Chapter 2
Chapter Two
B rielle tightened her ponytail as she walked across the parking lot toward the area she and her ragnar team were set to meet. They didn’t always do group runs, most of them had day jobs and trained on their own, but every once in a while, they’d get together for a trail run on a Saturday morning and enjoy the time in nature together.
“Hey, guys,” she said with a smile, meeting the eyes of the group.
Stu, always the flirt, waved enthusiastically at her. “Wassup, buttercup?”
Brielle chuckled. “Does that line ever work for you?”
Stu shrugged, his lanky shoulders shifting under a too-big shirt. Brielle knew from experience he would take it off when they ran. Several of the men in their group ran sans shirts, but only Stu used the tiny shorts that college track and field personnel wore.
They made Brielle wince a little, but she figured someone as young as Stu could get away with it.
“Hey, Bri,” Henry said with a soft smile. He was the quiet one of the group. Married with several kids and in his early forties, Brielle found herself surrounded by brotherly figures on her running team, which was as frustrating as it was wonderful.
They’d come together from an online forum and the group had sort of meshed as a group of misfits, but their exercise styles were similar enough that they just kind of worked.
Simon was a friend of Henry’s, and they were both in similar stages of life. Elyse, the only other woman in the group, was a career driven, mid-forties single woman with less filter than Brielle. She drove down from Portland to practice with them and Brielle felt bad for the distance, but she wasn’t about to say anything to Elyse. The pity would have fallen on deaf ears.
Her eyes went around the group, and she nodded and smiled as she took in the rest. Matthew was close in age to Simon and Henry, but was divorced, and Levi was a vet tech a little way out of town.
“How’s Sparky?” Levi called out from where he was stretching on the other side of the group.
Brielle’s smile felt brittle. “Same,” she finally managed. Her heart was slowly breaking as she watched her dog age. He’d been her only constant companion, and unlike those of the human variety, he’d never set her over for someone prettier and more feminine. He’d also never once complained of her athletic drive or the fact that she had muscular arms instead of a slim waist.
Her appointment with Ryan was in two days because Brielle was desperate for help, but she found herself struggling with the fact that she didn’t want to see him, which made her feel guilty. Sparky needed to come first, but Brielle was having a hard time not dragging her feet.
High school was years ago, she reminded herself. Get over it already. Everyone liked Aurora better than you. It’s not like Ryan was unique in that.
Too bad no one told the pain of rejection that there was a time limit for its existence. Brielle pushed it aside, the same way she did her mother’s judgment and finally realized that someone was missing. “ Isn’t Carter coming?”
Stu snorted. “You didn’t hear?”
Brielle frowned. “No. What?”
“Stu,” Henry warned, but the young man was already into gossip mode.
“Dude went running at night.” Stu shook his head. “Apparently, he had a bad breakup or something and went out on a trail run, by himself, in the middle of the night.”
“Okay…” Brielle was waiting for the punchline.
He shook his head. “He stepped in a hole, Bri. Snapped the tendon in his ankle.”
“Ooh.” Brielle made a face. “Is he okay? That had to hurt.”
Stu shrugged and went back to stretching.
Brielle turned to Henry, who was usually their voice of reason.
“He’s out of the race, and they’re still trying to determine if he’ll need surgery,” Henry said softly. He pushed a hand through his chin length hair. “I feel bad for him, but now we’re short a man and that race is in a couple weeks.”
Brielle huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “What was he thinking?”
“There was a woman involved,” Stu offered. “He wasn’t thinking.”
Brielle rolled her eyes. And her mother wondered why Brielle would rather have a dog than a man. “Are we going to re-split the runs, then? That’s like thirty miles we’ll have to reassign.”
Several sighs came from the group.
“That’s an awful lot of miles we’ll have to adjust to,” Elyse said, chewing on her bottom lip. “I don’t know that I can take on ten more miles and still keep a decent pace.”
Brielle was surprised at the admission, but she understood the sentiment. This wasn’t an insignificant change. They’d been counting on another person to hit their two hundred miles. It wasn’t like this kind of thing was easy to fix. “Maybe we need to add another person? Does anyone have another running buddy who wouldn’t mind pinch hitting? ”
The group was quiet for several long seconds before Matthew spoke. “Maybe. But the question is, how fast do they need to be?”
Brielle tried to set aside her competitive streak, now wasn’t the time to get picky. They were in a bind, and it wouldn’t be right to ask someone to be as fast as Carter had been. Their strategy might just have to change from being competitive to simply finishing at this point. She pushed away the disappointment that brought. They’d worked hard over the last few months so this was going to be rough, but still, desperate times and all that.
“How much do you want to win?” Elyse asked, obviously not having the same concerns about hurting feelings as Brielle had.
Henry shook his head. “If we take it on, we’ll be slower. If we get another runner, we’ll be slower. It’s fine. I’d just like to actually do the race. All this work for nothing seems like a waste.”
“Agreed,” Levi piped up, and Brielle nodded as well.
“I’ve got a buddy,” Matthew offered.
“I might have someone as well,” Levi said, his lips pursed. His shaved head was starting to sweat in the sun. “I don’t know when he last ran, but he was a cross-country runner in high school.”
“Doesn’t hurt,” Stu added.
Matthew nodded. “So, we each do some asking, and then we can talk about who’s available.” He looked around the group, his eyes lingering just a little too long on Brielle to be comfortable. “Anyone else?”
Brielle cleared her throat. “I’ve got a friend who’s a firefighter, so he’s in shape, but I don’t think he’s ever done distance before. But I’ll ask.”
“That might be worse than us doing it ourselves,” Elyse said with a laugh.
“Maybe,” Brielle agreed with a grin. “But I’ll see what he thinks.”
The group murmured an end to the conversation, each agreeing to try and talk to someone, then the run began.
Brielle wished she could close her eyes for just a split second. She always ran at the front of the group and she loved the freedom that came with the exercise, but on a trail run, closing her eyes meant hitting a tree or a branch or stumbling on a root.
Group runs were good for camaraderie, but nothing like what she enjoyed on the beach with Sparky in the mornings. Her time spent there was almost spiritual in nature, and Brielle was dreading the day those runs ended for good.
Levi had been nice to ask about her dog, but today Brielle didn’t want to think about it. She’d just lost a teammate, and she was worried about losing her best friend. Why was life always about the loss?
Speaking of… Brielle made a mental note to send Maeve a text. Antony, her military brother was back in town, and Brielle hadn’t heard a word since his arrival. She didn’t know Antony as well as she knew the sisters, so she hadn’t stormed the Harrison house to be part of the proceedings, but she was friends with Maeve and depending on how bad her friend’s brother was, Brielle should check in and see if she could help. Maybe stepping outside herself for a moment would help give Brielle something to do, rather than just stew in her own misery.
Like Levi said…it can’t hurt to ask.
“Sick cat in room five,” Olivia said as she sashayed past Ryan.
He nodded, not bringing his eyes up from the chart he was updating. He heard her feet stutter before continuing on their way. Olivia was a nice assistant. Young, pretty, had great ambitions, but she was a little too interested in what he did at nights and on weekends and that was strictly against Ryan’s no-dating policy.
“You should just say something and be done with it,” a low voice said with a hint of wry sarcasm.
Ryan gave his friend a look. “You first.”
Levi shrugged, running a hand over his smooth head. “If I had someone like Olivia after me, I don’t think I’d try to chase her off.”
Ryan huffed. “There’re plenty of women into the shaved look,” he pointed out. “Walk into any bar, and you’re bound to see a cult.”
“I’m missing the tats to go with it,” Levi said with a grin. He flexed and looked at his bicep. “Should I get one that says ‘mother?’ Or maybe pretend I have an ex?”
Ryan laughed. “Definitely mother. That never goes out of style.”
Levi grinned back. “Hey, I’ve got a question for you.”
“Sorry,” Ryan said glibly. “I’ve got plans.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”
“I know enough.”
“We need a new man on the team.”
Ryan paused his walk and looked over his shoulder. “What?”
Levi grinned. “See? I wasn’t trying to get you to play wingman.”
Raising an eyebrow, Ryan gave him a look. “Maybe not, but you have the last four times you’ve said that line.” He turned to face his friend fully, not caring that he was procrastinating dealing with a sick feline. Cat puke was no joke. “What team are you talking about?”
“The ragnar?”
Ryan nodded, he’d heard Levi mention it a few times.
“We’re down a man.”
“Okay…?”
Levi gave him a look. “Okay, so none of us are looking to add thirty miles to our route. We’re trying to get someone else to run the leg. Well, it’s actually like three legs, but still.”
“And you’re asking me?” Ryan shook his head. “I haven’t run distance since high school.”
“Maybe not, but you still run, right?”
Ryan shrugged. “Yeah…some.” Truth was he did five milers regularly, but that was a far cry from a couple of half marathons in as many days.
“Well, we’ve got two weeks,” Levi said with a triumphant grin. He walked over and slapped Ryan’s shoulder as he walked past. “I’ll even train your slow backside so you don’t embarrass us.”
Ryan sputtered and spun, but the tech was already closing the exam room door behind him. Frustrated, Ryan blew out a breath so loudly he didn’t hear anyone come up behind him.
“So…” Olivia began. “Do you have plans this Saturday?”
Ryan tried not to jump at her unexpected appearance, but he wasn’t sure how well he hid it. “Oh, uh, hey…” he said lamely. He fumbled to set the tablet down and tried to regain his dignity. He was the doctor here. This was his clinic, and he shouldn’t be so off balance by a young woman who didn’t know better than to crush on a guy several years older than her and her boss to boot. “I’m, uh…just heading to the cat you mentioned.” He started to walk away, but Olivia touched his arm.
“You didn’t answer me,” she said with a soft laugh. Her fingers lingered for just a moment before she shyly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
Ryan groaned inwardly. Why was this such a mess? First his neighbor, now his assistant? His mother’s prayers must have some kind of special sway in the heavens because he always seemed to be struggling with women wanting more than he was willing to give.
“I’m busy this Saturday,” he said in a gentle voice, hoping she would get the hint. It wasn’t that he had anything against Olivia, or even Staci for that matter. They were nice enough. But they were just too much like all the other women he’d tried dating. Too much like the woman he’d tried to marry.
Their hair was the same, their nails were done to perfection, they had extra long lashes, and their lips always looked pouty. Even the body shape was similar. A little taller than average and slim with just enough curves to be enticing. They all were exactly the cheerleader type of woman his mother wished he would pick from.
It was fine. It really was. A few of the women over the years had been spoiled and unkind, making it easy to turn them down, but most of the women he’d encountered, Olivia included, were nice enough, but he knew full well that “nice enough” was easily hiding a severe lack of loyalty.
Since his break-up he’d come to see just how much he and his ex, Trina, had been lacking in common. He’d been star struck and high on popularity and success. Trina had been the same. Only she’d used it as an excuse to keep looking for something better, and apparently she’d found it.
Now that he had some distance, Ryan could see it never would have worked. Their hobbies, their desires, their goals for the future? They’d all been different. There were times when he felt like a fish out of water because the crowd that wanted him, wasn’t the crowd that he wanted…at least not anymore.
But what happened when he suggested they take a camping trip that lasted more than one night? Or when he wanted to go on a ten-mile hike? Or what if, heaven forbid, he should suggest they someday get a dog that was big enough to run with? He might not be training for Levi’s ragnar, but when he got a pet, Ryan wasn’t about to get one of the tiny yappy ones his ex had wanted. He wanted a companion type dog. One that would play fetch and race down the beach, barking at seagulls and wreaking havoc. Trina would have had a fit if a pet had gotten hair on her clothes or chewed one of her heels.
No, women like his ex and Olivia just weren’t what he was looking for, and Ryan was tired of it. The weariness from the other night hit him again, and he wished he could go home rather than face half a day of work still.
“Yeah?” Olivia asked, her voice skeptical. “What are you doing?”
Shoot. The fact that he never had anything going on was catching up to him. The whole office knew just how boring his home life was. Maybe he needed to stop complaining about it.
While his brain tried to come up with an excuse that wasn’t truly a lie, the door to the exam room opened again.
“Doc?”
Ryan looked at Levi, knowing that he wasn’t masking his desperation very well.
Levi’s eyes darted between Olivia and Ryan before a smirk pulled onto Levi’s face. “I just forgot to tell you that training starts at seven. ”
“Training?” Olivia huffed. “On a weekend?”
Levi nodded. “Yeah. We’re out there several hours, so we like to start early.”
Olivia shook her head, and Ryan kept his mouth shut, grateful and yet frustrated with the turn of events.
“That’s insane.” Her brows pulled together. “What are you training for?”
Levi chuckled and nodded at Ryan.
Ryan cleared his throat. “Uh…it’s a ragnar,” he said through clenched teeth. It would appear that in order to avoid a date he was going to have to expose himself to several weeks of painful trail runs. Goody.
“Ragnar?” Olivia blinked a few times. “Isn’t that like the name of a battle or something?”
Levi burst out laughing and disappeared back into the room.
“Um…I think you’re thinking of Ragnarok,” Ryan sighed.
“Oh…” Olivia nodded slowly. “Got it. So what exactly is a ragnar?”
“An extra long run,” Ryan explained. “There’s a team of runners who split the distance into legs.”
“What’s extra long? Like more than a marathon?”
Geez. She’s like a bloodhound! “Two hundred miles or so.”
Olivia blinked again, her face a little too still. “And you do that for fun ?” she squeaked.
Ryan shrugged. He didn’t do it for fun. But he would this time. Levi, however, was going to owe him big time.
Olivia put her hands in the air. “Have at it,” she said, stepping away as if he had some kind of disease. “That’s more than a little out of my wheelhouse.”
As she walked away, Ryan felt a sweet sense of relief, the heat of his anger disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. Maybe he just needed to be more upfront with women about the types of activities he wanted to do. Not ragnars particularly, but campy and outdoorsy type stuff. Maybe it would help drive away the ones he wasn’t interested in.
It wouldn’t drive away the right one. In fact…I’ll bet Brielle would have loved something like this.
Grunting in frustration at his thoughts, Ryan hurried to take care of the waiting cat. It had been waiting too long at this point, and he was going to be behind if he kept it up. Brielle was gone. A blast from the past. Women like Olivia and Staci were a dime a dozen. Someday, there’d be someone new to catch his eye, and he wouldn’t work so hard to drive them away. But until that time, Ryan was going to hold on to his sanity and his no-dating policy. Lonely he might be, but it was better to be lonely by actually being alone, than to be lonely and have company.
Until he found someone to fuel the spark he’d once felt, there was no use in continuing down the road he’d once been on. He’d seen enough to know exactly where it led, and for the first time in many years, he was going to swim upstream rather than go with the flow.