Page 31 of Heartbeat Harmony (Hearts in Hawthorne #2)

Chapter

Seventeen

E li hadn’t been on a date in almost six years.

But he was savoring every minute of this one with Autumn.

She had a quiet effervescence about her that was welcoming.

Calming. Interesting. It was as if they were the last two pieces in a thousand-piece puzzle which he had been trying to put together for years.

Suddenly down to the last two, they fit together perfectly, completing the picture for him.

He could see a future with Autumn Sutherland, but he knew she had to be skittish after coming off a miserable marriage.

He would go as slowly as she wanted to move, enjoying their time together.

Hoping that it would be forever.

She drove him around Gainesville briefly.

It was obvious she was familiar with the small town.

They parked on the square and went into a restaurant she thought he would enjoy.

Starving, he went for a Swiss mushroom burger and fries, while she ordered a fajita chicken salad. She warned him not to order dessert.

“I have something else in mind.”

His thoughts immediately went to her being dessert, but he knew she meant something else. Still, the thought of being more intimate with Autumn was something that he couldn’t entirely dismiss.

After they’d eaten, she took him around the square. They went into several of the shops to browse. In one of them, she instantly went to the counter and picked up two items.

“This is the dessert I was talking about,” she told him. “They’re famous around here. It’s an Arbuckle Mountain fried pie.”

He’d never eaten a fried pie before, but if Autumn was excited about this find, he would be, too.

She paid for them, and they went outside, finding a bench to sit on.

“Actually, this is an Oklahoma food item, but they sell them across the border. It’s like something fried you’d get at the State Fair of Texas, only better.

They have both sweet and savory, but you can only buy the savory ones in Oklahoma.

My favorite is the Polish sausage and potato one.

Summer likes the spinach, mushroom, and potato one.

And West eats anything you put in front of him. ”

Handing him one of the two fried pies, she said, “I bought two kinds, peach and pecan. Try the pecan first, then if you want, we can switch halfway through.”

Eli unwrapped the fried pie and sank his teeth into it.

Instant bliss.

He chewed and swallowed. “This is really tasty.”

“Wait until you try peach.”

They did trade mid-pie, and he found the peach one even better.

“Which sweet one do you like best?” he asked, wanting to know everything about her.

“Blueberry. Or cherry. I like any kind of berry in anything. Fried pies. Gelato. Mousse.”

He filed that fact away, hoping he could surprise her someday soon.

As they ate, she told him, “If you like to gamble, WinStar Casino is only about fifteen minutes from Gainesville.”

“I’ve never gambled,” he admitted. “Some of the ER staff had a football weekly pot on games, but since I didn’t watch sports, I didn’t participate.”

“Maybe we should drive up and play the slots sometime. Or better, go to a concert. They’ve got a great venue to listen to music, and you can have dinner in one of the many restaurants spread throughout the casino.

” She chuckled. “I had a few friends go to OU, and one of the first things they were warned about in orientation was not to gamble.” She laughed.

“I didn’t have that problem, going to Baylor.

They didn’t even allow dancing on campus.

Not that I’m a big dancer, but I thought that was a little over the top. ”

“I thought their nursing program was in Dallas.”

“It is. I went to school in Waco for two years, and then I transferred to the Dallas campus. It was interesting living in Dallas. It’s such a big city.

West would give me a pair of tickets for every home game.

He’s two years older than I am, so when I moved to Dallas, that was his first year with the Cowboys. ”

“You really like sports? You’ve mentioned watching games.”

“I love watching sports, especially my brother. Watching West catch a pass was like poetry in motion. He was so graceful. So fluid. And so damn fast. If he wasn’t tackled immediately after catching the ball, he would take off like a gazelle down the field.”

“I need to learn more about football.”

“I can teach you. I heard you’ve volunteered to be on the sidelines for home games for the high school this fall.”

“Your brother needed a physician. I thought it would be good for me to get out in the community. I’m the face of Triple H, like it or not, and I want the citizens of Hawthorne to be able to ask me any question at any time.”

They finished eating their fried pies, and he said, “That was really good, but it would’ve been better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.”

Autumn coyly batted her eyelashes at him. “You are talking my love language, Dr. Carson.”

She stood, holding her hand out. He took it and rose, asking, “Where to now?”

“You’ll see.”

They returned to her car, and she gave each of them one of the bottled waters. Eli twisted off the cap and downed half of it.

“Glad you brought these.”

After they left Gainesville, she said, “It’ll be another fifteen minutes or so.

We’re going to Lavender Ridge Farms. A hundred years ago, the family who owned it raised strawberries and melons on the property.

That changed near the beginning of this century.

The owners planted a crop of lavender on a slope near a wooded edge of the property.

The lavender just exploded. Nowadays, they have several gardens throughout the property and a garden center where you can buy plants.

They operate a café, where they have amazing lavender cheesecake and lavender ice cream.

They also have a gift shop with all kinds of products featuring lavender and other herbs in essential oils and candles. ”

“Sounds interesting.”

“It really is. I think you’ll enjoy it. Put on your ball cap. It’s sunny today.”

They arrived and parked. Autumn had them first visit an area with adopted and rescued farm animals. While you couldn’t feed them, you could pet them, and he loved seeing the delighted look on her face as she did so.

“We’re going to pick some fresh lavender now,” she told him. “You can pick lavender from early June through usually the end of July.”

They donned gloves provided and accepted sharpened pruners.

“You want to pick the swollen flower buds or the ones just beginning to open,” she explained when they got to the field where they could harvest. “Stay away from small, droopy buds. They won’t have as strong a scent.”

Autumn taught him how to gather a bundle, which she called a bunch. Eli quickly caught on.

“We’ll dry these when we get home. Outside in the sun, it’ll only take a few days. If you dry them inside, it could take a couple of weeks. The main thing will be to keep Atticus from eating the lavender.”

Curious, he asked, “What do you do with dried lavender?”

“Oh, you can put the dried stems in vases and place them around your house. They’ll give off a light, sweet smell. You can use some of the buds in cooking, but only in small amounts. A little goes a long way. Lavender is really potent.”

When they finished picking, they returned their gloves and pruners and he said, “I’m thirsty. Want to grab something at the café?”

“Let’s ask for to-go cups,” she suggested. “There are so many large oak trees scattered about. I’d loved to sit in the shade and lean against a trunk and just chill.”

They walked to the café, where he ordered a lavender iced tea and Autumn chose a lavender lemonade.

Finding an out-of-the-way oak, they settled on the ground.

Eli leaned his broad back against the tree’s trunk, and Autumn nestled between his legs.

He wrapped an arm possessively around her waist, and she leaned against his chest. He could smell her vanilla scent mingling with that of lavender as they sipped their drinks.

“I’m so content right now,” she said, breaking the silence. “I wasn’t looking for a relationship when I took the job at Triple H and moved back to Hawthorne.” She glanced up at him. “You’ve been a nice surprise, Eli Carson.”

“Ditto. I was burning out fast after all those years in the ER. Too many hours blended into days and weeks and months and years. I was ready for a fresh start. I’ve gotten that at Triple H. Finding you was the icing on the cake. Hmm. I’ll bet a lavender cake would be really tasty.”

She laughed, and he found he’d grown addicted to that sound. He wanted to always hear it.

Eli wanted Autumn as his wife. As the mother of his children. Hell, he’d never even thought about having kids, but it seemed a given with Autumn. He didn’t know how to have a family, much be a part of one, but she was the one woman he wanted to teach him these things.

They sipped their drinks, enjoying the serenity and shade for half an hour. He wished they could have stayed at Lavender Ridge Farms forever.

Finally, she stirred. “Let’s stop by the gift shop. I can’t visit here without doing so.”

She picked out lavender coffee and an infused honey for her mother and chose a scented candle for Kelby.

“Summer needs some of the handmade soaps,” she declared. “They’ll remind her of home.”

“Is she homesick?”

“She would never say that aloud, but I can tell,” Autumn said confidently.

“Twins have that twin thing going on. We know when the other is hurt. Down. Joyful. Stressed. Summer thrives in a place like Manhattan. It’s a beehive, and she’s a buzzing bee, zipping around everywhere.

But I get the feeling she would move back to Hawthorne in a heartbeat if she could. ”

“I want to meet her. She’s important to you. Does she come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas?”

“Usually one of those holidays each year. Of course, we could both play hooky and fly up to New York some long weekend. She tells me it’s beautiful there in the fall, starting around the week before Thanksgiving.”

“Already a bad influence on your boss,” he teased. “Trying to get me to play hooky.”

He insisted on paying for her purchases, and she thanked him. He hadn’t had money for so many years. Now that he did, he wanted to spend it on someone he loved.

Someone he loved …

The thought had come naturally to him. It wasn’t something that he could pinpoint.

Eli simply knew that he was in love with Autumn.

A warm glow filled him, something he had never experienced before.

He had received scholarships. Accolades.

Awards. Nothing had given him the feeling he now felt inside.

He wanted to share it, but it was far too soon to do so.

If he did, he might frighten Autumn away and lose everything.

For now, he would keep quiet. And try to figure out when the time was right to speak.

He carried the sack of goodies back to her car. She pulled out two more bottled waters, saying, “I know we had the tea and lemonade, but it’s hot today. We should stay hydrated.”

“You don’t have to convince me.”

On the way back to Hawthorne, they didn’t say a word. It was a companionable silence, one he had never been a part of, but it seemed perfectly natural. He liked that they didn’t need to have a constant, running conversation between them. Silence was nice.

When they got back to his house, Atticus greeted them enthusiastically.

Eli attached the dog’s leash to his collar, and he and Autumn took the pup for a walk.

After they got home, he felt a little tired but very, very happy.

He couldn’t recall a more pleasant day in his entire life, and he wanted plenty more of them in the future.

With Autumn.

They both removed their shoes, and he said, “I suppose it’s time for that cooking lesson.”

Autumn looked at him, a look that caused his heart to slam against his ribs.

“I could really use a shower,” she told him. “I’m sticky all over.”

Swallowing, he said, “Sure. I’ll grab you a towel and?—”

“Eli, I want you to join me.”