Chapter 8 Sutton
Sutton
Thirty minutes out of town, I pull us into a small rest area. After parking up, we grab our stuff out of the trunk and lock up before moving to the start of the trail.
“How are the boots?” I ask, nodding down to Blair’s feet.
“Good. Stiff, but that’s to be expected. I put Band Aids on my heels, though. Just in case.” She looks around the path and ahead toward the hills in the distance. “Have you been here before?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I haven’t really taken the time to go explorin’ since bein’ here.” Haven’t had any reason to, I don’t say.
She looks over at me. “That sounds familiar. I’ve been so focused on my career that I’ve let other parts of my life pass me by.”
“The career part is commendable.”
A snort escapes her. “It’s been a while since someone’s said that to me.”
I look at her thoughtfully. “It’s the twenty-first century. Not all women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Not unless they want to be, anyway.”
“I know, right?” she says with a startled laugh. “But there’s a lot of people in the circles I’ve found myself in that still believe that.”
“Your family?” My step falters when I realize that I’m dipping into interview territory. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.”
“No, it’s OK. Not them. No way. They’re blue-collar, work the land, live-and-die-for-it folks.
Simple, but in a really nice, easy way. My parents have been together for forty years and will stay that way until the day they pass.
That’s all they’ve ever wanted out of life–the potato farm, us kids, and each other.
They always told us to follow our hearts.
It’s all I’ve ever known so it’s something I’ve always done. ”
“Another thing we’ve got in common,” I say. “You said kids. You’ve got siblin’s?”
“Two brothers and a sister. All older than me.”
“Ah, so you’re the baby,” I reply with a grin.
“Sure am. There’s John, who’s 43 and married to Anne. They have three adopted children that are the light of their lives–and us aunties and uncles. My other brother, Paul, is two years younger and perpetually single. To be honest, I think he’s married to the farm and that’s just how he likes it.”
“Chip off the ol’ block from Dad then?”
“Oh yeah,” she says with a grin as she carefully steps around a rock embedded in the dirt trail.
“Last but not least is my sister, Lesley. She’s thirty-eight and has been head over heels for our next-door neighbor’s son, Holt, since she was old enough to know about boys.
They’ve just had their fourth daughter.”
“Four? Damn. Not that I can talk. I’m one of four, as you know, and there’s our younger sister, Abby, who lives in Nebraska with her husband.”
She arches her brow and smirks. “Sounds like your parents were a lot like mine. Les is determined to keep trying for a boy.”
I snort. “And how does Holt feel about that?”
“He’d give Les anything she wants. He just wants her to be happy.”
“As my mom tells it, Abby was a ‘one last try’ situation. She said more than five kids and they’d need a bus, and she was not about that life.”
Blair laughs. “Holt has said the same thing before, but every time he gives in and lets Lesley try again.”
“And then there’s you…”
“Yep. Also perpetually single–but that’s more by choice and circumstance than anything else,” she replies, eyeing me curiously. “How about you?”
“Me too. First it was about keepin’ my eyes on the prize—so to speak–then it was just about livin’ my life and not lookin’ for anythin’. I think I’ve been waitin’ for somethin’ or someone to find me.”
“I know exactly what you mean. My best friends are always trying to match me up with friends of friends, colleagues, the barista down the street. You name it. Even if they don’t live in the same city as me, they’d still scour the local community pages, hospital staff pages and the like.”
“Lookin’ for datin’ prospects for you?” I ask.
“Yep. They mean well, but I can honestly say I haven’t been in the right place to date or consider settlin’ down. Not for a long time, anyway.”
I consider her words and what she didn’t say, that being that she didn’t say she wasn’t looking now.
“Lucky me that you decided to uproot your life for six months to help George out,” I reply wryly.
Her lips twitch. “I had a little help in making that decision.”
“George do a good job of persuadin’ you?”
“There is that…”
I get the impression there’s more to the story. “You said somethin’ at the diner about new opportunities on the horizon?”
“Would you believe that it was an online psychic reading,” she tells me. My heart jumps just as I stumble over an exposed tree root. Thankfully Blair puts out her arm to steady me as I come to a stop, turning my wide eyes her way.
“Thanks.”
Her eyes twinkle with amusement. “You’re welcome. Don’t want to be the cause of you getting injured. Was it the path or are you shocked that I’d let a stranger influence such a major life decision?”
“A little bit of both, I think,” I rush out with a laugh. "I’m not exactly in a position to judge anyone’s life choices. I moved here because of an inheritance clause.”
“Sounds like the romance books my friends read. There are arranged marriages, family debts, matchmaking spirits. You name it.”
For the second time in as many minutes, I have to stop walking so as to not fall over my feet. What’s with me being clumsy all of a sudden?
I cock my head. “Is this you confessin’ to being a closet romance reader too?”
“I used to read them when I was younger. Then I went to college and real life took over. Now the only reading I do is research papers,” she replies. “Though Alex has already hinted that she wants me to be her mountain man wing woman while I’m here.”
“Oh really?” I say with a chuckle. “And how do you feel about that?”
“I may have told her there is a difference between romance fiction and reality, but that I’d keep an eye out for her.” She laughs. “So far, two of your brothers are already spoken for, which leaves Jude and Wyatt. Although he’s a bit young to be getting married just yet, don’t you think?”
“What about me?” I ask before I can stop myself, my knowing smile earns me a narrow but amused gaze.
“Considering we’re mid-date, doctor, I didn’t think it was right to include you in the list of eligible Timber Falls bachelors.”
“Good to know you’re not lookin’ to palm me off to someone else just yet.” I grin. “Now you’ve got me wonderin’ what my chances are of earnin’ another date.”
“Hmm,” she replies, rubbing her chin. “I guess you’re just going to have to wait and see about that. The date’s still young.”
“That it is.”
I fall back into step beside her as we continue along the trail. The sun warms our backs as we make our way toward Hidden Lake and chat about the interesting people and happenings at the hospital.
Soon enough, the trees lining each side of the trail start to clear and we find ourselves standing at the crest of a gentle slope leading down to the water.
“Wow,” she breathes, taking in the picturesque view in front of us.
“You’ve got that right.”
“Did you know about this place before?”
“Nope. Found it the other night when I was searchin’ for trails,” I explain. “Guess it lives up to its name though. It’s one of those places you don’t know is here unless you’re lookin’ for it.”
“What’s it called?”
“Hidden Lake.”
“How appropriate. It definitely lives up to its name,” she says. “It’s like a little piece of paradise in the heart of the mountains.” Just like her voice, her expression is full of awe.
I stand there and watch her, wondering how it’s possible that she is more beautiful than any landscape, any paradise. There’s no doubt now. I’m definitely crushing on her. Part of me wonders if I ever stopped.
Needing a distraction so I don’t stare at her all day, I point down the hill. “What do you say we go have a closer look, then we can sit down and just talk some more.”
The smile she gives me warms me from the inside out. Then again, the way my entire body burns whenever I’m near her has a lot to do with that. “I’d like that.”
“So,” she says once we’ve found a good spot to sit down. “What's the one difference you’ve found between treating patients here compared to Boston?”
I take a moment to think about it. “It’s different from what I was used to. I get more time with them here too. It’s not dictated by the clock as much.”
“Or the billable hours,” she says. “I hear you on that.”
“I guess it feels a lot more personal here. You already know the people you’re treatin’.
You see them on the street, at grocery store, sometimes at the tavern.
That’s the thing about small towns, there’s a real sense of community here that you don’t always get in the big cities. Not in my experience, anyway.”
“It sounds like you find the work rewarding.” She seems genuinely interested and it hits me then, that ever since I knocked on her door for our date, I haven’t overthought anything. I’ve just been myself.
“I think livin’ here and experiencin’ a life similar to that of my patients helps me understand and empathize with their struggles. Probably more than I would’ve been able to before, anyway.”
Soft eyes meet mine. “Sounds like it has given you perspective too.”
“The therapist learnin’ from his patients and all that. Yeah. You’re probably right.”
She looks out over the dark blue water, lifting her knees up to lean on them. “I think I’m hoping to find something like that while I’m here too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ve been so focused on my specialty and getting as far as I can in medicine and making a name for myself that I lost my way somehow,” she says quietly.
“Do you mean your purpose? Or your passion for it? Because this definitely isn’t a vocation you go into unless you’re dedicated to the cause. Especially cardiology.”