Page 29 of Extreme Romancing in Idaho

Remi flipped his notepad around.Work on your acting skills.

I held back the urge to flip him off. He didn’t understand how good my acting skills were.

With Dan juxtaposed to Remi, I couldn’t help but compare them. Poor Daniel was like a Remington on the sales rack, downgraded in every way. Though thick, his haircut and beard screamed middle-aged man working in the IT department. His features softened into a round face. I wouldn’t call him ugly by any means, but I wouldn’t notice his looks if he passed me in the street. His profile pic showcased his best qualities and was possibly photoshopped.

“Where’d you go rappelling?” Daniel asked.

“The Snake River Canyon.” Boom. Easy question. Next. Remi pointed to his note.Grand Canyon.I continued, “It’s no Grand Canyon, but it’s local, so, you know?”

I leaned back into my chair, getting comfortable in my role, letting the tissue fall away from my head after dabbing off the droplet of blood.

“Bruh, no way!”

Bruh?My feelings for him curdled, but I kept my smile from faltering. Minor things like being talked to like a teenage boy wouldn’t keep me away from a committed relationship. Not this time. Besides, my brother spoke like this too.

“I know Ted Martin,” Daniel continued. “He legit wrote the book on back-country canyoneering trails in the Grand Canyon.”

A slew of curse words flew through my mind. The gig was up. I might as well surrender. Why did this guy have to be not only into extreme sports but also an expert on everything?

“Oh really?” I acted impressed while Remi held his phone up to me so I could read the title of Ted’s book. “Grand Canyoneering?” I tried my best to look like I wasn’t reading a phone screen like this info already existed in the back of my brain. In actuality, I hadn’t known canyoneering existed until this moment.

My performance must not have impressed Remi because he closed his eyes, shook his head, and went back to scribbling in his notebook.

“What trails have you done?”

Remi flipped up the paper, and I read it as I spoke, “Deer Creek Falls.”

“Dude! No way!” Daniel’s smile lit up his face, transferring his joy for the sport to me over the phone. “Some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen was on that hike. The first time I did it, I almost got caught in a storm, and we had to book it out of there to higher ground.”

Another strike against him for calling me dude, however, his enthusiasm erased it immediately. Daniel continued to talk about his adventure in this backcountry I’d never been to, and I made a mental note to Google pictures as soon as this call ended. Not only did I want to experience a fraction of the adventure Dan described, but I also needed to be researched and prepared for the next time I met him.

Wading through gullies and rappelling down waterfalls? Camping under the stars, facing the elements in a wilderness out to basically kill you? Roughing it for me was staying at a Motel Six, but I could change.

Doubt crept into my resolve. Did I really have to go to these lengths to get a guy? No. But a guy like Dan would transform my world and was worth all the efforts I put into making this happen. Dan and I hit it off in our texts. Besides, with Remi’s help, I’d be able to do all the extreme sports stuff.

And was it bad I needed someone’s arms to hold me while I went through losing Papa?

The conversation veered onto safer paths. He asked about life on the farm, and I told him a few of my greatest hits about Papa and me.

“What about this Remi guy you talk about all the time? The guy who works for you?”

Shoot! I thought this conversation would be safe. I didn’t talk about Remi with him all this time, did I?

Remi sat straight up, then shot me a sideways grin.

“He’s still as incompetent as ever,” I answered.

The grin didn’t budge from Remi’s face. He scribbled on his notebook and flipped it around.At least now I know what you and Smoot are talking about all the time.

Heat burned in my cheeks, but I resisted the urge to cover them with my hands.

“Well, it sounds like he’s a good friend.” Dan pressed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “I’d love to meet him and your other friends.”

This couldn’t be happening.

Remi flashed his notebook at me.I’m flattered.

“S-sure.” I kept most of the hesitancy out of my voice. “I don’t think Remi will have much time to hang out.”

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