One Day in Apple Grove(37)
“Because I’ve been otherwise occupied.”
“Ahh,” Meg said softly. “So Pop’s right.”
“About what?”
“Hmmm?” Meg asked. “Oh nothing.”
Cait rolled her eyes. “Come on, Meg. Have a heart. What did Pop say?”
“That you were sweet on my pal, Doc Gannon.”
Cait’s face heated beneath her sister’s perusal. “I don’t know that I’d use that exact expression.”
Meg folded her arms in front of her. “Just exactly how would you describe what’s been going on out there for the last few nights?”
Cait didn’t know where to start. “I’ve been helping take care of Jamie, stopping by on my way through town.”
“Then you haven’t been having dinner with him, alone, every night for the last three nights?”
“Is nothing sacred in this town?”
“Not when it’s newsworthy. The fact that Doc is keeping company with a female, who just happens to be my sister, is definitely that.”
“It’s not like we’re dating or anything like that.”
Meg reached for Cait’s hand and squeezed it before letting go. “How would you describe what it’s like?”
Cait sighed. “He makes my stomach fill with butterflies. My heart beats faster when he looks at me, and his eyes change from a gorgeous lake blue to dark and desperate sapphire right before he kisses me.”
Meg’s eyes rounded and then promptly filled with tears. “Oh, Cait,” she sniffed. “You’re in love with him!”
“I’m not…at least I don’t think I am. How would I know?” she demanded. “I’ve never felt like this before.”
“What about that landscaper over in Newark?”
“Steve? He was nice, but it’s not the same.”
“What’s different?” Meg asked softly.
“It’s the way I feel when he looks at me, as if he sees right into my heart and knows what I’m thinking.”
“And?” her sister prompted.
“The way he laughs…he’s got a great laugh…when he’s tossing a ball to Jamie. He really loves that dog…we both do, but—”
“You’re so far gone over that man that you don’t even know it.”
“I am?”
“Yeah.”
“What am I going to do?”
“What do you want to do?”
When Caitlin just stared off into space, Meg sighed. “There is that. Have you used protection?”
“Jeez, Meg, I’m twenty-six, not sixteen!”
Meg sighed. “I know, I know. Old habits die hard. I care about you, Cait.”
Cait frowned. “That’s fine, but how about treating me like an adult?”
“I do…most of the time.”
“Unless you’re preoccupied.” Cait smiled at Danny and Joey as they both tugged on the blue truck, ignoring the red one.
“Sorry. I’ll work on my interrogation tactics. I’m going to need them in a few years.”
It was Cait’s turn to laugh. “OK, but you don’t have anything to worry about. We aren’t that involved yet.”
Meg waited a heartbeat before asking, “Why not? Doc’s a handsome man with a heart of gold, but—”
“I know. When he kisses me…” She lost her train of thought remembering the feel of being held in the protective circle of his arms, leaning against the strength of his powerful chest, feeling the pounding of his heart.
“Earth to Caitlin.”
“Hmmm?”
“You were saying?”
“I was?”
“You’d better stock up on supplies over at the drug store.”
Cait frowned. “Maybe I already have.”
“It’s hard to concentrate,” Meg said. “Isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Cait whispered. “Sometimes, I’ll be on the job and then my mind drifts off and starts thinking about something Jack said or did and I’ll lose track of where I am and what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“Add in the element of danger—really sharp power tools—and it gets even trickier.”
“Did you feel this way about Dan from the moment you met him?”
Meg smiled. “Yes. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me—even though I ended up with stitches in my hand because I was thinking about him instead of paying attention to what I was doing.”
Cait nodded. “I remember, and for what it’s worth, he says the same about you.”
“Nice to know,” Meg said, packing her diaper bag and gathering the boys. “Honey B. will have little Mitch at the shop today. If you have a minute, maybe you can stop by.”