Crain's Landing (25 page)

Most of us can remember the city council meeting where members took a final vote and decided to give our dying library one last try. No one could have imagined the decision by our town leaders to hire a young woman from New York would be one of the best this old town has ever made. Our new director of library services, Natalie Reid, has taken us by storm. She has completely renovated the inside and added many new features normally found in libraries in the larger cities. Not only has she completely turned the library around for the better, she has given the town of Crain’s Landing ten new jobs.

Contemporary Coffee, a Charleston based coffee house, has approached city officials to break ground on a new building to be completed by the first of the year. Ms. Reid was not available for an interview at time of publication, as her precious little girl, Peyton, was recovering from a serious illness. We have Dr. Grant to thank for her complete recovery. Ms. Reid, the town of Crain’s Landing thanks you.

I closed the pages, tossed the paper to the side, and laid my face in my hands. I was not used to this type of attention. It was unwelcomed and slightly frightening. Before I could ponder it any further, my phone began to ring again.

“Good God, woman, I’ve been waiting for an hour to hear back from you.” Subtlety was not one of Ashley’s strong suits. Drew had opened the door in her that housed her sassiness.

“I can’t believe you woke me for this.” Ashley burst into laughter. “I fail to see anything funny about this, Ashley. The article didn’t say anything the town gossips haven’t already spread.” The laughter suddenly stopped.

“Oh, but the town gossips didn’t have a thing to do with the articles that have made the papers in Atlanta and Charleston.”

“Tell me you’re lying!” I cried into the receiver, my fingers finding the knots in my hair created by my sound sleep.

“Nope, I’ve read them online myself. Drew is checking to see if you made it into any other city’s news.” Ashley said she would text me if she and Drew found anymore. I thanked her, then sent a silent prayer they wouldn’t find any.

The day went quicker than I liked and it was now time to take Peyton over to the Crains house. Peyton wanted to take every doll she owned and it took me threatening to call off her play date with the Crain grandchildren to get her to listen to me.

On the way over, I had to stop for gas and it took much longer than usual, as several people wanted my autograph. I quickly shut off my car and climbed the steps to the Crain house. Autumn threw open the door before I had a chance to even ring the doorbell. Peyton tried to pass us both as she heard the children playing inside the house.

“Well, hello, Ms. Superstar,” Autumn said jokingly.

“Shut it, Autumn. I just had to sign autographs and I don’t want to hear it from you.” I moved past her, angry at the entire situation. I tossed Peyton’s backpack on the floor and turned to find an excited Carolyn bouncing on the balls of her feet, a plate of cookies in her hands. Peyton made it to her side in less than a second. “Now, Peyton, tell Mommy goodbye and to have fun on her date with Dr. Grant.”

Peyton could have cared less, as she had a cookie in each hand and had spotted Savannah standing behind Carolyn. Laughter ensued as the girls raced off, not a care in the world.

“Oh, they grow so fast,” Carolyn’s motherly voice spoke.

She was right. It was hard to believe that in a few weeks Peyton would turn three. Where had the time gone? I would need to plan her party soon. I bid Autumn and Carolyn a good afternoon and headed home, I had laundry to do before I began to get ready for my date with Grant. As I separated the darks from the whites, I thought back to Grant’s question regarding more children. I certainly didn’t regret having Peyton as a single mom. However, I was certain I could not handle two children by myself.

I hadn’t planned on dressing up for this date. There was no real need since the fanciest place to eat in town was the local diner. With vinyl seats and paper place settings, an evening dress was clearly not required. I also didn’t think this was an occasion for jeans and a T-shirt. Grant didn’t look like the wings and beer kind of guy. So I opted for a long dressy shirt and some leggings. I finished the look with a loose belt around my hips. I kept my makeup minimal and simply washed and dried my hair. Just as I sprayed some perfume on my wrists, the doorbell rang.

When I opened the door, the sight that awaited me was one I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams. Grant stood in his dark jeans with a gray button-up and a sport coat. The top two buttons on his shirt were open. He held a bouquet of flowers in his long fingers. His smile was the icing on the cake, though—genuine and not forced.

“Oh, wow.” Grant’s words interrupted my perusal of his appearance.

I looked down at myself, noticing nothing out of the ordinary. I had worn this exact outfit to work a few weeks ago. “What? What’s wrong?”

Grant’s smile grew wider as he stepped across the threshold and placed a soft kiss to my cheek. “Absolutely nothing. You look amazing.”

I tittered as he handed me the flowers. “And you look like you just finished a magazine shoot,” I teased as I made my way into the kitchen.

“Well, I told them I had to hurry today as I had a date with a gorgeous, raven-haired woman. The photographers completely understood.”

I couldn’t stop the giggles that erupted as what he’d said hit my ears. “Then we better get this over with quick so you won’t be late for that date, Dr. Crain.” I smacked my hip into his. He responded with a faux stumble, mouth open wide in surprise.

His eyes sparkled and his cheeks were slightly pink. “Oh, I think I’m exactly where I need to be. I intend to take my time and enjoy every second I have alone with you tonight.” His words left me breathless and for a moment, I forgot my own name. This man was completely dangerous and I was helpless to do anything about it.

“So I know you said that Italian is out, but do you have an objection to any other cultures?” His words gave me the needed push to take a breath and get my thoughts together.

“Oh, Dr. Crain, you’ll find that I’m perfectly happy eating Taco Bell and drinking cheap beer.”

His smile widened as his right eyebrow lifted in a questioning gesture. “Well, then it’s my duty to school you in the proper way to treat a beautiful woman to dinner.”

Several minutes later, we were in his car and heading out of town. Honestly, I was relieved to hear him say he had made reservations at a Brazilian steak house in another town. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed to be seen locally with him. I just needed to be able to relax at dinner and not worry about the whispers that would be rounding the room if we had stayed in town.

The exterior of the restaurant was striking. They had a huge fountain that sprayed water and fire together, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it as we walked past. “They use natural gas for the fire, so it doesn’t go out,” he whispered, as we walked along the sidewalk.

I looked to Grant who was still smiling and somehow holding my hand. The entryway into the restaurant featured two massive oak and metal doors, with two large suit-clad men there to open each door and welcome us. The sparsely lit restaurant was bustling with wait staff and hungry patrons. The hostess stood behind the podium and her eyes grew huge and her smile turned into a slack-jawed stare, as she took in Grant’s appearance, not that I blamed her, especially the way he looked tonight.

She quickly wrote something down on a piece of paper and then grabbed two menus, asking us to follow her. It didn’t escape me that her hips were swaying exaggeratedly and her skirt seemed to be crawling up her thighs. Grant held out my chair and smiled as he took his seat. The hostess, whose name I wasn’t able to hear, whispered something into Grant’s ear and handed him the slip of paper. It didn’t take a genius to know what had just happened. I chose to ignore it, as Grant was an attractive man and seemed to have a lot to offer a young, single woman, yet my heart burned a little at her lack of professionalism. Grant saw right through my fake smile as he crumpled up the slip of paper and tossed it into the empty wine glass that decorated the table.

“I’m so sorry about that,” he unnecessarily apologized.

“Why are you sorry? You can’t help the fact that women notice you.” I tried to assure him I wasn’t upset by this. If God didn’t want women to appreciate his good looks, he wouldn’t have made him look as good as he did.

“It’s still rude, Natalie. It’s plain as day I’m on a date and to have some bitch like her pull a stunt like that, flaunting herself, it’s disgusting.” I was rendered speechless. He didn’t have to tell me he didn’t notice the hostess; his vicious words spoke more than just his disdain.

“Let’s not let her ruin our date. I came here to be able to talk openly with you and not worry about the local gossip.” I laughed as he looked down at his menu. “What?” he questioned with a half-smile.

“You’re a mind reader, I swear.” I snickered. “I was thinking the exact same thing on the way over here.”

“Well, that and your new celebrity status.”

I rolled my eyes and then placed my forehead on the table as I let out a huge groan. “I could’ve gone the rest of my life and not had anyone mention that.”

His face was kind as his blue eyes found mine. “I’m sorry, Natalie, I won’t say it anymore. But you have to admit, it was funny.”

I wanted to be pissed at him, but his face was just too cute. “I’m just hoping it blows over quickly,” I added as I opened my menu.

“Not likely.” He laughed.

I raised my eyes back up to him. “What?”

“Well, I got an email from one of my friends in Miami who told me he saw an article in the
Miami Herald
about Crain’s Landing. He forwarded it to me and the only difference from ours was about how a proud Cornell graduate did so well in the real world. He was surprised that Crain’s Landing was mentioned in such a large paper.”

This was too much. I didn’t want the entire planet thinking I had saved the world from evil. “This is crazy, Grant. I’m not some superhero. I was given a job and I did the best I could with what I had. I didn’t solve world peace or cure cancer.”

Grant reached across the table and removed my hands that were now covering my face. His touch was warm and comforting. “It’s a simple feel-good story, Natalie. Trust me, it’ll be replaced with doom and gloom by this time tomorrow.” Oh, how I hoped he was right.

Our waiter was this hilarious guy named Simon. He flirted shamelessly with me and then told Grant to keep his knickers on, that he would flirt with him after he brought out our drinks. You couldn’t help but laugh at him. Halfway through my glass of wine, I looked at Grant, who was looking at his phone. He chuckled and then passed his phone to me. “Just in case you’re worried,” he spoke with a smile.

The screen had a large arrow and I tapped it. The video began to play and suddenly Peyton was standing there, dressed as a princess. She had a large sparkly scepter in her hand and was knighting a dapperly dressed Wyatt. She was having such a good time, and I couldn’t help but smile as Wyatt grabbed her in his arms and swung her around in the air. “Tell Mommy you love her,” Wyatt spoke into the camera. She giggled as he pretended to bite her belly.

“I looooove you, Mooooommy,” she squealed, and then the video ended.

I was passing the phone back to Grant, just as Simon brought us our salads. “What’s this?” Simon questioned, snatching the phone from my hand. Before I could do anything, Simon watched the video and a smile broke across his face. “Well, the two of you certainly can make beautiful babies,” he said as he handed the phone to Grant.

“Thank you, we think so as well, but all parents think the same about their children.” Grant smiled as he took the phone back from Simon, his eyes never left mine as he pocketed his phone. Neither one of us said anything further about what Grant had said.

“So, why are you a doctor, Grant? Forget about the standard answer of helping people, tell me the real reason.”

He leaned back and studied my face. “You know this is a prime example of why I’m attracted to you, right?”

I looked daringly into his eyes. “You’re deflecting, Dr. Crain.”

He laughed at my comment.

“Well, as you know, my father is a doctor. But my grandfather was also a doctor. When I was a little boy, I’d go spend time on their farm and would follow my grandfather around. I saw how people respected him, and no matter where he went, he was welcomed with open arms. He told me once that he got to be with people at their highest point and, sometimes, their lowest. He treasured his time with them and was so passionate about what he did. When my father let me follow him around, I found that he had the same passion. I wanted to feel the same way they did about what I did for a living. So for me, the real reason is I get to do what I love.”

His eyes told me he spoke the truth. “That and I get my pick of hot nurses.”

I couldn’t help but laugh so hard I nearly choked on my sip of wine. “Oh, so the real story finally comes out. I knew you were just like the rest,” I shot at him as we both continued to laugh.

By the time Simon brought the check, my face was hurting from laughing so much. I couldn’t remember when I’d had such a great time. Grant was funny and smart and it was easy to be with him. He asked me valid questions and looked me in the eye as I spoke. He was every girl’s dream.

As we exited the restaurant, Grant again took my hand in his. This time, however, I was aware of it happening. I hummed as I closed my fingers around his; enjoying the feelings he awoke inside of me. The ride back to my house was full of the same easy conversation that we’d had all evening. He pulled into my driveway and parked behind the black Mercedes that was waiting. Autumn and Wyatt got out of their car as Grant turned off his. A very sleepy Peyton was pulled out by Wyatt as we made our way to my porch. I noticed the curtains on the windows next door fluttering and just knew I was going to be the topic of conversation at the breakfast table in the morning.

I took out my keys and attempted to open the door, but Grant took them and grinned as he unlocked it for me. “After you.” Grant gestured as he stepped to the side to let us all pass. I shook my head as I began to turn on lights on my way to Peyton’s room, Autumn following behind me. I turned down Peyton’s bed and was thankful I had sent pajamas to Carolyn’s for her. Wyatt laid her down on the bed and then kissed her forehead, her tiara still resting on her head.