Her leg felt strong and healthy. The cool air cleansed her lungs and helped to pump out the anxiety she’d harbored since the day before. She quit the sport she loved, the sport that had consumed her life since the fifth grade when she went out for cross country and had never looked back.
She felt a hitch in her step when she realized she’d walked away from the finish line and was running without a goal in mind. She told herself she didn’t need a goal. She didn’t need to beat a time or edge out a competitor. She only needed to feel the road beneath her feet, the wind in her face, and the lightness of her heart.
People did this every day. People ran to wake up, ran to keep the extra pounds at bay, ran to relax. She could run for those reasons. As a matter of fact, she mused, this time she’d taken for herself, by herself, was the only thing in recent memory she’d done just for her.
When she let her lungs open and her legs press forward and tried to get her mind to disengage, she started to feel invincible. If she could do this every day, with the sun on her skin and the road beneath her feet, she could live a very happy life. She’d need a job. Tommy worked in his office at the raft shop on Tuesdays. She’d stop by early and feel him out about a job. He might be grateful, he might feel put out, but she’d never know unless she asked.
She rounded a bend in the road and scared a flock of gray doves into the air. The flapping of their wings sounded like tiny bubbles popping. She wondered if she’d see Ty at the shop when she went to visit Tommy. If he’d had a morning job, he’d be pulling back in around the same time she’d be there. She wondered if seeing him was a good idea.
Wise or not, she was attracted. She wanted to sink into those hazel eyes and see what he would do next. She couldn’t look at him without images of him shirtless, carrying her in his arms flashing into her mind. She shook her head at the tricks the mind could play. Shouldn’t she remember the pain, sharp and lethal, instead of the heat from his skin and the ripe smell of him fresh from bed with coffee on his breath? Yep, definitely attracted, almost needy with it. She quickened her pace and used her hunger to urge her faster.
How long had it been since she’d felt something, anything more than a fleeting interest in a man? So long she could hardly recall. She’d dabbled at romance with Darren in college, but that had fizzled as her running left little time for anything else. She knew it was over when leaving him in bed for her training had filled her with relief.
She’d flirted with Lyle and they’d kissed a few times before realizing they were meant to be friends. Since then, nothing. She was fine with nothing until Tyler showed up last summer, turning her upside down with his smoldering looks and igniting the ugly green monster when his girlfriend came to town.
Now she had nothing but time. Nothing but time to think about him and the long summer ahead.
She ended her run feeling rejuvenated. The cool mountain air had awakened every sense in her body and she felt alive with the possibility of what the future held. She’d done something risky by quitting her training, but at least she’d done something.
She was riding high when she crept back into the apartment, hoping not to wake Olivia, who’d been up late studying. Jill had just tiptoed past Olivia’s door when her cell phone rang in her hand. She bolted for her room and shoved the door shut behind her, answering the phone without looking at the display.
“Hello?”
“I thought you’d be up,” her mother said. From the sound of her voice, Bobbie hadn’t had enough sleep.
“Just got in from a run,” Jill confessed. She knew what was coming and had hoped to avoid a confrontation for at least a day or two. “What’s up?”
“What’s up? What do you think is up?” She heard her mother take a sip of something Jill knew to be her overly sweet morning coffee. “Your father is fit to be tied.”
“I figured as much.”
“What in the world is going on? I thought you were happy moving back in with Olivia, getting back to training, and working at The Tap. What changed?”
Jill sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t owe her mother an explanation, but she didn’t know how to explain her heart. “I don’t know. I know I’m not going to qualify for this year’s trials. I just started looking at the next four years and I couldn’t stomach where my life was heading.”
“You of all people know what goes into training for the Olympics. I thought that was what you wanted. Your dad thought that was what you wanted.”
“It was. I’m not so sure anymore.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line before her mother cleared her throat and said, “Is this about me telling you to have some fun? Because I didn’t mean for you to throw everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve out the door and be irresponsible. I just meant that you should make time to be young.”
“Relax, Mom. This has nothing to do with what you said.” She plopped on her bed and toed off her shoes. “When I broke my leg, I thought I was done. I know that sounds overly dramatic, but I thought I’d never run again. Once I realized I would, I took a good look at what that meant. I’m not going to have a shot at this year’s team. I know Dad thinks otherwise, but he’s being unrealistic.”
“He thinks you do, Jill. He really thinks you do.”
“No, Mom, he wants me to, but wanting and doing are two different things. I’m not even back to where I was before I hurt my leg. It may take months to get back to that point and then years before I’m in serious contention. That’s a long time for me and Dad to train.” And fight. What she really wanted to say was fight.
Bobbie sighed. “He feels like you’ve given up on yourself. He feels like you’ve given up on him.”
“You felt the tension between us the last few months before my fall. Even if I’d never broken my leg, I’d have been looking for a new coach. I’d already made some calls.”
Bobbie sucked in a breath. “You don’t need to tell your dad about that.”
“I’m not, trust me.” Jill flung herself back on her neatly made bed. “I need some time to sort this out, Mom. I have a degree I’ve never used, a long shot chance at being a midrate distance runner, and not much else. If I go back to training, I want it to be because I’ve decided that’s the path I want to take. It has to be my choice. I can’t make that choice when he’s dictating my life.”
“Jill, he’s not dictating anything. He’s trying to help. I wish you could see that. I wish you understood how much he’s hurting right now. He thinks he’s failed you.”
“He hasn’t, Mom. If anything, I’ve failed him. And I’m sorry for it, but I’m not going to change my mind, at least not until I’ve thought things through.”
“I know you well enough to know this has been weighing on you. I wish you’d told me. I wish you’d told your dad.”
“I wanted to tell you, Mom, but I knew you’d tell Dad and he’d freak out.”
“So springing it on him like this is so much better?”
“No, of course it wasn’t, and I’m sorry.”
“You don’t owe me an apology, Jill. You owe one to your father.”
“I doubt he’s ready to hear one without trying to talk me out of this.”
“You have to understand what your quitting has done. He cleared his schedule this summer to work with you. We could have used the money from him teaching another class, but he didn’t want that to interfere with your training.”
Okay, Jill thought. That was hitting below the belt. She had enough guilt on her shoulders without carrying the burden of her parents’ finances. “I’m going to get a job, Mom, and then I’ll take over my student loan payments. I’m not planning on sitting around doing nothing.”
Her mother sighed. “That’s not what I meant. I just mean he’s under a lot of stress right now.”
“I’m sorry for adding to his stress, but, Mom, I know if we’d continued down this path, it would have been worse for our family in the long run.”
“How can you say that?” her mother as
ked.
“I don’t expect you to understand my decision, but I’d like to ask for some consideration. I’m an adult. I’m trying to do the adult thing and get out from underneath you two.”
“Oh, Jill. You’re not a burden.”
I feel like one, she wanted to say.
“Will you be at dinner on Sunday?”
Oh, Lord. Sunday seemed like a universe away. “Of course, if you’ll have me.”
“Don’t be silly. Whatever you decide to do with training doesn’t affect the family. Your father would be hurt if you didn’t show up. I’d be hurt.”
“I’ll be there.”
***
Tommy Golden sat at his desk with a steaming cup of coffee perched on a coaster from The Tap and so much work in front of him that he wasn’t sure where to begin. The guy he’d hired to work the office this summer quit last week when he reunited with his girlfriend and, in a concession to her job as a massage therapist, moved back to Colorado Springs. He left Tommy short on workers and long on work.
Summers were crazy. All four of his businesses were open, operating, and generating enough income to warrant his full attention. Even with help, he felt pressed to be everything to everyone and work 24/7. He knew he needed to hire an office manager, but he loathed giving up control to anyone. He’d built each business, except the restaurant, from the ground up, and he didn’t want to have anyone to blame if they didn’t succeed. For Tommy, like the flight crew of Apollo 13, failure was not an option.
He stifled a groan when his little sister knocked on his door, delaying his work. He loved Olivia, but whenever she sought him out, she wanted something, and he wasn’t feeling very charitable at the moment.
“Hey,” she said as she poked her head around the door. “You got a minute?”
“Not really.”
“Jill’s here. She wants to talk to you about a job.”
Tommy watched Jill’s brows draw together as she approached the now open door. “Olivia,” she warned. “I told you I’d ask him.”
“I know, I’m just saying hello to my brother.”
Tommy didn’t have time for Olivia’s antics. “Did you need me, Jill?”
She cleared her throat, eased past Olivia, and shut the door in her roommate’s face. “I need a job.”
“You’ve got a job, remember?”
“I’d like an office job. Olivia thought you could use some help.”
He glanced at the mountain of files on his desk, the list of people he needed to call, and the wall clock just behind Jill’s head. “You could say that, but…are you qualified?”
“I got my accounting degree from Colorado State two years ago February. I haven’t exactly used it, but I’m hoping to change that.”
She lifted her shoulders and let them fall when he just stared, uncertainty warring with common sense. He couldn’t do it all, and yet he wasn’t sure Jill was the answer to his prayers.
“I can work mornings and evenings after my shift at The Tap doing whatever you need,” she said. “Managing payroll, accounts payable and receivable, profit and loss statements, tax deposits...”
“You never used your degree?”
“After graduation, I started training full time. I needed a flexible schedule and waitressing was the best fit.”
“What about the training? I thought you were back at it.”
“I am, or I was. I’m taking the summer off.” She grabbed her earlobe and pulled, her eyes narrowing on his face. “Look, I overheard the guy at the desk tell Olivia your summer help quit. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think I was up to the job. I know what your standards are, Tommy. From the looks of things here, you could use some help as soon as possible.” She shoved her hands on her narrow hips and wound her fingers into the belt loops of her low-slung jeans. “If you want some time to think about it, fine. I’ll be at The Tap.”
However flighty Olivia was, she’d somehow managed to befriend someone as driven and straightforward as Jill. He knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. “When can you start?”
Her cocky smile was the only answer he needed. “Today after my shift soon enough?”
“You’re hired.” He extended his hand and they shook. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders. “I’ll need to spend a few days getting you up to speed.”
“I’ve got nothing but time.” She eyed the stacks of files on his desk warily. Surely after living with his messy sister, she could handle this.
“I’ll have this office organized by this afternoon.” He took a sip of his cooling coffee. “You’ve given me a place to start.”
“Feeling’s mutual. Thanks, Tommy. I won’t let you down.”
“Counting on it.”
Chapter 14
Ty began the morning with a half-day beginning wading trip with a father and son in town from Texas. The Petermans, fifty-year-old Bill and thirteen-year-old Hunter, were friendly, listened carefully, and were persistent in perfecting their cast. Much to Bill’s chagrin, Hunter mastered the cast quite naturally while he continued to struggle.
Ty enjoyed the beginners’ trips, which was why Tommy had booked him for the morning run before letting him float the river that afternoon with two experienced fishermen and businessmen from Arkansas. The beginning trips reminded him of his time growing up on the river with his dad and Bryce, both teaching him the love of the sport and the appreciation of time spent angling.
The businessmen, Ty knew, were in pursuit of the perfect brown and the biggest rainbow to capture on film and impress the boys back home. Whatever their reason, Ty was grateful to spend the day with a pole in his hand and the water at his feet.
He snuck into The Tap for lunch before heading out for his afternoon float. He spotted Jill passing out drinks to a table of four as he slipped behind the bar counter and gazed at the menu. Except for a few new sides, it hadn’t changed much since last year, and he tucked the menu back into the slot by the unmanned hostess desk.
“What’ll ya have today?” the waitress asked. Ty recognized her from last summer when she’d been about to pop with a baby. She looked thinner, of course, but she had dark circles under her eyes that makeup couldn’t hide. “I’ll have the hot ham and cheese sandwich with fries, please, and a tea.”
She pulled a container of assorted sugar packets from under the bar and set it before him. “Anything else?”
“Nope.”
“Be right back with your drink.” He noticed her nametag said Meredith. She tucked his order into the rack and immediately began filling a cup with ice. She spun on her heels and shot past him after delivering his tea with a half smile. Ty stirred a sugar substitute into his drink and eyed the crowd as he took his first sip.
The place was packed for a Tuesday. The father and son he’d just led were recounting their morning over burgers and fries at a table near the back. They’d met up with a woman who looked half Bill’s age with an adorable six or seven year old girl. Considering the hefty tip in his pocket, Ty wasn’t totally surprised by the young wife.
“Well, well, well,” Eddie said as he slapped Ty on the back and took the seat next to him. Ty hadn’t seen him coming since he’d been looking around the restaurant. “How’s the bet?”
He gritted his teeth and leveled Eddie with a narrow eyed stare. “Shut up about the bet. There is no bet.”
“Ouch. Not going well, huh?”
“I don’t want it getting back to Jill that there’s a bet when we never made one.”
“You chicken out already?” Eddie asked as he waved the young mother over to fetch his Coke and cheeseburger.
“You smell like the backside of a cow.” Ty noted Eddie’s dirt covered clothes and his stained hands. “You going to wash those hands before you eat?”
“I already did.”
“Well, move down a seat so you don’t ruin my appetite. You stink.”
Eddie gave a barking laugh. “You recreation guys haven’t figured out that real men who do real work tend to smell by
midday. It’s a sign of success.”
“I spent the morning in the river with fish in my hands and I don’t smell like scales.”
“That’s because you didn’t break a sweat doing it,” Eddie said. “Meredith,” he called to the waitress. “Can I get that to go? I’ve got to stop by the feed store before heading back to the ranch,” he explained to Ty.
Meredith brought Ty’s sandwich and refilled his drink while Eddie asked about her baby.
“She’s good.” Meredith’s whole face lit up when she spoke of her daughter. “She’s teething right now, so she’s not sleeping great, but otherwise fine.”
Jill snuck behind the bar and Eddie punched Ty in the leg, almost making him spit out his first bite. “Hey there, Jilly,” Eddie said. “How’s it going?”
“Just fine,” she said and spared a quick glance at Ty. No way was he going to attempt to talk to her when that idiot was around. “You?” she asked.
“Oh, ya know. We’re cutting hay all day praying the rain holds off for awhile.”
“Looked clear on my morning run, but it’s the afternoon you’ve got to worry about.”
“How’s your leg feeling?” Ty managed to interject.
Her chin shot up and she lifted one shoulder before turning around to fill two cups with ice. He shouldn’t have let his gaze wander to her backside with Eddie right next to him, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d never seen a woman look better in a pair of jeans. “Running’s good,” she answered when she turned around. “I’m slower than I’d like to be, but that’ll come back with time.”
“Hey, Jilly,” Eddie said. “Pretty boy here thinks I stink. Why don’t you give the two of us a sniff test and tell me who smells like he works for a living?”
Jill wrinkled her nose. “I can smell you from here, Eddie, and I can only hope that scent comes from work.”
Mending the Line Page 7
