Page 67 of Tacos & Toboggans
“Nope, just know my boss. Let me guess, she wanted to postpone the meeting tomorrow.”
“Truly talented at this,” I answered. “Don’t worry, I told her that was a decision for you to make, not me, so she will text you.”
“What is your opinion about it, Dr. Warren?”
“Trust me, I’m a smart enough man not to have one,” I assured her, which earned me a bigger smile. She caressed my cheek and rubbed at the frown lines near my lips.
“You need some sleep, or your patients aren’t going to be very happy with me tomorrow.”
Turning my head, I pressed a kiss into her palm. “I don’t care. All I want to do is lie here and stare at the beautiful woman in my bed until I’m confident that she’s okay. Nothing else matters right now.”
“I’m okay,” she promised, running her fingers through my hair. “I’d probably be better if one extremely dashing doctor wanted to wrap his arms around me while we drift off to sleep together.”
“I don’t see an extremely dashing doctor in the room. However, this somewhat attractive yet extremely tired doctor would love nothing more.” I refastened her splint and rested the ice pack on her fingers, then tugged her into me and kissed her temple. “Thank you,” I whispered, wiggling until her bottom was spooned against my belly in the sweetest of ways.
“For what?” she asked, yawning deeply.
“Trusting yourself,” I answered.
Her only response was a gentle pat on my hand. That was enough.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The day had been warm, but as the sun set, the temperature dropped dramatically, and now a few snowflakes were floating in the air. What was more perfect for the tree lighting ceremony in Bells Pass than snow? Was I surprised? Given the autumn we’d had, yes, but it was fitting for the weather to turn on tonight of all nights. That said, nerves filled my belly, and the idea of walking up there to flip the switch on the tree made me regret the cookies and cocoa I’d partaken in by the fire pit with Major.
Thankfully, my concussion hadn’t caused any problems, and when I woke on Monday, still wrapped in his arms, the headache was minimal. Much to his disagreement, I decided to keep the meeting with Ivy and Cameron. After giving me orders on what signs to watch for should it worsen, he dropped me at the diner before going to the hospital. Since I couldn’t drive for two days, Ivy had promised to give me a ride to the farm and back again, assuring Major that I wouldn’t get behind the wheel and she would keep the meeting short. The meeting hadn’t been short, but it had been productive.
By the time I returned to the cottage, I was exhausted, and while I had hoped to spend the night in his bed, it hadn’t worked out that way. Sadly, I haven’t been back there since Sunday night. We’d both been so busy that we hadn’t seenmuch of each other until yesterday at the community dinner. Even that had been in passing as we all tried to pick up the slack from Audrey's absence.
Only she wasn’t absent, at least not entirely. She had dropped by for dinner while her daughter stayed with Alan. We had teased her that she just had to be sure we hadn’t burned the place down, but everyone was happy to see her. We sat her down with a plate of food and let her recharge her batteries by visiting with everyone. There was nothing Audrey loved more than people, so while some may have thought it was an odd choice for her when she could have gone home for a few hours, it was precisely what she’d needed. Confident that we had everything in hand, she’d taken meals back to the hospital for Alan and her daughter.
Major had plans for us to share Thanksgiving evening at his house, but the hospital had other ideas when they needed his expertise in the operating room. At least he had a loaner knee that stayed charged now, so he didn’t have to worry about that while they worked to get him a new one. His old one was done for, but Corbyn had assured him it wouldn’t take long to get a new one in since he didn’t need a new socket.
“There you are,” he said, coming up behind me. “I’ve been looking all over for you. This place is a madhouse.”
“Welcome to the Bells Pass tree lighting,” I said with a chuckle. “This is the reason I always work the concession stands. Keeps me out of the fray. Did you shake lots of hands and hold lots of babies?”
“No, but I heard a rumor that someone is having a baby as we speak, and her name is Hazel.”
“What!” I exclaimed, turning to grab his lapels. “Where did you hear that?”
His laughter was contagious as he leaned in to kiss my lips in the darkness. “I have to say, that was so worth the reaction. I begged Ivy to let me be the one to tell you. Irving texted her about fifteen minutes ago that the doctors thought the baby would be here in a matter of hours.”
“We have to hurry up and light this tree so we can go to the hospital!” I was jumping around, doing fake stadium cheering while he laughed.
“Or maybe we can just give the new family a few hours together before we invade?”
“What fun is that, Debbie Downer?” I asked, raising one side of my nose in disdain, but he knew I was teasing him. “Okay, fine. We’ll wait until tomorrow. Now I’m glad they’re livestreaming the tree lighting this year. At least they can watch it after the baby is born and introduce the newest Bells Pass resident to our oldest tradition!”
“And to think you get to be the one who flips the switch on the first livestream.”
Moaning, I dropped my head back, letting the cold snowflakes land on my cheeks. “Did you have to say that? I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Hey,” he said, taking my face in his hands and planting a kiss on my nose. “You’ve got this. There’s nothing to worry about. Just remember, practically everyone you know has done this at some point in their lives, and they all survived. So will you.”
“Hmm, that was strangely calming,” I admitted.
“Ready?” Mayor Tottle asked, walking toward us from the side of the gazebo. “We’re up as soon as the next song ends.
