Finding Love in Sun Valley, Idaho (Resort to Love Book 1)

by Angela Ruth Strong

  By the time she looked up from her camera to figure out what he was doing, he had his arm around her and held the phone out to snap a photo of them together. She smiled, and it wasn’t only for the camera.

  Tracen brought the phone in view so they could both see the screen. His grin had been as big as hers. He pushed the button to save their photo, then squinted at the phone. “Did you know you have voice mail?”

  Emily leaned closer to see what he was looking at. “I do? How do you know?”

  Tracen pointed to the blue envelope icon. “Don’t you know how to work this thing?”

  Emily pulled the phone from his grip and pressed the power button. She wasn’t going to spend her time in the great outdoors attached to technology. “I know how to press 911 if I ever have an emergency.”

  Tracen shook his head as if in disbelief but returned his focus to his task. Tossing the line into the water with ease, he handed her the pole.

  She gripped the plastic handle part tightly, knowing she must be doing it all wrong, but Tracen didn’t seem to mind. He went to work on his own reel.

  “This area is so gorgeous.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced up. “There are lots of weddings by this bridge now. And you missed the first annual Rhythm and Ride. It’s a new bike and music festival. You like country music?”

  Emily enjoyed a lot of country music. Mixed with the scent of cigarettes, it reminded her of her line-dancing days in high school. She used to sneak into The Buffalo Club to dance, since at school dances she wasn’t allowed to have the guys swing her in the air.

  Rhythm and Ride sounded like a blast, but it was the wedding part that held her attention. She pictured Tracen wanting an outdoor wedding. And she pictured herself as the bride. Hey, at an outdoor wedding she could even wear flip-flops with her dress.

  It had to be more than a coincidence that the theme in her life was water and his last name was Lake. The connection hadn’t scared him off, but she’d been pretty brash in declaring her feelings toward him on his roof the night before. His reaction had been encouraging, but confusing. How could she feel like she knew him so well but not be able to read him?

  ****

  TRACEN COULDN’T READ HER. She had no clue how to hold a fishing pole, but that didn’t seem to be what was worrying her. She’d gone quiet for some other reason. Was she bored already?

  “Did you know that Idaho is known for its fishing?” he asked to keep her engaged.

  Emily’s gaze flicked to his. “Really?”

  “Yeah.” Well, that was the end of that conversation. He looked down into the water, but the sun’s reflection kept him from seeing anything underneath its surface. A sneeze raked through him before he was able to slide his sunglasses up onto his nose.

  “Bless you.”

  “Thanks.” Tracen watched Emily from behind his shades. Maybe they could simply enjoy the silence together. What was it called? A comfortable silence. But if it was supposed to be comfortable, then why was Tracen stressing over it? If he wanted to know what she was thinking, he should ask. “What are you thinking?”

  Emily spun the handle on her reel lazily. If she kept it up, he’d have to cast for her again soon. Or maybe he could teach her how to do it, though she didn’t seem to be overly excited about their outing. He’d joked about her getting bored, but the fear was very real. The parade earlier was about as wild as Sun Valley ever got. Could she get used to such a tiny town after living in Tinseltown?

  The apples of Emily’s cheeks hinted at the smile she hid inside. Whatever she was thinking, it must be good. He’d worry about her leaving Sun Valley later. Right now he’d just enjoy the time he had with her.

  “My Bible study on water — this morning I read about how Jesus helped Peter catch a lot of fish. I was thinking I could use a little help as well.”

  Tracen loved that story. He should have asked sooner, instead of working himself up over nothing. “You know what’s interesting about that miracle?”

  Emily’s crystal blue eyes lit up like a trivia question on a game show. She was as excited to discuss the Bible with him as contestants were to get their name called for The Price Is Right. “What?”

  Well, he was just as eager to answer. “The water.” Tracen motioned toward the creek below them. “The water was so clear that the fish could see the net and swim away if anybody tried to fish during the day. That’s why they’d been fishing at night.”

  Emily leaned against the railing on the bridge. “I didn’t know that.”

  Tracen nodded thoughtfully. “They’d been fishing all night — doing it their own way — with no results. Then Jesus tells them to try something different, and against all odds, it works.”

  Emily’s eyes remained on him. “That lesson can apply to all of us somehow. You know, like we try and try and try to do something the way we think it should be done, but if we’d listen to Jesus and do things His way, He would work miracles in our lives.”

  Tracen let her analogy sink in. She’d gotten more out of the story than he had. It would be interesting to hear her take on all the other crazy things that happened in the Bible, as well. Of course, that would take a long, long time. He smiled at the idea. “Good stuff, huh?”

  Tracen lowered himself to a pile of rocks. This is what he loved about fishing. No mindless distractions. No pressing needs. He could contemplate the wonder that was life. And with Emily around, it was all the more wonderful. No more loneliness.

  Around the same time Serena had left him, not a single sockeye salmon returned to Redfish Lake for spawning. The following year only one fish returned, and the media nicknamed him Lonesome Larry. Tracen had often thought of himself as a Lonesome Larry. But now he had Emily, and she was so worth waiting for.

  “I’m going to write down the story of Jesus and the fish in my prayer journal.”

  What other nuggets of wisdom had she scribbled in her prayer journal? She’d seemed to hide it from him the one time he found her writing in it. Hopefully she’d start to feel comfortable enough to share. And hopefully he’d know her long enough for her to share all the messages from God she got out of her little pink bible.

  “That reminds me of one of my favorite quotes,” Emily said. “If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.”

  Her quote made sense. Yet it was probably one of the hardest of life’s lessons to master. It made one accountable for moving on. “Nice.”

  Tracen offered to hold her fishing reel while she made herself comfortable on a boulder. He waited for the right moment to share his favorite quote with her.

  “You know the definition of insanity, don’t you?” he asked.

  Emily didn’t pause to think like he expected her to. “When a girl falls in love with a guy she’s only just met?”

  Her response could have knocked him off his rocks. The L-word was one he hadn’t uttered since he was a teen. Maybe she’d voiced his own feelings, but were they ready to be voiced?

  By the way Emily bit her lip after blurting out her definition, she was asking herself the same question, not to mention mentally flinching at the possibilities of how he could respond. He didn’t want her to have to flinch around him.

  “No, that’s the definition of a lucky guy.”

  Emily’s radiant smile certainly made him feel incredibly lucky. She was a famous movie star yet she was planning on moving back to be with him — among other reasons.

  Was this love? He did love her humility, her courage, her thoughtfulness, her transparency, and her sense of humor. He loved the way she didn’t need to be the center of attention, but she wasn’t shy. He loved the way she worked through tough situations, and how those situations made her stronger. He loved the way she challenged him and didn’t back down, even when confronted by the judgments of others.

  Yes, if he were honest with himself, he knew he was falling in love with her too. But it wasn’t like he was ready to propose, so no use in making premature commitments.
He’d done that once before, and the whole town knew about it.

  Emily let him off the hook. She probably already understood how he felt by the way he couldn’t get her alone fast enough that morning. “So, what is the definition of insanity?”

  Many definitions came to Tracen’s mind. Like being afraid to fall in love, but he answered the questions with Ben Franklin’s words instead. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

  “Oh, I like that.” Emily’s eyes revealed the fact that she liked a lot more than his quote.

  Mercy, she could heat him up faster than the July sunshine. If they weren’t perched so precariously on rocks and boulders he’d show her how he felt rather than tell her.

  The definition he’d given to “lucky guy” rang through his head again. Emily could be anywhere she wanted to be, yet here she was fishing with him. “Lucky” wasn’t enough. Emily’s attention was no less than a miracle.

  What was it that everybody told him when Serena left? There’s more fish in the sea. He’d tried everything to catch himself a bride, but it took being open to the unexpected for him to land a woman more amazing than he could have imagined.

  Tracen wondered if they’d be grilling fish for dinner as he looked down at the water. Then another thought struck him. “Do you remember Jesus’s first miracle?”

  “Um…” Emily kicked her feet from where they dangled. It was so cute. And her feet didn’t only dangle off boulders. They dangled off couches and chairs. They pretty much dangled any time she sat down. He’d have to add that to the list of things he loved about her. “It was at a wedding, wasn’t it?”

  “He turned water into wine.” Tracen waited for her to make the connection, but her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. “Water. Jesus used water in his very first miracle. You should read about that in your water bible study.”

  Emily smiled softly, a stray curl falling over one eye. “Thanks,” she said before falling silent again. This time it was a comfortable silence, as Tracen got lost in thought himself.

  He told himself he was thinking about Jesus’s first miracle, but really he was thinking about weddings and how he might propose to Emily someday — certainly not by putting the ring on his fishing hook and letting her be the one to unhook the fish. That was the first thing that went wrong with his engagement to Serena.

  Tracen glanced at Emily, wondering what she was thinking. But this time he wasn’t going to ask — in case she asked to know his thoughts in return.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  TRACEN STOOD BEHIND EMILY, ARMS CORRALING her on either side as he held onto the fence in front, chin resting on top of her head. With their height difference, Emily didn’t have to worry about him being able to see over her. No, they both had a clear view of the calf scramble going on. But even as cute as the lil’ buckaroos were, chasing calves to pull the ribbons off their tails, Emily’s interest lay completely in the man behind her.

  “Did you ever do that?” she asked.

  Tracen’s stomach vibrated against her as he chuckled. “Nope. Never was a cowboy. Though you know who was?”

  Emily twisted to read his expression. Lips turned up, eyes twinkled. Whoever it was, it had to be good. “Who?”

  “My brother Josh.”

  Emily guffawed. He had to be kidding. “Your corporate, big city brother?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “No…”

  Tracen’s grin radiated amusement and warmth. “He may be a business man now, but he’s got that cowboy attitude. Can’t you see him swaggering around with a big belt buckle, tipping his hat to the ladies?”

  The image formed slowly since the guy didn’t seem prone to enjoy the dust kicked up by animal hooves or the odor left behind by other parts of their bodies. “So he actually chased calves as a kid?”

  “Uh…” Tracen’s eyes lifted from hers to watch the event in front of them. “He might have done it once, but he was more into mutton bustin’.”

  “Say what?”

  Tracen’s hands slid from the railing in front of her so he could wrap his arms tightly around her waist. Emily leaned back into the solid embrace. This was what she’d been missing all her life.

  “Mutton bustin’ is when kids try to ride a sheep. You’ll see in a bit.” He spoke into her ear, and the warmth of his breath made the hairs at the nape of her neck stand on end.

  What were they talking about? Oh, yeah. “Little aspiring bull riders, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Their gazes locked again. “You probably would have loved it too.”

  Emily thought back to her own childhood. She would have loved riding a sheep, had she not been sick. So many things she’d missed out on because of her allergies, but she was making up for it now. “Probably.”

  A flash of bright light washed over them, disappearing as quickly as it came. Emily blinked and jerked her head in the direction of its origin. A photographer grinned from down the fence rail. He must have left his job snapping shots of the calf scramble to get a shot of her in Tracen’s arms.

  Tracen turned his back to the paparazzi wannabe, causing Emily to trip over his feet. Good thing he still had his arms around her to keep her steady, or she might have given the camera an unflattering photo op.

  Goodness. Tracen’s whole body tensed as if he were about to drop onto the back of a bucking bronco.

  “Act natural,” she advised, running her hands along his flexed forearms in an effort to soothe. If he was going to date her, he needed to get used to the inconveniences of celebrity status.

  Though it wasn’t as if she was the only tourist from Southern California there. The bleachers were littered with Prada-wearing socialites trying to figure out their first rodeo. Definitely a unique mix of classes that could only be found in a Sun Valley crowd.

  “Let’s go.” Tracen stepped to her side and pulled her along with a protective arm around her shoulders.

  A few spectators from the bleachers pointed their direction. Emily responded with a benevolent smile, but Tracen ducked his head and picked up the pace.

  “You really want to leave?” Emily glanced back at the corral. The rodeo had barely begun. Their first date wasn’t supposed to be over yet.

  Tracen hesitated, glancing behind them as well.

  Maybe they’d better leave. The first photographer had been joined by two more, and they all aimed their cameras at the retreating couple.

  Tracen slipped his arm from her shoulders and grabbed her hand so they could walk faster. He led her out the massive entry doors of the fairgrounds arena and into the fresh air of evening. Emily bet the photographers followed. Too bad she didn’t have her baseball cap to hide under. But a baseball cap might stand out at a rodeo anyway. What they needed were—

  “Cowboy hats.” Emily gripped Tracen’s hand tighter as she reversed directions, pulling him into a tent where local merchants hawked their goods.

  “What?” Tracen followed her physically, but mentally he was still caught up in their escape. She could tell, because his eyes remained on the tent entrance.

  “Here.” Emily stood on her toes to plunk a brown leather Stetson with braided cord trim on Tracen’s head.

  Whoa. With his stubble-covered jaw and steely eyes, the man looked like he’d stepped off the cover of the latest romance novel. She cleared her throat, hoping to dislodge her heart. “The look suits you.” She tried to turn away, but her eyes boomeranged back. “And it’s, um, you know, a disguise.”

  Tracen focused on her now, raising a hand to pull the brim of his new hat lower. Her pulse picked up even more. How could such a wholesome man be so stunningly sexy?

  He lifted his chin, motioning to her head. “What about you?”

  Emily forced herself to glance at the display table.

  “Wait.” Tracen held a hand up to stop her, as his other hand roved from hat to hat, apparently picking one for her.

  She wouldn’t try to help him. No, she reveled in the chance to watch him lon
ger. With his loose jeans and raft company t-shirt, he didn’t fit the typical mold of cowboy, but he was perfect for her. Casual, quietly confident, strong, attentive…

  His attention returned to her as he raised a cute straw hat over her head. He lowered it with both hands, as if crowning her rodeo queen. She certainly felt like she’d won something.

  Normally Emily would want to check her appearance in a mirror — sometimes hats made her curls stick out in odd places — but not this time. She didn’t want to destroy the fairytale feeling of beauty she got from Tracen’s gaze.

  “How do I look?” She hoped the bold question concealed her sudden shyness.

  Tracen studied her, and though he didn’t answer right away, the pride in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. “You’re gorgeous.” He reached for the wallet in his back pocket. “Too bad you’re not going to make any more movies, because you could play the perfect cowgirl.”

  Coming from Tracen, that was a compliment. She mustered up her best Western drawl. “Why thank ya, partner.” She whipped her own credit card out. “Now let me pay fer ya hat, since it’s my fault we’re a-needin’ them.”

  One side of Tracen’s mouth tilted up. “No, a gentleman would never let a lady pay. And you definitely sound more like a Southern belle than a cowboy.”

  Emily laughed at his take on her impression. She made her voice a little breathier this time. “Well, I do declare.” She stepped in front of Tracen and handed her Visa to a leathery looking older guy. “I’m paying.”

  “Emily…”

  She turned her back on the warning in Tracen’s voice. “You paid to get us in here, and you bought the barbecued chicken for dinner. My turn.”

  Tracen huffed.

  The aged cowboy winked at Emily as he returned with the receipt for her to sign. He looked past her at Tracen and spoke with a gruff but kind voice. “Boy, I suggest you pull in your horns. This is one sweet little filly you got here.”