by Marina Adair
Ty didn’t have time to ask how Avery knew all of that information—it was probably in one of her spreadsheets. He barely had time to cover Brody’s schedule. Taking on another booking would be crazy. Especially one involving a couple of seniors who wanted to get frisky on the shoreline. But he couldn’t disappoint a lodge guest. Part of the draw of staying at the lodge was guaranteed preference on booking adventures.
“How long we talking? Because I have at least five hours left in the equipment room.” That didn’t even touch how long it would take to finish up at the boathouse and find a new mechanic. “I need to get an accurate count of the climbing equipment, make sure we have everything we need for SAREX, and if we come in short, I need time to order extra supplies and equipment.”
“Between the picnic basket, Helga’s walking cane, and a little romantic time”—she waggled a brow—“it might take a little longer, but it should be a beautiful walk.”
“Give it to my dad. This kind of hike is right up his alley.” It was an easy hike, and it would get Dale out of the office and into nature, where he could decompress by impressing the clients with his vast knowledge of the local vegetation and history.
It was a perfect solution.
“Dale isn’t doing hikes much anymore, and I have to make sure it’s okay with your mom first.”
“Good luck with that.” Ty laughed. Dale never asked permission from anyone—not even Mother Nature. Hell freezing over wouldn’t stop his dad once he had his mind set to a task. “Getting him out in the fresh air might loosen him up a little.”
Avery didn’t seem to agree. “I’ll still check with your mom.” There was a beat of silence that grew and expanded until Ty felt that knot in his gut tighten. Her gaze was unwavering, so intense it could penetrate a Kevlar vest. “But if he can’t, I can take it,” she said, as an afterthought, and he got her little plan.
“And have them end up rappelling down River Rock? No.” She hadn’t even been hired back officially and already she was pushing for more responsibility. Responsibility that would free up time he desperately needed. Until someone got hurt.
God, this was a mess.
“I’ve got you down, Mr. Lismore,” he heard her say, and he reached out for her to hand him the phone.
“No, you don’t have him down.”
She put one of those elegant pink-tipped fingers to her delicious lips—then shushed him. Harris chuckled, fully amused, so Ty shared his own special finger with his cousin.
Avery ignored all of this. “I’ll make sure that the kitchen prepares you the perfect romantic picnic, and I booked you on Poppy Alley. It’s half the distance, but the view is incredible.” She paused, listened intently, then gave an understanding tut. “I hear ya, but a lady likes to look good when being romanced, and walking around the lake requires hiking boots, and no one wants to be romanced in hiking boots when they can wear some pretty flats.” Her eyes sparkled first, bright and alive, and then her warm laugh filled the air. Genuine and real and sexy as hell. “Yes, Helga does love her designer shoes . . . plenty of aphrodisiacs, got it.”
She hung up. “It is Helga, the widow from Reno who comes here every March with her sisters. He came back for her. Isn’t that sweet? I had to say yes.”
“You had to say yes?”
“When Destiny works her magic, you always say yes,” she said, not a note of apology in her voice.
“Great, and will Destiny be sending some of that magic my way when I run out of time before the next inspection?”
She looked unconcerned. “You don’t need magic, you have me.”
“Sweet Jesus.” The woman was more than driven, she was a bully. A cute, adorable bully who was so enthusiastic it made saying no to her difficult.
No wonder Dale had hired her. She probably cornered him with one of those smiles of hers, then flashed that dimple at the right moment. Good thing he wasn’t into crazy cuties with dimples.
Or he hadn’t been up until that kiss.
Ty pulled out the chair and sat, resting his head in his hands. No matter how many different ways he looked at it, this was too big for any one person to fix. Even a master fixer. Being down two key people meant equipment wasn’t being properly cared for, the guides were double-booked, the schedule was shit, and he had an entire event to plan. “Avery, look—”
“Before you tell me to cancel on Mr. Lismore, let me remind you that Poppy Alley is a twenty-minute one-way hike. You can probably make it back to the lodge in half that time. You only lose thirty minutes out of your schedule, and a VIP customer gets a day to play hero to a pretty lady.”
Which meant he’d likely come back year after year.
Smart woman had taken an impossible situation and turned it into a winning solution. What surprised him more was that her solution wasn’t her looking out for her job, like he’d originally thought. She was looking out for the customer. He wasn’t about to tell her she was fired—that would be silly since she’d never been rehired. He was going to say that she was inspired.
But that might lead to what other talents he thought were inspired. And that would lead to the main reason why this could never work.
“And that’s it?” he asked to be sure. “You aren’t going to use it to get me to hire you back?”
“I really want this job, Ty. I love the clients and working outdoors, and I love learning about the mountains I’ve lived on my entire life but never had the opportunity to explore.” She lifted a delicate shoulder. “Right now, though, I truly just want to make sure Mr. Lismore gets his chance to explore them with his lady friend.”
Ty wasn’t sure if he should believe her, but he couldn’t detect an ounce in insincerity. She really wanted this old man to have his day in the sun. “If I take the booking, will you promise not to dispute my decision?”
“I promise not to dispute it . . . today. But tomorrow—”
“Avery,” he moaned.
“You need me and you know it. I might not be what you picture when you think adventurer.” She stood and spread her arms to encompass her tiny frame. “But I have spent the past five years managing people’s retirement accounts and expectations. I can balance what people want with what they need and give them options within their limitations that still excite them. Combine that with my knowledge of spreadsheets, event coordinating, and people skills, and I am uniquely perfect for this job.”
Ty took in her khakis, which had pleats, he noticed, and the efficient way she pulled her blonde curls through the back hole of the ball cap, as if she took a great deal of time to look like she’d just thrown on the hat. Then he looked at her soft expression, the confident way she approached her insecurities, and those big hope-filled eyes, and he agreed.
She was uniquely perfect. For him.
Which made hiring her a bad idea. Ty took off his beanie and ran a hand through his hair.
“I’ve got Gary Sikes on the phone,” Harris said casually, his finger pointing at the phone as he mouthed Gary Sikes like the Divine himself was on the other end.
And maybe he was. Gary Sikes was a smokejumper for the ranger department. Ty and Harris had both worked with him on a few task forces. The kid had skills. He busted his ass all summer fighting forest fires, then spent his winters rotating between teaching surfing in Mexico and skiing in Tahoe. He was the exact kind of guy the lodge could use.
“He’s between gigs right now and coming through town Sunday with some buddies. Said he wants to take them to the north face of Cedar Rim. I can chopper you guys in if you want.” Harris covered the mouthpiece with his hand and whispered, “He’s looking for seasonal work.”
“With Brody gone, there isn’t anyone qualified to take them out,” Avery said.
“Says the girl who had me staring down Canyon Ridge.” Ty turned to Harris. “What time?”
Harris repeated the question, then said, “He says oh-seven-hundred works.”
Ty opened his phone calendar, scrolled to Sunday, and groaned. “I blocked off the m
orning to scout out trails and possible staging areas for SAREX. I don’t even know where each class will be held, and I have a call with Lance from Cal-SAR Monday to check in. Can he push it until eleven?”
“Um, Ty,” Avery said, critically eyeing her monitor. “At eleven you’re taking Mr. Lismore out on the lake, bass fishing, remember? The hike tomorrow, moved fishing to Sunday?”
He reached out to turn her monitor so he could see it better, and she smacked his hand. “No one touches my computer or my spreadsheets. Otherwise it would end up looking like that.” She pointed to the giant paper calendar on the wall that had an array of colored Post-its stuck all over it.
“Noted,” he said, a consistent throbbing growing behind his frontal lobe. “Now, can you help a guy out?”
She opened her mouth to say yes, then snapped her mouth shut and folded her hands on the desktop. “Which guy needs help? The one who kissed me or my coworker? Because if it’s my coworker, I can move some things around, but . . .”
If she was still fired, he was out of luck. Got it.
Ty rubbed his forehead and glanced at Harris, who was mouthing, Gary fucking Sikes, man, then to Avery Adams, adventure coordinator, while she fiddled with her mouse. But Avery Adams, aspiring adventure guide, was taking her sweet ass time and batting her lashes his way.
“Fix this mess and you can go back to being Avery Adams, adventure coordinator.”
He stuck out his hand, but she just stared at it, as if weighing her options. Ty gave her a charming smile, but she didn’t appear charmed. Stubbornness did that to a person, made them un-charmable, and often uncharming. However, Avery managed to pull off both in a way that was beyond impressive.
“No,” she said firmly. “I’ll take care of all of the paperwork for SAREX, help you scout trails, run this office like it’s the West Wing, and run interference with Dale. In return, I want to be trained to be a guide. Nothing huge”—he could almost see her mouth the word yet—“enough so I’m qualified to take over some of the senior trips and beginner classes.”
“Deal,” Harris said.
Ty set him a look.
“What? You need the help, she needs a trainer, and she’s too pretty for Dale to snap at.”
Excellent point.
“And you have six senior trips booked for next week alone,” she said. “If Brody isn’t back and you have to take over his schedule, there’s no way you can handle it all. Plus, it’s the last Wednesday of March.”
Avery held up a flyer advertising Senior Spring Training sign-ups—a series of discounted classes and trips the lodge offered to the over-fifty-five residents. And it started today.
As if on cue, the phone lit up.
Ty groaned.
Avery put her hand on the receiver, finger on the blinking red button, ready to answer. “It’s probably Ms. Lebowski. She told me she was going to call first thing to be sure and get the Sunshine League’s annual Spring Bunny Poppy Hop booked before the schedule fills.” She paused. “Do I answer it, or would you rather take the call? I know she’d love to tell you about how successfully her bunion surgery went.” She held out the phone. “What do you say?”
That he was in for a world of trouble, and he’d never been so turned on. “Fine, you can assist me on Mr. Lismore’s walk, but if you show up wearing designer shoes, the deal is off.”
CHAPTER 7
If Avery thought her first day as an official adventure guide would bring on excited jitters, then working alongside Ty felt like scaling the fault line.
Now that she’d gotten a chance to watch him work, she’d figured out that he wasn’t just skilled, he was a master explorer. He was great with the clients, keeping a casual feel to the hike while constantly assessing the terrain. Effortless perfectionist came to mind.
He showed up in a beanie, mirrored aviator glasses, and dark cargo pants that hugged his muscular thighs and perfect butt. A view she’d spent the past twenty minutes staring at, as he’d smoked her the second they’d hit the trail.
Partly because he was the guide and his place was up front. But mostly because of the stupid pack. Not his, hers. While she’d shown up prepared for every situation, Mountain Man had shown up with a giant travel mug of piping hot coffee—and nothing more. No pack, no picnic basket, nothing beyond the coffee and whatever MacGyver tricks he’d stashed in all of his hundred and one pockets—yet she’d walk into a blizzard with him in a heartbeat, he was that capable.
So halfway down the trail when he turned around to reach for Avery’s pack, she waved him off.
“I’ve got it,” she said, squaring her shoulders to make herself appear stronger than she felt. “It’s not very heavy.”
“Then why do you keep weaving into me?”
“I’m not weaving.” She was being drawn in, his big bad body and rugged alpha prowess acting like a magnetic field. “I’m merely checking out the seasonal flora.”
He took a leisurely sip. “And here I thought you were checking out my butt.”
She snorted. “My focus is right where it should be—on the hike and the client. They call it laser focus.”
“Laser focus, huh?”
She pinned her eyes with two fingers, then pointed them at Mr. L and Helga, who stood a few feet ahead looking up at a giant redwood. “It’s the level of attention to the surroundings and client that separates a good guide from a great one.”
One minute he was sipping his coffee, and then he was stepping into her, his free hand reaching around to cage her against the rocks behind them. “And what is it telling you?”
Avery’s breath caught and her thighs hummed, because his face was so close to hers all she had to do was lean forward a whisper and they’d be kissing. “That she’s into him.”
His gaze dropped to her lips, and it dawned on her that he might think Avery was talking about herself. She backed up even farther into the rock wall, the damp stone pressing into her back, the dew seeping through the top of her jeans.
“Helga, I mean.” She swallowed. “She’s giving off all the right signals.”
His lips curled up into a slow grin that had a ripple of awareness trembling through her. “What signals would those be? I’m just asking so I can cross-reference it with that guidebook you tote around.”
Avery poked him in the pec, but he didn’t move, so she looked to the side, and her heart warmed as she watched the older couple dance around each other. “Look, right there. Whenever she laughs she plays with her hair, which means she really likes him. She was impressed with the champagne and picnic basket, and based on how often she touches his hand or brushes his arm, if Mr. L plays his day right he’ll get a kiss goodbye for sure.”
Right then, as if in sync with the rhythm of falling in love, Mr. Lismore leaned in and whispered something that had Helga blushing.
“Isn’t that amazing?” she said. “Two people who found true love once and then lost it, yet they’re willing to risk being vulnerable in hopes of finding it again.”
They were giddy with hope, Avery could tell. She knew those signs by heart.
“Amazing,” Ty agreed, but when she looked back she found him staring at her—an odd expression on his face. “I called your former boss at the bank.”
Now feeling the opposite of giddiness—and praying that he didn’t get Carson when he called—she casually inquired, “You did? What did they say?”
“That you were one of the best employees they’d ever had and were hoping you’d come back,” he said, studying her carefully. “It got me thinking, why would someone leave a stable job after five years to work for a boss who is crabby and stubborn and notoriously cheap when it comes to hiring office help?”
“You’re not cheap,” she joked, even though she knew he was talking about his dad, who was so tight he squeaked when he walked. But what Dale lacked in wages he made up for in bonus adventures. It would cost Avery a fortune to get the training she’d need to climb Sierra Point. Then again, she’d been there three months and this wa
s her first hands-on training.
“Seriously, why did you leave?”
“Stable is as overrated as the same.” And she already knew what that life held—long hours, paperwork, and a false sense of security. She wanted more. She wanted to live a life that made a difference—a life that made her happy. And she wanted to live it with people who loved and supported her.
Ty seemed to have that love and support in spades, yet he was intent on keeping his family at a distance. “Why weren’t you here for Christmas?”
He hesitated. With his words and his reaction. He was trying to appear unaffected, and he was good, she’d give him that, but after a lifetime of reading between the lines with lab techs and doctors, Avery knew when she’d hit a sensitive spot. She also knew what it felt like to have no sense of privacy. “It’s okay, it’s really none of my business.”
But she wanted to make it her business. For a guy who liked to portray such an easygoing persona, he rarely smiled. Life was uncertain at best, so living it surrounded by happiness but never embracing it was heartbreaking.
Avery wanted to blame the depleted oxygen zone for her shortness of breath, but she feared it had more to do with how long they stared at each other. Her silently offering to listen, and him deciding how much he wanted to say.
“I’m based out of Monterey,” he said, and a loud alarm beeped in his pocket.
“Do you need to get that?”
Eyes back on her lips, he said, “No.”
It beeped again.
“You sure?”
“Your thirty minutes are up, angel.” He reached in his pocket and turned it off but didn’t back away.
“And here I thought you were taking your time so I could check out your butt,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment that the moment was lost. “If you need to go, I can take it from here.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” he said, and she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “However, since you’re still in training, and I’m supposed to be training you, why don’t you tell me more than their SeniorDate.com compatibility ranking? You know, maybe touch on some observation that might be more guide related?”