Page 46 of Falling Inn Love
“What are you most worried about?”
“Him not making it through the surgery. Or rejecting the kidney.”
“I wish I knew what to say to make it better. I’ll do my best here while you’re gone so you’ll have peace of mind with that.”
He covers my hand in his and he smiles. “Thank you for all you’re doing, Beth. I’m so glad you’re here.”
My eyes scan his face but his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s terrified. I give him a big hug and kiss his cheek. He leans into me.
We sit at the counter together and eat and chat about the day and how the new marketing plan is going. He seems to relax a little, acting less tense and scared as we talk about other things.
We finish eating and after we clean up the kitchen, we walk out back to sit with the dogs by the fire. I settle into the glider next to him and wrap a thick buffalo plaid blanket around us.
After dinner, Mellie and Kase join us for a while. I love watching Kase play with the puppies and seeing how happy they make him.
Mellie sits in a chair next to me and Evan tosses her a blanket to put over her lap.
“How’s it going, Mellie? What are you reading?”
Mellie grins and holds up a Baker’s Creek catalog. “Just dreaming about gardens and looking at seeds.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.”
“I liked helping with the small kitchen garden we had last summer. I didn’t get the chance to plant anything because we got here after it was already going, but I think I’d like to restructure it. Maybe I can clean it out and plant some different things if you’re okay with it, Evan.”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Use the inn account when you order the seeds and we’ll get everything else you need from the local garden store,” Evan tells her. He explains the back story of the garden to me. “The Donegals, who used to live to the side of us, had a huge garden that we helped out with for many years. Now, they’ve both passed away and their grown kids are probably going to sell the property. I want to buy it and expand, but we just don’t have the money for that. At least not yet.”
“That would be amazing to expand. If we keep implementing our plans, hopefully we can get the money to make it happen,” I say. The fact that I used the term “we” isn’t lost on me, but I hurry to change the subject before Evan can catch on. “So what do you want to plant?” I ask Mellie.
She’s now more excited than I’ve ever seen her. She goes on an absolute rant about heirloom tomatoes, beans, pumpkins, onions, and other various plants I’m not sure I’d know what to do with.
“I’ve always wanted to run a farmers’ market back on the big lot in the back from March through October,” Evan says.
Hearing them talk about all of these ideas for the future makes me sad I won’t be here for it. I said sixty days, and time is going by too fast. I’m trying to ignore the fact that I want to see how the garden turns out and enjoy sharing whatever they grow with them. I want to help Mellie and watch it all unfold. It’s safe to say that I am questioning my decision at this point.
I did say maybe…
“I would love to help organize that,” she says.
“We’ll definitely talk more about this,” Evan says. “I love the idea.”
Kase begins to yawn and curls up with the sleeping puppies. Mellie says, “That’s our cue. Time to head out.”
Evan stands and carries a sleepy Kase up the steps to the garden shed. Mellie looks at me and whispers loudly, “He’s perfection. You know that?”
“I heard that…” Evan says.
I grin and shake my head. “Evan’s great with him.”
She has no idea how much this hits me. He’s everything that I want but know I shouldn’t have.
He comes back down a few minutes later and slides back into the glider beside me.
Mellie heads up to the loft and calls over her shoulder, “Have a good night, you two. Thanks, Evan.”
I love my days and nights here with everyone. They make it easy for me to be me. Not the old me, but maybe the new me. I don’t think I can ever go back to who I was before, but I’m starting to feel like this new version isn’t so bad, either.
Evan and I snuggle and quietly watch the fire for a little bit until he whispers, “Ready to go inside?” into my ear.
