“What? He can’t be that opposed to?—”
“Opposed? He’d blow a gasket if you drove the van or took me somewhere.”
Nicole frowned. “For your dreams? To be one of thirty chosen for such a prestigious program? Could you really live there?”
“Yes! They have student housing and I discussed handicapped access with one of the administrators on my second interview. They have two first-floor apartments that are wheelchair accessible with some minor assistance from other students. I’d be fine! I’m young and strong and…” Elise’s voicecracked. “No one wants to give me a chance to prove that. And by no one…”
“You mean Cameron,” Nicole whispered.
For a moment, they just looked at each other and Nicole’s head whirred with thoughts. If she took Elise, it could cost her this new relationship with Cameron. But if she didn’t, it would haunt her forever. And Cameron had to see?—
They heard laughter and men’s voices in the kitchen.
“I’m taking you,” Nicole announced under her breath.
“Without telling him?” Elise challenged.
Nicole swallowed. “He’ll be at work. We’ll go, do the interview, and be back by early afternoon. I can still make Benny’s dog show, and then youhaveto tell him the truth. Promise? As soon as he gets home.”
“What if he’s mad at you?”
She lifted her shoulder. “Then he’s mad. I’m going to do what I think is right.”
Elise stared at her, her pretty features falling as if she was going to shed those tears. “I hope he knows what a gem he has in you.”
She hoped so, too, because she was putting that relationship on the line to do what was right.
MJ finished the last of the clean-up, taking her steaming mug of peppermint tea to the kitchen table where a notebook and pen waited for her. Outside, the first softness of evening had started to fall in the mountains on this, the penultimate day of the year.
Since Cindy was out with Jack for a trip into town, she had time to concentrate on party plans.
Settling in her chair at the table, she looked down at her to-do list. The gathering would be intimate, mostly family, but no one had a clue that the event was anything other than a New Year’s Eve party.
That meant it would be a complete surprise to everyone when Jack got down on one knee and asked Cindy to be his wife…again.
A shiver danced over her.
Was there anything better in the whole world than a proposal? No. It was such a pivotal and thrilling moment, so packed with promise and hope and no one—absolutely no one—deserved that happy ending more than hard-working, good-hearted Cindy.
Well, she wouldn’t mind Gracie and Nicole getting that moment, too. And maybe…
“Stop,” she muttered to her imagination, which was certainly in overdrive today. She flipped to a clean page in the notebook to start a list of snacks and desserts she’d want on hand, noting what she’d have to cook.
Her pen was still while her mind…wasn’t.
Was she worried about the lodge? Yes. But this felt more…personal.
She let out a sigh, tapping her pen against the notepad. Sixty-two wasn’t old, but sometimes it felt like her heart had been retired, too. She’d had her one great love—George—and losing him had left a void she never expected to fill. She’d never thought she needed to fill it.
Was she worried that watching Jack slip that ring on Cindy’s finger tomorrow night might make MJ ache for something?—
The creak of the mudroom door and a soft shuffle of footsteps made MJ glance up, heart giving a leap when she saw Matt Walker stepping in. His chestnut brown hair was slightly mussed, and he looked more serious than usual as he slipped out of a jacket and kicked off his shoes.
“Hello.” She put her cup down and straightened, smiling at him. “Is everything okay in Cabin Five this afternoon?”
Matt gave her a smile that always seemed just a touch mysterious. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been in town all day. I was actually looking for you.”
The words sent a little delight through her chest, though she told herself not to read too much into it.
