The Good Race

Chapter 14

AS THE DAYS stretched into weeks, Danny got stronger. He did all the therapy exercises Jackie instructed him to, and when she was at the hospital, he did more. He began walking on her treadmill when she was gone, just a little in the beginning and gradually increasing the duration and the pace. He was careful to take it at an easy walk in the beginning with a flat elevation. He was tired when he was finished, but he felt good. He could feel his strength coming back to him. He was no longer winded going up and down stairs.

They fell into a routine. Jackie worked long hours. The hospital opened early and closed late. Danny would prepare breakfast for Jackie in the morning and have dinner ready when she returned. If Jackie was surprised by his culinary skills, she didn't mention it. While Danny could understand the need for the downtime, it was beginning to make him stir crazy. When Jackie cleared him to drive again, the first thing he did was head out and buy a Ford F-350. When Jackie needed physical assistance getting into the passenger seat, he took it back to the dealer and traded it for a smaller model. Jackie had likewise purchased a new Jeep to drive when it snowed.

They continued to sleep in the same bed at night, holding each other, kissing, touching, never more. Though Danny reached new levels in restraint, he was determined not to go any further until he was cleared for all of it. Jackie made room for Danny's clothes and what little else he brought with him. Once he was given permission to travel and for heavy lifting, he'd head back down to New York to pack up the rest of his apartment, sell his furniture and ship the rest up to New Hampshire. In his life, he'd never thought he'd call New Hampshire home again, but that's exactly what was happening.

Danny explored Grayson Falls extensively. Grayson Falls, New Hampshire, population 3,456—now fifty-eight—was picturesque and nestled in the White Mountains region. It was sixty-four square miles of mostly farmland. The downtown section was two square miles of brick store-fronts, white churches with picket fences, the smallest post office Danny had ever seen and equally small town hall and courthouse. The police station, he discovered, was in an old Victorian house, like the hospital, disguised to blend in, but for the lighted sign out front. Ivy grew up the front of the building. It looked like no police station he'd ever seen before. It was at the end of the row of stores and next to it was Liberty Diner. The hospital was on the outskirts of downtown with Jackie's farm behind it.

There was a grist mill on the lower falls, two banks, two gas stations, one auto body shop and one school that housed kindergarten through twelfth grade. Jackie was the only doctor in town. There was also a dentist, a barber, a women's salon and Sophie's General Store. The town had exactly one traffic light, one pizza parlor that looked to do a decent business, a small movie theater, a bowling alley, a library, a fire department, a small supermarket and a pharmacy. There were numerous produce stands lined along the streets in grassy areas, a sports complex that had a football field, baseball field, soccer field and basketball courts that were mostly used by the school, though Danny discovered there was a town softball league.

He noted two bars—one was a bar and grille that looked promising, the other looked like he should keep his eye on it. The Grayson Falls Gazette was printed out of the basement of the library and had two reporters, a photographer and an editor, all whom worked part-time. What Grayson Falls didn't have was big box chain stores. The closest Target or Wal-Mart was two towns over. It did, however, boast an Amtrak station that attracted travelers and commuters from the area, which occasionally drew more people to the few restaurants in town.

Grayson Falls had a plethora of New England charm. It couldn't be more quintessential New England if Norman Rockwell drew it himself. The streets were lined with black lampposts that looked like the old gas-lit ones. One of the farms was an apple orchard and pumpkin patch that put on a fall festival each year and sold Christmas trees in the winter. It was everything Americana could be, Danny decided.