Soaring with Fallon

by Kristen Proby

  “Where’s my Jeep?” I ask Noah as he pulls into the driveway in front of the house.

  “It was towed to a salvage yard,” he replies with a grim sigh. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

  “Did they get my purse and stuff?”

  “Yes, it’s inside,” he replies, cutting the engine. “Don’t move. I’ll come around and help you.”

  “No argument here,” I say with a smile. I may be stubborn, but I’m not stupid. He circles his SUV and opens my door, but rather than help me down to my feet, he scoops me into his arms, easily lifting me from the vehicle. “Having a super strong boyfriend is so handy.”

  His lips tip up in a grin. “I’ll keep up with my workouts, just for you.”

  I laugh and lean my head on his shoulder as he easily carries me up the steps to the front door. It’s unlocked, and when we step inside, I’m assaulted by something that smells amazing.

  “What’s that?”

  “Soup,” he says with a grin. “Mom and Autumn have been here all day, getting the house ready for you. Mom made her special chicken noodle soup. It’s guaranteed to help you feel better.”

  “The smell alone has already done that.” He takes me back to the bedroom and sets me gingerly on the bed, on top of the covers. “I’d like to change out of this godforsaken hospital gown.”

  “On it,” he says and walks to the dresser, finding a pair of yoga shorts and a loose T-shirt. I move to the edge of the bed, and Noah helps me untie the gown. “I’m going to burn this.”

  “I want to help.”

  Before he passes me my clothes, his eyes take inventory of the injuries still healing, and his lips flatten in a grim line.

  “Jesus, Fal.”

  “It looks worse than it feels.”

  His eyes find mine. “Don’t bullshit me.”

  “Okay, it hurts. I’m sore. But it’s getting better, and that’s not a lie.”

  He helps me step into the shorts and gently tugs them up to my hips, then slips the tee over my head.

  “Ah, that’s already better. I’ll tackle the shower later tonight. I don’t think I have the energy for it now.”

  “You need to rest,” he says, kissing my forehead. He helps me get settled back against a mountain of pillows and then pulls a rolling tray I haven’t seen before over beside me.

  “Did you buy a hospital tray?” I ask.

  “No, Nancy and Jeff had it from when they took care of my grandparents. It’s on loan for a couple of days.”

  “It makes me feel old,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “But also grateful. Thank you. Also, I don’t think that TV was there before.”

  “Good eye,” he says. “Gray and Autumn bought it for you.”

  “Wow, that was nice of them.” I stare at the black screen for a moment, overwhelmed by the love Noah’s family has shown me.

  “Do you need to sleep right now, or are you up for some more gifts?”

  I scowl. “Why on earth would anyone get me gifts?”

  “Because they love you,” he says casually as if it’s no big deal at all. “What do you say? Are you up for it?”

  “Heck, yes.”

  He grins and kisses my head, then disappears from the room for a moment. When Noah returns, he has gift bags and even a few shipping boxes.

  “Holy shit, Noah.”

  “There’s a lot of love in my hands,” he says with a chuckle. “Let’s start with the shipping boxes. I have a knife.”

  He pulls out his pocketknife and slices the tape on the boxes, then sits them next to me.

  I pull the card out of the first one and smile. “This is from Penny. Shit, I haven’t called her.”

  “Willa did,” he replies. “Obviously.”

  “Right.” Noah has to help me pull the wrapped box out, and I smile widely when I unwrap it. “A new essential oils diffuser. Oh, this is beautiful. I’ve wanted to get one for our bedroom. It’s perfect.”

  “We’ll get it all set up when you’re done,” he says, setting it aside. Before me, Noah probably didn’t give a rat’s ass about essential oils, but he doesn’t even think twice about me incorporating them into our home.

  He’s amazing.

  The second shipping box is from Lacey, which also surprises me. “Whoa.”

  “She was worried sick,” Noah says, watching me open the gift. “She asked me to call her every day. She really loves you, Fal.”

  “Yeah,” I whisper, running my fingers over the soft faux fur of the slippers she sent me. “These are so soft. This is thoughtful of her.”

  Noah sets the boxes on the floor next to the bed and passes me a half dozen gift bags.

  “This is crazy,” I mutter, but by the time I’ve opened them all, I’m teary-eyed. Noah’s parents got me a new robe that matches the slippers Lacey sent. Gray and Autumn gave me a subscription to Netflix so I can comfortably binge on the new TV, and the rest of the family sent snacks and little things to keep me occupied. “It’s too much.”

  “We’re not done,” he says with a laugh. “But for the last thing, we’ll have to go outside.”

  I stare at him for a moment, completely overwhelmed. “Noah.”

  “Come on. I’ll carry you if you’re up for it.”

  “Is there another surprise party out there? Because I’m not feeling up for that. I might split my incision open from crying too much.”

  “No, no one’s here but you and me.” He kisses my head. “What do you say?”

  “Let’s do this, and then I’ll sleep for a week.”

  He lifts me and carries me out the back door onto the deck, and I can only stare, sure I’m seeing things.

  “Am I still under anesthesia?” I whisper.

  “No.”

  “Noah, that’s a brand new Jeep with a red ribbon on the hood.”

  “That it is,” he says as he sits in a chair and cuddles me in his lap. “We’ll go check it out later, but I wanted to show you.”

  “You didn’t have to—”

  “I didn’t,” he says. “At least, not by myself. The whole family, including the Hulls, went in on it.”

  I stare at him, too shocked to cry. “Are you telling me that Josh and Zack, your parents, Jeff and Nancy, Gray and Autumn, Brad and Hannah—”

  “Christian and Jenna and Max and Willa,” he finishes, nodding. “Even Lacey helped. All of us, babe.”

  “But.” I stare at the bright red Jeep with the top off, gleaming in the afternoon sunshine.

  “But what?”

  “But it’s too much,” I finish with a whisper.

  “No,” he says, pressing his lips to my temple. “No, it’s not. We love you, so much.”

  “I can never repay them for this.”

  “Family doesn’t ask to be paid back,” he says. “And that’s what you have here, Fallon. A big family.”

  * * * *

  “I feel guilty that he’s had to wait for me,” I admit a few days later as Noah drives us over to Spread Your Wings. “He should already be free.”

  “And he will be, today,” Noah says, taking it easy over the bumps in the gravel road. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I assure him. I have my appointment with Dr. Merritt in just two days, and I’ve been improving every day. The rest has helped, but I’m ready to be out of bed.

  Noah pulls into a parking space and hurries around to my side of the car to help me out. He finally stopped carrying me around yesterday.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you?”

  “I have to walk, Noah. I’m not an invalid.” I shake my head and gingerly walk beside him to the building housing my eagle. “I’m just slow.”

  “Slow is fine; we’re not in a hurry.” He rests his hand on the small of my back and patiently walks with me down the row of cages to my favorite one.

  “Hey there, handsome boy,” I croon to the bird. He perks up, his head tilting, and he flaps his wings. “Well, look at that, showing off your healed wing. Good boy.”

 
“He’s happy to see you,” Noah says with a smile.

  “I’m happy to see him, too. I’m sorry I was away for so long, buddy.”

  There’s already a carrier in the cage, and Noah quickly gets the eagle safely inside, then carries him out to the truck. I do need help getting into the passenger seat, but then we’re off to let the eagle go.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Back where you found him. Or close to it since you can’t exactly climb a mountain today.”

  “No, not today.”

  He drives to the trailhead and parks, and we walk with the bird down the trail a ways until it starts to veer up.

  “Looks like this is the place,” Noah says, setting the carrier on a stump and opening the door. “We just wait for him to fly away.”

  “I’m going to talk to him since this is how we started.”

  “Go right ahead.”

  Noah steps away, and I approach the open carrier. “Hey, baby. You get to go home today.”

  The eagle hops out of the carrier then flaps his wings and perches on top of it, looking at me. I pet his head, loving the soft feel of his feathers.

  “That’s right, you’re free to go. You’re all healed up.” I feel tears prick my eyes. “I’m so glad I found you that day. It changed both of our lives.”

  He cocks his head to the side, watching me as if he’s listening and understanding every word.

  “I don’t think I can ever thank you enough,” I say and smile when he squawks. “Well, you’re welcome. You go live your life now, okay? Do you have a lady friend? Do eagles mate for life?”

  “They do,” Noah says softly.

  “Go find your girl and have some babies. Go soar high, sweet boy.”

  He tilts his head, squawks, and flies up into a nearby tree, looking around. Noah takes the carrier away and stows it in the truck, and when he returns, I’m sitting on the stump, watching the eagle.

  “He’s not leaving.”

  “He’s getting his bearings,” Noah says softly, sitting next to me on the stump. “He’s a gorgeous bird.”

  “He really is. Did you see the mark on his beak?”

  “He must have been in a fight at some point,” Noah says with a nod.

  “How are the owlets we found doing?” I ask, making conversation while we watch.

  “They’re getting big. You should come see them. I think we’ll let them go in about a week, as well.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful. They’ll know what to do?”

  “What, be owls?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “They will. We’ve been working with them in the flight barn. They’re going to be great.”

  I sigh and lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder. “I love your job.”

  “I’m rather fond of it myself,” he says with a laugh. “And I’m glad you like it. You’re welcome to help out whenever you want.”

  “Good, because I like it a lot. I want to learn more.”

  “What, with all of your spare time?”

  I shrug a shoulder. “We make time for important things.”

  He kisses my head. “We should go home.”

  “I want to wait until he flies away.”

  And so we do, sitting on the stump as hikers pass by, looking up to see what we’re looking at and then moving on.

  Finally, after about thirty minutes, the eagle squawks once more.

  “Goodbye, friend,” I say and watch as he spreads his wings and soars away.

  “Why are you crying?” Noah asks, catching a tear with his fingertip.

  “I’m not.” I sniff. “I’m happy.”

  “You don’t look happy.”

  “I’m happy for him,” I clarify. “But I’m going to miss him.”

  “There will be more birds that need help.”

  “But none like him.”

  Chapter Twenty

  ~Fallon~

  Eight weeks.

  It’s been eight weeks since the accident. Since I almost lost my life and I said goodbye to the eagle.

  So much has happened.

  Amazing, beautiful, big things.

  But the biggest of them all is happening in about ten minutes.

  “Don’t be nervous,” Noah says in my ear.

  “How can I not be?” I ask, taking a deep breath. “It’s sink or swim time.”

  “You’re going to swim like an Olympian,” he says with a wink.

  I pray he’s right.

  Tonight is the grand opening of my new yoga studio, Asana. I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the place, and I’m finally ready to unleash it on the community of Cunningham Falls.

  My community.

  I don’t think I could be more excited—or more scared.

  “Are you ready?” Autumn asks. She helped me plan this party, and I don’t know what I would have done without her. “I think there are already people outside.”

  “I see them.”

  Once I took over the building, the owner of the ski shop decided to relocate his business, so I moved into the entire space. It was better for my business, but way more work for Gray, who didn’t disappoint.

  “Let’s open up,” I announce, clapping my hands. I unlock the door and open it wide. “Come on in, everyone!”

  “This is gorgeous,” Willa says, accepting a glass of champagne from a server as she steps in the door. “Oh, Fallon, I love it. I’ll never miss a class.”

  “You’ve barely seen it,” I say, laughing.

  “And I love what I see. I’m going to wander around.”

  “Please do. There are two small studios upstairs, and lots to see, so feel free to check it all out.”

  It feels like half of Cunningham Falls files through my door, and an hour into the grand opening, the space is full.

  “I’m afraid we’re a fire hazard,” Gray says, chuckling as he joins me, passing me my first glass of champagne. “You’ve earned this.”

  “Thanks.” I take a sip and smile as I survey the crowd. “Have you seen Noah?”

  “He’s around here somewhere,” Gray replies and nods at someone across the room.

  “Autumn throws one hell of a party. Her business is going to thrive.”

  “She’s damn good,” Gray agrees with a nod. “Speaking of, I’m going to check in on her, make sure she doesn’t need anything.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Gray. You did a fantastic job.”

  He nods with a proud smile and walks away to find his fiancée.

  “Are you selling these?” Brooke Henderson asks, pointing to the yoga mats rolled up on the wide shelves Gray made me.

  “I am,” I reply with a smile. “What color do you like best?”

  The rest of the evening is more of the same, customers happy with what they see, and ready to buy merchandise or sign up for classes. Some do both.

  It’s proving to be a successful night, after all.

  “This is absolutely the kind of place I want to learn to do yoga in,” Mrs. Blakely says, flashing me a kind smile. “Sign me up.”

  “Oh, wonderful,” I say, unable to suppress my happiness. “I think you’ll love it.”

  “I do, too.”

  When ten o’clock rolls around, and it’s time to close the doors, I’m exhausted in the best way possible.

  “I don’t think that could have gone better,” Autumn says.

  “It’s a good thing I hired three more instructors,” I say with a nod. “I filled the classes. There will likely be some no-shows and drop-offs in the first few weeks, but as of right now, we’re full.”

  “Amazing,” Noah says behind me, and I whirl at the sound of his voice.

  “There you are. Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.”

  “I was here the whole time.” His face looks innocent enough, but I narrow my eyes at him.

  “I didn’t see you.”

  “There were a lot of people here,” Gray says with a shrug. “And you were busy. Probably just missed each o
ther.”

  “I suppose you’re right.” I hug Autumn and Gray. “Thank you, so much. I’ll be calling you for all of my remodeling or party-planning needs.”

  “We’re happy to help,” Autumn says before she and Gray take their leave.

  “I’m ready to go home.” I walk through the space and turn off all of the lights. “I have a cleaning crew coming in the morning.”

  “Perfect,” Noah says, holding his hand out for mine. “Let’s go.”

  We walk out the back door into the alley where Noah’s SUV is parked. I haven’t driven at night since the accident. I know that as time passes, I’ll feel more confident about it, but for now, there’s no need. I’ve hired instructors to cover the evening classes, and Noah’s always happy to take me anywhere I want or need to go.

  “It was better than I expected,” I gush once we’re on the highway, headed toward the house. “I honestly wasn’t anticipating that kind of turnout.”

  “People are curious, especially in a small town,” Noah replies. “Of course, they want to come see what you’ve done. Not to mention, it’s right on Main, and the building’s been covered in a tarp while Gray’s crew worked.”

  “I wanted to create a mystery.” I sigh, sitting back in the seat. Summer is over, and we’re officially into fall. It’s still beautiful during the day, but the nights are cooler. “And I guess it worked.”

  “It was a great idea. And the building looks different, so it wasn’t a disappointment.”

  “It’s amazing what some paint and elbow grease will do.”

  We’re quiet for the rest of the drive. I’m exhausted and energized at the same time. I feel like I could both sleep for a month and run a marathon.

  It’s taken me the whole two months since the accident to get back to my pre-injury health. It was amazing to me how quickly I lost muscle tone, flexibility, and muscle memory. But with dedication and hard work, I’m back to where I was before.

  “It’s amazing how we lose the sunlight so quickly now,” I say, watching Noah’s high-beams illuminate the road to the house. “Three months ago, it would have still been light outside.”

  “You’re right,” he says. “I’m not quite ready for winter.”

  “We have a little time before the snow flies.”