Page 73 of Desired Hearts
“Is he alright?”
“Hopefully he will be after the surgery. He’s had chronic back pain for as long as I can remember.”
“That sucks. My brother Jimmy hurt his skiing one year in a bad fall. Flares up from time to time. Doesn’t seem fun at all.”
“So he’s a skier too?”
“Yeah, both of my brothers are outdoor types, like me.”
I looked over at him. Parker kissed me as the horse’s hooves clanked from time to time when they hit patches of pavement not covered in snow.
“What is it?” he asked after we broke apart.
My eyes widened. How could he possibly know there was anything wrong?
“Nothing,” I said, mostly meaning it. I was the one who had wanted to keep it casual. No way I would fess up to feeling a little off that he didn’t text me last night. “I’m happy as a clam.”
“Do you know what the full expression is?”
“What expression?”
“Happy as a clam.”
Cedar Falls drifted by us as we talked. “I have no idea.”
Parker finished his sip of cocoa. “It’s… happy as a clam at high tide. Clams are harvested at low tide when they’re exposed. At high tide, they’re submerged underwater, all safe and sound.”
“No kidding?”
“I’d never kid about something as important as a clam’s safety. Now tell me what’s wrong.”
“Parker,” I started. He shifted so we were face to face. “It’s silly.”
“Silly or not, I want to hear it.”
“I’m serious. It’s nothing?—”
“And I’m serious. No lies between us. Ever.”
Hewasserious, too. Somehow Parker could tell something was on my mind, and he wasn’t going to let it go. “I just… got used to your good night texts.” I added quickly, “See? I told you, it’s nothing. So silly.”
But he wasn’t laughing. He was thinking. Probably wondering how to end this before it began after I just waved the “needy girl” flag in his face.
“If that’s silly,” he said finally, “then so is the fact that I picked up my phone and put it down a half dozen times, trying to decide if you’d welcome a good night text or if it was too much. I’m trying to be mindful of that first conversation in the Coffee Cabin. Things are moving quickly between us, and the last thing I want to do is scare you away.”
“I’m trying to imagine you lying in bed,” I admitted. “Actually debating that with yourself.”
Everything Parker did was assured. He was the most quietly confident man I’d ever met. Not flashy, like Beck. But just someone who knew himself well.
“Forgive me if I only heard the first part of that. If you’d like, we can make it happen for real so you don’t have to imagine it.”
“You’re a nut,” I said.
“And you’re getting a good night text every night now. I hope you know that.”
“I hope you know I wouldn’t mind. At all.”
“And I hope you know… I don’t want another Taco Tuesday.”
