Nicole reached over, squeezing her hand. “You are capable. I can see that, and I’m sure Cameron can, too.”
She gave a dubious look. “He’s a tad hardheaded,” she said. “Camelot thinks he knows what’s best for me. And the burden of all that blame wears him down.”
“He was at the wheel,” Nicole said. “Of course he’s going to blame himself.”
“Well, I don’t blame him,” Elise said. “So that should be enough for him to let go.”
Nicole nodded, knowing these were tough landmines for a brother and sister to navigate.
Elise closed her eyes. “Can I continue our candor and be totally honest?”
“Of course.”
“At the risk of sounding like a cliché, I…” She glanced at the door as though she expected Cameron to walk in any minute. “I have a dream,” she finished.
“What is it?”
“I want to be a veterinarian.”
“Cameron mentioned that when he first told me about you,” Nicole said. “And you’d be an astounding vet.”
“Small animals, yes, I think—I know I could be. Paraplegic people have careers, you know. There are some limitations, but it isn’t impossible. Anythingispossible, like you said.”
“Have you looked into it?” Nicole asked.
She snorted. “Oh, I went way past looking. Dragged myself through the online applications, and have done three video interviews. But…”
Nicole sat up straighter with each statement. “Elise, really? You’ve?—”
She held up a hand. “I’ve done the whole thing in secret, Nic. My parents—especially my dad—are not fans of the idea and Cameron won’t even talk about it.”
“Where? What’s the program? Is it online or what?”
“It’s in Eagle Mountain, which is west of Utah Lake, a good hour and fifteen minutes from our house,” she said. “The school is called the Great Basin Veterinary Institute, which was created with the Department of Agriculture and a coalition of ranchers and wildlife organizations. It’s an accredited vet school that embraces the traditional and non-traditional student. Which I certainly am—plus, I am not their first handicapped or wheelchair-bound student.”
Nicole pressed her hands together, loving this. “This sounds perfect.”
“So perfect. They take thirty students a year. Thirty and theywantme. I have one interview left.”
Nicole’s jaw dropped. “This is extraordinary! When are you going to tell Cameron?”
“We talked about it, but he doesn’t know I’ve applied and interviewed.” She swallowed and blinked hard. “Look, I’m anadult and I can make my own decisions. Of course, he’s vehemently opposed, but only because he can’t drive me an hour and fifteen minutes each way. For one thing, he goes an hour in the opposite direction for paramedic school and his schedule is crazy.”
“Maybe someone else can take you.”
“I don’t want anyone to take me,” she said. “I want to live on campus, which is where all the vet students live. It’s a very immersive program and you can get a degree in three years, plus an internship.”
Nicole leaned back, considering that. “You should do it.”
“Of course I should. Get this—the dean has to make his final decisions this week on next year’s class. He said he’d be in his office on Saturday morning—New Year’s Eve! He has invited me for the final interview at ten A.M.”
Nicole searched her face. “Well?”
She lifted a shoulder. “For one thing, Cameron’s scheduled to work that day from eight to three. And he’d never?—”
“I’ll take you!” Nicole shot forward.
Elise put her hand over her mouth as if she couldn’t believe yet another dream was coming true for her. Then her face fell. “No. No, he’ll never forgive you.”
