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

by Angela Ruth Strong

  “Em, I’m afraid you won’t come back.”

  Emily’s head tilted, and her eyebrows dipped. Still hanging onto his hands, she used them to pull herself closer, like she was a fish and he was reeling her in. Their arms bent between them, holding them together — keeping them apart.

  “I’ll come back,” she vowed softly. “You have to believe me. There’s nothing I want more.”

  Except for making another movie. Would it stop then? What about guest appearances on talk shows to promote the release? What about a Wonder Woman III?

  Tracen wanted to believe her. There was no deception hidden in the depths of her pool-blue eyes. But people didn’t come back to Sun Valley. Serena hadn’t. Jor-El’s father hadn’t.

  “Emily, do you know where Jor-El’s dad is?”

  Emily’s eyes shifted from side to side as if looking for the man in question. “Should I?” If only she wasn’t so cute.

  “He’s in Vegas. He does a unicycle and juggling show. He left when Jor-El was four years old and was supposed to come back before Jor-El turned five.” The jerk. No kid deserved a father like that.

  “Oh no.” Concern rang in Emily’s tone. She’d been a friend to Jor-El without even realizing how badly he needed one. “I had no idea. Poor Jor-El.”

  Where was he going with this? Oh yeah. “The kid doesn’t talk about it. He still hopes his dad will return. But every time the guy makes any money, he gambles it away. Jor-El’s mom barely scrapes by — housekeeping at the Sun Valley resort.”

  “That’s terrible. No wonder Jor-El is so attached to the unicycle.” The creases in her forehead disappeared as the apples of her cheeks rounded. “But see, with the money I make doing Wonder Woman II, we can help people like that out. We could buy Jor-El a real bicycle. Buy his mom a new car.”

  Tracen let out his breath. She’d completely missed his point.

  A bullhorn blared from the river’s edge. “Emily Van Arsdale. Has anybody seen Emily Van Arsdale?”

  Emily closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Bruce is so going to kill me.” She pushed up on tiptoe and brushed a quick kiss over his lips. “Hopefully this won’t take long. Do you want to go find that hot springs with Howie and Honey when I’m done?”

  How did she move on so quickly? He was still talking about Jor-El. He’d better finish what he had to say before Bruce fired them both.

  He couldn’t let her leave him to make another movie. She’d never return. He knew it. “I don’t want to have to sit around waiting for you.”

  Emily giggled as she pulled away. “Impatient to see me in a bikini, huh?”

  “No,” he called out in frustration as she turned away to descend the hill. That wasn’t what he meant at all. “I’m not going to wait for you if you return to Hollywood.”

  But she was too far away to hear.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  EMILY FOLLOWED TRACEN DOWN THE PATH through the quiet forest. He’d been kind of quiet himself, but maybe that was part of their serene trip to Frenchman’s Bend Hot Springs. Though Howie didn’t sound like he knew the meaning of serene.

  The older man trailed after her with a thick walking stick. “Tracen, did you warn Emily that most people enjoy the hot springs in the buff — even though most of them aren’t buff?” he asked.

  Emily smiled at Howie as Tracen answered for her. “Emily knows. Her mom used to be a hippie.”

  Behind Howie, Honey eyed Emily. “I hope you plan to keep your bathing suit on.”

  Emily laughed. “Of course. How about you, Honey? You always wear your bathing suit?”

  “Um…” Honey paused as their little group arrived at the top pool. Below them more rocky pools cascaded into the river, steam rising off them into the cooler evening air. She pointed, as if trying to divert the flow of their conversation. “The top pool is the hottest. I usually enjoy the second one best, but it looks like it’s taken at the moment.”

  “Me too.” Howie pulled his T-shirt up over his protruding stomach.

  Emily tried to hold in a smile. “You didn’t answer the question, Honey.” It wouldn’t surprise her in the least if the all-natural woman had once enjoyed a dip au naturel.

  Honey sat on a large rock, removing her shoes and avoiding three pairs of eyes. “Edward and I once had the place to ourselves right after we were married. And that’s all I’m going to say.”

  Emily grinned at Tracen, who seemed to be blinking rather rapidly. He eventually smiled, but it was more toward the ground than at her. Strange. She’d expected him to feel the same anticipation stirring within at thoughts of a honeymoon.

  She followed him to the top pool, which happened to be empty. In the middle pool a family splashed, but no other sounds could be heard in the stillness — until Howie started back in on Honey.

  “Eddie came up here with you? He hated hot springs. You know, his phobia of germs and all.”

  Emily sent another smile Tracen’s way, but he was busy watching the little boy below perform a cannonball. Pulling her denim shorts down, she slipped into the clear water after him, the heat wrapping itself around her like a liquid blanket. Her muscles relaxed for the first time in days — exactly what she needed.

  Half-floating, she made her way to a large stone next to where Tracen sat. She settled into the rock wall behind her and motioned toward Howie and Honey with her head. “You still don’t see them getting together?”

  Tracen looked over at his arguing friends, his expression blank. “Honey’s not looking for a husband. Probably because it would be too hard to love again after having her heart broken at Eddie’s death.”

  “What?” Tracen’s response was absurd. Hadn’t he ever heard the quote about how it was better to have loved and lost? “Did Honey tell you that?”

  Tracen looked down and stirred patterns into the water. “She didn’t have to.”

  Emily watched Tracen’s hands. Such strong, capable hands. Tanned and calloused, but oh so gentle. His hands were one of the best things about him. Though if she had to order the qualities she loved about him, they’d all be in the number-one position. They made him who he was, and that was exactly what she wanted. How could Honey keep herself from loving someone who could be all of that to her? “Have you tried talking to her about him?”

  Tracen’s eyes finally met hers, though they squinted in confusion. “Who?”

  Emily splashed him. The guy needed to live in the moment. Where was he? “I’m talking about Howie and Honey. Who are you talking about?”

  Tracen wiped droplets of water from his face. “I’m too tired to talk about anybody right now.”

  The warmth of the water did make one sleepy. Emily snuggled into Tracen’s side. They could talk later.

  Of course, Howie wasn’t done talking. He descended into their pool slowly with arms spread wide, though the way his swimming trunks ballooned up around him ruined the elegance of his entrance.

  “Ahh…” he sighed. “People say the sulfur in this water brings healing to the body. I don’t know if that’s what it is, but I’m feeling something.”

  Honey wrapped her braid on top of her head and into a knot. “Like Captain Naaman in the Bible?”

  Emily sat up straighter. Another Bible story about water that she’d missed. “That’s the guy Elisha told to dip in the Jordan River seven times because he had some kind of rash or something?”

  Honey lifted her eyebrows at Emily’s knowledge of the Bible then nodded to confirm. “Leprosy.”

  Okay, maybe Emily didn’t know her Bible stories well enough. “I’ll have to check it out when I get home.” She tilted her head to look at Tracen Lake. The water theme in her life should remind him how perfect they were for each other.

  Tracen stood. “I’m burning up. Howie, you want to go cool off?”

  Howie groaned. “I just got in.”

  Emily missed Tracen’s presence already, and he wasn’t even out of the pool. “I’ll go.”

  Tracen turned his head as if glancing over his
shoulder at her, but their eyes didn’t meet. “Howie and I like to jump in the river between soaks in the hot springs.”

  Howie shrugged. “Revitalizing.”

  Honey rolled her eyes. “Ridiculous.”

  Tracen climbed out of the pool with Howie dutifully following. “You wouldn’t enjoy it, Emily. The river gets pretty cold. We’ll be right back.”

  Emily watched Tracen stroll away. It wasn’t like him to leave her behind. What was up? Thinking back over their thirty-minute drive, Emily realized he hadn’t been his usual self at all. Howie had kept the conversation going, so she hadn’t noticed at the time.

  Could the Wonder Woman role be bothering him? At first, he’d said he didn’t want her to go to California, but she explained her thought process, and he hadn’t said anymore. Maybe he was giving her a chance to get to know Honey better.

  Honey leaned onto the rock behind her, looking toward the dimming sky. The woman had been one of the first people she’d met in Sun Valley. And she’d been the first to warn Emily away from Tracen. They’d never really talked about it, though.

  “Honey?”

  Honey lifted her head slowly, as if it had grown heavy. Her eyelids looked heavy too. She’d either been falling asleep or daydreaming.

  “Remember when we first met, and you told me Tracen wouldn’t be interested in me?”

  Honey’s laugh echoed off the water. “Guess I was wrong.” Her head rolled back once again.

  Emily tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “Well…” She needed to know more. “Was it because of Serena?”

  Honey remained quiet so long Emily didn’t know if she’d heard. “It was,” she finally responded.

  Emily took a deep breath. Honey didn’t seem to want to talk, but Emily needed to fill in the missing pieces. It wasn’t fair that she had to compete with a memory. She swam through the deeper water to join Honey on the opposite side. Crossing her arms over a large boulder, she turned her head to face the other woman.

  “Tracen told me he didn’t want to get involved at first because of how Serena left him. I overheard his mom say the same thing.” Emily’s heart still ached for him. How could anybody do that to someone they loved — somebody they’d planned to spend their life with? “Was she really like me?”

  The image didn’t fit. Emily cared about others. She wasn’t filled with selfish ambition. She wanted to return to Hollywood for one more film to have a better platform to help people. Tracen should understand that.

  Honey shifted to one side to make eye contact. The harsh lines on her face seemed to have melted with the heat. “You’re nothing like Serena, Emily. Serena’s move to California didn’t surprise anyone but Tracen. She never thought twice about standing him up if she got a better opportunity. She might have been with him, but her thoughts were always elsewhere.” Honey’s mouth curled up softly. “You’re the opposite. Even when you’re elsewhere, your thoughts are on Tracen.”

  Emily curled her lips to one side. Good to hear the comparison, but not good she’d been so obviously slacking on her job. “Did you overhear the lecture Bruce gave me earlier today?”

  The sparkle in Honey’s brown eyes told her all she needed to know. “No, but I overheard the film crew talking about it at lunch.”

  Emily sighed. Not one of her finer moments.

  A reassuring squeeze on her shoulder from Honey helped ease the regret. “Emily, before today I didn’t think you were a good fit for Tracen. Now I know I was wrong.”

  ****

  TRACEN IGNORED THE CHILL of the air around him. It would soon feel like a sauna compared to the sting of the river. Might as well get it over with. Pushing off the bank, he sailed into its icy grip. He surfaced and tried to take a breath, but his lungs had become momentarily frozen. Every inch of his skin screamed to return to the hot springs, but Tracen would rather suffer through the burning cold than to have Emily snuggle up to him again when his heart wouldn’t let him hold on to her.

  He turned to await Howie’s splash, but instead the man watched from dry land as Tracen floated on by.

  “Howie.” Tracen leaned forward, kicking his legs behind him and fighting the current with long strokes. His teeth chattered as he waded through shallower water to join his friend. “What was that?” He shivered and ripped Howie’s towel away so he could cocoon himself in it. It wasn’t like Howie was going to use the thing.

  Howie chuckled. “I’m older and wiser, man. Besides, I’m not the one who needs a cold shower.”

  Tracen swung the towel and flicked his buddy before Howie realized what was coming.

  “Ye-ouch.”

  “I don’t need a cold shower.” What he needed was a fire and a cup of coffee. And maybe a swift kick to the head for getting himself into an encore performance of the walk-out-on-Tracen-show. Unrolling the towel from the whip-like weapon he’d used it for, he bundled himself back up. “And what was all that talk about being revitalized by a jump in the river? You left me high and dry.”

  “Nah. I’m the dry one.” Howie flinched as Tracen pretended he was going to swing his towel again. “I could tell you needed to talk, though. What’s goin’ on?”

  Tracen turned and plopped onto a rock. He’d wanted to get away from Emily, but he didn’t want to talk about it. “Nothing.” He pulled the towel over his head to dry his hair — and to hide himself from the counseling session it sounded like Howie had planned.

  Howie lowered himself to sit, as well. “If you don’t tell me, I can always ask Emily.”

  Emily. Thinking about her caused his muscles to cramp. He wanted to hang onto her and never let go. But he didn’t have that power. She was going to leave him like Serena had.

  Looking out over the river, Tracen tried not to relive the moment he’d met Emily. Of how she’d worn a wedding dress at the time, and how he’d started to fantasize she would someday wear one for him.

  “She’s leaving. She’s making another movie.”

  Howie scratched at an ear. “You thought she was going to stay?”

  Yes, he’d been stupid enough to think that. “She told me she was going to move back to Idaho. And she still says she’s going to, but what will keep her from putting it off again? And again?” Why would she come back at all when she had so much going for her in California?

  Howie held up a hand. “Whoa. She’s moving up here?”

  Tracen shrugged. He didn’t know anything anymore.

  “She said she’s going to give up acting for you?” Howie’s jaw hung open, reminding Tracen of a wide mouthed bass.

  Tracen looked away. He didn’t feel like laughing. “She said she can’t imagine being with anybody but me.”

  Howie slapped him on the back. “That’s wonderful.”

  “Howie.” Tracen addressed the other rafting guide as if he were a child. “Serena said the same thing.”

  “I see,” Howie said, but with a voice that implied he saw more than Tracen did. “You’re punishing Emily for something somebody else did.”

  “No.” That’s not what he was doing. “I’m learning from experience.”

  “Right.”

  Was Howie always this sarcastic?

  Howie crossed his arms over his Buddha belly. “What if Captain Naaman had learned from experience?”

  Tracen slumped lower in his seat. He should have come down to the river by himself. Howie wasn’t a pastor anymore, but he had a sermon for everything. And he loved his Bible stories. “Naaman the leper?”

  “That’s the one.” Howie confirmed the analogy. “How many times did he have to go back into the dirty water?”

  Tracen rolled his eyes. He hated those fill-in-the-blank Bible studies. “Seven times.”

  “What if he had stopped at six dips?”

  Tracen glared at the river as he recited. “He wouldn’t have gotten what he wanted.”

  “Hmm.” Howie gave Tracen time to make the connection verbally. When he didn’t, Howie sighed. “Faith is more important than experience. Has Emi
ly given you any reason not to have faith in her?”

  Tracen picked up a stick and twirled it through his fingers, its rough bark scratching his skin. He wanted to believe in Emily, but… “I’m afraid she will.”

  Howie sat in silence with him. Apparently out of arguments. He shook his head as if Tracen was hopeless.

  Tracen couldn’t handle listening to the unspoken words any longer. “You don’t understand, Howie, because you’ve never been in my shoes.”

  Howie’s face hardened. “You’re right.”

  Tracen frowned at the response. Since when did Howie admit to being wrong?

  “You’re right, I’ve never been in your shoes. I’ve been in Emily’s.”

  Now Tracen frowned in confusion. How could Howie possibly be like Emily?

  Howie looked up the hill to where the women sat on the edge of the hot springs. The water must have gotten too warm for them, as well. “I proposed to Honey on Valentine’s Day this year. She turned me down because she’s afraid to love again.”

  Tracen’s breath stopped — like the way it did when he jumped into the river. Howie loved Honey? Emily had known. How had he missed it? “You’re kidding.”

  Howie spoke softly. “About which part?”

  “I didn’t…” Tracen ran a hand through his hair. What kind of friend was he? Complaining about a short romance when Howie had been rejected by his best friend. “I had no idea you loved her.”

  Now Honey’s reaction to Emily made sense. The woman had a guarded heart. And she wanted to guard Tracen’s, as well.

  Howie pressed his lips together before responding. “Under the circumstances, I’m not really publicizing my feelings.”

  Tracen thought back to the day when they all picked huckleberries and the day they went skiing. “How can you continue to hang out with her?” He couldn’t even enjoy his time with Emily in the hot springs, and she hadn’t rejected him yet.

  Howie focused on the women. “How could I not hang out with her?”

  Tracen followed the other man’s line of vision to where Emily played with the cannonball kid in the second hot springs. She gave him a piggyback ride from one side to the other. Wouldn’t be long until the little guy was old enough to watch the movie Wonder Woman. Then he’d have a great story to tell his friends.