Discovering Pride (Pride Series) Read online

  “Did you come here to eat dinner? Doctor?” she said as she stood and grasped her note pad and pen tightly.

  He laughed and placed his order. As she marched back towards the kitchen, he wondered what it would take to get inside that little bundle of energy.

  By closing time, Lacey’s feet were burning. As she helped clean up the dining area, she realized she enjoyed Saturday nights, but she also welcomed Sunday mornings.

  The Doctor had left after filling himself with a full plate of appetizers, a huge steak and shrimp dinner, and a large plate of apple pie a la mode.

  She had two brothers, so she knew what it took to feed a man. However, she guessed that both Todd and Iian wouldn’t have packed away as much food as Aaron had.

  She knew he was remodeling the old Bell place, so she thought that maybe he hadn’t eaten since the dinner at Todd’s the other night. He had packed away almost as much food then too.

  If there was one thing Lacey prided herself on, it was seeing to her town’s people. And now, however unconformable he made her, he was one of those people.

  She could not understand the discomfort she felt; after all, he had been a perfect gentleman the rest of the evening, and he had left her a large enough tip.

  It wouldn’t hurt to visit the old Bell place tomorrow; she knew his offices were closed on the weekends. Maybe she would just stop by after church; after all, she mused, it would be the Christian thing to do.

  She was curious to see what he was doing to the house. She also wondered about the hurt look in his eyes, and about the woman who had put it there.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Attending Church always made Lacey feel more leveled. She found Father Michael’s voice soothing and often blocked out his words and let the feeling and mood of the service seep into her instead. He was a priest who believed in preaching at the congregation instead of to them. She enjoyed the energy he brought; it gave her the extra push she needed to start the week. Todd and Megan had come to several services after their wedding, but this weekend they were missing. Lacey knew Megan wasn’t Catholic, but she could tell Megan enjoyed being a part of the small community.

  Iian had not been to church in some time; Lacey remembered it was right after the accident when he stopped attending.

  After the service, Lacey found herself cornered by the usual group of elderly women. Lacey dubbed them the “Hens of Pride”, but never said this to their faces. She had grown up with these women being a part of her life and could handle their gossiping natures, for the most part. However, today they seemed more organized and seemed to have a purpose.

  “Of course you’ve heard about the new doctor, he’s such a fine young man.” Betty, one of the shortest in the group piped up. She had lost her husband recently to cancer which, to Lacey’s thinking, gave the woman an edge in the group.

  “I had an appointment with him last week. You know my gout has been acting up again. Well, I can tell you, he is such an attractive young thing. Remolded the whole office too; the place looks brand new. Have you been by to see him yet Lacey? He would be about your age and such a nice looking fellow….”

  At this point the entire group turned their eyes to her. She knew that look; match makers all of them.

  Smiling she replied. “Yes, the doctor and I have met on several occasions. We’ve even shared a few dinners together.”

  With this news Lacey turned and walked away leaving the ladies with a fresh wave of gossip to release into the town. Lacey felt her work had been done for the day. Smiling even larger, she walked over to where Dr. Stevens Sr. stood.

  To say the man was old would have been an understatement. He was about her size in height, had thin silver hair and the heart of a man half his age. She remembered a time back, when she was little, she thought of him as the biggest man in town.

  “How are you this morning Dr. Stevens?” Lacey took his outstretched hand. It looked frail but his grip was still firm.

  “Oh, I’m just fine. I’m enjoying the weather and have been out fishing almost every day.” he shook his head and leaned closer to Lacey. “Bored out of my mind, not sure what to do with myself most days.”

  Shaking her head she smiled. “Well, you know there are a few good looking women standing over there who would love to help you occupy some of that free time.” She figured turn about was fair game.

  Lacey glanced back to the group of women she had just left. All of them were facing her and talking amongst themselves. When they noticed Dr. Stevens’ head turning their way, they all looked away quickly. All that is, except Betty, who fluffed her hair and wet her lips. Lacey was trying to just tease the old man, but she could now see there were sparks flying between the pair. Smiling even more she patted his arm

  He cleared his throat. “Yes, well, have you met my grandson yet? Strapping young lad, I’m very proud he decided to follow my profession. It’s a pity his folks didn’t take more interest in him. I’m afraid I didn’t raise my own son very well.” he said shaking his head.

  “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Aaron on several occasions. It seems to me your son did a fine job raising him.” she patted his hand.

  “Boarding schools!” Dr. Stevens said shaking his head again.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “The boy was raised in boarding schools. Only came out to visit me for a few weeks every other summer, never really did get a lot of time with his folks. They were too busy jetting around the world. That poor boy never really knew what it was like to be part of a true family.” Lacey felt something shift inside her she tried to stamp it down so the guilt would not outweigh her feelings.

  “I’ve been asking that boy to come to Pride for years. I guess the timing was never right for him before. But he is here now; maybe he will settle down and start his own family. Your Pa knew how to raise a family, strong morals, healthy bodies, lots of love. Now, there’s a family setting my poor Aaron needed…” He finished off looking over her shoulder.

  Lacey looked over and saw Betty walking towards them. “Well, I better get going.” she said quickly, she was sure the doctor hadn’t heard her last words because he was frantically trying to straighten his blazer.

  After leaving the good doctor she was stopped several times by other people on her way to her car. She enjoyed catching up with everyone in her town.

  By the time Lacey left the church parking lot she had a slight headache that was starting to go full throttle. However, she was committed to being neighborly and feeding the new doctor, so she pointed her car in the direction of the old Bell place. The road to the house was poorly maintained, she knew the house had needed a lot of work, but nothing prepared her for what she saw when she arrived at the end of the drive.

  The yard was a jungle of trees and bushes that had overgrown and were covering one third of the entire house. She could see the house itself was in dire need of sanding and a good paint job, maybe a new roof to boot.

  The covered porch was falling down and would have to be replaced entirely. Off to the left, by the garage, there was a new pile of building materials covered with a blue tarp. No doubt to do just that.

  The garage doors were opened and she could see Aaron working with a table saw, cutting a long piece of wood in half.

  He wore protective glasses and large ear plugs. Lacey smiled at the tool belt that was strapped around his narrow waist, it was pulling his pants slightly down with the added weight.

  When she stepped from the car and shut the door, he made no move and she knew he hadn’t seen or heard her drive up.

  She walked over and watched his back as she leaned against the door frame and enjoyed the view. What a back! He sure was tall and broad. His arms were wide and his waist was narrow. Her eyes wondered down and she enjoyed the way his jeans fit his butt. She remembered what he had looked like at the pond, and realized he looked even better in faded blue jeans. She thought for it must be hot out today as a good blush rushed into her cheeks.

  Pulling her eyes
back up to his shoulders, she looked at his hair; it was golden, curly, and looked like it would be very soft to the touch, and it was a little longer than her own. She imagined running her fingers through it and felt a little jealous of the curl he had. Her hair was straight, at one point she had tried to grow it out, but didn’t have the patience for it and so had chopped it off and kept it short ever since.

  He finished cutting the wood and flicked off the saw.

  “Hi.” she said to his back.

  He jumped while spinning around, dropping the piece of wood directly on his ankle.

  “Son of a….” he jumped up and down on his other foot.

  Lacey quickly walked over and grabbed his hand then lead him to a stool a few feet away.

  “Here, let me look at it.” She bent over and pulled his pant leg up so she could view his hurt ankle.

  Aaron had been shocked when he heard her sexy voice, because he’d been trying to get her out of his mind all morning. He figured he could work off his interest in her and was trying really hard. But then here she was in the flesh and rubbing her small hands all over his ankle. He could smell her and his pain in his ankle disappeared. Her dark head was bent over his leg and she was pulling down his sock to view his ankle.

  “Trying to get me naked again?” he said with a laugh when her fingers tickled his skin.

  She jerked her hand back and glared up at him. Taking a deep breath she stood up and made a show of straightening her dark pink skirt.

  “Must you be so crude when I came out here to bring you some lunch?” But it appears you’re busy and in no mood to eat…” she trailed off when he abruptly stood and grabbed her shoulders lightly.

  “You brought me lunch?” he asked, his face was lit with amusement. Jennifer had never cooked. Her idea of making food was calling the local Chinese takeout.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll try to behave.” he said eagerly.

  She gave him a look that said she doubted he would ever behave; then she walked over to her car and picked up the large basket which he immediately retrieved from her.

  “Please, come in.” he ushered her towards the front door and followed her into the house.

  She had only taken two steps into the door when she stopped. “You can’t be living here?” she gasped as she looked around.

  There were no inside walls, the place was totally gutted. No carpet, no walls, and the ceiling was gone. She could see the exposed trusses that held the roof in place. All that remained were the outside walls, lots of wires, and various pipes hanging in midair around the place.

  She saw a large sleeping bag in one corner with a box next to it that had an alarm clock, phone, and a lamp sitting on top..

  There was an old green toilet in one corner with a shower stall next to a small green sink. Again, there were no walls or doors that separated the space for privacy. There was no kitchen, no refrigerator or stove, nothing but a big empty space.

  She’d been in the house years ago and remembered the kitchen should have been off the back, but now, all that remained was emptiness.

  “It’s not that bad, although, I’ve been thinking about finishing the kitchen first.” he smiled when his stomach growled.

  There was a large wooden box and chair next to the sleeping bag. Aaron walked towards them caring the basket and placed it on top of a large cooler.

  Lacey had yet to say anything else, she was still in shock. She finally walked over and sat on the only chair watching as he set the food out on the table.

  “Why are you here?” she asked watching his eyes flash with surprise.

  “I was going to ask you the same question.”

  “When you were at the restaurant last night, I realized you might not have a working kitchen.” she looked around. “Now I realize you don’t have a working anything.”

  “I’m making progress.” he said shoving half a piece of chicken in his mouth. After swallowing he continued. “It’s like camping. Besides, it’s coming along faster than I had imagined.”

  “You call this,” she gestured to the empty house. “Coming along?”

  “Sure,” he bent over and scooped up some potatoes. “You should have seen it yesterday,” he looked over giving her a lopsided smile.

  “Why?” On his blank look, she repeated her question. “Why are you here?”

  “My grandfather asked me to take over his practice, besides;” he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s about time he retired and I thought it was a good idea at the time.”

  “And now?” she asked.

  He just smiled over at her.

  “I talked to your grandfather this morning at church,” she continued. “He says he’s been asking you to come to Pride for years. Why now?” She leaned over and took a roll and began to nibble on it.

  “Is this your way of telling me you’re interested?” he leaned closer.

  She made sure to shut her mouth this time and took a large breath before saying very clearly. “No!” She tried not to blush.

  He laughed. “You’re awful easy to rile up.” He smiled over at her, “You’re very pretty when you blush.” He laughed again then went back to eating.

  She went from embarrassment to anger so fast, he could have sworn he saw smoke coming off her skin. Standing up and setting the roll down, she turned and looked down at him.

  He looked like a six year old at a picnic; he was sitting there on a wooden box with a small paper plate, packed full of food and balanced on his knees, and his mouth full of potatoes. She would have found it funny but she could only feel anger now.

  “Is this some kind of joke to you? Let’s see what it takes to get Lacey all riled up? Is that it? Well, let me tell you something buster,” she said pointing at him.

  “You come into my town, My Town! And you jump into my pond, My Pond! And grope me, getting me all mixed up. You look at me like you want to…to…” she broke off and then tossing her hands around began to pace in front of him.

  “Now you sit over there, eating my food. My Food! Telling me that you like to see me angry. Well, you can just forget it. Your games are not going to work on me. Let’s get something straight here Doctor Stevens ,” she bent over him and shoved her finger into his chest.

  “You can just take your games and shove ‘em. I don’t play games and I certainly don’t want to play with you.”

  She straightened back up and turned to walk out. She made it halfway across the empty room before she was spun around and found her mouth being crushed to his.

  He had sat through her speech, enjoying her beauty and her sexy voice, when she was mad she was exquisite. When she had stormed towards the door, he had to catch her and his body had acted before his brain had jumped into gear.

  He knew he was being rough with her and could feel her soft lips under his. His hands were on her back holding her close to him as she struggled against his chest, arousing him even more.

  He pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. “I lose all self-control when I’m around you.”

  “You jerk! Let me go!” she struggled against his chest lightly.

  She could see his eyes were unfocused; he had a lost expression on his face. Her hands were crushed between their bodies; her fingers were flat on his chest. She could feel his heart racing under them and if she wanted to, could count the beats. Her heart was racing, matching his.

  He pulled back a little, but didn’t release her. He shook his head and she could see his eyes clearing.

  “Damn you.” she whispered. Pulling one hand free she yanked his head back down to hers and went up on her toes to meet his lips once more.

  His lips were soft this time as she rubbed hers gently over his. When she deepened the kiss she felt his hands slide down her back to her hips as he pulled her closer.

  She tasted so good he had to hold back a moan. When he ran his hands up and down her small spine, he felt her shiver and then he felt his own body spasm in response.

  She was small but a nice arm full. He pulled h
er body higher so their chests met and her feet were off the ground completely, his mouth never leaving hers. He started walking backwards to where his air mattress and sleeping bag sat on the floor.

  When he reached it, he pulled her down with him, shifting her under him. She stiffened and pulled away then pushed on his chest until he released her.

  “No.” she stood up and straightening her clothes as she backed away. The fear in her eyes he saw allowed him to let her go. “I’m not ready.”

  “What’s your game, Lacey?” he whispered to her back as he watched her race across the floor and out his front door.