Chapter Four
“WELCOME TO THE BABBLING brOOKE Show . Thanks for joining me while I share my story one song at a time,” Brooke purred in soothing alto tones into my AirPods.
Yes, I was listening to one of my neighbor’s podcast episodes while I ran on the lake’s shore after my shift at the ER. Eden had mentioned the podcast and how much she liked Brooke late the night before, when she’d brought me dinner in my bedroom, where I’d been hiding the entire time Brooke was baking cookies in my kitchen. Which was not something I was proud of. Nor was I comfortable with how intrigued I seemed to be by my new neighbor.
“Tonight, we are going back to 1975. It’s the year a little company by the name of Microsoft was born, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, the Vietnam War officially ended, and the Eagles, one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, filled the airwaves. Yours truly wasn’t even a twinkle in my mother’s eye. My mother was barely twinkling herself in the seventies, but believe me, she made sure I knew who the Eagles were. She swore she was going to marry Don Henley someday. Brooke Henley kind of has a ring to it, don’t you think?” She laughed, and I found myself half mesmerized by the sound.
“Sadly, the closest Mom ever got to Don was a drumstick autographed by him that she ordered off eBay. She never used it to play her babies—meaning her drums—but I’m pretty sure she slept with it under her pillow every night. One of her favorite songs recorded by the Eagles was ‘Take It to the Limit’ from the album One of These Nights . It was an A-side song all the way, as Mom would say.”
Brooke sounded so at ease. Nothing like her nervous ramblings.
“The first time I ever really listened to the lyrics, I was ten years old, and I was asking more questions about my father, who I’ve never met. I noticed that every time I asked about him, it wouldn’t take long for Mom to play this song. It finally dawned on me that I should ask her why. Mom said my questions deserved a road trip, so we jumped in her old Toyota Celica Supra with a bag of red licorice and a six-pack of Tab. We sang every Journey song ever recorded as we drove and drove, pretending we were just small-town girls living in a lonely world and taking a midnight train to anywhere. But then ...”
Brooke paused for what I assumed was dramatic effect.
“ ... Mom popped in an old Eagles cassette and ‘Take It to the Limit’ blared in the car, which had seen much better days. With tears in her eyes, she said, ‘Brooke, baby, I always want you to take life to the limit. Don’t you ever stop until you’re satisfied you’ve done everything you desired. But,’ she whispered, ‘when it comes to love, set your limits and find a man who never even comes close to crossing them.’”
“So, maybe I didn’t exactly get the answers I wanted that night, other than to know the man who fathered me had taken it way past the limit. But I learned something more important—something I think I’ve forgotten over the years—and that’s taking life to the limit. I’ve found myself so often just staying in my comfort zone. But it’s not satisfying. There are so many things I want to do that I haven’t done. So, here’s to taking life to the limit and finding meaning in it. My beautiful listeners, all one hundred or so of you, I hope you follow my mom’s advice in life and in love. So, in honor of my mom, let’s take it to the limit one more time. Enjoy this iconic song by the Eagles.”
I slowed my pace on the rocky shore. The sun was just starting to set, its last rays casting a golden glow on the ripples of the lake. It was one of my favorite times of the day. Brooke’s words seemed to add more meaning to the moment, as did the song.
I’d heard it dozens of times, but now the lyrics felt more haunting. Perhaps even like a rebuke for the way I’d been living my life for the past year. In my defense, the best part of me had died. It took time to recover from such a loss. Yet, I was trying to find meaning in life again. It’s why I’d bought the lake house.
As the song wore on, it made me wonder what kind of man Brooke’s father was. What limits did he cross, and how come she never knew him? Her mother certainly seemed like a character.
I shook my head, wondering why I was so intrigued by my odd neighbor. She had an interesting story. But she seemed nothing like my Erica, who was all confidence and grace and woke up every day ready to conquer the world. She had been a force of nature in the biopharmaceutical world as a chemical engineer. Erica had certainly taken life to the limit. Brooke came off like a hot mess, except during her podcast. Maybe I was judging her too harshly and hospitals and attractive doctors really did make her nervous. Admittedly, it flattered me she found me attractive.
Damn it. I just needed to stop thinking about her. I took my AirPods out of my ears even though there were forty-five minutes left in the episode. The last thing I needed in my life was to be someone’s fling. Maybe fifteen or twenty years ago—hell, even ten years ago a fling would have appealed to me. That was before I met Erica. She’d helped me to understand love and relationships. Honestly, to grow up. So, when I was ready to date again, it was going to be with a woman I knew was looking for a genuine connection and not just some cheap summer thrills.
Lost in my thoughts and not paying attention to where I was, a voice startled me. The voice I’d been trying not to think about.
“Dr. Summers,” Brooke called out in a strangled voice, as if she weren’t sure whether she should.
I looked up to see her sitting on a blanket, close to the lakeshore in front of the little stone cottage, with a telescope, a picnic basket, and an old-style boom box surrounding her. She was biting her lip and tucking some hair behind her ear, all the while looking adorably sexy in a hoodie and joggers.
I had half a mind to ignore her and run home. But as Eden had reminded me the night before, avoiding her was foolish behavior. We were going to run into each other from time to time. I just needed to man up and pretend like I wasn’t attracted to her ... Because that sounded manly.
She tentatively waved as I slowed my jog to a walk, wondering what she wanted. I’d gotten the feeling from Eden that Brooke wanted to avoid me as much as possible. I was on board with that plan.
As I got closer, I realized she was playing “Rocket Man” by Elton John. I found myself wondering if she had a story to go along with the song.
“Hi, Dr. Summers,” she said shyly as I cautiously approached, avoiding any direct eye contact with her. The last thing I needed was to get trapped by gazing into her gorgeous green eyes.
“You can call me Logan,” I muttered.
“Right, sorry. I’m just trying not to be nervous.” She clasped her hands together and blew out an elongated breath. “I’ve been thinking a lot today, and my plan was to try to avoid you at all costs.” She giggled. “But I realized that since we’re neighbors and we share part of the private beach, it’s probably not feasible. And ... I don’t want that to be who I am. I’ve been running away from a lot of uncomfortable things lately, and I think that’s one of the reasons my mom wanted me to come here and fulfill a summer bucket list. A list she knew wouldn’t exactly be comfortable for me. What I’m trying to say is: I’m sorry about yesterday. My nerves got to me. I feel like they want to get to me right now,” she sang in a high pitch.
“Breathe,” she reminded herself. “Anyway, before I make a fool of myself again, I just want you to know that yesterday wasn’t the best reflection of me. And that I hope we’ll be good neighbors this summer.”
I stared blankly at her, trying to process what she’d said. She sounded more like the woman on her podcast, which I wasn’t sure was a good thing. That woman spoke to me. Regardless, I admired her candor.
“You don’t need to apologize. If anything, I should. My behavior in the ER yesterday didn’t reflect who I am as a physician. You caught me off guard,” I said lamely.
“Yeah, I bet I did. It’s probably not every day you treat a patient who word vomits and comes on to you—well, sort of. I wasn’t really coming on to you. And maybe you have a lot of patients who come on to you. You are pretty.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. A few patients had propositioned me over the years, but most had been inebriated.
“Gosh.” She covered her mouth. “There I go again. Anyway, I’ll quit talking.”
I found I didn’t want her to, so I tortured myself and asked something intelligent like, “So, you like Elton John?” I pointed at the old boom box.
She did me no favors when her face lit up and revealed exactly how beautiful she and her flawless complexion were. Damn it, she even had an adorable dimple on her left cheek.
I cleared my throat, reminding myself I didn’t want to be anyone’s summer fling, and that she was quite a bit younger than me. Not like nine years was a tremendous difference in age, but it was enough. I wouldn’t be one of those men who moved on with a younger woman. I wasn’t even sure I could move on from Erica. Was there some rule that said I had to?
“I love him. Do you know what inspired this song, ‘Rocket Man’?”
“No.”
“Author Ray Bradbury’s short story by the same name. It’s about a man torn between his job as an astronaut and his family. The song’s themes also relate to the hardships of fame. Did you know that Elton John played a melody of this song and ‘Space Oddity’ as a tribute to David Bowie after his death?”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Did you know Elton John was a piano prodigy?” She grinned. “I’m talking too much again.”
“I like it.” I hadn’t meant to say that, but it was true. There was something about her, as quirky as she was.
Her grin turned even wider.
“I didn’t know he was a prodigy,” I stuttered like an unsure teenage boy.
“The Royal Academy of Music gave him a scholarship when he was only eleven years old. Crazy, right? ”
I nodded, warring with myself. Part of me wanted to run away, and the other part of me pointed at the telescope.
“What are you using that for?” I asked, like I didn’t know what a telescope was.
Brooke looked up at the brilliant sky, now painted in dark shades of orange and pink. “I’m waiting for the stars to appear. One of my bucket list items is to stargaze.”
“You know, it can take a good hour or two for the stars to appear after sunset,” I said, sounding more like a smart aleck than I meant to. I just didn’t want her to waste her time.
“Oh, I know. It’s just so peaceful out here. I thought I would enjoy some music and food.” She held up the picnic basket. “I bought dinner from the Moon Café. Have you been there?”
“Yeah. It’s great.” I usually stopped there once a week after my shift at the hospital.
“It has excellent online reviews. I ordered way more than I can eat because it all sounded so good, and I couldn’t decide what to get. Do you want some of it?” Her cheeks turned a shade of dark pink. “I mean, would you like to eat dinner with me, neighbor?”
Truthfully, the answer was, I did. But I was afraid to knock on a door I wasn’t ready to walk through. I was even more afraid Brooke Crawford might open it, and I would stroll right in, throwing caution out the window.
“Thank you for the invitation, but Eden made dinner.” I made my excuses.
“I wouldn’t miss out on that. She’s amazing.” Brooke smiled and waved. “Have a good night.”
“You too.” I numbly walked away, glancing behind me to watch Brooke lean back, close her eyes, and smile. The song “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” began to play. The last rays of the sun kissed her smooth skin, and suddenly I felt as if I were missing out.