Can't Hurry Love
Chapter 21

It was one of those perfect Rocky Valley nights, when the sky was clear of clouds and the bite of winter had come and gone. Beth looked up at the never-ending stars. In twenty-six years, this view had never bored her, and she knew it never would.

She sat on the big swing that her parents used to sit on almost every evening, just talking and being together. As a kid, she'd wondered how they didn't die of boredom sitting there, sometimes completely silent. Now, with the ranch splayed out before her, and Josh pressed to her side; she got it. She really did.

And it felt amazing.

The swing was rocking gently, she was curled under Josh's arm, and he was playing with one of her curls. It was as close to perfect happiness as she'd ever felt.

"How's your foot?" Josh asked softly, as if he was enjoying the quiet as much as she was.

"It's fine. Those painkillers you gave me really do the trick."

"The perks of being a doctor's girlfriend, huh?"

Beth's stomach exploded with butterflies. All her concerns from earlier just melted away. She was still curious about what had been going on for the past year. Of course she was. She wouldn't be human if she wasn't! And there was a niggling voice in her head that was still filled with doubt about it, and why it had suddenly changed.

But being called his girlfriend was doing a pretty stellar job of drowning that voice out, she had to admit. "I'm a doctor's girlfriend?" she asked. "Who knew?"

His grin was heart-stopping as he reached over and pulled her into his lap. "Hey, Beth?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna be my girlfriend?"

She laughed at how juvenile it sounded.

"I don't know, Doc," she said. "You kept me guessing for a year. Maybe I should make you wait for an answer."

His face turned suddenly serious. "We really do need to talk about that," he said.

His eyes darkened with pain and Beth felt awful for putting that look there when his mood had been so playful.

"Tell you what," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Let's make this whole girlfriend thing official. We can always talk tomorrow."

She felt vaguely uneasy about stalling the conversation. Knowing that she was putting off something she was she wouldn't want to hear. He had spent a year pushing her away, and he'd made more than one cryptic comment about hurting her, or not giving her what she wanted...

But on the other hand, she was sitting here in his lap about to get exactly what she wanted...

Ruthlessly pushing her misgivings aside, she leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his. As soon as their lips touched, the flame between them roared to life.

"So, you're saying yes?" he asked against her lips. "I'm saying yes," she whispered back.

"And your brothers are definitely gone?" He pulled back to look into her eyes. "I mean, I know this all feels a bit teenagery, but I draw the line at getting caught by your scary older brothers."

"Everyone is in bed," she laughingly assured him.

"Not everyone." He winked, and her stomach flipped again.

She wondered if she'd ever not get butterflies when he looked at her like that. She hoped not.

They didn't technically make it as far as a bed, but she wasn't complaining.

The week was flying by, and Beth was enjoying every second of it.

She was still helping Paige out with the festival, even though she'd bowed out of the whole dating part of it. In fact, this morning she was hosting a special brunch, encouraging the participants to ask someone to join them over coffee and sweet treats. She was thrilled to see Gerald Linney here with a girl more suited to him. And John the actuary had shown up a few minutes ago with Elsie Caine, a really sweet accountant who had been a couple of years ahead of Beth in school. Judging from Elsie's blushes and John's smiles, they seemed to be getting on great.

Maybe it was just because she was happy, but it really did seem like everyone was happy right then.

Looking out the window to Main Street, Beth saw Paige standing toe to toe with Mason Decker. Okay. Maybe not everyone was happy.

As Beth watched, kind of shocked at Paige's anger-something she'd never really displayed before-Paige turned and stomped away from Mason toward the bakery, her golden ponytail swinging furiously with each step. Mason stood staring at her, looking a little shellshocked, and, if Beth wasn't mistaken, kind of impressed.

The door to the bakery flew open, and Paige marched over to the counter, her green eyes flashing.

"Hey," Beth said hesitantly. "You ok?"

Paige dropped on to a stool, slamming her purse to the stool beside her. "I'm fine," she said, a little snippily. "I just came over to check on how things are going."

Beth blinked, taken aback by Paige's tone. "Um. It seems to be going well. Lots of people coupled up."

She paused, but Paige didn't say anything, just took out her phone, and furiously clicked on the screen.

"Do-do you want some tea?" Still nothing.

"Or something stronger?"

Finally, Paige looked up with a confused frown. "Huh?" she asked.

"You kind of look as if you're going to kill someone. So, I figured I'd offer a bit of Dutch courage for the murder."

"Ugh, I'm sorry Beth. I just- That man! He's driving me crazy."

"Still no luck with getting him to back off the library?" Beth asked sympathetically.

Paige sighed and rubbed a hand across her forehead. "No..." She sighed. "...and with the festival and everything, I haven't even had a chance to look into how I can stop him."

Beth felt immediately guilty. She knew she'd been distracted by Josh and not around as much as she should be. It had been because of her that Paige had agreed to throw the festival in the first place, and Beth had just abandoned her. Sure, she was helping a little, but not as much as she would have if she hadn't been spending so much time with Josh.

She'd stayed last night at his place so she could get to the bakery earlier this morning and set up for the brunch. But she could have just as easily stayed with Paige and checked in with her friend about everything.

The problem was that she craved time with him. Even this morning, as busy as she'd been, she'd missed him. She had it bad. Really bad. And because he had turned out to be not as wonderful as she'd imagined, but even more so, it was impossible not to want to be around him every second of every day.

But Beth had never wanted to be one of those women who forgot all about her friends just because she was in a relationship.

She reached under the counter and pulled out a slice of pecan pie, Paige's favorite, before setting it in front of her friend.

"Eat this," she instructed. "I'll get you some tea, and then tonight, we'll have dinner and lots of wine, and see if we can't figure this out."

"You're not busy with Dr. Larson?" Paige smiled.

"Free as a bird," Beth said, even though she had made plans to eat with Josh this evening. But he'd understand. "You text Brooke. I'll tell Jenna and Zoe."

"Okay," Paige said brightly, already looking happier. "Besides, you need to fill us in on what's going on with Thor." She giggled.

Beth rolled her eyes, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"Hey, that reminds me. Should we invite Tara? Since she came up with the nickname, I figure I owe her the details, too."

"Yeah, I'll call into Bella's on my way back to the diner," Paige said, picking up her fork to dig into her pie. "Thanks, Beth," she said softly. "I feel better already." "You listened to me about Josh for a year," Beth said. "The least I can do is listen to you about Mason Decker."

"At least yours is a love story," Paige said, that glint in her eye again. "This one is most definitely not."

Beth, remembering that look Mason had given Paige's retreating back, wasn't so sure about that. But given Paige's current mood, she wasn't brave enough to say so.