Chapter 1
Don’t stop. Keep going. There is no giving up.
Erin Howard’s muscles ached with the strain of exertion and her breath was laboured.
Sweat dripped off her in cascades as she grasped the edge of a jagged rock and pulled herself up.
Her vest was stuck to her chest, and her khaki shorts were drenched with perspiration along the fold of the hem.
Even her socks felt damp in her boots. Tropical humidity was having more of an effect than she’d anticipated.
Her guide, Andy, was ahead, leading the way along surer footing as they continued their ascent up the lush mountain face. He seemed unfazed, though his dark skin also shimmered with sweat, his waist-length braids restrained by a blue handkerchief.
‘You all right back there?’ he called over his shoulder to her.
‘Doing great,’ she replied through gritted teeth. ‘How much further?’
‘Another four hundred and fifty feet till the end of the trail. Still think you can keep up?’
‘Of course,’ Erin countered determinedly.
He turned his attention to the rest of the group. ‘Everyone else OK?’
Unanimous assent resonated from somewhere behind Erin, but she didn’t look back. Her sole focus was on the climb. One more step. One more foot. One more mountain conquered.
She’d been giving herself these mental pep talks since she was a girl, the way her dad always told her.
A man who’d risen from the gambling pits in Vegas to casino manager for the Mandalay Bay, a position he’d held for most of Erin’s life, Tony Howard had made his daughter into pretty much a female version of his own image.
Someone who got the job done no matter what.
There was no such thing as ‘can’t’ or ‘impossible’; there was always a way.
The only time you gave up is when you were dead, and sometimes Erin believed that her father vowed to never let that happen to him either.
While harsh and sometimes overbearing, his heart was always in the right place.
Testament to that and his determination, Tony had raised her alone after Erin’s mother abandoned them when she was a young girl.
Even now at sixty-five, he was still working long days on the casino floor.
And while Erin didn’t quite anticipate doing the same, she’d certainly inherited her father’s fierce independent streak and was proud of the self-reliance he’d instilled in her.
‘You falling asleep, or are you giving up already?’ Andy jibed.
Momentarily distracted, Erin pushed on.
‘In your dreams,’ she retorted as she picked up her pace, but on the rock ledge found, much to her surprise, that she was no longer alone. She had been so fixated on Andy that she hadn’t even known anyone else was on her heels.
‘Mind if I join the competition?’ the guy called out and, as he turned, his electric blue eyes upon her, Erin was momentarily stunned while he proceeded to surge ahead.
What the hell? she remonstrated silently, getting a hold of herself. He might be cute but he was gaining ground. So she’d better keep moving.
Step by step and foot by foot, the trio raced further up while the rest of the group – in the patient care of another guide – remained way behind.
Erin’s breath resonated in her ears, each pant filling her senses as she negotiated her way to the top. The other climber was keeping pace remarkably well, leaving her to wonder whether he was a frequent hiker too.
Andy, however, lost some of his lead and was looking over his shoulder intermittently to gauge their proximity. He was on the ropes. Erin had them both and she knew it, and was sure they knew it too. They were getting close to the top. It was now or never. One final push.
Not today, buddy.
She once again cranked up her energy, her legs throbbing and her shoulders aching, but it would be worth it.
She began to pull away from her rival, who seemed taken aback at her sudden burst of vitality until he too seemed to catch a second wind and came racing after her.
It wasn’t long before they had completely obliterated Andy’s pace, and were now neck-and-neck in a race to the top, just the two of them.
Like a couple of Olympic long-distance runners closing in on gold, they were only a few feet away from the summit when her competitor tapped into some hidden power source that Erin couldn’t match.
She watched dumbfounded as he pulled ahead, right as they were about to reach the end of the trail. He’d won.
Or worse, she’d lost.
She couldn’t believe it, nor could she remember the last time someone had bested her.
She collapsed at the top, rolling onto her back as she tried to catch her breath, still in shock, her face pointed upwards as she gazed at the clear blue St Lucia sky dotted by the odd cotton-ball-like cloud.
Once her breath had returned to a manageable pace, Erin looked over to where her unnamed victor lay beside her on the top of Petit Piton.
He too was on his back, chest heaving as he tried to return his heart rate to normal.
‘Well done,’ she congratulated reluctantly, still panting a little. ‘I guess I owe you a beer.’ Still, she swallowed hard, biting back her disappointment.
‘Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t in it for a prize,’ the guy chuckled. ‘Mack,’ he introduced himself, extending his hand. His eyes twinkled and, as she took his firm grip, Erin felt an immediate flutter of something she couldn’t quite identify, immediately diffusing her frustration.
‘Erin,’ she replied distractedly, completely thrown by the effect this guy – a competitor no less – was having on her.
Well, he might have beaten her to the top, but as he continued to grin at her with a smile that could light up an airport runway, Erin was starting to feel like she’d scored a win after all.
‘Afternoon everyone,’ Erin greeted a little later, as she took a seat at a heavy mahogany conference table at The Palms Hotel.
Though considerably older than many of the other beachside resorts in the area, the old colonial was an inviting refuge and welcoming cool from the outside temperatures.
Located on a stunning stretch of palm-fringed Caribbean sand, and right on the edge of a lagoon serving as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary, The Palms was perfectly located for visitors looking for a more traditional St Lucian slice of paradise.
In this room, retro palm and toucan-print drapes by the windows, and flamboyant banana print wallpaper were a testament to the hotel’s age and exotic location, and as she waited for proceedings to begin, Erin couldn’t help but amuse herself trying to count the number of tropical birds adorning the heavy material.
Her momentary distraction was quickly overridden by the sound of a voice addressing the small gathering.
Erin’s predecessor was resigning today, making her the brand-new guest relations manager for this landmark resort on St Lucia’s vibrant west coast.
While she didn’t officially start till the following Monday, today she was being introduced to other hotel staff gathered around the room, and she caught them shooting the occasional glance at her, silent questions reflecting in their eyes.
Erin could hazard a guess what they were thinking.
Here was a freckled mid-thirties redhead from Nevada who’d never spent a day on a Caribbean island until her arrival a couple of days ago.
She didn’t belong. And she had no idea what she was in for.
It was the start of a busy time for the Caribbean in general, when sun-loving vacationers escaped in their droves to the warm, crystal-clear blue waters, sun-kissed sands and pink umbrella-trimmed glasses.
They came by sea and air to bask in the memory-making moments to be found in premium tropical surroundings.
It was surely no time for a fledgling to be testing her wings.
But running the show was in Erin’s blood.
So too was her need to face every challenge, and not only that, but defeat it too.
It didn’t especially matter what her new colleagues thought; she was going to prove her mettle to every last one of them.
Once the hotel’s general manager Grant Evans had formally introduced her to the team, she raised her chin and gave a cursory glance at each face before she spoke.
‘Thank you all for coming to meet with me today. I know you’re busy, so I’ll make this brief.
You must be wondering what management was thinking when they hired me to take on the role that Mr Harrington has performed impeccably here for all these years.
Especially now, with the busy season right on our doorstep.
’ She found another gaze in the crowd and held it firmly.
‘I get what this time of year means. I’ve done my homework. ’
Various sets of eyes shifted from one to the other, but everyone remained silent.
‘Roger has served this resort for many happy years, and he wouldn’t hand it all over to someone he didn’t believe would look out for you.
’ She found another gaze and held it. ‘I have spent my entire life in the hospitality industry and I’m confident, as management is too, that I’m the person for the job.
’ Once again her dark eyes surveyed the room.
‘But words mean nothing without action. So in short, I intend to reassure you all today that I’m ready and up for the challenge.
I look forward to meeting with you all again next week and if you have any questions, please have them ready. Have a wonderful day.’
Her predecessor Roger Harrington, a stately native in his mid-fifties, approached her as the staff filed out of the room. ‘Nicely done, Ms Howard,’ he said in a strong and distinct English twang with hints of French. ‘I suspect they already know you’re not to be trifled with.’
‘Thanks,’ she said, smiling up at the friendly distinguished man who was an easy six inches taller than her five-foot-eight frame. She extended her hand. ‘Call me Erin.’
‘Roger,’ he returned with an amused shake of his head. ‘When Grant and the HR suits told me about you, I had to admit that I was somewhat sceptical. But I think I can see now why they had such confidence.’
They fell into step beside one other as they moved through the door and out into the hallway.
‘What are your plans until you start?’ he asked amiably.
‘Just getting to know the island a bit.’
‘The beach, of course?’
‘Eventually, but I also want to take in some of the other activities on offer. I hiked Petit Piton this morning.’ She could feel him watching her in surprise, but she didn’t acknowledge it.
‘Well, that doesn’t sound enjoyable at all – it sounds exhausting.’ Roger’s chuckle lingered in the air like smoke. ‘With this job, I think you’ll find more than enough mountains to climb.’
‘Hey, I was raised in Nevada.’ Erin shrugged. ‘Extremes are all I know.’