Falling In Love: A Sweet Traveling Romance Novel (All Roads Lead To Love Book 2) Read online

  Jenny slowly opened the door and walked inside, and as soon as she saw the woman with the short, straight jet-black hair lying in the hospital bed, her suspicions were confirmed. "Aubrey Wright? My name is Jenny McCaw, and I'll be your attending nurse tonight. I believe we went to school together. Did you go to East Rankin High?"

  Aubrey pressed the button on the remote control in her hand to raise the head of the hospital bed so she could sit upright. "I did. You do look familiar. Did you graduate a year ahead of me?"

  Jenny nodded as she walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. "Yes. I think you and I were in Mrs. Cullen’s English class together the year I graduated."

  Aubrey laughed. "Of course, I remember you now. It's good seeing you again. I haven't bumped into many classmates since graduation. How have you been?"

  Jenny set the file on the bed and crossed her legs. "Doing okay. I feel like I've spent most of my time since high school in nursing school, but I finally got my master's degree last year. How about you? I've been reading your file."

  Aubrey laced her fingers together on top of her lap. "Ahh yes. Lucky me, huh?"

  Jenny opened the folder and sorted through a couple of pages until she found the results from her MRI. "I see your MRI didn't show any bleeds or fractures, so that's good news. Do you mind me asking what happened?"

  Aubrey gave her an exasperated look. "It was the strangest thing. I was in the kitchen, trying to find something to eat for breakfast, and this horrible dizzy spell came over me. I leaned against the counter for support, thinking it would go away quickly, but it didn't, and the next thing I remember is waking up on the kitchen floor. The EMT said I must have hit my head on the wooden island in the center of my kitchen. All I know is it was the most terrible, searing pain I've ever felt in my life."

  Jenny nodded and broached the next subject carefully. "And the multiple sclerosis? When were you first diagnosed?"

  Aubrey relaxed against the pillow and expelled a long, heavy sigh. "It started with some numbness in my hands this past summer. I didn't think much of it, but then the fatigue set in and I began having problems keeping my balance. My family doctor referred me to Dr. Harding once he discovered what was going on."

  Jenny intertwined her fingers and wrapped them around one of her knees. "I'm so sorry. You're in great hands with Emily, though. I’ve known her a long time, and she's an amazing doctor."

  Aubrey looked out the window. "My mom and dad passed away in a car accident a couple of years ago, and if I can get through that, then I can make it through anything else life decides to throw at me. I consider this just a bump in the road. I know from experience, it could always be worse."

  Jenny smiled, admiring her determination and positive outlook.

  "How’s your family? Are they still in Lake Arrowhead?" Aubrey asked.

  Jenny shook her head. "My parents vacationed in Rome after I graduated from high school, and they loved it so much, they decided to move there. I don’t have a husband or children to speak of yet."

  Aubrey pressed the button on the remote and lowered the head of her bed a bit. She closed her eyes for a moment, and Jenny guessed she was feeling light-headed again, a common symptom of a head injury.

  “I don't have a husband or children either,” she replied. “There’s just me and my older brother, Clay. He moved to Oregon a few years ago, and he works as a paramedic. He's the only family I have left."

  Her words gripped Jenny's heart. She couldn't imagine losing her parents and living in Lake Arrowhead with no other family members close by. She glanced around the room that was barren of family, friends, flowers, balloons—everything. "I can call Clay for you if you like."

  Aubrey opened her eyes. "Dr. Harding talked to him a couple of hours ago. He said he would be here soon. I tried telling him he didn't need to come, but he's hardheaded, just like my dad was."

  Jenny stood and tucked Aubrey's file under her arm. "Well, I'm glad he's on his way. I can tell you're a strong, determined woman, and you'll get through this just fine, but it helps to have someone here you can rely on."

  Aubrey tugged the bedsheet up around her chin, and Jenny went to one of the closets in the room and retrieved a blanket for her. "Here you go. I know how cold it can get in this hospital." She unfolded the blanket and stretched it across the bed.

  "Thank you," Aubrey said.

  Jenny could tell by the sound of her voice, she was getting sleepy. She noticed in her file the last attending nurse gave her something for pain, which more than likely was making her drowsy. "I'll leave you alone so you can get some rest, but if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to beep me at the nurses’ station by pressing that red button on your remote. I'll be back in a couple of hours to check your vitals."

  Aubrey nodded and started nestling under the covers as Jenny turned to leave. Once outside in the corridor, she reread Aubrey’s emergency contact information. According to the file, her brother, Clay, was thirty-one years old, which would've put him graduating three years ahead of her. While she remembered Aubrey from high school, she couldn't recall anything about Clay. Jenny walked back to the nurses’ station, where Kelly was sitting, filling out some paperwork.

  "What's with the long face?" Kelly asked.

  Jenny leaned against the desk and handed her Aubrey's file. "I went to high school with her. That's where I remembered the name from."

  Kelly opened the folder and glanced over it. "Oh, wow. She's so young to have MS. Did she say if Emily gave her any kind of prognosis?"

  Jenny shook her head. "I didn't have the chance to ask because she was getting sleepy. Maybe I can find out something tomorrow. The only family she has left is an older brother who lives in Oregon, and he should be here soon. It's just the two of them. Both of their parents died in a car accident."

  Kelly closed the file and gave it back to her. "Kind of makes a person realize just how small their problems are in comparison, doesn't it?"

  Before she could answer, one of the male nurses, Timothy, walked up to the desk and handed Kelly some papers. He talked to her for a while, and it was so obvious he was flirting with her, but Kelly seemed oblivious to it—or perhaps she was ignoring him on purpose. When he walked away, Jenny nudged her arm. "Please, tell me you noticed him flirting with you."

  Kelly looked up from her paperwork and gave her a quizzical look. "Timothy? No, I doubt that."

  Jenny laughed. "Oh, Kelly. Your humbleness is one of the reasons I love you so much, but that guy was seriously coming on to you."

  Kelly's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "Well, he's cute and all, but I'm not interested."

  Jenny pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. "Maybe if you stopped working every once in a blue moon, you'd have time to go on a date and have some fun."

  Kelly laughed. "Like you have room to talk. When was the last time you went out with someone? I remember Blake Baughman flirting with you a couple of days ago when he worked the night shift with us, and you didn't pay him any mind either."

  Jenny waved a hand in the air. "Whatever. You're just trying to change the subject because you know I'm right."

  Kelly grasped her hand. "Jenny McCaw, some man is going to come along someday and knock your socks off, and I really hope you're paying attention so you don't miss it."

  Jenny squeezed her hand and grinned. "Ditto!"

  Chapter 3

  Clay

  "I'm not helpless. I'm sure there's something I can carry for you."

  Clay stopped unpacking his truck long enough to give Aubrey a stern look. "I know you're not helpless, but you should be resting instead of following me around."

  Two weeks had come and gone since his arrival in Lake Arrowhead. Aubrey's head injury was healing nicely, but she had to use a cane due to the MS wreaking havoc with her equilibrium.

  "Fine," she replied. "Can I at least carry the mail?"

  Clay gave her the two envelopes he'd taken from their mailbox. When that seemed to satisfy her, he grabbed the two
boxes from the passenger seat of his truck and followed her inside the house. The past two weeks were rocky ones, but he still wouldn't change a thing about them. After arriving in California and consulting with Dr. Harding about Aubrey's condition, he knew it was in her best interest if he moved back home so he could help.

  Clay secured a job with the local ambulance service fairly quickly, thanks to a call from his ex-boss in Oregon. He went through a realtor and put his home up for sale, complete with all the furnishings so he would have fewer belongings to bring with him, and the move went easier than he’d anticipated, except for the long drive to get there. Instead of finding a place of his own in Lake Arrowhead, he decided to move in with Aubrey in their parents’ old home so he could keep a close eye on her. He thought she would get upset about it, but she was handling it much better than he imagined she would.

  "I have to admit, when you moved to Oregon after high school, I never thought I'd see the day when you'd come back home. I'm glad you're here, though. It’ll be like old times."

  Clay set the boxes on the kitchen counter. "Aubrey, you know this isn't going to be like a vacation, right? I'm here to look after you, and that means making sure you get to your doctor appointments and take care of yourself."

  He opened one of the boxes and unloaded some pots and pans while Aubrey sat on one of the bar stools across the counter from him.

  "Stop being such a fuddy-duddy. I know that's top priority, but it doesn't mean we can't have some fun. Remember when we used to drive mom and dad crazy on the weekends with our movie marathons? We should do that again sometime."

  Clay stopped what he was doing long enough to glance around the kitchen and the adjoining den. When their parents died, he and Aubrey became joint heirs on everything, including the house and two acres of land it sat on. Since he lived in Oregon and had no use for it, Aubrey had stayed in the house and took care of it on her own—that was, until now.

  Everything looked the same, right down to the numerous framed photos on the bookshelves in the den to his dad's favorite recliner in the corner of the room and his mom's knickknacks scattered throughout the house. Aubrey worked full-time as an accountant for a local firm and never cared much for decorating, so the house remained much like the last time he was there, and it felt odd being among his parents’ things again.

  "Did you call your boss?" he asked.

  She nodded. "He said I can work from home as long as I have to. The files I need are on a flash drive, so I'm all set. I used to fuss all the time about how I wished I could work from home, but I never thought it would happen under these circumstances. Oh well, it is what it is."

  Clay shook his head in amazement. He wished he had her positive outlook. He never saw her without a smile on her face, and she never had anything negative to say about her condition. He had no doubt her headstrong attitude would help her through it, but he also knew the physical obstacles she would have to overcome, and that kept him cautiously optimistic.

  "I know this isn't your favorite place in the world, but it's really grown since you lived here, and there's a lot we can do together. We could go to the wildlife sanctuary, to Lollipop Park, the history museum, and Santa's Village. Oh! We could go on a scenic tour by boat or helicopter too!"

  Clay laughed as he held up a hand to stop her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down. That all sounds fun, but let's not put the cart in front of the horse, okay? We need to find out first which treatment is going to work best for you before we make any big plans. I'd hate to be out in the middle of nowhere in case something happens to you."

  Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Clay, I'm not some fragile porcelain doll, and I won't let this disease stop me from living life on my terms."

  Clay leaned over the kitchen counter and held her hand. "I understand, and I admire that about you too. There are some things about being an older brother I can't turn off, though, and one of those is making sure you're safe … always. That will never change."

  Aubrey smiled. "I know, and I love you for that."

  Clay went to unload the second box when Aubrey squeezed his hand. "I don't think I've mentioned yet how much I appreciate what you're doing for me. There aren’t many people who would uproot their lives to help someone, not even a family member. This means a lot to me, Clay. Thank you."

  Her comment brought a smile to his face. "You're welcome, sis. Now, is there someone special I should know about? I just want to be prepared in case some young man shows up on our doorstep asking for you."

  Aubrey giggled. "You sound like Dad. No, I'm not dating anyone right now. I've been so busy with work, I haven't had time. What about you?"

  Clay removed some cups from the box and put them in an overhead kitchen cabinet. "No special someone in my life either. I eat, sleep, and breathe work, so I haven't had time to date much."

  Aubrey tilted her head and smiled. "Your soulmate could be right here in Lake Arrowhead, Clay. You never know. Maybe she's been waiting on you to come home after all these years."

  He grinned. "I seriously doubt that. Anyway, I'm not looking for a relationship right now, and even if I were, it sure wouldn't be with someone around here."

  Aubrey reached into the box and unpacked some lighter items like the cutlery and salt and pepper shakers, and pushed them to his side of the counter so he could find somewhere to store them.

  "Don't be that way," she teased. "You're automatically ruling out a relationship with someone just because you grew up here, and that's not fair. I know several women I could set you up with. There's a woman I work with who—"

  Clay vehemently shook his head. "Nope! Not listening. No blind dates."

  Aubrey laughed out loud. "You are so stubborn."

  They continued unpacking boxes and reminiscing over old times for a couple of hours. It made his heart swell seeing Aubrey so happy, and although he was anxious to get back to work and into a routine, her health was first and foremost on his mind. That would always come first, no matter what else was going on in his life.

  "Hey, did I tell you one of my nurses at the hospital graduated from East Rankin High?" Aubrey asked. "I believe her name was Jenny, but I can't recall her last name. The only thing I can remember clearly is her long, curly blond hair. She said she graduated a year ahead of me. We weren't close friends back then or anything, but it was nice running into someone from high school. That doesn't happen very often."

  Clay furrowed a brow. "The only Jenny I remember is Jennifer Hastings, but she's a year younger than me, so that wouldn't be her. I haven't seen many classmates since graduation either. Does Tommy Young still live here? I don't know if you remember him or not, but we were best friends in school."

  Jenny's cheeks reddened. "Oh yes, I remember him very well. I had a huge crush on him when I was in eighth grade, but he wouldn't give me the time of day because I was his best friend's sister. I know his parents are here, but I'm not sure about Tommy. If he is, I haven't seen him."

  Clay smiled when he caught her blushing. He hadn't thought about his childhood friend in years, but they'd shared a lot of great times while they were in school together. It sure would help to have someone he knew in Lake Arrowhead to talk to while he was there, and Clay made a mental note to do some investigating and find out if he was still around.

  "How about some dinner? I'm starving," he said. "I found some stuff here to make spaghetti and garlic bread with. How does that sound?"

  Aubrey nodded. "Sounds delicious. I'll help."

  Over the next hour or so, the two of them put together a feast, and he noticed that Aubrey did surprisingly well getting around the kitchen with her cane and helping him cook. She only stumbled once when she bent to retrieve something from the refrigerator, but he was standing right beside her so he was able to catch her and keep her from falling.

  When they finished cooking, they sat side by side at the kitchen counter to eat. Aubrey held up her glass of soda in a toast before they started.

  "To family and home … and showing this stupid d
isease whose boss," she said.

  Clay raised his glass. "I'll drink to that."

  Chapter 4

  Jenny

  "There has to be a law somewhere that prohibits waking up early on a Saturday morning to go hiking."

  Jenny shook her head as she listened to Kelly complain—again. The sun had barely peeked its head over the horizon when she called and dragged Kelly out of bed to accompany her on a hike through the mountains, and her friend was bound and determined to not let her forget it. "I promise when this is over, you'll be glad you came. There's nothing like a long hike to clear those lungs and boost that adrenaline."

  While Jenny stretched her legs and did some other warm-up exercises, Kelly leaned against her SUV and watched, looking almost as enthused as someone forced to watch paint dry.

  "You can try and fool someone else with that mumbo-jumbo, but not me," Kelly replied. "You forget I've been hiking with you before, many times. You're secretly trying to kill me, aren't you? Is it because I wanted to fix you up with Mark from the radiology department?"

  Jenny put her right hand on her hip and bent to the right side, stretching her left arm over her head. "You really need to get off the fourth floor every once in a while. Mark from radiology is dating Dan from cardiology."

  Kelly seemed genuinely surprised. "Oh. Well, how about Justin from the critical care unit?"

  Jenny laughed as she waved her hands in the air. "Stop! No more trying to set me up! Anyway, Justin got married four months ago. Now, come on, let's tackle this mountain. I have something special in my backpack just for you. Maybe that will give you some incentive."

  Kelly groaned. "Only if it's a bottle of wine and a gift certificate for a massage."

  Jenny rolled her eyes to the skies as she slipped the backpack over her shoulders and grabbed Kelly's hand to pull her toward the entrance to the hiking trail. She couldn't have chosen a more beautiful day for exploring. There was a chance of rain in the forecast, but for the time being, the air was crisp and the sky was clear.