by Hope Malory
First, she spread the outdoor tablecloth borrowed from Casey on the table, and then unpacked. “Besides the mountains; lakes, rivers, and oceans are my favorite places on earth. Donner Lake is beautiful. I’m glad you suggested this.” A group rode past them on their bicycles. “Wonder if they’re racing or pleasure riding.”
“More likely for fun. Do you ride?”
“Bike trails snake through the woods near my house, and I often ride through the mountains.”
“What about races?”
“Yes, I participated in several mountain bike competitions and plan to enter the Trans North Georgia route, about 320 miles.”
“Whoa, you’re a serious biker. Will this be your first time?”
“No. Last year, I finished in two days and twenty-two hours. The first day, some riders dropped out because of a downpour.”
His expression showed surprise. “Do you ever drop out of anything?”
“No, I complete what I start. My parents drilled that into us. Unless I’m certain I can finish, I don’t begin something.”
“Once again, you’re one strong lady. Remind me never to challenge you. I would lose.”
“Oh, you never know; I might break a nail.” She grinned.
Will dropped his head. “I can’t believe I said that. Little did I know.”
After finishing their picnic, they roamed around the lake holding hands.
“Yesterday, I started reading one of Casey’s novels about a firefighter. The first chapter scared the crap out of me, and it didn’t begin to cover all the dangers you face in your job.”
“The reason they require so much safety training. Are you ready to go white-water rafting?”
Every time she mentioned how dangerous his occupation was, he changed the subject. “Yes, I’m psyched about going.”
Casey waited for them beside the raft. “How are you, Cowboy?”
Will opened his arms. “How about a hug from my favorite lady?” When she stepped into the embrace, he kissed the top of her head and said, “Congratulations on the success of this place.”
“Thanks. Business has picked up. This summer, I’m running myself ragged, but I’m grateful for the upswing.”
“I’m so glad your assistant took over for the rest of the day so you could come with us,” Beasley said. “This will be fun.”
The raft went airborne on one of the larger rapids flipping Beasley into the river. She swam toward them, and Will stuck the paddle out in her direction. Grateful, she grabbed on, and he pulled her toward the boat and helped her in. The strength in his arms and the proximity of his body when she landed in his lap made her stomach quiver. Their eyes locked. It was almost unbearable not to kiss him.
“Are you okay?” Casey asked.
Breathless, not from the fall but from her reaction to Will, she only nodded.
With Casey serving as the guide, they maneuvered the rest of the rapids with ease and floated along a section of the river.
At Beasley’s request, Will shared one of his white-water rafting stories. “As a freshman in high school, I went with some buddies to an unfamiliar place. We passed through a mild rapid. The guide said the river was swimmable. He steered the boat to the side and asked if any of us wanted to swim. Another guy and I chose to, but we soon learned to do so required us to return to the beginning of the rapid. It took a while because of the strenuous climb over some massive rocks between them and the starting point. At the time, I was in poor condition.”
“Hard to imagine,” Beasley said.
“But true. The episode motivated me to do something about it, so I went out for football as a sophomore and made the team. The training got me in shape. Back to the story. By the time we arrived, I was exhausted, and my breathing was labored. I jumped in first and floated, but the currents were over my head. I bobbed in and out of the waves. Submerged and gasping for air, I sucked water into my lungs.” A rock blocked their path, and Casey led them around it.
Will continued, “No one instructed us on how to exit the rapid. Afraid I was drowning, I panicked and swallowed water. After the rapid ended, someone shouted. The guys on the bank threw me a rope, and I grabbed it. As they dragged me to shore, I coughed up water the whole way. No one seemed concerned, but the entire event was a huge deal to me.”
“What about the other guy?” Casey asked.
“For one thing, he was in better shape and wasn’t as tired. Also, he was several inches taller than me and never went under.”
“Despite that, you continued to raft. You’re like someone else I know who shows no fear,” Casey said, pointing her head toward Beasley. “The cat with nine lives can’t compare to my daredevil friends. The two of you are more alike than you realize.”
Beasley chuckled. “Wait a minute, you’re one to talk. I remember when we were about seven, you stomped up to Benjamin, who was a head taller than you. With your hands propped on your hips and your chin jutted out, you glared up at him and announced if he shoved me again, you would deck him.”
“Hey, it worked. He backed off.”
After they reached the end, Will dragged the raft out of the water. “I’m starved. How about I take you ladies to a restaurant?”
“I’m rather grungy. Do you mind if we pick up something at a drive-through and go to Casey’s cabin to eat?” They agreed.
While they sat on the front porch with their food, Beasley told one of her rafting stories. “Once, I went with a group to a class-four white-water adventure on the French Broad River in the mountains of North Carolina. In the last rapid, called ‘Frank Bell’s Rapid,’ the instructor explained if we fell out, hold our breath because the swift water would keep us under the entire time. He warned us, ‘You can drown because you are underwater for so long. When you reach the bottom, the current flushes you into a pool. You’ll be ten to twelve feet below the surface in dark water and so disoriented you won’t know which way is up. Remember three things: open your eyes, blow bubbles, and follow them to the top.’”
She took a bite of her burger and continued. “There were six of us, and our raft rolled over, dumping five out. We followed the instructor’s directions, and we all came up. The boat flipped back over, and the one lady left inside had no paddle and no guide. She screamed the entire time, hanging on for her life. Everyone made it, but that was the scariest trip I’ve been on.”
“I didn’t think anything scared you.” Will laughed.
“A lot of things scare me, but I do them anyway. Casey, I’ll bet you have lots of stories.”
“Sure I do, but I’m beat. Another time. Will, stay as long as you like.”
She assumed that was Casey’s way of giving the two of them some time alone and took the hint. “Look, a full moon. Are you up for a walk along the lake?”
“Absolutely.” Will put his arm around her, and the two of them strolled to the water’s edge.
The golden moonlight illuminated the water. The serene and romantic surroundings inspired her to snuggle closer to Will. He stopped and drew her in for a long, slow kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and savored the warmth of his lips. Her whole body tingled, and her stomach clutched. After the kiss ended, they held on to the other and stood in the glimmering moonlight, gazing into each other’s eyes.
“I could do this forever,” Will whispered.
Forever? Alarms went off in her head. Against all sound judgment, she said, “So could I.”
~ ~ ~
The next morning, Will arrived at the cabin to pick her up for their trip to Fresno to meet Josh for the memorial service. After he kissed her, he scanned her appreciatively. “Gorgeous dress.”
“Fabulous tie.”
On the drive into Fresno, they talked the entire way discussing a variety of subjects. They had similar tastes in music, but they read d
ifferent types of books. She had inherited her mother’s love of reading and devoured novels in the romance and mystery genres. Will preferred suspense, thrillers, and paranormal. Both were movie buffs who favored watching the films on the big screen in theaters rather than the televised versions. Other than pizza, one of his favorites was mac and cheese. Something else they had in common.
Will shared more about his family. “Because my dad pushed me so hard, I rebelled as a teen and got into my share of scrapes. A kindhearted lady who’s been like a grandmother to me, led me on a different path, a positive one. I wish you could meet her. Ms. G, short for Mrs. Gutenburger, is an exceptional person.”
He appeared comfortable enough with her to talk about himself. I hope he will do it more often. Will asked lots of questions and seemed to value her opinion. Candid about his relationship with his former girlfriend, he assured her that with perspective and distance from Madison, he realized they wanted different things. “It wouldn’t have worked long term.” To converse about things other than trees and climbing thrilled her.
As soon as they drove into the parking lot, she recognized Josh. Prior to today, they had seen him only in his ranger uniform. No tie, but dressed in khaki pants, a green-striped shirt, and loafers, he looked different. After he spotted them, he grinned and headed their way.
Josh shook Will’s hand and hugged her more intensely than she expected indicating he was glad they came. “I met some of the family. I’ll introduce you to them.”
They walked over to three young adults, whom she assumed were the woman’s children. “This is Amy, Mrs. Moretti’s daughter; Alex, her son; and Alex’s wife, Susan. I want you all to meet Will Gregor and Beasley McLemore, the searchers with me on the trail.”
Alex spoke first. “You don’t know how much this means to us that you came. Although it has been ten years, knowing what happened and having this closure brings us comfort.”
Amy told them the entire family appreciated Josh for keeping in close touch with them throughout the investigation and for calling as soon as they had a positive identification.
The husband and his new wife introduced themselves. After five years, Mr. Moretti had gone through the process of having Kendall declared legally dead. He had only remarried last year. A few moments before the memorial started, they met the deceased woman’s mother. The ceremony was a short, warm celebration of her life with her family, friends, and former coworkers in attendance.
After the service, Alex invited them over to his house for a cookout. “We’re having people over, and we would love it if you would join us.”
Once they arrived at the sprawling Spanish-style stucco home with a red-tiled roof, Alex and Amy showed the three of them pictures of their mom doing what she had loved best, hiking and climbing. Amy said, “Beasley, Josh told me about El Cap and the PCT. Apparently you and my mother had a lot in common. She adored the outdoors, and there was not much she wouldn’t do on the water or in the woods and mountains. She, too, helped with rescues. I wish you had known her. You would have had a lot to talk about.”
“I’m sure we would.”
While they ate their steaks and baked potatoes at one of the outdoor tables on the massive stone patio, they listened to more stories.
Later, after they reached the car, Beasley said, “If only someone had been with her or she had stayed on the main trail, this might never have happened.”
Josh agreed. “Even experienced hikers often either make unwise decisions or put themselves into situations they think they can handle but can’t. Things go wrong sometimes. Thank you for coming. Please keep in touch.”
“Josh, you’re not the badass I thought you were.” She smiled. “You’re an old softie.”
“Shh. You’ll ruin my reputation.”
Chapter 8
The last two-and-a-half weeks with Beasley had altered his views on getting involved with someone, and he regretted the end of her trip was imminent. On Saturday, she would fly home to Tennessee. His stomach pitched at the concept of not seeing her again for a long time, if ever.
The distance between them would create an obstacle as would his schedule and the dangerous nature of his job. The profession was notorious for putting a strain on relationships. Smokejumpers, called away often at a moment’s notice, faced long periods where they were out of contact with no idea how long they would be gone. And danger always lurked under the surface. He had downplayed the risks to Beasley. Why? Did he care more for her than he admitted or perhaps didn’t want to scare her away?
This woman at first provoked, then challenged, and now charmed him more than anyone he had ever met. Except for the clash of personalities during their first encounter, she fascinated him.
The contrast between Beasley and Madison amazed him. He and his old girlfriend had established a friendship in elementary school, but at age fourteen, they pursued a ritual of sitting together at ball games or going with their parents to the movies. In his sophomore year, he bought an old Chevy pickup truck with money earned from after-school and summer jobs. At the time they officially began dating, he played as quarterback on the football team, and as a cheerleader, she inspired the crowds during games. Soon after he dropped out of college and joined the fire department, their relationship started to unravel. She had loftier dreams for him and couldn’t understand why he would want to trade a future as an accountant to fight fires. He discovered her materialistic streak when she talked incessantly about the salary accountants earned. The separation during fire season, when he worked in Redding, California for his fire-jumping duties, caused a further divide. Because they were together for so long, he stayed in the relationship until it imploded and became intolerable. After they broke up, he determined he didn’t need a woman in his life . . . until he met Beasley.
He admitted to himself he was falling for her, but what future would they have? The ability to sustain a long-distance relationship struck him as unrealistic. They had not yet discussed what would happen after she left. In the next few days, he would consider his options.
An image of her was engraved in his brain: the milk-chocolate eyes; the petite, chiseled body that was all muscle and zero body fat; and the unadorned, beautiful oval face. The sweetness of her lips and warmth of her body while in his arms stirred a desire in him. His vision blurred at the things he imagined her doing to him.
~ ~ ~
Where do I start? “Case, I like Will way more than I thought possible. When he kisses me, it is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The intensity of the passion is crazy. I can read in his eyes he feels the same. With him, everything is all so new and exciting.”
“Do I sense a ‘but’ coming?”
“Let’s be realistic. What are our chances of making this work? We might as well live on different continents. We can’t drive across town or hop on a plane for a weekend visit whenever we want. How often would we be with each other? I can’t think of any scenario where a relationship would succeed.”
“What can I say, other than you have been the happiest in the last couple of weeks that I have ever seen you? You light up when you talk about Will. The way he looks at you, I can tell he has the hots for you.”
“All of this scares me. I can’t fall in love with him.”
“Earlier, you brushed me off when I mentioned you moving here, but would you ever consider it?”
“I understand you don’t want to hear this again, but I built Beasley’s Gardens into a profitable business, and I don’t want to give up on my dream. Also, my family is there. Azalea Valley is my home, and this is Will’s home. I guess I should face reality and abandon the idea of falling in love.”
The lack of a committed relationship wasn’t so bad. True, women in town had asked her when she planned to marry, but over time, she had become impervious to their interrogations. People assumed because of her single
status, she was lonely and unhappy. Though she hated to admit it, at times she was lonesome. More often, she was content to live without a man in her life and answer to no one except herself.
So many of her married or engaged girlfriends complained about their men. Some confessed to envying Beasley’s freedom and her ability to provide her own financial support. Casey divorced after two years of marriage. Why, then, did she encourage a relationship with Will?
Casey sighed. “I should give up on you, but I love you too much. You deserve your happily ever after.”
“I quit believing in fairy tales a long time ago. There is no Prince Charming for me.”
Sleep seldom posed a problem. Under normal circumstances, Beasley fell asleep within minutes of putting her head on the pillow and slept until the following morning. But that night was the exception. Brooding over Will and the regret about leaving on Saturday kept her awake. The fantasies about them making love didn’t help. Her body tingled and sweat popped out on her forehead from the heat searing her skin. The clock read four-thirty. At five, she surrendered and eased out of bed to go for a run.
As she dressed, she tiptoed, trying to avoid waking Casey. After tying her neon yellow running shoes, she slipped out for a jog. The air was crisp and breezy. A slight mist hovered over Donner Lake. As the sun inched above the horizon, she reversed her route and jogged toward the cabin.
Her excitement about the tandem kayaking trip she and Will had planned for later today was palpable. She vowed not to let her apprehensions about leaving California ruin it.
“Morning, Case. I didn’t expect you to be up yet, and I intended to make the coffee, but you beat me to it.” She reached into the cabinet for two cups and handed one to Casey.
