by Dale Mayer
Tanya laughed. “Well, you can put that down to Wynn. She really wanted to bring you.”
He glanced at Wynn.
She gave him a bland smile. “Hey, why not?”
“We’ve been doing a lot of lunches together.”
“So how serious is it between the two of you?” Tanya piped up, her gaze curious as it flitted from one face to the other. “It’s been a long time since Wynn had a relationship.”
Wynn looked at her. “How would you know?”
Tanya gave her a small smile. “I’ve been keeping track of you on social media.”
“Good luck with that,” Wynn said. “The only thing I ever post is about upcoming classes I’ll be teaching. I never put anything personal on there.”
“Why is that?” Tanya asked.
“Because I don’t think it’s anybody’s business but my own,” she said. “I’ve always been like that.”
“Whereas I’ve been the opposite,” Tanya said with a smile and a heavy sigh. “There are more pictures of me partying with every Tom, Dick and Harry than you could shake a stick at.”
“But that’s the old you,” Wynn said. “Not the new you.”
Tanner loved that. It was a great way for Tanya to look at her new life.
Tanya stared at her friend for a long moment and then gave a slow nod. “So very true.” She glanced over at her brother. “And that was the old you too, Steve. This is the new you, and you get to make whatever you want of it,” she added gently.
He nodded, picked up his coffee cup and held it up for a toast. “To friends reuniting after a long time apart.”
They all clinked glasses together and had a drink.
Not long afterward Tanner stood. “I need to be going.”
Todd and Wynn stood too. They said their goodbyes, thanked everybody for a wonderful time and then headed outside to the Jeep.
“You sure we couldn’t stay a little longer?” Wynn asked as she climbed into the front passenger seat, watching Todd as he made it into the back seat without her help.
Tanner sat behind the wheel and glanced at her before shaking his head. “I have a lot of research I need to do. And, if this competition is this weekend, I think it’s important we do some work ahead of time, so we’re prepared when we arrive.”
“I gather you’re planning on going?” Todd asked, leaning his elbows on the two front seats and peering at Tanner and Wynn.
Tanner nodded. He knew they needed to be there. Chances were good this whole mess centered around these championships. “We have to find out what the hell’s going on. If any answers lie in that competition, then I need to be there.”
“Well, you’re not going alone,” Wynn said. “I know a lot of the people who will be there. That will help us get to where we need to go.”
He looked at her and smiled. “Sounds like teamwork to me.”
“Maybe,” she said with a supersweet smile. “As long as you remember that I’m the boss.”
Todd chuckled. “That sounds like fun. Too bad I’m not going, as that alone would be entertaining to watch.”
“I’m the boss,” Tanner said, “in all things related to security. You can be the pro at the paragliding, with the people, the competition. I’ll need to know how it all works. But the minute there’s any sign of danger, it’s my lead, and you follow.”
The two of them stared deep into each other’s eyes.
Then Todd whispered, “Could you drive please instead of just sitting there looking googly-eyed at each other?”
Tanner laughed, turned on the Jeep and pulled onto the highway. “Absolutely. But I still need to hear your sister acknowledge when I’m the boss.”
“I don’t have a problem with you taking point in any dangerous situation,” she said smoothly. “As long as you give me the chance to be point when I need to be.”
“Absolutely,” he said with a big grin. “I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
She snorted. “We probably should book a hotel, since we’ll need to be there late Friday and up early Saturday, plus it’s a little way out of town. And drinking to be social might be required.”
“I think it’s a good idea anyway,” Tanner said. “We won’t want to drive back and forth if we’re drinking.” He glanced in the rearview mirror at Todd. “You should come.”
Todd shook his head. “I’d much rather not have anything to do with that entire scene anymore. Plus, as long as I’m hobbling around on crutches, I’d be holding you guys back.”
“No, you won’t,” Wynn exclaimed. “If you want to come, then come. But, if you don’t want to come, then believe me, I understand.”
“Then I won’t come,” Todd said. “Just like Steve, that feels like a bygone era. I’m happy to be doing what I’m doing now.”
Wynn glanced at Tanner, catching his questioning look, and shrugged. “That’s fine, if that’s the way you feel.”
“Besides,” Todd said, “I hate being a third wheel.”
She gasped. “There aren’t two wheels yet, let alone a third.”
He chuckled. “I mean it. Whatever you guys have going on here, it’s heading for some serious alone time. So get it out of your system before you come back, okay?”
She glared at her brother and fell silent. Once they got home, she exited the vehicle and stormed inside.
Tanner stopped Todd. “Do you have a problem with us having a relationship?”
Todd shook his head. “Hell no. I don’t have a problem with the two of you getting together, but you might have a problem with her. She’s been a little too long on her own. Yet, you’re good for her. But it might take a little to get her to moving toward that next step.”
“Any upsetting history I should know about?”
Todd shook his head. “No, it’s usually about me. She hates to have anything to do with anybody if it takes her away from me. And it’s definitely time that she got over that problem.”
“She would have gotten over it a lot earlier if you had gotten over your problems sooner,” Tanner said beside him.
“I know,” Todd said. “Believe me. I know. But I’ve come a long way. As a matter of fact, I think she has too. It’s good to see her dating again.”
“I can hardly say it’s been socially correct dating so far. She literally fell in my lap.”
At that, Todd laughed. “Then ensure you make the most of it. You don’t meet a girl like my sister very often. She is solid gold all the way. But don’t think I’ll stand by and let you hurt her.”
“Believe me. I know that. And I wouldn’t, not intentionally. But I really like her. And I want to see where this goes.”
Todd smiled. “Then go get ’er, tiger.”
Chapter 14
Friday evening, after finding no vacancies at the third hotel, Wynn turned to Tanner and said, “I hadn’t expected this. But I should have.”
“Neither did I,” he admitted. “I know Todd said we should book ahead of time, but we didn’t have any significant lead time to do that. I didn’t think securing a hotel room thirty hours earlier would’ve made any difference.”
“I knew this would be a popular weekend,” she said, “but I hadn’t realized no hotel rooms would be available.”
He glanced at the list in his hand. “We have one more to check.”
She blew the loose hair strands off her face. “I’m not holding out much hope.”
They got back into her Jeep, and, following his instructions, they arrived at the parking lot of the very last hotel on their list. “I suppose we could still try some B&Bs,” she said doubtfully. “Yet, I imagine they’re pretty full too.”
“Worst-case scenario is we have to drive home.”
“I know, but that’s not what we planned.”
They walked into the front reception area. The woman at the desk looked up and smiled. “I suppose you’re booked up this weekend too?” Tanner asked nicely.
“I just had one cancellation,” the woman sai
d. “For tonight only though.”
“We’ll take it,” Wynn jumped in, already pulling out her credit card. “I don’t care where it is or how big it is, but we’ve checked other hotels and haven’t had any luck.”
“I know. This event has gotten more and more popular every year,” the woman said with a big smile. “It’s also the Blues Festival this weekend. For whatever reason they have them at the same time, making it almost impossible to find a room anywhere.”
“Well, that explains it,” Tanner said.
Wynn, feeling lighter now that they’d found a room, said, “I’m sure the city planners must wonder. It would make more sense to spread these events out over several weekends.” She finished the registration before Tanner had a chance to.
When they were handed the room key, the woman gave him instructions on how to get there.
Wynn looked around, asking, “Do you have a coffeehouse or anything here?”
The woman shook her head. “But there are a couple restaurants across the road. There’s a coffee shop beside us, so you won’t starve.”
Tanner chuckled. “Is there a bar?”
The woman nodded. “Both of the restaurants have alcohol licenses, and there’s a pub a block away.” She pointed in that direction. “And I think they’re open till one o’clock on Fridays and Saturdays.”
Walking back outside to the parking lot, feeling a whole lot better, they grabbed their overnight bags. Following the instructions, they headed up to the room. Wynn unlocked the door, stepped inside and smiled. “It looks better than I thought it would.”
“What did you expect?” he asked. “A flea-infested rent-by-the-hour place?”
She laughed out loud. “Interesting description. No. Did you?”
“Thankfully I’ve never had to go that low, at least not in this country.”
His grin told her that there was a lot more to the story behind his comment, but he wasn’t prepared to tell her about it right now.
She walked through to the bathroom, quickly used the facilities, washed her face and hands, then stepped back out again. Seeing the one large bed, she felt the heat as it fired up her blood. “I guess we should have double-checked if there was one bed or two.”
“Unless you have designs on me, I don’t think it’s an issue,” Tanner said, his grin several watts higher. “Besides, if we were fussy, we wouldn’t have this room.”
“Maybe I do have designs on you,” she said, loving the banter. “And you’re right. At least we’re here.”
“We’ve got what we’ve got. It’s better than driving home again.”
On that cheerful note, they headed out to the front of the hotel. Wynn looked around and said, “I think we should head to the competition area, see if I know anybody there.”
“Is it within walking distance?”
She took a moment to orient herself and then smiled. “It is indeed. It’s about four blocks from here. Of course, the jump off points will be a long way away. We’ll see the landings, and, if the visibility is good tomorrow, we’ll see them taking off.” She led the way, adding, “I never did have much in the way of lunch today, did you?”
“No,” he said. “And then I ended up working out for a few hours this afternoon.”
“Does your job change a lot?”
“All the time,” he said, “but the one constant is the physical training component.”
“Makes sense to me. It doesn’t matter what field we’re in, we have to stay at the top of our game. Anything less than that can be fatal.” She felt his glance on her face but kept on walking. “The question is, I guess, do we want to stop here and get something to eat first?”
“I’d rather see the layout, see who’s there, see what we’re up against. Maybe see if Rog is there. His reaction to seeing you, things like that. And I presume there’ll be a lot of food at the site.”
“There’s probably a beer garden close by. There could be food trucks. This area is well known for its cafés and pubs.”
“Well, let’s take a look. We can always step away and grab some food later.”
It was a good ten-minute walk by the time they entered the park where the base was set up. She turned and studied the area carefully. Over several hundred people appeared to be here already, some sprawled out on the grass, others wandering around with food and friends, or still more just standing and talking, enjoying the beautiful day.
“Are all the competitors here in this area?”
“They’re cordoned off on one side.” Her voice was low. Determinedly she wove a path through the people. She’d been to so many of these that she knew to keep going deeper and deeper into the crowd. Eventually she’d find where the media crew were setting up. She could hear the music from the Blues Festival, but they were still a long way off.
“Was there any competing today?”
“Tonight will be the gala event,” she said. “Lots of promo, lots of media, lots of attention, lots of sponsors. There will be a lot of autograph signings, talking with the competitors, things like that. They will be out there with their gear, but the stuff they’ll be competing with won’t be here tonight.”
“Good thing,” he said with feeling. “No way you’d be able to keep that secure here.”
“Everybody has their own vehicle. They’ll all bring their own gear. They’ll have their own team. It’s not just the outside people—you have to watch the people on the inside too.”
“I think that’s always the way it is. Nothing’s more dangerous than those you trust most.”
She shot him a look, realizing in his line of work that was probably a death sentence. Then she thought about her own work and realized it was the same thing. “I think you’re right.” Just then she caught sight of somebody she knew. She put her fingers to her lips and let out a whistle.
The woman in question turned. Catching sight of Wynn, her face lit up. Maneuvering through the crowd, she came over and threw her arms around Wynn. “Oh, my goodness. You look absolutely fantastic.”
“Thanks,” Wynn said, grinning. She introduced her friend Cindy to Tanner. “We came to see how things were going. I haven’t been competing now for a couple years. I wondered if it had changed at all.”
Cindy laughed. “The groups come and go, but I think the same style, the same flavor always remains.”
“Rog is up for the championship this year, huh?”
“He is. He’s pretty cocky about it too,” Cindy said with a grin.
“Who is running up close behind him?” Tanner asked.
Cindy looked at him, her smile brightening a few watts and said, “Chris is. But then Frank is not far behind.”
“Are they all here tonight?”
“Normally they would be. But we just got an announcement saying they were delayed.”
Wynn nodded. “That figures. It was good seeing you again, Cindy.” Saying goodbye to Cindy, she grabbed Tanner’s hand, and, looping her arm through his, she led him on a trip around the entire section so he could see the lay of the land.
“As you can see, it’s really just a huge crush of people tonight. Tomorrow morning the targets will be set up. All of them will be beach landings. Nobody will be allowed on the beach but the teams, and everybody will be camped out on the parkland around us.” She turned and pointed.
“See how everything is on a hill, so people can gather around in a half circle on the grass? That’s what makes this spot so great for a paragliding competition. People can sit out back there and still view everything going on at the beach level from almost any point in the entire park. Everybody will have some kind of a view from up there.” She turned and twisted to look at the water. “And rescue boats will be out in the water, just in case.”
“I guess they have this pretty well down to an art after so many years.”
She laughed. “You’d think so, but there’s always the potential for something to go wrong.” She said impulsively, “Let’s walk over there.” And she headed toward a large grou
p standing around talking.
One man turned, took a look at her and called out, “Hey, look who’s here.”
As soon as they arrived, she was engulfed in hugs from the many people she’d known from the circuit. Judges, team members, the volunteers who made all this happen. When she got a chance, she turned and introduced Tanner. The others shook his hand, and there were smiles all around. She loved that sense of camaraderie, that sense of being here, belonging with the group. She smiled and said, “I haven’t been here for a couple years. Thought I’d pop by and see what’s changed.”
“Nothing has changed. It was Todd back then, followed by Steve, and now this year it looks like it could be Rog,” said Dan, one of the longest-serving volunteers.
She glanced at him and smiled. “That’s not a bad thing. All good things come to he who waits,” she joked.
Off on the side was another group of male volunteers. She recognized a couple from the school she’d just been fired from, including Kirk and Tom. She stayed and talked here with this first group for another ten minutes, then headed over to the smaller group.
Kirk saw her, and his face lit up. “Hey, we wondered if you would be here. It’s good to see you again.”
Tom refused to even look at her.
If he didn’t want anything to do with her, she was fine with that. The others from the paragliding school gathered together here greeted her with a wave or a head nod or a personable “Hey.”
“Just popping in to see how things are. Haven’t been to one of these in a couple years.” After a bit of chitchat among the group, shortly thereafter she said her goodbyes.
With Tanner still in tow, she moved from group to group, saying hi to those she knew—some friends, some associates. She had recognized an incredible number of faces, now noticing a lot of the crowd had dispersed. Those still here were mostly organizers. Some were tourists, enjoying the chance to sit on the beach and to watch the sunset. “What else would you like to do?”
“Well, it’d be nice to go up to where the jump-offs will be. But it might be too late and too dark to see anything.”