by Meg Easton
He smiled that crooked smile that she loved so much. “You left with Kylie, but not before getting that microphone set up, and, well, Ed and Linda Keetch and this entire town had my back. This is a pretty cool town. I haven’t given them nearly enough credit. And Whitney?”
She noticed that she’d been staring at his lips, and took her gaze back to his eyes.
“We’re not leaving Nestled Hollow.”
Confusion filled Whitney. “You love TeamUp. You can’t—”
He put a finger to her lips. “And I can’t take you away from here.” He looked around at all the people watching them with smiles on their faces. “I couldn’t deprive this town of the one and only Whitney Brennan.”
Even though his words were wildly overstating her importance and made her feel awkward, they also warmed her heart. She liked that Eli saw her as being someone that mattered to people.
“They need you. Besides, a good friend helped me realize that I can have both TeamUp and the woman I love. Ben and I had been looking to grow our business, and it turns out that having a second TeamUp location here is exactly what we need. Nestled Hollow can be a destination training facility. I can run the team building activities down by the lake, and in the lake, and even in the mountains. It’ll bring more business to Treanor’s and to other town businesses, especially the hotels and the restaurants, and I can be here to help run my parents’ business, so they can take some time off now and then to enjoy each other. And then maybe the two of us can take some weekend trips together to Sacramento every month or two. That is, if you’d like me to stay here.”
“I’d say, Eli Treanor, that there isn’t a single part of me that doesn’t think that’s the most wonderful idea I’ve heard in my life.”
Eli raised her hand up and kissed her knuckles. “Then you have made me a very happy man.” He motioned to someone down the street, and the strings of lights overhead came back to life, and the band started playing again. He looked up at the leaves hanging from them taking it all in. When his eyes met Whitney’s again, he said, “We do amazing work, don’t we?”
She bumped her shoulder into his. “We do amazing work? I seem to remember you skipping out on the ‘work’ part of our amazing work.”
He bumped his shoulder into hers and led her down the bridge to the street. “I’m going to make up for the twelve years we lost, and I’m going to make up for that, too.”
Epilogue
Although the past month had been busy, it had been hands-down the best month of Eli’s life. He had made several trips back and forth between Sacramento and Nestled Hollow, moving, hiring and training someone to help out Ben at TeamUp, setting things up with Smithfield, getting things set up in Nestled Hollow, and spending every second he could with Whitney.
He leased some land near the lake with an old cabin that he was having renovated into TeamUp offices, found an apartment to live in, and worked out an agreement with the city to use both the lake and the shore to do some of his training programs. He’d also partnered with his parents’ business to use some of the equipment, and partnered with both Home Suite Home and All Nestled Inn for local lodging and all three restaurants and the bakery for catering. It had felt good to be back in town again and working together with other people in town to find a solution that was mutually beneficial for all of them.
When he and Ben got together, they had come up with team building activities that could be done in the winter, summer, fall, or spring, at the TeamUp grounds, by the lake, or in the mountains, so they could run TeamUp Nestled Hollow year round. They already had a handful of bookings and quite a few more in the works. Everything was finally feeling like it was coming together. And now that he understood his dad a little more, and knew that his gruff way of speaking didn’t necessarily mean what Eli had been interpreting it to mean all those years, their relationship had improved. It didn’t mean his dad didn’t get frustrated all the time and lose his temper with him, though. But Eli understood him in a way he hadn’t before.
Eli knew that with a new venue, there would be a lot of activities they’d never run before, and he needed to test them. So he invited everyone in town who would like to participate to come down to the lake to try out some activities. The weather had already turned fairly cold, but here they were, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, having an unseasonably warm and beautiful day— the warmest one they were going to get before next spring. A good fifty people had shown up to play, and they’d already run through enough spring or fall activities that he knew he’d have some excellent ones to start off the spring season with. They were about to do one that was clearly a summer activity. This was the one he was most nervous about running.
He stepped onto the portable riser he had set up on shore so that he could stand above the crowd and see everything. He switched on the headset microphone that led to the new sound system that TeamUp had purchased.
“This activity is actually going to be in the water. I know it’s cold, so I’ve brought eight wetsuits to take the chill off, just in case you fall in the water. See these team paddle boards over here? We’ll have four people to a board. It can get a little tippy and make things tricky to get everyone standing, so you’ll have to communicate to make it work.
“Your goal will be to get your team to that red buoy out there and pick up the inflatable drink cooler in the shape of a pink flamingo with a crown on its head that’s looped to it. The first team to get the flamingo, and get back to shore with all team members still on board, wins. I need eight volunteers. Who’s in?”
A dozen hands shot up, including Whitney’s. He knew she’d volunteer— she was much too competitive to turn it down. Which was good, since he’d planned on choosing her whether she raised her hand or not. He picked the eight people, and climbed down from the riser to help them get into the wetsuits, and to make sure each player had a life jacket and an oar.
He zipped Whitney’s wet suit the rest of the way up. “Are you excited for this?”
“Thrilled,” she said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him closer before planting a kiss on his lips. “Sure you don’t want to join me?”
They had been outside for hours, and she still smelled amazing. “Always.” He and Whitney had been together every moment that they weren’t both working, and he still couldn’t get enough of her. He glanced at the riser. “I think I better ‘join you’ from up there, though.”
She grabbed her life jacket and swung it on, and he picked up the oar and handed it to her before she joined the others on the shoreline. Eli split them into two groups, then climbed back onto the riser and switched his mic back on.
“Okay, we’ve got one group over here with Matt, Liz, Hilarie, and Peter— what do you want your team called?”
“Team Speed!” Matt shouted out.
“So we’ve got Team Speed over there, and here we’ve got Sara, James, Reese, and the very lovely Whitney. What do you want your team called?”
The four of them gathered in a huddle, talking in low voices. Then they all turned to face him, and Whitney said, “Our team name is ‘The Winners.’”
“You can’t—”
“Don’t dis our team name,” James said. “We worked hard on that.”
Eli chuckled. “Okay, and over here, we have ‘The Winners.’ You’re really going to make me keep saying that, aren’t you?
“Okay, teams, get your team paddle board in the water and line up by it along the shore. Everyone else— this is a tough challenge, so your job is to cheer them on. Now I expect you to be loud, so they can hear you even when they’re clear out there by the buoy. Ready? Set? Go!”
Both teams raced forward. “Oh! It looks like we’ve got two different tactics for getting on the board. Team Speed has left their board solidly anchored on the shore while they get on, and it looks like that’s going fairly well so far. The Winners gave their board a good shove out into the water, and they’re all trying to get on it while in the water. Reese has gotten on the board, and is lying on
his stomach, right across the middle. Either he’s doing it to keep the board steady while everyone else clambers on, or he got that far and just gave up. And if that’s the case Reese, I’ll just take this moment to ask you, Is that something a member of The Winners would do? Now, as you can see, Reese’s back shaking from laughter. Unless that’s just the strain from holding the board steady, because things aren’t going so well for those trying to climb on.
“Meanwhile, the members of Team Speed are all on their board, but they’re having some troubles shoving off the edge. Push a little harder, team! Oh, but not so hard that Hilarie falls off. Okay, now Hilarie is shoving them away from shore and hopping nimbly onto the raft. Nice work, Hilarie! Both teams are all on board and standing, oars in the water, heading toward the Royal Pink Flamingo, and now they’re neck and neck!”
The crowd of townspeople surrounding him was now cheering so loudly their voices were going hoarse.
“It looks like Team Speed has pulled into the lead, coming right up to the flamingo, and Liz is leaning out to grab hold of the rope and lift it over the buoy. Better catch up quickly, Whitney, Sara, Reese, and James, or you won’t be living up to your team name. Look at this— Peter has grabbed hold of Liz’s hand so she can reach out further and oh no! A little too far, Liz. So now that Liz is down in the water, The Winners are going for the flamingo. And it looks like Whitney has it in her hands! And she must have forgotten about the rope and it jerked her back. So both teams have a team member in the water, and now there’s a battle for the flamingo! It’s impossible to tell from here who is winning. What do you guys think?”
The crowd around him started shouting out “Liz” and “Whitney.” Eli crossed his fingers and sent up a little prayer. His whole plan hinged on Whitney’s team winning.
“And Whitney just flung the royal pink flamingo onto The Winner’s paddle board and instead of getting on board as well, she has opted for holding onto the back and kicking the paddle board forward as the rest of her teammates paddle with all they’ve got. After a couple of unsuccessful grabs at Whitney, Liz has given up and is now clambering back onto Team Speed’s board. They’re reaching down and pulling her on board and nice job keeping that board steady, Team Speed!”
Come on, Whitney, Eli silently pleaded as she stayed pushing the board from behind, kicking her feet in the water. Get back on the board before you reach the shore. What was he thinking, leaving so much to chance on something so important? Have faith in her, he told himself. Whatever team Whitney was on always won.
“Team Speed is paddling like a sea serpent is after them,” Eli said into the mic. “It looks like their strategy might be to catch up to The Winners and make a grab for the flamingo. As we’re coming into the home stretch, cheer like your team’s win depends on it!”
The crowd’s cheering intensified, and Eli’s heart raced. He couldn’t find words to commentate the race as Team Speed got closer and closer to closing the gap, and The Winners were only twenty feet away from the shore. And then fifteen feet. Get on, Whitney! he silently pleaded.
Then, ten feet before the shore, she let her feet drift down. She must’ve been able to touch the bottom of the lake to push off, because she shot into the air, leaping onto the board, landing on her stomach.
“Wow! Did you see that leap? The Winners now have all their teammates on the board, they’ve got the royal flamingo annnnnnnnd.... Yes! They made it ashore with Team Speed making it to the shore just two seconds behind them. Congratulations, The Winners! Because it would’ve been really embarrassing to lose, with that being your team name. Give yourselves some high-fives, because you really deserve it!”
The crowd cheered even louder, clapping the members of both teams on the backs and giving high-fives. All eight contestants took off their life jackets, dropping them in the sand, and heaving big breaths while grinning.
When the cheering died down a bit, Eli said, “TeamUp—”
And the crowd responded with “To triumph!” They had learned well throughout their day of challenges.
“Whitney, since you’re the one who pulled the flamingo out of the water, why don’t you come join me up here, and we’ll see what your team won.”
Whitney grabbed hold of the flamingo, and walked up the three steps it took to join him on the five foot square platform. She placed it on the railing, and he unzipped the back of the flamingo, revealing a place to keep two or three cans of soda inside.
“Well, Whitney, show us what The Winners have won!”
“We each won a Hundred Grand!” Whitney said, pulling out the four candy bars. Whitney handed the candy bars to Eli, and he tossed them to her teammates.
“Wait,” she said, and Eli’s heart thumped even harder. “There’s something else in here.” She pulled out a red velvet heart-shaped ring box, a question on her face as she held it out.
“Aww!” someone in the crowd yelled. “She won your heart!”
“That she did,” Eli breathed as he stepped close enough to kiss her. He took the box in one hand and used the other to brush some wet hair off her face. Even soaking wet from lake water, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He dropped to one knee as the crowd collectively gasped. “Whitney,” he said, “never in my life have I been as happy as I am whenever I’m with you. Please say you’ll marry me, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you’re just as happy.” He opened the ring box, and the sun’s rays hit the diamonds, making it brighter and more beautiful than he’d ever seen it.
“And the cheesiest line goes to...” Whitney said, a smile spreading wide, her face beaming.
Eli couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face. “Say you’ll marry me, and I’ll fill your life with cheesy lines until the day I die.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Oh, Eli,” she said. “Of course the answer is yes! It’s been yes for as long as I can remember.”
She let him slip the ring onto her finger, and then she pulled him to his feet and kissed him, a fierce love behind her lips, filling him from his head all the way down to his toes. He’d nearly forgotten that they were surrounded by four dozen people until the deafening cheer rose around them. Their kiss turned into smiles. “I love you,” Eli said against her lips.
“And I love you,” Whitney said. “Forever and ever.”
If you enjoyed Whitney’s and Eli’s story, leave a review!
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Want to visit Nestled Hollow again soon?
Christmas at the End of Main, featuring Macie Zimmerman, the woman who owns Paws and Relax, and Aaron Hall, a history teacher and swim coach at Nestled Hollow High, is coming early December 2018.
Preorder your copy today!
COMING SOON: NESTLED HOLLOW ROMANCE BOOK 2
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ABOUT MEG EASTON
Meg Easton writes contemporary and inspirational romance. She lives at the foot of a mountain with her name on it (or at least one letter of her name) in Utah. She loves gardening, bike riding, baking, swimming before the sun rises, and spending time with her husband and three kids.
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