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"The life of man is the true romance, which when it is valiantly conduced, will yield the imagination a higher joy than any fiction."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
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The Waterfall List:
Summer Reading Trail:
More information can be found at:
A. J. O'Donovan UK Trailhead or
Voirey Linger US Trailhead
Carisma Field walked down the dusty path, following her parents while wondering what she was doing on this vacation. It was her parent's 'bucket list' to visit waterfalls all over the United States—not hers. She was a grown woman, for heaven's sake. Why did she agree to join them? Did she feel guilty because she had the summers off from her teaching job and was single? Her mother made her feel like that.
"Carisma!" Frank, her father, yelled.
"Yeah?"
"Watch your step. It's narrow here."
She was hardly a child and could see what was coming up. Did they even realize she was 27 years old and even had her Master's degree? No more vacations with her parents. At least she had a part-time job to do on the trip.
Carisma lifted her camera and took a picture of the area and the trail leading to the hotel near Havasu Falls. The other seven people in the group surrounded her, including one man who was always on the phone or his electronic organizer. The man walked beside her, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world as he looked down at the electronic thing in his hand.
Carisma inched away from the man, and when doing so, lost her footing and fell off the path, landing three feet down on rocks.
"Are you okay?" the man said. He ran to her side and looked her over. "You're hurt." He lifted his head. "I need my bag!"
The other members of the group crowded around, while Carisma felt the pain pounding in her head and on her arm.
Jill, her mother, crossed her arms and looked down. "What happened? You're so clumsy."
"Mom, let it go," she said. She felt suddenly cold and began to shiver in the over 90-degree heat. "I don't feel well."
"I bet," the man said. "I'm an Emergency Room doctor and I've seen these things before. You're going into shock."
Someone handed him his bag and he touched her back. "Does this hurt?" He kept touching down her spine.
"No." She tried to sit up. "I'll be fine."
"I don't think so." He forced her back to the ground. "Not until I'm done and am satisfied you're not dying."
"Who made you boss?" She winced as she looked up at his short brown hair and blue eyes in the sunshine.
"I did." He opened a duffle bag and brought out his doctor bag, then opened it. He worked on her injuries for a while, then helped her sit up and checked her vitals one more time. "Do you feel better?"
"Yeah."
He motioned to someone who handed him a bottle of water. "Drink this." He opened it and shoved it into her hand. She took a long pull on the bottle, then lowered her head.
"How do you feel?"
"I'll be fine."
The man looked up at the other people. "You can go on ahead. I'll handle this."
The guide leaned toward him. "Do you need to take her to the hospital?"
"Not yet. I want to see if she can make it the rest of the way. She has a cut on the back of her head and a cut on her arm, but they're not that bad. I'll handle it and let you know. I have a walkie-talkie."
"Good. Thank you, Dr. Donovan." He turned and ushered everyone else down the trail.
"Want me to wait?" Jill asked.
Carisma shook her head. "I'm fine." Putting her foot beneath her, she stood up, then put her head down. "Just give me a minute."
"You're not ready to stand up yet," the man said. "I'm in no rush. I've taken this trip before."
"You have?"
"Yeah. I'm the chosen substitute doctor for this trip, whether I want to be or not."
She straightened up and took another drink of water, still feeling shaky. "Care to elaborate?"
"Nope." He stood up beside her. "How do you feel now?"
"I'll be fine." She turned toward Jill. "Go find Dad. I'm fine."
"We'll see you at the hotel." Jill turned, looking concerned, but Carisma knew she'd be fine. The rest of the group was only about twenty feet ahead, so nothing would happen.
The doctor took her arm and, while carrying his bag, started down the trail. "Can you make it?"
"Yeah. I'm just stupid. I never should've given you personal space."
"Me? What are you talking about?"
"You were walking beside me and the trail was narrow. You had that stupid PDA or something out and not watching where you were going, so I made space for you…and fell. I should've just run ahead or something."
"I'm sorry. I have a few…issues that I have to work out."
She looked up ahead. "Well, it seems that we have a long walk ahead of us, so tell me all about it. I'm used to drama, or so it seems."
He chuckled, glancing her way as he put his sunglasses back on his face. "Why is that?"
"I'm a high school English teacher. Enough said?"
"More than enough. I feel for you. So why are you on this trip? And were those your parents?"
She sighed. "Yeah. Those were Jill and Frank. They're here for their waterfall bucket list." She saw his face turned confused. "They want to visit waterfalls in the United States before they die, and invited me because they think their only single daughter is lonely. I'm not, and even have a job for the summer, documenting places like this for a traveling anthology. But they treat me like a kid because I'm not married and just broke up with an idiot a few months ago."
He smiled. "Sounds like my life."
"Tell me all about it. I bet you can't even shock me."
"I don't know about that. I was dating a model while working at the hospital in Flagstaff. One of the board member's wives came into my emergency room with a massive heart attack and I tried my best to save her. She died, and now they want to use me as a scapegoat, even though I called in specialists, other doctors, and tried my best. But she was dead when she got to me. I put in my two-week notice and am now looking for a job up north."
"How far up north?"
"The farther the better. I'm tired of the heat. I have a nibble for a job opening in Nebraska."
Carisma felt her mouth fall open as she turned toward her. "What part of Nebraska?"
"Omaha."
"No kidding. I teach in Omaha and my parents live in Lincoln. I love it up there."
He smiled. "It would be nice to know someone up there, and even better since you're a beautiful blonde with blue eyes. I think you're prettier than that model I was dating, but I'm just an observer."
She shook her head with a laugh. "Some come-on line."
He leaned closer. "And intended to be taken like that." He reached out his hand. "My name's Ryan Donovan."
"Medical doctor, right?"
"E.R. doctor, but some day, I want to go into pediatrics and start my own practice. E.R. work is tough over a long period of time. I want normalcy and to settle down. That's one reason my girlfriend left me. She wasn't ready for anything but modeling, and was never in town."
"That's sad."
"What's your name?"
"Carisma Field. My parents were into the weird name scene. I have a sister Karma, and a brother Mercury. I wanted to change my name when I turned eighteen, but it's grown on me now."
He laughed. "I can't blame you, but at least everyone knows your name. It's unique. So what happened with your ex?"
She laughed. "He was 'between jobs' even though he never had a job before. He'd gone to school in philosophy, but didn't want to teach. So no one would hire him and he lived at home. Think loser with no future…I kicked him out of my life because I want someone who has a future. Even a fast food worker had more of a future than that guy."
"I'm glad you're not with the guy." He grabbed her wrist and checked his watch while they walked, then moved his hand to hers. "Don't overdo it. Your heart's racing and I'm going to hold onto you in case you feel badly."
"Thanks, but I'm really fine."
He leaned closer with a chuckle. "But I like this and can hold on without anyone noticing—not even your parents."
She laughed, realizing this guy wasn't nearly as snotty as she thought he was.
They spent the rest of the almost three hours walking to the hotel, where Ryan forced Carisma into a seat. "Don't move. I want you to cool off."
"But I have to check in."
"It's already taken care of." He walked over to Jill and Frank while Carisma watched. Her head hurt, but not as much as her arm. She was just tired, which wasn't like her. She put her head in her hands and rested her elbows on her thighs.
She heard someone beside her, turning to see Ryan kneeling beside her with his bag opened wide. "I'm fine," she said.
"Humor me." He pulled out his toys and took her vitals while she sat still. "I think you have a slight concussion and I want to take you to the hospital."
"No way. I have to do my job and take pictures."
"I was afraid you'd say that. Then you've got me by your side for the next 24 hours…for the entire time."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah." He grinned. "Lucky me. At least I don't have to spend the trip alone."
She smiled at him. "Me either."
For the next day, they spent every waking hour together, and he even woke her a few times in her room, just to make sure she was okay. They met for breakfast and went to Havasu Falls to see the sites. Carisma took a few pictures, but didn't want the trip to end. It was so beautiful and Ryan was just fun to be around. They laughed a lot, telling about their past and stupid things that had happened to them.
The night before they were to leave, Ryan and Carisma were seated on the porch swing, looking out at the many stars. Her head lay on his shoulder as he rocked the swing in a gentle motion.
"So tomorrow we go home," he whispered into her ear.
"Yeah. I don't want to leave." She turned toward his face. "I'm going to miss you."
He kissed her cheek. "I have a surprise for you."
"What?"
"I heard back from the hospital in Omaha when you were off with your parents before dinner. They want to talk to me, and have an immediate opening. I'll even be able to leave my job right now instead of filling out the rest of the two weeks."
She turned toward him in surprise. "So you're coming home with me?"
"Yes. And I have someone looking for an apartment for me already. I'm going to fly up there tomorrow."
"On our flight? Cool!"
He leaned closer and touched his lips to hers, surprising her. "I want to date you when we get home. Would you like that?"
She stood up and sat down on his lap. "More than ever." She kissed him for all she was worth, feeling the electricity between them.
Carisma heard someone clear their throat behind them. She looked up to see her parents behind them. "Oh," she said, and got off Ryan's lap, but he pulled her back to his lap.
"No, you stay right there." He glanced up at Frank. "We've already talked about this and your parents are happy."
"Sure are," Jill said. "A doctor is a great addition to our family and he's a nice guy, too." She smiled at Ryan.
"Wait." Carisma turned toward Ryan. "We're just dating, right?"
"For a week or two, then we'll see." He kissed her again. "I think it might turn into something more, but have to see how your head's doing first."
"Wow. This has been the best vacation ever." She kissed Ryan again. "Thanks for making me fall. It's worked out for the best."
They all sat down and talked about the future, making Carisma happy she'd met Ryan, the man with his nose buried in his electronic organizer.
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Copyright © 2006-
Paige Ryter
All Rights Reserved.
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