Page 164 of Protecting What's Mine

“Gosh. I don’t know if we can summarize this easily,” Ellen frowned.

“We want to start an activity club that combines a social event with some kind of physical fitness or healthy eating theme,” Harper announced.

“Well, that does about summarize it.”

“We don’t spend enough time with our friends, and when we do, it centers entirely on food and/or alcohol,” Beth complained. “We want to start something that changes that. With some professional guidance, of course.”

Realization started to sink in. “And you want me to organize this?”

A dozen heads nodded enthusiastically.

“You have the background obviously,” Ellen began. “And you’re also not bogged down with kids, sports, pets, oil-leaking minivans, and five loads of laundry a day in addition to your job—not saying that you’re not very, very busy or that your time isn’t important, you know?”

Mack nodded. “I know.”

“We’ll understand if you say no,” Harper said to her. “Mack does have a very demanding job and boyfriend,” she pointed out to the rest of the women.

A purr of feminine satisfaction rose up.

“Lord, if Harry looked at me the way Chief Reed looks at Dr. Mack, I wouldn’t survive the night,” Georgia Rae said, fanning herself with a paper plate.

“She’s obviously got stamina,” another woman, this one in a misbuttoned red cardigan and orthopedic shoes, mused.

“Which is why we need this club. If I don’t start doing something, I’m going to continue to do nothing, and I won’t need stamina for a hot boyfriend with excessive sexual needs because I’ll be too tired to go out looking for one.”

An Activity Club. With events like group walks or maybe a couch-to-5k program. Winter hikes or workouts in the park. Maybe she could borrow a nutritionist from the hospital for a monthly healthy cooking demonstration or a grocery store tour.

The idea wasn’t terrible. In fact, it was kind of exciting.

“We saw how much happier Ellen is with just a couple of lifestyle changes. What if we all made some changes?” Beth asked. “What if all our lives improved?”

“This is a really interesting proposal,” Mack said. “I’m going to think about it for a bit, if that’s okay?”

There were a few smug smiles in the room, and Mack knew that they knew they’d hooked her.

LATER,on her way home with a belly full of carrot sticks and baked spring rolls, she dialed Linc.

“Dreamy. Are you on your way home?” His voice pooled like warm honey in her belly. Apparently, her delicious boyfriend wasn’t the only one with excessive sexual needs.

“I am. What do you think of hosting a monthly health and wellness screening at the fire department?” Mack asked him. “Maybe blood pressure and cholesterol checks, flu shots? Throw in some first aid training? We could do it by donation and have the proceeds benefit the fire department.”

“What kind of Ladies’ Night did you go to, Dreamy?”

“One with a PowerPoint and a lot of really convincing ladies.”

55

The mid-November morning air was a refreshing shock to her system as Mack sucked in a lungful. She’d gotten the all-clear from her doctor earlier in the week, and the second thing she thought of when she woke up was lacing up her running shoes.

The first thing was how much she missed waking up with Linc’s arm locked around her waist. She’d slept at her place when he pulled B shift. And it made her think about their living arrangements.

As comfortable as she was in his refurbished gas station dude den, she realized they were going to have to make some decisions. Her rental was too small for a family. And Linc’s place wasn’t much bigger. There were no real bedrooms. Just a sleeping loft.

Now, her feet drummed the pavement in a steady beat next to Aldo’s and Harper’s, and she felt free.

“Is that some kind of bionic leg?” she gasped as they crested a hill on a sleepy residential street. Aldo took pity on her and slowed to a stop.

“It is. It has magic powers,” Harper insisted, drawing in a breath.