Carrie Alexander - A Holiday Romance

“Well,” she said, “at least I didn’t hurt anything but my pride.”

Denver chirruped to Loco. “You game to climb back aboard?”

“Do I have to?”

“It’s for the best. Y’can’t let fear set in.” He caught the reins and led Loco toward her. “Shoot, Allie. I was once thrown hard by a mean ol’ bronc name of Twister. Soon’s my collarbone healed, I was back on board spurrin’ the demon out of that stud. Won me a big old purse in the bargain.”

“I could use a new handbag,” she said, and Denver laughed, a deep guffaw that sounded more natural than anything that had come out of his mouth till then.

His eyes fixed on hers and she felt an odd familiarity in his steady gaze. “You’re somethin’ else, sweetheart.”

She smiled bashfully and took hold of the stirrup.

“Hold on.” He reached behind her and batted at her derriere, releasing a cloud of dust. Heat shot through her when his hand lingered, only for a moment, but long enough to turn her insides molten. “Can’t have you ridin’ dirty,” he said in a low voice. She shivered, despite the fever he’d created. “Not a sweet li’l thang like you.”

She bolted onto the horse, mounting with little grace but plenty of speed.

“Eager, ain’t cha?” Humor tilted Denver’s mouth. He swatted the horse’s back end. “Get on, then, Loc. Give our gal a nice smooth ride.”

The horse moved off. The cowboy walked in the other direction, talking to himself, though Alice heard every word. “I always did say it’s the quiet ones that surprise a man with their enthusiasm, once they get a taste for it.”

A TASTE . D ENVER’S words had stayed with Alice throughout the day, from her wobbly dismount off Loco after a jittery lope around the ring to her first experiment with a boogie board at the wave pool. She’d lived by the ocean her entire life, but the water in Maine was too cold for swimming or surfing. She’d never gained a toehold in the marina crowd, either, with their fancy sailboats and yachts. Dinghies had been her speed.

I want more than a taste. She dug her spoon into a sweet cloud of meringue. I want a full-course meal.

“That looks good.” Chloe pulled out a chair and sat opposite Alice. “Hiya. I see you worked up an appetite.”

Alice waved her spoon hello. She hadn’t felt like getting dressed up, so she’d chosen to dine in the less formal Blue Sage Bistro. “Everything is so good here. I’ve decided I’m going to work my way through the entire menu, including desserts.”

“Why not?” Chloe held up a file folder. “With all the activities I have planned for you, you’ll burn off every one of the calories.”

“I may resist the mesquite-smoked rattlesnake until the last night, then,” Alice admitted.

Chloe laughed. “How did you like the wave pool?”

“It was a challenge. I didn’t expect the waves to be so strong. Like a real surf.” Alice squirmed, aware of the aches and pains she’d accumulated in just one day. The wave machine had flipped her head over heels several times, until one of the lifeguards had shown her how to coast and paddle on the boogie board. “I’m not very athletic. I got knocked around some.”

“But it was fun, wasn’t it?” Chloe didn’t wait for an answer. “Are you ready for more?”

Alice licked raspberry purée from the corner of her mouth. “Bring it on.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Chloe consulted the folder. “What do you say to a hike up Camelback Mountain? There’s a group leaving tomorrow morning at six.”

“That early?”

“You know what they say. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.” The sally seemed forced, as if Chloe had used it many times before. She wrinkled her nose. “Okay. The truth is, we have to make adjustments for the summer months. It’s our off-season and we’re at lower capacity. Most of the guests only want to hang out at the water park.” She smiled again. “You’re really livening up my day.”

Alice took a breath. “All right. I’m game. But I also wouldn’t say no if you scheduled me a few siestas.”

Chloe dashed off a note. “I’ll leave you plenty of downtime. Now, what about cycling? Do you know how to ride a bike?”

“Yes.” Alice was relieved that for once she could answer in the affirmative. Bicycles were popular on the island, which was small enough that cars were more of an encumbrance than a convenience. She pedaled the same Schwinn she’d had since she was fourteen, complete with a wicker basket for toting home groceries and buckets of clams.

“Then I’ll sign you up for mountain biking. I’ve gone myself, and it’s a super experience, just super. But remember to stick to the marked paths or you might find yourself skidding down a mountainside. The sandstone can be kind of slick.”

Alice hadn’t counted on biking being an adventure sport. “That sounds fine,” she said slowly, “but is there anything I can try that doesn’t risk broken bones?”

Chloe considered her lists. “There’s trail riding. The horses are very tame. How did your lesson with Denver go?”

“Denver,” Alice said. “Wow.”

“I know.” Chloe giggled like the girlfriend she was rapidly becoming. “Isn’t he a hoot?”

“He’s a hoot,” Alice agreed. “Except I was thinking more about his…um…”

“Good jeans?”

“Yeah.” Alice’s eyes went to the wide rattan paddles of the fan circulating above the table. The ceiling was painted a cool green-blue. “They were very nice jeans.”

“Tight,” Chloe said with admiration.

“Is he single?” The question was bold for Alice. She wasn’t usually open about being interested in a man.

Chloe’s response was emphatic. “One hundred percent.”

“A player?”

“Mmm.”

“That’s what I suspected. I mean, he was flirting. With me. ”

Chloe’s brows went up. “Why not you?”

“I’m not really the kind of woman men flirt with all that often.”

“I don’t see why not. You’re cute.”

Alice did feel as if she’d at least made it onto the “cute” scale, even if she was hovering at the low end. The new clothing she’d bought for the trip was a minor factor. Shedding her Osprey Island persona as everyone’s favorite pal and all-around substitute worker was major. She was not nearly as drab and used-up as she’d been feeling the past few years.

Even her mother would have approved. Dorothy Potter had fretted over her youngest daughter’s lack of a social life, but she’d wanted Alice close. The small sum she’d set aside in her will as Alice’s “mad money” had been a total surprise.

Alice decided to confide. “I did have a drink with Kyle Jarreau last night.”

“Kyle Jarreau?” Chloe opened and closed her mouth, emitting only a faint squawk. She leaned over the table. “You’re serious? Kyle Jarreau? ”

“Is that so strange?”

“Hell, yeah. He doesn’t…um, well, he just doesn’t. ”

“It was only a friendly gesture.” But they’d flirted, or at least Alice had. Unless she’d built their twenty minutes together into a legend in her own mind. “He wanted to welcome me to the resort.”

“Ohhh, then, that’s different.” Chloe still seemed puzzled.

Alice dropped her gaze. “He was nice.”

“Mmm. I don’t think of him that way, but then, he’s my superior. And I’m only a cog in the wheel, far beneath his notice. It’s just that I’ve heard how he’s very strict about…”

Alice waited. Chloe’s hesitation seemed uncharacteristic.

The young woman blinked. “About everything, I suppose.”

Alice was oddly let down. “I sort of had that impression.”

“See,” Chloe went on, lowering her voice, “it’s that Prince Montez has this policy, all spelled out in the employee handbook actually, about how employees are not to ‘associate’ with the resort guests. Socially, that is. When I came aboard, I was told that engaging in hanky-panky would get me fired. No exceptions. Jarreau’s edict. Except for…”