Fatal Descent

by Beth Groundwater

  “We’ll keep that in mind when we arrange the campsites,” Rob said glibly.

  While Rob went over the release forms and packing lists with the Nortons, Mandy scanned the roster and tried to think. Besides the Nortons, there was the six-person Anderson family—two parents and three grown children, one of whom was married—and three women from different parts of California. She had allocated a 4-man and a 2-man tent to the Anderson family and had assigned 2-man tents to herself and Rob and Gonzo and the climbing guide. She would now have to put Kendra and the three women clients in what would have been the Norton family’s 4-man tent. Could the four strangers all get along?

  Mandy and Rob said their goodbyes to the Nortons after inviting them to join the group for a pre-trip meet-and-greet dinner at Milt’s Stop & Eat. The local burger and shakes joint had been recommended to them by the owner of the building they were using. He had told Rob that it set a tone of informality for clients and helped them to start shedding their business-suit personalities prior to getting on the river.

  Just as Mandy was going to fill Rob in on the tent shuffle, three women walked in, giggling and chatting with each other. They all looked to be in their thirties and were a variety of races—white, Hispanic, and black. They stepped up to the counter, and after a few more snippets of chattering, turned as a group and looked expectantly at Rob and Mandy.

  “Hi, gals,” Rob said. “Here to check in for the Cataract Canyon rafting and climbing trip?”

  “You bet your sweet cojones we are!” the Hispanic woman said, tossing her long black hair over one shoulder and eyeing Rob’s athletic build.

  Mandy stiffened.

  Rob, however, took it in stride and went into his spiel. “I’m Rob Juarez, and this is my partner and fiancée, Mandy Tanner.” He put an arm around Mandy’s shoulder. “We’ll be your lead guides on the trip.”

  “Damn, ladies, he’s taken.” While her companions laughed, the Hispanic woman winked at Mandy. “Don’t worry, honey, we’re just having some fun. We’re all happily married, but this is our annual gal-pal escape from the hubbies and munchkins. I’m Vivian Davis, but you can call me Viv.” She held out a hand to Mandy.

  Mandy smiled and shook it, then looked at the other two. “And you are … ?”

  “Maureen Heedles,” said the petite blond-haired white woman, shaking Rob’s and her hands, “but call me Mo.”

  “Betsy Saunders,” said the black woman, also shaking their hands.

  “I hadn’t realized you three knew each other,” Mandy said, “since you live in different California cities.”

  “We all attended high school and community college together in LA,” Mo replied. “We go way back. And, as you can tell, we’re a real mixed bag.”

  Betsy grinned. “Our husbands are, too. Viv’s is black, Mo’s is Asian, and mine is white, so our kids are all hybrids.”

  “Too bad they don’t run on electricity. Our grocery bills would be a lot lower,” Viv quipped, causing all three to laugh. They started comparing notes on what their hapless hubbies were planning to cook, or take-out, while they were gone, which set them to laughing again.

  Once they had quieted, Rob slid release forms on clipboards to them across the counter and asked them to read and sign them.

  Mo looked up from hers at Mandy. “Is it possible for the three of us to share a tent? We plan to do a lot of catching up with each other while we’re on this trip.”

  Relieved, Mandy said, “Sure, we can arrange that.”

  But she needed to break the news that they would have to share with Kendra. She took a deep breath and plunged in. “We’re tight on space in the rafts, though, and can only bring so many tents. We can’t afford to have any bed space in a tent go empty. You’ll be in a 4-man tent. Do you mind sharing with our other female rafting guide? Her name is Kendra Lee.”

  The three women looked at each other and nodded. “No problem,” Betsy said. “Is she here? Can we meet her?”

  “She’s in back organizing gear. I’ll bring her out.” Mandy went into the back room.

  When Mandy entered, Kendra looked up expectantly from her checklist of food items. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor surrounded by boxes, bags, and cans of food. “What’s up?”

  “I had to shuffle tent assignments when I found out the Nortons really aren’t a family,” Mandy said. “The father and mother are divorced. So, I need to put you in a 4-man tent with the three solo female clients. Turns out they really aren’t solo and they all know each other—call each other gal-pals.”

  Kendra grimaced. “So I’ll be the odd gal out.”

  “They seem really nice and said they didn’t mind having you. They want to meet you.”

  “I was going to talk to you about tent assignments.” Kendra rose to her feet and flashed a sheepish smile at Mandy. “See, Gonzo and I have started seeing each other.”

  “Get out!” Mandy slapped Kendra on the back. “That’s great. How’d you keep it from all of us?”

  “We wanted to make sure it was going to work out before we spilled the beans. I didn’t say anything when you told me a couple weeks ago that you were planning to have me share a tent with a female client, because Gonzo and I weren’t, you know, doing the sleeping bag samba yet.” Kendra grinned happily.

  Mandy returned Kendra’s smile. “Glad to know you’ve found a compatible dance partner.” She studied the roster in her hand. “I don’t think I can swing putting you two together, though. I’ve got Gonzo in a tent with Tom O’Day, the climbing guide, and if I put you in that tent instead, there’s nowhere for Tom to sleep. Paul Norton’s in a tent by himself now, because he said he snores like the dickens. I’d hate to subject Tom to that. And I certainly can’t put him in with the women.”

  “Maybe Tom snores, too.” Kendra looked hopeful.

  “I’ll ask him when he shows up,” Mandy said, “but I still want to introduce you to these women. Sorry to say it, but you’ll most likely end up bunking with them.”

  Kendra sighed. “Okay. It’s only for a few nights anyway.”

  Mandy gave her an elbow nudge. “As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe Rob and I can swap places with you and Gonzo one night.”

  Mandy led Kendra out of the room and made the introductions. Before long the three pals were chatting with Kendra, asking her questions about the upcoming trip.

  “Will we see many birds?” Viv asked. “I’m a bird watcher, and I want to add some Utah species to my list.”

  “What about animals?” Betsy pulled a book for identifying animal tracks out of her backpack. “My hobby is identifying wildlife prints.”

  “And I’m hoping to see some fall-blooming wildflowers,” Mo said. “That’s my thing.” She held up a camera. “I’ve got a whole wall of my kitchen plastered with wildflower photos, and I want to add to my gallery.”

  By the time Kendra had fielded all of their questions, she was smiling. “This trip is perfect for you three.”

  “We always pick an outdoor-oriented trip for our getaway,” Mo replied. “The last one was a four-day horseback ride in Oregon.”

  Betsy rubbed her rump. “It took weeks for my butt to recover from that one.”

  All four women laughed.

  Viv waved her arm toward the door. “Time to pack our dry bags, gals.”

  Mandy walked them to the door. “Remember our meet-and-greet dinner at six.”

  The last one out, Betsy, turned and whispered to Mandy, “Thanks for putting Kendra in our tent. We’re going to love having an expert’s brain to pick.”

  Mandy smiled. Another problem solved. After the women left, she faced Kendra. “You okay with this?”

  Kendra nodded. “Yeah, they all seem pretty nice. Not sure how much sleep I’m going to get, though.”

  “More than you would get with Gonzo,” Mandy shot back with a wink.r />
  Laughing, Kendra retreated to the back room.

  Returning to her position behind the counter next to Rob, Mandy said, “We may need to rescue Kendra from those chatterboxes. We can’t have a sleepy rafting guide, especially in Cataract Canyon.”

  Rob shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If need be, she can sleep with you one night, and I’ll bed down outside.”

  Mandy leaned on her elbows and looked at the roster. “You know, when we were planning this trip, I imagined all sorts of things going wrong. I never dreamed that tent assignments were going to be such a challenge.” She wondered if this tent shuffle was a sign of more client issues to come.

  With a laugh, Rob said, “Hopefully the Anderson family will be okay with theirs.”

  “We can’t do anything about it if they aren’t!”

  two

  In the duel of sex, woman fights from a

  dreadnought and man from an open raft.

  —h. l. mencken

  While Mandy and Rob were checking the signed release forms for errors, the front door to the outfitter’s building swung open. A breeze came through the doorway, stirring up the papers. Mandy slapped her hand on them to keep them from flying, then looked up. A very tall, thin young man stepped through the door and swept his shoulder-length straight brown hair out of his face. He wore a tattered T-shirt and torn jeans, and his angular chin and cheeks were covered with two-day-old stubble. The breeze brought the strong scent of body odor to Mandy’s nostrils. She wrinkled her nose and wondered if the guy was homeless.

  “O’Day!” Rob shouted and came out from behind the counter to clap the man on the back.

  Mystery solved. Mandy moved to join the men. Tom O’Day was the climbing guide they had hired for the trip. Rob had interviewed him when he, Gonzo, and Kendra had come out a month ago to take an orientation rafting trip down Cataract Canyon. Still recovering from a cracked rib, Mandy hadn’t gone on that trip.

  Rob put an arm around Mandy’s shoulder and pulled her toward him. “Meet Tom O’Day, Mandy. Tom, this is my partner and soon to be ball-and-chain, Mandy Tanner.”

  Mandy glanced at Rob and caught his playful wink.

  O’Day grinned and held out a hand, but his blue, almost gray, eyes were assessing her. “Glad to meet you, Mandy. Call me Cool. Everyone does.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Cool.” Mandy didn’t say anything about his pungent state, but she prayed that it wasn’t normal for him. Yes, by the end of a multi-day rafting trip everyone got a little ripe, but they usually didn’t start out that way.

  After they shook hands, Cool looked down at his filthy clothes. “Sorry I’m such a mess. I just got back from a two-day climb that took longer than I expected. I figured I should come over here first before I head home and shower. I promise I’ll have all my shit together by tomorrow morning.”

  Mandy held back a frown. O’Day didn’t seem to be taking their trip very seriously. What was he doing out climbing when he should have been preparing for it?

  “We were hoping you could join us for a meet-and-greet dinner with the clients at Milt’s Stop & Eat in …” She glanced at the clock. “A little over an hour. Can you make it?”

  “I can try.”

  “We’ll expect you,” Rob said firmly. “First you should meet Kendra, though. She and Gonzo Gordon—you remember him, right?—will be in charge of packing the gear onto the vehicles after dinner. You’ll need to make sure all the climbing equipment gets to them.”

  Cool frowned as he followed Rob and Mandy toward the back room. “Sounds like a late night.”

  “Doesn’t have to be, if your gear is all ready,” Rob said smoothly. “But tomorrow morning will be early. Mandy and I want all the guides here at six a.m., so we can get our act together before the clients show up at seven.”

  Cool groaned. The sound made Kendra raise her head. And Kendra’s looks made Cool let out a wolf whistle.

  Kendra rose with a forced smile. “Dream on, honey. Too bad for you I’m not available.”

  “Damn, the first two babes I meet on this gig are taken,” Cool said. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

  Kendra blushed and glanced at Rob. “Gonzo.”

  Rob’s eyes widened. “Really? Since when?” He looked at Mandy. “Did you know?”

  She shook her head and grinned. “Not until about an hour ago.”

  “Cool,” Rob said. “And speaking of cool, this is Tom O’Day, the climbing guide—he goes by the nickname Cool. You weren’t around when Gonzo and I talked to him on our orientation trip.”

  Cool and Kendra shook hands, then Cool scanned the equipment pile. “Is one of those 2-man tents for me?”

  “Yep,” Rob said. “You’ll be sharing with Gonzo. That’ll give you two a chance to do a lot of talking, so he can learn as much as possible from you.”

  A shadow crossed over Cool’s face. “Makes it kind of hard to bed a babe. But I guess Gonzo and I can work something out, take turns sleeping outside.” He leered at Kendra. “I bet he won’t want to be without you for four long, lonely nights.”

  Kendra shot Mandy a look that said, “What a sleazeball!”

  “One more question,” Mandy said to Cool. “Do you snore?”

  “Nope.” Cool’s eyebrows lowered. “I hope Gonzo doesn’t. I can’t sleep in a tent with someone who saws logs all night.” He looked at Kendra.

  She shook her head, then shrugged at Mandy. So much for putting O’Day in with Paul Norton.

  Cool made plans with Kendra to meet back with Gonzo and her at the building about an hour after dinner to load equipment. Then he rushed off to shower.

  While Mandy and Rob returned to the front room, she played back the conversation with the climbing guide in her head. Something bothered her about it.

  Rob peered at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t like what Cool said about bedding babes and taking turns sleeping outside with Gonzo. Since we two ‘babes’”—she wrinkled her nose in distaste—“are taken, is he planning on picking up one of the female clients and sleeping with her?”

  “Maybe he was just trying to do Gonzo a favor,” Rob said, looking thoughtful.

  Mandy put her hands on her hips. “He better not have plans to hit on the clients. That’s totally lame.”

  Rob frowned. “Some casual flirting with the guides is kind of expected on these trips.”

  “I know, I know. Like what went on between you and Viv Davis. That’s okay. But Cool strikes me as being a little sleazy, like he’s planning on taking it a lot further.” She stared at the door through which O’Day had exited. “We’ll have to keep an eye on him.”

  _____

  An hour later, Mandy strode at a fast clip with Kendra to Milt’s Stop & Eat. The aspens and cottonwoods back in Salida, Colorado, had already shed their yellowed leaves. However, here in Moab, three thousand feet lower in altitude, the trees still retained their brilliant gold colors. The lowering sun flashed dancing yellow lights off the cottonwood leaves twirling in the slight breeze. The darkening sky held just a few puffy white clouds, and no rain was predicted for the first couple days of their trip. The weather, at least, was cooperating.

  Mandy felt a little nervous about making a good impression on the clients. She had been too busy making an ice run and helping Kendra pack the coolers to wash up. Kendra, however, even though she had been working hard all afternoon, looked beautiful and serene as usual. Mandy had missed greeting the Anderson clan, too, and regretted that. She hoped that at the dinner she could make them feel welcome and confident that they would be well taken care of.

  As she and Kendra neared the restaurant’s parking lot, the mouth-watering aroma of grilled meat wafted toward them. Mandy spotted Gonzo Gordon standing beside their fifteen-passenger van. He had taken the van on his quest for camping lanterns. He waved two of them triumphantl
y in the air. A wide grin split his pale, freckled face and the breeze teased his dreadlocked blond braids.

  Kendra clapped her hands. “Success!”

  “Success, indeed!” He held out his arms for her then, hesitated.

  “It’s okay.” Kendra slipped into his embrace. “Mandy and Rob know.”

  Gonzo gave her a quick kiss, then glanced at Mandy, almost begging for approval.

  Of the relationship or of his successful mission, Mandy couldn’t tell. But she knew the recovering alcoholic still needed all the positive feedback he could get. Relieved that he hadn’t come up short, she gave it to him.

  “Good job on finding the lanterns, Gonzo, and I’m really stoked for you and Kendra, too.”

  His tense shoulders visibly relaxed. “And I’ve got a surprise for you.” He untangled himself from Kendra and opened the van door to reveal a third lantern. “Since they weren’t our stock, I thought it would be safer to bring three. I tested all of them, and they work.”

  “Great thinking, quartermaster.”

  Gonzo puffed out his chest and tossed back his locks, then struck a pose. “Master and commander of the expedition stores, that’s me.”

  Kendra snickered and Mandy laughed.

  “Time to meet the clients, Gonzo,” Mandy said. “We’ll need you to turn on your usual charm tonight.”

  After Gonzo stowed the lanterns and locked the van, Mandy led them from the parking lot to the outdoor patio on the other side of the fifties-style diner. Rob had said he would get there early and secure tables. When he saw them, he waved them over to two long plastic-on-metal picnic tables he had pulled together. There was space for sixteen on the benches, and he had positioned a lawn chair at one end to make room for seventeen, the headcount for the trip.

  The three gal-pals were already sitting at one end. Kendra took Gonzo over to meet them. He greeted them boisterously, and they all seemed to instantly fall in love with him, as Mandy knew they would. Along with being an expert boatsman, Gonzo was exceptional at entertaining clients and putting them at ease. The gal-pals were in good hands.