One Way Ticket

by Tricia O'Malley

  “Not one to fall apart when a deadline looms?” Jack asked.

  “Nope. I like it. Otherwise I can end up starting a gazillion little projects and not finishing any.”

  “What kind of projects?”

  “Hmm, that’s a good question.” Paige leaned back against the rough wood back of the stool and stared out to the water. It had been so long since she’d done anything that wasn’t expressly related to Yoga Soulone. She was just now realizing how much the studio and Horatio had dominated her life. “I used to like to paint, but it’s been ages since I’ve picked up a brush.”

  “What kind of things did you paint?”

  “Watercolors mostly. I’d go down to the beach in Santa Cruz and watch the surfers. Try to capture the light of the sun on the water. I don’t suppose I was any good at it. But I enjoyed it. I enjoyed that time to myself,” Paige admitted as she took another drink of her beer. Holding it up, she was surprised to find the clear glass bottle empty.

  “Why did you stop then?” Jack grabbed another bottle for her and cranked the neck of it in a little bottle opener stuck to the side of the bucket.

  “Oh, well, I never had time for it after I went to work for the studio. It seemed like there was always something to be done and I was the one who had to handle it.”

  “Why didn’t this Horatio guy handle some of it?”

  “Oh, he couldn’t be bothered to do that. He had to focus on his teaching.” Resentment roiled in her stomach at her words and when the silence drew out, Paige realized how it sounded to Jack. “Okay, right. I get it.”

  “Do you?” Jack laughed. “Listen, we’ve all had our share of bad relationships. Sounds to me like this guy wanted you to run his business for cheap.”

  “I was paid,” Paige said stiffly.

  “Sounds like he was getting a hell of a deal – sex and business manager.”

  “I will smash this over your head.” Paige held up her beer bottle and glared at Jack.

  “Bloodthirsty little one, aren’t ya?” Instead of admonishing her for her anger, Jack just laughed, which helped ease the tension that knotted her gut.

  “I’m sorry,” Paige said, grinning at him. “I’m not sure I’m quite ready to put my ex-relationship under a microscope. You’re certainly right. I gave more than I should’ve for my job and my…well, I guess he wasn’t my boyfriend. Apparently, he was everyone’s boyfriend.”

  “A true renaissance man,” Jack said and Paige surprised herself by snorting.

  “A man of the people,” Paige snickered.

  “Lives by the motto: what’s mine is yours.”

  “His penis: free to a good home.” Paige doubled over in laughter, the first time she’d really laughed this hard in she didn’t know how long.

  “A real winner, this Horatio.” Jack patted her lightly on the back as she gasped for air. “Feeling better?”

  “Oh…” Paige gasped and wiped tears from her eyes. “It feels so good to make fun of him. I had no idea I had that in me. Everyone always spoke in hushed tones about him and like bowed to him as though he was some Greek god or something. But he isn’t…not at all. He’s just an excellent manipulator.”

  “It certainly sounds that way. Is he any good at teaching yoga?”

  “Ah…” Paige sat back and took another sip of her cold beer as she thought about it. A light breeze had moved in, cooling the sweat at her back, and people flowed past on their way to the harbor. “You know what? He wasn’t always bad. I learned a lot about poses and what-not from him. But he shamed people into trying to get into more difficult poses when he should have helped them with props and stuff like that. We had a lot of injuries because of it.”

  “That doesn’t sound healthy. I’m surprised people didn’t push back.”

  “But that’s the pull of him. He convinced them it was their fault and they never realized they could’ve learned the stepping-stones into a pose. I had one woman who broke her nose doing a crow pose because she’d never been told that she could use blocks to learn the pose first.”

  “What?” Jack looked at her in surprise. “That sounds really violent. And what is crow pose?”

  “Um, it’s…” Paige looked around but realized there was no way she was going to demonstrate crow pose on the dirty cement pavement around the bar. “It’s a pose where you balance your knees on the backs of your arms.”

  “I see and so once you get your knees on the back of your arms?”

  “You should be able to sit there.”

  “And if you pitch yourself too far forward…” Jack made a flat motion with his hand and then tipped it forward.

  “Splat,” Paige said.

  “So she really broke her nose, huh?”

  “She did. It was awful. In theory she should have just dropped to the side and caught herself, but the woman was very determined to impress Horatio.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He assured her that she would get it on the next try.”

  “Ooof.”

  “Ooof is right.” Paige shook her head sadly, but also realized what a relief it was not to have to be cleaning up Horatio’s messes anymore.

  “I’ll admit I’ve been a bit worried about how you are going to handle the retreat once I found out your relationship to this group.”

  “Is that why you came to find me?

  “That and I wanted to make sure you weren’t boarding the next flight out of here.”

  “Oh, have no worries about that.” Paige finished her beer. “I haven’t been paid yet. I couldn’t afford to if I wanted to.”

  Jack burst out laughing, and Paige joined him, even though it was the truth. Shoot, if she couldn’t laugh at the situations she got herself into, then what was the damn point of it all?

  Chapter Twelve

  Paige leaned back against the cracked upholstery of the passenger seat of the little Suzuki, not caring that vinyl stuck to the back of her legs so long as she didn’t have to try to navigate driving stick shift and narrow pot-hole-filled roads. They’d finished happy hour on a good note, and Paige was feeling relaxed as they left the little downtown and headed toward Tranquila Inn.

  “So, before Yoga Soulone…what did you do? Or have you always been a devout yogi?” Jack shot her a look as he shifted gears as the Suzuki approached a hill. Paige tilted her face into the breeze that whipped through the windows and thought about his question.

  “Well, I’ve bounced around a lot, I suppose. I’ve always enjoyed yoga, but didn’t do my teacher training until I started at Yoga Soulone. Prior to that, I worked as an events coordinator for a large banquet hall in Santa Cruz for years before I got let go when the economy took a hit. That’s how I ended up at the studio. I wanted a job that would keep me active and around people.”

  “Not a desk job type of girl?”

  “God, no. I tried it, actually, for years. I worked as a legal secretary for my father’s law firm. It didn’t go well, to say the least, and I think they kept me on more out of pity than anything after my father passed away.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. He was a dick.”

  Jack jerked his head around and then laughed.

  “Well, then why did you work for him?”

  “An easy job out of college. I think a part of me still wanted to please him, I guess. But, in all reality, we were oil and water. He’d always wanted me to be a boy. Then my name could be on the letterhead along with his. Women weren’t good enough to share the title of partner.”

  “Sounds…well, it sounds pretty shitty, I’d say.”

  “It was. I’m over it. What about you?”

  “What about me?” Jack shrugged one shoulder.

  “How’d you end up here? Driving a rickety car on a tiny island in the Caribbean?”

  “I’m originally from Connecticut.”

  “Oh an East Coast boy. Got it.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “You guys have a reputation. You know…like t
o yacht. Love the Yankees. Uptight.”

  A smile cracked Jack’s handsome face.

  “I’ll give you most of that except the yachting. I prefer a sailboat, thank you very much.”

  “Naturally. So how did a Connecticut boy end up at Tranquila Inn with his shirt off and covered in dirt?”

  “I took hospitality management in college. From there I bounced around the world working internships and jobs at every level of the hotel management industry. I learned pretty quickly that you have to know how everything runs in order to actually manage a hotel properly. So, you’d better be just as comfortable fixing a toilet as you are greeting royalty.”

  “Hence the Jack of all trades…”

  “Exactly.”

  “And now you’re here. Rescuing Tranquila Inn.”

  “Precisely.”

  “I see…” Paige nodded. “So…Luis and Martin are awesome. But…”

  “CeCe and Whit?” Jack asked, glancing at her with a quick smile of understanding as he shifted gears as they wound along the cliffs next to the water.

  “Any tips there? Insights?”

  “Don’t go on any long walks with Whit and don’t go one-for-one with drinks with CeCe.”

  “Um…” Paige’s mouth dropped open as she tried to figure out a diplomatic way to respond to that.

  “They’ll grow on you. They’re relatively harmless and they are more obsessed with the images they project to have than actual reality.”

  “Okay…” Paige’s voice rose on a questioning note.

  “In other words…don’t try to babysit or manage them as they’ll do exactly what they want, when they want. It’s kind of like herding incorrigible toddlers. You’re better to just treat them as entertainment. They’re surprisingly great with guests and you’ll see that most people will fall under their weird brand of charm. When it comes to running a business? It’s a shitshow. Consult me on all business matters. Don’t let CeCe make any decisions though as she’ll constantly try to implement them. And, yeah…that’s your basic rundown,” Jack said.

  “Right, okay.” Paige blew out a breath and rubbed her sweaty palms on her thighs. “So, off to the races?”

  “Pretty much. Don’t screw it up.”

  “Gee…thanks.” Paige glared at him and Jack laughed as he brought the Suzuki to a shuddering stop.

  “You’ll love it or hate it. That much I can promise.”

  Paige’s eyebrows shot up as the engine of the car made a weird cranking noise and then the whole frame began to shudder. Panic lanced through her and she grabbed the support handle on the dashboard of the Suzuki as Jack eased the car over and brought it to a halting stop on the side of the dusty road.

  “What happened?” Paige gasped, looking wildly around.

  “Duct tape must’ve failed.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I thought you were joking about the duct tape.” Paige pushed down on the tendrils of panic that felt like a vise tightening on her throat.

  “Partly.” Jack hummed as he got out of the car and moved easily to the hood.

  Paige took a deep breath. And then another. It was her fault, really. Hadn’t she asked if this day could get any worse? Now, here they were, stranded on the side of a busted-up road and the light was steadily disappearing. Soon, they’d be in full darkness.

  The little SUV rocked as Jack opened the creaky hood, and Paige blinked through the front windshield at the rusted metal that now blocked her view. Surely, he’d be able to fix this, right?

  Paige jumped as Jack slammed the hood down.

  “Not much I can do, I’m afraid.”

  “Wait. What? I thought you were the Jack of all trades?”

  Jack shot Paige a smile as he wiped his hands on his shorts.

  “Yes, and master of none. This falls outside the scope of my capabilities.”

  “But…but…now what? Can you call for help?”

  “With what?” Jack looked around at the prickly bushes that surrounded the road.

  “You don’t have a cell phone?” Paige looked at him as if he’d just confessed he’d murdered a prostitute in Rio and taken her money to run the tables all night.

  “Not with me.”

  “But…why? How? You just go to town without one? What if someone needs you? Or you need something?”

  “People know how to get to town to find me.” Jack shrugged.

  Paige glanced at the darkening sky as fear began to work its way up her spine.

  “How will we get home? It’s not safe here. People won’t be able to see us. What if we get jumped? Can you call Triple A?” Paige realized she was babbling as Jack just steadily looked at her.

  “There’s no Triple A.”

  “And you have no phone anyway. Oh. God.” Paige suddenly remembered her own tote and she dug hastily in it. “Wait! I have a phone!”

  “Good luck with that.” Jack quirked a smile at her and waited patiently until she located the phone and brandished it like a trophy to him.

  “See? Here you go. Call someone for help.”

  Jack took the phone and looked at it before handing it back to Paige.

  “What?”

  “No service.”

  “But…” Paige looked down at the screen to see he was right. “How can there possibly be no service? Everywhere has service. Is that even a thing anymore?”

  “Not everywhere has service.” Jack outright laughed at her this time and Paige looked up at him, stricken.

  “No service. No working phone. No car. No light. Oh my god. We’re going to die out here.”

  “And here I was beginning to think you were somewhat levelheaded. Come on, sweets. Let’s go.” Jack rounded the car and opened the door. Paige looked blankly at him.

  “Go? Go where? You want us to walk?”

  “Until we see a car, yes. Or, if we don’t, then we’ll walk to Tranquila.”

  “How far is that?”

  “Mmm, maybe a few more miles or so?” Jack shrugged.

  “Lovely. What about if we see a car? People will stop to help us, right?”

  “Like I said… they’ll give us a ride.”

  “Hitchhiking?” Paige shook her head in disbelief. “I thought you were joking about that.”

  “Nope.”

  Paige stared at him. “That’s how people get murdered.”

  “Maybe so.” Jack laughed. “But highly unlikely here. It’s hard to get away with murder on a small island. Not saying it’s impossible, just unlikely. And usually I just hop in the back of a pick-up truck so I never even really talk to the person.”

  “Without a seatbelt? You want me to just hop in the back?”

  “Paige. Get out of the car.” Jack’s patience seemed to be drying up and Paige finally realized she was not helping the situation. He was absolutely right – the sooner they started walking, the sooner they’d get home. Blowing out a breath, Paige nodded to the bag in the back.

  “You’re carrying the fruit.”

  “That’s fine.”

  They plodded along the road in silence for a while, Jack schooling his pace to hers as she was still limping slightly from her scorpion sting that morning. The last traces of the sunset streaked across the sky and aside from the occasional squawk of a bird settling for the night, the road was quiet. A gentle breeze kicked up the dust as they walked, and Paige tried her best not to fall into her anxiety.

  “If you could have any superpower what would it be?” Jack surprised her from her worries with his question.

  “What? A Superpower?”

  “Sure, like…flying or lasers shooting from your butt.”

  “In what world is lasers shooting from your butt a superpower? Paige shook her head at Jack. The palm leaves rustled softly as they continued their walk, navigating as best they could around potholes in the waning light.

  “I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s every dude’s choice of a superpower. Could you imagine how fast you could clear out a buffet line?”

  �
�Wouldn’t a normal fart also accomplish the same feat?” Paige asked.

  “Hmm, the woman has a point.”

  Paige rolled her eyes. “I think I’d like to be a mermaid. There’s something so enchanting about the idea of swimming underwater.”

  “And luring men to their deaths. There’s more of that bloodthirst, I see.”

  Paige found herself laughing. “Maybe the mermaids were never interested in luring men, perhaps they were just trying to have their own space. One where humans didn’t interfere.”

  “Then why was it always men that were killed?”

  “Because they were the ones dumb enough to think every beautiful woman, errr… half-woman, would be instantly attracted to them? I swear the male ego…” Paige sighed.

  “Oh, for sure it gets us in trouble. I won’t argue with you on that.” Jack laughed, and the sound warmed her.

  “Thanks, Jack.” Paige realized he’d been trying to distract her from the anxiety that had threatened to overtake her at being caught unprepared on the side of the dark road.

  “Why does this bother you so much?” Jack asked, looking down at her. He’d moved around her to the outside, so that he was more in the road, and she was walking along the bush side.

  “The car breaking down? I mean, it sucks, right?”

  “Sure, but you genuinely seemed like you were about to panic there for a moment.”

  “I…” Paige considered his words. “I guess it goes back to that feeling of safety we talked about last night. It just felt so out of my comfort zone. All of my solutions for that car breaking down are based on things that aren’t valid here. My phone doesn’t work. No roadside assistance. No freaking duct tape.”

  At that, Jack threw back his head and laughed, and despite her mood, Paige found her lips quirking in response.

  “It’s good to leave your bubble. You learn new things. And you’ll learn different ways to solve your problems.”

  “I guess, if it had been me on my own, I’d have been even more scared. But I feel better that you’re with me.” Paige met his eyes and the look held for a moment before a flash of light from ahead washed over them.