Awakened in August (Spring River Valley Book 8) (2 page)

This adventure was shaping up already.

She slid out of his grasp and herded the rest of his companions toward the bus. “Come on everybody. We’ve got fruit smoothies on tap and organic oatmeal bars. We have a five-hour ride, so eat up, get comfortable, and doze off if you like. You’ve got no worries for the next two weeks.”

Everyone filed on, leaving Riley and Lydia in their wake. She hung back just long enough to toss a jaunty remark over her shoulder. “I don’t normally give the massages, but in your case, I may make an exception. Now, get on the bus and behave, mister, or the only birds you’ll be seeing will be flying in a circle around your head.”

Riley grinned. This relaxation stuff wasn’t so difficult after all. And it might even be fun if he could spend two weeks making Miss Granola blush like that. For the first time in months, maybe even years, Riley was certain he was going to enjoy misbehaving.

With one cabin left to visit on her welcome rounds, Lydia slowed her pace along the gravel pathway and shook out her arms to release some of the nervous energy that had built up during the ride from Spring River Valley to the Green Solutions resort in Red Fork. She refused to call what she was feeling tension…excitement, maybe. She hadn’t counted on the twinge of attraction that had made her skin tingle when she laid eyes on Riley. After all, they’d never dated. In fact, while she’d admired his tenacity and envied him his ability to remember facts and figures, their law-school friendship had never progressed past good-natured jibes and a few passionate arguments.

She had to admit, he looked damn good. If she ignored the pallor of his skin and the faint circles under his eyes, she could still see the former college quarterback who’d broken dozens of hearts back in law school because he was the one straight guy who didn’t have time to date.

And he probably still didn’t. She’d heard much more during their phone conversation than what he’d actually said. He was a dedicated company man, beholden to Esterhause, Brady and Danziger for taking him on in a flagging economy and damn near promising him the world on a silver platter as soon as he passed the bar. He was lucky from the standpoint of a struggling law student, but in every other aspect of his life, he was a disaster waiting to happen.

When she reached his cabin, she paused on the wooden stoop and listened. Nine out of ten guests at the resort were trying to use their cell phones before she began her rounds. They all wore the same look of bewilderment when she explained that ninety percent of the resort received absolutely no cell service. There was one hot spot in the administrator’s office on the far side of the lake, accessible only in a dire emergency.

To a one, they sighed and moaned at the news. She expected Riley to do the same.

Gamely, she knocked on the door and waited, her professional smile in place.

After a second knock she started to worry. “Riley? Are you in there?”

“Umflumph…” came the muffled response.

Worried now, she barged in, half expecting to find him in a stress-induced heap on the floor.

She froze, fighting to keep an appreciative smile off her face.

He stood shirtless, a toothbrush in his hand, foaming at the mouth. “I thed Idth be rigththere.”

“Sorry.” Her cheeks heated. “I thought you needed help.”

He disappeared into the cabin’s tiny bathroom. She heard water running, and a second later he returned, slipping a clean T-shirt over rippling muscles that a man who spent all his time reading legal briefs had no right to possess.

“I’m not sick, Lyd. You don’t have to hover.”

“Concern isn’t hovering. My job is to make sure everyone is comfortable and having a good time.”

“I’m both at the moment. The view is spectacular, the bed looks comfy. I just wanted to get cleaned up before lunch.”

Lydia relaxed. Maybe he really was dedicated to improving his health. “Great. I’ll walk with you to the Long House; that’s where all the meals are served. It overlooks the lake. After lunch, I’m leading a tour of the grounds, then everyone has some free time until the bonfire and dinner.”

“I’m totally on board.” He scooped a camera case off the narrow bed and headed toward the door. “I thought I’d take some pictures. It’s been a long time since I did any serious photography.”

“This is definitely the place to reconnect with your creative side.” She followed him outside and down the steps where she found him already checking his phone. She sighed, hopes dashed. “I have some bad news about the phone service…”

“Hmm?” He had the cell to his ear, and she distinctly heard the electronic tones of a number being dialed.

“How do you have service up here? No one does.”

He quirked a brow, one corner of his grin rising sardonically. “Satellite, sweetheart. I could get service on the moon with this baby. It’s okay, I just want to check my voice mail to make sure—”

She swiped the phone from him, a feat she knew was possible only because he hadn’t seen it coming. “It’s Saturday.”

“Hey, give that back.” He snatched the phone from her fingers. “I’m not calling anyone. I just want to make sure… See—no messages. It’s all good.”
He held the phone toward her, just out of her reach, as if that might prove he was telling the truth.

“You’re supposed to take off your electronic leash when you come here.” She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back to eye him as disdainfully as she could manage. “If you’re mentally still at work, you can’t relax.”

He stuffed the phone into the front pocket of his khakis. “I’m not mentally at work, and I
am
relaxed. In fact, I haven’t been this relaxed in years. All this fresh air and sunshine is working already.”

“That’s what they all say. I’ve been doing this job for
three years, and there are certain things that happen during every single retreat. One, someone says they feel better already after the first hour. They’re usually one of the twenty-five percent of guests who go home early because they can’t handle being disconnected for two whole weeks. Two, someone has an ‘emergency’ that isn’t really an ‘emergency’ and makes a big fuss and has to be driven home. Three, someone interrupts a class, usually meditation, with an urgent phone call or text, and four someone tries to con the administrator into letting them use his Internet to check the stock market, the big game scores, or the headlines. I had you pegged for number four, but now I think you might be an overachiever and manage them all.”

He stared at her, seemingly dumbfounded by her ranting. Finally, he turned away, shrugging nonchalantly. “Miss Granola seems tense. Maybe you need a smoothie.”

Lydia growled and strode after him. “Is that your game? You’re looking at this whole thing as a joke, aren’t you?”

Riley feigned shock. “No joke. Lily made me pinky swear as they were wheeling me into the cardiac lab that I would take better care of myself. I told you. I’m completely on board, sunshine. Go flutter over someone else. I’m going to have some lunch, take a walk, take some pictures, and then maybe take a swim. I’m on vacation.”

Riley continued toward the Long House at a casual pace. Lydia didn’t believe a word of what he’d just said, but to keep her own stress levels low, she took a deep breath and let it go before hurrying after him. “All right, then. You said you would trust me. I trust you. But no more checking voice mail. If the other guests find out you have service, they’ll be climbing all over you to use your phone. Keep it out of sight and turned off.”

“Deal,” he responded a little too quickly. Did he really think she’d buy that innocent look?

She jogged ahead of him and turned around so she was walking backward in front of him. “I have to go set up for my lunch presentation, so I’m leaving you on your own. But let me tell you this right now, Mr. Bookworm, I’ve got my eye on you. You’re going to embrace peace and relaxation before this trip is over—and you’re going to like it.”

He smirked, and she swore her blood pressure kicked into overdrive. Now she remembered why they’d never dated. He infuriated her. “I like it already. See you later, Miss Granola.”

*

All through lunch at the Long House, a rustic-on-the-outside/modern-on-the-inside dining hall and lodge overlooking Crystal Lake, Lydia skillfully avoided Riley’s gaze. He didn’t mind that she wouldn’t look at him because it gave him a chance to look at her. Later he’d apologize for intentionally pushing her buttons, though he had to admit it was fun to see the Zen Princess get flustered. He hadn’t forgotten how passionate she was about all of her beliefs and opinions, a trait that would have made her a force to be reckoned with in a courtroom, but instead here she was in the middle of nowhere, addressing a crowd of work-weary urbanites about the joys of nature.

He wondered if he’d had some hand in her decision to quit law school in her second year and devote herself to basket weaving and bird watching and s’mores. Maybe she’d left the fast track out of spite, just to prove to something?

Whatever the reason, the change did seem to have agreed with her. The sparkle in her dark eyes was like sunlight on water, and he’d never seen anyone as genuinely happy to engage people as Lydia was. She had a smile for everyone, and he noticed that while the men at the resort had good reason to seek out the company of a vivacious blonde, even the women flocked to her. After her presentation, which included a rehash of the cell phone and Internet rules, she’d found a seat at a table on the far side of the room and now held court over the sumptuous feast of fresh grilled rainbow trout, roasted new potatoes, and arugula salad. Riley couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten so well, or not pushed his plate away halfway through the meal in order to answer a call from the executive suites.

When lunch was over, he decided to join her tour group for a slow-paced walk around the lake. He managed to work his way to the head of the line after a mile or so, edging out a guy named Dale who’d stuck to Lydia like glue since they’d boarded the bus. Riley didn’t like him, but Lydia seemed thrilled to talk about the merits of bean sprouts and home composting with the guy.

“Hey, Lyd…whose cabin is that?” Riley interrupted her conversation with the most compelling question he could think of at the moment. On an abutment opposite the Long House overlooking the lake sat a rustic A-frame on stilts. A wraparound porch provided views of the water and the surrounding mountains.

“That’s the administrator’s office,” she offered wryly. “You’ll meet Drew at dinner tonight.”

“I’ve got cell service!” someone at the back of the line shouted, and suddenly a sea of cell phones appeared.

Lydia rolled her eyes and glared at Riley as though this infraction of the relaxation rules was somehow his doing.

“What?” he demanded, arms wide as Dale hurried past him, thumbs tapping away an urgent text message. “I’m the only one not taking out my phone right now.”

“You knew what would happen.” Her eyes narrowed. “You incited mutiny.”

“I’m offended that you would make such an accusation.” Okay, secretly, he had done just that. He knew everyone had their phones with them; it was all anyone had talked about at lunch, finding the hot spot so they could text and check their messages. He’d figured if he made a point of mentioning the cabin, he’d get a minute or two alone with Lydia. He still hadn’t figured out why he wanted to be alone with her, but it would come to him eventually.

As everyone wandered to various positions strung along the trail to make their forbidden phone calls, she plopped herself down on a fallen log and took a long sip from her water bottle. “These people,” she began after swiping a drop of water from her bottom lip, “could have gone anywhere. Well, a lot of places other than here. They could have gone to Disney World or some island in the Caribbean or to Mexico…but they came here because this isn’t just a vacation. It’s about learning to let go of the constant stream of information we’re bombarded with. It’s about finding some inner peace, not just a cold umbrella drink and a tan and balancing your laptop on your knees while you sit by the pool.”

Riley braced a foot on the log and studied her. “Are you going to get in trouble because everyone’s using their phones?”

“No. It’s not about me. It’s about them…and you.” She met his gaze, and that spot in the middle of his chest he’d been so worried about last week flared again. “I see your future.”

“Oh?” Right, he’d forgotten about her “spiritual” side. That had been one of the reasons he hadn’t considered asking her out when they were in school together. He was all about concrete evidence, things you could see and touch, and she was all about feelings and senses and stuff he wasn’t quite sure even existed. The only common ground they’d had was law, and now…not even that. “Let me guess. It’s bleak.”

“No, it’s brilliant. Right up until the moment you keel over.” She rose suddenly, almost knocking him off balance. To his shock, she placed a hand in the middle of his chest, just above his heart, and leaned close. “You have so much inside you that you aren’t even aware of, but it’s all buried under this…this…corporate armor.”

For a second, everything disappeared but Lydia’s smoldering eyes. When was the last time a woman’s touch had actually made him forget the whole world? He might have let himself linger in that moment, except he had a point to make. “There’s no armor. There’s no façade. This is me, and contrary to what you want to believe, I like being busy and driven and challenged every second of every day. I go crazy when I have nothing to do. I’m never going to be the type of guy who can lounge in a hammock and watch the clouds go by or spend all day waiting for a fish to bite.”