by Stacy Finz
“It’s even more beautiful in the daytime.” Darcy had always loved it here. Even as a young girl, visiting her grandparents, she’d known that Glory Junction was a special place. “I think you’ll like your accommodations. It’s a beautiful hotel. There’s a full gym and spa and indoor and outdoor pools if you’re interested in taking a dip before you go to bed or tomorrow morning.”
She hoped she wasn’t babbling. Small talk and being charming was Win’s bag, not hers. Her skills had always been behind the scenes. She silently cursed him for missing this. First impressions were important and she worried that she wasn’t making a good one. The whole drive had been full of long stretches of silence.
“Anyone interested in getting a drink in the bar?” Remy asked, and she fervently hoped the invitation didn’t include her. Remy, Sue, and Russell seemed perfectly nice but she’d never been comfortable in a group of strangers.
Her phone beeped with an incoming text as she drove through the gates of the Four Seasons. She waited to pull up to the front of the hotel before taking a quick glance. Not Win, Lewis. Darcy shoved the phone back in her purse.
“Here we are,” she said too brightly, and jumped out to help with the luggage. A bellhop beat her to it.
She went inside to get her guests checked in and to make sure that everything was covered on Garner Adventure’s account.
“I know you probably want to get situated in your rooms.” Darcy scribbled her cell phone number on a stack of Win’s business cards—she didn’t have any of her own—and handed them to the trio. “Feel free to call if anything comes up. We’ll pick you up at the valet stand at nine o’clock tomorrow.”
They said good-bye and she sprinted out of the lobby, breathing a sigh of relief. That had gone off without a hitch. At least for now. What she’d like to do was stop by Win’s apartment and threaten to break his legs if he pulled a disappearing act in the morning. Instead, she took the minivan home and nearly took out a row of Nana’s azalea bushes, trying to back the damn thing up to the garage.
The first thing she wanted to do was take off her shoes, which had pinched her toes all day, and take a hot bath. Then she planned to raid the refrigerator as she’d never had dinner. Before she could get in the house her phone rang. Finally.
“I can’t believe you hung me out to dry,” she blurted by way of a formal greeting. Okay, it wasn’t exactly Win’s fault that his tour had taken longer than expected. But more than likely he’d dawdled, which he had a habit of doing. Or had spent so much time flirting with his all-female group that they’d gone into overtime. Darcy had seen the women before they’d left for the river. Four blondes in teeny-weeny bikini tops. He was probably at Old Glory with them now or … she didn’t even want to think about it.
“Darcy, it’s me, Lewis.”
Shit, shit, shit! Why hadn’t she checked caller ID before answering her damn phone? Because she’d been sure it was Win, that’s why.
“Oh, hi, Lewis. I thought you were someone else.”
“Your fiancé?”
For God’s sake, Win wasn’t her fiancé. “A coworker. It’s not important. What’s up?”
“I was hoping you could help me transfer those files this weekend.” Help? What he meant was he wanted her to do it for him. As in all by herself.
“I can’t this weekend, Lewis. We have clients here from out of town and I’m spending the weekend showing them around.” Not that it was any of his business but she felt guilty. After all, she’d promised to do it for him.
“I see,” he said. “Isn’t there anyone else who can show them around?”
She wanted to say, Isn’t there anyone else who can transfer your data for you? But what was the point? “No, Lewis. We’re trying to score a big account and I’m part of the sales team. It’s actually a big deal and could mean a promotion for me.” Why she was even bothering to tell him about her career plans was beyond comprehension.
He was silent for a while and she considered hanging up when he finally said, “Since you’re working the weekend for your employer is there a way you could take time off during the week to do it for me?”
Since she was working the weekend she had hoped to take time off on Wednesday to go shopping with her grandmother in Reno. Not to work for Lewis. “I’ll think about it. I’ve got to go now.” She clicked off and hobbled to the house in her torturous shoes. They were a post-divorce purchase that had set her back almost two hundred dollars. Now she was ready to donate them to the Goodwill.
The TV was playing when she got inside and something smelled delicious. Her grandmother loved to cook and Darcy was the beneficiary of all her tasty dishes.
“Nana?” She wasn’t in her usual chair, watching one of her programs.
Darcy checked the kitchen and finally found her in her bedroom, sitting on the side of her bed, fully dressed.
“Nana, are you okay?” Her grandmother looked pale and out of breath.
“I’m fine, dear. I came in to use the bathroom and got a little dizzy. Too much time in the sun today.”
Darcy went into the kitchen and got her a glass of water. “Maybe we should go and get you checked out.” Tonight, her usually hale grandmother looked every one of her years and it scared Darcy. Without Nana, she didn’t know what she would do.
“I just overdid it, is all. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be right as rain.”
Darcy sat on the edge of the bed next to her grandmother. “Are you sure? It would only take a few minutes to drive to urgent care.”
“Don’t be silly.” Nana took Darcy’s hand. “Let’s have a slumber party. We could watch The Late Show together in bed.”
She wondered if she should insist on taking her to the hospital. But her grandmother’s face had gotten some of its color back and her voice sounded strong. “You promise you’re okay?”
“To prove it, I’ll make the popcorn.”
“I’ll make it, Nana. You stay here and relax. Just give me thirty minutes to bathe and change.”
“You’re on,” Nana said.
Darcy took a fast shower and put on her PJs. Before heading downstairs to the kitchen, she shot Win a text. I’ll pick you up in the morning. Be ready!
Just as she placed her phone on the charger, her phone dinged with an incoming message: an emoji of an okay sign and Anyone ever tell you you’re bossy?
Win’s quick response told her he probably hadn’t gone home with one of the blondes from his tour. Though it shouldn’t have, the knowledge that he wasn’t with anyone made her ridiculously happy.
Halfway to the bottom of the stairs, she heard her grandmother humming in the kitchen and called, “I’m coming, Nana.”
*
Win was waiting on the sidewalk outside his apartment when Darcy pulled up in the minivan. It should’ve been illegal to look that good this early in the morning, she wanted to tell him. But he already had too healthy an opinion of himself. He was dressed in Delaney’s custom-designed cargo shorts and a GA T-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders and washboard abs. His hair was slightly damp and finger combed. He hadn’t bothered to shave, sporting a fashionable layer of stubble.
“Chic dishevelment” is what Darcy liked to call it. And no one wore it better than Win.
He opened the passenger door, dropped his backpack on the floor, and bobbed his chin in greeting. “Want me to drive?”
“Nope. I want to get there in one piece.”
“Whatever.” He buckled himself in. “Hit it.”
Before pulling back onto the road, she turned sideways in her seat and sniffed him. “Cologne?”
“Just soap, babe.”
She should’ve known better. Cologne would’ve ruined the whole I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-naturally-gorgeous thing he had going on.
He eyed her up and down. “Where are your hiking shorts and boots?”
She didn’t own any. “Why? We’re not hiking.”
“Yes, we are.”
“Check your itinerary, Win. Ther
e’s nothing on there about hiking. After breakfast, we’re giving them a tour of the town … from the van.” He didn’t say anything, which worried her. “I worked hard on the schedule, we’re not changing it.”
Silence.
“Win?” She gripped the steering wheel as they took the road to the Four Seasons.
“Just a quick stroll up the Miwok Trail on Sawtooth for that breathtaking view, then we’ll return to your regularly scheduled program.”
“A quick stroll?” She took the turn a little too fast and Win planted his feet on the dashboard to stabilize himself.
“Jeez, take it easy, Mario.”
“That’s a three-mile climb.” Straight up. She knew that because it was one of the tours they offered. It was guided by a retired naturalist who could talk about the plants and wildlife in the area.
“It’ll be nice … get the blood flowing.”
In a minute, his blood was going to be flowing all over the minivan. And when Colt came to investigate she would tell him it was justifiable homicide.
“It wasn’t on the itinerary. Remy, Sue, and Russell won’t be dressed appropriately for a hike because they don’t know anything about it,” she said, hoping to put an end to his asinine plan for once and for all.
“They know about it now,” he said, and she shot him a look. “What?” He smiled a little too brightly. “I texted them a few minutes before you picked me up. They’re excited about it.”
“I’m not excited about it,” she spat. Her feet were still killing her from the horrible shoes she’d worn the day before.
“Just drop us, then, and say you have somewhere else to go.”
He would like that, wouldn’t he? Instead of being his equal partner, she’d be a glorified chauffeur. “You’re crazy if you think you’re taking that hike without me.”
“That’s good, too.” He glanced down at her tennis shoes. “Those will work.”
She would’ve called him some choice names but they’d arrived at their destination and their crew was waiting at the valet stand, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Before she even stopped the van, Win jumped out. She watched him shake everyone’s hand with a big grin on his face. Even from the driver’s seat, she saw Sue’s eyes pop out of her head.
Could the man be any more affable? She wished he would give it a rest already.
“Good morning,” Remy said as he climbed into the back seat of the van.
“Morning.” She plastered on a smile. “I hope you’re all okay with the change in plans.”
“A hike sounds great,” he said. God, she hated millennials, even if she was one herself. They were so damned chipper.
“Are you sure? What about your shoes?” She turned around and … great … he had on a pair of Merrells.
“We were expecting to be out in the wild so we all packed accordingly,” he said, making room for Sue and Russell, who’d torn themselves away from Win long enough to get inside.
“You guys hungry?” Win hopped in the front. “Or should we wait until after the hike to grab a bite?”
Goddamn him, she’d made a reservation at the Morning Glory.
“I had a cup of coffee at the hotel, so I’m good to go,” Sue said, and the other two agreed.
Darcy gritted her teeth. Not only had she forgone her first cup of coffee of the day to pick Win up on time but she was starved.
“Felix is going to kill us,” she muttered. There were lines to get a table at the restaurant on a Saturday morning this time of year. Actually, any time of year.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said. And the infuriating part was Felix would forgive him. A halfhearted apology from Mr. Charm and all sins would be absolved.
At the trailhead, one look at the uphill course and Darcy wanted to throw up. In the best of times, she wasn’t the most athletic. After a year of sitting on her ass, eating Nana’s baked goods, she would be lucky to make it a quarter of a mile without dropping dead. What kind of impression would that leave on the FlashTag VIPs? She could guarantee not a good one. But no way was she leaving Win to his own devices. She wanted that promotion, which meant keeping him in line. And more important, she wasn’t going to let TJ down. He’d given her this job and by God she was going to make him proud, even if it killed her.
“I’ll take the back,” she volunteered. At least if she collapsed, no one would notice.
Win cocked his head to one side. “Okay,” he said, and led the way, climbing the mountain as if he were a goat.
While Remy, Sue, and Russell held their own, it was abundantly clear that they didn’t have Win’s stamina, stopping every so often along the trail to sip from the bottled waters Win had doled out from the back of the van.
“Would you look at that view?” Darcy turned her back to the group, pretending to scan the horizon so she could catch her breath and not die. As a stall tactic, she fished her cell phone from her pocket and took her time snapping pictures.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t even passed the one-mile marker yet. And the rest of the climb was even steeper than the beginning. The only thing that kept her hanging on was the knowledge that what went up must come down.
“You okay back there?” Win called down.
“Great,” she croaked, and silently cursed him. Besides the fact that she was practically doubled over, she felt a blister raging on the bottom of her right foot.
He came down the mountain to join her. “You done looking at the view, Darce? I’m getting hungry.”
If she could’ve shoved him into a ravine she would’ve. But for all the obvious reasons she didn’t, though the temptation was so strong that when no one was looking she pinched his arm. He had the nerve to pat her bottom.
“If you want, I’ll carry you the rest of the way,” he whispered.
She responded by muttering an obscenity under her breath and followed it with “you.” He responded by laughing.
By the time she trudged to the next plateau, the sole of her foot was on fire. She hid her grimace under the bucket hat Win had shoved on the top of her head before the hike. Even with it, she felt the morning sun scorch her arms and neck. Thank goodness, she’d worn jeans.
One look at her, and Win came down the trail again. He fetched a tube of sunblock from his pack and rubbed it all over her bare skin, including the top of her chest, which made her tingle. Or maybe that was sun poisoning.
“Anyone else?” He held up the tube.
“I could use some,” Sue said, and Darcy got the distinct impression that she hoped Win rubbed the lotion on her the same way he had Darcy.
To his credit, he tossed her the bottle. “We ready to go?”
“Let’s do it,” Russell said enthusiastically, making Darcy feel like a wuss.
When they finally got to the top, Darcy thought she was going to stroke out. Taking large gulps of air, she started to cough. Win rushed over.
“I swallowed my water wrong.” As proof, she showed him her empty bottle, the one she’d drained half a mile ago.
“It’s all downhill from here,” he consoled.
If it wasn’t for the fact that her feet were bloody from blisters she would’ve kicked him. At least Sue and Remy were also hunched over, trying to catch their breath as if they might pass out. Russell, on the other hand, stared out over the vista, a big gooey smile on his face. He was crazy like Win, who hadn’t even broken a sweat and could carry on a conversation as easily as if he was riding in a car.
It had taken them ninety minutes to go up—more than a twenty-minute mile, that was for sure—and only thirty to make it back to where they started. It would’ve been faster if Darcy hadn’t come down part of the way on her butt. Win had offered to carry her again. She in turn had quietly told him to do something anatomically impossible. Win’s comeback was to plant a big sloppy kiss on her cheek.
“That, my friends, is team building,” he said as they climbed back into the van.
She had to admit that they had bonded during the hike. Even she was chatting amia
bly with the group as if they were old friends.
“I’m starved,” Sue said. “We probably burned a thousand calories.”
And now it was closer to lunchtime than breakfast and all they’d had was the protein bars Win had handed out with the waters. Their lunch reservation wasn’t until noon.
“Would you like to go back to the hotel and shower before we eat?” she asked, hoping the time it would take would get them back on track.
“Nah,” Win said. “We’ll just get sweaty again.”
No, they wouldn’t. She had them down for a tour of Garner Adventure where one of their summer guides was going to demonstrate a climb on the rock wall.
“Hang a right on Main,” he told her just as she was about to take the turnoff for the Four Seasons. “There’s a great diner we want you all to try. The place has a Belgium waffle that’s off the hook and steak and eggs that’ll melt in your mouth.”
“I could go for that,” Russell said.
Win was screwing up her schedule. If they ate breakfast now no one would be hungry for lunch. She’d reserved a back table at Old Glory where Remy, Sue, and Russell could get plenty of the rustic gastro pub’s ambience without the noise. She was going to make Win call Boden and cancel, since it was his fault they would miss the reservation.
Darcy found a parking space close to the Morning Glory and even though it was just a diner and this was the Sierra Nevada, where outdoor recreation was a way of life, she felt self-conscious going inside all grubby. Win had no such compunction and pushed ahead of the group to find Felix. Then again, he bore no trace of their hike. No pit stains on his T-shirt, no dirt on the seat of his shorts, and if Darcy was to guess, his feet weren’t blistered. And unlike the rest of them, he probably smelled like the clean outdoors.
She watched him chat up the grouchy restaurant owner, even saw Felix smile—a rarity. But after all that Win came back frowning.
“Felix doesn’t have a table,” he said. “We’ll have to go to Tart Me Up, I guess.”
While Darcy loved the bakery, it wasn’t a restaurant. Ordering croissant breakfast sandwiches at the counter and cramming around a bistro table was too low rent for entertaining Silicon Valley clients.