Sometime in the late morning, a mass of heavy storm clouds rolled in, and by the time Zoey should have been getting ready for her final Alaskan adventure—an ATV tour—she was sitting on hold, trying to find out if the tour had been canceled instead. Logic would have assumed Moose Springs Adventurers would have called to let her know, but the helpfulness would have been inconsistent with their consistently bad customer service.
“Well, they canceled it,” Zoey finally said with a sigh, ending the call. “I guess my vacation is officially over.”
“You still have today and tomorrow, love,” Lana answered. “We’ll find something worth doing. What do you think? Should we scooch everything over a bit?”
Lounging in a chair at Lana’s conference table in the penthouse suite, Zoey turned a slow, lazy circle. By scooch, Lana meant move the entirety of the planned condominium complex over, cutting into land Zoey was fairly sure was a national forest.
“Maybe not so much,” she replied, turning another circle. The shadows of dark grays and even darker blues across the mountainsides were as striking as they were ominous. Still, it burned at her to spend today in a hotel, staring out a window instead of being out there, where all the best experiences were.
“Hmm. Killian, I need your advice.”
So far, Zoey had done a decent job of ignoring the three people in the corner of the suite. Like Zoey, they were lounging, but with far more indulgence. Haleigh had called room service twice in the time Zoey and Lana had been there, and Enzo was deep in a bottle of cognac. Sober but clearly bored, Killian craned his neck to see what Lana was doing.
“I’m sure you have it handled.” With a yawn, Killian kicked a foot up on the custom-built gleaming cedar coffee table.
“It’s your investment too,” Lana reminded him. “The Montgomery Group’s holdings affect all of us, cousin, so half an interest on your side isn’t going to kill you.”
“Are you sure?” Killian rolled to his feet. “My father might feel otherwise.” Wandering over, Killian dropped down into the chair next to Zoey, giving her a kind smile. “I heard you and your boyfriend broke up. You okay?”
“We weren’t…” With a soft sigh, Zoey shrugged. “I’m not great. Wishing I could get out of here and do something fun to distract myself. But they cancelled my ATV thing.”
“Then we should uncancel it.”
“Never mind. I’ll just decide all these incredibly expensive plans all on my own,” Lana murmured.
Killian winked at Zoey, knowing he’d annoyed his cousin. The wink was so similar to Graham, Zoey had to look away. Her phone was in her pocket, and she didn’t allow herself to check to see if he’d called. The last twenty times she had, the screen had been blank.
“What do you mean, uncancel it?”
Leaning over, Killian dropped his voice low, nodding his chin at Enzo and Haleigh. “At the risk of coming off like my friends over there, some things, money can buy. A quick trip through the woods in the rain is one of those things. I’d hate for you to miss out, and if we make it quick, we should be back before the worst hits. Assuming you won’t mind getting a little wet and muddy?”
His suggestion was reckless and maybe even a little scary. Definitely not something she’d planned. But maybe Zoey was feeling reckless today. And mud was not something she’d ever been afraid of.
“I don’t have much to help pay for it,” she admitted.
“Consider it my way of saying sorry for your bad day. Us guys suck.” Patting her hand, Killian stood.
“We were just saying the same thing this morning.” Zoey nodded at him in gratitude. “But thank you, Killian. You’re kind. And much better than polo Killian.”
He blinked in surprise. “You’re the only one who thinks so.” Taking hold of the back of Lana’s chair, Killian tugged her just out of reach of her miniature Moose Springs village. “Come with us. You need a break.”
“Sorry, dearest, I have a conference call scheduled with our Realtor. It seems we’re already having offers on the new construction.”
“By all means,” he drawled lazily. “Make us some money then. That’s why the family loves you.”
Was there a note of discontent in Killian’s voice? Zoey didn’t know him enough to tell, but she did know him well enough to not be surprised when ten minutes later, they had a car waiting for them downstairs to take them to an off-site four-wheeling company. Zoey didn’t even care that Enzo and Haleigh came too, Killian’s constant entourage.
Dressed in a borrowed raincoat, her warmest sweater, and a pair of hiking boots, Zoey wished she had something better than a ball cap to keep the light rain off her face. If she’d been thinking clearly—not numb from parting ways with Graham so abruptly and painfully—maybe she would have thought to bring a pair of goggles to cover her glasses. If the rain got worse, seeing was going to be a whole lot harder.
Their guide, Cory, was young, cheerful, and more than happy to take a quick jaunt out into the woods. After explaining how to run the ATVs and giving everyone a few minutes to demonstrate their ability to stop, go, and go faster, Cory led them to a gate. Beyond the gate, a series of trails crisscrossed the mountain’s government-protected lands. Killian went first, followed by Haleigh, then Enzo, with Zoey happy to bring up the rear. Without someone behind her, she was in the best spot to see the wilderness around her. And on such tight paths, often she lost sight of Enzo’s ATV, meaning for a moment, she could enjoy this incredible place all alone.
The heavier the storm clouds, the darker the woods, enough that the running lights on the ATVs were actually useful. But the wind whipping through her hair, the trees and thick underbrush streaming past as they drove down the path were exhilarating. Every time they hit a mud puddle, splashed through a creek, or got to gun the vehicles around a curve, Zoey felt sheer delight. Only realizing now that Haleigh and Enzo were adrenaline junkies, Zoey could hear them whooping through the worst of the trail’s bumps and mud splashes. She couldn’t see Killian, but she could hear his voice, sounding just as happy as his friends.
Following Enzo as they turned at a wood marker post, they slowed down. Eventually, the trail ended, and they turned back around. The guide indicated for them to all cut their engines so he could talk to them over the wind blowing through the trees.
“Normally, we go down this trail, down to the river, and then get some pictures by the waterfall,” Cory said, clearly unfazed by the rain and wind. “But it’s going to get muddy. It’s up to you.”
They glanced at each other, but Killian only hopped off his ATV when Zoey nodded.
“Let’s do this,” he said.
The trail was often used by grizzlies, which made it even more exciting. They slipped and slid down a very steep path leading down to a river, and Cory was right. The waterfall was absolutely great to take pictures in front of. Zoey was never going to enjoy the company of Enzo and Haleigh, but she was more than happy to squeeze in with them, enjoying herself immensely as Cory hung dangerously off the side of a tree, taking pictures of them.