shifts at the hospital, but I wouldn't feel right until I knew for sure. Amanda was fine, or would be until her MP3 player ran out of juice.
After breakfast, Mark had left to check in at home. He lived on a farm about a mile down the road. Then, returned a few hours later. He'd be fine as long as there was enough light to read comic books. Everyone was great, so why was I so antsy?
Hailey had returned home a couple of hours ago. I'd peaked out the window and sighed to myself when I saw her walking up our road. Was she okay? I wished she hadn't gone into town. I liked the idea of knowing she was just next door.
Besides, a secret part of me didn't want her finding candles and flash lights.
Admit it, Ryan, it wasn't all that secret an idea. You enjoyed having her here last night.
I'd spent the morning not thinking about her. In fact, I had done such a good job that I had gotten it up to at least two or three minutes before my mind wandered back to remembering the way she had looked in the soft glow of the candlelight. Or, how she'd laughed at my lame attempts at humor. How Amanda had smiled when Hailey agreed with her about Brantley's world famous lack of bravery.
This was ridiculous, Ryan. No way are you going to spend the day sitting around moping about some girl who until last night barely knew you were alive and tomorrow is going to forget you ever existed.
Getting up I made another round of the house to make sure everything was all right. Every window and door closed. Double checking to make sure every appliance was turned off. I glanced at the woodpile trying to decide if I'd brought in enough wood to last the night. We probably had three times more than we were going to need.
We'd had sandwiches for lunch, but Amanda had cleaned up the mess already.
You know you're bored when you're disappointed that there aren't dishes needing to be washed.
I could pull out my laptop, there were things I could be doing, but I wanted to save the battery. The idea of my laptop going dead filled me with a deep dread. I knew it was sort of crazy, but as long as I knew it had power in reserve, then I knew that modern civilization still existed. Right?
The quiet was interrupted by a soft knock on the front door making all of us jump. A sharp bark outside the door made my heart skip.
Brantley.
Brantley meant Hailey. Get it together Ryan. Wiping my hands on my jeans, I opened the door.
Hailey stood there with Brantley on a leash. She'd put her hair into a ponytail and was wearing a fitted green blouse with jeans and white tennis shoes. Looking for all the world like the perfect girl next door.
I know my eyes traveled over her body before I could stop myself. Closing my eyes, I recorded her image and tucked it into a special part of my brain. Something to be retrieved, whenever I need proof of perfection.
"Hi ... I, um, Brantley is getting bored. I was ..."
"Brantley," Amanda yelled from the living room.
The large dog let out a woof and bound into the house, pulling Hailey through the doorway and into me. She let out a small squeak as we collided, letting Brantley free.
I instinctively reached out to catch her. My hands grabbing her around the waist.
For a moment, we were frozen there looking into each other's eyes. Time stopped as it always did when I was around her. My hands burned where they touched her and my heart raced so fast I was pretty sure she could hear it beating in my chest.
Looking down into her eyes was mesmerizing. As if I was trapped in a tunnel with only Hailey Martin in my world.
Her face began to turn a beautiful shade of red and I remembered where I was and who I held onto. Reluctantly, I let my hands drop to my side. They felt as if all feeling had been removed from them, making them dead and useless.
Hailey smiled weakly and moved past me into the house.
"What are you guys up to?" she asked as she bent down to remove Brantley's leash.
Another unbreakable rule. Blind girls and golden retrievers are
After breakfast, Mark had left to check in at home. He lived on a farm about a mile down the road. Then, returned a few hours later. He'd be fine as long as there was enough light to read comic books. Everyone was great, so why was I so antsy?
Hailey had returned home a couple of hours ago. I'd peaked out the window and sighed to myself when I saw her walking up our road. Was she okay? I wished she hadn't gone into town. I liked the idea of knowing she was just next door.
Besides, a secret part of me didn't want her finding candles and flash lights.
Admit it, Ryan, it wasn't all that secret an idea. You enjoyed having her here last night.
I'd spent the morning not thinking about her. In fact, I had done such a good job that I had gotten it up to at least two or three minutes before my mind wandered back to remembering the way she had looked in the soft glow of the candlelight. Or, how she'd laughed at my lame attempts at humor. How Amanda had smiled when Hailey agreed with her about Brantley's world famous lack of bravery.
This was ridiculous, Ryan. No way are you going to spend the day sitting around moping about some girl who until last night barely knew you were alive and tomorrow is going to forget you ever existed.
Getting up I made another round of the house to make sure everything was all right. Every window and door closed. Double checking to make sure every appliance was turned off. I glanced at the woodpile trying to decide if I'd brought in enough wood to last the night. We probably had three times more than we were going to need.
We'd had sandwiches for lunch, but Amanda had cleaned up the mess already.
You know you're bored when you're disappointed that there aren't dishes needing to be washed.
I could pull out my laptop, there were things I could be doing, but I wanted to save the battery. The idea of my laptop going dead filled me with a deep dread. I knew it was sort of crazy, but as long as I knew it had power in reserve, then I knew that modern civilization still existed. Right?
The quiet was interrupted by a soft knock on the front door making all of us jump. A sharp bark outside the door made my heart skip.
Brantley.
Brantley meant Hailey. Get it together Ryan. Wiping my hands on my jeans, I opened the door.
Hailey stood there with Brantley on a leash. She'd put her hair into a ponytail and was wearing a fitted green blouse with jeans and white tennis shoes. Looking for all the world like the perfect girl next door.
I know my eyes traveled over her body before I could stop myself. Closing my eyes, I recorded her image and tucked it into a special part of my brain. Something to be retrieved, whenever I need proof of perfection.
"Hi ... I, um, Brantley is getting bored. I was ..."
"Brantley," Amanda yelled from the living room.
The large dog let out a woof and bound into the house, pulling Hailey through the doorway and into me. She let out a small squeak as we collided, letting Brantley free.
I instinctively reached out to catch her. My hands grabbing her around the waist.
For a moment, we were frozen there looking into each other's eyes. Time stopped as it always did when I was around her. My hands burned where they touched her and my heart raced so fast I was pretty sure she could hear it beating in my chest.
Looking down into her eyes was mesmerizing. As if I was trapped in a tunnel with only Hailey Martin in my world.
Her face began to turn a beautiful shade of red and I remembered where I was and who I held onto. Reluctantly, I let my hands drop to my side. They felt as if all feeling had been removed from them, making them dead and useless.
Hailey smiled weakly and moved past me into the house.
"What are you guys up to?" she asked as she bent down to remove Brantley's leash.
Another unbreakable rule. Blind girls and golden retrievers are
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