Southern Desire (Southern Heart 2)

She nods, and hits the speaker button. “Hi, Kathy.”

“Whitney, did you arrive okay?”

“I did. I’m with him now. You’re actually on speaker.”

“Aaron, I’ve heard a lot about you. I hope you’re doing well.”

“You as well. I’m good. Broken arm that now has a pin, but other than that, I’m good.”

“Good. Whitney, I, uh. . . .”

“I told him.”

Kathy audibly sighs. “Okay, good. I have your results.”

“And?”

“Normal. Scar tissue. Nothing to be concerned about.” I can hear the smile in her voice.

I hold my hand out for Whitney, and she smiles through her tears as she reaches out and laces her fingers with mine. I pull her down beside me. “So what next?” I ask Kathy.

“She needs to have annual mammograms. It’s important for early detection. It may never happen, but if it does, we want to start treatment as soon as possible.”

“Done. I’ll make sure it happens,” I assure her.

“Is she okay?”

I chuckle. “Yeah, she’s perfect.”

“I’m good. I just. . . . I was prepared for the worst, you know?”

“I know, Whit. Listen, I have a lot of charting to catch up on. Aaron, I look forward to meeting you.”

“You as well. Thanks for being there for her.”

“I could say the same to you. I’ll talk to you soon.” She ends the call.

“Lie with me?” I ask. She nods and once again stretches out on the bed beside me, resting her head on my chest. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

It doesn’t take long for either of us to fall asleep.

“I’ll be glad to get out of here,” Aaron says. The doctor was just in and Aaron’s being released. “I’ll call Mom and Dad and get them to pick us up.”

“About that, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“What if you came home with me for a few days?”

He tilts his head to the side and studies me. “Where is home to you, Whitney? To me it’s here in Kentucky, with me.”

“Wherever you are,” I answer. I can see his shoulders relax at my answer. “The doctor said to take it easy for a few weeks. I thought maybe you could stay with me at Olivia’s and I could take care of you. I mean, I still have to work and you could hang out at your place then, but I don’t know, I just. . . .”

“We just need to get our house built. You still good with that?” he asks.

“More than you know. I sleep better when you’re with me, and it would be awkward to do that at your parents’ place.”

“Done. In the meantime, we’ll call the contractor and finalize things so we can move forward.”

I smile at him. “Deal.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I ask Aaron.

“Babe, it’s fine. When the center of the hood looks like it’s on the edge of the road, you know you’re where you need to be.”

“I’ve never driven anything this big before. Why do you need such a big truck anyway?”

“This is a man’s truck, Whit. A workhorse, if you will.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “Just relax and drive at a speed you are comfortable with.”

“How about zero!”

He laughs. “You got this.”

When I finally pull into the driveway of the house I share with Olivia, my knuckles are white and sore from the grip on the steering wheel. “Finally,” I exclaim.

He laughs. “Was it that bad?”

“No, but I miss my car. I’m not a fan of driving this beast.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that Olivia needed hers. Actually, I’ve been thinking. Why don’t we just have Kathy sell yours. I mean, I know we had planned to fly out there and pick it up, but you should probably have a four-wheel drive for the winter. The roads around here are not all that great.”

“My car does just fine in the snow,” I say proudly.

“Whitney, you lived in the city. City snow driving is a hell of a lot different than country road snow driving. Trust me.”

“Don’t you have to be at the same job for like a couple of years before they will give you a loan on a car? I mean, the one I have was the one Mom and I shared.”

“Doesn’t matter, I got you.” He smirks.

“Really? So you want to buy me a car?”

“Nope. I want to buy us an SUV. I would say a truck, but I know where you stand with that.” He chuckles.

“Aaron, you can’t do that.”

“I can. I think we should go today. When the snow starts to fly, you will be glad we did.”

“I-I mean—” I stop because I have no words.

“You’ve taken care of me these last few weeks. Have you not?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to.”

“I know that. I want to,” he says.

“Fine, but I want it in my name, so I can make the payments. Besides, I might not even need your help.”

“So today then?” he asks.

“Right now?”

“Sure, why not? What else are we going to do? Scoot over here and I’ll drive.”

“Wait! You said your arm was killing you, which is why I drove this beast here.”

He grins. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to get you to do it otherwise. You need to get used to driving big trucks.”

“I’m a photographer, Aaron.”

“Yes, but you are also mine. I’m a farmer. You’re going to be living on said farm very soon. It might come up again. You need to be prepared.”

“You. . . .”

“You love me and you know it.”

I sigh. He’s right. I do love him. I didn’t think I could love him any more, but each day he proves me wrong. “I suppose you have an SUV in mind?”

“Of course I do. We’re a Ford family,” he says, patting the dash.”

“Really? Don’t Evan and McKinley both drive a Dodge?” I smirk. I’ve got him on this one.

“Yep, but I’m not talking about them. I’m taking about us. You and me, we’re a Ford family.”