summer I came back, we had another fifty rabbits.”
Laughing, Mitch got off the tractor and tossed a dirt clod. “I took care of those rabbits one winter. The hutches were wooden and they had chewed through the walls to get to one another.”
“I know. Those critters multiply faster than a fourth-grade math class.” She walked alongside him on the ridge. A gentle breeze brushed hair into then out of her eyes, beating Mitch to it.
His hand lowered. “Lem’s land is filled with beauty.”
Mitch was right. She sighed as she looked around at what Mitch must be seeing. Crape myrtles, her favorite Southern Illinois shrubbery, painted the perimeter with bright fuschia flowers. Crabgrass danced between the house and barn. Wild trees dotted sporadically over purple-and-yellow-wildflower-strewn fields.
“It’s breathtaking,” he said in a voice octaves deeper.
Lauren pivoted to find Mitch’s eyes on her, not the landscape. He quickly looked away and cleared his throat.
Silly girl. You’re imagining things.
She climbed back on Bess and refocused on her surroundings, not including a certain distractingly cute doctor.
“You must have memories that rest on every square mound of earth that makes up Lem’s property.”
“I do.” There wasn’t an inch she hadn’t traversed as a child and young adult.
The familiar landscape afforded her the ability to look back and remember good times. Being with Mitch afforded her the ability not to delve into the hard stuff that led her to spend every summer at Lem’s.
“Grandpa will wonder where we are.”
For some reason Mitch snickered. “I doubt that.”
She smiled against her will. “You’re probably right.”
They chatted companionably until Lauren lost herself in telling Mitch stories of her and Lem.
She eventually eyed her watch. “Oh! I lost track of time. We should head back or the mosquitoes will carry us off.”
“I suppose so.” He chuckled. “I had fun, Lauren. After the few hectic days I’ve had, I appreciated how relaxing this was.”
“Hectic how? As in at the trauma center?” Guilt nibbled.
He raked a hand at the back of his neck as though he regretted saying anything. “I’m used to it, though,” he backpedaled.
“I should have gone to help.”
“Nah. You need to be spending time with Lem. Especially if you end up leaving early. For the record, I hope you don’t.”
While he surely meant that only for Grandpa’s sake, her face heated as his eyes bore into hers. She averted them to the crazy circle eights they’d carved into fields. “This was fun and relaxing for me, too.”
Yet he didn’t say they should do it again sometime. Probably for the best because of how giddy being with him today was making her feel. Especially when they remounted Bess. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed as if he sat closer than before. Kinda scary—felt odd not to be sparring with him.
Yet every time Mitch moved or said something interesting or insightful, her ears and heart melted toward him.
The last thing she needed was to feel conflicted over a man who lived too many miles away.
Especially not the one she felt she had to fight for her own grandfather’s affections.
Their lovely day was merely a joint effort to get along for Grandpa’s sake—despite Grandpa being nowhere in sight.
They just needed the practice for when he was.
Yeah. That was it.
* * *
Wow. Mitch couldn’t get over her switch from rude to nice. While he didn’t like sparring with Lauren, he’d prefer that to fighting with the errant thoughts striking his brain every ten minutes.
When he got immersed in her facial expressions as she told him stories, ones he’d mostly already heard from Lem, he had to remind himself of all the reasons he shouldn’t be interested. She began telling stories of Lem’s antics.
Mitch laughed. “Lem probably never would have pushed me on this ride if he’d known.”
“What? That I’d tell stories of his more ornery
Laughing, Mitch got off the tractor and tossed a dirt clod. “I took care of those rabbits one winter. The hutches were wooden and they had chewed through the walls to get to one another.”
“I know. Those critters multiply faster than a fourth-grade math class.” She walked alongside him on the ridge. A gentle breeze brushed hair into then out of her eyes, beating Mitch to it.
His hand lowered. “Lem’s land is filled with beauty.”
Mitch was right. She sighed as she looked around at what Mitch must be seeing. Crape myrtles, her favorite Southern Illinois shrubbery, painted the perimeter with bright fuschia flowers. Crabgrass danced between the house and barn. Wild trees dotted sporadically over purple-and-yellow-wildflower-strewn fields.
“It’s breathtaking,” he said in a voice octaves deeper.
Lauren pivoted to find Mitch’s eyes on her, not the landscape. He quickly looked away and cleared his throat.
Silly girl. You’re imagining things.
She climbed back on Bess and refocused on her surroundings, not including a certain distractingly cute doctor.
“You must have memories that rest on every square mound of earth that makes up Lem’s property.”
“I do.” There wasn’t an inch she hadn’t traversed as a child and young adult.
The familiar landscape afforded her the ability to look back and remember good times. Being with Mitch afforded her the ability not to delve into the hard stuff that led her to spend every summer at Lem’s.
“Grandpa will wonder where we are.”
For some reason Mitch snickered. “I doubt that.”
She smiled against her will. “You’re probably right.”
They chatted companionably until Lauren lost herself in telling Mitch stories of her and Lem.
She eventually eyed her watch. “Oh! I lost track of time. We should head back or the mosquitoes will carry us off.”
“I suppose so.” He chuckled. “I had fun, Lauren. After the few hectic days I’ve had, I appreciated how relaxing this was.”
“Hectic how? As in at the trauma center?” Guilt nibbled.
He raked a hand at the back of his neck as though he regretted saying anything. “I’m used to it, though,” he backpedaled.
“I should have gone to help.”
“Nah. You need to be spending time with Lem. Especially if you end up leaving early. For the record, I hope you don’t.”
While he surely meant that only for Grandpa’s sake, her face heated as his eyes bore into hers. She averted them to the crazy circle eights they’d carved into fields. “This was fun and relaxing for me, too.”
Yet he didn’t say they should do it again sometime. Probably for the best because of how giddy being with him today was making her feel. Especially when they remounted Bess. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed as if he sat closer than before. Kinda scary—felt odd not to be sparring with him.
Yet every time Mitch moved or said something interesting or insightful, her ears and heart melted toward him.
The last thing she needed was to feel conflicted over a man who lived too many miles away.
Especially not the one she felt she had to fight for her own grandfather’s affections.
Their lovely day was merely a joint effort to get along for Grandpa’s sake—despite Grandpa being nowhere in sight.
They just needed the practice for when he was.
Yeah. That was it.
* * *
Wow. Mitch couldn’t get over her switch from rude to nice. While he didn’t like sparring with Lauren, he’d prefer that to fighting with the errant thoughts striking his brain every ten minutes.
When he got immersed in her facial expressions as she told him stories, ones he’d mostly already heard from Lem, he had to remind himself of all the reasons he shouldn’t be interested. She began telling stories of Lem’s antics.
Mitch laughed. “Lem probably never would have pushed me on this ride if he’d known.”
“What? That I’d tell stories of his more ornery
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