Paislee's Path (River's End Ranch Book 48) Read online

  “No! It’s too high!”

  “Okay.” Paislee continued to talk, her voice mellow and soothing. “I could climb up behind you and hook my harness to yours, and we could come down that way.”

  Logan didn’t think that would work, actually, but he realized she was trying to show Vanessa that they really were out of options.

  “No,” Vanessa replied, not surprisingly.

  Inch by inch, Paislee kept threading the rope. “We could bring in a helicopter, and it could lower you a rope to grab and climb.”

  “Absolutely not!”

  Mel was getting frustrated. “What do you want them to do?”

  “I don’t know! I just . . . I just want down!”

  “Give us a minute and we’ll figure something out,” Paislee said. “Keep your eyes closed—that will help you.”

  “Okay.” Vanessa’s voice was definitely filled with tears, and Logan felt sorry for her. Sorry, but still frustrated. He understood that she wanted to impress her new boyfriend, but she shouldn’t feel like she had to be anything more than she was to get his approval. Especially if it meant stranding herself on the side of a cliff.

  Small beads of sweat formed on Paislee’s brow, and Logan realized it was from concentration as much as from exertion. She was being so careful, so meticulous—he probably would have lowered the woman as fast as he could to get it over with.

  Finally, Vanessa’s feet were six inches from the ground. “Okay, open your eyes for me,” Paislee said.

  Vanessa slowly opened them and looked around. “What? How. . .?”

  “I’m sneaky.” Paislee grinned. “Are you ready to be back on the ground?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Paislee took her the rest of the way, and Vanessa sank to the dirt as soon as the rope went slack.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “I never should have gone up—I didn’t mean to make you work so hard to get me down.”

  “We need a little excitement from time to time,” Paislee told her. “It keeps us on our toes. You have to promise me, though, that you won’t lie about any of the other activities on the ranch. If you don’t know how to do something, tell us so we can keep you safe.”

  Vanessa nodded. “I promise. Can we go back now? I’m not feeling all that great.”

  “Of course.” Paislee glanced at Logan. “Can you take them back? I’ll let Wes know we’re done.”

  “You bet.” Logan breathed with relief. This experience hadn’t been at all what it should have been, but they’d be done in time to help Wes with his group, so no one would have to be canceled.

  Chapter Four

  Paislee flopped down on the grass beside the equipment shed, and Logan joined her. “If I never see another rope again . . .”

  He laughed. “You’d never be able to give it up. It’s in your blood.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, but I don’t want to do it again at least until tomorrow.” She loved helping people climb, but sometimes it sapped all her emotional strength, and that was just as bad as being physically exhausted. Keeping a cool head was crucial. “Did you give that contact information to Wes?”

  “Yeah, I did. I stopped by the office after breakfast.”

  “Good. I hope she’s able to come.” Paislee lifted her face to the sky and felt the warmth on her cheeks. “So, what are you doing tonight?”

  “Tonight? Nothing much. Thought I’d chill out, watch some TV.” He paused “Do you have a better idea?”

  “I do, actually. Every Thursday night is trivia in the dining room.” She tried to keep her voice casual. “Do you want to go with me?” If he was still hung up on his ex, he could always say no, and she’d get the hint.

  “Sure. Sounds fun.”

  “Why don’t we meet there? I need to hit the grocery store really quick first or I’ll have to eat all my meals at the diner. Which wouldn’t be the worst thing ever to happen to me, but it would eventually make me too heavy to climb very well.”

  “I should probably get some food too, for the same reasons,” Logan replied. He paused, playing with a blade of grass. “I wanted to tell you what a great job you did earlier, how you got Vanessa down. You handled that a ton better than I ever would have.”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “No big deal—I mean, there are things you pick up over time.”

  “No, I’m serious. You’ve got a touch with people. I’m impressed.”

  For some reason, his praise embarrassed her, and she felt her cheeks go warm. She knew he’d just keep arguing with her as long as she argued with him, so to put an end to it, she just said, “Thank you,” and left it at that. He could take from that whatever he wanted.

  She looked up and saw Wes walking toward them. “Hey,” she called out as he drew closer.

  “Hey,” he returned and sat down next to them. “Logan, thanks for that referral. Kassidy says she can be here tomorrow.”

  Paislee saw a strange look flitter across Logan’s face, but then it was gone. She might have been mistaken.

  “I’m glad that worked out,” Logan replied. “She’s a good climber—I think you’ll be happy with her.”

  “I’m just relieved that we’re getting someone here on such short notice. I need to make a ranch rule that no employees are allowed to break their ankles in future. Causes a lot of problems.”

  “How would you enforce that?” Paislee asked.

  “I don’t know—maybe threaten to break their other ankle?” Wes chuckled. “Yeah, I bet Wade would love that. We’d have to hire some Mafia or something to carry out the threats. It would be very Sopranos.”

  “Oh, just exactly what we need around here,” Paislee said dryly.

  Wes turned to Logan. “How’d you like your first day?”

  Logan chuckled. “Well, the first group was a little bit of a challenge—one lady didn’t tell us she was a beginner, and we took her on the intermediate wall. She froze, but Paislee got her down. I enjoyed your group a lot more.”

  “Yeah, nothing like a group of high school teachers on Spring Break to keep things lively. You did great today, and Paislee’s an excellent mentor. She can show you anything else you need to know.” Wes stood back up. “You two are done for the day—see you tomorrow.”

  Paislee climbed to her feet as well. “I’m going to get that trip to the store done. See you tonight?”

  “I’ll be here.”

  She left Logan sitting there on the grass, and wondered if she should think of that night as being a date. It was different from rock climbing—that had been a training exercise, if you wanted to get technical, but this . . . this was definitely in that date-like category. So whether she counted that morning’s climb as a date or not, this most certainly was, and she was getting all wrapped up in her head about it. Ordinarily, she’d be a little more relaxed, willing to see how things went before deciding what they meant, but she liked Logan. She liked him a lot. They might not be clicking 100% yet, but she could see the potential there.

  As she drove to the grocery store in Riston, she realized that she had to be honest with herself. She was looking for a way to prove to herself that she was capable of being in a romantic relationship. Xan had excused his behavior by saying that if she’d been a better girlfriend, he wouldn’t have treated her the way he did, and while she knew on a logical level that he was just full of it, somewhere deep down, it stung, and she wanted a do-over. A chance to prove that she wasn’t such a terrible girlfriend after all. And that’s why it mattered if this was a date or just a friend thing—if it was a date and she did it right, maybe that would quiet the little voice in the back of her brain yelling at her that Xan was right.

  She pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine, shaking her head at herself. Sure, sure she could teach Logan how to leave pain behind. She’d thought she was doing so well, but she still had a long way to go herself.

  ***

  Logan really liked the apartment Bernie had found for him. It was
small, but that suited him just fine. Considering that he was on the road all the time and literally lived out of six suitcases, he didn’t need anything bigger.

  He made a quick trip to the grocery store, hoping he’d run into Paislee, but he realized he didn’t know if she even shopped there. Maybe there was a store closer to her house, wherever that was. Was he being a stalker if he wanted to know where she lived? Or was it more of a, “Hey, if you’re having a medical emergency and you call me, I should know where to find you” sort of thing? Either way, he didn’t see her, and after filling his cart with frozen dinners, instant oatmeal, and apples, he went home and put everything away. How boringly domestic.

  Then his cell phone rang.

  It was Kassidy.

  He hesitated before answering it. They hadn’t spoken to each other in two years, and he was reluctant to hear her voice again. But he couldn’t ignore it—maybe she needed directions to the ranch or something. After arranging for her to get the job, he couldn’t pretend that she didn’t exist.

  He answered. “Hi, Kass.”

  “Hey there. Thanks for telling your boss about me—this sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun.”

  “Yeah, I figured you’d want something to do. Must be getting bored, rattling around in your mansion.”

  She laughed. “Mansion, huh? Not hardly, but yes, I could use an adventure. It’s been too long since I had one.” She paused. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. Traveling the country, hitting all the trails and climbing walls. I did some snowshoeing and some dog sledding in Alaska this last winter, so that was fun.” And cold. It had been so, so cold. But no point in bringing that up.

  “That sounds fun. So, listen. I’m in a hotel in Kennewick right now, and it looks like I’m about three hours away, give or take. Does that sound right?”

  “Yeah. How’s your drive been?”

  “Not bad. The weather at home in Portland was pretty rainy when I left, but that cleared up about an hour out, and it’s been nice.”

  “That’s good.” So, this was what it was like to talk to an ex after two years. Awkward silences and jabber about the weather. “So, what time are you planning to be here tomorrow?”

  “Mr. Weston asked me to be there by ten.” She paused. “But I wondered if you’d go to breakfast with me if I came a little early. Fill me in on what to expect, that sort of thing.”

  “Sure. There’s a great diner on the ranch—I’ve eaten there a couple of times already. Why don’t I meet you there at eight thirty?”

  “Puts me leaving here just after five to be on the safe side—you know I don’t like mornings.”

  He did remember that. It was one of the things they’d had in common. “Sorry about that.”

  “No, it’s fine. Getting up early will be good for me—get me back in the habit now that I have a job again. Mr. Weston said you’d need me for about six weeks?”

  “Something like that—all depends on how fast the other guide heals. His name is Wes, by the way.”

  “The other guide?”

  “No, Mr. Weston. They all go by their first names to avoid confusion. There are four of them, plus their dad.”

  “Oh, okay. Wes.” She paused again. “So, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Do you need directions or anything?”

  “No, I’ve got my GPS.”

  “Okay. So, yeah. See you.”

  “Night.”

  Logan hung up and stared at his phone. His heart was doing something weird and fluttery. He remembered a time when her voice had that effect on him, and he thought it was in the past, but no—apparently, she still had that power. Why?

  ***

  Paislee was waiting for him when Logan arrived at the dining room. She’d changed into a cute dress and sandals, and she looked like she’d put on just a little bit of makeup. He still didn’t think she needed any, but the overall effect did look good.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  “Starving.”

  “Well, on trivia night, you’ve gotta have pizza. Are you a pizza eater? You have to be a pizza eater around here.”

  “Yep, I’m a pizza eater.” He grinned at her eagerness. “What would you have done if I’d said I wasn’t?”

  “I would have told Wes to fire you. That kind of talk is treason.” She led the way into the dining room, where they chose a table near the front. Two couples were already there, and she introduced Logan to Wyatt and Belinda and Reggie and Abby. “Hope you don’t mind, but I promised Abby earlier that I’d be on her team.”

  “I don’t mind,” Logan said. He’d thought they’d be going out alone together, but being with friends was fun too, and considering that these were his new coworkers—and that Wyatt was a Weston, and therefore, one of his bosses—he wasn’t going to put up a fuss.

  They ordered a large pepperoni to share between the two of them, along with a pitcher of root beer. Then they settled in for the first round of trivia.

  “Oh, that’s a hard one,” Reggie said when Arthur read off the first question. “Any of you know the capital of Uzbekistan?”

  “Tashkent,” Belinda replied instantly.

  Arthur gave her the point, and Wyatt looked at her with surprise. “What?” she said. “I read.”

  Logan chuckled. He’d met Wyatt years ago, of course, when he’d visited the ranch, but he hadn’t known him so to speak, and it was fun to see different sides of this brother that he’d only observed from a distance before.

  “Oh! I know this one!” Paislee said. “Richard Fleischer!”

  When she was awarded the point, Logan turned to her. “You know the director of Soylent Green? Isn’t that like … one of the weirdest movies ever made?”

  “Yes, but it got us the point, didn’t it?” She grinned. “My dad was massively into science fiction when I was a kid.”

  “You saw that movie when you were a kid? Were your parents trying to scar you or something?”

  “I didn’t actually see the movie. I just saw the movie case, and I remembered the director’s name.”

  “From reading the case?”

  She gave him a patient look. “I wanted to study film, okay? College didn’t pan out for me, but I used to have dreams.”

  “And . . . you don’t anymore?”

  “Shush. We’re missing questions.”

  The next five or six answers were given by people at other tables, including Jaclyn, who was wearing a huge purple feather boa, for whatever reason, and stood up and curtseyed when she was awarded the point.

  “Freddie Mercury died in which year?”

  Finally, a question Logan could answer. “1991!”

  “Very good,” Paislee said approvingly after he gave a bow very much like Jaclyn’s. He couldn’t help it—there was something about the atmosphere of the place that brought it out in him. He wasn’t going to go as far as wearing a boa, though. That would be far too tickly on his nose.

  “Thank you. Classic rock is my thing.”

  The game went on from there, and in the end, Jaclyn’s table won the night, but Logan had a great time anyway. A lot of that came from watching Paislee’s face light up when she knew the answer. She’d be terrible at poker—her every emotion flitted across her eyes.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested when the game broke up.

  “Yes, please. I need to work off some of that pizza. Man, that was good.”

  The moon was shining like crazy when they stepped outside, and Logan took a deep breath. “It’s so fresh and clean up here,” he said. “I feel like my lungs are finally getting all the smog out of them.”

  “Where have you been working recently? I don’t mean to pry, but when Wes asked you to come and you were able to drop everything and be here . . .”

  “No, it’s not prying. I made some investments that paid off decently, so I decided to take some time off and travel. What you see is what you get—I’m an unemployed wanderer until just now.”

  They strolled alon
g the path, Paislee kicking an occasional pebble.

  “So, you realize I can’t let you off the hook so easily,” Logan said as they rounded a curve. He wanted to know everything about her—he couldn’t help himself. “What was all that about wanting to study film and having dreams once upon a time?”

  She looked off into the distance. “Just what I said. I wanted to study film, but it wasn’t meant to be. My family was broke, I didn’t get any of the scholarships I applied for, and that was that. I got a job, thinking that I could earn money for tuition, but then I started climbing, fell in love with it, and put everything else on the back burner.”

  “Do you ever think of trying for college now?”

  “Well, sure, but not seriously.” She held out her arms. “Look at everything I’ve got going for me here. These people are my family. I can’t imagine leaving—when you find where you belong, shouldn’t you stay?”

  Logan pursed his lips. “I don’t know,” he said at last. “I don’t think I’ve found where I belong, and that’s why I keep wandering. I know I belong somewhere with lots of rocks, but that’s the only clue I have.”

  “Well then, this is a good place to start looking,” she said with a smile. “We’ve got all kinds of rocks here.”

  “And trees. And mountains. And a river,” he added.

  “And Bigfoot!”

  He looked at her in surprise. “You have Bigfoot?”

  She laughed. “We’ll have to sit down with Kelsi sometimes. She’ll make you a believer.”

  With the moon shining down like it was, almost anything was possible.

  Chapter Five

  Logan entered the diner the next morning, feeling some trepidation. He hadn’t slept well the night before, which wasn’t the best way to go into a work day, but his brain wouldn’t settle down. Instead, it had replayed all the best moments—and all the worst—he’d had with Kassidy. That was not restful.

  He glanced around and didn’t see her. Maybe she’d decided not to come—that would be a relief. But then he noticed a woman waving, and he realized she’d cut and colored her hair. She was a redhead now, and it looked good on her.