Alex clasped her hands in her lap. "I’m not ready, Nikki."
"I know, but I wanted you to know how I feel. I’ll be here when you're ready. Somehow I think you just might be worth waiting for." She held her hand out and waited. Alex took a deep breath and slowly placed her hand in Nikki’s. With a gentle tug she pulled her close. "Are you ready to dry off?" she asked as she led her to the steps.
"Yes. It's getting pretty late. I’m sure you must be getting tired." She showed Nikki the showers and they each quickly rinsed off the chlorine before grabbing towels and drying off. "You can hang your suit and towel on the hooks over here once you change. Maria will take care of them tomorrow." Moments later they headed back through the house together. As they entered the living room they parted ways, Nikki headed upstairs to bed while she entered her office to get to work.
Alex quickly lost track of time as she diligently worked through her book. She was startled by a sound and looked up to see Nikki in the doorway. "Couldn’t sleep?" she asked.
"I slept fine. It’s time for me to go to work. Have you been in here the whole time?"
Startled, Alex looked at the clock and saw it was just after midnight. "Yes. I’ve got so much work to do and a deadline quickly approaching. I guess I lost track of time." She saved the file and turned the computer off. "I need to get some sleep. My therapist will be by later this morning, and I have a feeling I need to be awake for that."
"That probably would be a good idea," Nikki said with a smile. She watched as Alex began the trek up the stairs. "Have sweet dreams, Alex."
Chapter Six
Alex announced a delay of the release of her book, allowing her beta readers time to properly review. She sent it off to several readers, and quickly got to work writing her next Millie the Monkey adventure. Her creativity was at a high point and she took advantage of it. She set a routine, working late evenings after Nikki went to bed and early mornings after she went to work. She met with her physical therapist daily and was slowly rebuilding her muscle tone. She was able to trade in the large brace for a much smaller one to support her knee, and gave up the crutches completely. Rachel set up her schedule to meet at the house three times a week in the mornings, and they’d begun to work through some of her more painful memories. The afternoons and early evenings were spent with Nikki. They were getting to know each other slowly, and had become good friends.
When her appointments were complete on Wednesday, she decided the time had come to call Emily. She’d expected to see or hear from her before now, and was surprised she hadn’t. She leaned back into the soft cushions of the couch and dialed Emily’s number. Glancing up, she smiled at the sight through the back windows. The trees were filling out and the contrast they provided against the lake was spectacular. She was beginning to think Emily wouldn’t answer when suddenly she heard her voice. "Hey, its me…How’ve you been?" She could tell by the curt tone and one-word answers that her friend was still very upset with her. "Look, Emily, I know you are upset with me and have every right to be, but I’d like to see you. Will you and Sarah come by the house tomorrow?" She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cushions. "I see. How about this afternoon?" She looked up at the clock as she listened to Emily explain why they wouldn’t be able to stay very long. "That’s fine, I understand. I’ll see you about six." She hung up the phone and wiped a tear from her eye at the thought of losing her friend.
She slowly maneuvered up off of the couch and headed into her office to check her email again. She was waiting for her beta readers to provide their feedback, and for the illustrator to return the drawings for her new Millie book. She opened a promising looking email and found the illustrations. She quickly looked through them, happily noting they were exactly as ordered. She set up the funds transfer and began to prepare the book for publication. Less than an hour later the book was complete and submitted to Amazon.
Disappointed she didn’t have an email from either of the beta readers, she turned the computer off and headed out into the kitchen. As she pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator, she heard the front door open. She leaned against the counter in time to see Nikki poke her head around the corner. "Hey there. How was your day?" she asked.
Nikki smiled wearily and shrugged. "Sorry I’m late. It was a busy one, but we were able to save them all today. Any day you can say that is a good day. How was your day?"
"It was good. I’m exhausted. April worked me to the point of failure. I’m surprised I can stand right now." She opened her bottle of water and took a swallow. "I called Emily today. She’s going to stop by in a little bit so we can talk."
"Good. I’m sure that once you two talk through it, everything will be just fine."
Alex slowly shook her head as she ran her finger through the small puddle of water left on the counter by her sweating bottle. "I don’t know. I think I may have pushed her too far away this time. When she finds out how much I’ve kept from her, I don’t think she’ll forgive me."
Nikki walked up to her and put her arm around
