Chapter 35
Willa
The office, thankfully, closed at one on Saturdays, meaning I could relax a little this evening. At some point, when I’d hired more staff, I would take Saturdays off altogether.
“Apparently norovirus has hit the preschool,” Dawn declared, tossing her latex gloves into the trash can. “I love winter.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. Late January was peak time for the cold and the flu in Maine, and generally, toddlers were ground zero for all infections.
“In fairness,” I quipped, “I saw several ear infections today too.”
Dawn grabbed her coat and bag and gave me a salute. “See you Monday, boss.”
After she’d disappeared, I sat back in my chair and breathed, eyes closed, thinking about how things had evolved around here. This office was running smoothly, and we were working as a team. Even Walters was noticing the positive changes I’d put in place.
Little did he know I had grander plans.
It would take time, but I could do so much more for the people of Lovewell. I hadn’t become a doctor to get rich, and I’d rather make less money and give myself and my patients better quality of life. So I was cooking up plans and had been in touch with some of my mentors from my residency days.
I never could have done this much without Cole’s encouragement.
He patiently listened to all my complaints about the state of rural healthcare and asked helpful questions.
His curiosity about my career was honestly flattering.
He wasn’t only interested in the medical stuff, but the how and why behind it all.
I was used to being taken seriously at work, but never in my personal life.
Not until Cole. My romantic entanglements had mostly been hookups or friends-with-benefits arrangements, and those guys hadn’t been super interested in my opinions.
They hadn’t been super interested in my orgasms either, I was now realizing.
And Cole could not be more different in either aspect. He was very interested.
My face was heated as I climbed out of the car, since I’d spent the drive home thinking about him and what we’d gotten up to last night.
Inside, I threw a load of laundry into the washer, and when I emptied my lunch bag, I noticed that the dishwasher had already been emptied, so I rinsed the containers and put them in.
Then I headed to my room to put on my yoga clothes, still smiling about Cole and how far we’d come since that wild night in Vegas.
Despite the way I floated an inch off the ground while daydreaming, one tiny doubt still niggled in the back of my mind.
What would happen in the future?
We’d been thrust into this arrangement, and though something real had grown from it, we’d only agreed to stay married for six months.
Could this last in the long term? Was Cole even interested in trying?
I was tied to this town and to my job, but more than once, he’d talked about moving and starting over.
We were halfway into this marriage, but that small doubt surfaced every day.
It was only a faint whisper, but it was enough to make my heart sink.
For now, I pushed my doubts away and focused on my yoga mat. I’d been craving a deep stretch all day and loved the way it made me feel.
My YouTube yoga class was wrapping up when he came home, bearing flowers and a smile.
I stood, sweaty and disheveled, but my state didn’t stop him from pulling me in for a kiss.
“I brought you these.” He thrust a large, colorful bouquet at me.
Grinning, I brought them to my nose and inhaled.
“Where did you get these?” I took another whiff. “These are not from the gas station.”
“I have connections,” he said with a smirk. “And I would never buy my wife gas station flowers.”
I pulled him down and kissed him again.
“Thank you. No guy’s ever bought flowers for me before.”
He stiffened, a glower overtaking him. “You can’t be serious.”
I shrugged. We’d talked through my lack of serious relationships, but I’d never brought up this detail. Why would I? It hadn’t bothered me very much.
He shook his head as though he could not comprehend how I could be treated so egregiously. “Anyway,” he said with a heavy breath tout. “I brought you the flowers because I was hoping to take you out tonight.”
My heart flipped. “Out?”
“Yes, wifey. On a date.”
“We’re married. You don’t need to take me on dates. Also, we’re sleeping together.”
He rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh.
“Willa, I want to take my girl out and show her off. It’s nothing fancy.
Jude’s band is playing at the Moose again, and I want to go support him.
He mentioned he may play one of the songs he’s written.
So I thought we could go together, make a night of it. ”
I wrapped my arms around him and put my head on his chest. “I’d be happy to make a night of it.”
The big boyish grin he gave me made my heart clench. Being the recipient of this smile was an honor. “You could wear something sexy. Maybe that green dress. You know, the one you wore to our wedding.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“That dress is way too fancy for the Moose. I normally wear jeans.”
“Not tonight. I’ll dress up too. I’ll wear a suit.”
“You can’t wear a suit to the Moose. You’ll be laughed out of Lovewell.”
He put his hand over his heart. “I don’t care. I wanna look good for my lady.”
I scoffed, dismissive, and turned so I could change. Into jeans.
“There may be another reason.” He grasped my wrist gently, stopping me.
I spun, perking up. “What?”
He took a big breath, his dark eyes flashing with excitement.
“Okay, here goes. I met with the dean of the public policy school at UMaine last week. And I’m applying to the public administration program.”
A zap of pride coursed through me. “That’s wonderful. Are you excited?”
“Terrified,” he confessed, his shoulders lowering. “The plan is for me to audit a few classes this spring to get myself started. Then I’ll do some intensive summer courses. They have a lot of nontraditional students, and the dean thought I could be an asset to the program.”
This felt like a big step forward. He’d been stuck for so long.
“That’s so fantastic,” I said, still proud and elated for him. Though the fears I’d pushed away earlier surfaced too. And…
“Is this what you want?”
I’d given him those brochures for Christmas and talked up the program. I hoped I hadn’t pressured him or made him feel inadequate.
“Because you’re amazing with or without a degree.”
He dipped his chin. “This is what I want. I’ve been keeping a journal—my therapist’s recommendation—of things that inspire me, make me proud, or excite me.
And besides you, one of the things I’m passionate about is this town.
I like our rural way of life. I love our traditions and our history, and I’d love to develop the kind of skills that would allow me to help make it even better. ”
His words hit me hard. He was always so thoughtful. His ideas were so much deeper than anyone realized. And he put me in the same category as his life goals?
“Watching you move throughout the world has inspired me. You’re confident yet humble.
You possess skills that save lives, but you always make time for others.
And you’ve shown me that it’s possible for a person to carve a path for themselves that works.
You can honor who you are and what you want and still be of service. You are my inspiration. My everything.”
Choking back tears, I stepped forward and pulled him down for a kiss. This man. Every single day, he surprised me.
He broke the kiss and gave me a hard slap on the ass. “Now go shower and get dolled up. I’m taking my lady out tonight.”
With a whole lot of swagger, he headed toward the bathroom.
“You don’t need to work that hard. I’m already sleeping with you,” I said as he went into his room.
“That’s where you’re wrong, wifey. I gotta work extra hard to keep you.”
I rarely came to the Moose. Mainly because I’d see a lot of my patients, and by the end of the night, I’d be looking at people’s moles or hearing about their constipation issues.
I didn’t want to practice medicine during my precious off time. Really, all I wanted was to be home, naked, wrapped around my husband.
This new phase of our relationship had been the highlight of my life so far. Touching him whenever I wanted to. Kissing him. Waking up next to him stretched out across my bed.
Even tripping over his massive shoes made me smile.
I was not wearing my wedding dress, but I had put on a slinky black cocktail dress.
It hugged my curves and showed only a tasteful bit of cleavage.
Paired with thick black tights and booties, it was mostly winter-weather appropriate.
Cole had whistled when I’d come out into the living room.
Then he’d immediately grabbed my ass, so I was calling it a success.
But my husband had truly stepped it up. He’d donned a pair of gorgeous charcoal dress pants, a crisp white shirt, and a vest. A motherfucking vest.
I swore that vest, which matched the soft Italian wool pants, was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. It had made me want to drop to my knees right then and there.
Even now, I kept sneaking glances at him. It was disorienting how good he looked. I was hot and bothered by the time we walked into the bar, and that was an achievement, as it was twelve degrees out.
Only in places like rural Maine would the Moose and other establishments have a special spot for snowmobile parking in the winter. Mainers did not get intimidated by snow. Quite the opposite, in fact. They usually relished the chance to get out and make Mother Nature their bitch.
The moment we stepped into the warmth, Cole wrapped an arm around me.
I’d never figured him for the possessive type, and I couldn’t remember a single time I saw him hanging all over Lila, but he’d hear no complaints from me.
Since we’d started sleeping together, he’d let his inner caveman out, and I liked it.