Lucky Lifeguard (River's End Ranch Book 28) Read online

  “That makes sense to me.” Her father ran a hand through his hair. “But what about the Olympics? Surely you don’t mean that you’d give up on that too.”’

  “Here’s the thing, Dad. If I pulled back on school, I’d be a better athlete, no doubt about it. But I’ve got to let myself heal more first. I’ve been pushing too hard, trying to be perfect, trying to get back on track in record time, and it’s not going to happen that way. We have until 2020—why are we forcing this right now?”

  “Because all we’ve ever wanted us for you to be happy.” Her mother’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “And we thought this would make you happy.”

  “Do you know what makes me the happiest of all?” Chelsea desperately hoped she could make them understand. “Do you remember my sixth birthday party?”

  “Oh, no. That disaster? When the clown didn’t show up and the ice cream melted and the pony got sick in the pool?” Her mother shuddered. “That’s one of my very worst memories.”

  “But it’s one of my best. Do you want to know why?”

  “One of your best? How is that possible?”

  “Because Dad dressed up like a clown to fill in for the one who didn’t show up, and you made milkshakes out of the melted ice cream. And by the time we were done, you were laughing over everything that went wrong, and I remember the two of you putting your arms around me and we all laughed together. It was wonderful.”

  Her father cleared his throat. “Peggy, I think our daughter is trying to tell us something important here.”

  “I think so too.” Her mother reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes, then turned back to Chelsea. “You’re saying that we tried to give you the world, but we didn’t give you us.”

  Chelsea reached out and squeezed her mother’s hand. “I love you guys. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “So, what do we do next?” her father asked after they’d all sniffled for a few minutes. It was the most cleansing cry Chelsea had ever had.

  “We eat, because I’m starving and crying makes me hungry anyway, and that food smells great,” Chelsea said. “And we should watch a movie together, and then I think I should write the dean and discuss my situation for the fall semester.”

  “I’ll get some plates,” her father said.

  “And I’ll set up the movie. Action or chick flick?” her mother asked.

  As Chelsea watched her parents move around the room getting things set up for their evening in, she had to cry just a few more tears, but these were of gratitude. She’d taken a huge risk in sharing her feelings, but her parents had listened and they’d respected what she had to say, and she already felt their relationship starting to heal. There was just one little thing to do. She picked up her phone and sent a quick text to Joey.

  Can I get a rain check? Something kind of wonderful is happening over here, and I need to let it play out. Oh, and you get to sleep in tomorrow.

  He replied almost immediately. Of course. Catch you later.

  She sent him a smiley face, then set the phone down and turned to the TV, accepting a plate of Chinese food from her dad and smiling at her mother’s choice of The Princess Bride. This wasn’t quite as good as her father dressed up in a clown suit, but it was really, really close.

  Chapter Twelve

  Joey slid his phone back in his pocket, disappointed. He was glad that things were looking up for Chelsea, but he’d really looked forward to spending time with her, and rain checks were so ambiguous. That could mean tomorrow or the next day, or it could even mean that she’d changed her mind about wanting to see him and planned to keep brushing him off forever. And he found that really bothered him.

  So he wasn’t going to let it.

  He’d been walking across the parking lot carrying a pizza when she texted, and now he turned course just a bit and headed for the RV park. He hadn’t seen Jaclyn for a while—it was high time.

  “I hope you haven’t eaten,” he said when she opened the door, holding up the pizza box where she could see it.

  “I was about to, but the fairies told me a handsome man would be showing up on my doorstep with gifts of chocolate and cheese. So I put my peanut butter sandwich in the fridge and sat down to wait.” She opened the door wide and let him in. “I’m guessing the cheese is there on the pizza, but what about the chocolate?”

  He reached into his jacket pocket, where he’d tucked a handful of candy bars. “Will this do?”

  “Perfect. Let’s go in the kitchen. I usually eat in front of the TV, but the bunnies love pizza, and if we eat in the living room, they’ll have their little noses in everything.”

  He followed her into the kitchen and set the pizza on the table while she got some plates and napkins. Then she sat down across the table from him and fixed him with a look. “I gather I’m not the original intended recipient of this gift of Americanized Italian food.”

  “You’re not, actually. Is that okay? It should still taste good.” He lifted the lid, and the scent of olives and sausage filled the air.

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that. I just wonder what happened to the person you bought this for in the first place.”

  “I think she’s spending the evening with her parents.”

  “Ah.” Jaclyn lifted a piece and set it on her plate, then cut the tip off with a fork. “That’s exactly as it should be.”

  “I agree. I was just left wandering around with a pizza. And then I realized that I have a perfect date in you.”

  “Perfect because I’m always available? You can’t just assume things like that, young man. I do have a social life.”

  “I meant, perfect because you always know what to say, and you always look like a million bucks.”

  Jaclyn looked down at her lavender sweatshirt. “Not everyone can pull off this look.”

  “Very true.”

  They each ate a few bites and then she turned that look back on him. “So . . . this girl. You fought for her once, but you didn’t fight hard enough, and you need to fight again. Have you got what it takes to win this time?”

  Joey blinked. “Beg pardon?”

  Jaclyn shook her head. “You know what I’m talking about—the fairies say that playing dumb doesn’t suit you.”

  Joey would have smiled, but he was too dumbfounded. “I thought my chance with her was over and that we’d just be friends now, nothing more.”

  “And where do the great romances start? With friendship! Think about Emma and Mr. Knightley. Friends for years before it turned into love. George and Martha Washington! Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley!”

  Joey was getting confused. “Hermione and Ron?” What did they have to do with George and Martha Washington?

  “Yes! And conversely, look at what happened to Romeo and Juliet. They rushed headlong into romance without making friends first, and now they’re dead. Both of them. So tragic.”

  And he thought they were going to have a normal conversation . . . of course, this was pretty normal for Jaclyn.

  “It’s true that I never really got over her.”

  “And you weren’t supposed to. Your heart knew what it wanted, and it kept her spot nice and warm. Not enough sausage. Did you get this from the dining room?”

  It took Joey a second to follow that change of subject. “Yes, I did.”

  “I’ll call down tomorrow and tell them. They’re excellent cooks, but I do have to check in on them every so often and make sure they aren’t slipping.”

  “We definitely couldn’t have that.” Joey served them each another slice. “So, what should I do?”

  “You’re already doing it. You just need to keep doing it. That’s the trick.”

  “How do I keep doing it when I don’t know what I’m doing in the first place?”

  She gave him a very patient look. “You men sure do have a way of overcomplicating things. Questions, questions, questions. Have some faith, young man. Faith in yourself, faith in her, and faith that things will work out how they’re supposed to. They gene
rally do, when we get out of their way. It’s our interference that messes things up.”

  “And how do you know that, Jaclyn?” he asked. She made it sound so easy.

  “I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Do you see these wrinkles? I have them because I’m old, not because I suntanned too much in the eighties, and I’ve seen a whole lot of stuff in my lifetime. Enough to know that we should listen to our hearts, dance in the rain, never pass up the chance to donate to Toys for Tots, and always, always have faith.”

  Joey reached out and patted her hand. “You’re a treasure, you know that?”

  She blushed. “Well, I know I’m rather awesome, but I’ve never been called a treasure.”

  “It’s about time, then.” Joey was about to say something else when he got a text. “Oops, gotta go. This is Dani about the wildfires. Can I leave the rest of the pizza here? Josh will help you eat it, won’t he?”

  “That nephew of mine will eat anything if it’s free. Thank you, and be safe, Joey.” She met his gaze, and hers was as serious as he’d ever seen it. “Come back to us.”

  Her words made a chill go down his spine. “I will. I promise.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then sent a text as he trotted across the parking lot to let Dani know he was on the way.

  ***

  “We’ve been asked to report to the Walla Walla fire day after tomorrow at noon,” Dani said, speaking to the volunteers who had gathered in the main house of the ranch. It was a good central location for their meetings. “They’re rotating out their volunteers, and that’s when the current group is going home. We’ll be there for two days, and then we’ll come back and another group will take our place. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get things under control quickly and it won’t take too many rotations before we’re done. But I’m told that the groups there now are exhausted and in bad need of recoup time.”

  One of the volunteers raised his hand. “I’m not trained in firefighting techniques. Is there training available, or will I be taught on site?”

  “You’ll most likely be stationed in a first aid tent, since that’s your area,” Dani replied. “We don’t have a lot of time for training at this point and will be using people’s already-existing skills as much as possible. Joey, Jeff, Max, I know you three have fought fires before.”

  Joey nodded, as did his two friends.

  “We’ll need you leading the charge as much as possible. We’re working under the direction of the forest service already in place, but those of you with experience will obviously be looked to as leaders. We’ll be meeting here in the ranch parking lot at seven o’clock in the morning day after tomorrow and taking a chartered bus to Walla Walla. Feel free to leave your cars in the parking lot here while we’re gone, but if you can carpool here to save space, that would be helpful. We’re officially assigned a forty-eight-hour shift, but I say, prepare to be gone longer just in case. Are there any questions?”

  Dani fielded a few general inquiries, then dismissed them all so they could start getting ready.

  Joey sent texts to Catherine and Caitlyn to tell them he was being called out and to ask them if they could cover the pool. Then he sent another text to Kaitlyn, the other Kate, who had left the pool to work in housekeeping, and asked if she’d be willing to stand by if she was needed. Then he paused, leaning against the porch railing of the main house. He really needed to talk to Chelsea.

  He knew she was busy and he didn’t want to interrupt her, but he couldn’t very well arrange replacements for himself without knowing what his schedule actually was. It was purely a work-related motive that drove him to want to see her.

  Then again, his conversation with Jaclyn had put things in a whole new light, and he wanted the chance to look in Chelsea’s eyes and see if there was still any possibility for them to be together. He’d thought there wasn’t, and he’d made peace with that as best as he could, but now . . . she was different. He was different. The things they used to quarrel about didn’t exist anymore. The things that hadn’t changed were the things that had brought them together in the first place. Didn’t they both deserve an opportunity to see where this second chance might lead them?

  Before he could talk himself out of it, he sent her a text. I know you’re busy, but do you have a minute?

  Parents are asleep now. Come on over.

  Good. If he’d had to wait until the next day, he probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Before Chelsea’s mother had gone to bed, she’d helped her take off her brace just long enough to use the bathroom and to put on a pair of sweats. They decided that the couch was probably the best place for her, so she’d gotten settled there again with some leftover Chinese, the television remote, her laptop, and another bottle of water. She didn’t feel tired physically, but emotionally, she was pretty much spent. So many feelings, going from hopelessness to joy, depression to optimism. Being human was enough to wear a person out.

  When she heard a tap on the door a few minutes later, she called out softly, “Come in, but only if you’re Joey.”

  The door opened, and he stuck his head inside. “What if I’m not Joey?”

  “Then you have to leave, of course.”

  “Oh. Then it’s a good thing I am.” He came inside and closed the door. “How are you feeling?”

  She sighed and leaned her head back against her pillow. “That’s a complicated question. Um, my knee is okay, but it’s still a little achy. Emotionally, I’m all over the place.”

  He sat on the ottoman nearest her. “You look happier, though.”

  “I am happier. I’m going to pull back on my college courses, and I had a great talk with my parents. I think we’re going to try harder to be a real family now. And as far as the swimming goes . . .”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m going to pull back on that a little too. Train just enough to stay in qualification for the trials, and then when the time comes, decide if that’s what I really want.”

  She could tell by the look on his face that she’d surprised him. “I thought going to the Olympics was your dream.”

  “It was my parents’ dream, actually, and I haven’t had the chance yet to decide if it’s my dream too. It’s just that in my parents’ world, if you’re going to do something, you become the very best at it, and when I was little and they saw that I was good at swimming, they decided that being the best meant going to the Olympics.”

  “Wow. I guess I just always thought you were passionate about it. You’ve certainly worked hard enough for it, and you won every meet.”

  “No, not every meet,” she corrected him.

  “I’m pretty sure you did.”

  “I’m pretty sure I didn’t. Don’t you remember our freshman year at college? You smoked it.”

  He shook his head. “No, you won. That’s why you got the scholarship and transferred schools.”

  She was so confused. “I won the women’s division, and you won the men’s. And you won overall, Joey—you creamed my time.”

  “But if I won overall, why didn’t I get the scholarship?”

  Oh, wow. He never knew he’d won. How had that detail been missed? Probably because all the attention had been on her, and it wasn’t a meet where they gave out medals or anything. He probably just assumed she’d won because of the scholarship. “The men’s team was full, and they were looking to fill a slot on the women’s team. That’s the only reason, Joey. You were the stronger swimmer by over five seconds.”

  He rubbed his jaw, and she wished she could tell what he was thinking.

  “I didn’t realize you didn’t know that. I just . . . I just thought you did.”

  “No. Well, it’s all water under the bridge now, isn’t it? I’m doing what I really want, and it sounds like you’re well on the way to figuring that out for yourself. No harm done.” He said that, but there was still something in his eyes that seemed a bit cloudy.

  “I feel really stupid now.
Why didn’t I ever congratulate you or anything?” She knew why—she’d been too busy thinking about what it meant for her.

  “Don’t worry about it. I should have figured it out—I mean, people were congratulating me, and I thought it was for my win in that division, not overall. Seriously, no worries.” He leaned forward. “Listen, I’m here for another reason. The S&R team has been called up.”

  “It has?” A chill raced down her arms. “When are you leaving?”

  “Day after tomorrow, seven a.m. They’re bringing in volunteers in shifts—people are getting exhausted and need to trade off.”

  “I bet. I can’t even imagine what hard work that would be.” She swallowed, trying to push back the fear. “So, what will you be doing exactly?”

  “Probably a lot of work with an ax. Some with hoses. Possibly helping people evacuate, but I’m trained for fire, so that’s where I’ll be most of the time.”

  “Actually fighting the fire itself?”

  He looked at her oddly. “Um, yes, because I’m going to help fight a fire. Wasn’t I clear about that?”

  “You were . . . but I was thinking that maybe you wouldn’t be right there by the fire. I know, I know, I’m silly. It’s just easier not to think about the details.”

  “If no one goes by the fire, the fire would win. It’s scary—it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done—but if we don’t step up, we’re making other people do it for us, and I don’t think that’s fair.”

  She held up a hand. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I just don’t like thinking about people I know in the line of danger.”

  “And none of us like being in the line of danger. We just like knowing that we’re keeping other people safe.”

  This conversation was starting to sound like an argument, and that wasn’t what Chelsea wanted. She also didn’t think it was what Joey had in mind when he asked to come over. “Thank you for doing that,” she said. “Thank you for doing things I’m too scared to do.”