“You sound very enthusiastic,” he said. He sighed again and then added, “I’ve never seen you so interested in a woman.”
“I just have a feeling about her and Green Valley.” Skip was far too level-headed to hear anything about destiny.
“I just hope this isn’t like the time you woke me up to go swimming in the lake because the moon was full,” he said.
I cleared my throat. “It was a super blood moon lunar eclipse. You’re welcome for that once-in-a-lifetime experience. You make me sound so impulsive.”
“Or that time you went to Norway to jump The Troll Wall,” he went on.
That was on my parents’ anniversary two years ago. The darkness had gotten so heavy I needed to do something big. I didn’t care for this stroll down memory lane, so I got us back on task. “Listen, I should have been there that day when you met with Donner Lodge. This is me making up.”
“We still need to talk about things. You’re still grieving. Don’t you think—”
My heartbeat quickened and my esophagus spasmed. “Anyway, mate. I just wanted to let you know my plan.”
He let out a defeated sigh. “Okay. Keep me up to date.”
“You know I will.”
“And then we should really talk about—”
“Gotta go, mate. Ride’s here.” I hung up the call.
The ride share car rolled to a stop in front of me, the sticker in the window announcing itself.
The passenger window rolled down. “Sanders Olsson?” a knockout of a redhead asked.
My eyebrows rose. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“I’m Gretchen LaRoe, I’m your ride into Green Valley. Need help with your bags?”
She moved to unbuckle herself but stopped when I held up a hand.
“No, thanks. Just this.” I gestured to the military canvas bag over my shoulder.
After I was situated and we were on an interstate, I took in my driver. She was wearing a miniskirt with suspenders over a half shirt. Her red hair was long and flowing, topped with a jaunty beret. She was candy for the eyes but not to my particular taste. I was deep into a brunette with a pouty mouth and crackling sass these days.
An image of Roxy popped into my brain and her short skirt riding up a smooth thigh. I envisioned her big brown eyes blinking up at me after we kissed.
“So Green Valley. Not a very big town, yeah? I imagine you know just about everybody,” I said.
Gretchen LaRoe glanced over at me, her cat eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Where are you from?”
The small town looked out for its own. I respected that.
“Australia. Perth specifically.”
“You know Hugh Jackman?” she asked.
“Oh sure. All us Australians know each other.”
She cast another quick look at me. Her face was unreadable but “friendly” was not a word to describe it. “Funny,” she said.
I gave her my biggest, flashiest grin when she looked over at me again. Her eyes widened ever so slightly and she sucked in her lips. It was almost like she was trying to bite back a smile.
“Have I got something stuck in my teeth?” I pulled down the passenger mirror to examine my teeth. “These little bastards up front tend to catch things.”
I felt her look at me again as I examined my smile.
“No, nothing.” She reached over and pushed up the mirror. “Honestly, it’s not you, doll. You’re fine.”
“Okay.” I gave her a weary look.
All of a sudden, her cool demeanor melted into that famous Southern hospitality. “You were asking about Green Valley. Anybody in particular you looking for?” she asked sweetly. “I know everybody and their mamas.”
“I believe it. Nobody in particular.” Suddenly, I felt shy about delving into the truth of why I was here. Or one of the truths. She seemed a little too eager for information. If I could have done it subtly, maybe. But now I felt a bit cringy outright asking after Roxy.
I mean what were the chances this Gretchen LaRoe even knew my Roxy Kincaid anyway?
“Did you come all the way from Australia?” She snapped her gum loudly, causing me to flinch slightly. The woman scared me, if I was being honest.
“Ah, no. I’ve been in the States for some time. I’m from Denver.”
If I wasn’t crazy, I swore her hands gripped the steering wheel imperceptibly tighter.
“Here for business or pleasure?” she asked.
“Business.” I dug into my pocket and pulled out a card. “Looking to grow our company.”
She grabbed the card and looked it over. “Corporate adventure, huh?” She definitely seemed excited now. “Here.” She reached across my body to shuffle through her glove box. My eyes widened when I saw the gun. Americans.
“Ah, pretend you didn’t see that,” she said with a wink.
“See what?”
“Attaboy.” She handed me a card. “Feel free to call if you need anything while you are here. I’m a bit of a concierge for the town.”
The card read “Gretchen LaRoe - Fashion Consultant, Driver, Landlord, and all-around badass,” and handwritten on the bottom was added, “matchmaker - by appointment only.”
“Bit of a Jackie-of-all-trades, I see,” I said.
“You know it.”
“Thank you.” I slid her card into my wallet. “I’ll hold on to this.”
“I see you’re heading to Donner Lodge. Staying there?” she asked.
“Sure am. But also hoping to do business with them.”
“Corporate adventuring? Like trust falls in suits?” she asked.
“Sort of. The goal is team building. You really learn to trust your peers when they’re in charge of your ropes as you climb a mountain.”
“Yikes,” she said.
“This area seem good for corporate adventuring?” I asked.
“Sure. Green Valley can hardly contain itself with all the new growth,” she said. “You should definitely meet some locals. There’s tons of businesses that might like to partner with you.”
I felt the growing excitement that came when I was on a roll. I knew I screwed things up in Denver but I did have a nose for this stuff, a gut instinct for a new market in need.
“The Smokies are beautiful,” I said to fill the silence.
We shared a moment to appreciate
