Chapter 58: Love is in the Air

In the barn early Friday morning, Zeke had already gone about his chores. However, his mind was elsewhere. At Charlie's continued encouragement, Zeke had finally summoned the courage to ask Nina to dinner with him. They were to go out on Saturday night. He'd grown more in his admiration for her each day. Not only was she beautiful, kind, and genuine, she was an excellent cook. He loved that he now got to begin each day seeing her lovely face, and at least five days of the week, it was usually three times a day. As he cleaned tack, he was lost in his thoughts recalling the scene from after dinner on Wednesday…

His heart was palpitating furiously as he tried to control his voice, 'Nina, I was wondering…would you like to go to dinner with me Saturday evening?'

'Me? You'd want to go to dinner with me?' she'd asked shyly from behind those lash-laden, perfectly shaped dark eyes.

For a split second, he'd wondered how a woman such as herself could be surprised that he would ask. He'd quickly recovered, and then, in one fell swoop, he'd removed his cowboy hat and swung it around a half circle as he kicked out one leg, resting it on his heel and bowing from his waist said, 'It would be my honor, m'lady,' having no idea what had come over him to display such a gesture.

His heart had soared when Nina giggled, regained her composure, and responded splendidly, 'I'd love to, kind sir!' and offered her hand.

Stunned, and having to take a couple of seconds to recover, he'd reached out to take her hand, soft and small in his, and brushed a kiss across her knuckles saying, 'I'll pick you up at 6pm,' and had turned to walk away unable to keep the smile from his face still wondering at what had come over him.

'I feel like a schoolboy again, much like I did when I first laid eyes on Leah.'

Charlie walked by Zeke about that time and placed his hand on his shoulder, "Man, you look like you're a million miles away."

Zeke felt the heat climbing up his neck. He looked at Charlie and awkwardly admitted, "I finally asked Nina out."

"Zeke, that's great! When?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Well, congratulations! Proud of you, Man!" Charlie said optimistically. He was really pulling for this budding relationship to work out for his friends. He was pretty sure by now he wasn't the only one who had noticed something between them.

Inside, the kitchen was abuzz. Sizzling bacon, scrambled eggs, French toast, maple syrup, sliced strawberries, coffee, milk, orange juice, flowers on the table…she hoped they were pleased. Nina had risen extra early to feed first the crew, and then to prepare a nice breakfast for all the family. She'd even done place settings with place mats. She wanted to show her appreciation for the opportunity they had given her, and she especially wanted to acknowledge, in some small way, all the help that Ginny had given her in settling in. She was quickly establishing a routine with her duties, and the family and hands seemed quite delighted with her thus far. Several had commented on her delicious and creative meals. She felt fortunate that she would generally have the weekends off from cooking for the family and hands unless special needs arose. She'd not imagined how soon there would be an added advantage to that benefit. She'd been flattered when Zeke seemed to linger any time he could after their meals and chat with her. He made her feel like she was the only person in the room when they spoke. She was still having a hard time believing he'd asked her out. She giggled to herself as she thought back to how he'd asked. He certainly was attractive. Though his kind hazel eyes had been the first thing she'd noticed, she couldn't ignore his rugged good looks, his handsome angular face, his tall muscular physique, his long slender fingers when he'd taken her hand, the feel of his lips as they'd brushed her knuckles, and the way his smile did something to her inside.

Mitch was the first one to appear for the morning, and as he came down the hall, he could hear Nina humming happily to herself. 'She has a nice voice' he thought. The family began to trickle in one at a time, and all expressed surprise and appreciation for the extra trouble Nina had gone to on their behalf. Lyndy let Skye out for his morning business. He had progressed really quickly with the conscientious training that Lyndy was giving him. It was obvious she was trying hard to be consistent with him. Logan was the last to come in to join them. It was nice having breakfast ready in time for them to all be able to sit down together rather than grabbing what they had time for on most weekdays. They chatted about their plans for the day as they enjoyed the delicious meal prepared out of gratitude.

Lyndy got off to school, and Mitch and Amy headed back to the bedroom to make their bed since the tantalizing smell of breakfast had distracted them from finishing that task earlier. As they were completing the job, Amy said, "Hon, I have my first appointment with the midwife on Monday. Would you like to go with me?"

"Midwife? I didn't realize you were going to use a midwife. Is that best? No doctor?" Mitch asked, a little concerned.

"I definitely believe it's best," Amy answered with conviction. "She's the same one I used with Lyndy. Her name is Margo. I think you will really like her. You know me. I tend to prefer things more natural, and Dr. Adler serves as a back-up for her, just as a precaution, should there be any complication that Margo couldn't handle."

"Will you deliver in the hospital?"

"No, I prefer to have our little one right here," Amy answered, carefully watching for his reaction.

Mitch scratched his head. "I just always thought of babies as being born in the hospital. This is kind of new to me," Mitch explained.

"Sweetheart, I don't want you to worry. I can give you some material to research if that will help, but I think if you go with me to the appointment, you can ask Margo any questions you have, and she's really good at laying out the advantages. She's been doing this for over fifteen years. At the time I took her class, she'd assisted almost one hundred births, so her experience is way over that by now. I'm sure she can help put you at ease with the idea. And if you choose to, you can be with me the entire time. I'd really like that. What do you think?"

"Wow! There's so much I don't know and don't even know that I don't know," Mitch said looking a little discombobulated and running his fingers through his hair.

Amy laughed at the face he was making and the way he'd just phrased his last statement. "Darling, we can do as much or as little of the whole process together as you are comfortable with, but I think you'll find the whole experience fascinating, and it's such a special time for us."

"I think I do need to start educating myself a little more, but I want to be as much a part of all of it as possible!" he said with an expectant smile.

"I'm really glad to hear you say that. It means so much to me!" Amy said as she walked over to hug him "And I especially hope you'll go through the birthing classes with me. Since Ty was away for the ones with Lyndy, my dad actually attended them with me last time. He did amazingly well…way better than I'd expected," she said remembering how the first class had gone.(*1)

"Tim? Tim actually went to birthing classes with you?" Mitch asked a little skeptically as he leaned back to look at her.

"He actually did," Amy confirmed.

Mitch was still holding her in his arms, and he pulled her a little closer, "I feel a little like a duck out of water, but I'm really looking forward to experiencing all of the wonder of this with you, my love." And he reached down to capture her lips expressing how much he adored her.

At family time that night, Skye begged to get up on the couch between Lyndy and Amy. Lyndy had been teaching him to ask permission before getting on the furniture. They let him up, and though he snuggled close to Lyndy, he laid his head on Amy's tummy. No one else noticed, but Amy did. In fact, the little guy had started to stick close to Amy anytime Lyndy wasn't around. Mitch pulled out his guitar, and they had a lovely time singing, reading, and playing games before getting Lyndy to bed.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Mitch?"

"Yes, this is Mitch."

"Mitch, this is Uncle Mitchell. Or should I say Uncle MaC?"

Mitch laughed and said, "Hi! What a pleasant surprise to hear from you! How are you on this Saturday morning?"

"Doing well. I'm calling for a specific reason. Your dad and I have been talking, and he told me of the arena you are building. He suggested I call you. I was wondering if you could use an extra hand with your project? Also, what would Amy think of Helen and Claire coming with me?"

"We can always use more help. Thank you for offering, Uncle Mitchell. Let me run it by Amy, and I'll call you back."

Mitch went to the office to talk with Amy. "Sweetheart, my uncle just called. I guess Dad let him know about the arena, and he wondered if we'd be okay with him coming to help and bringing Aunt Helen and Claire with him. Can we handle three more people for the next couple of weeks?"

"As long as the ladies are willing to pitch in and help with meals so we don't put too much on Nina, especially with her being so new, I don't see why not. Of course, I'd love for them to come! I know we'd talked about wanting to get more time for Claire and me to get to know each other. And I'm sure Lyndy would be thrilled! I guess it would also mean expanding the number of people that know our news, but I'm sure they wouldn't tell anyone. Let him know they are more than welcome to come. I'll talk to Nina," Amy responded.

Mitch called his uncle back to let him know they were welcome to come and explained the situation with Nina. He thanked him again for the offer to help. Mitchell said they would plan to arrive on Tuesday. That would give him over two weeks to help. Mitch relayed the information to Amy, so she went to talk to Nina. It was mid-morning when she knocked on her door.

"Come in," Nina called.

Amy opened the door and walked in. Nina had several outfits lying on her bed.

"Hi, Nina. I just wanted to let you know that come Tuesday, we'll have three more people here, probably arriving shortly before lunch. Mitch's uncle and aunt and their daughter-in-law will be coming for a visit. They plan to stay until the end of the month. However, I'm sure the ladies will pitch in to help with meals, so hopefully, it won't be too much on you. In fact, perhaps it will make meal preparation easier."

"Mrs. Amy, that will be fine. I'll look forward to meeting them," Nina replied, not seeming too shaken by the prospect.

"Nina, please, just call me Amy."

"Amy," she said a bit hesitantly, "it will be no problem."

"Thank you for being so understanding. I wanted to bring up something else with you in relation to their visit. I know you mentioned to us at your interview that you lost your husband. I don't know if you know, but I also lost my first husband. I'll have to tell you more about it sometime. But I thought before Claire, the daughter-in-law, arrives that you should know she, too, lost her husband. She is still having a hard time with it, so I'm hoping I may have a chance to help her in some way. I just thought I'd give you a heads up, so you don't ask about him unknowingly," Amy confided.

"Thank you for letting me know, and Amy, I'm so sorry about your husband. It's wonderful that you've been able to find love again with Mr. Cutty," she answered with a hint of hope in her voice.

"We have, and it's been more than I could have ever hoped for!" Amy brightly answered. "So, do you have plans?" she asked as she nodded her head toward the clothes on the bed.

"Oh," Nina answered as her cheeks started to change to a deep rose. "Uh, Zeke asked me to go to dinner with him tonight."

"He did?" Amy replied excited for her. She thought she'd noticed a spark between them lately anytime they'd been in the same room. "That's wonderful, Nina. Zeke is a great guy! I'll love to hear how it goes tonight," Amy said encouragingly.

"Thanks, Amy. I'm a little nervous. It's been so long since I went out with anyone. It's never felt right before, but Zeke makes me feel something…a hint of something inside that had seemed dead."

"I understand. I hope you can give this a chance. Maybe you'll both find love again. I highly recommend it!" Amy said from behind a shining smile. Then as she turned to walk out the door, she looked back with a wink and said, "Oh, and I think you should wear the blue one."

During lunch, Mitch let his parents know that he'd spoken with his Uncle Mitchell, and that the three of them planned to arrive on Tuesday. Doc was glad to hear that his brother would be able to help out and that they'd have an extended family reunion of sorts. Lyndy was quite excited about seeing her Uncle MaC, Auntie Helen, and Claire again, and she was even happier when she realized they'd still be around for a while when school let out for the summer. Of course, Lyndy was always ready for company anytime!

Nina looked over at the clock…5:30pm, and she was almost ready. She should have taken a little longer so there would not be so much time to wait…so much time to give in to her nerves. She'd gone out five or six times over the last few years, but none of those times had prompted the feelings that were stirring within her this time. She put on some relaxing music to try to calm the butterflies flittering as she thought of the sparks she'd felt when he took her hand the other day. She began to sing along with the music. It caused the time to pass more quickly. As Zeke came through the enclosed porch, he could hear her through the door. 'Beautiful inside and out, and the voice of angel,' he thought to himself. He knocked softly on the door three times.

"One moment, please," Nina called through the door as she picked up her shawl and clutch and took one final glance in the mirror.

Zeke had been waiting with his back to the door and his hands clasped behind him. When he heard the knob turn, he turned around. There she stood, a vision of loveliness, in a cobalt blue dress with a full skirt and a ruffle that fell from her shoulders softly over the top of her arms. He thought he remembered Leah calling that style a peasant blouse. A silver belt with decorative turquoise stones accentuated her trim waist. She'd curled her hair, and it was pulled back on one side with a comb that matched her belt, and her ebony curls fell softly and shimmered in the evening light. Cowgirl boots finished her look. 'How could she look any more perfect?' Zeke almost said out loud, but instead, he caught himself and said, "Nina, you are a vision of beauty!"

Nina's eyes shifted downward as she said from behind those lush eyelashes, "Thank you so much! And you look very handsome."

Zeke offered his arm, and she slipped her hand through it as he escorted her to his truck and helped her in. He took her to the Knee Deep Bar & Grill(*2) in Hudson where they shared a lovely meal and enjoyed some live music. Zeke even asked her to dance. It had been a long time since she'd been held in a man's arms, and something about being in Zeke's just felt right. Very similar thoughts were whirling in Zeke's head, especially of how perfectly she fit as he held her close. He would definitely be asking her out a second time. He could only hope she felt the same way.

A/N: (*1) - Tim attending birthing classes with Amy is in Heartland, Season 10, Episode 11.

(*2) – A link to the Knee Deep Bar & Grill (which is actually in High River where Heartland town scenes are filmed) will be posted on the following three Facebook groups: Kevin McGarry Fan Page Home of #McGarries and SuspendersUnbuttoned Podcast; Nathan Grant Fanfiction! Home of Sunday Night Serge; and The Heartie Analyzers: All things Kevin McGarry, KEVLA and WCTH.