A Bond Never Broken

Chapter 17

I finished sealing the last envelope, and stacked them in order. All five of them. They were filled with directions to Caroline's favorite places. Brooke was going to be my guide and take Caroline out for a "girls day". Little did she know she would pick up one of these envelopes at each stop. This was my way of asking her to the ACMs. At the last destination, I would be waiting for her. I had a delicious, yet not elaborate meal planned for us.

My phone buzzed on the counter and the screen lit up. Brooke had texted me. I unlocked my phone and glanced at the message.

*On my way to pick Caroline up. Do you have the envelopes ready Mr. Hopeless Romantic?😏*

I rolled my eyes and laughed. Brooke, the joker, life of the party. I replied back telling her that I did. Grabbing the stack of envelopes, I headed out to my truck before Caroline found me. I had to go and deliver each individual envelope to the destination she was supposed to get it at.

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Caroline's POV
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"Caroline, get your butt down here! Let's go!" Brooked hollered from the kitchen.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Calm your horses!" I yelled back, slinging my purse over my shoulder.

I walked to the kitchen to find Brooke with her hands on the sink hunching over. I could tell by her posture that she wasn't feeling right.

I set my purse on the island and stood behind her, rubbing her back slowly. "Brooke," I said, "are you okay? You seemed fine a few minutes ago. You don't look so good."

I could now see her face as she turned towards me. She nodded her head, forcing a smile across her face. "I'm fine. Just a little bug. I can make it."

I evaluated her once more, she looked miserable. "Brooke, we can cancel today and reschedule for when you're feeling better. You don't need to go anywhere in the condition you're in now."

She removed her hands from the sink and stood up straighter, wincing faintly. She really shouldn't be going places right now.

"Brooke," I said, "you need to go home and rest. You look like you're about to get sick."

She slung her own purse over her shoulder and crossed her arms. "I'm fine, Caroline, trust me on this one. I'll make it. I'm not going to die on you. Besides, we need to do this."

As always, being the stubborn woman she was, she was standing her ground, giving me no elbow room. She wasn't going to let me change her mind. The thing with Brooke is that if she has her mind set on something, nothing else matters. It's always a "we're doing this, and you're going there. Put this here and quickly" type of thing.

I threw my hands up in the air and shook my head. "Fine," I slung my purse over my shoulder and followed Brooke to my car. We both hopped in and I backed out of the drive. "Oh, and don't get sick in my car. And if you do, I'll get to tell you 'I told you so!', but I'd prefer if you didn't regurgitate your insides on my car."

Brooke scoffed. "Thanks, friend."

I chuckled, loving getting under her skin at the moment. I was seizing the chance because it was always her teasing me. "Seriously though, it'd be much appreciated if you didn't."

The teasing was replaced by a sudden silence as Brooke took a deep breath. I glanced at her before refocusing my gaze on the road. I shook my head. "Brooke, to hell with what we need to do today. I'm turning around. You're very pale."

"No," she said firmly, "this girls day is going to happen wether you like it or not... or me." She shook her head. "I'm a tough girl. A little bug won't bother me."