Paislee's Path (River's End Ranch Book 48)

by Amelia C. Adams

  As they approached her house, she came out on the porch and stood there with her arms folded. She looked exactly like she always had, except maybe a few years older.

  “Jamal, I believe I have a few things that belong to you. I expect you to collect them immediately.”

  Jamal ducked his head. “Sorry about that. The fence on their pen broke.”

  “You mean you didn’t intend for them to go scurrying all over the place like little pink menaces to society?”

  “No. Did they tear up any of your flowers?”

  “They did not, for which you may be grateful. They ran around the back and I shut them in the gardening shed. Then I fetched a laundry basket for you to carry them in. Really, I’ve done quite a bit of work on your behalf, and I have yet to see you show me any appreciation for it.”

  Jamal grinned. “Thank you, Jaclyn.”

  She hmphed. “That’s better. Now get those little beasts out of here. They’re scaring my bunnies.”

  Jamal hurried around the house, and Jaclyn’s gaze fell on Logan.

  “Logan? Logan Harrison? Is that you?”

  “Hi, Jaclyn,” he said, glad to hear the delight in her voice. It felt so good to be welcomed.

  She came two steps down the porch and held out her arms. “Come here.”

  He stepped into her embrace, which was just as soft as he remembered. He swallowed a time or two, trying to get his emotions in check.

  “Paislee, you look like you’re waiting for this young man,” Jaclyn said when she let Logan go.

  “I’m taking him over to the cliff walls to show him the ropes—sorry, that was a totally unintentional pun,” Paislee said, holding up both hands. “But seriously, he’s our new rock climbing guide.”

  “Are you in a hurry? I’d like to talk to him for a few minutes.”

  “Sure. I’ll help Jamal with the piglets and then come back.”

  “Thank you, my dear.” Jaclyn smiled at Paislee as she followed Jamal’s footsteps around the house. “She’s a sweet girl, that one. Now come inside, Logan. We have so much catching up to do.”

  Logan walked into her house and grinned. Everything was just how he remembered it . . . except perhaps there were more rabbits. Of course, that’s how rabbits worked—there were always more. He scooted a few to the side, well used to what one had to go through if one wanted to sit down, and made himself comfortable. Jaclyn sat in her chair across from him.

  “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you,” she said. “I’ve gotten your Christmas cards, which of course you know because I always reply. Isn’t it a shame that the Christmas card becomes less and less of a tradition every year? Now people are just sending texts or emails or posting on Facebook and calling it good. I say it’s not really Christmas unless my hands are all arthritic and puffy from signing piles and piles of Christmas cards.”

  He was about to reply, but she kept talking.

  “What I really want to know, though, is why the fairies didn’t tell me you were coming.”

  Logan smiled, remembering her belief that magical fairies somehow talked to her and gave her glimpses of the future. He had always thought she was a little off her rocker, but in the best sense, of course. “Maybe they didn’t know,” he suggested.

  Jaclyn sat up straight as though she’d been electrocuted. “Excuse me? That’s speaking blasphemy in this house!” She looked up at the ceiling. “He didn’t mean it, I promise,” she said to the air. “He’s not very familiar with our ways.”

  Logan shifted in his seat. He hadn’t meant to offend her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I guess I’m not very good with fairies.”

  “Not many are, and I find that rather startling,” Jaclyn replied. “They’re around us all the time, whether we can see them or not. And yet, so few pay them any attention. That’s one of their biggest sorrows, you know.”

  “Um, excuse me?” Logan wasn’t sure he was following this conversation. Jaclyn seemed even stranger than he remembered, and that was saying a lot.

  “That so few people pay them attention. It makes them sad.” She shook her head. “Aren’t you listening?”

  “I’m listening, but I don’t think I understand.”

  She sighed. “That’s all right. You don’t need to—at least, not right now. A time will come, though, when you’ll need to very much.” She lifted a finger. “And when that time comes, you’d better not be as obtuse as you’re being right now.”

  “I’ll try,” he promised.

  “You know, last year I told someone they were obtuse, and she burst into tears. Turns out, she thought I was calling her obese. I really don’t know what’s happening to our society—we’re losing our vocabulary.” She suddenly looked thoughtful. “No, I don’t think so. We’ll see.”

  Logan leaned forward. “I’m sorry?”

  “Oh, that last bit wasn’t for you. I very often have two conversations going on at once, you see. And you shouldn’t eavesdrop—it’s rude.” She stood up. “I can see Paislee through the window—she’s about here. Come back when you can, all right? We didn’t even begin to catch up.”

  “No, we didn’t,” Logan agreed. They’d been too busy doing . . . well, he wasn’t exactly sure what they’d been doing. Fairies and Christmas cards and something. He’d lost track. “I’ll come back as soon as I get settled.”

  “Excellent. And I’m sure the fairies will have forgiven you for your little misstep earlier by then.” She leaned forward and spoke confidingly. “I had a small altercation with them myself not long ago. We’re still working on mending the relationship, but I’m here as a witness that it can be done.”

  “That’s good to know.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

  Paislee was waiting for him in the front yard, scratching a little gray bunny behind the ears. She straightened when he came down the porch steps. “How was your visit?”

  “Odd, but good,” he replied. “I have no idea what we talked about half the time, but it was really nice to see her again.”

  “Sounds pretty typical of a Jaclyn visit. The four-wheeler shed is over this way.”

  As Logan followed her, he asked, “So, Jaclyn mentioned that she had an altercation with the fairies not long ago.”

  “She did.” Paislee’s ponytail swung back and forth when she nodded. “They told her to give away one of her rabbits. She did it, but it was very much against her will, and tensions ran high for a while.”

  “But … everything’s all right now?”

  “Oh, yes.” Paislee flashed him a bright smile. “They could never stay mad at each other for long. They need each other too much. Here’s where we keep the four-wheelers.”

  They signed the machines out on the clipboard, then climbed on and headed across the ranch. When Logan had been here before, they rode out in the back of a pickup, and while that did have a certain amount of ranch-like charm, the four-wheelers were way cooler. Paislee led him to a section of cliff he hadn’t seen before, and they cut their engines and dismounted.

  “This is our beginner cliff,” she said. “You’ll notice, of course, that the grade isn’t as steep, and it isn’t as far to the top. We start children here age eight and up, if they’re with their parents or guardians, and of course as long as they’re over eight, anyone can climb here. I had an eighty-year-old man on here last fall. He said it was the most fun he ever had.”

  “Eighty?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “That’s impressive.”

  “It really was. He also went rafting while he was here. Said it was a dream come true.”

  “I hope I’m still alive at eighty, let alone all that.” Logan looked up at the cliff and noticed there were plenty of handholds. “Did this cliff naturally form like this, or did the Westons blast out some of those grips?”

  “It was nearly this perfect, but they did a little blasting here and there—just when there was too big of a gap between.”

  “It looks great. I can’t wait to try it out.” He looked around. �
��I think the cliff I climbed when I was here is farther along that way.”

  “Sounds about right. We have three in total now—the Westons cleared out some timber at the base between this cliff and the one you remember to create an expert wall. That one’s really fun.” Her eyes twinkled when she spoke.

  “It’s that good, huh?”

  “Oh, it’s the best. You’ve got to try it.” She pulled out her phone and checked the time. “We’re getting too late in the day now, but if you can come early tomorrow, we can get in a climb before our first guests. They’re scheduled at nine.” She paused. “I’m hoping you can start tomorrow—Noah says he’s out of commission for about six weeks.”

  “Sure can. What time do you want me here?”

  “Is six too early?”

  It was, but he wasn’t going to disappoint her, not when she looked so happy at the idea. “I’ll be here.”

  “Great. I’ll meet you at the equipment shed and we’ll go from there.”

  She showed him the trail to take to the top of the cliff in case he was assigned up there, then drove him around to the other two cliffs to make sure he’d know the way. Then they headed back to the ranch. It was starting to turn into dusk at this point, so going back was necessary, but he wished they had more time. He loved watching her passion about her job, and he had to remind himself over and over again that she was taken.

  They parked their four-wheelers, turned in their keys, and stood there awkwardly. Well, Logan felt awkward—he didn’t know how she felt. “Thanks for the tour. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “See ya,” she said, giving a little wave. Then she turned and walked away, her ponytail swinging, and he watched her go. Finally, he gave himself a mental shake and headed to the parking lot to find his car. Time to go see his apartment and unpack the six measly suitcases he’d brought with him—everything he owned bundled up in a trunk and a backseat.

  Chapter Two

  Paislee couldn’t wait to get off the ranch. She’d really enjoyed spending time with Logan, but Noah had been in the back of her mind, and she needed to check on him. She sent him a text as she climbed into her car, and by the time she was ready to pull onto the highway, he’d replied that he’d been sent home in a cast. She replied that she was on her way, then signaled and turned right.

  When she got to his house, Gabby opened the door and gave her a hug. “Help me control this man,” she said. “He’s already trying to get up and move around like nothing’s wrong.”

  “He never has liked sitting still,” Paislee replied. She walked into the living room, where Noah was lying on the couch with his leg propped up. “Hey. So, what happened?”

  He grimaced. “It was the stupidest thing in the entire world. The washer broke, so I was carrying a clothes basket to the car so we could go to the laundromat, and I tripped and fell.”

  Paislee blinked. “You tripped and fell? There was no daring rescue of a three-year-old toddler from a runaway horse or anything?”

  “Nope. And now I have a cast and crutches and a really boring story to tell.”

  “You could always be vague and mysterious and say things like, ‘It’s too painful to remember’ when people ask you what happened,” Paislee suggested.

  “I could. I’ll have to think about it.” Noah pointed to the coffee table. “Grab a Sharpie and sign my cast, would you? That’s the only thing cheering me up right now.”

  “It’s cheering you up that people get to sign your cast?”

  “Yeah. My cousin had a cast on his arm when he was a kid, and everyone crowded around wanting to sign it. He had instant popularity. I was jealous.”

  Paislee took the lid off the marker and signed her name with a flourish. “That’s kind of sad, you know that?”

  “Yeah, I know. But I was eight. You can’t explain things like that to an eight-year-old.”

  Gabby came out of the kitchen balancing three bowls of ice cream. “Rocky Road,” she said as she passed them around, then sat down in the recliner across from Noah. “So, Paislee, what was this highly important meeting about?”

  Paislee swirled her ice cream around with her spoon. “Turns out that Wade’s been scheduling a ton of youth groups to come rock climb at the ranch this summer, so Wes hired another guide—a guy he knew way back when. The meeting was to introduce him and to tell us about the summer schedule.”

  “And I’m going to miss all of it.” Noah shook his head. “This is crazy. So, tell me about the new guy.”

  “His name’s Logan Harrison. He’s a little familiar with the ranch because he was here, but it’s been built up a ton since then, so he still needs to be shown around and stuff. He and Jaclyn had a nice chat, from the looks of things.”

  “Well, if Jaclyn approves of him, that’s good enough for me.” Noah took a big bite of ice cream, then groaned. “Oh, man! Brain freeze!”

  Gabby and Paislee looked at each other and shrugged.

  “So, are they going to hire another new guy too, since I’m out?” Noah asked. “Wes stopped by earlier and we talked, but he didn’t say anything about it.”

  “I haven’t seen him since our meeting, so I don’t know. I guess so,” Paislee replied.

  “Or he could hire another woman,” Gabby pointed out. “Women are just as awesome at rock climbing as men are. I think Paislee has proved that often enough.”

  “Now, see? This is why I like your new wife,” Paislee said. “She’s so wise.”

  Paislee stayed another half hour, made sure they didn’t need anything, and then headed home to her apartment. Eating ice cream at Noah’s house reminded her that she didn’t have very many groceries in her fridge, but she’d have to take care of that later. She wanted to go to bed early so she’d be fresh for her early morning climbing date with Logan.

  Wait—date? No, this wasn’t a date. This was an appointment for a training exercise so he could learn the ins and outs of the cliff.

  As she fluffed her pillow, she thought about that for a minute. Would she mind if it was a date? No, not really—probably not. He’d seemed kind of stiff and unsure of himself when he’d first shown up, and except for the fact that he was cute, he didn’t impress her much. But as the day wore on, he’d loosened up. Seeing him chase piglets was definitely amusing—the best part being that he’d gotten a muddy hoof print on his shirt and had never noticed. She’d wanted to point it out to him a half dozen times, but it was too fun just to watch and see when he’d discover it for himself. And when they got to the climbing walls, he’d opened up completely, like he was letting down walls of his own and being willing to be vulnerable. Something had happened in his past to make him shut himself away, and she felt sorry about that.

  She knew what that was like, but she also knew what it was like to make a conscious choice to move forward. Of course, that came after watching a ton of talk shows with mental health gurus and whatnot. Most of what they said was twaddle—her grandmother’s favorite word—but there was enough truth underlying all the hype that she’d been able to recognize the past as a stepping stone to her future and to be somewhat grateful for it. No, not for the pain it had caused her, but for the lessons it had taught her.

  She reached out and flipped off the lamp by her bed. She doubted she could get Logan to sit down for a talk-show marathon, but maybe she could help him see that the scars of the past didn’t have to mar his future.

  ***

  Sunrise in the spring—couldn’t get any better than that. Logan parked his car and crunched across the gravel to the equipment shed, hoping he wasn’t late. The clock in his car had broken a few months back, and it was so low on his priority list, it might never rise to the top.

  Paislee was there waiting, wearing a light blue jacket that brought out her eyes. She grinned when he approached. “Morning,” she said. “Are you ready to hit the ropes?”

  “More than ready.”

  “Let’s get our gear and go.”

  They gathered up harnesses, gloves, and everything
else they’d need and shoved them into backpacks. “I went out earlier and got the ropes ready up top,” Paislee said as she slung her bag over her arm.

  “You’ve already been out there?” Was she one of those annoying morning people?

  “I went to bed early and couldn’t sleep in. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “I would have helped.”

  “I know, but this way, we can get climbing faster. Let’s go.”

  Once again, they bounced across the ground on their four-wheelers. It seemed a shame to break the pristine stillness of the morning with the loud roar of engines, but it couldn’t be helped, really. Several rabbits bounded across the path up ahead—Logan couldn’t tell if they were Jaclyn’s. None of them were wearing diapers, but then again, some of Jaclyn’s were fully litter-box trained and didn’t wear diapers anymore. Then Logan laughed at himself for reasoning that through so logically. There was nothing logical when it came to Jaclyn.

  Paislee held up her hand, motioning for Logan to stop, and he did. She pointed up ahead, and he squinted to see what she meant. There was a mama doe with two little fawns just off the trail about two hundred yards away, nibbling at the grass and lifting their heads every so often to sniff the air. They were beautiful.

  Logan watched with appreciation until Mama Deer finally noticed their presence and urged her children to run into the trees. Then he and Paislee started up their engines again and continued along the trail until they reached the expert climbing wall.

  Sure enough, the ropes were almost in place, dangling against the rock waiting for them. Logan felt his fingers begin to itch. He hadn’t climbed for a couple of weeks, and he was more than ready to get back on the ropes.

  “You belay?” he asked.

  “Of course.” She gave him a patient look. “What good would a climbing guide be who didn’t?”