Rocky Mountain Soul

by Dawson, Kay P.

  Obviously, the drugs they'd given her for the pain had kicked in. Erin had never been able to handle them. He remembered one time when they were dating, and she'd had to get stitches in her foot when she stepped on some glass. She'd been so looped up on the drugs they gave her, she told the doctor she loved him.

  "Just try to get some rest, dear." Her grandma was in a wheelchair, so Jack had pushed her to Erin's room once she was settled in. Wynn was just getting over a stroke herself, and had lost a lot of her mobility, so walking too far was hard for her.

  "I'll take you back to your room, Grandma Wynn, so Erin can sleep." Emma looked down at Erin. "And I'll see you tomorrow. Boy, when you make an entrance back into town, you sure make an entrance. I always thought I was the dramatic one."

  "Well, I thought maybe it was my turn to get some attention." Erin grinned widely, obviously feeling no pain at this point.

  After Emma and her grandma left, Jack moved over to stand beside her. She squinted her eyes slightly as she tried to focus on him. 'Jack, Jack, Jack. My hero. You just always know how to make things all better." The word "all" dragged out as she nodded her head. She reached up with her good hand and patted his.

  Her eyes were glazed over, and it was hard for him not to chuckle at the silly grin on her face.

  Suddenly, she turned serious. "Do you know what they'll do with Shirley?" Her eyes were full of worry.

  "Well, Erin. I'd say from the look of her, Shirley will be going to Jeep heaven I'm afraid."

  "Oh, poor Shirley. She was wonderful. I've had her ever since I moved away, did you know that? I bought her when I got to Denver. She made me happy."

  "No, I didn't know that. But I'm sure we can find you a new Jeep that’s just as nice."

  "No! There will never be another Shirley." She was shaking her head, like she was sure Shirley could never be replaced.

  "Erin, I think I’ll leave now and let you get some sleep."

  "I'm not sleepy. You can stay. You want to know why I was on that road, Jackson?" she slurred his name, and he knew she was completely out of it because she never used his full name.

  Before he could try convincing her she should just get some sleep, and before she said something she'd be embarrassed about tomorrow, she kept talking.

  "I wanted to go see our tree. See if our names were still carved in it, do you remember?"

  "Yes, I remember, Erin."

  She was going to be very unhappy tomorrow when she realized everything she was telling him. He smiled to himself, because he knew he'd enjoy reminding her.

  "We used to go there all the time and just sit under the tree talking. I loved it. I know we were young, and everyone said we had our whole lives ahead of us, so didn't know what love really was. But I know I loved you. You should see some of the losers I've dated since then trying to find someone else who could compare," she babbled away.

  He knew he should tell her to stop talking and walk out the door. But he couldn't. She was going to kill him for letting her ramble on like this, but he was enjoying listening to what she was saying. After they’d broken up, and he’d realized the mistake he’d made. He’d tried to convince her to give him another chance, but she’d been adamant she’d moved on. So hearing the words now, even if they were drug-induced, made him feel better.

  “And I have a date with a guy next week. He's a cousin of a friend from Denver. But he lives right here in Silver Springs. I've never met him, but he sounds nice. Hopefully, he will be as good-looking as you. Although they never are..."

  Her words slowed and tapered off, and he watched as her eyes closed all the way, and her head rolled to the side.

  The drugs had finally won, and she was sound asleep. She had no idea what she'd just told him.

  He couldn't wait until morning to fill her in on everything she'd missed.

  * * *

  "Ugh, are you trying to hit every bump on the road?" With every bounce of the vehicle, Erin could feel pain in parts of her body she didn't even know she had. Emma had come to pick her up this morning, and had insisted she stay with her for a couple of days. Her friend lived on top of her coffee shop, in a small apartment that was perfect for one person.

  "I'll sleep on the couch, and you can have my bed. I've put all new bedding on for you, and you can just lie in bed and rest while I'm at work. If you need anything, just text me, and I’ll come right up."

  "Thanks, Emma. Sorry if I'm sounding grumpy or ungrateful. I just hate needing to rely on someone else to help with stuff. I don't even have my own car anymore."

  "Oh yes, Shirley." Emma turned and grinned at her. She knew how embarrassed Erin was about everything she'd revealed to the world while under the influence of the pain medication.

  Erin rolled her eyes and looked back out the window, watching the familiar sights of the town moving past. She'd been home quite a few times to visit with her grandma over the years, and had seen Emma whenever they could get together. But many times, she’d snuck into town and back out without anyone knowing she was there.

  She'd never wanted to risk going out and bumping into Jack, so she'd just spent her time with her grandma. Of course, in a small town, that wasn't always possible. When they would run into each other, it was extremely awkward. He still tried to tease her and act like he'd done when they were together, but it was different now, and they both knew it.

  He'd called her one time shortly after she'd moved to Denver, and begged her to forgive him. He'd said he'd made a mistake, but for her it was too late. The hurt she was feeling wouldn't let her forgive him.

  And now when they saw each other, things were strained.

  As they passed another building, she thought about how things hadn't changed much in town over the years. There were a few new buildings here or there, and some of the older ones had been fixed up. Like Books ’N Beans—Emma's coffee shop was a bustling business now in town, where the building had been an old bank at one time.

  Erin smiled as she saw the building in the distance. Emma had always loved to read, and had said all her life someday she’d run her own business. She'd known there wouldn’t be a huge demand for a bookstore in the small town, so she combined two of the things she loved, to create the dream she'd always had.

  "I'm horrified at what I can vaguely remember talking to your brother about after you left last night." Erin had small flashes of memory now and then, and she knew without a doubt she had shared way more than she should have.

  She didn't even turn her head as Emma laughed. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure he'll let you know exactly what you said."

  "That's what I'm afraid of."

  Four

  The shower felt wonderful and gave her a much needed boost. She'd been lounging around Emma's apartment for two days, and she was feeling good enough today to make the move to her grandma's house.

  When she'd arrived at Emma's apartment after getting out of the hospital, Jack had been there with some of the boxes from her Jeep. The company who’d gone to clean up and tow it back to town had picked everything up they could and held them for her.

  So at least she had some clothes to wear, even if a lot of her other items had been wrecked. She’d sold a lot before she moved back here, so only had the few things that could fit into her Jeep, but she had some personal things from her childhood she'd always held onto.

  One was a jewelry box her dad had made her when she was five. She looked down at the broken box that now sat on the small table by the bed.

  "Erin, are you decent?"

  Jack's voice broke through the silence of the apartment.

  "I'm in here. I'll just be a second." She dragged the brush through her hair and tried to quickly wrap an elastic around it, but her broken wrist wasn’t playing ball. She gave up. Jack had seen her at her worst, so she couldn't really expect herself to make any great impression now anyway.

  Walking into the other room, which encompassed all the actual living space, her eyebrow went up as he stood there with a handful of white daisi
es.

  “I thought you could use something cheery to look at.” He smiled sheepishly at her.

  "I see you remembered what my favorite was.” Her arms crossed in front of her, and she winced as she banged against the cast on her wrist.

  She would never get used to this thing.

  He at least had the decency to blush under her gaze. "Well, I remembered any time you were feeling down, all I had to do was bring you white daisies and the smile would be back on your face."

  He was still charming, she had to give him that.

  "Thank you." She might never be able to get over the pain he’d caused her all those years ago, but she could never be mean to him. Especially not after everything he’d done for her since the accident.

  She took the flowers from him and made her way to the sink to pour some water into an empty jar she'd seen sitting there.

  "You still look pretty stiff. Maybe we could try taking a walk. It might help you loosen up. Besides, there’s someone else who’d really like to see you.”

  Setting the flowers onto the table, she met his eyes. The boyish charm in his eyes took her back to when they'd been young, and he was trying to convince her to go out with him.

  Her heart was telling her to go, but her head was warning her not to fall for it.

  But she was suffering from a concussion, so could she really trust anything her head had to say at the moment?

  "I don't know, Jack. I was thinking of getting ready to move back to grandma's today."

  "Well, the way I see it, you don't have a vehicle, so you're going to need someone with a bit of muscle to help you move. I might be willing to help you—if you come for a walk with me first."

  She chewed her lip as she eyed him up. "I can get Emma to help me. She's probably got plenty of muscle to get me moved."

  He rolled his eyes. "Emma? She's busy today with some staffing issues. Lucky for you, I don't work until eleven tonight, so I'm at your service."

  "Yes, lucky for me." She gave him an innocent smile. "Fine, I will go for a walk with you, but only because I want to get moved home today, and you are obviously not willing to help until you get your way."

  She walked to the couch and picked up her sweater that was on the arm.

  "But we have to stop and grab a coffee on our way through the shop downstairs. Emma has been bringing me her coffee throughout the day, and I'm afraid I've developed a slight addiction to it."

  He laughed. "Well, you're not the first to have that happen to you. I don't know what she does to it, but she's got a lot of us hooked. She says she'll never tell her secrets." He came over and helped her as she struggled to pull her sweater over the bulky cast. As his fingers brushed against her arm, a shiver went through her body.

  The moment was ruined though as soon as he decided to keep talking. "Unlike some people who seem unable to keep any secrets to themselves."

  Five

  The sun reflected off the river as they made their way along the walkway. Tank led them along the path, every now and then tugging on his leash to try and get them moving a little faster.

  "I didn't realize I was going to have the pleasure of walking with this sweet boy here, or I might have agreed to the walk much sooner.” Sensing she was talking about him, Tank stopped and let her catch up to him so she could scratch between his ears.

  "Well, me and Tank here are kind of a package deal I'm afraid. He gets terribly jealous if I leave him out of any of my plans." Jack watched as the large dog kept his pace close to Erin, seeming to think she needed protection of some sort as she struggled to stretch the muscles that were hurting her.

  As soon as the dog park was in sight, though, Tank pulled ahead. Jack bent down and unclipped his leash, letting the dog race to the open gate. He reached into his back pocket where he carried the folded rubber Frisbee and whipped it ahead to the waiting dog.

  Turning back to Erin, her cheeks were flushed. Maybe it had been too far of a walk this soon after her accident. He'd just wanted to spend some time with her, and needed an excuse to see her.

  "Come over here and sit down for a bit. We’ll head back once Tank is done playing with his buddies." He led her over to a bench near the gate.

  She sighed as she sat down.

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you to walk this far."

  She looked up at him with her eyebrows crinkled together like he always remembered her doing.

  "No, I'm glad you got me out and moving. I'm a bit sore, but it feels wonderful to have the fresh air, and to get my muscles stretching."

  They sat silently for a while, just watching Tank race around the open area. There were a few other dogs there, and Tank would run up to some of them hoping they'd play with him. Some would race along with him, but now and then he'd come nose to nose with one that didn't want anything to do with him. Tank would just turn and run to the next one.

  "He's sure a friendly dog, isn't he?" She was laughing as she watched Tank chase a squirrel that had made the mistake of crossing his path. "And what I wouldn't give to have his energy."

  "Yes, Tank seems to think every dog should want to play with him. He doesn't realize how big he is and sometimes he scares the smaller dogs when he runs up to them. He's just a big tank, and that's exactly why he's named that. When I first got him, he was already about six months old. Someone had thrown him in a dumpster and as I walked by, I heard something rustling and crying." He felt the familiar pangs of anger gripping him as he remembered.

  "When I looked in, here was the saddest looking dog I'd ever seen. He was so skinny I could see all his ribs. He couldn't get out of the dumpster, and it makes me sick to think what could have happened if the truck had come by and picked it up. He'd have been thrown into the back and no one would have ever known."

  He clenched his jaw tight as he looked out at the black dog who was now sniffing at a bug that was in his path. "Within a couple weeks of being with me, he’d almost doubled in size and was knocking everything down in his path."

  "You always did have a soft spot for animals."

  He looked at her and shrugged. "And pretty blondes too." He wanted to lighten the mood a bit, and by the way the redness spread through her whole face, he knew he'd managed to fluster her a bit.

  "Why do you never let anyone talk about the nice things you do?"

  Now it was his turn to feel confused. "What do you mean?"

  "Any time someone starts to say something nice about you, or what you've done, you always make a joke and try to change the subject. You've always done that."

  "I don't know. I never realized I did that until now."

  Tank ran over and plopped down at his feet, panting loudly with his large tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

  He leaned down to scratch the dog's neck, then leaned back and turned to face Erin. "So, do you want to tell me about this date you have coming up this week? The one with the guy who will never be as good-looking as me."

  He figured if he was going to change the subject like she said he always did, he may as well make it a good one.

  * * *

  "You know, dear, you're still beautiful, even with some cuts and bruises," her grandma's voice made her jump and pull the mirror down she was holding in her hand. She'd been examining the long gash on her jaw with ten stitches in it. The bruising was still a bright blue, and she couldn't imagine how her face would ever look how it did before. The stitches would come out in the morning, so she’d know soon enough.

  She'd never been drop-dead gorgeous, but she knew she'd been considered pretty. And she wasn't a vain person, at least she didn't think she was. But she’d always taken her looks for granted. Now she worried that all people would see was the huge scar cutting across her face.

  "Of course, you’d say that. You're my grandma—you have to think I'm beautiful." She smiled at the woman sitting in her glider rocker across from her. This woman had been her only family since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was a young girl.


  And now as she looked at her, she realized how frail she looked after her stroke. She’d been adamant that Erin wasn't coming back here to look after her, but one thing Erin had learned from her grandma, was stubbornness.

  "I'm sorry I haven't been much help since I got here. I didn't exactly make things easy when I crashed back into town."

  "Erin Fowler, that's not funny." Her grandma even pointed her finger at her for extra emphasis.

  "I know, Grandma, I'm sorry. I just feel bad because you ended up having to stay in the hospital a few extra days until I could get home and settled in again. And now, I'm still not even much help to you."

  "I told all those nurses, and I'm telling you too—I’m not some fragile old woman who needs help. I'll manage just fine."

  Erin fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Grandma, no one is saying you’re fragile, and we wouldn't dare say you're old..."

  Her grandma squinted her eyes at her as she waited for her to continue.

  "Because obviously, you're not." She grinned as her grandma started laughing.

  "Darn right, I'm not. And don't forget it."

  "I won't. But you are going to let me help you so you can get your strength back?" Erin had taken her nurse's training straight out of school when she arrived in Denver, and had worked at the biggest hospital in the city.

  She’d hated to give up her job there, but her grandma was more important. And once she was feeling better, she could get a job at the hospital here in Silver Springs if she decided to stay.

  Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it off the coffee table.

  Bertram Hardy. The guy she was supposed to be going out with tomorrow night.

  "I'm looking forward to our date. Pick you up at seven."

  Why had she ever agreed to this?

  Six

  “I was able to get us reservations here because they know me quite well. I do a lot of business with big name clients, so I always bring them here to schmooze them.”