at the gala. Despite her poor attitude, Angela had indulged her daughter’s desire to finish out the cross-country season before they left.
“Of course not. That’s what I’m here for.”
“Thanks, Sherry.” Opening the back door, she found Eva doing some sort of yoga pose, face turned toward the sun.
Eva unfolded herself. “Do you want to try running again?” Her face was a mix of hopefulness and timidity.
Everything in Angela wanted to yell “No!” at her sister-in-law for the thousandth time. Because she didn’t want to run ever again.
It had been her thing in high school, yes, but she was a different person now. Back then she’d had dreams, plans for the future that looked nothing like the life she had today. Not that she hadn’t ended up loving the life she’d fallen into—before Wes had gone and died, of course—but the girl who ran was someone who never failed at anything. Someone who was going to become a successful doctor and not let anything stand in her way of a well-positioned life. Someone who didn’t need anyone else in order to prevail.
But she wasn’t that girl anymore. Somewhere along the way, Angela Jamison had become a woman—one whose dreams had been pushed aside because she’d lost sight of the prize.
Because she’d fallen in love.
Angela sighed. “Let’s just see how it goes, all right?”
“Okay. Sure.” The light in Eva’s eyes flickered, but her sister-in-law smiled anyway. How did she do that? Even in the worst circumstances, Eva seemed determined to keep faith in the mission.
They loaded their packs onto their backs—since they hadn’t purchased all of their supplies yet, about twenty pounds of bottled water and heavy books filled the bags now—and Eva led the way down the porch steps onto the lakeside path. Settling into a nice rhythm, they walked.
Long golden reeds rustled near the water, and seagulls cawed in the distance closer to town. Cyclists shouted hello as they whizzed by, and other pedestrians nodded greetings. Friendly place, this.
As a group of moms with strollers fast-walked past them, Angela noticed Eva’s clenched fists at her side, the way she gnawed at her lip. It was clear she wanted to bolt.
“You can go ahead.” Angela made the same offer she had during their first training session over two months ago.
“No, we should stay together.” Eva smiled again, but this time it seemed tighter, as if forced.
Well, she’d tried.
They continued on in silence. Angela breathed in the fresh pine scent surrounding her. The path weaved along the lakeside, a canopy of tree branches above them and then nothing but stark sky.
Her body started to relax into the cadence of the wind sweeping across the lake, the crunch of pebbles beneath her feet, the feel of the sun’s warmth on her face as it rose higher in the sky. And slowly she began to increase her pace. At first, unintentionally. The beauty that surrounded her reminded her so much of California—not because it was exactly the same, but because she hadn’t really been in nature like this since then. New York City held its own appeal for some, but she and Wes had only moved there initially for the free lodging his parents offered during their first few years of marriage.
Before she knew it, Angela started running.
And oh, the freedom that rolled over her as she flew down the path, legs pumping like a gazelle, the breeze whispering through her hair, the adrenaline washing over her in waves. She hadn’t felt this way running back home.
In fact, when was the last time she’d felt this way at all?
A vision tugged at Angela’s memory, foggy at first. But as she moved along the path next to Lake Wanaka, it morphed into a full-blown movie reel in her mind.
It was second semester of freshman year. She’d been running on campus, just for fun—with her full load of premed classes, she no longer had time for non-career-related extracurriculars—and suddenly a guy she recognized from her biology class joined her. Angela averted her eyes and kept her head down.
“Hi.” She’d never seen him running this route before. “Mind if I join you?”
Angela pursed her lips and increased her speed. “Actually—”
“I’m Wes Jamison.” The wiry man kept pace with her despite his poor running form. “We have bio together.”
Couldn’t a girl go for a run without getting hit on? Angela pulled up short under a towering tree. “Look, I’m sure you’re very nice and everything, but I don’t date, okay?” Even if she had time, the two dates