Paislee's Path (River's End Ranch Book 48)

by Amelia C. Adams

“Do you hold any sympathies for groups that might be considered terrorists or extremists?”

  “No.”

  Gabby took over. “Do you have any unresolved child support payments in your past?”

  “I don’t have any children, and if I did, I’d be current on all my payments.”

  “But how can you know that if you don’t have any children?”

  “I can conjecture based on how I feel about responsibility that I would act responsibly toward any children I had.”

  Gabby nodded.

  “Has your employer ever asked you to deliver something in a locked briefcase to a black limousine, and did you comply?” Noah went on.

  Logan glanced over at Paislee, who was sitting there stone-faced. “No.”

  “Can you recite the alphabet backwards?”

  “Okay, okay, I think that’s enough,” Paislee said just as Logan was about to begin with “Z.” “Does he pass or what?”

  “He’ll most likely do,” Noah said. “We’ll save the chicken sacrifice for later.”

  “A chicken sacrifice?” Logan asked. “But I forgot to bring any peanut butter!”

  Gabby burst into giggles, and Noah looked impressed. “Yes, you’ll do,” he said. “Forgive me for giving you a hard time, but you’ve gotta understand—not just anyone can date Paislee. We have to take certain precautions to weed out those who are undesirable.”

  “And what constitutes a person who is undesirable?” Logan asked, curious.

  “Well, a sense of humor is a must, obviously,” Noah said. “It’s helpful if they’re familiar with the Star Trek world, although they don’t have to be Trekkies. They must agree that Pluto is a planet, and above all else, they must treat Paislee with respect at all times, no exceptions.” At the last, his voice became serious again, and Logan understood the message.

  “I definitely think Pluto is a planet,” he replied, and Noah nodded, receiving the answer to his question.

  Now that the stressful part was over, Logan enjoyed the rest of the evening quite a lot. Noah and Gabby had bent over backwards to make a nice meal—or rather, Gabby did the bending, and Noah cheered her on from his spot on the couch. By the time he and Paislee left, he felt as though he and Noah could be good friends and not just coworkers.

  “So, what did you think?” Paislee asked as they walked out to Logan’s car.

  “I think they’re great. I also think they’re not entirely sane, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  She laughed. “They are pretty great. Noah’s been there for me during every little blip and trial over the last few years, and I’m just getting to know Gabby, but she feels like a sister to me.”

  “Well, I like them—do you think they like me?”

  “Yes, they do—Noah gave me the thumbs-up behind your back while you were dealing the Uno cards.”

  “That’s good to know.” It was more than good—it filled Logan’s chest with warmth. He hadn’t expected the approval of Paislee’s friends to mean so much to him. “And what about you?” he asked as they reached the car. “Do you like me?”

  She looked up into his eyes, the glow from the streetlight making a little halo around her head. It was cheesy, but he loved it. “I like you quite a lot,” she replied.

  He grinned, feeling that warmth radiate down his arms and out to his fingertips. “That’s really good to know because I like you quite a lot too.” He reached out and cupped her cheek, wondering if it was too soon to kiss her. She answered that question by closing her eyes, so he leaned in, touching her lips with his as softly and gently as he could. He felt the wings of a thousand butterflies beating in his stomach and stepped back, caught off guard by the flood of feelings he was experiencing. If he didn’t know better, if he wasn’t sure that it was totally impossible, he’d say that he was already in love.

  Chapter Eight

  “Wade doesn’t want us taking any more groups to the beginner wall until we repair the right anchor and check the condition of the other two,” Wes said the next morning, jabbing the map on the office wall with his finger. “He called in our guy who does that sort of thing, and he’ll be here in half an hour. I think we should send the McClains rafting this morning and hope that we’re clear to climb by this afternoon.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Paislee replied. “Do you think he can set the new anchor by this afternoon?”

  “All depends on the condition of the rock.”

  “Did we do something wrong by having the group use the other two ropes?” Logan asked.

  Wes hesitated. “No, not necessarily, but Wade just wants them checked to be sure. We went back and forth a few times this morning—you know how brothers are. Paislee, can you let the McClains know about our change in plans? I’ll call Will and make sure he’s good to raft early. I don’t see anything on his schedule, so he should be clear, but I’ll confirm.”

  “Can do.”

  Kassidy spoke up from where she’d been leaning against the wall. “Anything I can do?”

  “Yes—you’re still on to help me with the group coming in half an hour.”

  She nodded. “Can’t wait.”

  The three of them left the office as Wes was dialing Will, and Paislee pulled out her own phone, pressing the button for the McClains’ cabin. When one of the men answered, she explained the situation, and they readily agreed to the change in schedule.

  “That gives us a little time off,” she told Logan as she put her phone away.

  “I hope you’ll take that time to discuss my offer,” Kassidy said with an eager smile. “I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited about all the possibilities.”

  “I don’t know what Logan has decided, but I can tell you my answer right now,” Paislee said. “I appreciate the offer, Kassidy, but I love River’s End Ranch too much, and I can’t imagine leaving it.”

  Kassidy’s smile faltered. “You do?”

  “Yes. This is where I belong.”

  “Well, I hope you know that I admire your talents and I’m sorry that we won’t be working together. See you this afternoon.” She turned and walked toward the main house, where she’d be meeting their next group. The way her shoulders were set told Paislee that she was more than a little upset. Whether she was genuinely sad to lose Paislee as a potential employee or mad because her plan backfired, Paislee didn’t know. What she did know was that she was tired of conjecturing about the woman’s possible motives, and she just wanted to move on with her own life without questioning every little thing.

  Logan and Paislee climbed the steps to the porch of the main house and sat in the deck chairs, watching as the group arrived and was greeted by Wes and Kassidy. Then Logan reached out and caught Paislee’s fingertips.

  “We’ve got about four hours until we need to meet the McClains. What do you want to do with those four hours?” she asked him.

  “Hmmm. So many possibilities. We could swim or watch a movie or play some golf . . . whatever we do, I want to do it together.” He studied her hand. “Have you ever spent much time talking to Jaclyn?”

  “Sure. I talk to her all the time. Why?”

  “And is her advice . . . I mean, she doesn’t always make sense.”

  Paislee laughed. “I know she’s a little odd, but that’s part of her magic. And as far as her advice goes, I’ve never known her to be wrong.” She noticed that his eyes were solemn. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing’s the matter, so to speak.” He paused. “She just told me to follow my heart, and that seems like a dangerous thing to be doing right now.”

  “Your heart’s telling you to do something dangerous?”

  “I think it might be.”

  Paislee wasn’t sure what to make of that. Did he mean, dangerous like investing in another gym with Kassidy, or did he mean, dangerous like exploring their relationship? She didn’t think there was anything dangerous about dating each other, so that couldn’t be what he meant. She wanted to ask him about it, but he didn’t s
eem ready to share, so she’d give him some space, even if it was driving her nuts to do it.

  ***

  Wade’s expert had said that the cliff face was safe, but he didn’t feel good about drilling for another anchor, so he advised them just to use the two other ropes from now on. Wes wasn’t pleased about that.

  “It just puts limits on what we can do,” Wes explained when Logan asked him. “In a beginner situation, I like having three lines so everyone can go as slowly as they want without making the people in line wait forever.”

  “I can see that,” Logan replied. “But you do still have two good ropes.”

  “Yeah, yeah, little Mary Sunshine,” Wes replied good-naturedly. “I’ll try to look at the bright side.”

  By the time they met up with the McClain group, Wes was back to his normal self, which was good—it would have been harder to do their jobs if their boss was spreading gloom and doom everywhere.

  The boys jabbered about their morning with Will all the way to the equipment shed. Apparently, they’d all almost drowned, but then they all saved each other. Or something. It was hard to tell, with all the voices. Whatever the case might have been, they’d had a good time.

  While Wes and Paislee helped everyone grab their equipment, Logan asked Kassidy if he could speak to her, and he led her around the corner of the building where they could at least pretend to have some privacy.

  “I gave it some thought, just like you asked me, and I’ve decided against it,” he told her. He’d been dreading this conversation, but as soon as he started talking, the knot in his stomach relaxed. “I’m going to stay here on the ranch.”

  “So you can be with her?”

  “No—so I can be where I belong. And if things work out between us, that’s great, but if they don’t, I’d still stay. There’s something about this place that speaks to my soul, and I think even my wandering feet could be happy here.”

  “But the possibilities, Logan. The potential.”

  “We don’t need more money—we have everything we need. And starting a business together again would just be laying the foundation to make all the same mistakes, and we’d never live down the past because we’d be living in it. This is better for both of us, trust me.”

  She looked down, and then away. “And I’d probably try to get you back.”

  “And you’d fail because it’s not meant to be, and that would make things even harder. I’m sorry, Kassidy, but this is how it has to be.”

  She gave one nod, then turned and went back around the corner to help load up the equipment.

  Logan blew out a breath. He didn’t know why he’d been so nervous to do that—maybe he’d been expecting some sort of outrageous tantrum or something. Now he felt free to explore this new life he was creating for himself and to think about the future in a way he hadn’t dared for a very long time.

  Chapter Nine

  The next few days with the McClain group were nothing but fun. They climbed a few more times each, then took everyone on a hike up to the top of the mountain. Paislee looked forward to every evening because she ate dinner with Logan, and she looked forward to every morning because the McClain group would have some other adventure to go on. She was so sad when Thursday morning came around and they had to leave.

  Kassidy had seemed a little odd—sort of tired and withdrawn. She and Paislee had gone out to the intermediate wall with Wes and Logan to help some married couples climb—they’d left the children home with a babysitter for the first time and they were nervous wrecks about it, but they were determined to climb this cliff, and that’s all they allowed themselves to think about.

  As they stood side by side on the ground, belaying their ropes, Paislee asked Kassidy, “What’s the matter? You’ve been acting strange lately.”

  Kassidy didn’t look at her, but she did throw her a glance. “It’s nice of you to be concerned.”

  Paislee waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. “Of course I’m concerned. You seem upset.”

  “Well, that’s something everyone has to go through sometimes. Part of being human, or so I’m told.” She let a little more rope through, then said, “My feelings aren’t anything you need to worry about. Just think about your own.”

  She turned away and concentrated on her rope, and Paislee thought about that while she lowered her guest to the ground. Think about her feelings . . . well, she’d always thought she knew what her feelings were. Did Kassidy know something she didn’t?

  ***

  “You have no idea how glad I am that it’s trivia night,” Paislee said as she and Logan walked into the dining room. “It’s been a long and really weird day.”

  “And I’m dying for some pizza.” Logan stopped at the counter and ordered, then they continued on to a table. This time, they sat with Jaclyn and her friend Simon, and also Wade and Bernie.

  Logan took her hand as they waited for their order to arrive. His hand felt so warm and sure around hers, and she appreciated their strength. Even more than that, it was hard for her to fathom that they were actually together. It seemed too amazing to be true.

  Neither one of them could answer the round’s first three questions, which had to do with ancient Greek civilizations and the first movie ever filmed in the Gobi Desert and what color Thomas Edison’s eyes were.

  “At least we’re getting educated while we’re here,” Paislee whispered in Logan’s ear, and he grinned.

  By the end of the round, their table hadn’t racked up many points at all. “My brain’s just not in the game tonight,” she said to their team. “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s all right, dear,” Jaclyn replied. “Momentary stupidity is allowed from time to time.”

  Paislee grinned. She never took Jaclyn’s little jibes personally—the woman just called it as she saw it.

  “And Logan’s a bit distracted himself,” Jaclyn went on. “You might want to ask him why.”

  Arthur had put the game on hold for a few minutes so they could research a disputed answer, so Paislee turned to Logan. “Are you distracted? Why?”

  He nodded. “Maybe just a little. Can we step outside for a minute?”

  “But our team would have to forfeit the game,” Paislee said. “That’s not fair to them.”

  “Never you mind about that,” Jaclyn said. “I’ll go have a word with Arthur and make sure that it takes a really long time to find that answer.” She slipped out of her chair, and Simon gave Logan a thumbs-up.

  Okay, that was weird.

  Logan took Paislee’s hand and led her outside, then across the gravel to the equipment shed. “This might not seem like the most romantic spot, maybe, but it’s where I first started to fall in love with you, so really, it’s the most romantic place in the world,” he said.

  Her heart gave a wild thud. Was he about to say what she thought he was about to say? Because that would be awesome—but it would also be a little scary.

  “Paislee, I know we’ve just started down the road of our relationship, but I can see around the curves in the road, and I know that when we reach the end, we’re supposed to be together. You already mean more to me than anything else in the world, and I would be honored if you’d be my wife.”

  She blinked. Yes, he was saying it. And yes, it was awesome—and scary.

  “A wise woman named Jaclyn once told me . . . well, she told me the other day . . . that I should follow my heart, that it knew what I was supposed to do. She also called me a doofus. I think she was right on both counts.”

  He went down on one knee, pulling a ring from his breast pocket as he did so. Paislee was so stunned, she didn’t know how to react.

  “Because she’s wise, I decided to brave the danger of being rejected and ask you to marry me now instead of dating for six months first, which seems to be the appropriate amount of time to wait. If you’d like to take our time before we actually say ‘I do,’ I’m totally down with that as long as my ring is on your finger and we both know that our hearts are togeth
er in this.” He searched her eyes, his gaze sincere and intent. “What do you say, Paislee? Whether it’s in a month or a year, will you marry me?”

  “This is the dangerous thing you were telling me about?” she asked when she could finally draw breath.

  “Yes, it is. I can’t think of anything more dangerous than the potential of losing you.”

  Paislee pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart, even though she knew that wouldn’t actually help and that actresses only did it in movies for dramatic effect. So many thoughts and so many emotions were swirling through her head that it seemed impossible to sort through them all. The one thing that stood out, though, the one thing that made any sense was that she did want to be with this man. There was something there, some sort of connection that drew her to him, and she had a feeling that she’d be very happy spending the rest of her life figuring out just what it was.

  “Yes,” she said. “It’s likely the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but yes.”

  Logan slid the ring onto her finger, then stood up and took her in his arms, kissing her soundly.

  “Thank you for saying yes,” Logan told her, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. “We have so much to learn about each other, but I think that will be part of the fun of it—all the new discoveries we’ll make.”

  “I agree. And we can take things slow if we need to.”

  “Absolutely.” He smiled into her eyes. “The only thing I don’t want to take slow is kissing you again.” He brought her back into his arms, quieting all her doubts until they disappeared altogether.

  The End

  To read Wes and Amber’s story, don’t miss Rugged Rockclimber, and to learn more about the McClains, don’t miss the Seven Sons series by Amelia C. Adams and Kirsten Osbourne!

  About Amelia C. Adams

  Amelia C. Adams is a wife, a mother, an eater of chocolate, and a taker of naps. She spends her days thinking up stories and her nights writing them down. Her biggest hero is her husband, and you just might see bits and pieces of him as you read her novels.