Chapter 12 Nicole #2
Nicole stole a glance at them, her attention fixed on Cameron’s attractive features. But it wasn’t his good looks that had her heart right now. It was the sheer love in his eyes as he watched his sister fulfill her dream. Protective worry, yes, but unabashed joy, too.
Elise lifted her chin, exhilarated. “I feel amazing, Nic,” she whispered. “Like…like nothing’s impossible.”
“Sometimes, nothing is,” she replied.
Copper’s hooves crunched softly on the packed earth and, for a few perfect minutes, the world felt whole and shiny.
When Elise finally asked to stop, Nicole slowed Copper and steadied him back in the stable while Cameron and Jack helped her dismount. Once back in her chair, Elise grabbed Nicole’s hands, eyes glowing.
“Thank you,” she whispered, voice breaking. “This was the best day of my life.”
Nicole knelt beside her, hugging her fiercely. “You can come ride Copper anytime you want. Consider him yours, too, Elise.”
Looking up, Nicole met Cameron’s gaze, his whole expression filled with gratitude and something that made her nearly tumble right down to the hay-covered stable floor.
Elise beamed through her tears. “Next time, maybe we trot.”
Cameron groaned. “She has to push the envelope,” he murmured.
Nicole laughed, hugging Elise again as Copper nuzzled her shoulder, the perfect punctuation to a perfect morning.
A little while later, the air was still humming with the magic of what they’d done. Elise smiled the whole time Nicole tended Copper and the men took the equipment down.
Jack clapped Cameron’s back. “Hey, before you go, could you give me a hand putting all this gear away?”
“Of course,” Cameron said immediately.
“Appreciate it,” Jack said. “And I hear you’re a firefighter. You handy with broken things?”
Cameron threw a look over his shoulder, catching Nicole’s eye with a question in his. “Uh, yeah. What do you need?”
“A hinge outside. Come on. I could use the muscles.”
“I’ll come, too,” Red said. “Even though I’m apparently just a pretty face.” He winked at Elise. “Good job, equestrian.”
She smiled at him as he walked out.
“Your grandfather is certifiably wonderful,” she announced as Nicole threw some fresh feed in Copper’s stall. “And you get your striking dark looks from Daddy, huh?”
Nicole laughed, wiping her hands on her jeans as she came back to the wheelchair. “Well, Mom’s blond, so probably. Come and meet her. You want to go in the lodge and get warm?”
“No. I want to sit in this stable and smell horse for…well, ever.”
“Aww.” She looked around the stable, seeing it through Elise’s eyes. “I get that.”
“But I do want to meet your mom and aunt, and see the inside of this gorgeous lodge.” Elise started to push the wheels.
“I got you,” Nicole said, rushing to the back to grab the chair handles.
“No, please.” She looked up over her shoulder. “I’m quite capable of getting around by myself, despite what Cameron would have you think.”
Chatting happily, they went side by side over the path that her father had so thoughtfully cleared. Nicole took her to the mudroom door, since there were no steps, and helped her in over the threshold.
As soon as she was in the kitchen, Elise inhaled deeply, sighing. “Okay, the stable smelled good, in a horsey kind of way, but this?”
“This is MJ McBride’s kitchen,” Nicole announced. “Heaven on Earth.”
Elise looked around, her eyes wide as she took in the country kitchen, the pine table in the bay windows, and MJ’s gleaming workspace.
Nicole’s mother appeared, peeking into the kitchen. “I thought I heard voices.”
“Mom!” Nicole said, hurrying to her side. “This is Elise—Cameron’s sister. Elise, this is Cindy Kessler, my awesome mom.”
Cindy’s expression softened with a warm smile. “Oh, honey, I’ve heard so much about you. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Elise reached up a hand. “Nicole’s told me all about you, too. Thank you for letting me crash your beautiful lodge.”
“You are welcome anytime,” Cindy said, shaking her hand and adding a light hug. “How was the ride?”
“Life-changing,” she quipped, looking up at Nicole. “I love your daughter.”
Mom laughed. “That makes two of us.”
“Three, if you count my smitten brother.”
Nicole flicked at Elise’s fingers. “Oh, hush, you.”
Mom lifted a brow. “I just met him outside,” she said. “Handsome and kind, and apparently had a toolbox in his truck that impressed Jack. So, thumbs-up.”
“He’s a good guy,” Elise said. “A little overprotective, but good.”
MJ swooped in from the dining area. “Oh! Company! This must be the horsewoman everyone is talking about!”
Elise laughed at the gushing, easily chatting with them as MJ made warm drinks and set out snacks.
Nicole guided Elise into the living room and parked her chair near the sofa. She sat cross-legged on a chair beside her, feeling suddenly grateful for her own easy mobility. Elise handled the transition like a pro, and never complained.
“You have the best attitude,” Nicole said, sensing she didn’t have to edit her thoughts. “I mean, I know it can’t be easy, but you’re just…so positive.”
Elise shrugged, the color in her cheeks deepening at the compliment. “Well, I figure I can either be bitter about the chair or just…live my life, you know? Doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated, but I don’t want to waste time being angry. I’d rather master skills and grow myself.”
Nicole’s heart ached with admiration. “That’s incredible perspective. Honestly, I think you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
Elise laughed softly. “Oh, you barely know me.”
“I know enough,” Nicole insisted, certain her assessment was right.
Once they were settled with some cookies, Cindy and MJ drifted back to their respective tasks, leaving Nicole and Elise alone to wait for Cameron to join them.
Elise took a sip of tea, then sighed dramatically. “I’m not kidding when I say today was the best day I can remember in years. Thank you, Nicole. Really.”
“You’re obviously a natural with horses.”
“All animals, if I’m being honest. I adore all living things equally.”
“I’m surprised you don’t have a dog,” Nicole said.
Elise made a face. “I did, but Freddie died a year ago and I haven’t had the nerve to fall in love again. Anyway, I…”
Nicole looked over at her, waiting for the rest.
But Elise just shook her head. “Cameron’s just too protective. He’s like a third parent—on steroids.”
Nicole frowned, not sure she saw the connection between that and not having a dog.
“I mean, I get it, I do,” Elise continued. “But I’m capable, Nicole. I can get around, assuming there are no stairs. I’m smart, I’m independent, and I’m twenty-four years old. I want a life. But my family—especially my brother—treats me like I’m so fragile.”
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. Anything is possible, 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 they want me. 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 an adult 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.”
“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 voice cracked.
“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 you have to 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.