Finding Love in Sun Valley, Idaho (Resort to Love Book 1)

by Angela Ruth Strong

“I felt so helpless with you up there,” he added, defeat ringing throughout his words.

  That was it. His biggest fear. Tracen feared letting go of the control.

  Emily ran her thumbs over his knuckles. “Will you control the bull for me this time?” she asked simply.

  And he did.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “ONE OF YOUR STUDENTS IS REALLY going to the Olympic trials?” Emily plugged her left ear so she could hear better what Mom was saying over the phone on her right. Bruce’s bullhorn barking made it hard to hear anything else.

  “Yes!” Violet’s response sounded as if she were using a bullhorn of her own. “Keilah had an offer to go train in Indianapolis with USA gymnastics, but she wants to stay and have me train her instead.”

  Mom always sounded happy, but Emily couldn’t remember the last time she’d sounded excited. Probably before Dad died. “Oh, Mom…”

  “The Olympics!” Mom shouted.

  Emily’s heart picked up speed as if she were competing for the spot on the team herself. “If I hadn’t seen the girl jump last time I was in Boise, I wouldn’t believe you. But she’s amazing. You should be so proud.” Emily’s chest puffed up a little for her mom. “If she makes it, I’m coming with you to Brazil for the games.”

  “You better.” Mom’s voice softened. “I sure wish you were closer to Boise, so you could help me train her. I can’t do what I used to on a tramp anymore.”

  The longing surprised Emily. Her mother had never expressed any desire to be closer before. And while Emily had wanted to be there for her mom, she’d never really felt needed. The woman hadn’t come to watch her film Whitewater Wedding, even when she only lived two hours away.

  True, it sounded like Mom only wanted an assistant coach, but Emily would give her so much more. “I would like that too, Mom.”

  A high-pitched beep interrupted the conversation. Stupid phone battery.

  “…So maybe I’ll come to Sun Valley to see you.”

  The beep cut off part of her mother’s sentence. It sounded like Mom might come for a visit, but that couldn’t be right. “What? I couldn’t hear what you said, Mom. My phone is beeping at me.”

  “Oh, never mind, hon. I know you’re really busy, and I don’t want to get in the way.”

  So she had offered. “Wait. I can make time—”

  Beep.

  Mom didn’t let her finish. “Call me again later, honey — when your cell isn’t about to die.”

  “Okay. And Mom? Just so you know, I’m planning to move back to Idaho.”

  No answer. But what had she been expecting? A Charlene-sized shriek? Maybe her mom really didn’t need her.

  Deep breath. Time to get real. “You’re probably thinking it’s only because of Tracen, and yeah, I want to be closer to him. Like a lot closer. But I also want to spend more time with you, Mom. You’re all the family I have left. And this doesn’t have anything to do with the trampoline training, though that’s really cool. But I feel we’ve grown apart since I’ve been gone.” Ooh, Mom might think she was blaming her. Not what she meant at all. “It’s my fault. And I’m sorry.”

  Quiet. Could her mother be crying? That wasn’t like her, but it also wasn’t like Emily to get so sentimental. “Mom?”

  Nothing.

  “Mom?” She pulled the phone away to look at the screen — blank. Her phone had died.

  Shoot. Had Mom heard anything she’d said? She couldn’t even call back to find out. Glancing down the bank to see if Bruce was about ready to start filming again, Emily figured she had enough time to run up to her car and plug in her phone. She needed to get into the habit of doing so every day. Not that she talked on the phone every day, but for the times when she did, it would be nice not to have her conversation cut off. Especially when she was pouring out her heart.

  Oh well. She’d consider her one-sided conversation a dress rehearsal. Next time she’d really be ready to tell Mom how she felt. And hopefully she could leave out all the extra nervous babbling. Gripping the smart phone that always made her feel stupid, she charged up the hill.

  “Hey.” A strong hand gripped her wrist and swung her around to face the opposite direction. Tracen smiled down at her — even though she was the one standing on higher ground. “Where are you going? Don’t you have a movie to make?”

  Emily smiled right back. She couldn’t help it. Normally she would play along with the teasing tone, but it was Tracen, and she needed to tell him her good news. “I have to charge my phone.” She held up the dead phone to verify her excuse. “I got cut off from talking to my mom, but guess what.”

  Tracen ran a hand over the bump on her forehead before entwining their fingers and pulling her closer. “You sent your mom a picture of your bruise on the cell phone, and she couldn’t even see it?”

  Char had done an amazing job with makeup — though screeching the whole time about Emily’s reckless escapade.

  Emily’s grin grew. “No.” She hadn’t really meant for Tracen to guess. But she had said “guess what.” Silly expression.

  “Okay.” Tracen looped their connected arms over her head like a scarf as he prepared to try again. “Your mom… won the lottery and wants to buy me a ski boat.”

  Emily’s laugh bubbled up from deep inside. “No. Though I think I want a ski boat now.” Maybe she could get one for Tracen as a wedding present. Put a big red bow on the side. Oops. Getting ahead of herself again. “My mom has a student who might qualify to compete in the Olympics.”

  “Cool.” Tracen frowned. “What sport does he play?”

  “She jumps.”

  The frown line between his eyebrows deepened. “Long jump?

  High jump?”

  Emily spun out of Tracen’s embrace without letting go of his hand. Their arms stretched between them like a tow rope as she tried to pull him up the hill after her. “Trampoline.”

  Tracen’s trudging slowed her down. “Trampoline is a sport?”

  Emily grinned back at him. “Gymnastics.”

  “Isn’t that cheating? Aren’t you supposed to learn tricks on the trampoline to perform on the floor — or on a wakeboard?”

  Emily dropped Tracen’s hand as she stepped onto the flat gravel parking lot from the incline of the hill. “Don’t let my mom hear you talk that way.” She pressed the remote on her keychain to unlock the SUV before plopping onto the seat and plugging in her phone.

  Tracen propped his forearms on the top of the door and leaned over it. “Maybe I should try to get into the Olympics. I’ve almost mastered my back flip.”

  Emily couldn’t keep from giggling at the image of Tracen stuck upside-down in the harness. “I’ll suggest it to Mom.” Her mom… “Oh, that’s the other thing I wanted to say. I’d just started to tell Mom I’m moving back to Idaho when my phone died. I don’t even know if she heard me or not.”

  Tracen’s eyes studied her, as if he expected her to disappear like a mirage. She stared back, enjoying her own examination of his solid jaw and dark lashes. He was such a loyal and honorable man. Were he to commit himself to her, she knew she’d have the unconditional love that all women dreamed of. That Serena girl had no idea what she’d given up.

  Tracen cleared his throat, drawing her gaze back to meet his. “I doubt your mom will be as thrilled as I am over the news of your move, but if you want to call her right now, you can. All you have to do is leave the phone hooked up to the charger.”

  “Oh.” He was thrilled she was moving to Idaho. His ways of expressing his feelings toward her weren’t as direct as her spontaneous, overenthusiastic declarations, but they were woven into flirtatious conversations. Like buried treasure, she savored the words meant only for her. “Okay.” What had he suggested again? Oh yeah, call her mom.

  Stringing her phone charger across the seat, she powered up the device and stared at the screen. What was her mom’s phone number again? She glanced up at Tracen. Maybe she should call later when she wasn’t so distracted.

  Tracen
’s long arm reached toward her. Her pulse picked up speed. His fingers pointed to the blue envelope on her screen. Drat. Her heartrate went back to normal.

  “Your mom could have heard what you said and already called back to leave a message.”

  Emily hadn’t thought of that. Better check first. How did she check voice mail again? Scrolling down the menu list, she clicked on voice mail. There was a little number thirteen next to it, but that couldn’t mean thirteen messages, could it? Who had her cell number?

  She held the phone to her ear, planning to only listen for a second. Spending time with Tracen was much more important than listening to recordings.

  “Emily.” Her agent always spoke quickly as if she had somebody else on hold — and she probably did. “Call me. I’ve got great news.”

  Emily pressed the 7 button to delete. “My agent,” she explained to Tracen. She’d call Veronica later — after filming, and maybe after a trip to the hot springs Howie had been telling her about.

  Veronica’s rapid-fire communication style interrupted Emily’s thoughts again. “Emily, I know you’re filming, but you’re going to want to make some time to call me. It’s important.”

  What could it be? Had the paparazzi published some pictures of her and Tracen? No, Veronica had said she had good news. Was Emily being asked to do another Revlon commercial? She’d felt so silly doing the last one, but Veronica would consider such an offer to be “great news.”

  Third message: “Emily, you’re killing me. Answer your dang phone, will you?”

  Emily frowned at the device. Her agent usually loved cell phones. What could be so urgent?

  Veronica had her imagination in overdrive. Was it just another audition? But Veronica knew she was busy filming. Could it be a magazine spread? A party appearance as Wonder Woman? Was she going to have a whole comic book series modeled after her? Preposterous.

  She’d better call Veronica back. Jabbing at the phone, she aimed for the button that would exit voice mail, but apparently she hit speakerphone because Veronica’s voice came on in stereo.

  “Okay, Emily. Here’s the deal. They want to do a sequel to Wonder Woman, and they want you to play Diana Prince again — even though you cut your hair. The studio is offering five times what you made on the first one. We need an answer pronto. Call. Me.”

  “Oh my…”

  Emily dropped the phone and shot to her feet. A sequel… sequel… sequel. The word spun through her mind like a tornado, making her a little dizzy. She’d expected the studio to rip apart her acting since she’d never had any formal training. Getting a part in Whitewater Wedding had been the pure momentum of her “career.” She didn’t think it would go anywhere after that, and she didn’t really care. But how fun would it be to make another Wonder Woman movie?

  Tracen could travel with her to Hollywood for a few months. They could do Sea World and take a cruise out to Catalina Island. Maybe even hike Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. She’d gotten to know his world, and she loved it, but she wanted to share her own world with him — even if she was planning to leave it.

  And how could she turn down the money? It would provide financial stability for their future. Maybe she wouldn’t even look for a teaching job at all but could help Tracen with his business — until they started a family. Hey, she could even help her mom by paying her way to the Brazil Olympics. So many possibilities. What an opportunity.

  ****

  TRACEN WATCHED IN AMUSEMENT as Emily tried to figure out her phone. Note to self: Don’t expect to talk to Emily on the phone much.

  He hung on the open SUV door and kicked at the gravel. She was listening to voice mail now, but in a moment he’d get to hear her tell her mom she was moving to Idaho. That’s what he’d been waiting for since the moment he first kissed her, but soon it would be official.

  Instead of a girlfriend leaving him because he wanted to stay in Sun Valley, he had a girlfriend moving to Sun Valley to be with him. Girlfriend. A weird word. Foreign and exciting, but at the same time it didn’t fully explain their relationship. In only a couple of weeks, Emily had become his best friend. A part of him.

  Emily pulled the phone away from her ear and squinted at the buttons before poking one. A voice blared from the speaker, and her eyebrows shot up.

  “Okay, Emily. Here’s the deal.” A snippy, business-minded voice. As if it belonged to a blackmailer arranging a dirty transaction. Who would that be? “They want to do a sequel to Wonder Woman, and they want you to play Diana Prince.”

  Tracen froze.

  So Jor-El had been right when he said they were making a sequel. But that didn’t mean he was right about Emily accepting the part. Apparently she hadn’t even heard the news. He should have mentioned the rumor sooner, but he figured she would have told him about it, and she probably would have, had it been on her agenda.

  Tracen couldn’t focus on the rest of the message. He watched Emily’s face. With those wide sky-blue eyes, she looked as innocent as one of his nieces’ Cabbage Patch dolls. She wouldn’t go back to California just to have another chance to see her face on the big screen. She wasn’t like that.

  So why did his limbs start to shake the way they did every time he drank the extra strong coffee in Howie’s thermos? This wasn’t anything to be nervous about. Emily would delete the message, then call her mom to say she was moving to Idaho. That’s what they’d planned. He was getting worked up over nothing.

  “Oh my…”

  Tracen didn’t even see Emily stand. All he knew was that one second she was sitting in her car, and the next second her springy hair tickled his nose. Tracen pushed up from his relaxed position, the shakiness inside starting to mix up the contents of his stomach. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening again.

  Emily squealed. “Did you hear that?”

  He wished he hadn’t. He wished he could go back in time to the moment when Emily had been about to call her mother, and he’d ignorantly suggested she check her voice messages first. He’d never guessed that the beeping of the phone would be the death knell of their future together.

  Or maybe, if he were going to go back in time, he should go all the way back to the moment he told her he couldn’t date her — and stick to his guns. He knew then what could happen. He’d risked it anyway. What was Ben Franklin’s definition of insanity again? “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” He’d been insane to let himself fall for Emily.

  “Did you hear?” she repeated, eyes shining. They didn’t look so innocent anymore.

  “Yeah.” Was this it? One phone call was all she needed to forget the declarations she’d made. Like how she didn’t see herself with anyone else. No doubt she’d be kissing another guy on the superhero set.

  “What do you think?” Her head tilted up to face his.

  Tracen looked away. She knew what he thought. And it hurt too much to read the thoughts revealed in her eager expression. But she was asking. So maybe he still had a chance.

  Roping a calf at the rodeo would have been easier than reigning in his emotions, but he forced himself to do so before looking back down. “I think you should call your mom now to tell her you’re moving back to Idaho.” He’d meant his response to sound nonchalant, but it came out rather gruff.

  Emily blinked as if blindsided by his attitude. Then she waved her arms wide. “What if—” She paused dramatically, though it wasn’t like she didn’t already have his full attention. “—I put the move on hold for a few months? You could come with me to Hollywood.”

  Did she really want him with her? Or was it an empty gesture?

  A peace offering?

  Maybe she only thought she wanted him with her. If he went to California, she’d find out all too quickly that he didn’t fit in. Then she’d choose the lifestyle over him. He’d merely be prolonging a painful good-bye.

  “I’m not going to L.A.” Too many people. Too many traffic jams. Too much cement, and filth, and desperation. “I’ve driv
en Christmas trees down there a couple of times. It’s not for me.” And besides, he had a cabin to build before the snow started. A cabin he’d been hoping to share with her.

  “Oh, but you have to go to the premiere with me.” She grasped one of his hands with both of hers. Her silky skin caressed the calluses on his palms. But her touch almost hurt more than it soothed. She was already planning for the premiere — as if she’d accepted the role.

  “So, you’re going to do the movie?” Stupid question. But he had to know for sure. He didn’t want to let go of the hope that he’d been clinging to since the moment she told him she wanted to move home — to his home.

  “They’re offering me five times more than they paid me for the first movie. Think about what we could do with that money.”

  He didn’t want to think about it. And he hadn’t thought it would matter to her. But she didn’t have to convince him to let her take the part. It was her choice to make. He only wished their relationship influenced her choice.

  She grabbed both his hands now. Hands he wanted to slide up her velvety arms and cup her face with before kissing some sense back into her. But the woman couldn’t stay still. She was practically dancing with the way she hopped about and wriggled.

  “Tracen, this is so great. I’ll miss you like crazy, but I’ll be back up here by Christmas. Our first Christmas together.”

  If she came back. Serena hadn’t.

  “What do you think?” She didn’t wait for his response. “I think I need to make a second Wonder Woman. I have to redeem myself, since you fell asleep during my first movie.”

  She wriggled closer, making it hard for him to stay focused. Had he really told her that he’d fallen asleep watching her on screen? He’d have to ask God for forgiveness for that lie. And then God would expect him to work harder at telling the truth. But wasn’t honesty always the best policy? Might as well start now.

  “I don’t want you to go, Emily.” He sounded so needy and demanding.

  Her activity stilled. Her smile slipped. Who was he to hold her back? Dash her dreams? That’s not what he wanted. But he had to be real.