“You sound like a Hallmark commercial,” Brooke said, covering her mouth as she laughed.
“Well, dammit, we will be,” she said, firmly resting her hands on each hip.
Just then, the door swung open as Kyleigh walked through, looking down at her phone and shaking her head. “People are so stupid. Look at this stupid video on Facebook.” She held the phone out as a video of two heavy-set guys dressed in bikinis began dancing to a Beyoncé song.
Brooke burst out laughing, snorting halfway through. “Oh my God, that’s hilarious!”
Kyleigh tucked her phone into her purse as she stared at Brooke laughing hysterically, and then started laughing herself. Within minutes, the three of them were fighting for air as fits of laughter coursed through them.
“Okay, okay,” Paige finally said, bending over and clutching her stomach. “We need to go so we can get there in time.”
“Where are we going exactly?” Kyleigh asked.
Paige eyed Brooke, and after a second, said, “Zip lining!”
“Woohoo!” Brooke yelled, throwing a fist into the air.
Kyleigh’s face paled and she began shaking her head. “I don’t know, guys. I’m a little nervous.”
Brooke shook her head. “It’ll be fun, and we’ll be creating wonderful memories.” She said the last sentence in a lifted note, mocking Paige and her Hallmark commercial. The jab of Paige’s elbow made her wince and she smiled.
“But I’m not so big on heights,” Kyleigh admitted.
“You’ll be secured into a harness, and it’s not real high, like some of them get. Don’t worry. If you get too scared when you get to the top, I’m sure they’ll let you back out and refund you your money. But, I think you’ll like it,” Paige reassured.
“Please, just give it a shot,” Brooke begged. “It won’t be any fun if you’re not there.”
Kyleigh hesitated as she tilted her head towards the ceiling, contemplating the scenario. After a few seconds, she finally said, “Fine, I’ll go. But if I fall to my death, just know that I’m coming back to haunt you guys, so be prepared.”
They both laughed. “I’m not too worried about you coming back to haunt us,” Brooked said. “You’re too much of a scaredy cat yourself that I would probably end up scaring you away.”
“Whatever,” Kyleigh mumbled, “let’s get this over with.”
The hour drive landed them way out in the country, full of trees, fields, and dirt roads. Once they saw the sign on the right announcing Lancaster’s Zip Lining, Brooke’s shoulder hit the side of the door as Paige veered to the right, kicking up dust as she sped down the narrow dirt road.
“Good God, we are out in the sticks,” Kyleigh said, popping a grape in her mouth as she peered out the back-seat window.
“Well, we are zip lining through trees, sixty feet in the air, so it needs to be out in the country to make it more interesting,” Paige said, as she slowed the car down.
“I’m so excited,” Brooke said rolling her window down and yelling out the window, “Woohoo!”
“You’re so crazy,” Paige said, shaking her head.
Dipping her head back in, Brooke said, “I know, that’s what makes me so much fun.”
“You’re full of yourself, too,” Kyleigh teased, throwing a grape at her head.
“Yes, yes I am,” Brooke acknowledged proudly as she dodged the flying grape before turning around and sticking her tongue out at her.
“You guys are like two kids,” Paige said, slamming on the breaks.
“Whoa, Nelly,” Brooke yelled, slamming her hands against the dash to keep her face from slamming into it.
“Sorry,” Paige shrugged nonchalantly. “But I almost missed the turn.”
Damn, Brooke mouthed to Kyleigh in the back. Kyleigh shook her head, both of them smiling.
Brooke laughed as Kyleigh stared ominously at the zip lines that hung high in the trees.
“Oh my God, it’s so freaking high up. I don’t know if I can do this, guys,” she said in a distant voice.
Brooke and Paige opened their doors and stepped out; looking the place over for a minute before realizing Kyleigh was still sitting in the back seat.
Brooke pounded on the window, giggling as Kyleigh jumped, and threw her hands up in a gesture of what are you waiting for. She watched Kyleigh give her the death look before slowly opening the door and stepping out.
“This is crazy,” Kyleigh said.
Ignoring her, Paige and Brooke began walking up to the small building, both of them talking excitedly about their adventure. Brooke cast a glance back, watching Kyleigh walk slowly behind them. She knew she’d do it, and in the end, would probably love it. Kyleigh was always the hesitant one.
The doorbell chimed when they walked in, and they were greeted by a young guy who looked like he spent every day outside. His tanned skin was bursting with muscles, and he smiled politely at them. “Hi, were you guys wanting to do the zip line today?”
“Why yes, we would,” Brooke said, her loud voice dancing loudly around the quiet building.
“Great, I’ll get the paperwork ready and then we’ll go over the rules before we head out.”
As he stepped away from the desk, Kyleigh huddled up between Paige and Brooke. “Guys, seriously, this is crazy,” she whispered.
Brooke turned to face her, gripping both her hands. “Kyleigh, I promise you’ll have fun. It might be a scary fun, but you’ll have fun. Trust me.”
Sighing, Kyleigh pulled away. “Fine, I’ll stop bitching,” she said with a laugh.
“Thank God,” Brooke teased.
Paige shook her head at their banter, tapping her foot impatiently on the tiled floor. “I’m so excited; I wish he’d hurry up.”
“Okay, guys. Here’s a form for you all to sign and then I’ll need your driver’s license and payment.”
Once all the legal stuff was out of the way, they all piled into an off-road vehicle, taking a trail up to the top of the hill. Brooke laughed as she bounced in the seat, holding onto the rail and trying not to fall out.
“Have any of you been zip lining before?” the guy asked.
“Nope, this is our first time,” Paige said, smiling.
“Well, I think you’ll enjoy it. I’ve never had anyone say they didn’t enjoy it,” he said, as he veered to the left to miss a hole.
Brooke angled her head to the back and eyed Kyleigh. “See, I told you you’ll have fun.”
Rolling her eyes, Kyleigh threw her hand up at her, “Yeah, yeah, we’ll see.”
It didn’t take long before they were at the top and Brooke whistled loudly as she looked down the steep hill. “Wow, it is a huge drop.”
“Thanks Brooke,” Kyleigh huffed.
Paige rubbed her arm, “If you really don’t want to do it, you don’t have to.”
Looking at the gear awaiting her, she paused for a minute before saying, “No, I do want to do it, I’m just nervous.”
“Don’t worry, everything is very secure, and I’ll walk you through everything step by step. By the time you get to the bottom, you’ll be ready for another round,” the guy said with a wink.
“We’ll see about that,” Kyleigh said, finally smiling.
“All right, let’s get started,” he said, with a clap of his hands.
“Wait, first we need pictures,” Paige exclaimed, holding her phone out to the guy. “Please?”
He grabbed the phone and waited as they gathered at the edge of the hill, the huge drop off directly behind them.
“That’s an awesome view,” the guy said as he snapped several pictures. He laughed as Brooke hiked her leg up, throwing her arms around both Kyleigh and Paige while sticking her tongue out and giving the peace sign.
“Okay, that’s probably enough,” Paige said, after a few minutes. “Thank you very much.”
“No problem.”
After showing them how to work the ropes and how to land at the bottom, he turned to them and asked, “So, who wants to go down first?”
“I’ll go!” Brooke yelled, bouncing over to the guy.
She smiled at Paige and Kyleigh as the guy strapped her in, giving them the thumbs up. They laughed and Paige took a picture of Brooke donning a helmet and sitting in her harness. “Now that’s a classic shot,” Paige said.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Hell, yeah, let’s do this,” Brooke said, laughing.
With a small push, she slowly began descending the hill, her high-pitched scream echoing throughout the woods. “Oh my God, this is amazing,” she yelled, her voice growing more distant the faster she descended.
As she soared down the hill, she looked at her view. It was absolutely amazing. She could see for miles and miles. It was exhilarating, and what she needed to let go of some of the stress of the past week. This was better than all that wine she’d drunk the other night. She let out a scream and threw her hands up for a second, letting go of everything. The wind brushed against her face, and the view of the lake to her right was gorgeous. She had a way to go before it was over but she was already dreading the end. She tilted her head back and looked up at the clouds, wishing she could be this carefree every day. She knew Kyleigh was going to love it once she got going. How could she not?
Paige took a few more pictures and then turned to Kyleigh. “Do you want to go next?”
“Yeah, why not?” she said with a shrug. “It doesn’t look that bad,” she said, as she watched Brooke’s silhouette get smaller and smaller.
The guy motioned for her to come over and helped her get harnessed in and her helmet on. She turned towards Paige and gave a sarcastic smile as she took another picture.
“You look thrilled,” Paige laughed.
“Are you ready?” the guy asked, smiling at Kyleigh’s unease.
She shook her head as she stared down at the steep incline. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Yeah, let’s go before I back out.”
“No backing out,” the guy said, as he gave her a gentle shove.
Finally unstrapped, Brooke held her hand up to shield her eyes as she watched the guy strap Kyleigh into her harness and prepare her for the launch. She prayed she enjoyed it. She would hate for her friend to have a bad experience. Barely able to see what was going on up there, she thought she saw Kyleigh nod her head and then watched with bated breath as Kyleigh began to descend towards her. Clenching her hands into fists at her side, she waited for her to get closer so she could see her reaction. It seemed to take forever, but finally her smile came into view, and Brooke cheered as she threw her hands up in the air yelling, “Go Kyleigh, Go!”
“Oh my God, Brooookkkeee!” Kyleigh yelled, her face a mixture of fear and excitement.
“Woohoo!” Brooke yelled again.
A few minutes later, she finally came to a stop, and Brooke jumped up and down in excitement as she waited for the other guide to help her out of her harness. Finally free, Brooke ran up to her, throwing her arms around her. “I’m so proud of you. It was amazing, wasn’t it?”
“It was totally worth the fear,” Kyleigh said, untangling her hair with her hands and readjusting her ponytail.
“Now, we just have to wait on Paige,” Brooke said, peering up the large hill. “I think she’s about to go,” she said pointing.
Seconds later, they heard the loud, high pitched scream as Paige made her way down the hill. They both laughed as they watched her holding onto the ropes for dear life.
As her feet finally hit the ground, she threw her hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath. “Oh my, that was crazy!” She eyed Kyleigh and asked, “So, did you like it?”
Smiling, Kyleigh said, “Yes, it was so fun. I’m so glad you guys made me do it. I would never have done something like this in my life, and would have missed out on this experience.” She gave them both a hug.
“Ah, isn’t this a Kodak moment,” Brooke teased.
“Yes, and it wouldn’t be complete without a group selfie. Huddle back together,” Paige said, as she pulled her phone out and took a quick picture.
They piled back into the car, rolled their windows down, and cranked the radio up. Paige threw up dust as she headed down the gravel road towards town, and Brooke had her hand out the window jamming to the song that was blasting on the radio, not knowing where else she’d rather be right now than right here in this moment with her friends. Today had definitely been a Hallmark memory.
Brooke looked over to see Paige drumming her fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm with the music. Her lips mouthing the words to the song as her head bobbed up and down. She was grateful to have such caring friends. “Thanks for today, Paige, it was a lot of fun, and I know why you did it. You’re both great friends.”
Paige smiled and Brooke turned to the open fields out her window, belting out Maroon V’s, Animals, at the top of her lungs while Paige and Kyleigh laughed.
Chapter 11
Ethan
A light knock sounded on his door before Nick peeked his head in. “Hey, you want to grab a beer after work?” he asked, as he stepped all the way in and took a seat in the chair in front of Ethan’s desk.
Ethan closed his computer and leaned back in his chair. “I’d love to, but I have more paperwork to do after work. Maybe next time. I think I’ll just head to the library for a few to finish the last of these new admits.”
“Well, I was expecting your excuse would be a hot date tonight, not a night at the library,” Nick said with a laugh.
Ethan glared at him. “No, no date tonight.”
“What about Stacey? Are you not seeing her again? I’ve seen her flirting with you lately,” Nick asked.
Shaking his head, Ethan said, “She flirts with everyone. And, once was enough.”
“That bad, huh?” Nick asked.
“It wasn’t bad, I’m just not interested in anything more,” Ethan said.
With a sarcastic scoff, Nick said, “When are you ever?”
“Hey, I could be at some point,” Ethan countered, clicking his pen on and off.
“If that ever happens, you’ll probably see me up on the cardiac floor—because I’d have a heart attack,” Nick teased.
Ethan stared at him. “It wouldn’t be that much of a shocker, Nick.”
Nick leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. “Dude, you show up here in Sweet Haven five months ago and have a date with a different woman at least twice a week. Yeah, it’d be a shocker to see you go on a date with the same girl twice.”
Ethan scowled. He didn’t want to tell Nick the real truth. That before he came to Sweet Haven, it had been a couple of years since he’d gone on a date. And even now, these dates never ended as exciting as Nick pictured them in his head. He’d had only one date end in sex. And that was with Brooke.
“Well, Nick, you never know, miracles happen every day,” he laughed.
“Sure. But I’m holding you to a beer tomorrow after work. You work too much, Ethan. And coming from one workaholic to another, that’s saying something,” Nick said, as he stood and headed to the door.
“I’ll be looking forward to it. You’ll be my first date in a couple of weeks,” Ethan teased.
“I’ll be sure to wear my fancy cologne,” Nick joked, before disappearing into the hall.
Juggling his coffee and his black briefcase, Ethan hurried to open the library door for the woman behind him. Her wandering hazel eyes and slight nod of approval as she looked him up and down made him blush. The lady had to be pushing sixty.
“Why, thank you,” she cooed, as she slowly let her eyes rove down the length of him.
Ethan smiled, admiring the woman’s boldness. “You’re welcome,” he said, turning r
ight and heading towards the stairs that would take him to the second floor. He felt the woman’s eyes on his backside, but didn’t risk looking back. There was no way he wanted to lead that woman on. He had the feeling if she got the impression he was even slightly interested, she’d be hauling ass up the stairs after him.
There was a small corner in the back of the adult section where he liked to hide and finish up paperwork from the day. He only came here a few days a week, normally the days after he’d had a particularly hard day, the ones where he was nonstop and felt completely overwhelmed. The quietness of the library helped him to recharge.
Spotting his normal table in the back, he quickly settled in, hoping to get a couple of hours in before finally heading home and retiring for the night. He’d had a rough day. He felt like he’d seen patient after patient, and he didn’t feel like he was able to spend enough time with each one, like he enjoyed doing. He hated days like this. Of course, at Sweet Haven he had been able to have more of a personal relationship with his patients versus the hectic, chaotic mess of Chicago. So, to have a day here and there where he had to move along a little faster from each patient wasn’t too bad.
The thought of starting his own, private practice had entered his mind countless times. It would give him more time to really focus on his patients’ needs, rather than rushing through each one to meet hospital deadlines. He would have the luxury of scheduling patients to meet his time frame, which would be better for them, too. He rubbed at the stubble on his chin, contemplating the scenario. He could picture it all now: a large, brick office right off the main drag of Sweet Haven... close and convenient to downtown, but just out of the hectic traffic. It would be nice. Maybe one day it would fall into place, but he didn’t think the timing was right, at the moment. He would set a goal of three years, though. Goals had become his addiction throughout the years. If he wasn’t pushing himself or setting some type of goal, he felt like he was wasting time.
Tapping his pen against his laptop, he drew his attention back to the work in front of him. He had several more reports to finish up tonight before his meeting in the morning. As he leaned forward and began typing, the flash of neon orange to his left caught his eye. The color was so bright in the dimly lit library that it stuck out like a sore thumb.
When Love Ignites Page 9
