Page 54 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

When they reached a locked gate, Trip turned, and they walked back toward the barn.

It was a beautiful evening, and when he showed her to a bench set in the shade of the trees by the creek, Shelley was happy to sit and take in the sunset.

She loved that he wasn’t one of those guys who talked all the time, and they watched in silence as the sun went down, and the sky changed color.

The peace of the valley seemed to wrap itself around her and seep into her heart.It was a special moment, made even more special when Trip reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze—without saying a word.

Chapter Twelve

“Here you go.”Trip set a mug of coffee on the kitchen table in front of Shelley and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

She caught his hand and pulled him down to her so that she could kiss him.He ran his fingers over her cheek as he looked into her eyes.He was tempted to say something about how much he was enjoying this—enjoying the shared domesticity.He didn’t though.He was surprised at himself, and more than a little afraid that Shelley might not feel the same way.

She raised her eyebrows.“Whatever’s going on in that head of yours, you can say it.”She ran her hand through her still sleep-tousled hair.“I know I must look like death warmed over.I –”

“Nope.You look gorgeous.”

She made a face.

“I’m not sweet talking you, I promise.Yes, your hair’s still mussed up, and you’re not fully awake yet, but that just makes you even more beautiful.And you sitting at my kitchen table on a Saturday morning, wearing my pajamas might just be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Fortunately, she took his words as a joke.“Yeah, right.Nice try, Trip!”

He shrugged.“You believe what you want.”He wanted to set her straight—tell her that he was dead serious, but again he didn’t want to push too hard.She’d stayed here with him for the last few nights, and he’d love for that to become the norm, but he still didn’t know what she was thinking about leaving.He didn’t want to put her in a position where she felt like she needed to spell it out for him.

She smiled.“It’s sweet of you to say it.But I believe that I need to leave soon.”

His heart sank.

“I’ve only been back to the house to pick up essentials this week.I need to make sure that it’s okay.I need to get caught up on laundry too.And I need to make sure that everything’s ready for when Harper arrives on Tuesday.”

Trip stared at her.He expected that she’d want to go back to staying at her place once her friend arrived, but he wanted to make the most of the time they had between now and then.

“How long will it take you to do what you need to do?”

She gave him a puzzled look.“What do you mean?”

He squatted down in front of her and rested his hands on her knees.“I’m going to be straight with you, honey.I mean that I want to hog as much of your time as I can before Harper arrives.So, I’m asking how long you need to get your place ready.You can do whatever laundry you need to do here.And …” He shrugged.“There, I said it.Just tell me if I blew it and what you mean is that you want to go home and get some peace from me now.”

She covered his hands with her own and leaned in to kiss him.When she leaned back, her eyes shone as she smiled.“Going home and getting some peace from you is the last thing I want to do—if anything, I was thinking that you might be sick of me by now.”

“Nope.I want you to come stay with me until Tuesday—if that’s not too much to ask.”

Her smile grew wider.“It’s not.I’d love to.”

“So, what do you say then—should we make a quick trip to your place to pick up what you need?”

She shook her head slowly.“I need more than a quick trip.”She laughed and touched his cheek.“I want all the Trip I can get, but I have to clean the house, go to the grocery store, you know—do all the usual stuff.I’ll need a few hours.”

“Okay.Is there anything I can do to help?”

She laughed.“I imagine that you have plenty to do yourself.Don’t you need to check in with Brody and talk cattle?”

“Yeah.I should go down to the barn, see how things are going.And I said I’d check in with Travis.”

“How long do you need?”

He shrugged.“I can be back here whenever you want.”