Page 23 of Prairie Nights

“Do you want the nutshell version?” Whitney asked, her eyebrows raised in question.

“Sure!” Ever replied, leaning towards her, curiosity in her eyes.

“After our first date, Hayden and I revisited our initial connection.” She shared, wiggling her eyebrows and making both Bea and Ever giggle. “After that, we officially started dating and last weekend I told him I loved him.” She confessed as she quickly took another sip of her coffee and waited for her friends’ reactions.

“You what?” Ever asked, eyes widening. “You love him?”

Whitney nodded and grinned brightly at her friends, knowing how significant it was that she had just dropped the “L” bomb. “I love Hayden very much.” She confirmed with deep sincerity as she looked at her friends. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this strong about anyone before.”

Bea sat back, let out a huge huff of breath and laughed. “Well, gosh darn it! I have missed a lot! And this all happened in the past two weeks?”

Whitney nodded, a radiant smile on her face.

“Wow!” Bea exclaimed. “I’m so glad your feelings finally caught up with him.”

“What do you mean?” Whitney asked, confused, and leaning in closer with curiosity.

“She means Hayden has been in love with you since you met,” Ever added, taking a sip of her tea. “I’m pretty sure for Hayden; it was love at first sight.”

Whitney sat back and blinked; not sure she believed what they were telling her.

Bea nodded her head in agreement with Ever. “You must understand something about Hayden. The guy is a hopeless romantic. He has never been afraid of love or sharing his life with someone. And he has been wanting a committed relationship for a long time.” Bea added. “The problem was he was meeting all the wrong kinds of girls. Women who are superficial and not worthy of his kindness or selflessness. He’s been taken advantage of so many times. Just women seeing what’s on the surface, but no one really taking the time to get to know the truly amazing guy he is in here.” Bea pointed to her heart.

“Ben has told me stories.” Ever commented, shaking her head.

Bea went on, “Seriously, Hayden has wanted someone to share his life with for a long time. Even with all his attempts at something more meaningful, he never gave up and was always optimistic, even when he got hurt in the process. And Whitney, he got hurt a lot.”

Whitney stared at Bea unblinking, her words about Hayden going straight to her heart. She had let her first impression of him shadow her judgement in the beginning and now, having gotten to know more about Hayden; he had met and surpassed her expectations. He wanted something meaningful and true, and he wanted it with her. Whitney smiled thoughtfully into her coffee cup.

“I assume he told you he loves you too?” Ever asked.

“He did.” Whitney replied. “Honestly, meeting Hayden took me completely by surprise. You know, Ever, I wasn’t really looking for anyone.”

“I know.” Ever nodded. “Does he know your history, with your past relationship?”

“He knows everything.”

Ever and Bea gave her approving nods, knowing how significant it was for Whitney to share her entire past with Hayden. Whitney reached out and took the hands of her friends, giving them a squeeze, overwhelmed by the support her friends were giving her new relationship. Never had she ever thought that she would be head over heels in love with a small-town boy from Manitoba and want more than anything to build a life with him.

* * *

December came to Primrose bringing more snow and turning the small town into a Winter Wonderland. Hayden, determined to give Whitney the full country Christmas experience, brought her to a local tree farm so they could pick out a tree together.

“How do you know which tree to pick?” Whitney asked as they made their way through the rows of trees.

“No real method to it.” Hayden laughed, holding an axe in his hand. “Just pick one you think looks good.”

Whitney stopped and inspected a few trees, touching the needles and smelling them. Taking her in, he smiled at how impossibly cute she was travelling from tree to tree, this experience something new and exciting for her.

The past five weeks with Whitney had been wonderful and she fully emersed herself in small town life. Although there was so much more to discover about her, each day as they grew closer, the illusive sense of completeness he had desired for so long was becoming a reality. The completeness his mother talked about when she shared about his father. That feeling that you are with the person made just for you and the more time he spent with Whitney he was sure she was the one.

“This tree looks nice!” Whitney exclaimed, looking up at a huge Douglas Fir.

“Nice pick,” he complimented as he knelt and positioned himself to cut down the tree.

Whitney stood back and watched with curiosity as he swung the axe at the trunk of the tree. With only a handful of swings, the tree was down, and Hayden stood up straight, a look of accomplishment on his face.

Whitney’s eyes flashed at him. “Is it weird that I found that very sexy?” She confessed with a coquettish grin.

---