“Yeah, well your mom was probably a conveyor belt, and not like the cute little one at the all-you-can eat sushi. She’s … an industrial sized one in an Amazon warehouse or something.”
Before the treadmill was up to speed, Poppy was too out of breath for any more insults.
I got this. Only three miles to go. Don’t look down.
Miraculously her Bluetooth earbuds were still around her neck, so into her ears they went. Without crashing and burning, she found the play button and the narrator’s voice picked up again.
For a while Poppy lost herself in a fictional world—a world about a running protagonist interestingly enough—and continued to remind herself to not look down. A watched pot never boils and a watched treadmill logs no miles. The rivulets of sweat started running again. She had brought a towel to wipe up after her run, but maybe that fireman would be back and she could just use his face again.
Don’t look down.
If she wasn’t so scared of crashing and burning again, she’d grab the towel and lay it over the display, but two catastrophic failures in one day might make it hard to show her face here again. No, the gym would probably refund her money and tell her she was too much of a liability to work out there.
Don’t look …
Poppy looked down at her adversary, expecting to be in the mid twos. Its beady little display numbers sneered back a measly .9 miles.
“Oh … now you’re just lying.” Feeling like a failure, Poppy decreased the pace to 5.5. “But you know what? You can’t beat me. Winston Churchill … would give up … before I will. I might die here, but you can’t, make me stop, pounding you, until I get my, three point one.”
Focus on breathing, Poppy told herself. And don’t look down.
You can get Two Hearts Rescue HERE.
To see the recipes and puzzles used in Rescue My Heart, turn the page…
Extras
Recipes and Puzzles
Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
½ lb ground pork
¾ C chopped onion
½ tsp minced garlic
15 + 8 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp ground oregano
1 lb. cottage cheese (I usually get the larger size so it’s easier to spread)
8 oz grated mozzarella cheese
6 cooked lasagna noodles
Brown meat with onions.
Add garlic, tomato sauces, paste, salt, pepper, oregano.
Simmer 15 minutes.
While simmering, cook noodles per box instructions.
Layer ½ noodles, ½ cheeses, ½ meat sauce. Repeat.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbling.
Pizza Loaf
1 loaf (1 lb) frozen bread dough
1 lb ground pork
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 medium onion, minced
8 oz tomato sauce
½ tsp garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp oregano leaf
grated cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese
2 Tbs melted butter
Thaw dough, letting it rise.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare filling: cook pork with onion, salt, & pepper in large skillet until no pink remains. Drain fat.
Stir in tomato sauce, paprika, oregano, & garlic salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool. (I don’t usually cook that long, and I don’t wait for it to cool).
Punch dough down, roll out on floured surface to a 15 x 12 rectangle or so. Lift dough to a large greased cookie sheet (I just spray with Pam).
Spoon meat filling down center third of dough. Sprinkle that with cheese.
Make diagonal cuts in dough about 1 ½ inches apart, down each side, cutting to within ½ inch of filling.
Criss-cross (braid) strips of dough over filling, pressing down and sealing with a drop of water. (I usually use a few toothpicks to hold down the end)
Brush top of loaf with melted butter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut in thick slices to serve.
Pizza Loaf — baked and ready to slice. Yum!
PUZZLES JAKE AND LACEY PUT TOGETHER
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To see all of Christine Kersey’s books, turn the page…
Books by Christine Kersey
Park City Firefighter Romance
Rescue My Heart
Emerald Falls Romance Series
Crushing On You: Travis and Gabriella (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book One)
Dangerous Lies: Sawyer and Amethyst (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book Two)
Searching for Love
Falling for You (Searching for Love, Book One)
Finding Reese (Searching for Love, Book Two)
Surrender My Heart (Searching for Love, Book Three)
Bring Me Home (Searching for Love, Book Four)
Lily’s Story
He Loves Me Not (Lily’s Story, Book 1)
Don’t Look Back (Lily’s Story, Book 2)
Love At Last (Lily’s Story, Book 3)
Life Imperfect (Lily’s Story, Book 4)
Parallel Trilogy
Gone (Parallel Trilogy, Book 1)
Imprisoned (Parallel Trilogy, Book 2)
Hunted (Parallel Trilogy, Book 3)
After (a parallel story)
The Other Morgan (a parallel story)
Over You Series
Over You
Second Chances (sequel to Over You)
Witness Series
Witness (Witness, Book 1)
Retribution (Witness, Book 2)
Standalone Books
Suspicions
No Way Out
Box Sets
Parallel Trilogy
Lily’s Story
Searching for Love bundle
About the Author
Christine has always loved to read, but enjoys writing suspenseful novels as well. She has her own eReader and is not embarrassed to admit that she is a book hoarder. One of Christine's favorite activities is to go camping with her family and read, read, read while enjoying the beauty of nature.
I love to hear from my readers. You can contact me in any of the following ways:
@CKerseyWriter
ChristineKerseyAuthor
www.christinekersey.com
[email protected]
Rescue My Heart: Park City Firefighter Romance Page 17
