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| This will be the picture on the front cover |
Ethan Mannon woke with a horrific headache because he had stayed out late partying with his best friends, Charles Collidge and James Younger. His buddies were both getting ready to ship off to basic training, and he was headed as far away as he could get. “Man, what was I thinking?” he mumbled to himself. “I’ve got at least a nine hour day ahead of me just to get to the Lodge.”
Dragging his exhausted butt out of bed, Ethan prepared to face the day. In under two hours he would be off to spend the summer working, and hopefully playing, in gorgeous Alaska. A summer job at the Heart of Alaska Lodge, with access to the beautiful wilderness of Mt. McKinley State Park, was all he wanted. But first, he had to manage to survive long enough to get there in one piece.
As he made his way down the hall and into the washroom to clean up, he could barely see the walls surrounding him. The headache from hell felt like it would plague him the rest of his damn life. Sighing heavily, he undressed and stepped blindly into the shower stall, reaching out to turn the water on. An ice cold sprig of liquid suddenly hit his warm, aching body, making him jump. “Holy fuck, who used up the hot?” he screamed to no one in particular.
Despite the shock, Ethan finished up his freezing shower because in the end it seemed to help his aching head. He actually started to feel a bit human again. Quickly dressing, he headed down the stairs to the kitchen where a full moon greeted him as he entered the room. “Oh damn it Evelyn, put some shorts on will you?”
“Aww, poor baby,” she laughed. “The future doctor is afraid of a half-naked butt.”
“I followed that butt out of the womb and I just can’t keep from running into it everywhere I go,” he replied. “I have no problem with any other girl’s ass, but my twin sisters… yuck!
“Like you’ll ever get any ass,” she smirked. “I’ll be a virgin until marriage by choice.”
“So you got married what… hmmm, three or four years ago?” He knew exactly what his twin and her boyfriend, Cole Harper, did when no one was home.
Evelyn shot him an evil glare from across the room.
“Come on sis, you know I was joking,” Ethan teased. “After all it’s my job to give you grief – younger twin brother and all that.” Sometimes his biggest pleasure in life was teasing his sibling, but when it came right down to it he adored his one and only sister.
“That wasn’t very funny, dude,” she admonished. You know that everyone knows everybody’s business in Harper’s Rock, Wyoming. That’s how I know about your misfire with Kathy two nights ago.”
“Oh shit! She told you? Good Lord, she knows that was embarrassing as hell.” At this rate, it would be all over town before he stepped foot on the plane. Hopefully the memory would die down while he was gone, because being known as ‘quick shot’ for the rest of his life was not something he looked forward to.
**********
The phone rang in Charli Goldstein’s bedroom, waking her from a deep sleep. Sometimes she wished her daddy didn’t spoil her so much. The ring of her own personal phone was shrill and annoying, especially at 5 AM. It’s a good thing she loved her best friend, Eleanor Buchanan, or she would have been angry at the intrusion.
“Do you know what time it is?” Charlotte answered groggily.
“Of course I do, Charli,” Eleanor giggled. “I’m just too excited about your adventure to sleep anymore.”
“Well, I could sleep for another two hours,” she grumbled. Or three, or four if she didn’t have a plane to catch.
“Nope, I’m coming over so we can say goodbye in person. Make sure you’re at the door when I get there so I don’t wake your parents.”
Before Charlotte could say another word, the line went dead. She jumped out of bed, grabbed her robe, and rushed down the winding staircase of the grandiose home she shared with her parents. Eleanor lived half a block away and would be at the door within minutes.
A quiet knock sounded a moment after Charli reached the entry. She pulled the ornate oak door open and ushered her lifelong best friend inside. Both girls heard the squeak of the fifth step from the landing and turned to see the woman of the house, Violet Goldstein, coming down to the first floor.
A bit early, Eleanor dear,” Violet said quietly.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” Eleanor smiled. “I was just too excited.”
“Okay love. You two just keep it quiet. Dad was at the casino until one this morning because of the protests.”
Eleanor kissed her ‘honorary’ mother on the cheek before Charlotte pulled her along to the large, comfortable kitchen. Both girls set about making coffee for the members of the household, before sitting down with cups of their own.
“You go first,” Charli said, reluctant to try the strong brew for the first time. Her parents had given their permission to start drinking coffee when she turned eighteen, but she wasn’t so sure she really wanted to take the leap.
“No way. You try it first. You’re the one who needs to wake up,” Eleanor challenged
Charli sighed. “Fine.” Someone had to do it, might as well be her. She lifted the cup to her lips and took a tentative sip. “Oh God! How can people stand this stuff, it’s gross!”
“My mama always puts milk and sugar in hers,” Eleanor said reaching across the counter to the serving tray they’d filled earlier. “Maybe that will make it taste better.”
Charlotte put some milk and three sugar cubes in her cup before tasting it again. “Not too bad,” she murmured, relieved. “Your turn.” She actually felt a little bit grown-up now. Like spending the summer alone in a strange place wasn’t grown-up enough.
Eleanor prepared her drink the same way her best friend had, and they sat together to enjoy their new discovery.
“I’m going to miss you,” Eleanor whispered. “You’re going to be in Alaska for the whole summer.”
“Hey, you’ll have plenty to do. Harold asked you out for tomorrow night, and I have a feeling he will have replaced me by the time I get home.” The pair had been flirting for years, so something was bound to happen, eventually.
“Never,” Eleanor smiled. “Boyfriends and husbands are nothing compared to best friends. Besides, I’m not sure if I really like Harold.”
“Ah come on Ellie, what’s not to like? He’s gorgeous, he’s funny, he’s kind to kids and animals, and he likes you! You two had better be a couple by the time I get home.”
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