Learning to Love Again by Kelli Heneghan, Nathan Squiers Page A

thanks.”
    “I was talking to Jack,” Mitch teased handing his other cousin a beer.
    “Quit teasing her, boys.”  Carly swatted at her husband’s arm as she moved by him to sit next to her.  “Ignore them, Nicole.”
    “I’m trying.  What time is it?”  She twisted her head to look at the clock just as she heard Jason’s truck pulling up outside.  “He’s here.”  Feeling helpless, she looked at her friend as Mitch and Jack started chuckling again.  Mitch got to his feet and went to greet Jason.
    “Relax, Nicole.  It's just a dinner with an old friend.”  Jack leaned forward, snagging her hand and tugging her around to look at him.  “You'll be fine.”  He gave her a wink as Mitch and Jason stepped into the room.
    “Hi, everyone,” Jason greeted them but his eyes were already on Nicole.  “You look great,” he told her, stepping over and giving her a soft kiss.
    “Told you.”  Carly leaned over and whispered for Nicole’s ears alone.
    “Have time for a drink?” Mitch asked, as he reclaimed his seat and his beer.  “Jack and I were just going over some of the stuff we need to tell Dad when he and Mom come home on Sunday.”
    Jason looked at Nicole, but she shook her head.  “No, we should just go ahead and get going,” he helped her to her feet and tucked her hand in his and started to lead her out.
    “You two have a good time,” Carly told them.
    “Have her home by midnight,” Mitch called after them.
    “Before she turns back into a pumpkin!” Jack put in.
    Nicole gave him a look that could kill and held up her hand in a one-finger salute.  Jason squeezed the hand he was holding and led her outside to his truck and helped her in.  “You do look great.  Is it ok if I kiss you in front of them?” he asked pausing before he shut the door.
    “Who?”
    “Your family.  I’m sure they’re watching out the windows.”  He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss before moving back and shutting the door with a wink.  He went around the front of the truck and opened his door and got in behind the wheel.  “How’s your back feeling tonight?”
    “It’s okay.  I made sure I did all of my stretching exercises and I took a couple of short walks today to try and keep things loose.  As long as I remember to stretch and move around as much as possible during the day, it doesn’t bother me that much,” she assured him as he started the engine and drove away from the house.
    “That’s good to know.  I know Amy has been pleased with your progress, and based on what I’ve been seeing, so am I.  What else did you do today?”  He slowed down as he approached the main road, checking the traffic in both directions.
    “Not a whole lot.  I was so bored, I offered to look over herd records for Mitch and input them into the computer for him.  Now that’s fascinating information, let me tell you,” she replied with enough sarcasm in her tone to get a chuckle out of him.  “How was your day?”
    “Good.  I had to attend morning rounds at the hospital, but it was a relatively slow day, so I was able to get a lot of my paperwork done,” he reached over to take her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.  “And I spent a lot of time thinking about you.”
    “Really?  All good things, I hope.”  She looked over at him, and he flashed her one of his devastating grins, the warm look in his eyes causing her to blush.  It occurred to her how insincere she’d just sounded.  “That’s sweet.  I’ve thought about you a lot today, too,” she admitted, fighting through the shyness to maintain her smile.  “Mitch and Jack were having fun teasing me before you got there, and Carly said I reminded her of a teenager on Prom Night, because of how nervous I was.”
    “Why are you so nervous?  It’s just me, remember?”  He gave her hand a squeeze as he drove towards town.
    “It’s because it’s you,” she admitted.  “I haven’t felt like this in over ten years.  One