Keith (Hathaway House #11) - Dale Mayer Page 0,54

if you use a wheelchair or crutches,” she said.

He nodded. “I’m grateful for that too.”

They headed out, and she said, “Let’s take the elevator.”

“Where’s the lunch?” he asked.

“I’ll be right back,” she said with a smile, and she returned to the kitchen, grabbed the baskets, and rejoined him.

When he saw her and both baskets, he said, “Wow, good thing I’m hungry.”

“It is, indeed,” she said, laughing. She gently put one of the baskets on his lap. “You can carry that one.”

He chuckled, and they made their way past the vet clinic and out to the large wide path. She walked beside him as he slowly pushed the wheelchair down the heavily packed gravel walkway. When they got to where the horses were, she wandered around, looking for a spot, then pointed to a nice little low spot over on the left, near the paddock. “What about there?”

Just then, several of the horses came over to greet them. She put the baskets down, opened up the one with the blanket, spread it out, and brought out the wine. Setting the basket to the side, she walked down a few feet to the animals and spent a few moments cuddling them. When she looked over, Keith was at the fence beside her. He was scratching Midnight’s beautiful long nose.

“They’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

“And very understanding,” she said. She looked back and saw that he had made his way over without the wheelchair or crutches. “Wow. I hadn’t expected to see that either.”

“The legs work,” he said, “but sometimes they’re not something I can really count on.”

She turned and headed the few steps over to the blanket where she opened up the other basket. She deliberately left him to his devices to get where he needed to go, using whatever methodology he needed. But when he took two hesitant steps toward the blanket, and then managed to crouch down and sit, she smiled at him. “That was very well done.”

He grinned at her. “According to Shane, Dani, and Iain, I still have months and months to go, but I’m beginning to see the progress I need to see.” He winced as he shifted.

“Sounds like maybe you’re doing too much.”

“No,” he said. “I’m finally doing the right amount.” He didn’t explain, and that was okay too.

She laid out the picnic foods and served up two plates of everything.

He looked at the food and smiled. “This looks amazing.”

“I hope so,” she said. “It’s just for us.” And she sat here in the beautiful sunshine, watching the horses and the long green grass, feeling happy inside for the first time in a very long while.

Keith couldn’t believe how much effort she’d gone to for him. “You know what? Having a date at a place like this is pretty hard to pull off,” he said, “but you managed.”

She looked at him in surprise, then smiled and said, “That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

“Well, we’ve been having little dates all along,” he said. “Lunches and coffee, but this? This is special.”

“It is, indeed.” She smiled and took another bite.

He hesitated, not sure what he was supposed to say. “I had a phone call with Gunner earlier this morning. We’ll go ahead with the job,” he said. “I’ll work for him. Not while I’m at Hathaway, but he’s hoping to have a start date for me in two and a half months.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said.

He nodded. “I’m pretty happy, I have to admit. Some of the work I can do from home, and some will require me to go to the local office, but we’ll see how it goes.”

“Well, it gives you a couple months to figure out where home will be as well.”

He nodded. “And you live here on the Hathaway property, don’t you?”

She nodded. “I have one of the larger residences,” she said. “I’ve been here since the beginning. It just happened that way.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything.

She looked over at him. “You’ve gotten awfully quiet. Is something wrong?”

He looked up at her, smiled, and said, “Not really,” he said. “I’m just wondering about my future and about your future.”

“Well, I would like to stay here,” she said. “There’s just so much value in the work I do.”

“There is,” he said. “So I can either find a place to live on this side of Hathaway near Dallas, so the commute is a little shorter, and maybe you could move in with me,” he said.

She stared at him in surprise. “Oh my,” she said.

“Or,” he said,