Page 35 of Mistletoe Dreams
"He's a great kid. He's been doing a fantastic job at the medical center." She opened her mouth to say more, but "Jingle Bells" started pouring out of her pocket, and she said, "That's my phone. Excuse me."
He nodded and pushed off from the post, turning his back, shoving his hands in his pockets, and looking out over the town. Whoever had vandalized the gazebo had never been caught, and he'd been extra diligent while making his rounds. Of course, more than once he'd run into Secret Saint type people who were coming back from doing their good deeds. He dealt with Roland McBride, and didn’t know a lot about it, other than the Secret Saint baton had been passed that year. After the spate of vandalism that had been happening, the people who were in charge of it had thought that he should know so that he wouldn't be suspicious of unusual activity that was actually aimed at helping people and not destroying the town.
He smiled. The new Secret Santa was the perfect person for the job. No one would ever guess who it was.
"Today? Now? Oh! That's so exciting!" There was a pause, and then Hannah said, "Of course. I'm more than happy to do that. I can take care of it." Another pause. "Oh no. No problem at all. That's what you hired me for."
There were a few more words, and then Hannah hung up.
By the time he turned around, she had shoved her phone in her pocket and stood up.
"It sounded like Dr. Terry might be having her baby," he guessed, assuming it was good news from the glow on her face as well as her smile.
He had to admit that he was a little bit disappointed, because he was on the verge of asking her out, but she had gone from being relaxed and chill to acting like she wanted to leave immediately.
"Yes, that's exactly right. And if you don't mind, I need to get tothe medical center. She was going to meet me there with a few last-minute things that I need while they're on their way to the hospital."
"All right. I don't want to hold you up, and I certainly wouldn't want her to end up having a baby on the way, so I'll just say it was nice seeing you, and I hope to see you again."
She paused on her way down the steps out of the gazebo and looked over at him. He hadn't realized how much smaller than he she was—a good half a foot, at least. She seemed bigger, maybe because of her personality or because of the competence she displayed. He wasn't sure, but it kind of surprised him in a way. Not that he minded. She was the perfect size.
Their eyes met, and this time, he didn't stop his hand as it reached up and touched her shoulder.
She didn't step back, which he viewed as a good sign.
"I suppose you'll be extra busy for the next couple of weeks or more."
"Yes. We've been deliberately not scheduling appointments until after the new year, but all the emergency cases will be on my shoulders."
"With that and planning for the Christmas festival, I probably won't see you much."
"Probably not." Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought she looked a little disappointed.
"If you have time, maybe we could meet for coffee some morning before work, or hot chocolate in the evening?" He knew he should let her go—he'd told her he would—and he didn't want to keep her when she needed to leave. But he also wanted to confirm that whatever was between them wasn't going to totally die before they could see if it went somewhere.
"I'd like that. Friday evening? Seven o'clock?"
He grinned. He wasn't sure if he had just asked her out on a date or if she'd commanded him out on one. Either way, he wasn't going to argue.
"Seven o'clock, hot chocolate, at the Mistletoe Diner?"
"Yes, it's a date," she said. Then her eyes got big, and she clamped her mouth shut, like maybe she'd overstepped by calling their hot chocolate a date.
"It's a date," he confirmed, and her lips softened and curled into a smile.
His fingers slid down her coat, and he lost contact with her. It was just a second later when she finished going down the stairs and hurried off in the direction of the medical center.
He had a date. With Hannah.
Chapter Sixteen
The next few days were an absolute whirlwind for Hannah as she handled everything at the medical clinic by herself, with Terry in the hospital. Thankfully, the birth was uneventful, and they had a healthy baby girl whose two older brothers were excited to welcome her home.
Terry had mentioned to Hannah that she actually might be interested in hiring another doctor, one who might be willing to split part-time hours with her, who also had a family and would like to spend more time with them.
Terry hadn't found anyone like that, but she said she'd been praying about it and hoped that God had the right person out there. That meant Hannah would be the full-time doctor, with two part-time doctors working at the clinic as well. Hannah was okay with full-time hours, but somehow being around Ben had made her think that eventually she might want part-time hours of her own to raise a family. She'd definitely come full circle from her days where she thought her career was everything and she put sixty or eighty hours a week into it.
Friday couldn't come fast enough, and she practically hummeddown the street, despite the fact that she was exhausted. It was the most she'd worked since she left her job in the big city, and she had to admit she wasn't used to those kinds of long hours. Not anymore. And she didn't want to go back to them.
