Page 18 of Spring Showers

Leo took the phone. “It’s not like we get a good signal in these parts anyway. I can take a look if you’d like.”

“Please do. I’m going to go get cleaned up,” Thandie said and turned. “Supper’s in an hour.”

CHAPTER9

Grant redressed the cut on his arm after cleaning up from his tumble in the mud with The Foundry's gorgeous activities director, though he shouldn't have noticed her in that way. Thandie had done a superior job, even while covered in dirt and having just been run over by him. The wound appeared less swollen after his shower, but stung like an open paper cut whenever he moved his wrist. He hoped the cut wouldn’t preclude him from participating in any of the week’s planned events.

Grant had only been there for a few hours and hadn’t made the best impression. Nor had the retreat for that matter. First, the place seemed understaffed. The owner, Leo had greeted him and checked him in, while Thandie, the only person working in activities, was already on a hike with the other guests. Secondly, the bicycle had broken on his first day. Although, he admitted, he might have taken the bike on a rather rocky off-trail adventure, complete with a hard landing from jumping over a fallen tree trunk. The landing may have bent the rim and flattened the tire, which might have led to its ill-fated demise.

Due to his own reckless actions, he couldn’t hold the equipment situation against the retreat, and he couldn’t fault them for being understaffed. All of his needs had been thusly met so far. And, as he looked at the fluffy white bedding and copious amounts of pillows arranged on the bed that he couldn’t wait to flop into later, it was evident that everything had been thought of, short-staffing aside.

Scoping out the other cabins as he had walked down to his, he noted that his was the tiniest. Even though the others looked bigger, the square room was all the space he needed. On the right side beside the front door, a U-shaped kitchenette with barstools on the peninsula separated the room. A washroom was tucked away behind the kitchen next to a narrow closet, and the bed was positioned between two windows to the left side of the studio space. The rich dark wood slats looked to be original to the structure, the chinking still visible from inside and out, though it looked and smelled like it had recently been oiled.

He ran his hands along one of the hewn logs like a kid in a school hallway, feeling the texture and tiny imperfections of the surface. He felt instantly connected with the space, with this little plot of land that someone had once loved, and now had a new purpose.

The room was serene, and even a bell ringing out from beyond the trees surrounding his cabin didn’t disturb the atmosphere.The barn, he guessed. Announcing the dinner service was a nice touch, and he hoped all the meals would be declared in such a way. It provided a quality of romanticism to the day. The bell, low and thick, resonated a calm throughout the countryside and into his small space. At the same time, a group of three birds, perched on the whitewashed windowsill, chirped outside the glass and turned their heads towards the ringing.

Outside, his log-style cabin had white painted trim and doorjambs. Black flower boxes hung at the two windows beside the front door and held vines of small yellow flowers that spilled out over the sides as though reaching for the ground.

He took the long way around to the barn and investigated the property from a different vantage point. The cabins ranged in size from multi-room, two-story houses to his tiny, one room, hunting-style cabin. Some exteriors were of gray washed shingles, others were traditional log-style cabins, and one Victorian cottage with light blue paint and copper accents caught his eye.

All the cabins looked well-kept and safe. This wasn’t like a typical hotel where all the rooms are similar in their layout and design. These were all completely different, and Grant planned on befriending some of the other guests to get the inside scoop of their accommodations. Meanwhile, he would need to focus on what he could see with his own eyes.

In the distance, his eyes saw something statuesque and glowing like amber standing outside the barn doors. Thandie. She was going to be trouble for him. He could feel it, just like he had felt her fitting in his arms as they tumbled to a stop on the trail. Trouble aside, it wouldn’t hurt him to make friends with the person that was most likely to help him to get a sense of the resort on a more personal level. Though he had to be cognizant of his rule: No getting close to people on these kinds of scouting trips. It only complicated his ability to give a thorough and honest assessment.

His initial assessment, as he approached the barn, was that she was wonderful.

Thandie held open one of the heavy glass-and-steel barn doors and greeted the guests for dinner. She must have seen him coming. With her hand extended over her head, she waved it wildly back and forth like she was signaling a spacecraft. He had to admire her enthusiasm to make him feel welcome.

Though he looked to be the last to come up for dinner, she remained outside, waiting for him to make his way. Knowing that someone, anyone, was waiting on him for any reason, grated against his nature. He was impatient and knew the value of someone’s time. He didn’t want to waste hers, as much as he didn’t want his own abused.

But instead of speeding up, which his brain was urging him to do, he kept a steady gait and used the interlude to admire the scenery. At the center of his field of vision, a halo of reflected sunlight surrounded Thandie and crowned her with lazy pink and orange clouds in the sky beyond. A smile stretched across the whitest teeth and rosiest lips Grant had ever seen, and her skin glowed golden brown from the setting sun.

There was something cat-like about her appearance. Her blue, almond-shaped eyes slanted up at the outside corners and long, dark lashes elegantly framed her features. Her small nose came to a delicate point and her dark brunette hair framed and shadowed her cheekbones in a way that made him want to brush the springy waves behind her ear.

Thandie was a most unique beauty. If she were taller, she might have been a high-fashion model. She was definitely of mixed-race heritage.Maybe Caribbean?he wondered. He was as Caucasian as one could get. He looked down at his exposed forearms and thought perhaps he’d find some time during his stay to get some sun.

Feeling self-conscious was not a sensation Grant was accustomed to, like knowing there were spiders crawling all over his skin, he squirmed inside. He waved and turned around, fully prepared to head back to his cabin and eat granola for dinner instead of facing the woman that had no idea how nervous she made him. He had a rule: Don’t get involved. More than that, he had a heart that he had closed and locked the door to years ago, and he had no intention of ever finding the key for it again.

“Wait,” she yelled and ran after him. “Grant, right? Where are you going? You know it’s suppertime. Everyone else is already in thecucina. Don’t you want to join?”

He was pinned down and had no excuse but to go with her. “I thought I forgot something back in my room, but it can wait.” He lied.

“If it’s important, I can go with you for some company,” Thandie said and tilted her head ever so slightly so that her hair fell away and exposed her long neck. “If you want.”

“It’s fine. Really.” Because he was lying. “It can wait.” Because it was nothing more than cowardice.

“If you’re sure,” she said.

“Thandie,” he said and took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry about running you over earlier.”

“It’s fine?—”

“It’s not,” he interrupted. “But I’m so ashamed of letting you think I didn’t know you worked here, and that I am a guest. It was poor form of me.”

“Grant,” she said his name like a question. “You’re forgiven. Now can we go in and eat?”

“Yes, actually. I’m starving, and I’m dying to see what the chef has to offer. Mr. Thorpe raved about thiscucinawhen I checked in.”

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