River's End: River on Fire Part 4

"Okay." She smiled as he ran up the trail. Meanwhile, Brianna promptly left before the raft was even loaded.

Hailey glanced Joey's way as he was taking apart the oars.

"Brianna faked that fall out of the raft."

Startled at his remark, she frowned. "What? She was bleeding. No way."

"Hitting the side of the raft surprised her, but I saw her heaving herself over, and she didn't expect the wave to send the raft up and hit her in the face. But the fall was on purpose. I'm sure of it."

"Why? Why would she do such a thing?"

"The same reason she snuck out of your cabin yesterday." He kept his gaze down as if the task before him was much more intricate and compelling than necessary. She gathered it was really just a distraction because the subject matter was making him uncomfortable.

"You?" Hailey finally surmised. With a deep sigh, she sat down on a large rock near them as if the weight of that revelation was too much. "That's why she got so mad at my maternal concern. I must've embarra.s.sed her with you."

He shrugged. "Just my guess. She didn't fall accidentally. She did an odd kind of fall to the side, sort of like she just gave up trying to keep her balance. And then she conked her nose on the raft, which made her nose bleed."

"And there you were. Rescuing her, which was exactly what she was hoping for."

He nodded. "I'm sorry to agree, but I suspect so. Look, I hope I was clear with you; I have no interest in little girls, much less her being interested in me."

"Yes, I believe that."

"But acting the way she does isn't safe. It's stupid. I'm hoping you'll convey that message to her. I could, but I think it would unnecessarily humiliate her." He paused before glancing at her and adding, "And, no doubt, increase her disdain and anger toward you."

Hailey nodded. Oh, being the mom sometimes sucked; it never seemed to cut her a break of late. "I'll talk to her. I promise. Thank you. For the rafting trip and your kind reaction to Brianna. You allow her to keep her dignity without encouraging her. Trust me, I'll talk to her. And her reaction to me? It's nothing new."

"Once you get over this hiccup, meaning me, she might come around. We saw it out there, didn't we? Just keep at it. Keep trying."

"The woes of motherhood. But you are much more than a hiccup. Somehow, I feel like you will come between us. I fear she'll project everything I've done wrong over the last few years and what she lost onto you. You know, you will become the symbol of all my mistakes."

He held her gaze. "Don't let her do it, then. Keep at her. Shut it down. Don't entertain it anymore. I'm serious. If I were her parent, I'd wash her mouth out with soap when she sa.s.sed me like that. Mine nearly beat the s.h.i.t out of me when I talked like that back in the day, so consider her lucky."

"He what?"

Joey smiled. "Long story, and it makes me look bad, so I'm not telling it, but a true occurrence. So count her as lucky."

"Well I'm off to address this. Thank you again, Joey."

"You're welcome, Hailey." He said her name almost tenderly with a smile and the rise of his eyebrows. Something fluttered deep inside her stomach. She swore down to her toes that he was watching her walk away, which made her wish she could sink into the sand to hide her humiliation. He was watching her white b.u.t.t and upper thighs, since she had nothing to conceal that area after ditching the lifejacket and helmet in the raft the guys took back. Stranger still, she could have sworn he kept trying to look at her. She shook her head. No. Why would he? Maybe it was wishful thinking? She was definitely lonely and probably projecting her subconscious desires out of sheer loneliness.

In the end, nothing lessened or changed the quagmire of confusion and unhappiness plaguing her daughter, her son, and her. Even a nice afternoon could do little to change that.

Chapter Four.

JOEY GLANCED OUT TOWARDS the pool and noticed Hailey lying on one of the lounge chairs. She was glistening wet with a towel wrapped around her waist, covering her lower half while leaving her upper half exposed to the sun. A hat shielded her face from him as he sauntered towards the pool area, skirting the chairs strewn about as well as the tables with tilted umbrellas. He paused to fix them as he went past. Circling the mechanical room, he grabbed some supplies and ducked down to the pool to start testing the water. He was checking the chlorine levels and pH. Hailey had her eyes shut, but they fluttered open after a few minutes despite how quiet he tried to be. They were all alone, and not another guest was around.

"Joey?" She sat up, swinging her legs around, and obviously startled. "I must have fallen asleep."

He stood up, keeping his eyes on the test kit. "Don't get up on account of me."

She rubbed her eyes. "You're the pool boy too, huh?"

He smiled as he dipped into the tote of pool chemicals besides him. "I'm whatever needs to be done. But yeah, I often check up on the pool. I don't need any complaints of green algae or the flip side of ridiculous chlorine levels. Surprisingly, I find it interesting, you know, figuring out the chemistry of it. Not too much, just enough has to be added to right the pH levels... Maybe I was secretly a frustrated chemistry geek and never knew it until now."

She scoffed. "Yes, I'm sure a closet geek is the real you."

He flashed a smile. "No? You never can tell who people really are."

She c.o.c.ked her head as if tacitly agreeing or saying Touche. "Some of your comments suggest that happened often with you."

He squatted near the water, dumping in the contents of the test, and didn't answer for a prolonged moment before he got up and started putting stuff away. "You'd be correct in that a.s.sumption. But I am most likely to blame for that. I was a c.o.c.ky little s.h.i.t and not always very nice to those closest to me. I had way too many women filling up my head with stuff that I thought meant something; and I eventually learned it meant nothing but c.r.a.p." Joey dropped his gaze down, wondering why he admitted such a personal confession to Hailey. He doubted he ever voiced it to anyone before. She drew out his honesty, and a willingness to share personal thoughts that he didn't often experience with anyone, especially women. Did he believe this older, educated, sophisticated, mostly together woman would find him interesting or easy to talk to? Highly doubtful.

Hailey stared long and hard at Joey after his last comment.

Was it his looks? They had to be the reason, for what else could people, many people it seemed, comment or compliment him on? No doubt they stroked his ego to the point he thought he was the s.h.i.t, only to realize it was all shallow c.r.a.p and superficiality. Women who were exclusively drawn to him for his good looks rarely cared about what was inside him.

Hailey clutched the towel together where it opened over her legs, thankful now that she wrapped up in it rather than trying to sunbathe. Lord knew, she couldn't manage to meet this man, guy, kid-she needed to catalogue him-while she had real clothes on. Seeing how the sun bounced off his blond hair, she noticed he wore the resort uniform again, but he was still just as striking as a male model in the pool setting. Anyway, she seemed destined to be caught in her swimsuit around him. Throughout the course of her usual life, she wasn't particularly self-conscious; but with him, she felt like a teenager again and her self-esteem easily crashed. She felt lacking and not quite right with him, despite her constant reminder that it did not matter because they were not peers.

He put his supplies back in the small, mechanical room before shutting and locking it with a key that belonged to a large set of them that he clipped to his belt. He came nearer to her again. "Did your first few days get any better?"

They had been there for a total of four days and Hailey admitted that she had started to finally relax. The proof was that she was napping in the sun at two o'clock in the afternoon. It was so hot, and she was so unaccustomed to it, how could she stay awake except with a swim? It was smoldering hot and Joey looked as cool as an ice cream sandwich, fresh from the freezer. Didn't he ever feel this draining heat? Hailey swam and relaxed. Jacob joined her for the first hour before going off to grab a Popsicle. He wanted to gather rocks from around the property, believing he could find a rare gem or even gold. The river bank overflowed with pretty rocks of every shape, color, size, sparkle and clarity. But none of them had any marketable value.

"They did, at least for Jacob and me. He loves this place. We've been so busy, we haven't gone down to see the horses yet. He lives in the river and the pool here, just hiking up and down or playing with all those logs beyond the swimming area, where he has a stick fort he keeps adding to."

"And your daughter?"

"I talked with her and she slammed her bedroom door in my face after calling me some inappropriate obscenities, and accusing me of meddling, which I was. She also said I made Jacob cry and hide in his room. I simply wanted to lie down in middle of the floor and give up. Let G.o.d strike me dead for whatever sin I committed to make her act this way with me. Needless to say, it hasn't gone too well. She doesn't talk to me, but hides in her room all day and won't do anything."

"I haven't seen her since that day on the raft, which was why I wondered."

"Well, that's because she prefers playing her music and pretending I don't exist, and we aren't really here and she's going to win the standoff I inadvertently initiated."

"My advice? Don't give in. Let her punish herself. No matter how bad it feels."

"It feels so bad," Hailey admitted softly, shifting her gaze from her fingers. She spent the last few days chewing the ends of her fingernails, which were now short and uneven. She tucked them into fists to hide them and stared up towards the blue sky. Why was she confessing her insecurities to this stranger? And why did it keep happening?

"I think that's her point. At least, it would have been mine at her age."

Hailey smiled. "You must have been a handful. Or you just remember it much better than me. I don't remember ever doing anything like this."

"I was definitely a handful. I had enough att.i.tude to rival Brianna."

"Not anymore?" she challenged, almost biting her tongue since her tone sounded flirty. No. Just, so no. She would not flirt with the freaking pool boy. Okay, Joey was so much more than a pool boy, but right now, she needed to calm the odd fluttering of her stomach in response to his voice. Seeing the way his facial muscles moved and reacted as they spoke, along with his body language whenever he was even slightly near her, made her feel faint. Ridiculous. She was not freaking Brianna.

"Even the worst of us grow up, eventually."

"No, not all of us do or we don't always grow up well. That's what I fear the most. That this won't just be a temporary phase." She tugged her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on top of her knees. With a shudder, the familiar stabbing fear slithered up her spine. Again, why was she so p.r.o.ne to deep confessionals with this stranger? Maybe because he was younger. Of course. He identified with Brianna so his advice was helpful compared to another parent that shared her parental point of view. Brianna's ceaseless opposition and surly behavior toward authority had to have a source, and perhaps Joey could understand the reason behind her unpleasant behavior. It had to be confusion. Hailey sighed; she liked to believe she saw all that too, but it wasn't helping her deal with her daughter on a day-to-day basis, or making things any easier.

"You said you haven't gone down to the horses yet? You should come by in the evening. A few nights a week, you can watch Jack or Erin putting them through their paces. It's pretty amazing what those two can make the horses do. Jack taught Erin how to train them in the last few years. She's gaining valuable experience, but my brother? Now he is something special to witness. They bow, twirl, prance, jump, and pivot with only his hand gestures or body movements. Even the biggest cynics and skeptics are spellbound and intrigued at his outstanding success. Guests who don't even like horses never fail to comment on what an awesome show it is. There's one tomorrow night."

"Really? Yes. Maybe I'll even pry Brianna out of her room if I could mention you're going to be there. That would probably do it," she mumbled sarcastically. Joey's smile was slight as he shook his head.

"I don't want to lure her anywhere. But you? I just might."

Hailey stiffened as a rush of heat rose up her chest, neck, and cheeks. He laughed.

"I might see you at the show tomorrow tonight, then?" he asked as if he innocently meant it. He wasn't innocent about anything. But why? Why did he keep up all the little innuendoes toward her? It made no sense. He had to be messing with her. He could not have any other interest in her... It would be odd, inappropriate, and truly just abysmally unlikely.

Scrambling onto her bare feet, she cursed her swimsuit. With the beach towel clasped tightly against her, she quickly gathered her bottled water, novel, sunscreen, and sungla.s.ses before tossing them into the small beach bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she shoved her feet into her flimsy flip-flops. "Well, I need to go check on them... My kids, I mean."

She added that just to remind him she had kids, and not toddlers or babies, but teenagers. Kids that were only a decade younger than him. It would be more than odd if he thought to flirt with her. Or was he just being kind of mean? Did he laugh sarcastically at her reaction to him? Did he go off with a snicker that the old mother blushed and turned shy, almost acting girlish in her reaction to him? Was she that flattered if he even smiled at her? He must cringe when picturing her having any romantic interest in him. Not when he had so many girls, women... whatever, and all of them probably just as young and beautiful and tight-bodied as he was. Yes, she was the joke. As-if. The matron. She had to keep her freaking thoughts clear and desist her fl.u.s.tered behavior, almost acting silly around him. That just wasn't the case.

"I need to get back to the office. Bills to pay, you know."

He stepped forward to open the gate that shut the pool off from any young kids that might chance to wander up to it. After holding it open politely for her to pa.s.s through, he fell into step with her on the path leading away from it. "It's hard to picture your job. Rafting one day. Pool maintenance the next. And now it's on to paying the resort bills?"

"Lots of paperwork. At least half my job consists of sitting at the desk and computer. Any time I can afford to be outside sustains me through it all. And tasks like this"-he waved at the pool-"give me the perfect escape to breathe and release some stress or steam. Especially when our employees make me think about joining the Army again. At least, those rules were a lot clearer."

Lured by his cryptic comment, she had to ask, "What do you mean?"

He smiled and the sun shone brilliantly off his teeth. "I have these two employees, two women, one is family, and one has been a family friend since she was a teen. They work up in the main lodge together although they detest each other horribly and cannot get along. They take the catty comments and insults to a level that gives me a splitting headache. I'm the one who is usually caught there, mediating between them, so I regularly do all the negotiating and peacemaking. Some days, like today, all I can do is run and take cover."

"Aren't you the boss? The owner? The management?"

He shrugged and a small smile tugged at his lips. "You'd think so. But one is my... I don't know the d.a.m.n term for her, but she's married to my nephew, whom I grew up with as my brother and best friend. Naturally, I don't want to object to her out of respect for Ben. The other woman is a family friend, whom I like, and actually, she's completely my friend, separate of everything. I usually agree with her, but..."

"But your friend-nephew relationship would suffer, so you keep silent on his wife to the detriment of the friend you truly like; and you feel guilty."

"Exactly. That is exactly it. So sometimes, I run and take cover by doing the tasks I could delegate. They also keep me aware of all the angles of the resort, and make sure I know who is staying here, and what's going on, if any problems arise or maintenance issues need to be properly addressed."

"That's actually a pretty effective management style."

He grinned. "It is. I learned some good stuff in the military. I know I'm not above doing any job that needs doing. I used to think I was. Plus, getting outside is necessary to my sense of well-being." He stretched his arms out as if enjoying the warm, fresh air, but when it made his muscles flex, Hailey's throat went dry. She had to get a grip on her inappropriate reactions to this man... guy... kid. Yes, not quite a fully grown man.

Although he did talk like a fully grown man. If she closed her eyes, and ignored the memory of his body, muscles, teeth, face, hair, simply hearing his voice, she really wouldn't know he was so young.

They reached the spot where they would naturally separate; he would go to the main lodge and his office while she went to her cabin and kids... Yes, totally natural separation. Except they kind of just stopped there and stood, staring at each other, then quickly away.

"So, maybe the horse show? I think Jacob would appreciate it. Plus, you really need to take him riding. I could introduce you to Jack or Erin or even AJ; they would show him the ropes and take him along. Jack rarely does it anymore, but at my request, I'm sure he would."

"What about you?" She nearly stuck her hand over her mouth. Why? Why did things like that keep popping out without any screening?

"Me?" His eyebrows jutted up. "I don't take the guests on horse rides. But I do ride. I could be a little too stuck in my role here. Yeah, I could take you and your family. Easily. Sure. Let's plan on it. Say..." He seemed to mentally review his schedule. "Say, eight o'clock tomorrow morning? It gets too hot after that. I have a meeting at seven but it should be over by then and we can all meet up at the main barn."

Hailey wanted to apologize for being an idiot who just put her foot in her mouth. She didn't mean to corner this man into doing another activity with her kids and her... yet her heart lifted and began to beat furiously as a rush of adrenaline filled her with excitement and antic.i.p.ation. She loved the idea of looking forward to seeing him again. And nothing else, not for years, could make her feel like that. Light. Free. Easy. Eager. She practically hummed with joy for the coming day's plans.

"Yes, we'll be there. However, Brianna will only come because of your involvement, and I shouldn't use that reason to get her out of her room... but I'm tempted to. If I don't say you're taking us riding, I'm sure she won't come... and I want her to come." She a.s.sured her racing heart she really did mean that, even when a nasty little voice added she could not tell Brianna who was taking them. That would only ensure her snarky, spiteful, little daughter would not come with them. And that wasn't right. Not at all. So she'd tell her. Who cared if it was using her daughter's crush to manipulate her? Hailey trusted Joey now and knew he didn't want Brianna. Why? She didn't know why, but she trusted him nonetheless.

"Then use whatever you gotta use. I told you, I'm not going to let her get anywhere with me. I can handle her. I just wanted you to be aware she might pull some more little stunts in her efforts to get my attention."

She caught on. "Because it's not the first time young girls have tried any means within their power to capture your attention, is it?"

He sighed and shook his head. "No. She isn't all that innovative, to be honest."

He started to edge around her, but turned back and stood just a few steps away, saying softly, "And she's not the one I want to go riding with."

Then he spun on his tennis shoe and walked away with Hailey staring at him. Her heart was feeling weird and beating erratically in her chest. Did he mean that?

No. No. He was flirting again. He was used to getting attention and manipulating his charm. Yes, that had to be it, because that made so much more sense than any other reason.

They met at eight the next morning as planned and even Brianna showed up, dressed and ready to go. They took their first authentic horseback ride, which highlighted the point of choosing that destination. Joey was diligent in showing them how to saddle the horses and hold the reins. After telling them what the equipment was properly called and how to use it, he added specific facts and anecdotes about each horse. Then he helped them mount the horses with a hand up, getting them all settled and comfortable before he even contemplated taking them out of the main ranch area. Finally, they left the ranch and followed a smooth, dirt road for several miles. Joey asked if they wanted to climb up into the hills and look over the ranch, but they all declined, saying, maybe they could work up to that. At the end of the ride, Hailey hung back to help him with the horse tack, but he smiled and waved her on when he heard Brianna calling her. She lingered for a few moments, staring after Joey but finally went after her kids. She was utterly confused as to why she desperately felt like she wanted to help him put away the bridles and saddles in the tack room of the large barn.

He yelled after her. "Hey, Hailey?"

"Yes?" She whipped around at his unexpected call.

"See you tonight? At the horse show?"

She nodded and Joey's huge grin nearly split his face. She grinned back with just as big and dopey a smile. What the h.e.l.l was that?

Hailey wished she had the words to describe it. All she knew was her heart b.u.mped in antic.i.p.ation, something that hadn't rattled through her body in years.

Hailey walked up to the large, covered arena where she saw several horses tied up and people lingering inside it. There was a small woman, much shorter than her, and so pet.i.te, she looked like a pixie with dark hair that fell to her waist. Cowboy boots, jeans, and a tank top with a cowboy hat completed her outfit. Inside the arena, she held a riding crop as she worked with a horse. She never once touched the horse with the crop. The horse spun around her, only to stop dead when she bent at the waist. Then she flicked her wrists and the horse circled her in the opposite direction. She did this repeatedly until she had the horse doing figure eights around her. Lulled by the fluidity of it all, Hailey leaned her arms on the boards that comprised the walls to the arena. High enough that the horses couldn't jump over them, the walls had plenty of places for tying horses to them. Her head could barely peek over it to see. There was also a man in the arena who was talking to the woman, giving her explicit instructions. When he suddenly said, "Okay, now!" the woman would do something different with her hands, initiating a different reaction from the horse.

Hailey knew she was early for the show. It was only five o'clock and she had nothing pressing. The kids were otherwise occupied, so she wandered up to the ranch, taking the path that was designated for the guests, which included access to the arena. Naturally, she a.s.sumed she had the right to be there.

A jolt ran up her spine when Joey entered the arena and started talking to the woman who was taking a break from her magical horse-handling.

They spoke for several moments, her face smiling up at him before she nodded and pointed in the opposite direction. He smiled back and walked in the direction she pointed. Now the girl was alone with the horse, which she coaxed to stand up on box before placing all four hooves on it. At her indication, the horse put its two front hooves down and shifted its weight until its back hooves remained elevated on the box while the front two stood securely on the ground.

The man looked like he was her age or thereabouts, Hailey guessed, and he walked off towards the barn's interior, which jutted into the arena on one end. Hailey almost started clapping and whistling. She couldn't help it. She was utterly amazed by the odd and unnatural skills she saw demonstrated. All it took to make the horse go through the complicated maneuvers were very small movements of her hands. She never directly made any contact with the horse but rather used a gentle approach, and loving ministrations. Even the horse seemed to be loving it as it p.r.i.c.ked up its ears and held its magnificent head a little higher.

Hailey gasped in awe and held her breath as she watched them work and when she finally exhaled, her foot responded by kicking the boarded-up wall and making a dull thunk! To her dismay, it instantly drew the attention of the woman and Joey. Joey obviously recognized her and waved and smiled-and she swore it was definitely a big, delighted smile. Really. She wasn't imagining that, or was she? Joey's gaze met hers and an expression of pure pleasure totally combusted on his face at seeing her. It was no casual smile, not the kind she'd expect him to give the average guest... although, that's what she was. And only that, just another one of their guests.

He waved for her to come forward. She glanced to her left, and scanned the perimeter before locating the entrance to the arena. Briskly walking toward the gate, she entered, then remained back and hesitated, unsure whether she should venture further in but he waved at her again. Clad now in a pair of jeans, the usual resort polo shirt, and cowboy boots, he wasn't kidding when he said he couldn't pull off the cowboy role despite him holding the horse's bridle as he rubbed the horse's mane. But the other man who walked away could've pulled it off. He looked all sinewy, with a tough, weathered face and a long body. There was something seasoned about the man. Joey, on the other hand, looked new and fresh and ready to shoot a TV commercial or a.s.sume a leading role, yet there was something sincere about Joey. Hailey spotted it in his smile and facial expressions, which only made all that shiny, handsome appeal even more enticing than if he behaved arrogantly. Sure, he knew what he was to women but he did not mindlessly revel in that knowledge.