Page 45 of High Side
“Hey, you two.” Lupe waved from where she was stretched out in a lawn chair, a hat perched on her head that was as big as an umbrella itself. “Beer and Cokes in the coolers. Iced tea, water, and lemonade up by the house in drink dispensers.”
“I brought the potato salad. Where do you want it?” Kylie held up a huge bowl of the mustardy goo.
“Yum!” Lupe rolled up to point toward a buffet table. “I have a big bowl of ice to set this right into. That will keep it cold, and it can stay out with the cover on it as people want some.”
“Perfect. Thanks, lady.” Kylie headed over to put the potato salad away, leaving her with the bosses.
“Hey, Brittany. Welcome to the annual do,” Liz said.
“Thanks.” She pushed up her sunglasses, because she didn’t want to be rude and not make eye contact. “Thanks for this, and the day off. It’s rad.”
“We like to keep our crew safe and off the roads.”
“You guys are the best. Seriously. I’ve been out on the river with tourists on the holiday, and it’s always so scary.” People got drunk and took stupid chances. It sucked, because so many folks could get hurt. Hell, she’d seen it where someone was drunk on the river, got dumped out, and drowned.
It was crazy.
“I’ve been doing this long enough to know better,” Liz said. “So how are you liking it in Summit Springs?”
“I like it a lot. Like a lot. I thought it might be too small for me, but the vibe makes up for it, you know?”
Liz nodded. “I do. That was how my girl got me to stay, and it was even smaller then.”
“Yeah, you guys are like, OG right? With all the outdoor sports and stuff?”
“We are. We both came to work on the ski mountain, which was the only thing here then, and it was bare bones. Tow lifts still.”
“Damn. That’s too cool. I can’t imagine starting from scratch.”
“We had a ball. Did a lot of stupid stuff.” Liz winked, asking her to share the joke.
“Still do!” Lupe chuckled. “But it was fun, all the way.”
“Yeah.” Liz looked at Lupe and the love was right there, so amazing to see. So pretty. It gave her a frisson of hope, to know that someone could be in love so long.
She shouldn’t put Kylie in the scope of that kind of thought, but somehow, she played right into it. Which was as cool as it was scary.
She looked for Kylie, since Lupe was back in her chair. She was pouring drinks for them, and Brit excused herself to go meet her by the snacks.
“Did you escape the bosses?” Kylie teased, handing her a lemonade and tea mixed half and half.
“I did. They were very nice.” She winked. “But it was a little weird.”
“You’ll get used to it. They’re notwe want to be bestieskinds of bosses, but at holidays, they mingle well.”
“Hey, I have no issues.” She tilted her head. “How many year-round positions do they have?”
“Not a lot. We contract with a lot of the winter places. Skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling. That’s all the ski mountain. So we have Lila, who stays on to drive the bus. The wranglers, who help with the pony rides and then help out on big trail rides when the ranch needs them. Joe and I assist on some excursions in the off-season, and I tend to work the website and stuff…”
“Ah.” Bummer. She’d been hoping to pitch staying on. But that gave her ideas of places to look for a shoulder and winter season job to hang out in the Springs longer. Kylie was worth staying around for, seeing where it went.
“What’s that mean?” Kylie raised an eyebrow.
“Nothing. I was just making appropriate noises.”
“One of the nice things about here is the winter tourists. They keep us in work.”
“Cool. I saw the hotel stays open. That’s kinda rare.” She might apply there. She had a lot of forms to fill out and tests to take to be a park ranger, and she needed a few years of experience…
