Page 12 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

On Sunday, they took the bike to the lodge. Brad and Suzie had mutually decided that for a few days they were spending time alone, talking and making plans for their future. It was much needed time spent together, away from the town, the lodge, and all the talk that went with it. While they solidified their relationship, there was one issue off the table—the subject of the lodge. They tabled that until today, when they both knew that they would be facing the inevitable.

This was also the day Suzie knew she had to face her final demon with Brad. They’d had time to reconnect and she’d grown more confident in Brad’s love for her—but now she had to tell him the truth.

Snuggled behind him on the bike, she loved the powerful feeling of him being in control as she held on tight. He felt so good as she pressed up against him. He was so strong. Solid. Her rock.

The wind in her face, blowing through her hair was refreshing after not feeling well and staying inside most of the week. They’d gone without helmets for the slow, lazy drive around the lake and up to the lodge. There was a hint of crispness in the air as they moved higher into the mountain, umbrellas of oak, pine and maple covering their trail.

Suzie cringed when they turned into the lodge property and saw the heavy equipment scattered about the lawn. Swallowing hard, she suppressed edgy emotion as Brad parked. She swung her leg over the bike and headed for the porch. Brad followed,

This was a good thing, she kept telling herself, to find closure today. To move on. To take a step forward in hers and Brad’s relationship. It was all good.

Then why wouldn’t that sinking feeling in her stomach go away?

Brad took her into his arms, facing her fully.

“Thank you for doing this.”

Brushing a few stray hairs out of her face, he added.

“This means a lot to me.”

Smiling weakly, she nodded.

“It means a lot to me, too.”

He started to turn away and she pulled him back. “Brad?”

“Yes?”

“I’m behind you. I want you to know that.”

Grinning from ear to ear, he took her hand and they mounted the steps.

Suzie soaked in every detail, preserving it in her mind. She ran her fingertips along the silky and time-worn weathered log posts that made up the rail around the porch. She breathed in a lingering scent of pine and cedar and imagined decades of fingers, young and old, skimming the wood over time. The old timber, dark, rich and well-aged stood solid.

“I wonder if there is anything here we can preserve to use in the new hotel. Or at the inn?”

She looked at Brad and he glanced around him.

“Not a bad idea. We’ll have to check inside. Architectural salvage is a big deal these days.”

“There used to be a magnificent stained-glass window on the second-floor landing.”

He nodded.

“It’s still there. I already thought about that. I wondered if you could find a place for it in your house. Might have to retrofit, maybe upstairs, or in your bedroom, but….”

She smiled and put two fingers on his lips.

“You do think about me, don’t you?”

Placing his hands firmly on her hips he drew her closer and frowned a little.

“I think of you all the time, sweetheart. I’m not sure why you think I wouldn’t.”

He moved both hands to her face, threaded his fingers in her long hair, playfully tugging at the ends. He let them go and then cradled her face in his big palms. He looked longingly into her eyes and Suzie felt so loved, wanted. A stiff, warm breeze enveloped them both, his lips gently brushed across hers. Warmth and heady excitement welled up inside her as she returned Brad’s kiss, softly mingling her mouth and tongue with his.

He broke away and she sighed. She did love this man.

They moved toward the side of the lodge.

“I can’t believe this thing is really falling apart,”

she whispered, glancing around the corner toward the lake, her gaze following line of the stone foundation.

“It just looks so sturdy and well-built.”

His arm draped around her, still holding her close, he replied.

“I know. It does seem that way, does it?”

She turned to him.

“Who told you the foundation was bad?”

He studied her for a moment.

“The bank who took possession after the bankruptcy. They had it checked out.”

That bankruptcy was over thirty years ago. And it’s still standing. Suzie pulled away.

“Let’s go inside.”

She rushed back for the door.

“Is it unlocked?”

“Should be.”

She fumbled only momentarily with the large oak door, then pushed inward and hurried inside. She sensed Brad behind her. Suddenly, her heart beat a mile a minute. Maybe, just maybe this place could be saved? It looked so intact. Should she risk one last ditch effort to save it? Even at the expense of losing Brad? The thought niggled in the back of her brain, but she pushed it away. Brad loved her. She wouldn’t lose him because of this. Would she?

The lobby was as she’d remembered.

“Brad, look! It’s still beautiful.”

She ran from one thing to another. The huge reception desk. Massive. Solid.

“Look at this wood. It’s gorgeous!”

She twirled toward the large, floor-to-ceiling windows, partly sheathed with years old tapestry drapes.

“What a wonderful view. The windows are still good.”

She ran her hand along the well-worn window casing.

“They’re not rotted or anything.”

She flew to the next one.

“This one either.”

She loped toward the stairway, looked longingly up, and ran her hand along the bottom baluster. Twisting back and grabbing Brad’s hand, she pulled him toward the stair.

“Let’s go look at the window.”

Excited, she grinned at him.

“Slow down, girl.”

He raced to try to keep up with her.

“How do you move so fast on those short legs of yours?”

She ignored him. Suzie could see the window as they grew closer. Sunbeams streaked through dirty painted glass, bouncing off dust motes floating a few feet off the floor. Abruptly, she stopped.

“Oh my. It’s beautiful.”

Brad wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled her ear.

“It will look great on your landing, too.”

Slowly, assuredly, she shook her head. “No,”

she breathed.

“Not my landing. It’s much better suited somewhere else.”

In a flash she ran down the stairs, leaving Brad behind. She raced toward the French doors that separated the lobby from the dining room, fiddled with the latch, and the doors swung open with ease—like they had been opened like that every morning for the past thirty years. A vision of a time gone by flitted through her mind. Small and scattered square tables, white linens, crystal glasses, sparkling flatware.

Soft music in the background. The chatter of guests, all dressed up for dinner. Servers hustling about. Wonderful aromas wafting in from the kitchen.

“Perfect,”

she whispered.

Her heart beat strong against her chest. She could feel its pulse in her ear. They could fix this. They could! She and Brad. Together! She could work here. Not in the new hotel, but here.

Would he listen?

The kitchen. She rushed across the door and pushed through the hinged doors that separated the dining area and the kitchen. Large. Open and airy. Old, but could be renovated. Functional. Spacious. She could envision a modern gas range or two and flat griddle against the west wall. Prep station over by the window.

Yes.

She didn’t know if it was her hope or if it really was possible. How could he tear this down? How could they make this a reality?

She whirled back toward Brad, who was standing in the doorway.

“We can do this,”

she said. “We can.”

*****

Brad had watched Suzie ping-pong from room to room, darting about like an excited little girl, and his stomach sank. Oh boy, bringing her up here was either a mistake or a blessing, and right now he wasn’t sure which. Looking at the lodge through her child-like eyes, he was beginning to see something different about the old place.

That wasn’t a good thing. Was it?

The thought did excite him a little.

No. He couldn’t start thinking like that. He had a plan. And plans were already in motion. Saving the lodge wasn’t part of the grand scheme of things. He couldn’t switch gears now. This train was already moving down the tracks.

He found her in the old kitchen, her gaze taking in every nook and cranny as she scanned the room. She turned back quickly and looked straight into his eyes.

“We can do this,”

she said softly. “We can.”

But she didn’t wait for him to respond. She rushed past him and across the dining room, where she fumbled with a lock on another set of French doors that led to the lakeside deck. These doors did not swing open as easily as the first but creaked with age. Finally, they swung back to lay flat against the outside walls, opening the dining area with a breeze and a flurry of dust. A breathtaking view of a sparkling lake peeking between low-hanging pine boughs gave way over the deck.

In a flash, Suzie was gone.

Brad stood still in the room and let her go. When the dust motes settled, he could see that the room was magnificent. He imagined another place, another time. The dining hall filled with people—laughing, eating, and enjoying themselves. Spending money.

Eating and spending money was a good thing.

Suddenly things seemed off kilter. Had she really come here for closure, or to convince him to change his mind? Was this her last-ditch effort to save the place?

Certainly, she hadn’t deceived him with her ploy of having his back, just to get him up here to reconsider?

He shook his head and glanced to his feet. No. Suzie wouldn’t do that.

But all of that was moot, really. It didn’t matter. He could see why she loved this place. And on some levels, he agreed with her. The structure actually looked great and it was a shame to get rid of it and all of the history that went along with it. He would have to be a hard-pressed effort to make her see why she had to let it go, but he had to try. Right?

Coming up here was a mistake.

Within seconds, she burst through the French doors again. “Brad.”

Her breathing was labored.

“Come out here. You have to see this.”

She motioned his way and Brad took a few reluctant steps forward. She grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the deck.

“Look. We could put an outside eating area here. It’s a fabulous view over the lake. A cozy canopy of trees and shade. I know you are going to love it. Maybe some umbrellas for summer.”

Still grasping his hand, she tugged him further out on the deck.

Brad took a few steps then halted.

She jerked again then glanced back. “Brad?”

He whooshed out a breath.

“Suzie, stop. Just stop what you’re doing. I know where you are going with all this and honestly, I get it, but I don’t want to upset you any further. We can’t keep the lodge. We can’t do this, honey.”

“But….”

God, he hated the look on her face.

“Sweetheart, the lodge is going. We can’t stop what’s already in process.”

She paused.

“Haven’t you been listening to me?”

She thrust her arms out.

“Look at all this. It’s wonderful. The kitchen. Did you see the kitchen? I mean really look at it? It’s doable.”

She pulled his hand again.

“You cannot convince me this place is not solid as a rock. If you see the kitchen you’ll understand. We can renovate. It’s perfect, and…”

She sighed.

“Don’t you see? This we can do. We can. I can work here, Brad. I would be your sous chef here. I would love working here. We can do this, Brad!”

He let go of the longest breath.

“Suzie, I’ve seen the kitchen. As old kitchens go, it’s a fine one. Have you thought how much it would cost to bring that up to code? This whole place? It’s got 1930s everything—wiring, plumbing, appliances, roof, foundation. It won’t work. You have to give it up.”

She shook her head.

“No. I’m not going to give it up.”

He chuckled.

“What are you going to do? Chain yourself to a porch post come morning?”

Hands on hips, she glared at him.

“Brad Matthews, don’t you laugh at me. I just might.”

Then her face screwed up into some sort of crazy puzzle. Shit. Tears.

“Don’t you dare make fun of me or what I think is important. Do you understand? And yes, come tomorrow morning, don’t be surprised to find me chained to that post out front and I’ll dare you to send those bulldozers at me!”

The anger in her voice was one thing, but the red creeping up her neck to her face and the tears begging to spill from her eyes were another. Dammit all to hell. Was this woman worth this much trouble?

He exhaled long and hard. Unfortunately, yes. She was.

She broke away from him and jogged across the deck and around the corner, out of site.

Holy shit. What the hell was he going to do with her?

He followed and found her at the opposite end. She stood gazing out over the lake, leaning over the thick wooden railing. The early afternoon sun tickled at the highlights of her strawberry blond hair falling in a cascade over her shoulders and hiding her face from view.

His gaze followed hers. Sweet Hart Inn sat quaint and peaceful across the way in a grove of trees. It really was a nice view from the deck off the old lodge. He looked around him, studying his surroundings. Large oaks hung heavy branches over the south end, making a natural awning. Pines and cedars flanked the old building to the north. As he stood still and closed his eyes, he noticed the quiet quality of life around him.

Waves gently lapped at the shore.

Leaves rustled.

Suddenly, the hustle and bustle of a big hotel and restaurant on the premises seemed grossly out of place here.

Could he make it work? As it was? Scrap his plans and take a different tack?

Then he heard her crying. Ah, hell….

“Suzie?”

He took the few steps to reach her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Sweetheart, let’s settle down and talk about….”

She turned a red, tear-stained face toward him.

“Why can’t you leave this like it is?”

she cried.

“Why can’t you fix this!”

Fix it. How in the hell was he supposed to fix it.

“It’s too late, Suzie. The plans are already made. I’ve got men coming in the morning.”

“Too late. Too late! Well, then maybe it’s too late for everything.”

Dumbfounded, she glared at him.

“You could fix it if you wanted to. You don’t want to.”

The tears rolled again, and she looked away. Reaching in close, he turned her face back to him. He longed to look into those incredible blue eyes and see happy tears, not sad ones.

“Suzette listen to me. Will you just listen to me please?”

She gave him a reluctant nod.

Taking a deep breath, he said.

“Let’s call a truce here, okay? Maybe I can put the project on hold. Temporarily. I’ll get someone to look at the structure, at the foundation. I can’t promise anything, but….”

A blank look broke across her face. “Really?”

With both thumbs he swiped tears from beneath her eyes.

“Yes. Really. I’ll make the calls as soon as we leave here.”

“Thank you,”

she whispered. Suddenly her eyes squinted again, and she went on.

“Brad, I know this is going to sound kind of random and out there, but there is something I need to tell you. It can’t wait.”

Her eyes closed for a second and she paused; he waited. “Okay.”

Her weight shifted from one foot to another.

“This is going to come totally out of the blue but I’m about to bust and I have to say this. I can’t keep it to myself any longer.”

Her tears spilled and Brad was concerned now more than ever.

“Suzie, what in the world?”

“I can’t have a baby. I mean, we can’t have… Brad, about having a baby….”

Baby?

“I. Can’t.”

She stumbled a little and he caught her up and steadied her.

“Honey, why are you talking about having a baby?”

“I can’t have a baby. I… My eggs are rotten or dried up or something weird like that. I’m damaged goods, Brad. You’re not getting the complete package with me. I’m…incomplete.”

He stood there, stunned, looking at her.

“What in the hell…?”

But before he had time to contemplate further, he watched her eyes flutter closed and she crumbled into a heap on the deck floor.

****

The past hour of Brad’s life was filled with frantic phone calls, an ambulance ride, juggling emergency room questions, and a very pissed off Suzie.

She lay on the gurney in the center of the small examining room of the ER while he sat off to the right. Her arm was thrown over her eyes and forehead. She hadn’t looked at him for a while.

“You look cute in that little flowery gown,”

he offered.

“Oh, shut up. Brad Matthews, I can’t believe you brought me here. I am fine.”

He stood and went to her side, carefully lowered her arm to see her face—in case she decided to deck him—and gently laid it at her side. For good measure, he threaded his fingers with hers and caressed her knuckles.

He planted a small kiss on her forehead.

“Sweetheart, you’ve been sick for days, vomiting and everything, and you passed out like a sack of potatoes falling to the floor in half a second flat. You scared the shit out of me.”

“But I’m fine. It’s just the flu. I’ve not eaten enough lately. And I hate hospitals.”

“Well it’s almost over now.”

She sat up.

“You have no idea. They poke and they prod and they take blood and your temperature and make you pee in a cup and check your heart and your throat and your ears and then run this thing with icky goo all over you and…do you have any idea how much this little hospital bill will cost me?”

“Don’t you have insurance?”

“Barely. I’m self-employed, remember? High deductible.”

“I’ll cover it then”

“No, you won’t! I’ll not let you do that for me. I can’t have you….”

“What?”

“Pay for me like that. I’m an independent woman and I don’t need anyone to….”

“What if we were married?”

That shut her up.

“Excuse me?”

“What if we were married?”

he repeated.

“Would you let me pay for you if we were married?”

“Well, I…uh… That’s a moot point because we’re not married, obviously.”

Brad snickered.

“True. But we could be.”

Suzie glared for half a minute or so.

“Is this a proposal, Mr. Matthews?”

“I believe it is, Ms. Hart.”

Tears welled in her eyes again. Hell. Not more tears. “Well?”

“Well. What about the lodge? What about all that?”

Grinning inwardly, Brad had to hand it to her.

“Are you really going to leverage the lodge against a marriage proposal?”

Suzie smirked and narrowed her gaze.

“Damned straight. Do we have a deal?”

Standing, he turned away from her, pacing near the door.

“I don’t know, Suzie. That’s a bit more than I was willing to negotiate for a marriage…”

A box of Band-Aids sailed by his head and hit the door. He turned back.

“Damn, woman!”

“Be serious, Brad. This is important.”

Moving to her side, he sat again and took her hand.

“You were right, Suzie. I should have looked into renovation long ago. My ego wants me to always think bigger and better. You know, go big or go home. Your way is nice and quaint and more…us.”

She sat up a little straighter.

“Us. You mean that?”

“I do.”

“You’re not going to back out of it.”

“What, the marriage?”

“No, silly man. The lodge thing. You won’t change your mind, right, because if you change your mind I’ll take back my promise to marry you.”

“Did you promise to marry me?”

“I…um.”

“I need an answer, Suzette.”

She chewed on her lip.

“Brad, I need… I mean, you should know that… I need to tell you something that I was trying to tell you back at the lodge.”

“Something about a baby? Yeah, I was going to ask you about that.”

Exhaling, she said.

“Brad, I can’t get pregnant. I can’t have children. And I know that is important to you and I should just put that on the line right now—since we seem to be making a deal on all of this. You need to know that I don’t come with potential kids and family. So if that is part of your dream, part of what you think you are going to get with me—what’s going to make you happy—I’m shooting you straight right now that it won’t happen.”

Brad stared into her misty eyes and felt the hurt in her heart dart straight to his.

“Honey, that’s a lot to take in, but you have to know that I want you first, over anything else.”

“Over kids?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Over the lodge and hotel and anything else on your plan list?”

“Yes, Suzie. Because without you, I have nothing else. No plan matters.”

She burst into tears.

“Then the answer to your question,”

she choked out between sobs.

“is yes. I’ll marry you.”

Brad blew out one hell of a forceful breath.

“Thank God!”

A brisk knock sounded at the door. They turned and a young male intern entered.

“Ms. Hart?”

He glanced from Suzie to Brad and back again.

“Yes?”

He stepped to the opposite side of the gurney from Brad, grasped her hand, and looked down at her.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. This is all stupid. I’m not really sick. I had the flu over the weekend and I’m a little weak. It was warm outside, and the sun was beating down on me, and I hadn’t eaten much in a few days and….”

“How is your nausea right now?”

He gazed at the clipboard in front of him. All business, Brad thought. Don’t they teach bedside manners any more in medical school?

“Well, almost non-existent. Just a little twinge occasionally, but it’s okay.”

“Manageable then?”

“Yes.”

“Usually happens in the mornings?”

“Um…maybe. I don’t really remember.”

Finally, the man looked up and his face broke into a smile.

“Good news, Ms. Hart. You are perfectly fine. Most all of your tests came back normal. You’re a very healthy woman.”

Brad sat up and straightened his shoulders.

“Most all? What does that mean?”

The intern eyed Brad, then glanced to Suzie. “Husband?”

Suzie’s gaze narrowed.

“Potential fiance.”

“So I can talk in front of him?”

Brad stood.

“Good Lord, Man. Yes, you can talk in front of me. What’s going on that we need to know about?”

He barked the words a little more loudly than he had intended.

The younger man stepped back and looked to Suzie.

“We ran the standard blood tests and also one for pregnancy. Ms. Hart, you are pregnant. That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

Brad listened to those two words come out of Suzie’s mouth, but they sounded muffled and skewed, like she was speaking from a tunnel. Suddenly, it felt like the wind had been taken out of his sails. Brad clumsily backed into the chair behind him. Pregnant? He finally sat with a whoosh of breath.

His lips stretched into a smile so big he thought he might not be able to contain it.

The doctor turned toward the door.

“My nurse will be in momentarily to give you instructions and a prescription for the nausea.”

Brad watched Suzie’s eyes grow wide. She bolted straight up.

“Wait. Wait! Did you say, pregnant? I mean, you can’t have said pregnant, did you?”

He turned and smiled.

“You didn’t know? I’m not surprised. You’re just pregnant but everything looks fine. You were having a little morning sickness. Or maybe more than a little.”

The doctor turned to Brad.

“Have you noticed any mood swings lately?”

Brad swallowed. Suzie glared at him.

“Ah, maybe a little.”

The doctor chuckled.

“Don’t worry. It only lasts nine months. Usually.”

Then he left with a soft click of the door.

“I’m not sure what just happened here,”

Brad said. He looked at Suzie.

“I’m speechless.”

Not trusting himself to stand, he pulled the chair closer and took Suzie’s hand in both of his. Then on impulse, he reached up to caress her tummy.

“Honey. Sweetheart. A baby…”

He marveled at the miracle of it all. Christ, now he felt like crying.

Suzie still set there with her mouth gaping open.

She was pregnant. It was real. He was going to have a family. They were going to have a family. His plan, all of it, was coming true.

Suzie still looked awestruck.

“We’re pregnant,”

he said to her.

She shook her head.

“No, it’s impossible, Brad. There must be some mistake. I’m not pregnant. I can’t be pregnant.”

What in the world.

“Suzie, you heard the man. You’re pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”

Then he frowned.

“It is we, right?”

She reached over to the supply cart and threw a bandage roll at him.

“If I’m pregnant, Brad, you can be assured that it’s we.”

“Then why would you say it’s impossible, because we didn’t use protection. Hell, I thought you were on the pill. Didn’t you tell me that months ago?”

“I know. I did. It’s...”

She slumped against the bed.

“I lied. Brad, I didn’t want to tell you. I never thought I could get pregnant. For years I never got pregnant with Cliff. I was told years ago that there something wrong with me and that I likely would never get pregnant, and since I couldn’t give you the family you wanted I just worried that—”

Brad put up his hand.

“Stop. None of that matters. Suzie, shut up and kiss me.”

“What?”

“Come here.”

He pulled her closer and then kissed her lips. Within seconds, he was up on the gurney, spooning with her, holding her close and kissing her face.

“We’re pregnant,”

he whispered.

“It’s real. You and me. Just like old times. Plus one.”

“Yes, it appears so,”

she added softly.

“And this baby needs a home with both parents who don’t fight and are, well…married.”

He nodded.

“So let’s make it happen.”