At First Sight - Nicholas Sparks [18]
“As I recall, the one in your building didn’t.”
“Which should tell you that I’m not picky.”
She smiled. “Well, we can’t go this week. I’m sure I have a mountain of paperwork at the library, and it’ll take a while to catch up. But maybe by the weekend we can go looking.”
“Sounds good.”
“What are you going to be doing while I’m working?”
“I’ll probably pick the petals off flowers while I pine away for you.”
“Seriously.”
“Oh, you know. I’ll try to get settled and get into some sort of schedule. Set up the computer and printer, see if I can get some sort of high-speed access so I can research the Internet. I like to be at least four or five columns ahead so that if a good story comes up, I have the time to work it. It also keeps my editor sleeping easier.”
She was quiet as she thought about it. “I don’t think you’ll be able to get high-speed access out at Greenleaf. They don’t even have cable out there.”
“Who’s talking about Greenleaf? I figure I’ll just have it hooked up here.”
“Then you might as well use the library. I mean, since you’ll be staying at Greenleaf.”
“Who says I’m staying at Greenleaf?”
She slid out from beneath his arm and faced him. “Where else would you stay?”
“I thought I’d just stay here.”
“With me?” she asked.
“Of course with you,” he said, as if the answer were obvious.
“But we’re not married yet.”
“So?”
“I know it’s old-fashioned, but down here couples don’t live together before they’re married. Folks around town would frown on that. They would assume we’re sleeping together.”
He stared at her, not bothering to hide his confusion. “But we are sleeping together. You’re pregnant, remember?”
She smiled. “I’ll be the first to admit that it doesn’t make much sense, and if I had my way, you’d stay. And I know that people will eventually find out that I’m pregnant, but the crazy thing is that folks down here understand that people make mistakes. They’re perfectly willing to forgive mistakes, but it still doesn’t mean we should live together. They’ll talk behind our backs, they’ll gossip, and it’ll take folks a long time to forget that we ‘lived in sin.’ And for years, that’s just how they’ll describe us.” She shook her head before reaching for his hand. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you do this for me?”
Leaning back, he remembered what it was like at Greenleaf: a decrepit series of shacks set in the middle of a swamp known for water moccasins; Jed, the scary, nonspeaking proprietor; the mounted animals that decorated every room. Greenleaf. Good God.
“Yeah,” he said, “okay. But . . . Greenleaf?”
“Where else is there? I mean, if you want, there’s a shed behind Doris’s place, and I think it’s got a bathroom, but it’s not as nice as Greenleaf.”
He swallowed, thinking about it. “Jed scares me,” he admitted.
“I know he does,” she said. “He told me that when I made the reservations, but he promised me that he’ll be better now that you’re townsfolk. And the good news is that because you’ll be staying for a while, he won’t charge you the regular rate. You’re getting a discount.”
“Lucky me,” Jeremy forced out.
She traced his forearm with her finger. “I’ll make it up to you. For instance, if you’re discreet, you can visit me at my place anytime. And I’ll even cook you dinner.”
“Discreet?”
She nodded. “That means you should probably not leave your car parked out front, or if you do, you should probably leave before the sun’s up so no one sees.”
“Why does it suddenly feel like I’m sixteen years old and sneaking behind my parents’ back?”
“Because that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing. Except these people are not as understanding as parents. They’re much worse.”
“Then why are we living here?”
“Because you love me,” she said.
Four
Over the course of the next month, Jeremy began adapting to his life in Boone Creek. In New York City, the first signs of spring began in April, but they started weeks earlier in Boone Creek, right around the beginning of March. Buds began forming on trees, cold mornings gradually gave way to cool ones, and on days when it wasn’t raining, the