Delivering Destiny (River's End Ranch Book 23) Read online

By the time he came back in, she’d gotten herself under control and was competently restocking the Post-It Note holder on the counter. There was nothing that said “I’m totally over you” like Post-It Note restocking.

  “I’ve got several packages here for Kelsi Clapper,” he said, pulling the cart up to the counter. “And a pretty large, heavy one for Reggie Armstrong—don’t think I know him. Would you like me to set it somewhere in particular?”

  “Why would I want you to do that?”

  “Well, it’s just large and heavy, and I thought you wouldn’t want to lift it.”

  What? “You realize this has been my job for the last two years, right? Lifting large and heavy things? You said that twice, by the way, large and heavy, like you really wanted to convince me it was large and heavy so you could play the hero by lifting it for me . . .” Her mouth dropped open. She knew this little game of his. “No way. You are not seriously trying to get back together with me.”

  He leaned on the counter and flashed her a smile. That smile. “What do you mean? I was just trying to be helpful.”

  “No, Derrick. You were being stage-one flirty. I know that stage. I’ve been through all the stages, especially the standing-Abby-up-for-someone-else stage, and you know what? I didn’t care for it.”

  “There aren’t any stages, Ab. Relationships grow and develop. That’s different.” He stood up a little straighter. “You know what, though? You’re right. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, and how much I’ve missed you, and I realized that we should give it another chance. We were pretty awesome together, weren’t we?” His voice took on a wheedling tone at the end. “There’s no one else like you.”

  She just looked at him. “You know what? This is the most cliché thing of all the cliché things that could have happened today. I’ve been contemplating my life, getting a little frustrated by how mundane it is sometimes, feeling sorry for myself that I haven’t met anyone new since you, and then you walk in and want a second chance. If this was a chick flick, I’d be screaming at the screen right now. So, no. Just leave my packages and go on your way. Be gone with you.” She flicked her fingers in his direction, like sending a spray of water out into the universe.

  Derrick stood there, staring at her like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re sending me away?”

  “Yes.”

  He didn’t respond for a moment, and she wondered what was going to happen next. In a chick flick, he’d either throw himself on the floor and beg her to reconsider, or he’d get angry and say something about how she’d never find another man like him and she’d die a spinster with fourteen cats. He did neither. Instead, he blinked, held out his electronic clipboard, and said, “Can you sign here, please?”

  She took it from his hand, signed it to verify the exchange of packages, and handed it back. Then he walked out to his truck in kind of a daze, started the engine, and drove off.

  Well, that was anticlimactic. She didn’t know whether to feel a little miffed that their situation didn’t warrant a more exciting farewell or relieved that it had gone so smoothly. At any rate, it was over, and that had to be a good thing.

  She turned to move the boxes into the back and paused when she saw the package that had arrived for Reggie. It was large. And heavy.

  Okay, so she wouldn’t take it out of the cart just yet. She wheeled everything in the cart back together, then pulled out the packages for Kelsi and stacked them to the side. Unusual names on the return addresses—Ann Fiola, Doni Turiace, Joan Smith Kley. All people who wanted to send Kelsi their best wishes … and one package looked like a box of Al Frank’s fudge. Abby tried not to get jealous. All Kelsi’s things went on the low sorting counter, and Reggie’s box could just stay in the cart until he came to get it.

  Speaking of which . . .

  She grabbed the binder under the front desk that held the list of all the employees’ cell numbers and sent him a quick text. Pkg for you. Can you pick it up?

  He responded almost immediately. Be there after my hike.

  Hmm. She glanced at the clock. We close at three, remember?

  We’ll make it work.

  Whatever.

  During Christmas Week, they stayed open until six, but there just wasn’t a need for that all year round. Sure, it made things mildly inconvenient for ranch guests who forgot all of a sudden that they had to mail a moose hat to Vermont—Right. That. Minute—but that only happened once in a while anyway. Reggie would just have to come back in the morning, and she didn’t imagine it would be that big of a hardship.

  She’d take Kelsi’s packages to her on her way home—she didn’t usually deliver, but the babies were probably napping and she didn’t want to make Kelsi drag them out, and she hadn’t seen them for about a week. That was millions of years in newborn time. She’d stop by Melissa’s store and pick up a baby gift, since she hadn’t gotten one yet, and that would give her two excuses to deliver.

  And she might even get to hold a baby while she was at it. That was one of the nice things about twins—there was always a spare.

  ***

  Reggie met the Fornell family in front of the bunkhouse and introduced himself as their hiking guide. He was pleased to see that they’d all worn sturdy shoes and long pants, and had brought jackets along—it was so nice when the guests read the instructions they were provided. “Did you remember water bottles?”

  “They’re in my backpack,” Tom, the father, said.

  Reggie nodded. “All right then, let’s go. I’m going to drive you to the base of the trail, and we’ll begin our hike from here.”

  “We’re driving to start a hike?” Heather, the teenage daughter, rolled her eyes. “That’s so not the point of hiking.”

  “You’ll be glad we did it that way by the end of the day,” Reggie told her. “We’ll be taking that golf cart over there. Follow me.”

  Gina, the mother, and Parker, the younger son, seemed eager to go, but Tom agreed with Heather. “We could just walk from here. How far is it to the base of the trail?”

  “It’s about half a mile, and yes, you could walk it, but then you wouldn’t have energy for the hike.” Reggie kept his voice as pleasant as possible. “Where are you folks from?”

  “Sacramento,” Tom replied.

  “That’s another good reason for us to take the cart,” Reggie said. “You’re almost right at sea level, aren’t you?”

  “Thirty feet above,” Gina replied.

  “Well, here at River’s End Ranch, we’re at seven hundred, which is actually the lowest point in the whole state, but that’s higher than you’re used to. Then we’re going up into the mountains, which is a little higher. Changes in elevation will make you feel more tired.”

  “Fine,” Heather said. “Let’s ride in the cart and get it over with.”

  If Reggie ever had a teenage daughter, he’d have surgery performed on her eyes so she couldn’t roll them.

  Everyone climbed aboard, and he drove the cart to the base of the trail. “There’s a restroom here, and other facilities along the way,” he said. “Are you ready to get started?”

  “We used the bathroom before we left our room,” Parker informed him. “Mom always tells us to go potty before we go anywhere. It saves lots of time and frust-er-ation.”

  “That’s a good habit to have,” Reggie said, liking the kid already and wondering how two such different offspring came from the same parents. Maybe Heather was an alien baby, swapped out at birth.

  They started up the trail. Reggie had picked up his list of tasks from Wes, and he pulled it out now to see what was being asked of him. Wes had apologized when he’d handed it over, but Reggie didn’t see anything too horrible—fixing two more railings, widening the path a little along the third bend, building a longer hitching post at the bottom of the trail. They weren’t the quickest tasks to perform, but they weren’t the hardest. He’d get started on them the next morning if he didn’t have anything else scheduled.

  The fir
st fifteen minutes of the hike was spent listening to Heather complain about absolutely everything. The trail was too muddy, she didn’t have bars on her phone, and the trees were too treelike. Well, she hadn’t actually said that bit about the trees, but she could have—it went right along with all her other issues. But then they came to a bend in the trail where the trees broke away and gave them an incredible view of the valley below, and it was breathtaking. She finally stopped whining.

  “Wow,” Tom said, putting his hands on his hips and gazing around. “Look how green everything is. And I bet this is gorgeous in the fall, when the leaves are changing color.”

  “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be on earth,” Reggie replied. “Now, when we get to the next lookout point, we’ll have a great view of the river. Have you signed up to go rafting?”

  “We haven’t signed up for much because we wanted to check things out first,” Gina replied. “It sounds like you think the rafting would be fun.”

  “We have a great aquatics program,” Reggie replied. “The river is still really cold right now since it’s spring, but the rafting will be awesome.”

  As they started the next segment of the hike, Heather actually started asking questions. This was the part of his job Reggie enjoyed most—when he could talk to the guests about the history of the ranch, list the types of trees they were passing, show them newly budding flowers and some of the herbs that grew at this height. It gave him the chance to share his passion with others.

  “Have you ever seen mules’ ears?” he asked as they rounded a bend.

  “I’ve never seen a mule,” Parker replied, and Reggie laughed.

  “We have one at the petting zoo—you’ll have to check it out. But mules’ ears are a kind of flower. See right up ahead? They’re the ones that kind of look like daisies.”

  Gina pulled out her phone and took several close-up shots. “I’d love to paint these on my kitchen wall back home,” she said. “They’re so cheerful.”

  “And this is camas,” Reggie continued, pointing to a tall purple flower. “We won’t see these higher up—there are other types of plants the farther we go.”

  When they made it back down to the cart, Reggie was pretty sure they’d had a good time. They’d seen some wildlife, including a baby deer, which had warmed Heather up considerably. Reggie explained that deer are usually born in June, so seeing one in April was a pretty big deal, and he said he’d name it Heather. He’d pegged her correctly—she was much nicer to him for the rest of the hike.

  He dropped the Fornells off in front of the bunkhouse, took the cart back to the shed, and then checked his phone. It was after three, meaning that he’d missed Abby at the UPS Store. And he’d missed picking up the package he’d been waiting for.

  He shot her a quick text. Are you still on the ranch?

  At Melissa’s bookstore.

  Great—he’d stop in and see if he could talk her into letting him in to pick up his box. He tried to be pretty chill, but sometimes he wasn’t very good at waiting.

  Chapter Three

  “Oh, look at these great Mickey Mouse board books,” Abby said, adding a couple to her pile. “Do you know if anyone else has bought them for the twins already?”

  “No, I don’t think they have,” Melissa said, looking amused. “You realize the girls won’t be ready for books for a long time, right?”

  “Well, yeah, but you can never get started too early.” She glanced around, then leaned in and whispered, “Just don’t tell Heidi I said that. I’m always teasing her about books not being good for her—I don’t want her to know how I really feel.”

  Melissa laughed. “Okay. Your secret’s safe with me. What’s the first book you ever read and loved?”

  Abby felt a pang in her chest at the question, but she smiled because the memory wasn’t entirely painful. “It’s been so long since I’ve even thought about it. It was called My Mommy Is a Mongoose.”

  Melissa laughed. “That sounds hysterical.”

  “Yeah, it was. It had pictures of all kinds of different animal babies and their mommies. I carried that thing everywhere with me.” A sudden thought struck Abby. “Do you think you could find me a copy?”

  “Let me see.” Melissa turned to her computer and started tapping away.

  As Abby sorted through the pile in her arms, deciding that maybe she really should put a couple of things back, Reggie walked in. “Hey,” he said. “Looks like you’re having fun.”

  “Gifts for Kelsi’s babies.”

  He nodded. “Good choices. Hey, I wondered if I could get that package before you head home. I know it’s after three . . .”

  Abby gave him an exasperated look. “I told you before you left on your hike—”

  He held up both hands. “I know, I know. And I’m sorry. It just went longer than I expected. No worries—I’ll come in tomorrow morning.”

  Abby was about to leave it at that—she had warned him, after all—but he looked disappointed. And she felt like a hypocrite—here she was, buying gifts for babies, but she wouldn’t do a simple favor for one of her coworkers? She was going to deliver Kelsi’s packages to her house, but she wouldn’t give Reggie the time of day?

  “Hold on,” she said with a sigh. “Let me just finish up here and we can go get your package.”

  “Thanks, Abby,” he said, giving her a genuine smile. “I know I’m making you go out of your way.”

  “Whatever,” she grumbled. “You can . . . take me on a hike or something someday.”

  Melissa turned from her computer. “I can’t find My Mommy Is a Mongoose on any of the book wholesaler sites where I get my inventory,” she said. “It’s probably out of print.”

  Abby’s heart sank in her chest, but she smiled anyway. “That’s all right—I knew it was a long shot. I’ll take these.” She motioned to the books and toys on the counter, and while Melissa rang them up, she put the ones she’d decided against back on the shelves.

  “Would you like these in gift bags?” Melissa asked.

  “Oh, I’d love that! Thank you.”

  Melissa reached under the counter and pulled out two bags. “I’m going to do these in different colors because Kelsi doesn’t want the twins being all matchy-matchy,” she said. “Come help me decide which things go in which bag.”

  Abby glanced over at Reggie, wondering if he was getting impatient with the delay, but he was just standing there, smiling, and he didn’t seem bothered at all. Good. There are some things in life you can’t rush, and choosing the right baby gifts is one of them.

  When everything was bagged up and she’d paid for it, Abby nodded toward her car. “Let me put these in the trunk and then I’ll let you back in the store.”

  “Perfect.”

  When Reggie saw his package, the look on his face told her that she’d done the right thing. “Thanks so much, Abby. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

  “Something special?” she asked. He’d gotten several packages over the last few months, but none of them had made his eyes light up like this one.

  “Um, not to me, but very special to someone else.” He hefted the box like it didn’t weigh a thing. “I do owe you.”

  She waved it off. “No big deal.”

  They walked out of the building. She locked the door again and watched him carry the box down Main Street as she got into her car. Sometimes her natural curiosity made this a very hard job—snoopy people should never work in the package delivery industry.

  ***

  Reggie carried his package up three flights of stairs to the apartment he shared with two of his River’s End Ranch coworkers—Nick, who was the new IT guy, and Jamal, who worked with the small animals and ran the petting zoo. Their apartment was in Riston, a few miles away from the ranch, and they rode out there together whenever their schedules coincided, but today, Reggie had been on his own. Jamal had gone with Wade Weston to buy some babydoll sheep in Colorado—those were the best lambs for the petting zoo because they
were so sweet and gentle. And Nick—well, it was his day off, so he was liable to be hanging out with his gamer friends.

  The box was so heavy, it bounced up and down on the bed a few times when Reggie dropped it there. He took a second to call for a pizza, which was pretty much his favorite food group, then grabbed a pair of scissors from his desk and used one blade to slice through the tape on the box. The smell of old books drifted upwards as he pulled back the flaps, and he breathed in deeply. This was the best smell in the whole world—he was sure of it.

  He took the books out one at a time and set them on his desk. He didn’t have orders for all of them—he’d purchased several just because he knew he would be able to sell them later. Then he unearthed the one he’d really been excited about—a first edition Pride and Prejudice in stellar condition. A similar copy had gone for nearly a hundred and forty thousand pounds at auction in 2010, which was completely unheard of, and he’d never see the likes of that in all his days. But this book would net him a thousand dollars in profit, and not only that, but the woman who had asked him to find it for her would be so very happy to get it.

  Reggie’s father had run a rare used bookstore for years until he sold it when Reggie was fourteen. He’d said it was getting too hard to keep up with the demand, but in truth, his health was failing, and he’d died five years later. The following year, when Reggie found himself wanting to earn money for college, he’d gotten a job at the ranch, but he’d also started his own book-finding service, using some of his father’s old contacts, and it was like living in a treasure hunt every day.

  He placed a quick call to Mrs. Moira Green to tell her that he’d found the book and would ship it out the next day, and then he carefully set the rest of the books back in the box until he could get them listed on his site and shelved in his closet. Then he got to thinking. Abby had done him a favor . . . what was something he could do for her in exchange? What was the name of that book she’d been looking for? Something about a mongoose?

  He placed a quick call. “Hey, Melissa, it’s Reggie. I was just about to call a friend of mine who knows a lot about old books and wondered if he could help find that title Abby wanted. Can you remind me what it was? And this is top secret, okay? I want it to be a surprise.”