“Exactly!” He yanked on my arm and pulled me back down with a splash. “Come here, silly girl.”
Nate stayed with me that night in the cabin and I didn’t complain when he selfishly woke me up in the morning. “God, you look so beautiful,” he said as he bent over me to kiss my forehead. The shower was running and he was standing next to the bed in his boxers.
I was curled up on my side under the covers, naked. “Do you have to go soon?”
“Yes, after I shower. There are very sick people that need me.”
I squinted up at him and made a pouty face. “Okay.”
“Hmm,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. He took a step back and cocked his head to the side.
“What is it?”
“You look a little flushed. Before I get to the other patients, maybe I should examine you.”
I batted my eyelashes at him. “Well, Dr. Meyers, I am feeling a little faint. What do you think it could be?” I opened the blankets, revealing myself.
He sat down on the bed and ran his hand down my side to my hip. The morning light cast a bluish hue in the room, almost making the window and curtains look like set pieces in an old-timey photograph.
Nate’s expression made me think he really was examining me. His eyes narrowed inquisitively. He ran his big, soft hand against my belly and up between my breasts before resting over my heart.
I waited, trying to gauge his expression. Finally, his eyes rose to meet mine. He smiled adoringly, kissed the tip of one nipple, then moved to my mouth. “I think I know exactly what you need.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ll show you, but we have to get into the shower first.” He stood quickly, picked me up, and carried me into the bathroom.
Inside the shower I dropped to my knees and demonstrated my own version of health care.
“Oh,” he said. “Okay.”
Afterward, I stood so Nate could take me in his arms. His chest was heaving in and out. All he managed to say through a heavy breath was “Jesus.”
I giggled at the irony. “Yep.”
Before heading to Nate’s that night, I went to the library and researched getting my GED. I also found myself looking into nursing schools. My curiosity surprised me.
Later in the week, I trailered Shine and Tequila to Nate’s house when he had a day off. We rode near the lake and laid out a blanket for a picnic in a grassy field near one lone oak tree. The sun was extremely bright but the temperature was cooler than it had been. The big, cloudless sky stretched on for miles. We lay on our backs, me in the crook of Nate’s arm, while we let the clean air invade our senses. It was so bright that we had to close our eyes to keep from being blinded.
“How was work yesterday?” I asked.
“Good. I gave a man a pacemaker. The rest of the day was uneventful. How were your lessons?”
“I stopped doing the lessons when Dancer died.” I sighed.
“Well, are you going to start them up when Shine’s ready?”
“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll go back to school and get my GED,” I said, tentatively.
He turned on his side to face me and rested his hand on my hip comfortably while propping his other hand under his head. There was an ease between us. I felt safe with Nate.
Squinting, one side of his handsome mouth turned up, he said, “I think that’s a great idea, baby.”
He kissed me sweetly and then lay back and drifted off to sleep. I watched him and wondered idly what he was like before we met. He’d said he was a workaholic who couldn’t relax, but here he was with me, on the grass, in a field in the middle of Montana, sleeping with a smile on his face, looking more relaxed than anyone I had ever seen.
When he woke, the sun was going down and the wind was getting brisk. Through a yawn he said, “Did you sleep at all?”
“No, just daydreamed. It was such a nice day.”
He rolled toward me and nuzzled his face into my neck. “Do you like it here?” he murmured.
“Yes.”
There wasn’t another soul in sight, let alone a house or cars, just the sound of a flock of geese honking in the distance and small birds chirping nearby. I thought when the sun dropped behind a distant mountain that I heard a faint swooshing sound. Nate closed his eyes, leaned forward, and kissed me again, still gentle. With ease, he unbuttoned my jeans.
I laughed lightly. He looked into my eyes curiously and said, “What?”
“Nothing, you’re just really good at that.”
“I have stealthy hands,” he replied before snaking his hand down my pants.
“I would say so.”
“Come here, baby. I want to touch you.” He pulled me toward him so that our bodies were almost flush. The only thing between us was his hand heading south. His index finger brushed me in the most sensitive spot and I gasped.
His eyes fixed on mine again. I felt my own eyelids flutter. He began making deliberate circles in my flesh.
“Touch me.”
“I am.”