Page 64 of Tacos & Toboggans
“Yes,” Dawson said behind me. “But as you instructed. Only in the boot and with both crutches. You said it was healed on X-ray last week.”
Jaelyn was laser-focused on me, and her eyes said she wasn’t comfortable with the situation either. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Ignore me.”
“I won’t,” I said, standing and bringing her fingers to my lips to brush a kiss across. “She shouldn’t be sore this far out from surgery, even walking on it. I want to look at it just to be sure.” Turning back to Dawson, I lifted a brow. “Want to meet me at the hospital, or want me to look at it here?”
“You don’t have to do that on a Sunday,” he said, but I could tell he wasn’t sure what to do as his gaze darted to the other room where AJ sat at the table, her foot propped up on a chair.
“Dawson. Here or at the hospital?” I asked again, and he finally swung his gaze back at me.
“Here. The hospital makes her anxious now.”
“Understandable,” I said as we walked toward the great hall. “I’ll visually assess, but if I think it needs an X-ray, we’ll have to go in.”
“Give me a minute to talk to her,” he said, holding up his finger as he approached his daughter.
“Thanks for mentioning it,” I said, trailing a finger down Jaelyn’s cheek. “You have a way with people, and others notice it. Keep being your wonderful self.” Then I did what I said I wouldn’t do, and I pressed a kiss to her lips right in front of God and everyone.
Chapter Twenty-One
The park was dark and quiet as we walked through it, the crisp, cold air invigorating me after a long day. We were only days away from the tree lighting, and I was still tossing around what I was going to say, especially considering I didn’t feel worthy of the honor to begin with. Perhaps a walk to the gazebo would inspire me.
“This town sure keeps you busy,” I said, resting my head on Major’s shoulder as we walked toward the gazebo. It was lit up with tiny fairy lights as we approached, but the tree would remain dark for a few more days.
“You’re not kidding,” he said, laughing as he squeezed me to his side. “It’s been like this at every job, but mostly because I was low man on the totem pole then.”
“Which means they gave you all the holidays and weekends, right?” I asked, and he nodded.
“That’s not the case here in Bells Pass. I’m busy, but helping people makes it worthwhile, even with the extra hours. Eventually, things will fall into a rhythm with the schedule once the novelty of having the new guy do your surgery wears off.”
“I don’t know, I’m glad the new guy did my surgery. I bet AJ is, too,” I said as we climbed the stairs to stand under the roof of the gazebo. It was lovely with the netted Christmas lights offering a sneak peek of the holiday fanfare.
“That kid is something else,” he said, leaning against the railing as he pulled me closer to stand between his legs. “I’m glad she felt comfortable telling you she was hurting. She probably felt guilty since her mom had so much going on with Audrey already, but that pin had to go.”
“Color me surprised that screws could come out of your bone like that,” I admitted, shuddering a bit. “Poor kid.”
“Yeah, they can migrate once the bone is healed. Sometimes our bodies perceive them as foreign objects and try to work them out the way they would a splinter or something similar. Either way, the repair is solid now, so it won't hurt anything to pull it out and let her continue to heal.”
“I’m glad it didn’t take long to do. You’re exhausted. I can tell by how these lines deepened as the hours grew long,” I said, rubbing at the creases near his eyes. “You’re always handsome, but tonight you’re handsomely tired.”
“I am, but not too tired to kiss you,” he whispered, lowering his head to take my lips. The kiss deepened instantly, offering a deliberate exchange of emotion that left me suspended in time. The past fell away with the kiss, showing me what the future had to offer if I had this man by my side. Every time I built up my determination to stay hands off and build nothing more than a friendship with Major, he tore those walls down and reminded me why I should trust him. When he pulled away, he kept his lips close and held my gaze. His smile spoke volumes.
“Did you just kiss me under the roof of the gazebo?” I asked, my eyes turning up to stare at the roof.
“I did, but the tree isn’t lit, so I decided it was still safe. Even so, I’m telling you that kiss was the beginning of something extraordinary, Jaelyn Riba. Just trust yourself.”
“Myself? Don’t you mean to trust you?”
“No. You can’t trust me until you trust yourself. I’ve learned that the hard way, so I try to share this nugget of information with as many people as possible. When you trust yourself, you can trust the decisions you make.”
“Because if I don’t trust my decision, any trust I put in you would be false trust?”
“Yep,” he promised, kissing my nose. “Should we head home? It’s going to be a busy week, and you have a big day tomorrow.”
“I do, but so do you.”
He took my hand and helped me down the stairs to walk back to his car parked at the diner. “Besides starting back to work, I still need to write the speech for Friday night. Mel helped me get started, so I don’t think it will be too hard, except for the feeling that I shouldn’t be doing it. I even tried to convince Mayor Tottle to have you do it instead,” I said, laughing a bit at myself.
“You did what?” he asked, stopping and grasping my shoulders. “Why would you do that?”
