The Miner's Girl

Chapter 2

Nicole's POV
We all three talked for about 10 minutes until Payson and his dad came into the kitchen. Mr. Roger hugged me and told me how glad he was that I was back. Payson ran over and gave me a hug and called me a little turd for not telling anyone. Payson has been like a big brother to me, and I love him like a brother, but we've been out of touch except for a couple talks while Parker and I were FaceTiming. He lives in Las Vegas and is only home for a week. Before long, we were all at the kitchen table talking, and I realized how much I'd missed these people.

"Well, boys, are you ready to go finish the job?" Mr. Roger asked.

"Yeah, Dad." Payson said, standing up.

"Dad, do you think maybe I could stay here? After all, my best friend just got back." Parker asked of him.

Mr. Roger gave him a look out of the corner of his eye and said, "I guess. You've done enough. Stay here and have fun with this pretty little girl." He gave me a side hug. We laughed, and Parker winked and smiled at me. Mr. Roger and Payson said their goodbyes and left to go back to work.

"Well, you got out of work. What do you suppose you're going to do?" Ms. Nancy teased him.

"I don't really know, honestly, Mom. I just wanna hang out here." Parker said.

"You can go outside and play with Dozer. He needs to be fed anyway. You can take the scraps out to him while you're at it." Ms. Nancy said, pointing to the scraps on the counter.

"Wanna go outside?" Parker looked at me.

"Sure. I haven't seen your new dog yet." I smiled.

"Only on the computer, right?" He joked.

"Yeah, let's go outside. Come on." I pulled him out of his chair.

"Okay, okay. Let me get the scraps. Go ahead out the back door." He said.

"Hurry up." I said as I walked out the back door.

Parker's POV
I smile at her and walk over to the counter to get the scraps.

Mom walks over to me and says, "I know you like her. You might even love her."

"Mom, no I don't." But I couldn't help but smile at the thought of her.

"You're not fooling me. I see the way you look at her." Mom looked at me out of the corner of her eye and patted me on the back.

"Okay, so maybe I do like her. But she doesn't like me; there's no point."

"I think she does like you."

"You really think so?"

"Yes."

"She wouldn't like a nasty, dirty, ol' miner like me. She's too good for me. She's so beautiful and I'm just not."

"You are a handsome young man and she sees that. Why do you really think she dropped her whole life and moved here?"

"Wow. I've never really thought about it like that. There's really nothing here. She had a whole life in North Carolina."

"There's one thing that North Carolina didn't have--you. I think you both like each other and you're both too afraid."

"You know, Mom, every time I had a girlfriend, I thought they were the one. But none of them gave me the feeling that I just had when I walked in the door and saw her. But I don't know how to tell her that I want to be with her."

"Just follow your gut and go with the flow. You'll figure it out."

"You think I should tell her now?"

"Maybe you should wait for the right moment."

"When's the right moment?"

"You'll know. Now she's waiting for you. Go on." Mom smiled at me and patted me on the back.

"Okay, thanks, Mom." I walked out the door with the scraps for Dozer. She was sitting on the ground playing with Dozer with his rope.

"It's about time, Parker." Nicole said as she looked up at me. She squinted her eyes because the sun was behind me.

I laughed at her and said, "Sorry, I was talking to Mom." I walking over to Dozer's bowl and emptied the paper plate. I threw the plate in the trash outside the house. I went and sit down beside her in the grass.

"It hasn't snowed here yet?" She asked.

"Only a little. That melted. It won't be long, though."

"I really wanted to go riding in the snow."

"I'll take you riding when we get some more snow."

"Yay! I can't wait."

"So what have you been doing? Oh, wait, I know. You've been moving here and not telling me." I smirked.

"Yup. I moved here last night. I haven't even unpacked my stuff yet."

"I'll help you with that. You got your lights turned on?"

"Yeah, your mom helped me with that. But I really need a job. I only have a couple thousand saved up for bills."

"There might be a job down at the clinic for you."

"I'll go check that out."

"I'll go with you."

About that time, Dozer came and licked all over both of us. We played with Dozer while we talked and laughed. She threw the ball for Dozer to fetch. Dozer ran and picked up the ball in his mouth. She told him to bring it back. He ran away with it. She got up and ran after him. Before long, we were running around the yard chasing Dozer. I ran in front of her and she jumped on my back. I gave her a piggyback ride around the yard and everywhere else while we talked. This was the first time in forever that I'd been with her, but it felt like nothing had changed between us from the time we were twelve to now. I realized how much I had missed her, and I can't let her go again.

Nancy's POV
I watched them from the kitchen window. It's amazing how fast they've grew from little kids playing in the snow to basically adults acting five years old. She is what he needs to make him be a better person all around. They're so cute together. I really hope that she's going to be my daughter-in-law; she's basically my daughter already. They belong in each other's lives, and I hope that they realize that.

Nicole's POV
I've missed him so much. I'm so glad that I'm back with my best friend. You never really know how much you missed someone until you see them again. He means the world to me, and I can't wait to see what we do next. He smells so good as I lay my head on his back while he's carrying me. Is it possible that I'm falling for my best friend? It can't be.