Trails Merge

by Rachel Spangler

  She would never follow anyone’s lead, especially someone like Campbell, who would be happy with her only if she turned into a Carson clone. While she was beginning to like most of the Carsons and respected the business they ran, Parker had larger ambitions than spending the rest of her life on a remote mountain in Wisconsin. She planned to be here only long enough to get herself together. She’d find another job that suited her ambitions and inclinations better. One that would allow her to make a difference in the world.

  Campbell and Parker barely paused before catching the lift back up the mountain.

  “Do you really want to discuss something about the women’s conference? I’m sorry my dad gave you a hard time about it at first. As I told you, he doesn’t do well with change.”

  “No.” Parker remembered the charade they’d used as an excuse to ski together in the middle of a workday. “We’re all set. And your dad is pretty typical. I can handle him.”

  “Are you nervous about seeing your old colleagues?” Campbell sounded hesitant, as if she understood how complex that question was for Parker.

  Parker was silent for a few seconds, considering her response. She took in the pristine setting once more, enjoying the now-familiar sights and sounds. The drone of a snowmobile, the gentle sway of the lift, and the brightly colored snowsuits on the skiers that passed below her made the resort seem so idyllic. “Honestly, I’ve been so busy preparing the resort that I haven’t thought much about preparing myself. I suppose the business side of the event has given me a convenient excuse to avoid the personal aspects.”

  Campbell didn’t say anything.

  “If I were completely honest I’d have to say that I am a little nervous, but I’m not completely sure why.” For the first time Parker let herself dwell on the fact that in a few short weeks her new world would be invaded by the world she used to inhabit, the world she had had to leave. She would no doubt enjoy certain aspects of the meeting, chief among them the chance to spend some time with Alexis. Still, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face other parts of that realm. Everyone there would know every detail of her most devastating failure.

  “I guess I’ll just have to deal with that when I have to,” Parker said as they prepared to exit the lift. She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt.

  Campbell simply nodded. If she sensed Parker’s self-doubt, she chose not to acknowledge it. “You know I’ll be right here if you need someone to talk to.”

  “I’ll remember that. Thanks.”

  Then Campbell changed the subject entirely. “Let’s take the same run you did last time, this time without the fall.”

  Campbell’s matter-of-fact suggestion comforted Parker. Actually, she felt comfortable with almost everything about Campbell—her steady presence, her easygoing attitude, her eagerness to help in any situation. These qualities helped reassure Parker when she felt uncertain of her own place on the mountain. Only the way her heart beat a little faster every time Campbell got too close made Parker uncomfortable. She couldn’t ignore the attraction and wasn’t sure she wanted to, but she wasn’t prepared for the risks involved in acting on it.

  Campbell had become a good friend, and given Parker’s track record with past relationships, she wasn’t sure it was wise to make that leap to something more. But bridging that gap from friends to lovers would also have definite rewards. Her heartbeat registered somewhere distinctly lower than her chest when she thought of just how enticing those rewards were.

  Parker quickly pushed that thought from her mind. She certainly didn’t need to be distracted on the slopes. She would have her hands full on this run even if she remained fully focused. As they started out, Campbell swung to the far side of the trail, and Parker followed without question. They kept a controlled speed so that when they crossed onto the steeper trail, they were moving just fast enough to experience a thrill but feel no fear. This time Parker was prepared for the intersection and scanned the crossing slope in advance. A few skiers were uphill, but she quickly gauged their speed and realized none of them would pose a risk. She and Campbell flew over the most challenging section of the trail with ease, and her tension gave way to relief.

  There was only one more big drop. This time she didn’t hold back. The slope was wide, with plenty of room at the bottom to burn off excess speed. Parker pulled even with Campbell, and they took the exhilarating finish side by side.

  “That was amazing,” Parker said, breathing heavily from the exertion and excitement.

  Campbell smiled one of her broad, easy smiles. “You’re becoming a real speedster. I’ll be signing you up for our race team soon.”

  “I don’t think so.” Parker laughed, but she was pleased with the compliment. “I’ll never be able to keep up with skiers like you.”

  “You’ll be able to do anything you set your mind to,” Campbell said, suddenly serious, and Parker suspected they weren’t talking just about skiing anymore.

  “I don’t know where you’d get an idea like that. You always have to come to my rescue. First you save me from hunters, then you pull me out of a snowdrift, and now you appear out of nowhere to get me back on my skis. You’re a real-life Prince Charming, or Princess Charming, whichever you prefer.”

  “Nah.” Campbell blushed. “You’re no helpless maiden, and Prince Charming always gets the girl. What you say doesn’t mesh with my track record at all. I’m just a regular, everyday ski bum who has to get back to her lessons.”

  As the familiar cloud settled over Campbell’s features, Parker suspected that her comments had once again triggered memories of Lynn, and her heart ached at the sadness she saw. Campbell’s wounds obviously hadn’t healed fully. “Well, then, I’ll let you go, but only if you promise to come save me again if I get into any more trouble.”

  Campbell smiled weakly. “It would be my pleasure to rescue you anytime you need it.”

  “Thanks.” As Campbell walked away, Parker whispered, “But who will rescue you?” How had Lynn wounded her so deeply?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Campbell stomped the snow from her boots as she entered the main lodge. The low hum of conversation floating out from the large lounge at the back of the building told her that the employee Christmas party was in full swing. College students only around for a winter or two milled around talking to seasoned groomers and maintenance staff who had made a life on the mountain. The common thread among them was the Carson family, and they were all there.

  Janelle was setting out another bowl of chips and dip while Sammy talked to one of the new ski instructors by the punch bowl. Emery and his twins stood by a group of Sno-Cat drivers, and Greg was laughing at something one of the kitchen staffers was saying. Campbell’s mother sat by one the large windows that overlooked the slopes.

  Irene Carson was petite and seemed even smaller in a crowd. While she was as much a member of the family as those who shared the bloodline, she was by nature more of an observer than her husband and children. She always seemed to stand just to the side of most family gatherings, watching with amusement in her sparkling blue eyes, which Campbell had inherited.

  Campbell strolled across the room, greeting people as she went. She bent down and kissed her mother on the cheek, then sat next to her.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” Irene said. “Did you just get done with the groomer?”

  “Yeah, for tonight anyway. What did I miss here? Has anyone been dancing on the tables or wearing the punch bowl on their head yet?”

  Irene chuckled. “No, your brother is making a bit of a fool of himself chasing after that new ski instructor, but other than that it’s been pretty quiet.”

  “Sam’s always had a thing for blondes.” Sammy was clearly attempting to lay on the charm, but he was obviously nervous, and the blonde looked bored. “Poor guy.”

  “I’m not worried about him. The right girl will come along eventually.”

  Campbell nodded. Her brother would make a great husband and father. Some woman would see past his silly
boyishness and recognize him for the man he was becoming, and Sammy would appreciate her like she deserved. Relationships still worked like that. If not for her, then at least for people like her parents and Sammy. She was likely destined to continue falling for women out of her league.

  As if on cue, Parker entered the room, carrying a tray of food and talking with Janelle as she worked. She wore a maroon sweater and blue jeans, with her dark hair pulled back from her face and secured with a simple silver clip. Her attire wasn’t all that special, but somehow it seemed elegant. Try as she might, Campbell couldn’t help feeling breathless every time she saw Parker Riley.

  Parker flashed her a brilliant smile. She was stunning, and when she smiled like that, Campbell wondered what it would be like to see her the first thing in the morning, every morning. It wasn’t healthy, this obsession she was developing for Parker. It opened old wounds. Parker was too perfect, too good to be true, or at least too good for her. Campbell kept telling herself that she needed to put some distance between them in order to protect her heart, but then Parker smiled and her resolve faded.

  “Why don’t you go on over and talk to her?” Irene asked.

  “What?” Campbell realized she’d been caught staring.

  Her mother laughed softly. “Honey, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve got to get out more.”

  Campbell shifted nervously in her seat. Her mother wasn’t kidding. “I thought you were happy to have me home.”

  “I am, but more than anything I want you to be happy.”

  “That’s why I’m here, with the people I love. That makes me happy.”

  “And we all love you. You know that, but you’re young and beautiful, and full of life. You have so much to offer a woman, and you’re wasting it all sitting here with your mother when someone just across the room looks at you the same way you do at her.”

  Campbell wondered if everyone could tell she was falling for Parker. “How did you know?”

  Irene smiled as she stood up, then kissed the top of Campbell’s head. “I’m your mother. Mothers know everything.”

  *

  After setting the platter of cold cuts on the table, Parker scanned the room one more time. She wasn’t searching for Campbell. At least she hadn’t realized she was until she saw her, engrossed in what appeared to be a serious conversation with her mother.

  Campbell certainly resembled her father, with similar coloring, facial features, and mannerisms. But she and Irene shared a tendency to nurture with quiet intensity and to reflect on their surrounding and on other people, characteristics that set them apart from the men in their lives. Parker wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but the love and understanding that passed between them was apparent. She had a strong urge to join them, to be included, to have Campbell show her that much unguarded faith and trust.

  Parker shook her head. What was going on with her? Her connection to Campbell was becoming almost magnetic. She was drawn to her in ways that were hard to ignore and needed to restrain this attraction before it got out of control. She had to focus on work, on getting her life back together, on moving up and on to bigger things. She didn’t need to fall for a colleague. She needed to pull herself together, so she quietly stepped outside, hoping the cool air would clear her mind.

  The mountain was dark, but the warm glow from the lodge softly illuminated the deck and cast gray shadows onto the snow. However, she didn’t need the light to examine her feelings for Campbell, which had moved far beyond friendship and well into the realm of attraction. Not just physical attraction, although that was certainly part of it. The way she smiled, the way her blue eyes danced when she was happy, the warmth and firmness of her body as they pressed against one another in bed. Parker gasped. It was hard enough to keep from being distracted without listing Campbell’s finer physical qualities. She was already preoccupied enough simply thinking about their enjoyable times together, Campbell’s childlike exuberance on the slopes, and her ability to always be there at just the right moment.

  Parker sighed. She’d been down this road before. Sure, Campbell seemed perfect now, in this time and place, but mixing business with romance was rarely worth the risk. Her last relationship should have taught her the old adage about mixing business with pleasure was true, but none of the fixed rules seemed to apply here. The Carsons didn’t seem to distinguish between the two, enforced no boundaries between work and family. But she wasn’t one of them, not really.

  She was getting ahead of herself. Even if she were ready to date again, and even if she were willing to accept the risks associated with a relationship, she had no reason to believe Campbell felt the same way. “So it’s a moot point,” she said aloud.

  “What is?”

  “Oh, shit!” Parker spun around and saw Campbell grinning at her. “You have got to stop scaring me like that.”

  “Sorry.” Campbell propped herself against the porch railing next to Parker. “I didn’t mean to interrupt the conversation you were having with yourself.”

  Parker shoved her playfully. “Are you making fun of me?”

  “Not at all.” Campbell’s expression turned serious. “I saw you come out here and was scared you were leaving.”

  “I wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye.”

  “Good. Then what were you doing? Other than talking to yourself, that is.”

  “Just getting some fresh air.” Parker turned away, not wanting Campbell to see the emotions she was afraid were evident in her expression.

  “Hmm, are you sure you weren’t snooping for your Christmas present?”

  “Is it here?” Parker asked, glancing around.

  Campbell nodded. “I didn’t think I’d see you again before you went home for the holidays, so I brought it with me.” She disappeared around the corner, and when she returned a few seconds later, she carried a pair of skis fully outfitted with bindings and boots, and strapped together with the ski poles.

  As she got closer, Parker could tell that the skis and boots were Rossignols, the brand Campbell used. Giddy, she clasped her hands together. “Campbell, they’re wonderful.”

  Campbell blushed and Parker immediately ran her fingers along the edges from the tips to the bindings. These were so much nicer than her rentals.

  “I tuned them especially for you, and the bindings are set to intermediate resistance so they won’t pop off next time you skid to a stop,” Campbell said.

  “You tuned them yourself?” Parker was touched that Campbell had put so much thought into such a personal present.

  “Of course,” Campbell replied quickly, then hesitated. “I wouldn’t trust just anyone to know what you need.”

  Parker’s breath caught at the truth of the statement and all it implied. “Thank you.”

  “Do you really like them?”

  “Oh, Campbell, yes. I can’t believe you did this. It really is too much.” Parker answered sincerely, then with a mischievous smile said, “I got you something, too.”

  “You did?” Campbell grinned. “When did you plan to tell me?”

  “Well, I wasn’t sure if I’d say anything at all,” Parker murmured, deciding honesty was her best option. “I was afraid I’d gone overboard and you’d think it was too much.”

  Campbell laughed. “Now you’re just teasing me. Where is it?”

  “At my apartment. We can go get it now if you want to come home with me.” Parker didn’t realize how much that sounded like a come-on until the words had already left her mouth. Thankfully, if Campbell noticed the innuendo, she chose not to acknowledge it.

  *

  Campbell pulled into Parker’s driveway a few minutes later. Her mind had been racing during the short ride. She hadn’t even been able to respond when Parker casually mentioned going home with her. Though the comment was completely innocent, she immediately took it into the proverbial gutter. Her attraction to Parker was tainting her view of everything. Sometimes she and Parker had such a natural connection, and it was becoming
easy to just relax around her, but if she didn’t keep up her guard she’d be in trouble.

  While she could fall hard for someone such as Parker, women like Parker weren’t usually happy with someone like her for long. She was small-time compared to the flash and excitement their high-paced jobs and social lives offered them. Campbell wanted to run the family business and carry it into the future with a family of her own. Parker wanted to return to the world of power and prestige. Campbell needed to keep that difference in mind or she might get hurt again. Still, it was harder to remember her resolution each time she looked into those deep brown eyes.

  “Wait here for a second,” Parker said when Campbell met her on the porch of her ground-level apartment. She disappeared and shut the door behind her.

  Campbell smiled at the care she was taking with the Christmas present and wondered briefly what it could be, but soon Parker reopened the door and extended her arms. She held out a large ball of brown-and-white fuzz.

  “Oh, my God, it’s a puppy,” Campbell exclaimed, taking the dog and pulling him to her chest. He was obviously a St. Bernard and was a lot heavier than he appeared, at least fifteen pounds, with beautiful markings and fur so soft she couldn’t resist hugging him. She rested her chin on his head. “You got me a puppy.”

  Parker nodded tentatively. “I know you aren’t supposed to buy pets for people, but you said you always wanted one…Do you like him?”

  Campbell choked up, touched that Parker had remembered their conversation. “I love him.”

  A look of relief washed over Parker’s face and was replaced by a genuine smile. “Good. I was getting pretty attached to him, but he’d be much happier at your place than mine.”

  “Oh, yeah, you are definitely a ski dog, and Sammy’s going to go crazy over you too,” Campbell told the pup. “What’s his name?”

  “That’s up to you.” Parker smiled. “I’ve been calling him Wildcat.”