Chapter Sixteen


          "Jake?"	
	He'd had his back to the door, and at the sound of his name he spun around.  
Max was being wheeled into the room on a stretched.  She was propped up, with her leg
piled on pillows and a bag of ice resting against her ankle.  He took a step toward her,
then paused, as the stretcher was pushed into place in the centre of the room.  When
they were alone, he stepped cautiously to the rail that kept her safely on the stretcher,
his eyes drawn to her leg.
	"Jake, how did you get here?"  Max asked, the surprise showing in her voice.  
	"I drove. Are you alright?" he asked, cautiously, ignoring the real meaning behind
her question and turning his attention to her face.  
	She wrinkled up her nose.  "I could be better," she admitted, with a chuckle.  She
shifted                                                          a little, and winced at the pain in her leg.  Jake
moved closer, pressed up against the rail now, a worried expression on his face. 
	“What happened to you?” 
	“I did something silly of course.  I wouldn’t expect to get hurt any other way.  I
was trying to help one of the campers hammer a shutter to the wall because it was
banging around in the wind and scaring the girls.  I stood on an up-ended block of wood,
which, in retrospect wasn’t exactly the most intelligent choice, but it seemed to be
holding Jenny alright so I figured it would hold me.”  She chuckled, then lifted her eyes to
Jake’s face and realized he wasn’t laughing at all.  He was standing there with a
brooding expression on his face, taking in the scene before him.   
	For the first time, Max actually thought about what she must look like.  Her baggy
track pants were covered in mud from having fallen, and so was one arm of her T-shirt. 
She knew there were leaves and twigs in her hair.  Cal had removed some of them while
they’d waited for the doctor to order the x-rays, but she was certain there must be more.  
One pant leg was rolled up to her knee and her bare leg that rested on a pillow already
showed a large swelling on one side, and the beginnings of a the green tinge of a bruise.
A small plastic bag had been filled with ice cubes and wrapped in a washcloth, and was
resting precariously against her swollen ankle. 
	"You're in a lot of pain?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
	She shrugged.  "It's no picnic, but I'll get over it."  She  looked at him closely. 
"Jake, what on earth are you doing here?  I thought you'd still be in Clay River."
	"We got the job finished earlier than expected and got home late last night," he
said, glancing back toward her leg. "Is that ice in the right place?"
	"It's fine," she assured him, still confused about his presence beside her in the
emergency room.  "But what are you doing here?
	"They said you'd fallen."  Concern flooded his voice.  "I was afraid of the worst.  I
didn't know if you'd hit your head or something, or what had happened.  I was worried
sick about you."  He reached for her hand, and she gave it to him, surprised at the
firmness of his grip.
	"Well that's sweet of you, Jake, but — who said I had fallen?"  She looked
confused.  " I haven’t called Mikki about it. I didn't think anyone back home knew about
this yet.  Did they call her from camp?  I don’t  know why they would do that.”  
	Jake cleared his throat.  "Ah — yeah — well, no, they didn't," he said slowly. 
"The girl in the office told me at the camp when I got there this morning."
	"At camp?" Max's eyes shot open wider.  "Mindy?”
Jake shrugged again.  “Is that her name?” he asked.  He hadn’t been very polite
to the girl, he realized that.  Max was describing the girl, and he nodded, then she broke
off her description in mid sentence and stared at him. 
“What on earth were you doing at Camp Logan this morning, Jake?"
	He shifted, shuffling his feet.  "I — well — when we got home last night Mikki told
us you were working at the camp.  She said you'd called and had a nice chat — and
you'd told her all about this councillor fellow, Cal.  She said she was certain you were
interested in him and — "
	"Jake!"  Max tugged her hand away from him and started at him wide eyed. 
Suddenly she looked around the room, her lips pursed tightly together.  "Where is Cal
anyway?  Jake, what have you done with him!"
	Jake frowned.  “I haven’t done anything with him, Max.  He left," he said,
shrugging.
	" What did you say to him to make him leave?"  She looked at him with her eyes
narrowed this time, challenging him to tell her the truth. 
	"Damnit Max, I didn't chase him away, if that's what you're thinking.  He left on his
own."
	She crossed her arms on her chest and frowned at him.   "Jake Forrester, if you
said anything mean to that poor man, I will never forgive you!  Why, he's been so good
to me, driving me here and waiting all this time with me. He could have just left me here,
but he stayed and waited.  He's very sweet, and — "  Suddenly she stopped, and gaped
at Jake. "Jake!" she said slowly.  "Why exactly were you at Camp Logan this morning?"  
Her tone made him uncomfortable, and he turned his attention to her leg.
	"Are you comfortable?" he asked.  "Do you need anything?  Why aren’t they
coming to look after you yet?"
	"You said you came all the way out to the camp because Mikki told you I was
interested in Cal, didn't you?"
	"I may have mentioned that Mikki said something like that," he said, frowning
despite his attempt not to.  "Are you sure that ice is Okay?  It looks like it's melting.  Let
me go find someone to get some fresh ice for you."  Quickly he turned toward the door
but her voice stopped him in his tracks.
	"Jake Forrester, don't you move one more inch!" 
	He stopped, and turned a pathetic look in her direction.  Her eyes narrowed, then
she started to chuckle.  "Why Jake!  Were you jealous?"
	"Max, I — " He began to speak, but just then the doctor walked into the room,
followed closely by a young nurse.  Jake sighed in relief and stepped back, while Max
shot him a warning glance to let him know she wasn't done questioning him.
	The doctor held a sheet of x-ray film up to the light for Max to look at and began
to explain that she had broken a bone in her ankle. "Your fibula," he said, pointing his
pen at the line on the x-ray that indicated the broken bone.  "It's not your weight bearing
bone, it's a stabilizer, and as you can see, the two portions of the bone are lined up very
nicely.   This type of fracture doesn't require any surgical intervention, but it's very
important that it be immobilized properly.  I'm going to put your ankle in a cast and
recommend you have it checked by your family doctor in a couple of weeks.  You should
be able to have a walking cast put on by that time, and have the cast removed in about
four to six weeks."
	Max groaned.  Six weeks would take her into the new school year.  Hopefully
she'd be able to walk on her cast by then.  It was going to be difficult teaching sports
from the sideline, but she'd never given up on a challenge in the past so she wasn't
going to now.  And that thought reminded her that Jake was standing at the side of the
room, trying to stay out of the way while the nurse busied herself preparing the supplies
for the cast that would be applied to Max's leg.   Figuring out why Jake had rushed all
the way to Camp Logan to see her was one challenge she was eager to meet head on.
	But first, she watched as the doctor pulled a toe-less sock over her leg and
wrapped a soft strip of bandage over it.  Then he soaked strips of plaster in water and
wrapped them around the bandage. More and more plaster was wrapped expertly
around her leg until at last it was  smoothed and shaped and the edged rolled at the toes
and calf.  Her leg was rested once again on the pillow to give the plaster a chance to dry
a little before moving her, and the doctor gave her a few more instructions.  
	Next, the nurse appeared with a wheelchair, and a pair of crutches, and helped
Max off the stretcher.  Jake lept immediately into action to take her arm and help her
onto her one good leg until she managed to get the crutches into place. 
	"Steady, don’t move too fast.  Are you alright?" he asked anxiously. 
	"I'm fine, Jake," she said quietly, through gritted teeth, "but I'm not done with you
yet!"
	He watched nervously while the nurse instructed her on how to use the crutches
properly and while she took a few practice trips into the hall and back, then flew to her
side once again when it was clear she was going to sit down in the wheelchair. 
	“Jake, stop mothering me!” she said, glaring at him over her shoulder as he
gripped the handles of the chair.  
	The nurse smiled up at him.  “See to it that she keeps the leg elevated whenever
possible at first, and that she doesn’t get the cast wet.”
	“Right,” Jake nodded.   “I’ll take very good care of her.”
	Max jerked one crutch upward over her shoulder, connecting sharply with Jake’s
chest.  When she heard him grunt, she smiled and rested the crutch down onto the foot
rest of the chair.  “Did I hit you with that, Jake? I’m so sorry!” she said, her voice syrupy
sweet. 
	“I’m fine!” he insisted.  “Just fine.”
	Max’s smiled widened.  “Dear me,” she said, glancing at the nurse with a wry
grin.  “My aim must have been off.”
	The poor nurse did her best not to laugh, but Max was sure she heard the girl
snicker as  Jake manoeuvred the chair toward the door.  It was all Max could do to keep
from laughing herself, but she was intent on making Jake suffer as long as possible.  
	“Wait right here,” he said, as he parked her chair at the front doors of the
hospital.  “I’ll go bring the truck up to the door.”
	“I’m hardly going to run away, Jake,” she reminded him.  When he shot her a
concerned look she smiled sweetly up at him and batted her lashes.  He said nothing,
but she thought she heard him grumble under his breath as he turned and headed
across the parking lot.  When he arrived with the truck Max started to stand up and
within seconds Jake was at her side helping her out of the chair.
	“You should have waited for me,” he said.
	“I can look after myself, Jake,” she told him.  “I’ve been doing it for years you
know.  Just because I’ve only got one good leg, doesn’t mean I’m a complete invalid.”
	Jake continued to fuss over her despite her objections, until he had her safely
deposited in the passenger seat of his truck.   When he climbed into the driver’s seat,
she turned a smiling face toward him and announced that she was hungry.
	“You’re what?” he asked in disbelief.
	“I’m hungry,” she repeated.  “I haven’t eaten anything today at all.  Since you
drove all the way down here to see me, I thought the least you could do was buy me
some lunch while we discuss why you’re here.”
	Jake threw the truck into gear.  “What do you want to eat?” he asked, and she
laughed out loud at last.
	“A hamburger, and fries — and an explanation,” she said.
	He drove in silence to the first fast food restaurant with a drive-through that he
could find, insisting that she must not get in and out of the truck too many times.   He
ordered lunch, then pulled the truck into an empty parking spot and turned off the key. 
She unwrapped her burger and dove at it like she was starving, savouring the taste until
almost half of it was gone.  Then she rested her head against the back of the seat and
closed her eyes.  
	“Alright, Jake.  The food is delicious, but I’m still waiting for the explanation.”  She
glanced toward him.  “Why did you race all the way down here to see me this morning
just because Mikki told you about Cal?”
	Her gaze held his, and for a moment he said nothing.  Then he slowly lifted his
hand and gently stroked her hair, picking a few small leaves from her curls.  “Because I
couldn’t stand the thought of you with him,” he said, sounding almost defeated as he
spoke.  His hand moved from her hair, to her face, and slid over her ear and down to her
neck.  “I had to see you; had to tell you — “
	“Tell me what, Jake?” she asked breathlessly, her eyes barely open now as his
fingers curled around her neck.  Somehow they had moved closer to each other, and
she could hear him breathing.
	“Tell you I didn’t want you to be with him,” he said, his eyes falling to her lips.  “I
don’t know how Reese put up with me while we were in Clay River.  I was miserable.  I
missed you so much!  I thought hearing your voice would help, so I called you but there
was no answer.  Night after night, there was no answer.  I thought all kinds of things. 
You could have been with Michael Cunningham for all I knew!  I couldn’t wait to get
home and see you again.”  He leaned closer, and she could feel his breath on her face. 
“And touch you again!” he went on.  “And then Mikki told me where you were, and all
about this Cal fellow, and how she was convinced you were having a summer romance
with him.”
	Jake groaned, and closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head ever so slightly.  “I
thought I’d lost you!  I thought — I’d been such a fool.  Insisting that we were just friends,
that there could be nothing romantic between us, when all along you were the one thing
in the world that I could never, ever live without!”
	Max’s breath caught in her throat and the sound made him open his eyes and
look at her again, searching her eyes in an attempt to read her thoughts.  “You don’t
want to be friends, Jake?” she breathed, and his fingers tightened their grip, pulling her
to him until their foreheads rested against each other. 
	“Oh god no!” he groaned.  Then he lifted his head again.  “I mean, yes, I want us
to be friends.  I want us to be the best of friends, but I want more than that.  I want you in
my live, completely.  I want you with me when I go to sleep every night, and when I wake
up every morning.  I want to watch the sun rise with you in my arms when I’m old and
grey!” He searched her eyes more desperately now.  “I want to be the father of your
children, and the grandfather of our grandchildren, Max.  I want us to spend the rest of
our lives together!”
	“Oh, Jake!” 
	He sighed, and shook his head again.  “I’ve been such a fool!  I’m sure it’s too
late, I’ve realized too late how much I love you!”  He groaned.  “I know, I said all those
things, about just being friends, and there being no future for us as a couple.  I tried to
ignore it; tried to fight it, but how could I, when you are the best thing that has ever
happened to me?  How could I not admit that I needed you?  That I want you, and I love
you so much it was driving me crazy!”
She shook her head  and when he looked up she was smiling.  “No, Jake, it’s not
too late.  It could never be too late for you!  I would have waited for you, no mater how
long it took.  Don’t you see?  I want all those things too!”
	He looked at her, a mixture of confusion, and surprise, and then hope flashed
through his eyes.  “You do?” he asked, and she nodded, chewing on her bottom lip as
she began to smile.  
	“I do,” she said, finally letting herself smile.  “Jake, I do love you!”
	With that, his lips claimed hers and he knew at last he had found exactly where
he belonged — in her arms, wherever that may be.

	Some time later he released her, and brushed the damp hair from her
tear-stained face.  “You’re crying?  I haven’t hurt you have I?  Is your ankle all right?” he
said, his eyes scanning her face with great concern.  But she smiled, and laughed at
him. 
	“Nothing hurts, Jake. Absolutely nothing!  I feel better right now than I think I ever
have.  These are tears of joy.”
	He leaned in and slowly began to kiss away the wetness from her face, and she
sighed. She had known Jake’s friendship would reach far into forever, now she felt with
all her heart that his love would to.  And she was overjoyed to be on the receiving end of
that wonderful love!
	She shifted slightly, and winced as she moved her heavy cast  along the floor of
the truck cab.  Jake sat back and looked at her, really taking in her appearance for the
first time since he’d arrived at the hospital.
	“Don’t you look a sight!” he laughed, reaching for a twig that was sticking out of
her hair.  “You’re all covered with mud, and there are leaves and twigs everywhere!”  He
pulled another leaf from her mass of red curls, and brushed a smudge of mud from her
face. 
	“Not exactly the best hair day of my life,” Max laughed.  “I must look like such a
mess!  I’m sorry, Jake.”
	He shook his head.  “Don’t be!  Right now, all covered with mud and twigs, and
leaves, and with that cast on your leg, you are still the most beautiful woman in the world
to me!  You could look like this every day, and I wouldn’t care! I love you, Max, no matter
what you look like.  I love you all dressed up in your ball gowns, for sure, but I love you
just the way you are right now too.”  He kissed the end of her nose, then his eyes lit up
as a conniving grin crossed his face.  “Wait right there, don’t move!”  he said, and as she
watched curiously he reached for the glove compartment and dug around in it until he
found what he was looking for.  
	Triumphantly, he held up a large black marker and Max shook her head.  “What
are you going to do now, Jake?” she laughed, and he winked at her. 
	“I have to be the first to sign that cast!” he said, as he helped her lift her leg up
onto the seat between them.  “Now close your eyes, don’t look!”
	“Jake, you’re being silly!” she said, giggling, but he frowned at her and she
obliged him.  She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat, face to
the roof of the cab.
	“No peeking!” he ordered. 
	“I’m not, I promise!” she said as she shook with laughter.  She could smell the
scent of the marker, then her leg began to jiggle ever so slightly as she felt him writing. 
He seemed to go on forever, and she laughed.  “What are you doing, Jake?  Writing a
story?”
	“You just wait and see,” he said.  “I’m almost done.”  Then after a few more
seconds, he sat up and snapped the cap back on the marker.  “Alright, you can open
your eyes now.”
	She opened them, and lifted her head, glancing down at her leg.  Her cast was
hidden from view by a shirt he had pulled out from behind the seat, and he sat there
looking smug, like a schoolboy with a secret.
 	“Jake,” she chuckled.  “Please, let me see it!”
	“Ready?” he asked, prolonging the issue and nearly driving her crazy with
curiosity.
	“Yes!” she exclaimed, laughing at the look on his face.  “Yes, I’m ready!”	
	His grin widened, then slowly he nodded and pulled the shirt away.  The words
slowly came into view, and she gasped.  Written in bold black letters, clear enough for
everyone to see, were the words  WILL YOU MARRY ME MAX, I LOVE YOU!!  JAKE!
	Max threw her arms around him and kissed him.  “Yes!” she exclaimed.  “Of
course I’ll marry you!  I love you!  Of course I will!”  She kissed him, then with her arms
still wrapped around his neck, she looked back at the words on her cast.  “Where’s that
marker?”  she demanded, sitting up and looking around.  
	He held it out to her, and with a smile, she pulled off the top and bent over,
writing the word YES!!! in very large letters beneath his question, then turning a beaming
face towards him.   “That is the most romantic proposal I ever could have had,” she said
softly.  “And I shall wear this cast proudly.  I want to show it off to everyone, and when it
comes off, we’re going to have to find some way of keeping it forever!”  
	Jake held her face in his hands and smiled.  “I am the luckiest man in the world. 
I could have lost you, but — “ he shook his head, lost for words.  “I don’t want to even
think about it.  All I want to think about is spending the rest of my life with you, Max.  We
can be friends, and have a romance too!”  he winked at her, and she kissed him soundly
on the lips.  
	“Yes, we can,” she agreed, “Yes we can.”