Nicole Foster - Healing The Md's Heart

“I should have. I did, probably. I just didn’t want to see it because it didn’t fit the image in my head. It wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to me. Not to Noah. When I married, I married for life, just like my parents. For better or for worse—all that idealistic stuff.”

“And now?” Lia asked, brushing aside an errant strand of hair the light wind had blown across her cheek. “What do you believe?”

Duran watched the delicate play of her slender fingers over her smooth, flushed skin. Looking at her—strong, radiant with health and vivacity, yet soft with caring and tenderness toward him and Noah—he wanted to say he felt nothing but hope, that his beliefs were unshaken despite his ex-wife’s abandonment.

But that would be a lie. The truth was his idealism had been shaken to its core. And despite the genuineness of Lia’s compassion and kindness, he had to remind himself to remain on guard, to be wary even though it felt so natural to be vulnerable to her. Like no other woman he’d met, from the start something about her relaxed his usual defenses. He almost couldn’t help but open himself to her, yet he knew he had to resist that impulse for Noah’s sake and his.

Finally he shifted in his saddle and twisted to look at her. “I believe people still find that kind of love, the kind that lasts a lifetime. But I also believe those people are few and far between.”

Lia’s smile fell away, betraying her disappointment at his answer. “That’s too bad. I was hoping that if anyone could have optimism about love and marriage it would be you. Because of your parents, I mean.”

“I haven’t totally lost it,” he said lightly. “But I’ve definitely gotten out of the habit of thinking it’s going to be a part of my life. I’ve been on my own for so long now that it’s hard for me to imagine myself ever finding someone I’d be willing to share it with again.”

“Yes…” She glanced away, focusing on the path ahead. “It’s hard, when you’re afraid of losing someone you love.”

It wasn’t exactly his meaning and at first he thought she was referring to Noah. But his next impression was that it was more about her vulnerability or one she thought they shared.

They once more fell into an uneasy silence, avoiding looking at each other, until thankfully, the kids turned around then, Tommy helping Noah swing his mount around, starting back toward them.

Pulling their horses up nose to nose with Lia and Duran’s, Noah was all smiles. “The pond’s up there. Can I go with everybody else?”

Cort and Josh caught up to them then and Cort grabbed Noah’s reins. “We’ll go with them. You and Lia can take your time.”

“You won’t have any trouble findin’ us,” Josh said with a nod toward the kids. “Just follow the noise.”

“Watch me, Dad, I can ride,” Noah said gleefully. With that he gave Peggy a nudge in the flanks and the old horse picked up the pace ever so slightly, following obediently in the path of the other horses.

Duran laughed at his son’s enthusiasm as the group moved off, the awkwardness with Lia forgotten in his happiness at seeing Noah enjoy himself. “This was a great idea. He’s having a blast. Thanks for riding out here with us.”

“My pleasure,” Lia said, her tone shifting from intimate friend to kindly, as if she’d put back on the mantle of professionalism.

Duran followed Lia on a path that led them out from under the beating sun on open grazing land, into a wooded hideaway. He dodged low-lying branches and scrub bushes until the dense green foliage opened up around a lush, blue pond, little shards of sunlight sparkling atop it, dancing the lazy summer afternoon away.

The rest of the group had already tethered their horses where they could sip cool water and nibble on thick grass. Noah now sat with Sammy on the edge of an old wood dock, pants rolled up, bare feet splashing in the inviting water. Anna and Tommy had already abandoned them and, after shedding their jeans, had jumped in the pond to swim.

“Can I go swimming, Dad?” Noah called out as Duran lowered himself to the ground. “Can I? I know how.”

“If it’s okay with you, I promised Sammy,” Josh said.

“Don’t worry,” Cort added. “Josh and I grew up swimming here and I bring my kids all the time.”

Lia, dismounting next to him, nodded to Duran’s brothers. “You’ve got some pretty good lifeguards here.”

“Go ahead,” Duran told Noah. “Just stay close. I’ll be right here.”

With a whoop, Noah followed Sammy’s example and stripped down to his boxers. Both boys jumped off the end of the dock in a cannonball that left Lia and Duran partly drenched in cold pond water.

The two boys’ heads sprang up in moments. What they saw sent them bursting into uncontrolled laughter. With a quick high five, they paddled off toward a big tree with a rope swing that flew over the pond.

Lia and Duran exchanged looks, then burst out laughing, too. “They got us,” Duran said. “Sorry.”

“No apologies necessary,” Lia said as she swiped a strand of soaked hair from her eyes. “It actually felt great. I was sweltering.”

A glance passed between Cort and Josh and by some silent agreement they moved off a few feet, eventually giving in to the calls and challenges from the kids and joining them in the water.

Still smiling, Lia turned and moved to a shady patch near a stand of trees.

Duran followed behind, unable not to notice the way her damp T-shirt clung to every curve, the way the skin was exposed as her shirt lifted when she reached up to refasten her ponytail.

She smoothed her hands over her face and neck, wiping away the last droplets of water and he wanted his hands there. The urge to touch her was so strong he had to stop himself an arm’s length from her to keep from acting on his desires.

Looking up, she caught him staring. A warm pink flushed her cheeks, but she held his gaze steadily.

“Duran…” she said softly, and his name from her lips came with a sigh of longing.

“You’re so beautiful.” The words spilled out before his thoughts formed them.

Her lips parted, her tongue slid over them and Duran inwardly groaned. After a long moment, she whispered shakily, “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. You are beautiful, inside and out.”

Glancing away, she shook her head. “Thank you.”

Behind them, the shouts and laughter of the group in the pond seemed distant. Duran gestured to the tree and without a word, she joined him to sit with their backs against it. This close, her shoulder brushing his, he could smell her light perfume, his urge to touch her becoming an ache.

Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea, at least for him. Lia appeared oblivious to the effect she was having on him, smiling as she watched the play in the pond. Duran wished his body would get the message this interlude was about relaxation, not other, more tempting pursuits.

“This is great, isn’t it? I mean, whoever takes time out to relax like this? It’s just good for the soul, you know?”

Duran’s mind was far from the soul, his or hers. “Huh?” he heard himself ask, sounding like an idiot.

Shading her eyes, she turned her face to him. “I said it’s good to take time away from work, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely.”

“But it’s hard to do that when there are so many pressures every day.”

“Pressures. Yeah, constantly.” The pressure he was feeling at the moment had nothing to do with work. Forcing himself not to stare openly at her, he focused on the boys. Maybe if he didn’t look at her he could regain some inward composure because right now, red flags aside, all he wanted to do was lean in and kiss her breathless.