Excerpt from Whitney in Charge

Shannon and Regan entered the room with determined looks.  Oh no, what are my sisters up to now? she wondered.  With her being widowed and their mother gone, both felt she needed direction.

“Whitney, we need to talk,” Shannon said.

“But first, let’s go into the kitchen.”  Regan smiled, carrying Chinese food.  “I brought your favorite.”

“And fortune cookies,” Shannon added.

Well, that wasn’t a good sign.  When they wanted her to cooperate with their plans, Regan always thought food was necessary in winning an argument against the youngest sister.  Two years ago, she’d been a television news producer for a popular morning program, but those two still treated her like the baby sister.  Maybe if she’d had children with Rob, things would’ve been different.  Probably not. She’d always be their little sis.

What plans did they have for her?  She loved Shannon and Regan but at times they overwhelmed her.  Whitney followed them into the kitchen.

While Shannon made coffee, Whitney got plates out of the cupboard.

Regan opened up the containers of food.  “We think it’s time you get out of the house and do something exciting.  Mom would want you to go on with your life.  We thought of something to do for you.”

Whitney shook her head.  “That’s not necessary—”

“Yes, it is.”  Shannon put a spoonful of sugar in her coffee.  “You quit your job and came back to take care of Mom.”

“I didn’t mind.  Both of you have families, and I didn’t have any reason to stay in New York.”  Please don’t mention Rob.  She couldn’t bear to talk about him.

Shannon carried cups of coffee to the table.  “Regan and I have thought of the perfect thing for you to experience.”

Whitney broke open a fortune cookie and from the slip of paper read, “You will soon fall in love with a handsome stranger.”

Shannon thumped Whitney on the back before joining them at the table.  “That fortune fits right in with our plans for you.”

“I think it fits in with any single woman’s hopeful plans,” Whitney said, “but certainly not mine.”

“It’s a sign,” Regan said in an eager voice.

“Not a cruise.  Remember, I told you I don’t want to go on another cruise.”  Several months ago, they made her go on a three-day trip while both took turns staying with their mother.  They had meant well but going by herself and being surrounded by couples hadn’t been much fun.  Shannon and Regan were disappointed that Whitney hadn’t fallen in love on the ship.  The only available guy she might have been interested in was the recreational director and he was too short. 

“We knew you’d say that, and how you’ve done it all.”  Regan put a lock of auburn hair behind her ear and cleared her throat.  “But we thought of something you haven’t done and will be a thrill of a lifetime.”

“And when we tell you what it is, please don’t say no,” Shannon said.  “We already paid for this adventure.”

Whitney stared at them.  “Okay, you have me curious now.  What is it?”

Regan set forks down on the table and mumbled, “Skydiving.”

Whitney gasped, spilling coffee on her hand.  Why in the world would they pay for her to go skydiving?  Had they lost their minds?  “You can’t be serious.  Are you trying to kill me?”

 “You won’t be jumping by yourself.  We talked to the owner about signing you up for a tandem skydive for your first jump.  You’ll meet fun people.”  Shannon patted Whitney’s hand. “And the female-male ratio is good…”

Regan nodded.  “There are more guys than women skydiving.  And the men are hot and love any woman who drops from the sky.”

With raised eyebrows, Whitney asked, “How would you two know?”

“Well, of course, we checked out everything before we got it for you,” Shannon said.

Regan grinned.  “Shannon, you’re skipping the best part of our visit.  We drooled over all the instructors before we signed you up.  I did mention I thought you’d be the most comfortable with Nate.”

“Why Nate?” Whitney asked.

Shannon laughed.  “Regan couldn’t take her eyes off him.  He’s drop-dead gorgeous.”

Whitney swallowed a forkful of rice.  If her sisters were correct and there was an overabundance of men, she knew why.  Men wanted to act macho, but how many brain cells did they have to think jumping out of a plane made them tough?  That wasn’t fair.  Just because she wasn’t into skydiving didn’t mean it was stupid.  When had she become so critical?  She knew when.  After Rob’s death, part of her died with him.

“Maybe you two should go skydiving instead of me.”

Regan shook her head.  “No way.  We want you to go.”

“But I’m afraid of heights.”  How could they forget she hated flying?

“It’s time for you to overcome this fear.”  Shannon took a bite of shrimp.  “We want to go to Hawaii sometime.  Remember how we promised Mom we would?  Just the three of us.”

Whitney shrugged.  “That’s different.   I can fly to Hawaii without doing skydiving first.”

“I don’t think so.”  Regan scooped a heaping spoonful of chow mien onto her plate.  “You drove me crazy when we flew to Wisconsin for Aunt Martha’s funeral.  You had such terrible anxiety attacks.”

Why did she have to have such stubborn sisters?  The last thing she felt like doing was something stupid like skydiving, but she knew they’d never give up on her.  They always thought they knew best because they were older and married.  Big deal they were a bit older.  How old was Shannon her last birthday?  Oh yeah, she celebrated her thirty-ninth.  And Regan at age thirty-four was only three years older than she.

Shannon nudged Regan.  “Tell her about Jack.”

Regan shook her head.  “Not a good idea.”

“Who’s Jack?  Another skydiver?”  Whitney asked.

“He’s a paramedic and single.   He’s worked with Casey, but Jack’s not a firefighter.   He’s not interested in meeting you.”    Regan gave Whitney an apologetic shrug.   “Sorry.   It’s a shame because Jack’s a dead ringer for Matthew McConaughey.”

Shannon raised her eyebrows.  “What did Casey tell Jack about Whitney?”

Whitney also wondered what Casey had said to Jack.  She bet he told Jack how desperate Regan was for her sister to meet someone.  Casey might have said something like, “Hey, Jack, you have to take my sister-in-law out and get Regan off my back.”  What guy would want to go out with a loser?

“Not enough obviously,” Regan said, “but I’ll─”

“No.”  Whitney put her hand on Regan’s arm.  “Don’t say anything.  I don’t want to go out with someone who feels pressured.”  She grinned.  “Although resembling McConaughey might change my mind.”