Trails Merge

by Rachel Spangler

  “Leave it to Parker to make the most out of any situation. She never does anything halfway.” Mia’s tone held intimacy and innuendo that made Campbell sick to her stomach. Mia was oblivious to her discomfort and seemed to think they were having a conversation. “I appreciate you letting me join the lesson. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend. It’ll be great to spend time with Parker. You don’t mind if I ride with her next time, right?”

  “I’ll leave that up to Parker.” Campbell lifted the safety bar as they neared the top.

  “There’ll be a nice gratuity in it for you if you help make it happen.”

  Campbell stared at her blankly, not sure if Mia understood how offensive she sounded. Even if she weren’t in a relationship with Parker, she would have wanted to tell her to take her tip and shove it, but professionalism restrained her, so she simply said, “Turn to the right up here.”

  She stood as the lift reached the dismount ramp. Leaning forward slowly, she let gravity glide her down the ramp to where Parker and Alexis waited. The move was second nature to anyone who skied, so she didn’t think about it until she heard the lift grind to a stop behind her. She turned around in time to see Mia go around the turnstile, still in her seat. Thankfully her skis caught the emergency stop gate at the end of the lift, which caused it to halt automatically. She hadn’t made the turn to head back down the hill, but she was no longer over the ramp, which left her three feet above ground.

  “That’s a first. Whoever knew Mia to have a hard time getting off,” Alexis mumbled sarcastically.

  “Shut up, Alexis,” Parker snapped.

  Campbell skied over to the lift, hoping Mia couldn’t see her roll her eyes under her ski goggles. “Maybe I should have been more specific. You get off the lift when it comes to the ramp, and then you turn right.”

  “Back it up,” Mia said curtly.

  Campbell tried not to laugh. “Sorry. The lift doesn’t go in reverse. You need to drop from there. Slide off the edge. It’s not that far.”

  Mia took a big breath as if steeling herself for a rough drop. She then hung awkwardly, her arms holding her on the lift while she scooted her butt over the edge of the seat. Then she let go. The minute her skis hit the snow, they went out from under her, and her backside hit the ground with a thud. Alexis released a hearty laugh, and Campbell tried to stifle one of her own. Parker, on the other hand, skied over and offered to help Campbell pull Mia back onto her feet.

  “Are you okay?” Parker asked.

  “Of course I am.” Mia brushed herself off and straightened her shoulders. “I’m used to having more room to work with.”

  Campbell didn’t buy that excuse. “Are you sure you’re ready for an intermediate lesson? I can get you in a beginner group.”

  “I’m fine, just a little rusty. Let’s go.”

  She had to give the woman credit for her resilience. A fall like that would bruise more than her ego. “Okay, then, follow me.” Campbell pushed off with her poles and wound her way over to a blue trail. The grade at the top was steep, but the turns were gentle, and skiers had the opportunity to burn off some speed in the middle of the slope before it dropped into the main basin. It offered the perfect variety for her to assess Alexis’s skill level, which was what she intended to do with this lesson.

  When they reached the start of the trail, she edged up where the terrain dipped sharply. “I want you guys to go first, and I’ll follow so I can see your form.”

  “You want us to go down this trail?” Mia’s bravado started to crack.

  “Yes, why don’t you start us off?” Campbell motioned her forward.

  Mia hesitated before inching her skis toward the drop-in. “Okay, I can do this,” Campbell heard her whisper. She then leaned forward and moved onto the slope. For a second she acted like she might go through with it, but she quickly fell to the ground with a shriek.

  “That’s the Mia I know. When things get tough, go down on something,” Alexis muttered loud enough for all of them to hear.

  Campbell sighed loudly and moved up to offer Mia a hand, but instead of accepting it, Mia stayed planted on her butt and began to scoot down the hill. “I’ll do this until it levels out.”

  Campbell almost felt bad for her. “Mia, it’s a long way down. Why don’t you try again?”

  Mia ignored the suggestion and kept scooting. “Is this a green?” She referred to the color designation for beginner trails.

  “No, this is a blue slope. I thought it was clear when I said this was an intermediate lesson that we’d be on intermediate trails.” Campbell tried not to lose her patience with the fact that Mia had drastically overstated her skill level.

  “I thought we’d try a green trail first. I didn’t know we’d jump right onto a blue. Doesn’t it seem fast to skip to a blue without doing a green first?”

  “What does it matter if you do them like that?” Alexis called. “They’re all green if you go down on your ass.”

  Campbell couldn’t help but laugh. Her distrust of Alexis had faded. She’d liked her before, but now it was clear why. She didn’t suffer fools, and Mia was certainly being foolish sliding down the slope.

  “Okay, then,” Campbell finally said. “Mia, you keep doing what you’re doing. Alexis and Parker, you can take another run or two. Mia and I will meet you at the bottom.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Alexis took off, cutting a beautiful path down the slope. If Mia had overstated her skiing abilities, Alexis had understated hers. She had the form of someone who could ski any black diamond slope at Bear Run.

  Parker wasn’t as quick to go. She seemed embarrassed about leaving Campbell with Mia, but also eager to be away from the awkward situation. Campbell thought she deserved an explanation, but neither the situation nor the setting was conducive to personal conversation, so she would have to wait. “Go have fun with Alexis. We’ll be fine.”

  “Thank you,” she said, her face filled with gratitude, and left Campbell to supervise Mia’s snail crawl down the slope.

  It took nearly half an hour to make it back to the lodge. Mia skied only a small portion on the run and scooted the rest. Campbell had never seen anything so painstakingly annoying, and she vowed not to take anyone else at their word for the rest of the conference, at least not when it came to skiing skills.

  By the time they reached the end of the trail, she was exhausted and Mia was soaked, the fur lining of her coat matted to her skin with melting snow. “You better take a break,” she told her as more of a command than anything else, when they joined the others. “Alexis, I need to check in with the ski school, then I’ll restart your lesson.”

  “No problem, darling. After that display of sainthood you need a stiff drink, and Parker had better get back to work. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

  “That sounds great,” Campbell said appreciatively as Alexis left. Mia had obviously missed the fact that she’d been dismissed, or perhaps she was waiting for Campbell to leave so she could be alone with Parker. Campbell refused to let that happen until she got some explanations. “Was there something else, Mia?”

  “Should I pay you now?”

  Campbell shook her head. “That hardly qualified as a lesson.”

  “Then something for your time?” Mia unzipped her coat and pulled out a coin purse.

  Parker finally cut in. “Mia, you don’t tip the proprietor.”

  “The proprietor?” Mia was obviously confused.

  “Campbell is a Carson. Her family owns the resort,” Parker snapped. “She was being gracious. The time you wasted was worth much more than whatever you were about to insult her with.”

  Parker had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire ordeal, and it surprised Campbell to hear her voice tinged with such venom.

  “I had no idea,” Mia stammered.

  “Now you do, so you’ll understand why we both have to get back to work.” Parker’s expression showed no mercy. Campbell, on the other hand, was feeling a wonderful mix of smugness
at Parker’s praise and sympathy for Mia, whose face was red with embarrassment.

  “Right. I’m sorry,” Mia said, then turned to Campbell and reiterated, “I’m sorry.”

  When Mia was gone, Parker said, “I’m sorry, too. I should have warned you about her, and I know I owe you a better explanation than that, but I’m supposed to check in with Janelle in fifteen minutes, and I have to stop by the office and—”

  “It’s fine,” Campbell said, the look of guilt on Parker’s face melting her anger. “We’ll just add this to the long list of unresolved issues we need to discuss later. You go ahead.”

  “That list is getting awfully long, isn’t it?”

  Campbell nodded gravely.

  “Have I told you lately how much I adore you?”

  “You have, but you can remind me again tonight,” Campbell said wearily.

  “I will.”

  But would that be enough to get them through? Campbell wondered.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Parker took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and entered the main lounge of the lodge. The lighting and music were low. A makeshift bar stretched the length of one wall. A ring of couches surrounded the large double-sided stone fireplace, and many smaller tables were scattered around the large room, nearly all of which were occupied by the women of Chicago’s Democratic Caucus. Parker knew most of them by sight and many of them by name. They’d been her colleagues, her peers, even her friends. Now she had to summon all her strength to face them.

  Everywhere she turned, old memories sprang forward to send her head reeling. The woman who’d given Parker her first job stood by the fireplace, talking to the woman who’d recruited her to join Tim Brady’s campaign. Sammy entertained two of her old staffers at the bar. Several of the Cook County party officers were in an animated conversation near the DJ table. Women from the fund-raising board she had served on were talking with Janelle over at the snack table.

  She wanted to run away, but her sense of professionalism wouldn’t let her. As point person for the conference, she was obligated to make an appearance. The Carsons and the CWDC expected it.

  Parker walked across the room purposefully, without looking at anyone directly, and signaled to Sammy at the bar. “Hi, Sam. Can I get an amaretto on the rocks?”

  “Sure thing.” Sammy wore his trademark grin as he poured her drink. “You sure did a great job with this event. Beautiful women, good booze, and little competition. This is my kind of party.”

  Parker had to smile at his youthful exuberance. He was only three years younger than her own twenty-nine years, yet he projected the image of the proverbial kid in a candy store. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “What about you?” He seemed to notice her less-than-enthusiastic demeanor. “You should have some fun, too.”

  “She will. She just needs a nudge in the right direction,” Alexis said as she approached them. She examined Sammy up and down. “How about a scotch on the rocks, handsome?”

  Sammy’s cheeks turned pink under her gaze, but he managed to keep his tongue in his mouth. “You got it.”

  “Be nice to him. He’s Campbell’s brother.” Parker chuckled. Sometimes Alexis didn’t know how her beauty and demeanor affected both men and women. Then again, sometimes she knew exactly the effect she had on people and simply chose to enjoy it.

  When Sammy returned with Alexis’s drink, she winked and said, “So you’re one of those gorgeous creatures known as the Carsons?”

  “Yes. Yes, I am. Sammy Carson,” he stuttered.

  “Nice to meet you, Sammy Carson. You aren’t my variety of Carson, and that devilishly good-looking sister of yours seems to be taken, too.” She glanced briefly at Parker. “Please tell me there’s another available Carson woman you could introduce me to.”

  Sammy appeared deflated as he thought about the question, but he still managed to flash her a smile as he said, “Sorry, the next girl in the Carson line is only five.”

  Alexis laughed. “Well, that won’t do, but we shouldn’t waste that amazing smile of yours simply because it doesn’t suit my tastes.” She scanned the room and her eyes settled on a group of women down the bar. One of them was an intern from the mayor’s office and another was the governor’s undersecretary. “Ladies, this is Sam Carson, one of the heirs to this lovely castle.”

  The women introduced themselves to Sammy, who acted like he might die of happiness. “You all play nice while I go try to steal his sister from my best friend,” Alexis said.

  Sammy mouthed “Thank you” as Alexis took Parker’s hand and led her away from the bar.

  “See, I’m not totally heartless.” She steered them toward the fireplace.

  “No, it was sweet of you to make some well-timed introductions for him,” Parker admitted.

  “I’m glad you see it that way, darling, because I’m about to do the same for you.” Alexis tapped on the arm of a stunning African American woman who stood near the edge of a circle of women in the center of the room. “Alderwoman Nadia Baker, I’d like you to meet Parker Riley. She’s our event liaison for the retreat.”

  Parker barely had time to process what Alexis was doing before the woman in front of them extended her hand. “Ms. Riley, of course. I’m glad to meet you.”

  “Likewise, Alderwoman Baker.” Parker took in her statuesque frame and dark coffee complexion. She was stunning, and her grip was firm as they shook hands. She was obviously a woman who could command an audience, which wasn’t surprising given her elected position. Parker was immediately impressed, and that said a lot, considering her jaded view of Chicago politics.

  “Please call me Nadia. I’m not much on formalities.”

  “Thank you, Nadia, and I’m Parker, please. We don’t stand much on formalities around here either.”

  “Now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Nadia smiled broadly, “tell me about this lovely resort that stole you away from my fair city.”

  “Nadia, I imagine you know exactly why I left Chicago, and while the resort is lovely, I didn’t come here for the scenery.” Parker didn’t sugarcoat the situation. She didn’t need pity or someone to make excuses for her failures, and that was certainly what caused her to flee her hometown, a failure.

  Nadia nodded appreciatively and took a sip of the drink she held in her hand. “All right, I do know why you came here, and I don’t care about that. I care about what you’ve found to keep you here.”

  Parker was confused by that statement, but she knew Alexis hadn’t introduced the two of them for social purposes. She glanced around the room to buy time while she considered her answer. That was when she saw Campbell coming toward them, her blue eyes reflecting the flickering light of the fire, lines of apprehension creasing her forehead.

  “Honestly,” Parker focused her attention back on Nadia, “there are a lot of reasons I’ve chosen not to return to Chicago yet. For one, the company I’ve found here is even more alluring than the scenery.”

  Nadia and Alexis both followed Parker’s line of sight as Campbell approached them. She wanted to kiss her but Campbell seemed tense, so she contented herself with sliding an arm loosely around her waist. Even with the stress of their incident involving Mia still between them, Parker felt calmer with Campbell by her side. “Nadia, this is Campbell Carson. Cam, this is Alderwoman Nadia Baker.”

  Nadia regarded them both with a warm smile. “Campbell, it is truly a pleasure to meet you.”

  When the conversation stalled, Campbell said, “I hope I didn’t interrupt something.”

  “Actually, I was about to invite Parker to dinner at my cabin tomorrow. I’m having a little get-together to talk about a pet project of mine, and I’d love to hear her take on it. It’ll be casual. I would be honored to have you both join me.”

  “I’ll defer to Parker on that one,” Campbell said gracefully, but Parker wondered if she was simply leaving the decision to her or whether she was still angry over Mia and uninterested in whatever Parker did.


  Parker almost declined outright. She was just beginning to feel secure and content with her new life, and she had no desire to realign herself with a Chicago politician. Still, Nadia Baker didn’t seem to be a woman who was easily dissuaded, and the fact that Alexis had introduced them meant a lot.

  As if reading her mind, Nadia reassured her. “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think you would get as much out of it as I will. There’s no obligation to stay. If you could stop by for a little while, I’d appreciate it.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Parker said noncommittally. She would have to quiz Alexis for more information before she agreed to anything.

  “That’s all I ask,” Nadia said, then excused herself from their company.

  “What was that about?” Campbell asked suspiciously.

  “I have no idea,” Parker answered, then pointed at Alexis, who was still close by. “What are you up to?”

  Alexis raised her hands and started back toward the bar. “Don’t shoot the socialite, darling. I’m going to get another drink. Need one? No? Okay, I’ll be over there. You two make yourselves cozy.”

  Campbell chuckled at Alexis’s fast retreat and hesitantly kissed Parker on the cheek. “Cozy sounds nice.”

  “Yes, it does.” Parker took her hand, their fingers intertwining as they made their way to a table at the edge of the room. “Still mad at me?”

  “Not really. I haven’t had time. Some of your old colleagues can be a little high maintenance.”

  That was the understatement of the weekend. Parker had spent her afternoon fielding requests for everything from use of her fax machine to copper-bottom cookware for one of the cabins to low-carb, vegan options on the menu at the lodge. She was prepared to cater to the whims of these women, but the Carsons had probably never seen a group quite like this before, and she looked forward to hearing their reactions after it was all over. Suddenly Campbell’s features darkened. Parker followed her gaze and saw Mia headed toward them.

  Mia smiled as she approached. She was dressed perfectly for the situation in designer jeans and Kenneth Cole calf-length boots and a black turtleneck, probably Christian Dior or Chanel. The ensemble had likely cost a fortune at some boutique, since Mia never bought anything off-rack despite the fact that she could have purchased something similar at any mall in America. Still, the outfit achieved its goal of accentuating Mia’s finer features, namely her legs and her breasts, without flaunting them.