Running Home to You (The Running Series) (57 page)

Evan stands up and announces to our friends, “Hey, everyone.  We just picked our date.  We’re getting married on Valentine’s Day.”  Evan takes me by the hand, helps me to my feet and spins me around in circles. 

Everyone rushes around us to offer their congratulations.  Derek walks right up to Evan and shakes his hand offering his own little wisdom for the occasion, “Good choice, Mac.  You’ll never get in trouble for forgetting your anniversary.”

As it begins to get late, the girls and I start to clean up the mess before everyone leaves.  The men bring us their dirty glasses and dishes, and then gather around the television to see how some of the other teams did today.  Emmy, Reese, Camilla and I are filling the dishwasher and discarding the leftovers when suddenly, everything grows eerily quiet. 

A news bulletin flashes across the screen.  The crawler at the bottom of the screen reads, “Deadly helicopter crash in Alaska.  Pilot and all passengers killed on impact.”  The image above shows the wreckage of a helicopter at the base of a snow-covered mountain.  In the top right-hand corner of the screen, the location of the crash is identified as Bear Glacier National Park.  The plate in my hand goes crashing to the ground.  “NO!”

L
isted alphabetically by
first
name

I
f there was a soundtrack to accompany this book, these are the songs that would be included:

“A
lcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.”
~ Frank Sinatra

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T
urnover

Ingredients
: 

• 1.5 oz. Goldschlager
  
• 2 oz. caramel vodka
  
• 2 oz. apple juice
  
• Splash of seltzer
  

Directions:

• Shake well with ice
  
• Strain into two Old fashioned glasses.
  
• Add a splash of seltzer.
  

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R
ed Zone Cocktail

Ingredients
: 

• 2 oz. Blood Orange Vodka
  
• 2 oz. Red Bull
  
• Splash of Seltzer
  
• Wedge of Lemon
  

Directions:

• Shake well with ice and strain into two shot glasses.
  
• Garnish with lemon wedge.
  

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T
ouchback

Ingredients
: 

• 2 oz. Vodka
  
• 3 oz. Pink Grapefruit Juice
  
• Splash of Cranberry Juice
  

Directions:

• Shake well with ice and strain into two shot glasses.
  
• Garnish with pineapple chunk.
  

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I
nterception

Ingredients
: 

• 2 oz. Absolut Pear Vodka
  
• 0.5 oz. Simple Syrup
  
• Splash of Pomegranate Juice
  
• Wedge of Lime
  

Directions:

• Shake well with ice and strain into two shot glasses.
  
• Garnish with lime wedge.
  

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B
lack & Gold (the Panther)

Ingredients
: 

• 2 oz. Blavod vodka (aka black vodka.)
  
• 1 oz. Goldschlager
  

Directions:

• Pour the Blavod into ice filled shaker and shake.
  
• Strain into a chilled glass
  
• Top with Goldschlager so the flakes float all around
  

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S
creaming Orgasm

Ingredients
: 

• 1 oz. Vodka
  
• 1.5 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
  
• 0.5 oz. Kahlua
  

Directions:

• Pour first vodka, then Bailey’s, then Kahlua into a cocktail glass over crushed ice.
  
• Stir and serve.
  

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B
low Job

Ingredients
: 

• 1.5 oz. Vodka
  
• 0.5 oz. peach schnapps
  
• 2 oz. cranberry juice
  
• 2 oz. orange juice
  

Directions:

• Add vodka and peach schnapps to a highball glass over ice.
  
• Fill with equal measures of cranberry and orange juice.
  
• Stir and serve.
  

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W
et Spot

Ingredients
: 

• 0.5 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
  
• 0.5 oz. Buttershots liquer
  
• 0.5 oz. vodka
  

Directions:

• Pour Irish Cream and Buttershots into a cocktail shaker with ice.
  
• Shake briefly and strain into shot glass.
  
• Add vodka and serve.
  

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S
loe Comfortable Screw

Ingredients
: 

• 3 oz. Sloe Gin
  
• 3 oz. Southern Comfort
  
• 3 oz. orange juice
  
• 3 oz. vodka
  

Directions:

• Stir or shake ingredients
  
• Serve with ice.
  

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S
ex on the Beach

Ingredients
: 

• 1.5 oz. vodka
  
• 0.5 oz. Peach Schnapps
  
• 2 oz. cranberry juice
  
• 2 oz. orange juice
  

Directions:

• Add vodka and peach schnapps to a highball glass over ice.
  
• Fill with equal measures of cranberry juice and orange juice, and stir.
  

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S
angria Mocktail

Ingredients
: 

• 2 cups boiling water
  
• 2 black tea bags
  
• 2 cinnamon sticks
  
• 0.5 cup sugar
  
• 3 cups pomegranate juice
  
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  
• 1 orange, sliced into thin rounds
  
• 1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
  
• 1 lime, sliced into thin rounds
  
• 1 apple, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  
• 3 cups carbonated water
  

Directions
:

• Pour boiling water over tea bags and cinnamon sticks and steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and stir in sugar to dissolve.
  
• In a large jar or pitcher, combine tea, cinnamon sticks, pomegranate juice, orange juice, orange, lemon, lime, and apple. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight.
  
• Just before serving, stir in carbonated water. Serve in glasses over ice.
  

F
lowers are colorful, natural and beautiful. They have traditionally been given as gifts for centuries. Different flowers have different meanings, though, and they developed these meanings because of their histories and associations with certain practices. Flowers today make a lovely gift to acknowledge love, friendship, congratulations and sympathy.