“You look so different,” she fake-sobbed. “The last time I saw you, you were in pigtails. Is this a bra I feel under your shirt? How could you have grown so much?”
“You guys are nuts,” Chris said from the doorway of the building, where apparently he had followed me. “Can’t you just hug like normal people?”
“Chris!” she cried, pushing me aside and running toward him. “Oh my God, it’s been years! You’re practically a man!”
“Shut up,” he muttered, but hugged her tight all the same. “How was your drive?”
“Pretty good,” she said, dropping the act. “I made good time. Wanna grab my bags for me?”
“As ever, I exist only to serve you,” Chris said drily.
“Thanks, hon,” she said, throwing her arm around my shoulder. I led her up to our apartment, feeling giddy that she was finally there.
“Hey, Brooke!” Ashley called, sticking her head into the living room. “I’m just getting dinner finished, I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Hi, Ash!” Brooke plopped down onto the couch. “God, I’m tired. It’s been crazy up there, trying to get everything out of the kitchen and dining room so the electricians can get in there to do their work. I didn’t get home until two a.m. last night.”
“Then you were up early to make the drive,” I said, sympathetically, sitting next to her. “Poor little Brooke. Seriously, I can’t believe you’re letting your dad handle the whole thing.”
“I wouldn’t, if I didn’t know the electrician so well.” She raised her eyebrows at me, and I slapped my hand to my forehead, feeling stupid.
“My dad? Why didn’t you say so?”
“I assumed you would assume I would go with him. I mean, who else would I call?”
“Good point. So…how’s he doing?”
“He seems good,” she said. “That cough finally went away.”
I felt a guilty pang. I knew he had been sick, and I still hadn’t gone up to see him. I’d totally let this thing with Greg take over my life. “I’m coming up there at the end of the month,” I said firmly, making up my mind. “I can get a Monday off and make it a nice long weekend.”
“You should,” Brooke said, never one to placate me or try to assuage my guilt when she knew I was in the wrong. Sometimes it could be an annoying trait, but tonight I was grateful for it.
“Where do you want all this crap?” Chris asked, appearing at the open front door with Brooke’s bags.
“Bedroom,” I told him, pointing behind me.
“No, don’t get up,” he said sarcastically. “Please stay right there on the comfy couch, I’ve got this.”
“Sweet of you,” Brooke said, giving him her most wicked grin. Chris rolled his eyes and made a huge production of dragging the bags back to my room.
“So, am I gonna meet the new boy tonight?” Brooke asked.
“Nope, he goes out of town for business tomorrow,” I said. “But he’ll be back Thursday for your last night. And we’re throwing you a big old party.”
“A party? For me? You shouldn’t have.”
I snorted. “Nice try. I know that you secretly harbor the belief that everyone should be celebrating your presence on a daily basis.”
“Don’t you?” she asked with a totally straight face. “I mean, I would expect you to do it discreetly, but I do fully assume some kind of internal celebration is happening every day.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Ashley said, coming into the living room. Brooke stood up to give her a hug. “It’s so good to see you!”
“You too,” Brooke said. “Thanks for letting me stay.”
“Of course,” Ashley said, waving her hands. “You’re always welcome.”
“Is Ryan coming for dinner?” I asked, looking up at the clock.
“Yeah, he’s on his way, but he said not to wait for him.”
We headed to the kitchen table, which Ashley had taken the time to set with our nicest dishes and a vase of daisies. She had made a pig pot of spaghetti, with salad and garlic bread—not bad for a girl who had just gotten home from her own mini vacation to Port Huron. I always got the feeling that Ashley was slightly intimidated by Brooke. Not that I could blame her—most girls were. She always seemed to go out of her way to be extra nice and welcoming to her.
“This looks awesome,” Brooke said. “I’m starving. Thanks, Ash.”
“No problem.” Ashley beamed at her. “I thought you might want a nice meal after being on the road all day.”
“You had a bit of a drive, too, didn’t you?” Brooke asked, helping herself to salad. “Did Emily tell me you guys were out in Port Huron last night?”
“Yeah, Chris took me for my birthday.” Ashley smiled at him. “It was very sweet, and a total surprise.”
“Wow, Chris, I’m impressed,” Brooke said, smirking at him. “Who knew you had such a way with the ladies?”
“Don’t make me regret being happy to see you,” he warned, pointing his fork at her.
She laughed, and I felt my heart swell. There was nothing like having my two oldest friends together in the same place, teasing each other just like nothing had ever changed. Add to that the imminent arrival of Ryan, and Ashley sitting right across from me, and I was feeling happier than I had in a long, long time.
* * *
I had managed to get both Monday and Tuesday off work. Michael agreed to cover for me under the condition that I talk to Brooke about the business proposal for the bank. We spent both mornings working hard. Brooke insisted we research the other clinics in our area and dig up the going rate for rent in the shopping plaza. She also wanted access to our billing information and Michael’s expense reports. We promised she could come in on Wednesday morning, when I did have to work, to poke around.
This left our afternoons and evenings free, and I was determined to squeeze as much fun into our time together as I possibly could. The party would be Thursday night, and Brooke had to leave first thing Friday morning to get back to the inn for the weekend crowd.
So I dragged her around town to my favorite restaurants, stores, even the Art Institute downtown. At night, the five of us went out to my favorite bars, then Brooke and I would curl up in my double bed and chat until our exhaustion won out. It was perfect.
On Wednesday, Brooke came into work with me. I had clients to see, and she wanted to get a feel for the finances of the clinic. I wasn’t exactly sure how Sam would feel about that, so I was glad that Michael was the one to show her the records while I worked with patients.
“Who is that?” Frank whispered to me, staring at Brooke with naked awe on his face.
“She’s my best friend,” I told him, familiar with this kind of reaction from men of all ages. “That’s Brooke.”
“Think she might be interested in an older man?” he asked, winking at me. “I could show her the benefit of experience.”
“Frank,” I said firmly, pushing him toward the exercise bike. “Believe me when I tell you that you don’t want to go there. Brooke would eat you for breakfast.”
“That sounds like fun,” he said wistfully. I laughed and left him at the bike.
Around noon, Michael shooed Brooke and me out of the clinic. “You’ve done enough for today,” he told her. “Go have lunch with your friend. I really can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s no problem,” she assured him. “I have a lot of notes now, I think we have what we need to put the proposal together tomorrow.”
“You’re a life saver,” he said.
It was a perfect day outside, the sky cloudless and blue, and the air warm and breezy. We’d had a few days that reminded me it was spring, but nothing quite like this yet. “This is gorgeous.” I said, closing my eyes and tilting my head up to the sun.
“Speaking of gorgeous,” Brooke said. “Who’s that?”
I turned in the direction she was pointing and saw Elliot sitting on a picnic table in the small dirt-covered area next to the parking lot. He waved at us.
“That
’s Elliot.” I told Brooke. “You know, vitamin man. Wanna go meet him?”
“Yes, please,” she said, licking her lips. I shoved her.
“Be good!”
We walked over to the picnic table. “Hey, Elliot!” I called as we approached. “Whatcha doing?”
He held up his brown paper bag in response, and I briefly wondered if this is where he had been eating lately, without me.
“This is my best friend, Brooke,” I said. “Brooke, this is Elliot.”
“We talked on the phone Friday,” she said, her throaty sex-kitten voice on full display as she gave him her most inviting smile. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.” I glared at her, but Elliot just smiled back in his easy way.
“Nice to meet you too,” he said. “I’ve heard so much about you. Here, sit down you guys.”
Elliot moved over to the edge of the table so Brooke and I could join him. I made sure to sit in between them. Knowing Brooke, she’d probably be resting her hand casually on his knee before he had finished his sandwich.
“Isn’t this a gorgeous day?” I asked, looking around. “I had forgotten what summer felt like.”
“It’s pretty perfect,” Elliot said. “Makes me glad I’m done with work.”
“Me too.”
“I don’t know,” Brooke said, looking wistfully across the expanse of cement. “How do you guys live here? I mean, I can see nothing green, anywhere in my line of vision.”
I laughed. “Brooke, seriously? You make it sound like this is some huge city. We’re in a suburban town, okay? People have lawns and trees and gardens. You’re exaggerating.”
“Yeah, a suburb that is next to another suburb, that’s next to another suburb. There’s nothing in between! No fields, no farms, no woods. Where do you take walks?”
I shrugged. “On the sidewalk?”
“This from a girl who grew up within walking distance of some of the best wooded areas in the state.” Brooke sighed. “It’s sad.”
“That’s what I keep telling her!” Elliot chimed in. “I’m always trying to get her to come to some of my Adventurer Club meet-ups. When she told me about her hometown, I was shocked that she never spends any time in nature now.”
“I spend time in nature!” I said, wondering why they were ganging up on me over something so trivial. “I jog outside every single day, for God’s sake.”
“That’s not the same,” Brooke said. She turned to Elliot. “When we were in high school, we used to go hiking on a weekly basis. Sometimes we would find a clearing in the woods and just like, lie there, on a blanket, looking at the sky. I bet she hasn’t done that in years.”
Elliot nodded sadly. “She just can’t enjoy being still and quiet.”
“You guys are ridiculous,” I muttered. “I’m still and quiet all the time.”
Brook snorted. “Yeah right. She used to be so outdoorsy too. Would you believe that this girl knows how to sail? And snowshoe?”
“It’s sad, really,” Elliot said.
“All right, that’s it,” I said, standing up and picking up my purse. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” Brooke asked.
“Let’s go find something to do in nature,” I said, looking down at the two of them. “If I’m so lacking, now’s your chance to do something about it.”
“Really?” Elliot asked, looking excited.
“Yeah. Let’s go find some woods. Show Brooke that we’re far from the concrete jungle.”
“Awesome!” Elliot said, looking like a little kid on Christmas morning. It was kind of cute, really. “Come on, I’ll drive.”
Elliot’s battered Jeep Wrangler was a far cry from the leather-seated luxury I had become accustomed to with Greg. When I climbed into the front seat, I had to push aside a stack of CD cases, and the door stuck when I tried to close it.
“Just slam it really hard,” he advised, buckling his seat belt.
“So where are you taking us, oh great master of nature?” I asked, as Elliot pulled out of the parking lot and headed north.
“Have you been to Kensington?”
I shook my head. I had heard of the recreation area, but had never made it up there.
“It’s pretty good,” Elliot said. “I’m sure it’s nothing like what you guys have up north, but I love it. And it’s only about twenty minutes away.” He smiled at Brooke in the rearview mirror. “We’re not quite as far from the great outdoors as you might think.”
“We need some music,” Brooke said. “What have you got up there?”
“Mostly Motown,” Elliot replied, gesturing to the pile of CDs now resting near my feet.
“Sounds good to me,” I said, reaching down to pluck one up at random. It appeared to be a mix, but Elliot hadn’t included a track listing in the case. I slipped the disc into the CD player and sat back.
“Stevie Wonder,” Brooke said approvingly as the strains of Signed, Sealed, Delivered filled the car. “Nice.”
Elliot immediately began bopping his head along to the music. I allowed myself a small smile as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. There was something so appealing about the way he did his own thing at all times, never seeming to care if anyone was watching him. After a moment, Brooke started singing along. Elliot grinned at her in the rearview mirror, then turned to look at me momentarily. He winked, then joined her, his surprisingly strong tenor loud in the enclosed space.
I laughed, and he winked at me again. “Come on, Donovan,” he said. “You can’t fight the power of Motown for long!”
He had a point there. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Brooke, happily singing, her eyes closed, the breeze from her open window blowing her hair around in a mess of brown curls. It was so familiar to me, a sight I had seen a thousand times over the years as we cruised around town, looking for something to do. In that moment, I was so happy that she was there with me, driving along in search of adventure with Elliot, that I did the only thing that made sense. I took a deep breath and started to sing.
Chapter Twenty-one
The recreation area was really beautiful. Thousands of acres of woodlands nestled right off the highway. There were hiking trails, little ponds, wetlands, bike paths, an education center—all of it centered around a thousand-acre lake.
Elliot parked near the kayak rental place and looked at the two of us. “You up for it?” he asked.
“Heck, yeah,” Brooke said.
“Oh God, don’t let her convince you to race,” I warned him. “She rowed crew in high school.”
“Why’d you give me away?” she asked. “Now he’ll be too scared to try.”
We rented three single-seat kayaks and got fitted out in life vests. Elliot offered to haul our boats, but Brooke and I just rolled our eyes, picking up the end of our respective kayaks and dragging them the few feet to the launch. “We’ve done this before,” I reminded him. “Many, many times.”
Once we were all situated in the water, Elliot took the lead. “If we head over this way, we can get into the Huron River,” he told us. “The current can get a little strong in places, but the scenery is perfect.”
As we paddled across the open water of the lake, I felt myself fall into a familiar rhythm. Brooke had actually had a good point—it had been ages since I had done something like this. The lake was almost deserted, being the middle of the day and all. On the far side, there was a nice-looking beach area. I could just make out two women, sitting at a picnic bench, while three little kids ran to the water’s edge, squealed at the cold, then ran back, only to repeat the entire process seconds later.
The water was a deep cobalt, contrasting with the lighter baby blue of the sky above us. The green of maples, oaks, and evergreens stood out boldly against the sky along the tree line. The colors, the sights and smells, were well known to me, as familiar as if I was at home. There was something so appealing about being out on the water of a lake. I had been to the ocean a few times and had liked the spray of saltwater and hugeness of the crashing w
aves, but give me a freshwater lake in the woods any day.
After a while, we left the openness of the lake behind us as we moved into the mouth of the river. Elliot was right about the current being strong, so we moved closer to the shoreline as we paddled through.
“This is gorgeous,” Brooke said, her voice soft.
“Yeah,” I answered, not really knowing what else to say. Gorgeous kind of covered it. Trees covered the shoreline as far as the eye could see, their branches spreading a riot of green across my vision. Even the water here seemed more green than blue, reflecting the leaves above it. The only noises I could hear were the gentle rush of water, the singing of birds high above. It was perfect.
We kayaked for about two hours. By the time we pulled back into the boat launch, my arms and shoulders ached, and I was starving. “Crap,” I said, rubbing my biceps. “I had no idea how out of shape I was.”
“You’re out of practice,” Brooke reminded me. “Yet another reason you should do stuff like this more often.”
“Okay, okay.” I held my hands up. “You guys are both right. I have been neglecting my roots and the nature that I love. I promise never to do it again. Are you happy now?”
“Very,” Elliot said, grinning at me. “And also starving. Let’s go find some food.”
“You’re one to talk,” Brooke grumbled. “At least you had lunch.”
We piled back into Elliot’s car, the mood happy and mellow. “There’s a pub I like pretty close by,” he said, looking over at me. “They have pretty good burgers. You up for it?”
“That sounds like heaven,” I sighed, rubbing my belly.
“Beer and a burger?” Brooke asked. “Hell yeah.”
Elliot grinned at me and put the car into gear. “Burgers it is.”
Brooke’s cell phone rang, and I heard her curse. “Can the man do nothing without me?” she muttered, then held the phone up to her ear. “Hello, Dad,” she said, sounding exasperated already.
While she was occupied, I tapped Elliot on the shoulder. He took his eyes off the road to look at me. “Thanks for today,” I said softly. “It was exactly what I needed.”
In Search of a Love Story (Love Story Book One ) Page 17