Chapter 3
THREE
One Week Later
“Waylon!” Stephanie West, Receptionist Extraordinaire, waved Waylon over to her desk the minute he stepped inside the rec center. Waylon’s friend, Gabe, stood beside the desk, giving Waylon a look that said Good luck and beware, brother .
Oh boy. With Stephanie, that look could mean anything .
“Yes, Steph?” Waylon asked when he got to the desk. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve started a club,” Stephanie told him, beaming.
“A club.” Waylon looked at Gabe, hoping for some insight, since he was one of the rec center managers. He counted off on his fingers as he said, “Steph, I thought you already had a book club, a yoga club,” he decided to yank her chain, “a cougar club…”
“Hey now.” She ran her hand down her silver-white hair, “you guys are the ones who refuse to let me join your little animal-nickname club. I still want to be Cougar.”
“Never, Steph,” Gabe said .
She pursed her lips. “You are not my favorite boss anymore, T-Wolf.” She turned her attention back to Waylon. “Anyway, I’ve started a new club.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What kind of club?”
“An Adventure Buddies Club! We meet every Saturday in October. It’s for rec center members who maybe wanna go do activities and don’t have a buddy to go along with them, thus the name.” She pointed at Waylon. “And you’re signed up.”
“Wait, what?” He looked at Gabe to see if this was some kind of joke, but going by his brother’s expression, this was news to him. “I have buddies. There’s one of them now.” He pointed at Gabe, who did him the courtesy of nodding. “If I wanted to go hiking and asked him, he’d come with me.”
“That’s true, I would,” Gabe confirmed.
“So I don’t need to be in a, what’d you call it? Activity Bros Club?”
“Adventure Buddies Club! Sheesh. I know you have friends, but it starts this Saturday and I’m one person shy and I haven’t had any takers. So, tag, you’re it.” Stephanie picked up a pen and wrote Waylon’s name on a sign-up sheet. “I’ve got you paired up with Frank.”
“Who’s Frank?” Gabe asked.
“I don’t think Frank’s been into the rec center since before you started here, Boss.”
Waylon shifted his gym bag on his shoulder. “Why do I need to be paired up for a club?”
“Waylon, I’m surprised you don’t get it. It’s baked into the name, don’cha see? You go to Cocktails and Chicken Strips with a wingman, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “Not anymore.” Not since Elias met and married Wren Stapleton.
“Everyone needs someone watching their back or it’s not as fun, is it? The Adventure Buddies Club is about having fun and having a Buddy to watch your back. And since I’d hate to disappoint Frank after being gone so long, I’ve signed you up. Problem solved.”
“Why me? Why do I have to do this?”
“Because you don’t want to let down an old lady, do you?” Steph stuck out her bottom lip into the biggest pout ever and fluttered her eyelids at him.
Waylon crossed his arms. “You have never once in your life thought of or called yourself an old lady, Stephanie.”
“No, but I will do whatever it takes to get my way. Just ask Gabe.”
“She’s a monster.”
“ Thank you. You’re my favorite boss again.” Stephanie beamed at Gabe. “Now, what do you say, Way?” She grinned at her own rhyme. “Are you on the bus, Gus? Is it a new plan, Stan?”
“ Stop .” Waylon looked at the ceiling then back at Stephanie.
She’s going to be insufferable if I say no .
“Fine.”
“Yes!” Stephanie fist-pumped the air.
“But only one time. This Saturday, and then that’s it. I’m not doing this every week.”
She narrowed her eyes. “So then you’re gonna leave Frank high and dry for the rest of October? Not cool. Actually, worse than not cool.”
Dammit . He hated the way Stephanie was appraising him.
She’s thinking of ways to make my life about as fun as jock itch if I don’t agree to help .
“Okay. But, you have to promise me that you’ll keep looking for a replacement, and the minute someone else signs up, I’m out, free and clear.”
“Hmm.” She continued to study him like he was a frog pinned to a board and she had a dissecting kit. Then she smiled. “Okay. Deal.”
Waylon didn’t trust that smile one bit. “You have to look for a replacement.”
“Okay.”
“ Actively look. You can’t hide the sign-up sheet. ”
“Right.”
“And you need to tell people—out loud—that you need one more person.”
“Yup.” Stephanie popped the P.
“And the second you find someone else, I’m out, no exceptions.”
“Got it. No exceptions.” She grinned in a way that murdered his trust.
“Do I have your word?”
“Sure do.” Her grin got wider.
“Shake on it.”
“Want me to spit on my palm first?”
Waylon flinched. “Please, no.”
Stephanie stretched out her thankfully dry hand. “Deal.”
Waylon shook her hand. “Deal.”
He spent the next three days dreading Saturday morning. But a promise was a promise, and now Waylon was standing in the rec center bright and early when he should have been home nursing the hangover he’d worked hard to build Friday night at Cocks and Strippers. At least he hadn’t gone home with anyone, not that he’d had the opportunity. He danced with a couple of women but neither seemed interested in anything more than a dance.
“Adventure Buddies,” he scoffed under his breath. “I don’t need this.”
But he kind of did now. Last night was proof he needed a wingman.
And now Elias has Wren .
Bear and T-Wolf were married too, so if they went they’d bring Ellie and Rochelle along. Hanging out with three couples was not conducive to picking up hotties.
Of his single friends, Shane was out. And Ben? Well, the meat market was never really Moose’s scene. He tended to be the designated driver and the one who talked his brothers out of making bad choices a time or two. Waylon had no one to talk him out of his bad choices except himself, and where was the fun in that ?
I wonder if this Frank guy is single. Yeah, probably, or he’d be out with his wife or girlfriend on a Saturday, right?
Wait a minute.
Stephanie knew he’d lost his wingman. Maybe Frank needed a wingman, too.
That’s why she signed me up. Sneaky woman!
And speak of the devil, there she was, popping out of a doorway and smiling like a kid with a new puppy.
“Come on back,” Stephanie said as she cocked her arm and waved him down the hall. “We’re all waiting for you, slowpoke. Frank’s feeling like the odd man out.” She turned and disappeared back into the room.
Waylon made his way down the hall, feeling like he was nine years old again, starting at a new school and hoping to make friends. He shook off the ridiculous feeling. Then again, he’d met his brothers at the age of five, when his family moved to Colorado. They’d recognized a kindred spirit and brought him right into the pack. Maybe this would go the same way.
Either Frank would make a great wingman or Waylon would tell Steph to find someone else, double-time.
He stopped in the doorway and looked in. The room was full of people talking to each other in pairs. A couple of women by the window, another pair sitting down and chatting like they were old friends. Two sets of men rounded out the group, leaving one person standing alone.
A woman.
What the hell?
Waylon definitely did not need a wing woman .
She stared at her shoes as Waylon studied her. The word pixie came to mind. She had a slim build hiding under clothes that looked a couple sizes too big. She wore a tight beanie and not a strand of hair escaped it, so it must have been short.
Waylon turned to Stephanie, standing just inside the room. “Uh, Steph? Where’s Frank? ”
He hoped she’d tell him that she’d changed her mind about having a Buddy and the pixie-woman was Stephanie’s partner for the day, and that Frank was off taking a leak.
“What? Are you blind? Frank’s right over there.” She pointed at the woman. “Hey, Frankie!”
Her head shot up when Stephanie said her name. Her eyes, touched with sadness, looked almost too big for her thin face.
Waylon liked his women curvy, with long hair he could play with—tug on during sex. And he liked them cheerful and drama-free—there for a good time, not a long time.
Whatever joke Stephanie was playing, Frankie was a great, big nope. The sad-eyed pixie wasn’t his type, even if those big eyes were the most beautiful he’d ever seen.
But as they studied each other, the corner of Frankie’s mouth quirked up and those gorgeous eyes quickly lost their melancholy look as they took him in. They widened even further, obviously liking what they saw as she started walking toward him. Her gaze stirred something inside him that wanted to cross the room to get to her before she got away. He felt his heart race and almost took a step towards her.
Almost.
What am I thinking? Waylon shook himself out of the spell her eyes cast.
She looks too eager , he told himself. He did not relish spending the day with this wisp of a woman who would probably ‘accidentally’ fall into his arms every ten feet and ask him if he’d accepted veganism into his heart yet.
Waylon frowned at her, then watched as the eagerness in her eyes dimmed. He immediately regretted it.
There had to be some way of getting out of this. He turned fully toward Frank, hoping maybe he could still talk both her and Steph into being partners, and he could get back to his life.
But as soon as he turned, Frank took one look at his shirt and pulled a face .
Quite a face, actually. Like she’d just picked a fuzzy up off the floor and realized it was a spider squirming in her fingers instead.
What’s that about?
Had he spilled something disgusting on his shirt? He looked down and saw nothing wrong with it. It was one of his favorites; the “Run for 911” race shirt he’d worn for a 5K benefitting the ER—a shirt that Waylon thought made his pecs look particularly good.
The pixie stopped in front of them and looked at Stephanie. “Steve. You didn’t.”
Steve?
Stephanie shrugged nonchalantly. “I had no choice, Frank. We were short one person, so,” she gestured at Waylon. “There you go.” Then she introduced them. “Waylon Ramson, meet Francesca—Frankie to her friends—Whitmore. Frankie Whitmore, meet Waylon—Ram to his friends—Ramson.”
“Ram, huh?” Frankie inspected him again as she sucked in her lower lip and Waylon pretended that it didn’t send a jolt straight to his crotch.
What the hell was that?
“I don’t need a Buddy,” Frankie told Stephanie. “Especially not this one.” She dismissed him with a wave.
Whoa, wait a minute. What’s wrong with having me for a buddy?
“Nope. You have to have a buddy, Frankie. Thems the rules.”
“ You don’t have a buddy,” she pointed out.
“Told you, that’s because I’m in charge,” Stephanie said. “I don’t need one.”
“Yes you do. I’ll be your buddy, and we’ll send Mr. ER Guy back home where he belongs.” Frankie brushed her palms together— smack-smack —like she’d just finished doing a distasteful job. “Done.”
“Hey, now, wait a damn minute,” Waylon said. “What’s wrong with me? I’d make a perfectly good Adventure Buddy.”
Frankie crossed her arms. “Maybe for someone else, but not for me. And Steve should’ve known better.” She eyed Stephanie, and Waylon witnessed something he never thought he’d see .
Stephanie flinched and looked away.
Frankie reacted immediately. Her frown disappeared, replaced by absolute dismay. “Steve, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come across so harshly.”
Stephanie shrugged while she looked at the floor, obviously crushed. “No worries. You don’t want to be an adventure buddy, Waylon really doesn’t want to be an adventure buddy?—”
“Wait, I—” they both said simultaneously, then looked at each other.
Frankie touched Steph’s arm. “I’m sorry. I know you’re excited about the Adventure Buddy Club. I am, too.” She gave Waylon a soft smile. “I think I can work with him.”
Waylon hated to see Stephanie upset—that’s how he rationalized his next words.
“Yeah, and I think I can work with her.”
He tried to pretend his change of heart had nothing to do with that soft smile Frankie gave him. A smile that reached all the way to her big blue eyes and took some of the sting out of her snarky “ER guy” comment.
Stephanie’s head snapped up as she clapped her hands and smiled wide.
“Excellent! I know you two are going to make great buddies. Now, let’s shake some tailfeathers and go on an adventure.” She clapped her hands over her head to get everyone’s attention. “Now that we’re all present and accounted for, please sign one of the release forms on the table over there. Then follow me if you want to have fun!”
As Stephanie strutted out of the room, Waylon and Frankie shared another look.
One that said they both realized they’d just been played like a pair of violins.
The rec center bus made a left off of Peak to Peak Highway onto Overland and said goodbye to paved road. From here, it was well-graded dirt and gravel all the way to the Ceran St. Vrain trail. Waylon had wanted to drive up by himself in his truck, but Stephanie wasn’t having it.
“On the bus or you’re out of the club, and I’m not letting you out of the club,” she’d shouted to him from the driver’s seat after all the other Buddies turned over their release forms and boarded. Including his so-called Buddy, Frankie. Waylon got on and took the last seat beside her. She barely acknowledged him except to move her pack closer to her window to make room for his.
Waylon sat with his arms crossed, sneaking glances at his “Buddy” who was pointedly staring out the window. Her posture was stiff inside her oversized jacket, and the tight beanie covering her head made her look even more self-contained, like she didn’t need anyone at all, especially not him.
Not that Waylon cared what Frankie thought of him. Nope, not at all.
Not even when her face lit up as she first caught sight of him. Definitely not when the sadness lifted from her eyes. And especially not when her attitude turned on a dime and she didn’t want anything to do with him.
Waylon knew his reasons for not wanting to be partnered up with her. Good, sound reasons. They didn’t even have to do with Frankie specifically—he would’ve resented any woman Stephanie chose for him. He didn’t want or need a matchmaker setting him up on a blind date.
So why does Frankie think I’d be such a bad partner? The thought niggled at him. Obviously, she’d been game for this match-up. Hell, maybe she’d even asked Stephanie—oh, wait, Steve —to find her a man.
And I don’t measure up . He fought back the next thought, but it clawed its way through. Wouldn’t be the first time .
Waylon leaned forward slightly, trying to catch Frankie’s eye, but she kept her face angled toward the passing trees.
He cleared his throat.
Frankie turned her head away from the window. She looked vaguely hopeful again. He felt a small thrill of victory. At least she wasn’t ignoring him anymore.
“Yes?”
But now that he had those damningly beautiful eyes on him, his mind went blank, so he just blurted out, “What is it?”
She tilted her head. “What is what?”
“What is your problem with me?”
Boom. The hope in Frankie’s eyes disappeared as they widened in surprise. “ My problem with you ?”
“Yeah. You gave me the stink eye back at the rec center”—he tried to forget the first look she’d given him, the one that woke his entire body up—”as soon as you got a good look at me. I don’t see what’s so terrible about me being your Adventure Buddy. I’m dependable, good in a crisis?—”
“And modest, too,” she said flatly.
Waylon chuckled despite himself. “Okay, fair. But seriously, what’s your deal with me? Do I remind you of someone? An ex maybe?”
The faintest glimmer returned to her eyes as she studied him for a moment. “You don’t remind me of an ex, no.” The glimmer disappeared. “But you’re one to talk about who gave who the stink eye. You gave me one first, buddy .”
“I…didn’t…” he lied. “I mean, I didn’t, mean to, um…”
But too late, Frankie’s jaw tightened and she turned back to the window as her arms wrapped protectively around her torso. Whatever tiny crack he’d made in her armor had been sealed up tight again, and it was his own damn fault for lying, just not for the reasons she assumed.
Great. Just great .
Dammit, Stephanie .
Waylon checked his watch. At least Steph was making good time. She drove with the confidence of someone who firmly believed speed limits were suggestions. If she drove like the little old lady she almost never claimed to be, this awkward ride would’ve felt like an eternity.
Okay, a longer eternity than it already is .
With Frankie glued to the window, he hoped Stephanie hiked the way she drove, and that this stupid day would be over that much faster.