Page 24 of Spring Showers

Regardless of the state of the pathway, the gazebo was a mess from the overnight drizzle, and morning dew dripped from the smooth metal roof down onto the porch below. The floor space extended outwards from the main hexagonal roofed structure and was hemmed in by a spindled railing encircling five of the six sides. But the sun was peeking out, and she hoped things would dry up before the guests arrived. She checked her watch again, nearly a half hour had passed, and she had nothing to show for it.

She had brought several towels down in an earlier trip, and used one to dry the area in the center space under the roof. She didn’t want the guests to be soaked from anything other than a hard workout.

It took a few more minutes to roll out thirteen matching pale-yellow yoga mats and align them to face west. She would be facing east and looking right into the sun—illuminated by the natural spotlight—but the others would have the sun at their backs. She arranged the water bottles and remaining hand towels on a section of dry railing. Taking the pastel-colored resistance bands from the bin, she placed one on each of the mats.

Everything looked great, except for her. She looked down at her favorite white leggings, now stained with green and brown from falling in the mucky grass. If that wasn’t enough, her bottom and the back of her calves looked diseased from all the mud splatters she couldn’t dodge during her first few trips back and forth on the bike. She was irritated that she had worn white at all, though it was one of the colors that she knew always complemented her tan skin tone and dusty brown hair. At least her matching white top with the cute crisscross straps was as crisp as ever.

Either way, she was going to need to change her leggings. Thandie took the fastest way back to her cabin, across the field that separated two rows of scrub oaks that had probably been used as property markers at some point in the past. A very fast rinse off and change of outfit was a necessity. She didn’t want her boss, or the investor’s scout, to see her in such a messed state. Luckily, her hair was in a pile at the top of her head and was free from dirt, but her curls had sprung into tighter twists from the morning’s humidity and exertion.

No one will miss me in this bright pink outfit,she thought and smoothed a curl behind her ear in the reflection of the bathroom mirror. She added some pinky blush to the apple of her cheeks and applied some tinted lip balm, telling herself the whole time that it was just for her confidence, and not because she knew Grant would be at the gazebo soon.

CHAPTER12

Thandie avoided getting dirty again and took the path back to the gazebo from her cabin. With two minutes to kill before the session was scheduled to begin, she sat on the center mat under the roof. Typically, during a lull in activity, she would check her phone for any notifications. It felt odd to not have the device at her fingertips. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since it fell in the mud, and until this very quiet moment, she had been too busy to even notice its absence.

Leo said he would try to fix it, and she really wanted him to fix it. If she had only hung onto her phone for a few more minutes, she could have listened to that voicemail. Davis was dead to her, but the fact that he had called and left a message would be enough to make anyone curious.

As she waited, a cloud shielded the sun, and a chill pricked at her exposed skin. She needed to get herself moving. Thandie poked her head out from the roof eaves and looked up at the parade of clouds moving eastward. “Please don’t rain,” she asked the sky. “You can rain later, but not now.” A large drop hit her forehead and snaked down her face and neck. “Thanks for nothing.”

“Do you do that a lot?” Grant’s voice startled her from the other side of the gazebo. “Talk to no one?” He hopped the railing on the far side of the porch.

She shrugged and gave him a playful grin. “It’s none of your business.”

“I’d like to make it my business,” he said and shrugged back at her.

What does that mean?she wondered. She barely knew this man, other than their rather intimate tumble on the trail. Why would he want to get to know her? Thinking of how his wide palm had cradled her head and protected it from harm was so romantic, and her heart hadn’t beat so hard for a man in months. Maybe years if she was honest with herself. Davis hadn’t made her flutter for a long time.

Regardless of how much Grant intrigued her, she couldn’t afford to get involved with anyone. No amount of rugged appeal, nor the way he stood across from her, unbuttoning his plaid shirt and exposing his skin-tight white tee-shirt, could distract her from her work. She had a job to do. She was tasked with showing him, and all the other guests, some special attention. Neither she nor Leo knew for certain who the snoop was, though she doubted Leo meant for her to date the man for bonus points if hewasthe consultant.

The other guests hastened to her location while dodging the giant, scattered raindrops, and joined her under the roof. She counted nine. The trio of older ladies was missing in action again. Either they were not planning on participating in any activities at all, or, giving them the benefit of the doubt, they had turned back to their cabins at the first sign of rain.

“Welcome everyone. Please feel free to grab a water bottle and a towel and find a seat on any available mat. It looks like we will have a little extra room to spread out today if you’d like.” She waited for them to settle in. “This morning, I’ll be leading you through some restorative yoga poses. Nothing too difficult.”

Thandie sat with her legs crisscrossed, facing them, and waited for everyone to mirror her. Grant found a spot to the side, in the front row. At least she wouldn’t be looking him straight in his gorgeous ocean eyes for the whole duration of the activity.

“As we begin, I want you to focus on your breathing. Long, comfortable deep breaths, in and out, as we move through each position. Go ahead and take a few moments to find your rhythm. You may close your eyes if that feels better.”

One by one, the guests relaxed their shoulders, closed their eyes, and breathed. She had never commanded a group so easily. These people must think highly of her and have faith in her expertise as a yoga instructor, though it was a skill that she didn’t really have. After supper last night, she headed to the office and bolstered her thin knowledge of yoga, previously acquired from attending an occasional yoga class over the years, with an internet search.How to teach yoga. She hoped the crash course would be enough to convince these people.

She was doing nothing more than pretending, but these guests didn’t need to know that. She took her cues from a yoga class that she had gone to once, where the instructor spoke in the sweetest, calm voice, and everything was stated as an invitation.

“I invite you to join me in child’s pose. Focus on pressing your shoulders down and shooting your tailbone back.” She got into child’s pose perpendicular to the group so that they could clearly see what she was doing. The unintended consequence brought her face only a few inches from Grant’s.

He smirked.

After a few breaths, she moved away from him. “Now, I invite you to push up onto your hands and knees. From here, I invite you to arch your back, pushing your belly button towards the floor and blow air through your lips. On your inhale, pull your belly button into your spine and curve your back like a cat.”

She felt ridiculous. But they were totally buying into the activity and following her instructions. She stood and walked around the space. Stopping at Margret, she asked permission to help the older woman with her posture. Anne caught Thandie’s eye and nodded for her to come help too. Others in the group looked just as lost or unpracticed as Anne was.

Making her way around to the front row, she bit her lips at Grant’s terrible position. She was by no means an expert, but she was also certain that if he remained in his current state, rear end pointed up, one shoulder down, and his neck cocked to one side, he would be hurting later. His pose was so bad that she suspected a ruse was underway.

He whispered up to her, “I think I need help too.”

His posture was no mistake, but she played her part. She placed her hands on his hips and squared them to the floor, her touch lingering longer than it should have. Taking his neck and jaw in her fingertips, she aligned his spine and straightened his shoulders. She pointed her finger into the small of his back and pressed down lightly. “Arch. Bring your chin up. Yes. Like that,” she said. “Good.”

He smiled up at her with his neck extended. “That does feel better.”

Thandie rolled her eyes. “I bet it does.” It was clear to her that he knew, that she knew, that he was full of it.

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