Chapter Thirty-Five. Temperance
By the end of August, inspired by the Bristow sisters’ barbecue truck, Temperance wrote a business plan for a mobile healthcare clinic that would serve the entirety of Vesper County. Not only would she be able to expand her reach, she’d also meet people where they were, fostering trust and connection along with providing healthcare for people who needed it most. The original plan was to start small with a focus on pediatrics, but after only a single phone conversation with Cole Bello, he was eager to explore the idea of expanding to include other primary care services. “We could have a whole fleet,” he’d said. “Heals on Wheels!”
Maren and Temperance both would serve as members of the Capewell-Talbot board, in exchange for an annual endowment to Temperance’s mobile clinic, plus college funds for Maren and Nate’s kids if they chose to go someday—and regardless of their prospective field. Neither Temperance nor Maren was prepared to invite Laine and Corbin to Brady family functions—and they might never be—but it was progress.
Harry offered up space for her to park the mobile clinic in the lot at the Cora Woodward Maternity and Wellness Center. Construction was due to be completed on the center later this fall, and according to Rowan, there was a half acre on the property perfect for an extensive community garden to grow fresh, free produce. Temperance had so many ideas. To start, she planned to ask Harry about pet food drives, a donation-based bicycle program, and a Little Free Library on-site.
Duncan was on track to begin the evening architecture program in Philadelphia in mid-September. With Will’s blessing, he’d work in a part-time capacity while in school, primarily managing the goings-on at Cloud Tide. Maren and Nate would manage Brady Brothers alongside a new general contractor they planned to promote from within. Once Duncan finished school in a few years, Brady Brothers would expand its licensed architect services under his guidance.
That night, Temperance got back to the cabin late after a dinner date in Vesper Notch with Rowan and Frankie. The sun was low in a lilac sky, shining like an amber ball through the wall of trees around the far side of the lake. Warm wind through the pines sounded like ocean waves, and the whirr of cicadas was so thick it sounded like a downpour on a metal roof.
In the grass between the cabin and the shore, a projector screen had been set up. Beside it, a small letter-board marquee read SECOND CHANCES ARE FOR WHEN YOU WEREN’T READY FOR THE FIRST. Duncan’s truck was there, too, with gauzy mosquito netting suspended over the bed like a pyramidal tent. All around it on the ground, candles of different sizes were lit in tin pots.
Duncan jogged down the steps of the cabin to meet her. He wore a fitted charcoal V-neck and a pair of pale linen pants that did outstanding things for his strong thighs. Without a word, he slipped a hand around the back of her neck and bent to kiss her until she was dizzy. Temperance had to gasp for breath when he let her go.
“You know we don’t have to have sex in the back of your truck anymore, right?” she breathed.
Duncan took her hand. “Come see.”
Around the other side of the truck, a drive-in speaker pole was built into the ground. “How—” she began. It was the exact pole from the Boonies. Speaker 492, etched with their original engraving, TJ + D 4E. Attached to the top was a little white flag.
“I convinced Barney and Owen to retire pole 492 in exchange for a custom mural on the side of the concessions building.”
“You didn’t.”
“Oh, I definitely did.” He nudged the metal pole with his toe. “This thing’s mounted in concrete.”
“Does it work?” She ran her palm over the warm metal.
Duncan slipped his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen a few times. The opening notes of “Just Like Heaven” streamed from the speakers.
“Wow.”
He chuckled. “Don’t look too impressed. They’re just little Bluetooth speakers sitting in there.”
“I’m not talking about the mechanics of it, my love. I mean—all of it.”
They left their shoes in the grass, and Duncan held the filmy drapes open at the tailgate of the truck bed to help her up. Inside, it was just tall enough for them to move around on their knees. He’d laid padding beneath an ivory shag rug on the floor, and an oversized dove-gray beanbag filled the entire back half of the truck bed. Plush blankets and fuzzy white pillows were strewn everywhere. LED candles and camping lanterns turned dim were strategically placed along the inner walls. There was a small wooden crate filled with blond and gold sunflowers, along with a bottle of wine on ice.
“I want to live here now.” Temperance gathered the soft peach material of her cotton dress so she could climb into his lap.
“You like it?”
“I love it.”
“What’s on the big screen tonight?” she asked.
“Ah—still Twister.” Duncan grimaced.
She settled on his thighs with her knees hugging his hips. She sighed with faux disappointment. “Second-chance romance stories are so predictable.”
Duncan clamped his fingers around her ribs and dug in, tickling. Her body bent backward like a cattail reed, and she screeched with laughter. “Listen,” he said, “it was either that, or Shaun of the Dead. I have no idea why these are the only two movies Ma still has on DVD.”
“I know, I know.” Temperance giggled. “It’s perfect.”
“It’s also very illegal since I didn’t license it for a drive-in broadcast, so let’s keep our fingers crossed we don’t get caught.”
“An authentic drive-in speaker pole doesn’t make this a real drive-in.” She laughed and crinkled her nose. “And anyway, we’ve got a close personal friend at the Vesper County Sherriff’s Department now, remember?”
Duncan chuckled. He held her against him and kissed her, slow and sensual and soul-seeking. Temperance melted into him like sweet cream into coffee.
The sun was just a band of gold at the horizon by the time Duncan ended the kiss. When he spoke again, his words were soft against her mouth. “I want you, Temperance.”
“I can tell,” she teased, shifting in his lap.
“No, no. That guy’s blatantly disregarding the emotional gravitas of the moment.” There was an irreverent upward tilt to his gorgeous mouth, but it faded fast. His inky eyes grew solemn. “I mean—I want you, want you. I’m not letting this go again. I can’t do never, and I won’t do maybe. I want all of it. All in, and always.”
She cupped his face in her hands. She never wanted to stop touching him—it felt like she had fourteen years of not touching him to make up for.
Duncan’s brows were crowded close over determined eyes. “Do you remember, earlier in the summer, when you told me Capewell-Talbot was your backup plan?”
Temperance nodded and tucked back a dusky lock of hair from his forehead. She’d never seen him look more serious.
“Tell me why,” he urged. “What did you mean?”
“I just—” She let her hands fall, resting them against his chest. The back of her nose tingled, and her eyes quickly filled with hot tears. “I didn’t think I could exist where you were. It hurt.”
“You’re never going to need a backup plan again, baby.”
She sniffed. “I thought never was for cowards?”
His beard couldn’t hide the quick tremble of his chin. “In this case, never is only for the very most brave.”
Duncan reached into the wooden box full of sunflowers and withdrew a little dark pouch. He deftly untied the strings at the top.
A ring.
Herring.
Temperance reached out to touch the twinkling stone—a brief, questing nudge that lasted only a second. Her vision swam.
“It doesn’t bite,” Duncan teased.
The swell of her cheeks nudged tears free when she laughed. Joy made her feel loose-limbed, fizzy in her chest. “Hello there,” she whispered to the ring. “I remember you.”
“The moment we met each other, the clock started ticking on how much time we’d have together. We’ve already wasted too much of it. Be my wife, Temperance.”
She pressed a fingertip to her chin and made a theatrically contemplative face. “Hmm.”
Duncan groaned, and Temperance laughed up at the sky.
“Yes.” She landed kisses on his forehead, his cheeks, his mouth. “Yes, yes, infinitely yes.”
When he slid the ring on her finger, she said, “Are we finally going to be friends now, Duncan?”
“No, Mrs. B.” His mouth arced into a smile against her lips. “We’re family.”
They didn’t get to watch the movie.