“You’d have made a good farmer.”
“I thought I wanted to do that for a few weeks as a kid, but then my dad had this great idea that Peggy and I spend one week at our house and then one week at hers one summer vacation.”
“What happened?”
“I didn’t like getting up as early as Peggy had to. And even though I like chickens, they can be mean if you ruffle their feathers trying to collect eggs.”
“You dad is a smart man.”
“Yep.”
“A good man.”
She turned toward him and laid a hand over his heart. “So are you.”
“There are some people who’d disagree with you.”
“Then they obviously don’t know the real you.”
“Do you, Cait?” he asked.
“I know as much as you’ve shared with me, and more that you didn’t intend to.”
He nodded. “True. And you wouldn’t have even found out that much if we hadn’t had that storm last night.”
“For what it’s worth, Jack,” she said, slowly rubbing the spot over his heart, “I’m glad.”
He stiffened. “Because?”
“You’ve shared more with me than any other woman.”
“But it’s not something I intended to do.”
“That’s the point,” she told him, watching him closely. “My parents knew each other’s faults and failings and still they loved each other like crazy for the time they had together.”
When she drew in a deep breath, he wondered if she would start talking about her mother, but she surprised him.
“Meg and Dan, and Honey B. and Mitch do too.” She paused, staring up at the sky. “I want what they have, not because I’m selfish and want to know your deepest, darkest secrets,” she told him. “I’ll tell you all of mine—you’re bound to hear about them down at the diner anyway,” she said on a laugh. “But because I was brought up to believe that the solid foundation of any relationship begins with trust…you can’t build anything on a foundation of sand.”
“What if you knew as much of the truth as someone was able to share?” he asked. “Would that be enough?”
“Why not the whole truth?” she urged.
He eased her out of his arms and slowly got to his feet. “It’s getting late. We should go back.”
He tried to pretend that he wasn’t bothered by the sadness in her eyes and the echoing ache in his heart. But he’d already been foolish enough today. Would last night end their precious beginning? Would she be his saving grace? Would the overwhelming need to have Caitlin in his life be enough to keep her there?
Unaware of the questions roiling inside him, she took Jamie’s leash and waited while he picked up the damp blanket. The silence between them wasn’t as companionable as it had been the day before as they walked back to the house, but there was no help for it.
He had patients to see and she had a barn to side. Sorting things out would have to wait until tonight.
He paused at the edge of the deck and asked, “Will you have time to take care of Jamie midday today?”
She unhooked the dog’s leash and let him inside. “Yes. We should be in better shape today, now that the roof’s on. If I hit a snag, I’ll let you know.”
He nodded. “Do you want the first shower?”
“Thanks. I know my dad’s probably up already and pacing around the kitchen.”
“He’s worried about where you are?”
She shook her head. “He doesn’t want any of his girls to get their hearts broken.”
“Do you think I’ll break your heart, Cait?”
She shrugged. “I watched Meg get her heart broken and look how happy she and Dan are right now. They’re married, have two adorable boys with another baby on the way…maybe it’s part of the process to know that the person you’re in love with has the capacity to forgive and when pushed to the wall will do anything to make it right.”
As she walked out of the kitchen her words hit him…Did Caitlin Mulcahy love him? “Hey, wait!” he called after her, sprinting up the stairs.
She’d already closed the bathroom door. He thought about pounding on it until she opened it, but he was pretty sure she’d heard him calling her. Maybe she hadn’t meant to let him know that she loved him. But he didn’t dwell on that fact; he was grinning from ear to ear, because if Caitlin Mulcahy loved him, he was the luckiest bastard on the planet.
***
Caitlin waited until she heard Jack’s footsteps retreating before she let go of the door handle. She hadn’t meant to let how she felt about him slip out. But being with him muddled her brain and jump-started her heart. That wake-up call in the middle of the night brought parts of Jack’s past and his demons out into the open. Would he push her away now that he knew how deeply she felt?