A Wild River Retreat

by Jennifer Snow

  “Pharmatech.” He glanced at her badge. “Wow—Webber Pharmaceuticals. Impressive. I think we might currently be up for the same client, actually.”

  Interesting. Her competitive spirit was piqued, only enhancing her interest in the guy. “Well, then, my condolences in advance.”

  His grin was downright drool-worthy as he nodded. “Stiff competition for sure. Actually, I’ve been interested in working for Webber for years. Applied a few times.”

  “Really? And relocating to Anchorage wouldn’t be a problem for you...and your family?” Okay, she was fishing. Could he tell? He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t blissfully betrothed with six adorable children.

  If he sensed the intention behind her question, he didn’t seem to mind as he answered, “No family to consider. I mean, I have a family, like parents and stuff...just not wife, kids...that kind of thing.” He cleared his throat awkwardly.

  If she was still asleep on the plane and this was all a dream, Kendra was going to be severely pissed off when she woke up.

  But it hadn’t been a dream. It had been the start of an amazing week together. They’d attended most of the same presentations and met up for lunch. They’d had dinner together every night and stayed up all hours talking and walking along the pier. And then their final night: they’d spent it together...in each other’s arms. She’d never been someone who opened herself up easily, but it had felt natural and right with Nolan. It had seemed like she’d known him her entire life. Thinking that her life had changed that week had both terrified and excited her. They connected on so many levels—emotional and physical. He was the first man she’d met and been genuinely interested in who wasn’t at all intimidated or put off by her drive and ambition. In fact, Nolan had been attracted to it.

  He’d hinted about seeing each other again when they got back to Alaska, and she’d eagerly agreed that she’d like to continue what they’d started that week. Figure out the distance thing somehow. She’d been more optimistic and excited about it than she’d been about anything in so long... Could she have found Mr. Right?

  And then her fantasy had evaporated when she never heard from him again.

  Until now.

  Had she read the situation completely wrong? Or had winning the client they’d been competing for cost her the guy? She didn’t want to believe that Nolan would be a sore loser, but admittedly she really didn’t know him after a week, despite their connection.

  “When does he start?” Nisha asked, breaking into her thoughts.

  “Next week, but get this—Roger’s sending us on a survival training team-building thing this weekend. How am I going to survive this?” she groaned, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, hoping to find the answer written there.

  “This is actually perfect,” Nisha said.

  Had her best friend lost her mind? “Did you not hear me? Wilderness survival training—two full days...” She gulped. “And nights stuck with him.”

  “Exactly. Think of it as bypassing the frying pan and leaping right on into the flames.”

  Her friend’s analogy was spot-on. Kendra was terrified of getting burned again.

  “You’re going to go on that wilderness survival training and you’re going to show Mr. Heartless that you are completely fine, that you are strong and competent, and you haven’t given him a second thought since Seattle.”

  Kendra nodded, swallowing hard. But she had given him a second thought. A lot of second thoughts. As much as she was annoyed by his ghosting, she couldn’t help but feel that what they’d shared was real. She hadn’t imagined it, had she? Her instincts really couldn’t be that off, could they?

  She hoped not, as she was going to need them to survive the Alaskan wilderness that weekend.

  * * *

  “SO, DID LITTLE MISS WRONG NUMBER faint when she saw you walk into her office?”

  No, but Nolan almost had. His cell phone cradled between his shoulder and chin, Nolan collapsed into the chair of his soon-to-be new office before confessing the truth to his best friend. “Man, I did not think it was going to be so hard seeing her again, but damn...” Being fourteen hours away hadn’t helped erase her from his thoughts and now she was just a short hallway walk away.

  “But you held it together, right?”

  “Barely,” he mumbled. His buddy didn’t get it. Married to his high school sweetheart with a baby on the way, Matt had never experienced the heartache of wanting someone and being rejected.

  And she looked even more beautiful than in his memories—that certainly hadn’t helped mend his broken heart. She’d blushed when he walked in the room, which reminded him of another encounter that had her flushed and sweaty... A night of passion like none he’d ever experienced before. It had completely caught him off guard in the best way; for the first time in years, he’d allowed himself to fall.

  And then Kendra had let him fall further, down a dark hole of second-guessing and doubt.

  “Well, don’t lose sight of your goals,” Matt was saying. “You busted ass for years for this opportunity. You can’t throw it away on some woman.”

  If only she’d been just some woman. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’ll be fine. We’re both adults.” Now coworkers who’d seen each other naked, who’d spent all hours of the night tangled up in one another. Who’d had a hard time saying goodbye as she’d left his hotel room, knowing they were headed to different sides of Alaska. Damn, he’d replayed those final moments together so many times, and not once could he detect hesitation from her when she said she wanted to keep in touch, see him again. He prided himself on being good at reading people, so what had he missed?

  He swallowed hard. “We just need to survive this team-building event this weekend in Wild River.” Tents. Close quarters. Stressful situations. All the ingredients for a recipe for disaster.

  “Hey, you got this, man.” But even Matt’s confidence sounded like it was wavering. Everyone knew feelings were less difficult to ignore in the light of day. Come sunset, all bets were off. “You’re wiser now,” he said. “Don’t let her play you this time.”

  Nolan suspected it was easier said than done. He’d fallen hook, line and sinker for her the first time and that was before he knew how incredible she was.

  “I don’t plan on it,” he said, but he was unsure if that call was his to make. The heart wanted what it wanted. Though Kendra’s quick exit from the boardroom told him she might not be interested in playing any kind of games with him anymore. And while that should give him a sense of relief, it didn’t.

  “The good news is that at least now you can put this whole thing to rest,” Matt said.

  Nolan frowned. Seemed to him this whole thing was just beginning. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you can’t exactly date her now anyway if you’re her boss, right?”

  His stomach dropped as though he’d plunged on a roller coaster. He hadn’t really thought about it. He’d been too focused on getting through their first face-to-face encounter since the last time he saw her—when he’d kissed her so long in the hotel hallway that her taxi to the airport had almost left without her. But Matt was right. “That’s true,” Nolan said.

  And that should make things at least a little easier... So why did he suddenly feel less excited about this opportunity he’d just moved across Alaska for?

  CHAPTER TWO

  SNOWTREK TOURS WAS one of the best adventure tourism companies in Alaska. It might have been located in the heart of the ski resort town of Wild River, but its reputation for providing one-of-a-kind, adrenaline-filled experiences for all athletic abilities was second to none.

  Still, that knowledge did not put her mind at ease as Kendra stood on the uneven, slightly muddy ground of “base camp” late Friday afternoon with only her water bottle, a new pocketknife and the required piece of rope as the company’s tour guides unloaded the eme
rgency-only supplies from the van. Not that there was much to unload. Just a few extra water bottles, a first aid kit, a flare gun and walkie-talkies.

  Her boss had actually signed the eight of them up for real wilderness survival training. Albeit a shortened two-day version, it was still going to be a challenge, not some comfy glamping trip with inflatable beds and shower facilities.

  Kendra was about to spend a lot of time with Nolan and she was going to look...well, like someone who hadn’t had proper hygiene maintenance for two days. Not that he seemed to care what she looked like. He’d barely glanced her way at all on the uncomfortable drive from Anchorage to Wild River, where they’d carpooled in several SUVs. He’d sat in the front seat and made comfortable, idle chitchat with their boss while she’d sat cramped between two other male sales reps in the back seat.

  She dared a quick peek at him now and immediately wished she hadn’t. Dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and a tight black Under Armour T-shirt, running shoes on his feet and a Seattle Mariners baseball hat—the baseball hat he’d bought in Seattle that week—he looked too gorgeous to her broken heart. Sunglasses on, she couldn’t tell if he was looking at her or at the guides as they called everyone in for a briefing. Secretly she hoped the guides made him hand the sunglasses over, like they had with all their other personal items back at the shop. Without her own sunglasses, she was at a disadvantage, not being able to hide her emotions behind dark lenses.

  “Okay, is everyone excited to get started?” Cassie Reynolds, the owner of SnowTrek Tours, asked the group. So much energy in her five-foot-nothing frame. She looked actually pumped to be spending two nights out there, roughing it.

  A low rumble of forced enthusiasm came from the group, but Cassie wasn’t dissuaded as she launched into the safety briefing.

  Kendra tried to focus on information that could actually save her life, but her attention was elsewhere. For the next forty-eight hours there would be no getting away from Nolan. No avoiding him. How was he feeling about this? Could he really just be okay forgetting about their time together and not even addressing it? Did Cassie have any really useful tips, like how to survive close quarters with an ex-lover?

  “And before anyone panics, you won’t be taking on the next two days alone. We are going to pair everyone up for the weekend’s challenges,” Cassie’s colleague, Mike something-or-other—she’d been distracted during the introductions—said. “The key is to work together. Push one another. Help each other. Use your strengths and lean on your partner in areas where you might not be as strong. Your success out here this weekend depends on your ability to work as a team. And to make things more fun, along the way, you’ll be competing against the other teams for points.”

  Cassie nodded as she stepped forward again. “That’s right, and keep in mind that while this course is the beginner, shortened version of our certification course, it will be demanding. Some of you may not be able to keep up, and that’s okay, but we hope you’ll have fun and learn some new skills. Most of all, you’ll learn about yourselves as you become more aware of your perseverance and strength.”

  Roger nodded as he glanced at the group.

  Kendra stood straighter and forced herself to forget about Nolan and focus on her own goals. This was another test of her abilities and she was determined to shine. She would show her boss that she could adapt, be resourceful, think outside the box—whatever it took to prove that she deserved the other, still available, senior sales position.

  “The list of challenges for each team are the same: building a reliable shelter from your surroundings, surviving a simulated emergency, navigating an orienteering course and outlasting an isolation training exercise,” Mike said, reading from a clipboard.

  He started announcing the teams, and Kendra’s pulse grew faster with each pairing. She didn’t hear her name or Nolan’s...until they were the only two left.

  “The fourth and final team are Kendra and Nolan,” Mike said.

  No! Her hand shot up at the same time that Nolan said, “I’m not sure that pairing is such a good idea.”

  Cassie grinned as she glanced between the two of them. A sparkle in her blue eyes suggested she knew what they were trying to hide. “Is there conflict or tension between you two at the office?”

  Roger was studying them intently, so Kendra forced a smile as she shook her head. It wasn’t a lie—the tension had happened outside the office and it was more of a sexual nature... No one in the office knew about their previous encounter. At least Kendra had kept it to herself.

  “No...” Nolan said slowly, clearly choosing his words carefully so he wouldn’t sound alarm bells the first week on the job. “More like differences in how we communicate.”

  Like by not communicating? Was he serious? That was his problem. She communicated quite well. “Actually, I think it’s more of a difference of opinion on communication frequency.”

  Nolan shot her an odd look, which she pretended to ignore.

  “Do you two know one another?” Roger asked.

  “Sort of.”

  “Not really,” Kendra lied. “We just know of one another.”

  Cassie nodded. “Perfect. Then I think that this pairing is great. Use this weekend to overcome any preconceived notions you might have about one another and this...communication issue. You’ll see your working relationship in the office will be that much stronger.”

  Damn. Looked like they were stuck together. Nolan reluctantly shuffled across the group to stand next to Kendra. She took a large step away from him to keep a safe distance between them.

  “Does anyone have any questions before we start the first challenge?” Mike asked the group.

  Against her better judgement, Kendra raised her hand. “What if your partner just disappears on you?”

  Nolan let out an annoyed sigh next to her.

  Good, be irritated. She was. She was irritated that he hadn’t even had the decency to text her to say he wasn’t interested. Irritated that after three months of zero contact, he had the balls to apply for a position he knew she’d been working her ass off to get. And irritated that he seemed perfectly content to just sweep their history under the boardroom rug.

  “Well, the key is to stay together,” Mike said.

  “Right...but what if, for example, your partner doesn’t give you the right coordinates to follow and you’re just left to wander the great unknown alone?” Nolan asked.

  What the hell was that about?

  Mike frowned, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Well, again, the key is to stick together and not leave one another stranded...” He spoke slowly and carefully and then looked at the rest of the group. “Anyone have any other questions not related to the first and most important rule of staying together?”

  Everyone shook their heads.

  “Nope,” Kendra mumbled.

  “All good,” Nolan said.

  “Great. Then, let’s get started. First challenge is building your shelter. You can use anything from nature to construct a lean-to or debris hut that will serve as a place to sleep and rest during breaks, so make sure it’s sturdy and will last through various elements for at least the next two days,” Mike said. “This challenge will be timed and then each team’s shelter will be awarded points based on sturdiness, practicality and overall usefulness. Time starts...” he clicked a stopwatch “...now!”

  Kendra looked at Nolan, but he was already scanning the area around them.

  Okay, guess they weren’t going to talk strategy. Or talk at all.

  She looked at the other teams, already moving quickly to complete the challenge, and her competitive spirit flared.

  She squared her shoulders. Game face on. She could do this. Cavemen had done it before YouTube tutorials. She could figure this out. How hard could it be?

  Kendra headed toward an area of the forest where scattered tree branc
hes lay on the ground, broken off from windstorms. Ignoring the dirt and sharp edges, she collected as many as she could hold and carried them back to the campsite.

  Now what? Making a lean-to sounded like it required something like a thick tree to position her branches against...but there were none in their sanctioned area. What was the other option? A debris hut. What the hell was that?

  Across from her, Nolan squatted next to a pile of leaves, bark and pine needles. He started to work, positioning a long branch against an old tree stump, then making an A-frame from two more branches and tying the three together with his piece of rope.

  Ah, that was what the rope was for. Got it.

  Kendra found another tree stump and repeated Nolan’s actions. Luckily, other groups were doing it, too, so it wouldn’t look like she’d had to copy him. This actually wasn’t so hard. She looked around to see if Roger was taking notice, but he was busy working on his own shelter with Alan, an older rep from their company.

  She started to place her other sticks along the side when Nolan turned to face her. “What are you doing?” he asked.

  The first words were spoken and she felt slightly victorious that he’d broken the silence first. “Making my shelter.”

  “This is our shelter,” he said, tightly.

  She pointed at his debris hut. “That’s your shelter.” Then pointed at her own. “This will be mine.”

  He placed his hands on his hips and her eyes dipped to where his shirt had risen to expose the side of his stomach. An image of running her tongue along that exact oblique muscle appeared in her mind and she quickly averted her eyes. “We’re supposed to build one together as a team,” he said.

  “I don’t remember that being part of the rules.”

  “Then you weren’t listening.”

  That was probably true... Still, the company couldn’t force them to stay in the same shelter if she wasn’t comfortable with it.

  Kendra narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sleeping with you.” Again.

  Lying next to him in a cramped debris hut with just branches and moss and a fire to keep them warm seemed like a disastrous idea. Too many nights she’d dreamt of being in his arms when she was nowhere near him. She was terrified she’d confess her feelings in her sleep or worse...curl into him during the night. His rejection was embarrassing enough. She didn’t need him waking her up by rolling her body off him in the middle of the night.