Discovering Pride (Pride Series) Page 7

  Lacey was left standing in the doorway holding a bloody towel.

  She hadn’t been into the office since Aaron had taken over the practice. She noticed there was new paint and carpet and the old hardwood floors had been refurnished. Lacey walked into what used to be Dr. Stevens office, it had been turned into a waiting room with new leather couches. A flat-screen TV sat in the corner and a small table with boxes of toys sat underneath. Along one wall was a large fish tank with tropical fish swimming around peacefully. This was a doctor’s office. Oh, it had always been a doctor’s office, just not this…shiny.

  Lacey let out the breath she’d been holding to long and sat on one of the new couches to stare at the door, waiting for Aaron to walk in.

  Aaron’s heart had skipped a beat when he’d heard that one of the girls at the restaurant had cut her hand pretty bad. The boy who had called hadn’t known the details just that someone had been hurt and they were being driven over. When he had seen Lacey’s car pull up, panic had surged through him. Then Lacey had gotten out of the car, and he noticed Katie sitting in the passenger seat holding her hand above her head.

  As he put little stitches into the palm of Katie’s left hand he allowed her to chat about the busy day at the restaurant. He’d given her a local and could see the color finally coming back into her cheeks.

  When he finished and was wrapping her hand up in gauze, a short stout woman came rushing in.

  “Katie? Oh my God! Doctor is she going to lose her hand?”

  “No ma’am, she just needed a few stitches. She cut it pretty deep so I’ll prescribe an anti-biotic along with pain pills. She’ll need to keep the bandages dry and clean for a week.”

  Aaron ushered the two women out of his office with assurances that the hand wasn’t going to need to be amputated. He stood in the doorway watching them leave and noticed Lacey’s car was still sitting out front of the building.

  He walked back to the waiting room and saw her curled up on the couch clutching a blood-stained towel, fast asleep.

  Walking over to a closet he pulled out a medical blanket and covered her up. He slid the towel out of her fist and noticed that she hadn’t moved. Bending down he could see the lines under her eyes. He had been focused on his patient before and hadn’t had time to look at Lacey other than to make sure she was not the one bleeding. But now that he did look at her, he could clearly see she had not been getting enough sleep.

  She looked so small curled up on his waiting room couch. Brushing a strand of dark hair from her forehead, he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her temple.

  He was closing up, but now he stood and headed back to his office. He figured he would catch up on some of the paperwork he had been putting off, and he would call over to make sure Iian knew that Katie was fine and that Lacey needed the rest of the night off.

  Colors flooded Lacey’s mind along with a warm soft feeling that surrounded her senses. She felt warm strong arms wrap around her, and she turned into them with a sigh. She had to be dreaming.

  Then memory came to her and she remembered about Katie and her injury. Her eyes flew open and she saw the waiting room. She was in strong arms, but it wasn’t a dream.

  Looking up at Aaron she asked. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “You say that a lot. Do you always wake up in such a hurry?” he smiled down at her. His whole face was lit up and his eyes sparkled.

  She was nestled in his arms with her head on his strong shoulders. She was so close to his face that she noticed a freckle on the left side of his forehead. She fought the urge to reach up and touch it.

  “Where is Katie? Is she going to be okay? What happened? And why are you carrying me?” she asked as she started squirming in his arms.

  “She’s fine. Her mother came and took her home. You on the other hand are not fine. You fell asleep, and from the look of it, you haven’t been getting enough of it lately.”

  He walked down the hall and out the back door; turning he tried to lock the door while keeping Lacey tight in his grip.

  “If you put me down, it’ll be easier to lock the door.” she said giving up her struggle to wiggle her way out of his hold.

  “Nope, can’t. I like the feel of you too much.” he shifted her weight and successfully locked the door. “There! See? I got it.” Then he proceeded to carry her towards his new silver truck.

  “Where are you taking me? My car is over there.” she said pointing towards her large sedan.

  “Well, let’s see, because you’ve gone out of your way to avoid me the last couple of weeks, I figured we had some catching up to do. So, I’m taking you someplace to eat.”

  “I have not been avoiding you.” she said crossing her arms and staring up at him. “And I can’t go to dinner with you; I have to get back to work.”

  “No.” Aaron leaned over he opened the truck door then placed her on the front seat gently but unceremoniously.

  “What do you mean, no?” she asked, so shocked at the simple statement she didn’t think about getting back out of the car. She just sat there and watched as he walked around the truck.

  “I mean no. You’re not going back to work tonight. I called and told them you needed the rest of the night off,” he said as he got into the driver’s side of the truck.

  “You did what?” she said as she began to get out of the truck.

  “Don’t. I’ll just put you right back in.” The look he gave her confirmed he would do just that.

  “You have no right.” she began.

  “You don’t want to mess with me now Lacey.” he said quietly which stopped her. She looked over at him.

  It wasn’t so much the words that stopped her; it was the calm manner in which he had spoken.

  “Please.” He whispered. The simple word had her change her mind more than anything.

  Crossing her arms over her chest again, she sat back while he drove. She did not really see where they were headed because she was too deep in thought about his words, his emotions behind them, and what they might mean.

  By the time the truck stopped, her eyes had shut once more. Aaron walked around and picked her up again. She didn’t fight him this time; instead she let out a small moan and then snuggled up to his chest.

  At that moment he knew he was in deep. He stood there for a moment while this feeling sank in. He could hear her breath and feel her warmth against his arms. Finally he turned and walked into an empty house. Walking into his home all alone was one thing, but carrying a sleeping woman was a completely different event.

  After he placed her gently on his new king bed, he looked down at her as she snuggled into the soft pillow top and murmured something inaudible.

  Reaching down he gently tugged off her shoes and smiled at the bright yellow socks. He leaned down closer and realized the socks were covered in turkeys, which made him smile.

  He reached down and brushed her hair away from her face. What a face it was. He liked how he could read her every emotion that crossed into her eyes.

  He could tell others were baffled by her, but he had figured out how to tell her moods; earlier in the car, he knew she was upset, but he also knew that she was suffering from lack of sleep and a headache. It was like a story that he could read in her eyes—tired eyes that hadn’t shined tonight like all the other times he had seen her.

  He turned off the lights and closed the door before walking down his half-finished hallway. He realized Jennifer hadn’t been easy to read but their relationship had been based on a physical attraction. He had failed to listen to his heart; and in the end, he had paid for it.

  He didn’t think it had been possible to ever recover from what that woman had done to him.

  Walking into the kitchen, he enjoyed the feel of the place. His newly purchased appliances were all hooked up and humming, making the place seem more alive. He could picture the final product of the rooms. He still had to finish painting, some of the flooring, and some fixtures were left to hang. Then he could start
on the yard and the large deck he planned on building out back.

  Walking to the back of the house he figured he would get started on the first real dinner in this house. He was glad Lacey would be here to share in the experience.

  As he started dinner preparations he realized he knew he would be able to trust Lacey. He could see the honesty and deep caring emotions in her each time he saw her.

  This was someone who was honest and caring; he liked the whole Jordan clan for that matter. For the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged somewhere. In the short time he’d been part of this small community, he truly felt like he fit in.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The heavenly aroma drifted into her sleeping mind causing her stomach to growl. Turning over in the bed she tried to ignore the persistent hunger pains.

  Then in a flash she was sitting up and looking around the strange room. The light in the room was too dim to really see anything other than shapes, so she searched for a light or a light switch. Finding a lamp she flicked it on.

  The room was huge with the large bed sitting in the center. There were no pictures on the unpainted walls and, she noted, there were no doors.

  She realized she was in Aaron’s place, in his bedroom to be exact. After her initial shock she became curious and really looked around. Large glass doors covered one wall that might look out to what she thought would be the back yard. A large chest of drawers with a small flat screen sat on another wall and next to it there was another doorway.

  Standing up she walked to the doorway and flipped on the light to reveal a very large bathroom. The walls were a warm blue, there was a glass shower, a large inviting bath tub, and double sinks. The whole place gleamed and shined. She could see the closet off the other end of the room and turned back into the bedroom to find the source of the wonderful smells.

  There was a short unfinished hallway covered with papers. At first she thought they were plans, drawings of the house. As she approached them she realized they were drawings from children. There must have been a dozen tapped on the unpainted drywall.

  She leaned closer to one drawing and saw a large multicolored rainbow arched around a small figure with a large red cast arm and another larger figure with a white coat on. She read the large uneven print “Thanks Dr. Stevens for fixing my hurt arm with my favorite color. Evan.”

  She moved to another that showed a small girl with a big bandage on her face. An overly large man sat next to her holding a small bunny, it too had a large bandage on its face. It read, “Thank you for helping Lela and me. Love Jenny.”

  She read them all, taking her time to make sure she knew each child. She didn’t realize it, but silent tears were dripped down her cheeks as she read.

  This man had come into her town, he had fixed up this broken down house, and one of the first things he hung up, so that he would pass them every day, were pictures the town children had drawn for him.

  But what had caused the tears and her heart to sob was the picture at the end of the hallway. The wall was blank; its freshly painted cream color accented the one picture in a dark cherry frame. Inside sat two circled faces one with blue eyes and another with brown.

  Both faces had matching smiles and noses. One had blonde hair and the other dark. Tommy Thomas had only been six when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. It had been a hard blow to the small town of Pride and an even harder blow when he had lost the battle a month ago. The last few days of his life had been filled with town members fulfilling every wish the little boy had ever had.

  Stepping closer to the picture, she remembered the party the town had to celebrate his last birthday.

  However, looking at this drawing did something different to her. Through her wet eyes she could see Tommy and Aaron smiling and realized the joy in life and relationships shared between a child and his friend, the doctor. It was a friendship that appeared to mean as much to the doctor as it had to the child.

  Knowing Aaron had taken the time to frame the child’s picture and hang it in a place of honor in his home helped her realize her feelings for him were something she couldn’t set aside anymore. She knew deep down the man, who would fill his home with the drawings from children that weren’t his own, had stolen her heart.

  Her eyes became unfocused as she realized she was in love. How had it come to this? The man infuriated her. Didn’t he? She had tried to ignore him and ignore her feelings for him. But now all these pictures had snapped her last lock, the lock around her heart that had been holding her back from the last big leap.

  Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and chuckled. Wasn’t it just like her to fall in love with a man who would keep her on her toes. Well, she was sure of one thing, life would not be boring. All that was left was to convince him he couldn’t live without her.

  Confident now in her new found emotions, she continued exploring the house and arrived in what she would consider the great room. The room took up half the house and held a leather couch, a cherry coffee table, and a large flat screen television next to a large stone fireplace. She noticed that there was not much else in the room; there weren’t pictures or mementos here.

  Aaron had left the ceiling high, leaving the large wood trusses exposed. She saw they were stained a dark color and gave the room an open feeling. She saw all the way to the backside of the house and saw the kitchen through a large opening in one wall. Heading back towards the delicious smells, she noticed that Aaron’s back was to her while he chopped something. Lacey leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest and continued to look around.

  The house had come a long way in the time since she’d been there last. The kitchen was breathtaking. She estimated that it was larger than her own and was full of new appliances. She smiled when she saw the stove was restaurant quality and gas to boot! The man knew how to put a kitchen together.

  Where most of the rest of the house still needed painting, wall coverings, and furniture; the kitchen seemed to be complete.

  She noted that the cabinets were a dark cherry and the counters were marble. She approved of the dark wood blinds that hung in the windows along with the island that cut the room into two. She wanted to take a look at the stacked ovens that stood on the opposite wall, and then spotted the large glass door refrigerator, it was completely stocked with food. I guess he can feed himself now, she thought.

  Just then Aaron turned around and was startled to see her standing there causing him to almost drop the hand full of onions he had just chopped.

  “Oh! You’re awake.” he smiled, trying for a smooth recovery.

  “Mmm, smells good.” she leaned over and took a carrot off a plate.

  “I like what you’ve done with the place.” Walking over she ran her hand on the smooth counter top and rounded the island to sit on one of the bar stools. Placing her chin in her hand, she watched him dump the onions into a sizzling pan.

  “Hope you don’t mind fish.” He smiled as he placed another fish filet in the pan then glanced over at her when she did not answer. “You seem surprised that I can cook.” he said after noticing her expression.

  “A doctor and a cook? What else have you got up your sleeves?” she shrugged as she started to nibble on the carrot.

  “Hmm, I give a mean massage.” When he smiled over at her she fought the urge to blush.

  He watched her lips as she ate the carrot and got transfixed with her mouth. She was killing him. He almost forgot to keep an eye on the fish.

  When he turned back to the stove, she finished the carrot and stretched her arms above her head, “I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

  “I’m glad you got some rest; it’s not healthy to work yourself like that.” he paused as he flipped the filets. “You know, if you wanted to avoid me, you could have simply stayed home.” Looking over his shoulder, he realized he hit the mark by the guilty look she gave him.

  “Listen Aaron…” she started.

  “Please don’t. Let’s just enjoy a nice civiliz
ed dinner,” he said changing gears. He removed the fish from the heat.

  She felt the urge to explain more but went with the mood. “Sure. Can I help?”

  “No, tonight I serve you. Go on into the dining room.” He pointed her towards another room off the side of the kitchen. “I’ll bring this right in.”

  Lacey walked into the next room and smiled. It was smaller than the kitchen but very comfortable. Large picture windows covered one wall and in the middle stood a circular cherry table with four cushioned chairs. To the side stood a small dinette, and a fire crackled in the stone fireplace on the opposite wall. Above the fire was a picture. She walked closer and saw it was a painting of a ship set on storming waters. Seeing that it was one of Allison’s, she smiled.