That Holiday Feeling (Virgin River #8)(86)

He moved his hand up her inner thigh, opened her legs a bit, caressed her wonderfully wet folds. “Aaah,” he said once more against her lips.

“Ready,” she whispered. “Ready.” And then she applied the protection.

“You know what, Annie?” he said. “Coming home to you, making love to you, it feels like the one thing I’ve always been ready for.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time,” she said.

He fell asleep while still inside her, holding her close. Sometime in the night, they roused just enough to make love again. When he awoke in the morning, he was alone. There was a little puppy, whimpering, faint and distant.

He found her note in the kitchen:

Nate—you were so tired, you slept through puppy breakfast, which was noisy. I decided you should sleep. I want you to have the most wonderful time of your life on your trip. I’ll take care of everything while you’re gone and I’ll put away the decorations. And thank you for last night. It was perfect. Love, Annie

He picked up the note and read it again and again. “It’s awful hard to leave you, Annie,” he whispered. “Especially at Christmas.”

Nathaniel booked his flights to coordinate with the rest of the group—they were all meeting for breakfast in Miami. From there they would fly together to Nassau. He had to take a commuter from Santa Rosa to San Francisco. That meant a two-hour drive south to pick up the first leg of his trip. From San Francisco he would take a nonstop red-eye to Miami. He would be there in early morning. He’d have breakfast in the airport with his old gang. It brought to mind the breakfasts they’d had together after all-night study sessions, right before a big exam. Then they’d get to the Bahamas early in the day to begin their ten-day vacation.

He didn’t mind driving, which was a good thing, since his practice had him running around the mountains and valleys of three counties looking after livestock. The drive from Humboldt County to Santa Rosa was beautiful and calm. But rather than enjoy the rolling hills and snow-covered pines and mountains, all he thought about was Annie.

Before he left Humboldt County, he had called her at her shop. “I’ll be leaving in a couple of hours. Sure you want to let me go without you?” he had asked.

“This is your trip, Nate. Not mine,” she said. “You planned it, you’ve looked forward to it, you paid for it—now go and enjoy it. I have family things to do. And puppy things. When you get back all the decorations will be put away, the puppies will be distributed to their new homes and you’ll be tanned and rested. And it will be a whole new year.”

“I hear cell reception is terrible there, but I’ll try to call you while I’m gone,” he said. “I want to see if you have any regrets about turning down an all-expense-paid vacation. And there’s a note for you on the kitchen counter—my hotel info. Call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”

When he said that, he had been thinking, Me. Call if you need me. Call me if you miss me.

But Annie had laughed cheerfully. “Now, Nate, what are you going to do if I need something? Catch a flight home? You’ll be on the other side of the country! And you’ll be with your friends—a reunion, Nate. Now stop worrying about stuff you can’t do anything about. Just have fun. Besides, I can manage just about anything.”

A few weeks earlier Nathaniel had been looking forward to this vacation with such enthusiasm. He’d built a few fantasies about girls in bikinis and low-cut sundresses. He saw himself inviting a beautiful woman out to dinner; maybe he’d be taking some lovely young thing sailing. He envisioned staying up late with his buddies, laughing, drinking and smoking cigars. He figured he’d be needed to rub suntan lotion on a bare female back.

None of those mental images were working for him now. Now all he could think about was how long the next ten days were likely to be. He hoped he’d at least catch an impressive fish or two. That’s what he’d like to take home to her—a big, mounted sailfish. Maybe they’d hang it over the bed and remember their first Christmas. And their last one apart.

Annie had laughed brightly while on the phone with Nate, but melancholy stole her laughter away the moment she hung up. She supposed it was a combination of being a little bit tired and sad that he’d be away. She’d been up late decorating his house and baking him those awful-tasting cookies; he just didn’t have the right ingredients on hand, and what he had was far from fresh. Of course she hadn’t slept much in his bed; he’d kept her busy. And so satisfied. He was such a wonderful lover, but instead of leaving her sated, it left her wanting more of him.

And then she had to get up very early—she had to go home, shower and dress for work and arrange the Christmas gift baskets for the girls in the shop.

She wondered if he had felt her lips press softly against his before she’d left him. Had he heard her say, “Goodbye, Nate. Be safe. Hurry home”? He hadn’t stirred at all.

She had been happy to hold him close, warm him and put him to sleep. She wouldn’t mind doing that every day for the rest of her life.

She knew her mood had plummeted and she didn’t want anyone in the shop noticing, so she grabbed up the appointment book and walked to her small office at the back of the little shop. But sure enough, Pam followed her. Pam stood in the doorway, looking at her.

“Don’t worry, Annie. He’ll be thrilled to get home to you,” Pam said.