Nickels (25 page)

She sniffed, trying to hold back her tears.  Marcy noticed
and moved to sit next to her.

Keeping her voice low, she asked, “Everything okay?”

Niki shook her head.  Nothing was okay.  She missed her
family.  She was afraid what her life would look like when Marcy moved out.  It
was only a matter of time before she would marry Chad.  Everyone knew it.

Marcy reached out her hand and placed it on Niki’s back,
rubbing little circles with the palm of her hand.  “Want to talk about it?”

“I…”  Her voice cracked.  She glanced over to where Matt,
Joe, and Chad were sitting.  Three pairs of eyes turned toward her as their
conversation stopped.

She quickly stood.  “I’m going for a walk.”

When Marcy stood and started to follow her, she added, “I
just need to be alone for bit.”

“Okay.”

Niki headed towards the basketball court at a fast clip.

Matt’s words from earlier rolled around in her head. 
I’ll
bet he liked you even then.
  Did he think Kyle liked her in high school? 
That was crazy.

Or was it?

She turned towards the covered picnic area and found a
seat.  Muffled chatter died down from the surrounding campsites.  A dog’s whine
echoed across the pavilion.

Her heart picked up speed.  What if Kyle really had liked
her all this time?

She shook her head.  It was impossible.  He picked on her
way too much in high school.  There was no way.  Nope.  Not a chance.

Why did that make her sad?

She shot to her feet and started back towards the
campsites.  She couldn’t fall for him.  She wouldn’t.

But if she was falling for him and if he did like her, would
that be so bad?

No, she couldn’t let him get close.

Why did she do this?  Why did she always run from
relationships?  She was isolating herself.  But, it was so much easier to stay
alone than open up.  If she opened up, she might get really hurt again.

The tears streamed down her face.  Every time she had time
to think, she arrived at the same place.  She was tired of feeling this way. 
She wanted to feel happy.  She wanted what Marcy had.  She wanted to have
someone who thought the world of her.  Someone who would make her smile. 
Someone to come home to at the end of the day.

All she had to do was open her heart again. 
So, why was
it so hard?

Chapter 22

“Which should we do first?  The hike or the sky ride?” Marcy
asked as Chad handed her a plate of pancakes to pass out to the rest of the
crew.

Niki, having just returned from her shower, spoke up first. 
“I vote for the hike first.  I’m eager to get out there—be one with nature and
all that.”

“We can drop Kyle off at the ski lodge and he can sit and
read a book while we hike,” Marcy suggested.

Kyle frowned.  “What do you mean you can drop me off?  I’m
going.”

“No you are not,” Marcy replied.

“Yes, I am.”

Niki started to say something when Chad spoke up. 
“Seriously, dude, you don’t look like you’re up to a four mile hike right now. 
We’ll drop you at the lodge.  Then when we’re done, we’ll meet you for the sky
ride.”

Kyle didn’t look pleased, but he offered no further
argument.  Niki breathed a sigh of relief.  He was so stubborn.  He looked like
he was ready to keel over and she wondered if a visit to the emergency room
might be in their future.

After breakfast, they loaded their hiking gear in Chad and
Matt’s cars, headed for the Kachina Trail near the sky ride.  They deposited a
grumpy Kyle at the lodge as promised before parking at the trailhead.  As soon
as the car came to a stop, Niki jumped out and laced up her hiking boots.  She
threw her Camelback on and waited as the rest of the gang got ready.

Setting a moderate pace for the newbie’s benefit, Niki led
the way.  She loved this trail.  The beautiful white bark of the aspen trees
contrasted with the greenish tan of the tall wild grass and bright blue sky. 
Coming here always made her feel complete, no matter what chaos reigned in her
life.  The freshness of the air tickled her lungs as she breathed deeply.

There it was.  About a mile in.  The tree she called the
marriage tree.  Two trees, an aspen and a pine tree, grew up out of the same
tiny patch of dirt.  Both trees were huge, intertwined at the bottom, but
reaching heavenward with their own uniqueness.  Marcy was the one who named the
trees the first time they saw them.  She said it was the perfect symbol of a
strong marriage—a strong union as the foundation, but enough freedom to display
some individuality.

Marcy would know.  Her parents’ exhibited a good marriage. 
They were fully committed to each other, despite any challenges they faced. 
They always loved and supported one another.

They were so very different from Niki’s parents, who had constantly
fought.  Her mother spent money like they were millionaires.  When her father
was away on business, her mother “had her fun” as she called it.  Her father
was no better.  He had a woman in every town it seemed.  He hated that mom
spent all his money, even if he did have more than enough of it.  Most of the
time, Niki looked forward to when her dad was gone, just because the house was
more peaceful.

She slowed to allow Marcy to catch up.  “There it is,” she
whispered reverently, pointing with her hiking stick.  Chad, Matt, and Joe
stopped behind them murmuring about the unusual tree.  Too bad Kyle wasn’t here
to see it.

Getting an idea, she had Marcy fish her phone out of her
Camelback.  She turned on the camera and snapped a few pictures.  As she started
walking, she sent them to Kyle’s phone then dropped it in her pocket.  Maybe
next year he would be well enough to see it with his own eyes.

Her phone buzzed.  She dug it out of her pocket and smiled
at Kyle’s response.  He took a picture of himself with a super bored expression
on his face.

The caption read,
Guess my student is learning to have
fun without me.

She typed back,
Yah.  Though I don’t think Joe would
agree that this is fun.

This time she handed Marcy her phone.  After Marcy stuffed
it back in her pack, they continued on for another mile over relatively mild
grades through the forest of aspen.  At the two mile mark, according to her
GPS, they turned around, going back the way they came.

As they neared the trailhead, she gave Kyle a call to let
him know they were headed back up to the lodge.  He was waiting near the ticket
counter for the sky ride to meet them.  They purchased their tickets then went
to stand in line to ride the ski lift.

Niki watched as each pair of people in front of them lifted
off the ground.  They had to be hundreds of feet in the air—on little tiny
seats with no safety gear.  Her palms grew sweaty and her breath went shallow. 
The idea of the sky ride sounded good.  It just didn’t look good.

Marcy and Chad were the first to get on, whisked away by the
speedy lift.  Then it was Niki’s turn.  She was so nervous about the ride she
hadn’t paid any attention to who was with her until after her feet left the
ground.

“Amazing view,” Kyle’s voice momentarily broke through her
fear.

She looked down, watching the ground get further and further
away.  She wrapped one of her arms around the top rung of the seat back, and
the other around the vertical pole on her side, not at all pleased that there
was only a flimsy lap bar to keep her from completely crashing to the ground
hundreds of feet below.  Her heart picked up pace.  She was going to slide off
this blasted thing and break her neck when she hit the ground.  A whimper
escaped from her throat.

“Niki,” Kyle said, with concern.  “Are you okay?”

Another whimper was all she could manage.  Each one of the
towers they passed over caused the feeble lift to sway.  She felt all the blood
rush from her head.

“Come here,” he said softly.  “You can lean against me.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head no, too paralyzed by
fear to move.  How much longer was this awful ride?

Then the lift stopped.  Niki’s eyes flew open and she let
out a yelp.  Kyle scooted closer to her causing the chair to sway.  She sucked
in a quick breath.

“Niki, look at me,” he said.

She couldn’t stop staring at the ground.

He trailed a finger across her neck, leaving a path of fire
behind.  She snapped her head up and looked at him.  He moved closer, angling
his head.

Then his lips consumed hers.  Her heart pounded so hard she
thought it might fly from her chest.  He deepened the kiss, exploring,
teasing.  She willed her arms to stay at her sides, but they refused to obey
and encircled his neck.  She had to break away—this was Kyle Jacobs.

But, she couldn’t.  His kiss brainwashed her into
responding.  Electric waves washed over her as she kissed him back, despite the
warning bells in her brain.

The chair jerked back suddenly as the lift started moving
again.  Niki found the will power to stop the kiss, leaning away from him.  His
arms rested around her back, not letting her move away.  She felt his gaze and
was compelled to look into his eyes.  When she did, she could not breathe.

Then she glanced down at the ground.  Panic rose again.

“Niki,” Kyle said her name with husky voice, before his lips
met hers again with more fervor than the first kiss.

This could not be happening.  Her treacherous heart welcomed
every second of the kiss, propelling her to melt into his arms.  The longer he
kissed her, the less her brain put up a fight.  Her fingers itched to touch his
soft hair.

The chair passed over another tower, jolting her back to
reality.  This was Kyle Jacobs.  Her client.  Her roommate’s brother.  The man
who made high school twice as difficult.  The man who ordered her to sleep when
she worked herself to exhaustion.  The man who brought her two favorite movies
and made her popcorn.  The man who refused to be repaid for the new tire he
replaced on her car.  She couldn’t reconcile it all in her brain.

Putting her hand against his chest, she pushed back. 
“Stop,” she whispered.

Kyle complied.

The war inside still waged as they passed the final tower. 
Her heart was drawn to him.  She couldn’t deny it.

“Face front,” he whispered in her ear as she continued to
cling to him.  “It’s a lot easier to get off this thing if you do.”

Niki swallowed.  Within seconds her feet were back on land
and he ushered her away from the next oncoming chair.

It wasn’t until he led her to a bench that everything
started sinking in.  Kyle Jacobs just kissed her.  Not once.  Twice.  Not just
any kiss, but an earth spinning, toe curling kiss.

Marcy approached, hands on her hips, as anger furrowed her
brow.  “Kyle Dean Jacobs,” she hissed.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

He led his furious sister away from where Niki was sitting,
but she still heard every word that passed between them.

“She was about to pass out.  I had to do something to
distract her.”

She certainly felt distracted now.  Confused even.

“But, to kiss her?  Not just once but twice?”

“I’m a grown man.  If I want to kiss Niki, I can kiss her
without explaining it to you.”

“She’s not just some pretty girl you hit on and get bored
with later.  This is Niki, my best friend.  Fragile Niki.  You are playing with
fire and she’s the one that’s going to get hurt.  So help me, if you hurt her…”
Marcy stormed off in a huff.

He sat down next to Niki.  “You still look pale.”

She felt woozy.  Her voice was just barely a whisper when
she spoke.  “You kissed me.”

“Yes, I did.  Would you like me to kiss you again?”  A
half-smile tilted up one corner of his mouth.

That comment snapped her out of her stupor.  She smacked him
on the arm and jumped up.  “What were you thinking!”

“Ah, there’s the spitfire we know and love.”

She was miffed.  He was enjoying this.  “Get away from me.”

She joined Matt as he took in the view.

“What did you think of the ride up?” Matt asked.

“It was breathtaking,” she replied.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Kyle’s voice came from behind them.

She tensed and looked over her shoulder.  Then she glared
before returning her attention to the magnificent landscape before them. 
Standing here, on firm ground, she could enjoy the view.  The horizon stretched
far beyond them.  Rolling hills turned into distant mountains.  The bright
green of fields gave way to the deep green of tall ponderosa pines.  All of
this carefully painted against a back drop of deep azure blue dotted with white
billowing clouds.  The terrifying trip up was so worth it.

When Niki was done taking in the view, she grabbed Matt’s
hand.  She could not handle riding back down with Kyle.

“Ride down with me?”

“Sure.”