Page 52 of Undone

I lifted my glass to take a sip of water and then began talking, describing some of the steps I took to get around a coding error on an app I’d worked on. I could tell that Josh didn’t have a clue what I was talking about but he kept nodding his head and encouraging me to keep going, asking more questions from the index cards. So, I did. An hour later, we were both yawning and too tired to continue, so we wrapped everything up.

At the top of the stairs, I was going to say good night and head to my room, but Josh had other ideas. “I’m too exhausted to do anything but sleep, but I’d love it if you’d join me.”

I smiled and nodded and we tiptoed past Shannon’s room to his. Shutting the door behind us, he went to his dresser and pulled out one of his T-shirts, the same one I’d worn before. “Thought you might want to change into something more comfortable.”

We both got ready for bed. After he turned the lights out, he rolled so he spooned me. Kissing the top of my head, he mumbled a sleepy good night and seemed to fall asleep instantly. I laid awake, staring out into the darkness and going over everything that transpired this evening. As sleep finally threatened to overtake me, I had the lasting thought: Would I always come second with Josh?

THIRTY-THREE

JOSH

“You’vegotto be kidding me,” I muttered, pacing in the dirt outside the main barn.

“I don’t get it,” Eli responded in a shocked tone, taking off his hat to rub his head. “I mean, Itrustedthe guy. I’ve worked with him before. How could he blow us off? He knows how important this ride is.”

Eli had enlisted his former colleague Caleb to stand in for me while Zoe and I were away for her interview. The young man had shown up on time for the interview a few days prior and seemed attentive as I ran through everything we would need from him. My impression after that first meeting was that I liked him enough to consider hiring him part time if the initial ride went well.

It was our second scheduled large-group ride, a teambuilding exercise for a group of high-ranking employees from a grocery chain that I wanted to impress. My contact at the store had told me that there were staffers from across the state that would be interested in similar teambuilding rides if the initial one went well.

“We are so screwed.” I muttered. There was no way Eli can handle the group on his own. If something were to happen or someone were to get injured, it would be a liability nightmare if he had to leave people behind in order to go get help. Or what if it was Eli who was injured? Once they were that far out, it would be difficult to connect with the closest cell tower, and while we did keep radios close at hand, it still wouldn’t be safe for Eli to take the group out on the trail ride by himself.

“Maybe we can find someone else to be the trail assistant for this ride, even if they’re not fully qualified?” Eli asked. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, but we need at least one other person with that many people.”

“You’re right, but who could we get at the last minute like this?” I growled in frustration and punched the air. “I don’t need this today. Any other time I could cover it, but I’ve got a flight to catch.” I vaguely wondered what I might have done to piss off the universe like this. On the one day I needed to delegate everything I do around here, I had a no-show. “Damn it!”

My phone rang and I grabbed at my back pocket. “Maybe it’s him.” I glared at it and saw Zoe’s smiling profile photo calling me from where she was waiting in the house. I tried to keep the anger out of my voice as I answered. She didn’t deserve to be the target of my frustration when none of this was her fault.

“Hi, you!” Zoe chirped. “Ready to go?”

“Hang on a sec,” I told her before tapping mute. “See what you can do,” I told Eli.

I gritted my teeth as I walked away from Eli. I hated the idea of telling Zoe that I had to let her down again. And it was entirely possible that everything would turn out okay. Then again, pigs don’t fly and luck was rarely on my side. “Uh, yeah, getting there. We still have a littletime before we have to leave. I’m just tying up loose ends at the moment with the big group due here.”

“Josh, no. We have to go now if we want to make it on time. The security lines have been bad lately, and I hate rushing around. You know that.”

I threw my head back and sighed. “Zo…”

“What?”

The mistrust in her voice made my heart sink and my stomach clench at the thought of how I was about to disappoint her…but if she insisted on leaving now, then I had no choice but to tell her the truth.

“That contract guy we hired to help with the ride isn’t here yet.”

“Okay, well, ask Shannon to fill in. I’m sure she’d be happy to do it. She’s always telling you that you should delegate more.”

“Shannon is on her way home from a meeting in Durango. She won’t be back until late.”

“Okay, well, call someone else, then. You’ve got a ton of contacts in the area.” Her tone was decidedly less chipper, as if she could sense what was coming.

“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” I said. “And I promise, I’m working as quickly as I can.” I felt sick at what I had to suggest, knowing how upset she was going to be. “But, Zo, you should head to the airport without me. I can handle rushing around at the last minute. You go and get checked in, get your head on straight, and I’ll meet you there before boarding. I’ll make it.”

“Josh…”

I winced. In just one word she’d let me know exactly how upset she was.

“Trust me, it’s better if we do it this way. You’ll be able to relax and take your time getting through security and settling in at the gate instead of stressing out waiting for me here at the house while I track down a backup trail assistant.”

She sighed and I closed my eyes as I waited for her to respond.

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