Chapter 11
The crunch of a vehicle’s tires on gravel alerted Jasmine a couple of hours later.
Sitting in Eden’s living room, she froze.
Was it simply Logan returning to the house next door?
The driveways were side-by-side, after all.
The engine cut out and a door slammed then footsteps came closer.
Not Logan. Nathan. Even after she’d made it very clear she didn’t want him to return.
Okay, want had nothing to do with it. What she’d wanted to do was leap into his arms and kiss him back.
But that was the old Jasmine speaking, the one who’d been a fool for Nathan Hamelin in high school and in her early college years.
The one who could glance at a flower and know whether to start plucking petals with he loves me or he loves me not to get the desired result.
Not the more grown-up Jasmine, the one who guarded her heart, and was waiting for the man God had for her.
She heard the gate latch click outside the living room window, and a minute later footsteps thudded on the back porch, followed by a knock at the door.
Was it Nathan she had been waiting for all these years, after all?
The brush of his lips earlier had sent sparks firing all throughout her body, even more than what she remembered from their final kiss years back.
She didn’t want to be waiting for Nathan.
She didn’t want him on her doorstep when it was dark outside, either.
A second knock sounded. She pulled to her feet, crossed the kitchen, and opened the back door just a few inches. “Didn’t you get my text? I told you Pansy was fine, and you didn’t need to come back.”
Nathan filled the doorframe. Dagnabbit, he looked hot in those jeans and the gray Henley she’d forgotten to tell him he could never wear again. His muscles rippled as he lifted one hand to the doorjamb, leaning a little closer so that his gray eyes looked down into hers.
Jasmine backed up a step, but she couldn’t go any further without leaving the door unguarded or shutting it in his face. Which was probably what she ought to do.
“I got your text, but I wanted to see for myself.” He took a half step back, turning slightly, and indicated the backyard, lit with an automatic action sensor. “Want to come with me, or shall I go on my own?”
On your own, of course, doofus. But she couldn’t say that as she looked into his deep gray eyes. She bit her lip. “I’ll just grab my jacket and meet you out there.” She shut the door and leaned back against it, sagging slightly with her eyes shut. Oh, Lord, what am I doing?
She’d already given her response, so she couldn’t very well change her mind, could she?
No, that wouldn’t be polite. Although, when again had she decided that being polite to Nathan was on her to-do list?
She shook her head, reached for her jacket, and slipped out the back door to find Nathan sitting on the top step overlooking the yard.
He glanced up at her. “This place looks like a goat’s paradise.”
Perhaps Jasmine should stick up for her friend and say it really wasn’t so bad, but that would be lying.
It truly looked like the inside of a horse corral that housed a dozen beasts in a small space.
Nothing grew in the atomic wasteland the goat left behind her.
Jasmine shrugged. “Pansy is more important to Eden than a pretty yard.”
Nathan rose to his feet. “How about her new husband? What if he wants to have a nice yard where he can invite some friends over? What about when they have kids?” He chuckled. “I meant children. Babies.”
Babies. Once Jasmine had dreamed of having babies with this man.
She’d fantasized about the house in Glenrose where she and Nathan would spend cozy evenings wrapped in each other’s arms. Idyllic.
She shoved the thought from her mind as she jogged down the steps to the backyard and strode across to Pansy’s pen.
“I guess those are decisions Eden and Jacob will have to make on their own. No one else can decide for them what’s important. ”
She felt more than heard Nathan catching up to her just as she unlatched the goat pen. Pansy scrambled out with a loud bleat and crow-hopped toward her soccer ball, then gave it a head bump.
Nathan chuckled. “She is kind of cute, though.” He studied the goat as she cavorted around the backyard. “She seems to be doing all right.”
Jasmine shifted a little away from him. “That’s what I told you. ”
“Do you think she’ll let me get close enough to examine her flank?”
Much as she hated to admit it, Jasmine was thankful he’d returned.
Not only because she was unsure of the goat’s care, but because it proved he’d become a responsible man who did what he said he would do.
Thankfully the dim lighting hid the flush that crept up her face as she thought of the other promises he’d made earlier.
At least, she hoped he couldn’t see her embarrassment.
Nathan walked slowly toward Pansy with his hands outstretched. Pansy hopped sideways twice then leapt at Nathan, nearly knocking him to the ground.
“Hey there, girl.” Nathan snagged her halter before she could dart away as quickly as she’d come. “Let me have a look.” His hand stroked the goat’s back then rested on her flank. Pansy jerked away and leapt onto a tall rock that was one of her favorites.
Nathan shook his head, chuckling. “I think she’s fine. But I’ll pop over in the morning when it’s daylight and have another look, just to be sure.” He glanced over at Jasmine with his eyebrows raised. “That okay with you?”
Jasmine leaned against the fence with her arms crossed in front of her. If the goat was fine, the goat was fine. He didn’t need to keep stopping by. She let out a long breath then sucked in again as he strolled toward her, eyes never leaving her face.
She sidled along the fence to keep some distance. “No need to worry about it. I’ll milk her at seven and be to the clinic by nine. Then I’ll check on her again at lunchtime. If it seems to be giving her problems, I’ll call the veterinarian then.”
Nathan stopped a mere arm’s length away. His hands hung loosely by his side, his fingers twitching slightly. Those gray eyes, like the ocean on a stormy day, burned into her. He smelled good. Too good.
One hand slid into his jeans pocket and came out with his cell phone. He thumbed it on and the strains of Just the Way You Are bopped toward her.
If there was ever a song that would throw her straight back to her senior year in high school, that was it. And he knew it. “No fair,” she whispered.
A grin poked at the corners of his mouth, as he slipped the phone back into his pocket, which barely muted the sound. He held his hand toward her. “May I have this dance?”
What would it hurt? Her lips tingled at the memory from two hours ago, from the memories of eight and more years ago, but she shook her head. “No.” Wow, that had sure lacked conviction. She inhaled. “No,” she repeated putting more confidence into her words.
His hand caught hers. “Are you sure? For old time’s sake?”
“For old time’s sake would be exactly the wrong reason, Nathan. I am trying to forget we ever had a history, and I’d thank you to stop trying to remind me.”
His hand remained outstretched. “I was a fool, Jasmine. I didn’t truly see what was in front of me.
I was just a kid, and you seemed so grown-up, even though you’re two years younger.
You knew what you wanted out of life, and it scared me.
” He took a step closer and rested both hands on her hips.
“I’m not a kid anymore, Jasmine. And I’m not afraid. ”
She certainly was. Why did they have to keep leaving each other like this? She pushed his hands away, stepped past him, and strode toward the house. With her hand on the doorknob, she spoke. “Thanks for giving me a hand with Pansy. Goodbye, Nathan.” And she slipped inside and locked the door.
Nathan pushed open the door to Bridgeview Bakery and Bistro at four forty-five Tuesday afternoon, early for his meeting with the North cousins.
He’d suspected that Jasmine often stopped by after she closed the clinic, and he just wanted a glimpse of her.
That’s all. Make sure she was doing all right.
Maybe he’d inquire how the goat was doing.
Yes, there she was at a corner table angling forward, with Kass leaning her red head close to Jasmine’s dark hair. If he’d expected them to be laughing, that was definitely not the sight that met his eyes.
Not that she couldn’t be serious about anything besides worry for Pansy and pushing him away.
He honestly shouldn’t even care. He was the one who’d left.
He hadn’t wasted any time in his life moving on, finding a new girlfriend, finding someone who was willing to give him what Jasmine wouldn’t.
He’d wanted the good times — yes, the sex — without the commitments, and he’d found that. His regrets ran deep.
Hailey stood behind the counter with a sparkling smile. “Nathan! You’re early for our meeting. Would you like a coffee while you wait? How about a cinnamon roll?” She winked. “I saved you one.”
Nathan reached for his wallet. “I know I’m a bit early. I just wanted time to go over my notes for a few minutes while soaking in the ambience of this place. A cinnamon roll sounds good.” He pulled his debit card from its sleeve .
Hailey put her hand on top of his. “Oh, Nathan, this is on the house. You’re doing so much to help Kass and me. What’s a cinnamon roll and a little coffee between friends?” Her eyelashes twitched.
Nathan extricated his hand as he took a step back, continuing to hold the card out in front of him. “I’m not here as a friend so much.” He smiled, hoping to take the sting away. “I’m here as a consultant.”
Hailey’s hands fluttered. “It holds true even more that way. It’s on the house. Thank you so much for coming in.”