CHAPTER 1
PIPER
“We have three days to provide a challenging adventure that brings the team together.” I skimmed the email from the team’s general manager.
“It’s a tall order, for sure,” Henry agreed, resting his elbows on the counter; his gaze landed on his fiancée, Kelsey, with a mixture of pride and affection.
“I think you should do the bike tour. It doesn’t violate any of the conditions in their contracts. It’s adventurous without being dangerous, and it looks amazing.” Kelsey read from the description on her screen, “Flowers and wildlife-filled meadows, tumbling waterfalls, and clear lakes—all surrounded by a sea of peaks and the comfort of a seasoned guide.”
My heart rate picked up at the description.
Kelsey turned her screen so we could see it.
The clear glass surface of the lake had my fingers itching to pick up my camera.
“Am I the seasoned guide in this scenario?” I joked. My mind was reeling with the possibilities. If I went, I could take amazing photos for my social media account.
“Well, no, you’ll have Henry to lead the group. You’d be his assistant.”
Mountain Haven Lodge and Rigby’s Adventure Tours were Henry’s dreams. When he’d asked me to work at the lodge, I’d said: Who knows, maybe this will be the thing that changes my life, but I hadn’t thought I’d be running adventure tours. Especially not team-building ones for a professional baseball team.
Henry rubbed his chin. “I don’t think the guys are going to care about waterfalls and lakes.”
“The mountain biking is challenging, and I’m sure they’ll love camping.” Athletes would probably enjoy the challenge the three-day trip posed.
Kelsey changed her screen to the picture of the team at spring training and scrolled through the roster. “Most of them aren’t from Colorado. They might enjoy the scenic tour.”
“You can’t take them skiing, snowboarding, or any of the usual stuff because it’s too close to the season to risk an injury. But a biking trip should be approved.”
“Does it qualify as team building?” Henry asked.
I knew he was playing devil’s advocate, not rejecting Kelsey’s idea outright. “The trails are narrow. They’ll need to work together on how many bikes can fit and who goes first. Then work together to choose a spot to camp, pitch the tents, and cook the food. They’re probably not used to doing things like this by themselves. They’re so focused on working out and eating healthy meals from a delivery service, but this brings them back to the basics—shelter, food, and survival.”
“I think it could work.” Kelsey’s tone held approval.
Henry nodded at me. “I agree. Write up the proposal.”
Henry’s approval settled on my chest like glitter floating through the air, attempting to cover the self-doubt, yet not quite succeeding. I was used to my brother dismissing my ideas as impulsive or immature. Since working at the lodge, he’d made a concerted effort to listen to me as an equal.
Kelsey turned her screen until it was facing her, pulling up a blank document to write the proposal. “You’ll do it, right?”
“It sounds beautiful.” My mind drifted back to the pictures she’d shown us of the lake. The surface was like glass, untouched, pristine.
“Are you worried you’re not in shape for it?” She glanced at me.
I shook my head. “No. I bike all the time.”
Her eyes widened. “Sorry, I didn’t realize.”
Over the years, my family dismissed my many hobbies as impractical and frivolous, so I stopped sharing the details. “I enjoy nature.”
Henry assumed I didn’t love our hometown of Telluride because I wanted to sell our family’s ranch. Instead, I felt lucky to live somewhere with so much untouched beauty I could capture with my camera lens―even if I did want to see more.
“Perfect. I think it will be a fun adventure.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard for a few minutes while I checked guests into the lodge. After showing the twentysomething couple to their room, I sat next to Kelsey.
“Take a look,” Kelsey said to me over her shoulder.
Her screen was filled with a picture of a baseball team somewhere warm and sunny. “Is that the team?”
“Yeah, this is the picture the assistant sent, along with names, ages, positions, and general history of each player.”
My gaze snagged on blue eyes, his face shadowed by the black Colorado hat pulled low on his forehead, his hair curled over the edges. My heart pounded in my chest. It was like he could see me through the picture.
“See anyone you like?” Kelsey smirked.
I tore my gaze from the image. “Cocky athletes aren’t for me.”
My heart pounded in my chest at the lie.
“You never know when a fling might turn into something more,” Kelsey practically singsonged.
She wanted everyone to have what she had with Henry. She’d visited Telluride last fall for their mutual friends, Elle and Gray’s, wedding. Henry had shown her around the area. It started as a vacation fling, but they’d fallen hard for each other.
“Life isn’t like that.” Not for me. Life went on around me. People left, went to college, got jobs, and moved on, but I was still here wondering what I was doing with my life.
“I don’t know. Sometimes I think life sneaks up on you when you least expect it.” Kelsey’s lips curled into a knowing smile.
She was happy, so she wanted everyone around her to feel the same way. “I’m not looking for a guy.”
She shot me a knowing look as if she could see past my words to the girl underneath, the one who wouldn’t mind meeting someone who saw her.
I stood abruptly, shuffling the flyers on the counter into piles, then rearranging the fresh-cut wildflowers in the vase.
“Henry worries about you.” Her voice was soft.
My shoulders stiffened. “He doesn’t have to.”
The good thing about working straight out of high school was that I was independent. I’d lived on my own since I was eighteen. I didn’t need my brother, or his fiancée, worrying about me.
I’d be fine even if the age-old resentment still burned in my gut. My parents sent Henry to college, hoping he’d be the one to save the ranch. He was the golden child. I was the impulsive one.
“You’re his sister. He feels—”
Guilty. Responsible. He’d told me that recently. As nice as it felt to have my feelings acknowledged instead of being brushed off as ridiculous, I wasn’t ready to let it go. “He shouldn’t.”
I liked Kelsey, but she’d only been in our lives a short time. My feelings about the ranch were interwoven with my feelings about my family, stemming back from my childhood.
Kelsey’s shoulders lowered in defeat. “We want to support you.”
How could she support me when I didn’t even know what I wanted? I’d had this desire for more as far back as I could remember. I lived in this beautiful tourist town, yet my skin itched to be somewhere—anywhere―else. Would I feel any different living somewhere new, or was I doomed to feeling stuck forever?