Chapter 12
Thandie avoided getting dirty again and took the path back to the gazebo from her cabin. With two minutes to kill before the session was scheduled to begin, she sat on the center mat under the roof. Typically, during a lull in activity, she would check her phone for any notifications. It felt odd to not have the device at her fingertips. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since it fell in the mud, and until this very quiet moment, she had been too busy to even notice its absence.
Leo said he would try to fix it, and she really wanted him to fix it. If she had only hung onto her phone for a few more minutes, she could have listened to that voicemail. Davis was dead to her, but the fact that he had called and left a message would be enough to make anyone curious.
As she waited, a cloud shielded the sun, and a chill pricked at her exposed skin. She needed to get herself moving. Thandie poked her head out from the roof eaves and looked up at the parade of clouds moving eastward. “Please don’t rain,” she asked the sky. “You can rain later, but not now.” A large drop hit her forehead and snaked down her face and neck. “Thanks for nothing.”
“Do you do that a lot?” Grant’s voice startled her from the other side of the gazebo. “Talk to no one?” He hopped the railing on the far side of the porch.
She shrugged and gave him a playful grin. “It’s none of your business.”
“I’d like to make it my business,” he said and shrugged back at her.
What does that mean?she wondered. She barely knew this man, other than their rather intimate tumble on the trail. Why would he want to get to know her? Thinking of how his wide palm had cradled her head and protected it from harm was so romantic, and her heart hadn’t beat so hard for a man in months. Maybe years if she was honest with herself. Davis hadn’t made her flutter for a long time.
Regardless of how much Grant intrigued her, she couldn’t afford to get involved with anyone. No amount of rugged appeal, nor the way he stood across from her, unbuttoning his plaid shirt and exposing his skin-tight white tee-shirt, could distract her from her work. She had a job to do. She was tasked with showing him, and all the other guests, some special attention. Neither she nor Leo knew for certain who the snoop was, though she doubted Leo meant for her to date the man for bonus points if he was the consultant.
The other guests hastened to her location while dodging the giant, scattered raindrops, and joined her under the roof. She counted nine. The trio of older ladies was missing in action again. Either they were not planning on participating in any activities at all, or, giving them the benefit of the doubt, they had turned back to their cabins at the first sign of rain.
“Welcome everyone. Please feel free to grab a water bottle and a towel and find a seat on any available mat. It looks like we will have a little extra room to spread out today if you’d like.” She waited for them to settle in. “This morning, I’ll be leading you through some restorative yoga poses. Nothing too difficult.”
Thandie sat with her legs crisscrossed, facing them, and waited for everyone to mirror her. Grant found a spot to the side, in the front row. At least she wouldn’t be looking him straight in his gorgeous ocean eyes for the whole duration of the activity.
“As we begin, I want you to focus on your breathing. Long, comfortable deep breaths, in and out, as we move through each position. Go ahead and take a few moments to find your rhythm. You may close your eyes if that feels better.”
One by one, the guests relaxed their shoulders, closed their eyes, and breathed. She had never commanded a group so easily. These people must think highly of her and have faith in her expertise as a yoga instructor, though it was a skill that she didn’t really have. After supper last night, she headed to the office and bolstered her thin knowledge of yoga, previously acquired from attending an occasional yoga class over the years, with an internet search. How to teach yoga. She hoped the crash course would be enough to convince these people.
She was doing nothing more than pretending, but these guests didn’t need to know that. She took her cues from a yoga class that she had gone to once, where the instructor spoke in the sweetest, calm voice, and everything was stated as an invitation.
“I invite you to join me in child’s pose. Focus on pressing your shoulders down and shooting your tailbone back.” She got into child’s pose perpendicular to the group so that they could clearly see what she was doing. The unintended consequence brought her face only a few inches from Grant’s.
He smirked.
After a few breaths, she moved away from him. “Now, I invite you to push up onto your hands and knees. From here, I invite you to arch your back, pushing your belly button towards the floor and blow air through your lips. On your inhale, pull your belly button into your spine and curve your back like a cat.”
She felt ridiculous. But they were totally buying into the activity and following her instructions. She stood and walked around the space. Stopping at Margret, she asked permission to help the older woman with her posture. Anne caught Thandie’s eye and nodded for her to come help too. Others in the group looked just as lost or unpracticed as Anne was.
Making her way around to the front row, she bit her lips at Grant’s terrible position. She was by no means an expert, but she was also certain that if he remained in his current state, rear end pointed up, one shoulder down, and his neck cocked to one side, he would be hurting later. His pose was so bad that she suspected a ruse was underway.
He whispered up to her, “I think I need help too.”
His posture was no mistake, but she played her part. She placed her hands on his hips and squared them to the floor, her touch lingering longer than it should have. Taking his neck and jaw in her fingertips, she aligned his spine and straightened his shoulders. She pointed her finger into the small of his back and pressed down lightly. “Arch. Bring your chin up. Yes. Like that,” she said. “Good.”
He smiled up at her with his neck extended. “That does feel better.”
Thandie rolled her eyes. “I bet it does.” It was clear to her that he knew, that she knew, that he was full of it.
Back at her mat, she rejoined the group on all fours. The rain gently splattered in slow drops on the roof and created a musical lullaby. The air had filled with the sweet scent from the honeysuckle hedges skirting the gazebo’s railing. It was a delicious calm, even for her, and she felt it renewing something within herself.
“Now, if you can, stand on the front edge of your mat.” Buzz was in the rear of the group and his daughter helped him up. Thandie waited for him to steady himself before continuing. “With your hands at your sides, face your palms forward and slowly inhale, bringing your arms in a wide circle and coming together high above your head. On the exhale, bring your hands in a large arc back down to your side.”
They repeated the move for three breaths. “If you would like to modify, I invite you to lift one foot off the ground and press the toes of your free leg to your ankle on the other leg. Like a tree.” Thandie bobbled finding her balance. Lucky for her, no one noticed. Except Grant, who was holding his foot against his thigh on the other leg. “Show off,” she whispered. “Find your balance and repeat the breathing. Inhale, bring your arms over your head, and exhale.”
She released her pose and walked around the gazebo again, helping people get their balance. Brent and Daisy were helping each other in some sort of partner move that looked less like yoga and a lot like canoodling the way the farmers’ kids back home would do in the tractor on a Friday night. She couldn’t help but suck in a snigger.
“Now, join me down on your mat. I invite you to lie flat and relaxed on your back.” She waited for them all to change positions before she continued. “Place your open palms on the ground beside your hips and press each finger into the ground. Feel the material depress under your power. Feel your shoulders push against the floor. Breathe.”
Grant cleared his throat, though it sounded like he too was stifling a laugh. She resisted the urge to look at him and see what had caused him to crack.
“Now, relax your fingers in order from your thumb to your pinky. And notice your neck and back sink further into the ground as though your bones are made of sand. And breathe.”
Thandie lifted her head and saw a sea of relaxed bodies. Their chests rising and falling in slow intervals. It was hard to not feel calm in such a beautiful setting, with such sweet, aromatic air, and no digital distractions. Perhaps ruining her phone wasn’t the worst thing after all.
“When you’re ready, I invite you to roll to your side and push yourself into a comfortable sitting position. Bringing your feet together, let your knees fall towards the floor. Take a few healing breaths and allow your mind and your soul to be restored by this practice of self-love and connection to the earth around you.”
Grant smirked as if he knew that she was making this all up as she went along. Thandie shot a glance at him and shook her head ever so slightly. There was going to be some explaining to do if he brought this up later. Which she suspected he would from the way he kept inserting himself into her day.
“When you’re ready, open your eyes. Thank you for joining me this morning and I hope you enjoyed yourself. I certainly did.”
“So did I,” Grant said under his breath.
Ignoring him, she stood. “After lunch, there is some free time built into the schedule for a few hours. Then, at three o’clock, we will have a flower arranging class on the dock. Unless it’s raining, then the class will be held in the barn.”
The guests began to get up and leave.
“That was wonderful,” Buzz said and walked away with his daughter by his side. Thandie was glad to see him using the walking stick, even though he hated it.
“Can we do this every morning?” A woman, maybe Clara, asked.
“You enjoyed it that much?” Thandie hid her surprise.
“I’ve taken a lot of yoga. Hot yoga, Yin Yoga, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Hatha. But I’ve never been to a class like yours,” the woman, who looked to be in her late thirties or early forties, said.
“Yeah,” Grant added. “What do you call your style of yoga?”
Ignoring him again, she said, “Well, Clara, right? I can certainly look at the schedule and see where I have a spare time slot. Would you like that?”
“I would. Thank you for today. I really needed it.” Clara said and looked over her shoulder at a man who was rolling the yellow mats.
It was obvious to anyone who had been in love before that Clara and the man had some sort of connection, but one that was strained under an invisible force. If Thandie’s yoga class was helping them in any tangible way, her pretending was very much worth the show that she had put on.
“Do you want help cleaning up?” Anne asked and began collecting water bottles.
Thandie rushed to Anne and stood between her and the trash. “Thank you for the offer, but I can handle all this. And I’ll see you all a little later.”
The rain, having stopped sometime while she was melting into her mat, left the ground damp around the gazebo. The sun peeked back through a break in the clouds and vaporized the sitting water. The humidity rose like steam and the sweet air was replaced by a thick haze that made her feel like taking a nap. But there were things to do, and a nap would have to wait. She straightened her spine and smiled at Margret, who was coming right at her.
“This was brilliant,” Margret said and shook Thandie’s hand. “You are a gem.”
Thandie didn’t know what to say, although she felt an urge to admit the truth to the kind woman. But she didn’t. “It was my pleasure. I’m glad you liked it.”
Grant joined them.
“And did you enjoy yourself this morning?” Margret asked him and nudged him closer towards Thandie.
“Very much,” he said.
“What was your favorite part?” Margret said as she pulled Anne away in a not very subtle goodbye.
Thandie waved her fingers at the two friends, knowing exactly what they were up to. Grant cleared his throat, and she met his gaze. His beautiful oceanic orbs pierced into her like Triton’s staff. “Dare I ask what your favorite part was?” she said and felt a butterfly flutter in her belly.
“My favorite part?” Grant leaned into her. His fingers rested gently on her shoulder as he whispered. “When you faked being a yoga instructor.”
Thandie pushed him away. “Oh, you! You are the absolute . . . ” Worst, she would have finished, but remembered her place. Her job was to make him fall in love with the retreat, not her. She put some more space between them and busied herself with the cleanup.
“What am I?” he said and approached her where she was rolling the mats and stacking them. “I said, what am I? Finish your thought.”
“You’re teasing me.”
“I am,” Grant said and helped her load the mats into the cart hitched to her bike.
“I don’t need your help. But thank you,” she said and wrestled the mats away from his grip.
“What am I?” he repeated with a grin that she either wanted to slap off or kiss.
She stopped loading and dropped the items from her hands. She swallowed hard and thought of any answer other than the truth. He was handsome. He was funny. He was driving her as crazy as a squirrel riding on an eagle’s back.
His hand caught hers by her side and he nudged her chin up to see his face better. She wet her lips. Her body was responding to him. It was primal. It was too fast. And it wasn’t real.
Thandie backed away. “You are complicating things for me,” she said, and it was the truth.
He took a step backwards. His wounded pride radiated off his stiff body. Grant nodded as though he understood her, and the pained look on his face tore at her. He combed his fingers back through his wavy hair and looked out into the sun. Into a distant past that she knew nothing about.
“I’ll see you later?” she asked, but he turned up the path without answering her, cold in the squareness of his shoulders. She was left in the gazebo wondering what the heck had just happened. One second, they were playfully teasing, and the next, it was as though he’d seen a ghost.