“Lunch?” Shelby was baffled at Genevieve’s appearance in her office. Shelby usually just kept to herself at work, taking few breaks and eating at her desk to make sure she met her quota. She had never even chatted with Genevieve beyond greetings and a bit of chitchat each morning.
“Yes,” Genevieve chuckled. “Lunch. You know that meal you eat in the middle of the day when you’re starving because you didn’t have time for breakfast?”
Shelby shook her head to clear the confusion. “Yes, Genevieve, I know what lunch is. I only meant...”
“Ginny, please,” Genevieve cut her off. “Only my mother and my brother, when he’s being a jerk, call me Genevieve.” Ginny plucked Shelby’s jacket from behind the door. “Oh, I love the colour. Come on, grab your purse.”
Shelby smiled. Her rain jacket was an amazing shade of electric blue that Blake had definitely not appreciated. So, despite the fact she had gotten next to no work done that morning and really needed to stay and work through her lunch, Shelby found herself following Ginny’s orders. It wasn’t like her Ian obsession was letting her get any work done anyway.
Outside the sidewalk was wet, suggesting at some point this morning’s sprinkles had turned into a proper shower. Shelby’s mind raced as they stepped out into the grey.
Why is she dragging me to lunch? We’ve never done lunch before. We’ve never done anything before.
As if sensing her continued reluctance, Ginny linked her arm through Shelby’s and pulled her along the street. “Oh, I know what you’re thinking. What’s this crazy woman up to? Why has she kidnapped me?”
“Um, I...” Shelby struggled to keep up with Ginny as she bobbed along the street, their arms linked.
“You just looked so sad today. Defeated or something. I mean, you’re always quiet, but there’s been something off all week. I couldn’t leave you in that awful room a moment longer, and I knew you wouldn’t go and get some lunch.” Ginny held her free hand up to stop Shelby’s protest. “Just look at it as a girls’ afternoon out.”
Not able to think of a single argument, she matched Ginny’s pace. As Ginny chatted on beside her, Shelby rotated her head a bit, trying to relax her shoulders down to relieve the ache in her neck. It was a beautiful day, despite the steel-grey sky, and she might as well try to enjoy herself; it sure beat being in her closet of an office.
The first thing Shelby thought when they entered the café was how the funky vibe of the its modern industrial look, with brightly painted metal tables and chairs, contrasted sharply with the romantic café where she had had brunch with Ian.
Quit thinking about Ian.
She seriously needed to get her Ian fantasizing under control. The guy was never going to call. Truth be told, she needed time with a girlfriend more than she needed futile dreams. And since she didn’t have any close girlfriends, a work colleague would have to do.
Pushing aside a vision of Ian’s alluring half-smile, Shelby forced herself to focus on Ginny and the menu. The café was very trendy, and the menu hit all the major food fads: gluten-free, dairy free, non-GMO, and local.
“There are so many choices,” she said, completely at a loss as what to order.
“I know. Isn’t this place amazing?” Ginny gushed. “I just love the décor. It’s so raw. The stuffed pasta is amazing. It’s got this goat cheese that’s to die for. It’s made up island somewhere.”
Shelby ran her eyes down the menu again, looking for the stuffed pasta, blanching when she saw the price. Everything on the menu was pricey. With a sinking feeling, she realized she couldn’t really afford to eat here. How was she going to avoid completely blowing her budget without making a fool of herself in front of Ginny?
She would order a side salad; that’s how she would minimize the damage to her budget. While they weren’t exactly cheap, they weren’t going to completely blow her budget either. Besides, ordering a salad made a good impression, right?
Once they had ordered, before the server had even finished gathering their menus, Ginny turned to Shelby. “So. Tell me. What’s got you so down?”
Shelby couldn’t stop the blush seeping across her face. “I... Um... I guess life in general.”
The lonely part of her wanted to confess to Ginny the whole messy situation. It would feel so good to share it with someone. But her cautious side reined her in, warning her to be careful. After all, she hardly knew Ginny, and the details were humiliating.
“Oh, come on, Shelby, spill. You’ll feel so much better. I’m an excellent listener. I promise.” Ginny rested her forearms on the table and leaned in, her eyes glistening with anticipation.
Shelby looked away from Ginny’s intent stare. “You know just regular stuff, bills and kids.”
Ginny’s lips quirked. “Bills and kids and men, maybe?”
Suddenly, it felt like the room was too hot, and Shelby had a powerful urge to run. Unconsciously, she reached for her purse, readying herself to leave.
“It’s okay.” Ginny held her hands up in capitulation. “I get it. You’re not ready. But you’re killing me. I hope you know that. I can sense you have a juicy story, and I love a juicy story.”
Shelby released her grasp on her purse and relaxed back into her seat, embarrassed by her over-active flight response. Luckily, the server arrived with their food, giving Shelby some time to collect herself and figure out what to say next.
Ginny had her off-balance. They had never really spoken much in the past, and now Ginny was chatting with her like they were BFF’s. Shelby honestly didn’t know where she stood. Was Ginny genuinely interested in helping her or was it all an elaborate trap? The kind of thing her sister, Meghan, would cook up.
“How did you get ‘Ginny’ as a nickname? Genevieve is so exotic,” Shelby asked, changing the subject to something a little less scandalous.
“Ah yes, and Ginny is so juvenile. Like I’m destined to be a virgin.”
“Oh no, no, no. I didn’t mean—”
“Ha-ha,” Ginny laughed. “I’m just playing. You’re not the first to ask. I think my mom named me Genevieve because, like you said, it sounds exotic. I mean we aren’t even French, and my mom meant for it to be pronounced like the French do. I think she wanted to spice up my name a bit. Our last name is so boring. I mean, it’s not Smith, but White is pretty bland.”
“My maiden name is Smith,” Shelby said wryly.
Ginny smiled and tipped her water glass at Shelby. “You know what I mean then. Anyway, my brother, Spencer, couldn’t say it, so he called me Ginny. It fits me better. I think anyway. My mom still calls me Genevieve though, and Spencer does when he’s being an ass.”
How had she not realized how funny Ginny was? She could have been eating her lunch with Ginny all these months. Ginny’s candour was so refreshing that Shelby found she wanted to unburden herself. It would feel so good to tell someone.
“I had kind of a tough weekend—”
“Are you ladies interested in the dessert menu? Or just the cheque?” the server asked, interrupting Shelby’s confession.
“Oh gosh, I’m stuffed,” both women said at the same time. Their eyes met across the table and they both started to laugh.
“Just the cheque then,” the server said as she placed it on their table and began to clear their empty plates. “I’ll bring the machine over.”
“You know, in all seriousness, you can trust me,” Ginny said quietly after the server left them alone again, her eyes intent on Shelby’s.
Shelby smiled faintly. “It’s been a long time since I had a friend to talk to.”
Ginny spread her arms wide. “Well, here I am.”
Shelby looked down at the table, hesitating, and then decided to go for it. What did she have to lose? “You’ve probably heard rumours that I’m separated from my husband.”
“Yes, I did know that. Was it a shock?”
Needing something to do with her nervous tension, Shelby twisted her napkin. “It was my idea. I can’t really explain it. I just felt
like my soul was dying. I know that’s not a reason to break up a marriage, especially with kids, but I just couldn’t stay...” She let her voice trail off.
“For what it’s worth, I think the death of your soul is a very valid reason to change things. I don’t have kids, but it seems to me that staying in a bad relationship wouldn’t be good for them.”
Glancing up, Shelby smiled. “That’s what I thought. But apparently my family did not. Anyway, now I live in a dark hole of a basement suite with my two boys. I should be happy, right? It’s what I wanted, but I just feel so—I don’t know—down all the time.”
“I’m guessing this job isn’t doing much to feed your soul either.”
“No.” Shelby let out a small sighing laugh. “It does feed my belly though. Sort of.”
“Ah, the age-old dilemma, how to nurture one’s passions while still feeding the kids and keeping the lights on.”
“I guess I should just be thankful for what I have and get on with it, right?” Shelby smiled ruefully.
Ginny scrunched her face skeptically. “Whatever. That’s complete nonsense.” Her eyes sparkled as she paused to take a sip of water. “Complete propaganda preached at us by jaded ancestors aimed at keeping us down.”
Shelby chuckled. “I made my bed, so I should lie in it, right?”
“Exactly.” Ginny’s eyes twinkled. “And if that bed includes a hot man, so much the better, right?”
Shelby blushed again. “Maybe.”
“Ha, I knew it! There’s a man involved in your troubles. Is he hot? What’s he like in bed?”
“Ginny!” Shelby laughed.
“Spill!”
“Okay, okay. These past two Saturdays I took a survival course, and last Saturday the instructor was hot—like next level hot.”
“Nice. And...?” Ginny said suggestively, leaning in closer, like she was ready to gobble up all the details.
“And I forgot my purse at the course, so I met him at a café to get my purse back. And he drove me home.”
“And?”
“And... Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Ginny groaned. “What do you mean nothing?”
“Nothing happened.”
“You’re killing me. Not even a kiss?”
“Nope.” Shelby shook her head. “There was an almost kiss, but my ex-husband showed up. There was a big scene and no kiss.”
“Oh, you poor thing.”
“It was completely humiliating. Let’s just say he will never call me. But it’s okay. I really don’t want another man in my life. I haven’t managed to untangle myself from Blake.”
“Of course, it’s what you want,” Ginny protested. “You’re a warm-blooded woman.”
Shelby smiled ruefully and twisted her napkin harder. “The truth is I don’t want to spend my life entering data. If I didn’t have Kevin and Bryan to worry about, if it was just me...” Shelby’s voice trailed off.
“If it was just you, what?”
“If it was just me, well,” Shelby paused again to gather her courage, “I do have a dream. I’ve always liked the outdoors. I feel at peace when I’m surrounded by trees or near the pounding of the ocean or a rushing river away from the chaos of the city. I’d love to be a wilderness guide. I know it’s stupid. I don’t know how to light a campfire or set up a tent, but...”
Ginny cut her off. “Dreams aren’t stupid, Shelby. No matter how big or fanciful. They’re dreams, you know.” She shrugged her shoulders and held her hands palm up, indicating she couldn’t quite describe exactly the essence of a dream.
At Ginny’s words, a sense of calm settled over Shelby. She hadn’t realized how tightly she was holding herself. “You’re only the second person to not laugh when I told them my dream.”
She didn’t add that the hot survival instructor had been the other one.
Ginny tilted her head and winked. “Maybe you’ve just been telling the wrong people.”
“Maybe.” Shelby tried to smile, but her cheeks felt stiff. How could her family be the wrong people?
“My brother and his buddies are all guides of some sort. They’re always hiking or climbing or planning to hike and climb and canoe to wherever. They seem to love it. I’m a little more into the whole glamping movement. Or maybe just a straight hotel.”
“That’s the thing,” Shelby said, not swayed from her serious thoughts by Ginny’s levity. “I might hate it. I mean, I know I love being out in nature, but I’ve never actually been camping. We didn’t do it as kids, and Blake wouldn’t stay anywhere he couldn’t get a nice bottle of expensive wine and his favourite scotch from room service. It really is stupid.”
“It’s not stupid. Seriously. What you need is to meet a man who knows how to treat a woman,” Ginny said, her face serious. “And who shares your interest in communing with dirt,” she added with a wink.
Shelby’s eyes widened at the gleam in Ginny’s eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t think I need a man right now.” But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Ian’s grin, the one that just barely moved the corners of his mouth but lit up his eyes, popped into her mind. Her body responded to just the thought of him. A warmth spread through her core, making her squirm a little in her chair.
Ginny grabbed Shelby’s hand, her face all business. “Come on, let’s get going so we don’t both end up needing a new job, and so I can get started planning your next date.”
CHAPTER 8
Ian knelt beside the fire pit and placed his hands over the coals to check for heat. Finding none, he stood and took one last look around. Everything seemed to be in place. All that was left was for his colleague and friend, Spencer, to get back from securing the last of the food in the bear cache, and then Ian could follow the clients’ lead and retire to his tent to get some much-needed sleep. Tomorrow’s hike up to the base of Della Falls was a big one, and he would need all his energy to get this group up there.
It wasn’t just physical energy he was going to need. He was going to need a boatload of emotional energy too. Della Falls had always been his favourite hike and favourite waterfall. But he hadn’t been there since the accident and going back wasn’t going to be easy—even if facing his demons was something he needed to do.
Returning to Della Falls with work was probably completely the wrong way to approach it, but he couldn’t exactly have left Jade hanging—not with everything she had done for him. Besides, he needed a challenge to get back on track and this group of clients was proving to be just that.
Rather than being serious students looking to gain some survival skills while exploring the wilds of Vancouver Island’s Strathcona Park, these guys had signed up for a lark. They were celebrating finishing their degrees, and this was a last hurrah before they had to get real jobs and be grown-ups.
Ian wasn’t in the mood to deal with their crap. It wasn’t just the ghosts from his past making him cranky. He was too preoccupied by thoughts of a certain woman, and the distraction wasn’t sitting well with him. He had gone down that road before. He had followed his heart, and the result had been pain and tragedy.
Long-term, committed relationships had never been his thing. His parents’ marriage had been too turbulent for that. He had made an exception once before, and he wasn’t prepared to make that mistake again—no matter how captivating her blue eyes were.
He shook his head to clear away thoughts of Shelby. He couldn’t afford to be preoccupied on this trip. The need for extra vigilance with this group had started early. Despite the close inspections of their packs before they had launched the canoes, the guys had managed to smuggle in some beer, which had led to some pretty serious partying the first night.
Ian hated having to shut that kind of stuff down. The truth was that there was a time, not that long ago, when he would have turned a blind eye to their shenanigans and maybe even gotten involved, but he couldn’t afford to be that care-free guy anymore. He had learned the hard way that even a small misstep could have disastrous results. And if he started to
forget that, he could just conjure up the memory of Natalie’s eyes, so full of anger and blame, to wise up.
It had been here, on this trail, that the accident had happened. Ian had been too infatuated with Natalie to make good decisions. He should have switched with another instructor when he found out she would be on the trip—but he hadn’t. He had been thinking with his dick instead of his head, and it hadn’t seemed like that big of a deal. It turned out he was wrong. His bad choices had cost Natalie’s sister, Charlene, her life.
Attraction between guides and clients was dangerous ground that Ian had sworn he would never cover again—no matter how badly he wanted her.
“Food’s all secure,” Spencer said, materializing out of the forest. “I double checked their packs, and it all looks good.”
“Great. Guess we can turn in. Although, I have half a mind to set a watch to make sure these jokers don’t get up to anything in the middle of the night."
Spencer grinned, his eyes dancing with their own mischief. “Or we could share this beer I snagged from one of the packs and reminisce about the good old days.” Spencer held out the bottle of beer, offering the first sip to Ian.
Ian shook his head and took a step away from the beer. “What kind of an idiot weighs his pack down like that?”
“I know, right? These guys are newbs. Obviously, you bring cans, they’re so much lighter.” Spencer winked and took a sip. “It tastes good, Ian. You sure you don’t want some? You earned it."
Ian put another step between him and Spencer, like the beer was going to come alive and snag him. “Come on, Spence, you know I can’t.”
“Sure, you can. It’s half a beer, Ian. Jade’s not going to find out and nobody is going to get hurt.” Spencer settled himself on the ground with his back against a fallen cedar tree. “It’s okay to have fun. Charlene would’ve wanted it for you, and you’ve earned it on this one.”
But would Natalie?
Spencer’s words hit Ian deep inside. Natalie had never forgiven him, and he didn’t expect she ever would.
On some level he knew his buddy was right. It would be harmless for them to share the beer. Sure, they were breaking with Alfresco Adventure’s strict no alcohol policy, but half a beer wasn’t enough to impair either of them. He had done much wilder things in his past with no ramifications.
Saving Shelby Page 6