple benches so that we could have friends over. He got allhis wood from the scrap heap, sanding and cutting it so that it was useable.
I took Macy up on her offer to attend a barbeque, and Porter introduced us to all his friends. Most of them had little cabins just like mine, and we all traded off hosting cookouts. They were a great group of people and Linc and I fit right in.
Today, he was at work. It was a Monday, so technically I should have been there too, but I hadn’t been feeling well, so I had gone to the doctor. The news she had given me made me excited and anxious at the same time. I knew that Linc was committed to me and to our future, but now I was about to tell him something that would change the course of our lives forever. Would he stand by me, or would my revelation send him into a spiral of panic?
I pinned the doctor’s diagnosis to the corkboard in the kitchen and sat down to drink my tea. Lincoln came home after work and asked about my day.
“Was the doctor able to tell you what was wrong?” he asked.
“She told me, but there’s nothing wrong.” I followed him into the kitchen as he filled a glass with water.
