Susan Mallery - Best Of My Love

Shelby had never been pregnant, but if Isabel was anything to go by, the cravings were powerful. Her friend had developed a love for pretzel bread that bordered on fanatical. Two months before, the bakery had run out and Isabel had cried piteously. Shelby had felt so badly about the upset that she’d stayed late, baking a batch. When she’d delivered it, Isabel had cried again, this time out of joy.

Talk about powerful weapons, she thought now. If someone learned to control hormones they could rule the world.

“I have the bread on the baking schedule,” she told her friend. “We’ll always have it for you. And if we happen to run out, I have a half-dozen loaves of dough in the freezer.”

Isabel rubbed her belly. “I’m sorry to be such a freak. I can’t seem to help it. You’re very good to me and I owe you. Seriously, if there’s anything you ever need, tell me and I’m there. If I’m busy changing the three or four thousand diapers I’m going to have to deal with every week, I’ll send Ford.”

An impressive offer, Shelby thought, considering Ford was a successful businessman and former navy SEAL. She doubted there was anything he couldn’t accomplish.

“You’re on,” she said. “I will call you first in a crisis.” For a second she thought about asking Isabel if she knew Aidan very well. They’d grown up in the same town and were about the same age. But asking the question probably meant explaining why and she wasn’t ready to share her slightly offbeat plan with anyone else. Not until Aidan had said if he was game or not.

She mentally crossed her fingers that he would see that she was right about both of them. Six months of being friends wasn’t a huge hardship and at the end of the time, they could both be healed. A worthy goal. But would he see it that way?

She had no way of knowing, so rather than dwell on the what-ifs, she got Isabel her bread and told herself she would hear when she would hear. If he told her no, there were other men she could approach. None immediately came to mind, but now that she knew the best way to move on with her life, she wasn’t going to let anything stop her.

* * *

AIDAN DID A second check of the equipment, making sure bindings were secure and edges clean and smooth after the last trek. Taking novices out on their first snowshoeing adventure was both fun and stressful—the former for them, the latter for him. He had a perfect safety record and there was no way he wanted to risk that.

The weather was on his side. The reports were for the temperatures staying well below freezing. The trails he used for beginners had a nice base of snow without a lot of ice. More snow was predicted. After the mostly dry winter last year, extra snowpack was welcome news.

Aidan put the snowshoes back on the rack, then made sure the door leading outside was locked before he returned to the office.

Aidan’s mother had started Mitchell Adventure Tours when her children had been little—mostly to provide some steady income for the family. His father’s volatile personality combined with heavy drinking had meant dangerous outbursts. Not in the way Shelby had endured, he thought. Ceallach didn’t hit his children. Instead he turned his temper toward his other creations. Because he was an artist who worked with glass, a couple of hours of throwing and breaking could destroy months’ worth of commissions. Despite his fame and the amount people paid for his pieces, there were times when money was tight. His mother had filled in the gaps.

At first she’d offered a few walking tours of the city. Other local businesses had pitched in by recommending her to tourists. Eventually she’d started driving small groups around in the family minivan. As Del, his oldest brother, and Aidan had become teens, they’d pitched in.

Although Del was expected to take over the family business, Aidan had been the one to step up. He’d quickly grown the company, broadening the offerings and taking groups camping and fishing in the summer. Winter sports had followed. He’d bought out his mom nearly eight years ago and had added “Adventure” to the name.

Four years ago he’d moved the company to its current location. The new building had a big reception area with lots of wall space for maps, pictures of their excursions and a list of the tours the company offered. He had a private office in back, and there was a large room for the staff. In the back was the equipment storage, along with his repair shop. The equipment he bought was expensive and he believed in keeping it in good shape.

He walked into the office, where Fay Riley was handing over tickets to a group of twentysomethings. College kids, he thought. Here for a day of snowshoeing.

They looked to be in shape, which helped, but they were also going to be a handful. They always were. Unlike his older customers, the college crowd rarely listened. He made a mental note to make sure he brought enough GPS trackers for everyone. No one was getting lost on his watch.

Fay was in her late thirties and a relatively new transplant to Fool’s Gold. She and her husband had ended up settling in the area after their daughter, Kalinda, had been badly burned and started treatment with a burn specialist at the local hospital. Rather than return to their hometown, they’d decided to stay close to her doctor. Fay had started working for Aidan part-time and was now the office manager. She was the perfect combination of organized and mothering. Not only did she manage the schedule, she was great with the summer help he hired every year.

“They’ll be fun,” she said, motioning to the college students studying the pictures on the wall. “You head out first thing in the morning. It’s a six-hour tour. They wanted longer, but I told them to start slow.”

“I’m surprised they listened.”

“I can be persuasive.”

Aidan grinned. “You mean bossy.”

“That, too.”

Fay had told him once that her daughter’s horrible accident had changed her in ways she couldn’t explain. She’d had to learn to be strong. To make demands. To face the unthinkable and do it in a way that kept up Kalinda’s spirits. He supposed that life’s adversities offered a fork in the road, so to speak. Either you learned your lesson and were a better person for it, or you got crushed.

He’d been successful at everything else he’d put his mind to—his current situation wasn’t going to be any different. He didn’t like who he’d become, so he was going to change. Find a better way.

“The blonde is pretty,” Fay added playfully in a low voice. “Last I saw, you were on a blonde kick. Of course, redheads and brunettes are nice, too.”

He didn’t bother glancing at the group. “No, thanks.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t you feeling well?”

“I’m fine. I’m not going to do that anymore.”

Her expression turned quizzical. “I don’t understand.”

The college students left. Aidan leaned against the counter. “I’m not going to date tourists anymore.”

“You don’t date them. You do them. Or whatever it’s called. Hook up. It’s not a relationship.”

A blunt assessment made all the more uncomfortable by the honesty behind it. “I’m giving up women.”

Fay laughed. The sound was light and happy. She touched his arm. “Oh, honey, I don’t think so. You, give up women? That’s not possible.”

He resisted the need to step back. “I can do it. I want to. I’m changing.”

She laughed again. “Uh-huh. I’d pay money to see that. I give you a week. Maybe two. Then you’ll be seducing the next pretty tourist so fast, you’ll break the sound barrier.” She was still chuckling when she walked into the storeroom.

Aidan knew that Fay liked him a lot. She did a good job of running things, but more than that, she cared about him and trusted him. Last year, he’d been the one to teach Kalinda to ski the few weeks they’d had snow. Because of her burns, she had lots of scar tissue that limited her movements. But she’d managed to figure it out and he’d been right beside her when she’d taken her first run down the mountain.