went out to the street where Grandma, who had somehow managed to get out of the car and into her chair with only Erin and the boys, suddenly needed Jake to lift her out of the chair and install her in the passenger seat.
“Well, she’s not dead yet,” Erin whispered to Nora. As a family of mostly doctors, they’d always been comfortable with gallows humor.
“She’s not going to die,” Nora whispered back automatically, as if she weren’t a doctor. As if she were a person who believed in the power of magical thinking.
Erin didn’t correct her, though. She just squeezed Nora’s hand, sniffed, and got into the car.
Which left Nora standing next to Jake on the sidewalk and blinking back tears.
“Jake!”
She turned quickly so Karl, who was crossing the street after locking up the hardware store, wouldn’t see her. Jake puffed up his chest and stepped in front of her.
“I think I got you and Sawyer a canoe customer.”
“Great, thanks.” Jake shifted to better conceal her. It wasn’t like he was actually hiding her, but he was giving her a chance to either flee or pull herself together, and did she ever appreciate it.
“You know Sadie from the diner? Her sister married some hotshot banker in Toronto. They live on the beach over there. You know where they have those three-million-dollar houses not even directly on the water?”
Jake made a vague noise of agreement.
“Oh, hi, Nora. Didn’t see you there. I’m all out of your vaccine flyers, if you want to drop off some more. I heard you’re actually going to get that van on the road?”
“Hi, Karl.” Nora’s voice came out sounding normal, which was a relief. “Yep. Pearl got Jordan to get the van fixed up enough so it’s working.”
“Really?” Jake said.
“Yeah. Obviously, I can’t drive it with all your additions, but I reached out to the high school principal, and I’m going to do a flu-shot clinic there just before the holiday break.”
“You are?” Jake said.
“Yeah, assuming the van actually makes it that far.”
“What about the office here?”
“No appointments that day. Amber and I will do the flu clinic, and Wynd will hold down the fort for phone calls.”
She wasn’t sure why he was so interested, but she appreciated the distracting effect of the small talk. She felt better. Well, not better, but more in control. “Anyway, Karl, I’ll definitely get you some more flyers, thanks.”
Karl headed back across the street. Jake followed her back to the inn. Damn. “Jake. I’m really sorry, but…ugh. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I’m not in the mood.”
“That’s okay, Doc.”
“Sorry.” Nothing like impending mortality as a libido killer. “I know it’s only seven, but I’m full and tired, and I’m just going to go to bed and watch a zombie movie.”
“A zombie movie?” He laughed out loud.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I find them soothing. Anyway, sorry to uh…not deliver.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He started doing the backward-walking thing. After a few steps like that, he started to turn away from her. But then he stopped. “Hey, Doc? You want some company with the zombies?”
She opened her mouth to decline. That wasn’t in the friends-with-benefits script.
“Come on,” he said, somehow anticipating her reluctance. “I watch movies with Sawyer.”
“You do not.” Jake was not a movie-night sort of guy.
“I do.”
“Name one movie you’ve watched with Sawyer.”
He paused for a long time but then said, “Avatar. I watched Avatar with Sawyer.”
“The 3-D thing with the blue people?”
“Yep.”
“That came out more than a decade ago! Like, before 3-D was really invented!”
He shrugged. “Yeah, okay, you got me.” The backward walking started again. “G’night.”
“Wait.” It turned out she didn’t really give a crap, at this moment, if watching a movie together was in the script. “I could use some company, actually.”
He stopped walking and smiled. “I’m gonna go home and feed Mick and let him out. You cue up the movie, and I’ll be back soon.”
She did, and he was.
She plopped onto the bed and played with her laptop so it was at a better angle. “What do you think? A classic? Return of the Living Dead? Or something more comedic, maybe? Zombieland?”
“I leave this decision in your capable hands.”
Soon they were lying side by side on her bed watching Day of the Dead. They were not touching. Which was fine. She’d already told him she wasn’t up for sex. So there was no reason for them to be touching. It wasn’t like they were going to cuddle.
Wait. Was there a possibility he