by Marina Adair
“Guide stuff, right.” Avery smiled. “Helga is having a hard time with the uneven trail and her cane, so when we hit the next bend we should opt for the lower trail—it’s a little longer but flat. And Mr. L, poor guy, he’s so nervous he can’t stop talking about things he thinks Helga might find interesting, which explains why he’s a little winded. Normally this trail wouldn’t faze him, but between impressing his date and demanding to carry the picnic basket, he’s getting tired and might run out of wind before we make it to the final stop. Which is why you suggested a brief break to look at the trees.”
“Not bad, angel.” His gaze slipped to the pulse pounding at the base of her throat. “You’re breathing a little heavy too. Any particular reason?”
His proximity for one. Flirting with Ty was like standing in the middle of a lightning storm while holding a metal pole. The idea of getting to know him? The anticipation alone was like being struck with a zillion volts of electricity.
Secondly, she’d been so excited about taking such a big step toward hiking Sierra Point that she’d barely slept last night. Like any recent transplant patient, her immune system already struggled to keep balance, and a bad night usually led to a bad body, so a little jolt of electricity was welcomed. Which was why she scooted a little closer to the sparks.
“I knew that appearing young and strong was important to Mr. L, which is why I let him carry the basket, even though it was way too heavy.” She jiggled her pack, and the clanking of silverware and glasses sounded. “And why I put all of the heavy things in my pack.”
He didn’t break a smile, but she could tell he wanted to. She’d impressed him.
“As for my weaving body and wandering gaze,” she said, and this time he did smile, smug and sexy, “I was seeing if I could scout out some poppies for Mr. Lismore to pick for Helga. Orange is Helga’s favorite color.”
“Poppies, huh?”
“Not only are we on Poppy Alley, but a man picking a woman flowers is wildly romantic.”
He studied her for a heart-pounding moment, and then ever so slowly, he tucked a stray hair behind her ear, his finger lingering on her lobe. “My mistake.”
With a parting smile, he pushed off the wall and continued on the trail. Avery took a moment to collect her breath—stupid sexy smile—and make sure her pants weren’t blazing from that lie. Confident that she had it together, she started walking and felt something tickle her ear. She reached up and found a flower tucked there—a California poppy.
She glanced up to see if Ty was laughing at her, but he’d already disappeared around the bend—with her pack.
And maybe a little piece of her heart.
By the time they’d made it to the lakeside picnic spot, Ty had a chance to think about all of the mistakes he’d made that had gotten him to this point. Agreeing to train Avery was on the list. Sticking a flower in her hair was definitely on the list. Yet neither ranked as high as almost opening up to her.
She’d looked up at him, those big expressive eyes filled with understanding and compassion, and he’d wanted to fall in. Even more powerful was the disappointed look on her face when he’d closed right up. That bothered him, more than it should have.
Which was why he needed to wish Mr. L and his lady friend a nice day and get back to the lodge, where he had enough work to keep him busy for two weeks solid. Perfect timing, since that was the end of his vacation time.
Only, his trainee wasn’t on the same page. She helped set up the picnic, even laying out a handmade quilt she had in her gypsy camp and pouring the champagne, but then instead of wishing them well and heading toward the lodge, she wished them well and headed behind an outcropping of boulders—where she carefully selected the perfect little spot for her own picnic.
Fitting, since she’d packed enough food for a family in her sack. Fried chicken, fruit salad, and—
He squinted as she pulled out a container of . . . Mom’s pie?
Son of a . . . she was planning to stay for a while. A long while by the looks of it.
Taking his hat off, Ty hiked up the small embankment and stood over her, purposefully looming. “What are you doing?”
Eyes closed, she took in a deep breath while the breeze blew a few stray hairs that had escaped. Her nose was pink from the chill and her cheeks flush from the hike. “Breathing it all in.”
“Well, breathe fast, because I have to get back,” he said.
She slowly blinked up at him. “You go on ahead. I’m going to wait until they’re done so I can help Mr. L carry everything back.”
“That wasn’t the deal,” he pointed out, sounding an awful lot like his dad. “The deal was a one-way hike, where you assist me, then you help me organize the office while the guests walk home. Alone.”
She scanned the trail leading back to the lodge, the trail so clear it could be seen winding all the way around the lake. A concerned frown creased her brow. “It is an easy trail. You think they’ll be okay?”
“Perfectly safe and they’ll be fine.” Or he wouldn’t have left them there.
“Great. If it’s safe, then you won’t mind if I stay.” He did mind, and that was a problem. She was fine sitting there, yet he had reservations about leaving her behind. Which was all kinds of crazy, since his goddaughter, Emma, could find her way home from there—blindfolded.
But Emma wouldn’t be tempted to top off this romantic senior outing with a romantic view of the lake—from a higher elevation.
“There’s a lot to do back at the lodge to prepare for SAREX. Equipment to catalogue, schedules to spreadsheet.”
“Will we have time for lunch?”
“I’m not a total hard-ass.”
“Great, then I’ll take my lunch here and meet you back at the lodge.” She crossed those sexy legs of hers to make a table for her pie while she dug through her pack—coming up with a fork. “Unless you want to share.” She held up the pie. “I brought plenty if you want a bite.”
Watching her sit there, the sun shining down on her, glistening off her curls and casting a warm glow over her body, he wanted a bite all right.
Pie would be nice too.
Almost as nice as it felt to make her smile earlier with the flower. A total wuss move that his guys would ream him for, but nice all the same.
His phone pinged again, echoing off the rocks and onto the lake.
“Guides are supposed to have their phones on silent during treks, emergency use only, so as not to disrupt the client’s time in nature,” she said sweetly.
“It’s not a personal call, it’s business.” He pulled out his phone and checked the screen. He saw he’d missed several calls and a text from Harris.
The mechanic called back. He’ll meet U @ the boathouse @ noon. Unless you’re too busy picking posies.
Prick. He dashed off a quick text that he’d be there, and Harris texted back immediately.
Stop flirting with the cute Adventure Girl and call your mom.
He’d no sooner checked his phone to find five missed calls from his mom, when his phone rang again. He blew out a breath.
“I have to take this.” He pointed to the spot on the ground where she sat. “Don’t move.”
She mimed cuffing herself to the rock—smart-ass—and then leaned back, presumably settling in for the duration of Mr. L’s courting, even stretching out her legs and taking a big bite of pie.
Walking a few feet away, Ty answered. “Hey, Mom, I’m on a trek with some guests. What’s up?” he asked, ignoring the way Avery smirked when he admitted it was his mom calling.
“Poppy Alley with Art Lismore and Helga, I heard. How very sweet of you to accommodate him—and smart considering Art is the new board chair of Jeepers Run.”
“He is?” He eyed Avery, sitting back and soaking up the sun. Then he remembered all of the attributes about the lodge she’d casually thrown Art’s way during the hike, and smiled. She was good, better than he’d originally given her credit for.
Jeepers Run was the larg
est jeeping club and association in the country. An account Dale had been trying to land for over a decade. And based on Art’s schoolboy grin, the man liked what he’d seen so far.
“Which is why Avery thought to pack some of my pie. Show him some home-baked hospitality,” she said. “Did you get your piece?”
“My piece?” He looked at Avery, who made a big deal of shoving an enormous bite into her mouth and smacking her lips.
“I sent enough for the whole party with Avery, but I explained that the biggest slice was yours.”
“Thanks, Mom, but if you knew I was with a client, why’d you call?”
Irene fell uncharacteristically quiet, and Ty leaned against a giant sequoia for the added support he knew he’d need. When it came to his mom, silence was never a sign of peace. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Have you talked to your dad today?”
“No,” he admitted. Ty hadn’t talked to him since their lovely welcome home dinner a few nights ago. It had been a deliberate avoidance. Dale hadn’t gone out of his way to connect either, so Ty had gone with it. Only now his mom was involved, so he needed to fix it. “I’ll find him later and smooth things over.”
“That would be lovely. It breaks my heart to see you two argue.” He heard his mom worrying through the phone, which started a little worry knot forming behind his right eye. “But maybe you could find him now?”
He looked at his watch. “I have to get back to the lodge and meet a potential mechanic in a few minutes, and I have to put together an order for the new climbing equipment.”
“I know you’re busy, and I appreciate everything you’re doing, but . . . it’s just that he walked out of here early this morning and I haven’t seen him since.”
For as long as Ty had been alive, Dale ate with the sun, was at work before the night’s frost could melt, and didn’t come home until dinner was served. So his being gone was not a reason for concern, but ever since Ty had come home something had been off with his old man. From the condition of the lodge to not taking on as many treks.
Then there was his behavior the other night. Sure, Dale was ornery as hell, but he never raised his voice at the dinner table.
“Is there more going on with Dad I should know about?”
“Everything’s okay,” she said, too brightly.
“Define okay.” There was another lengthy pause, long enough to allow that throbbing to encompass his entire frontal lobe. “Mom, I can’t help unless I know what’s going on.”
In the background, a chair ground against the floor, and a heaviness settled at the back of his neck. This was obviously a talk she needed to have sitting down, and that didn’t bode well for his timeline. He could picture her, staring down at the table settings, worrying the silver necklace she always wore while counting the seconds. Most folks only saw the courageous woman with the gentle smile, but Ty knew that she was a worrier. She could drive herself sick with worry. He’d seen it happen too many times to count.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” she finally said, her voice thread thin. “He hasn’t been himself lately, missing appointments, overbooking things, even snapping at the employees. Then today, we were supposed to have lunch together. Meatloaf sandwiches. Only he didn’t show up or call, and he never misses my meatloaf sandwiches.”
Dale also never missed a date with his wife. “It’s not even noon.”
“Lunch is at eleven thirty sharp. Has been for thirty-six years.”
And Dale was as punctual as he was a hard-ass. To him, tardiness was a direct commentary on the lack of value someone placed on a person’s time.
“I’ll check on him after I meet with the mechanic,” Ty promised.
“Thank you, honey,” she said, and he could hear the relief in her voice. “And would you let me know where you find him?”
She disconnected, and Ty stared at the phone for a long moment. She wanted to know not when he found him, but where he found him.
As he pocketed the phone he looked up to find that Avery was no longer sitting on the lower boulder where he’d clearly told her to stay put. He scanned the area looking for her orange vest, which was so bright it glowed, but he didn’t see her. He whipped out his phone to call her, and that was when he noticed her standing on one of the other boulders, staring out at the lake as if she were witnessing paradise.
Her arms were out to her sides, letting the breeze blow through them, her smile intoxicating, her breathing hard. She’d hauled ass up those rocks, no doubt taking advantage of his being distracted by his mom.
Ty took easily to the rocks, scaling them in a matter of seconds, only stopping when he reached her side. “What happened to staying put?”
Avery didn’t turn to look at him, didn’t even apologize for traipsing off. She just kept on smiling as if it were the best day of her life. “What happened to no business calls during a trek?”
He pointed to his clients. “They are toasting with champagne, so the trek is officially over.”
She looked his way. “Great. Then I’ll spend the rest of my lunch enjoying the views.”
“You mean making sure that our special VIP guest, the new board chair for Jeepers, is enjoying his stay?”
That got her attention. “How did you know? Oh, wait, your mom.”
“How did my dad finally get him to come and visit?” he asked, and the way her gaze skirted away told him everything he needed to know. “You brought him in?”
“His late wife and I met in Reno. She became a good friend of mine, so when I heard that he was having a hard time moving on, I invited him for a visit,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I knew all he needed was a new view, a different perspective to jumpstart his life. If he came here and fell in love with the land enough to bring the Jeepers Run back, which I knew he would, then all the better. Only he came and met Helga.” She looked down on the couple and sighed. “And look, he’s smiling.” Her eyes met Ty’s. “The last time he smiled was when he was with Ruth at the hospital.”
Ty thought about that, about how open Avery had to be to read people so well. He didn’t know if he would have the strength to do that, because in order to be open to others, she had to really put herself out there. And that was a place that, although Ty admired she could tap into, he’d never want to be again.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly. “Had I known it was Art, I wouldn’t have given you such a hard time when you booked the hike.”
“Would it have mattered?” she asked quietly, looking back out at the water. And even though he couldn’t make out her expression, he could tell that his answer was important to her.
Ty wanted to get it right, wanted to make her smile again, but he didn’t know what that answer was. Sure, knowing now just how important it was to impress Mr. Lismore upped the stakes, had him rethinking every step he’d made and questioning how he could have made the hike better.
Only he’d bet his best skipping rock that for Avery, it didn’t matter. She’d probably say that everyone deserved the same fabulous experience no matter the status. And she’d be right.
Ty stared out at the lake, watching pine needles skate across the water, while a strong breeze blew ripples across its wide surface. Perfect skipping ripples, he thought, remembering how he and Garrett used to spend their spring days on that lake, waiting for ripples like these. Then they’d spend hours picking the perfect rocks to go the distance.
The day they’d buried Garrett, Ty had come down to these very shores and stood for hours staring out at the water, holding his favorite skipping rock in his hand. He’d rolled it around in his palm, memorizing the smooth edges and the circular shape. It was Garrett’s last wish, for Ty to skip it.
Just like that day, Ty’s hand found its way into his pocket, his fingers moving back and forth over the edge, trying to soothe his emotions. He’d never skipped the rock, afraid that tossing it into the lake would be like tossing away his brother’s memory with it. Because once it was gone, the wish
would be over, and then what would Ty have to hold on to?
He’d been too damn selfish to grant his brother his last wish. And too damn scared to run for help. His chest tightened with anger, as it always did whenever he came home—which was why he valued his distance.
“I don’t come home on the holidays because there are guys on my team who have wives and kids, a family who needs them around. So I take on extra hours so they can spend time with them,” he heard himself saying.
A warm hand settled on his arm, soft and full of understanding. It was amazing how much Avery could convey in a single touch. He hadn’t been this connected with someone since—
Garrett.
“You have a family too, and I know they miss you when you can’t come home.”
“If I was around all the time, they wouldn’t miss me anymore.” And then where would they all be? Thinking about Garrett and everything they’d lost. Nah, that was burden enough for Ty. He didn’t want his family carrying that around too.
“I took a leave of absence from the bank because I was sick,” she said. “And when I got better I found out that my fiancé, the guy I thought I’d marry, didn’t feel like waiting. Since he was the senior loan officer and I worked at the desk next to him, going back was . . .”
He felt her shrug and glanced her way. The emotion he saw in her eyes was powerful enough to take him out at the knees. It wasn’t just sadness she was feeling—the pain rolling off her went soul deep.
“I knew it would never be the same.”
Ty studied her for what felt like an eternity, in awe about how open she was, how she wore every vulnerability and insecurity on her sleeve for the world to see and judge. Yet she wasn’t embarrassed by it. It was as if she found strength in it—found her identity.