Page 46 of A Hidden Hope

A slight lift in his spirits brightened David’s mood. If the new mothers group worked out, maybe it could open the door to tackling other silent struggles, even the ones men dealt with but rarely talked about.

Noticing the horse had slowed to a crawl, David gave the reins a gentle shake.

“Come on now, let’s keep moving,” he said.

The horse picked up the pace, and they continued down the road toward home, the warm breeze rustling the leaves around them.

Dok’s last words to him had been to remind him to pray for Clara because she had a long road of healing in front of her.

He had put a hand on his sister’s shoulder and said, “Count on it.” She didn’t even have to ask.

Annie sat on the bench outside the fire station, fiddling with the hem of her dress, waiting for Gus to finish his shift. When he finally appeared, his face lit up in a smile that quickly faded as he approached and saw her somber expression.

“Annie, what’s wrong?”

She patted the bench. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

He sat down beside her. “Has something happened? Clara Zook? The babies?” He’d helped with the search last night.

“No update on Clara, but the babies are doing well.”

Gus tipped his head. “What’s brought you here?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m going to take the EMT exam.”

“That’s fantastic! I know you’ll pass it with flying colors.”

She looked at him, her heart melting. He was such a champion for her. She was going to miss his encouragement. She was going to miss him . She blew out a puff of air. This part was hard. “But I’ve decided to try to be a dispatcher instead of applying to work at the fire station.”

His smile faded, his disappointment immediate and visible. “Annie, you’ve worked so hard. There are other treatments for your motion sickness. Don’t give up. We can try more things.”

Try more things? How could she try any harder?

She shook her head, her resolve firm. “No, Gus. I’ve tried everything that I feel comfortable trying. I won’t take medication. This is what I’m going to do.”

His jaw muscle flexed as he swallowed. “I know how much you’ve wanted to be an EMT. You’ve tried so hard. I’m just ... disappointed. I was looking forward to all the experiences we would share. We’d make such a good team.”

Annie felt a pang of guilt but stood her ground. “Maybe someday it’ll happen,” she said, though she doubted it. “But for now, this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to be a dispatcher. That is, if I get the job. It’s still important work, Gus.”

“I know it’s important, but ... I just imagined us out there, together. I had all these plans for us.”

They sat there in silence for a long time, the weight of his disappointment hanging in the air.

She could feel it, the way you could feel lightning about to strike.

She hadn’t realized how much of her anxiety about not being able to become an EMT had to do with disappointing him.

This was it, then. Their relationship, which had never really gotten started in the way they had hoped, was ending.

Finally, he lifted his head and gave her a gentle smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “At least,” he said, “I’ll get to hear your voice over the radio.”

She braced herself, willing herself not to cry. Do not cry , Annie Fisher. Do not cry.

He reached out and took her hand. He looked down at their enjoined hands, like he was visibly gathering his next words. “There’s one good thing out of this. You told me that I couldn’t court you until you finished the EMT course. Well, you’re done with it.”

She looked at him, confused. “You still want to court me?”

“Hold on.” He shifted on the bench to face her. “Were you becoming an EMT ... for me?”

“No. Yes. Both. I wanted to be an EMT for me. But when it became pretty clear it wasn’t going to work out, then I wanted to do it for you.”

“Annie Fisher ... my feelings for you wouldn’t change no matter what you did.” He cleared his throat. “I love you.”

He loved her?

Annie didn’t know what to say. She stared at him. He loved her?

“This is the part where the fellow hopes the girl might say she loves him too. If she does, that is.”

She nodded, her throat too full for words.

“Is that so?” A slow smile crept over Gus’s face.

“Then, maybe our courting could start ... now?” He leaned in slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to, but she didn’t.

His kiss was gentle and sweet, filled with the promise of new beginnings.

It was their first kiss, and it was everything she had hoped it would be. Maybe even more.

Dok stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter as she watched Matt chop vegetables for their dinner.

The sizzle of onions in the pan filled the room with a comforting aroma.

She took a deep breath, exhausted but antsy.

So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours—Wren’s first departure, Clara’s collapse, the search for the babies, Wren’s second departure, followed by a very good talk with David, and then another one with Annie. Her mind was spinning.

Matt scooped up the carrots and dropped them into the cast-iron fry pan with the onions, then started chopping celery. “Are you worried about Wren?”

Dok coughed a laugh. “No. Not worried. She will do just fine in life. But I am sorry she left, mostly for her sake but also for my sake. Especially now that Annie’s applying for a position as a dispatcher. And I’m sure she’ll get the job.”

Matt glanced up, his hands still busy with the chopping. “What makes you so sure?”

Dok gave him a smug smile. “Because I’ve recommended her for it.”

Matt put down the knife. He had a frown on his face, as if he sensed where this was headed. “So, you’ll lose Annie. Wren’s exited stage left. Evie’s leaving soon. And you don’t think much of Charlie.”

“Actually, I’m starting to change my mind about Charlie. He’s going to need a lot of supervision to develop his skills, but long term, I believe he could be a good doctor. I like the fact that he tries to make things better.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Matt’s lips. He’d always been a fan of Charlie’s.

“Matt, I know you want me to find a partner. Maybe it’ll be Charlie, but that’s a long way off. I do want to keep working on more balance in our lives. But I want you to know that I love my life. I love my work. I love you and I love our marriage. I don’t want to retire early. I’m not ready yet.”

He let out a defeated sigh. “Can’t you keep Evie from leaving?”

“I don’t know. She seemed pretty determined to leave when I last brought it up.”

“Try again. Make it happen. Because I just put a down payment on an RV.”

Dok stared at him, stunned. “You put a down payment on an RV without talking to me first?”

Matt chuckled, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “It’s refundable, don’t worry. But I’m serious about taking time off next summer. I want us to go see all the national parks, starting with the Grand Tetons.”

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and smiled. “Only if we get to stay in Jenny Lake Lodge while we’re there.”

“Okay. But we’re taking the whole summer off.”

“Two weeks.”

“Six weeks.”

“One month, tops.”

Matt grinned, reaching out to take her hand. “Deal.”

She hesitated, then shook his hand firmly. “Deal. I’ll work on getting Evie to stay. You work on the trip details.”

Matt nodded, satisfied. “Good. Now, let’s get dinner on the table. We’ve got a lot of planning to do. Like how we’re going to cram everything into an RV for our trip to the Grand Tetons.”

Dok smiled to herself. Or, she mused, how many nice hotels she could book along the way.