The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Seventeen

     "Brooke." Lacey texted her best friend. Patiently, she waited by her phone....for two minutes...before texting her friend again. "Brookeyyyy."

       Waiting for her friend to reply, Lacey busied herself watching Slade work. He was carrying feed bags into the barn from the truck. "Brooks." Lacey shot her friend another text. She had something very important to tell her friend and Brooke was always really good at replying, so Lacey knew she was busy, but that didn't stop her nagging. "Brooke VanHorn!" Lacey added a new message after ten more minutes with no reply.

      "You want me to start opening these for you?" Lacey asked Slade, setting her phone in her lap. She pointed to the pile of feed bags that Slade had started setting by the grain bins.

      "Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you." Slade smiled at her, taking a break to wipe some sweat off of his forehead in the unseasonably warm weather.

      "You're welcome." Lacey smiled back, still on top of the world from their morning they spent together. As she reached into her pocket to pull out her knife, Lacey felt her phone buzz. Pulling it out, along with her pocket knife, Lacey saw Brooke finally replied.

      "What what what? Sorry, I'm in the barn and have been busy all day." Brooke had texted back.

        "I have something really important to tell you." Lacey sent, resuming her work on the feed bags. Opening her knife, Lacey broke the string at the top of the bag, ripping it and the plastic seal off.

       Slade brought two more bags in, setting them next to where Lacey had just hoisted the 50 pound bag onto her lap from the floor. Standing beside her, Slade watched, ready to help, as Lacey wheeled herself closer to the feed bins, locking her wheelchair brakes before manhandling the bag, lifting it above her head to rest on the edge of the feed bin, letting the contents empty into the container.

      With a smile at Slade, Lacey brought the empty bag down to the ground, starting a pile beside the bins. Before she could ask why Slade was so smiley all the sudden, he walked over, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'm so proud of you for doin' that all by yourself, Lace. You've really come a long way."

       "Thanks, love." Lacey placed a hand on Slade's cheek, but pulled back when she felt how sweaty he was. "You need to take a shower." Lacey retreated her hand, wiping it on the leg of her jeans. 

       "Sweat just means we are workin' hard." Slade smiled, walking back outside to throw more bags on to his shoulder. 

        Lacey's phone buzzed again, signaling that Brooke had responded to Lacey's text. "What happened?" Brooke texted. 

        Blushing and smiling like a mad woman, Lacey responded, "Slade kissed me." Setting her phone in her lap, Lacey continued her job as she excitedly awaited Brooke's response. Her best friend, Brooke, tended to play matchmaker for a lot of people, Slade and Lacey being two of those people. Brooke had told Lacey that her "most favorite couple ever" was Lacey and Slade. Lacey figured that Brooke would be just as, if not more, excited that her and Slade finally shared their first kiss. 

         Lacey couldn't even pour one more bag of feed into the bins before she felt her phone vibrating like crazy. This time it was Brooke who was blowing up her phone with text messages. Eventually, the vibrating pattern told Lacey that Brooke was calling her. Picking up her phone with a smile, Lacey answered, "Hi Brooke." Slade walked into the barn just then, and Lacey motioned for him to stay to listen to the phone call. Putting her phone on speaker so Slade could hear, Lacey held her phone out in front of her.