Pinky Promise (Riverbend Romance 2) (12 page)

“Evan says bring chips and pop.” Brittany scrunched her nose. “No junk food for me, but I’ll take a few cans of diet cola along.”

Right. Must preserve that size two at all cost.

~*~

Reed Daniels leaned against the open tailgate of his pickup, watching his friends jump into the river. Why was he here again? Right, to scope out the competition. He allowed himself a small grin at the thought. Not the other fellows crowding around the girls, but to see if Brittany brought her cousin.

Probably a bad idea. If Maddrey’s new hire was anything like her cousin, Reed would stay clear of her. But, wow, he’d caught a glimpse of a gorgeous young woman out in a canoe with Maddrey the other day. Evan, his business partner, had said she was Brittany’s cousin. Coming to Friday’s bonfire, he’d added, as though he knew everything.

Was it so wrong to want to meet her in person? Probably a bad idea in front of this bunch. They were hungry for blood.

Reed averted his eyes from the deep pool where several couples were wrapped in each other’s arms. Rumors abounded about who’d slept with whom. It made his gut hurt. These were kids he’d grown up with, gone to youth group with, made purity pacts with. Sometimes he felt like the last man standing.

Brittany’s white Mazda picked its way down the dusty road, avoiding the biggest rocks and deepest potholes. She had a passenger.

Reed wiped clammy hands on his navy swim shorts and prayed he wouldn’t make a fool of himself as the Mazda angled in among the other vehicles and the doors opened. Brittany’s cousin exited the vehicle on the far side, red-gold hair pulled back into a ponytail. No orange life vest now, just a soft green tank top and darker green mid-thigh shorts.

She glanced his way, caught his eye, and smiled. She had the most beautiful, genuine smile he’d ever seen.

He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his own face. He’d never started a conversation with a pretty girl in his life. There was a first time for everything.

Brittany glared at Reed and hooked her arm through her cousin’s, pulling her toward the river. Her cousin glanced back.

Yep, he was going to do this if it killed him. He sauntered closer. “Hi, I’m Reed Daniels. You must be Brittany’s cousin.”

She pulled away from the tight grasp. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Carly Thorbergsen.”

Her hand gripped his with more strength than most girls. But then again, what man went around shaking hands with pretty girls? Had she noticed the sweat on his palm against her long fingers? His gaze snapped to her face, to eyes that hovered somewhere between blue and green, framed with long lashes that didn’t seem heavy with mascara, her face more tanned than made-up.

Brittany leaned close to Carly and whispered something. Carly shrugged as she released his hand. Brittany tossed a plastic grocery bag onto his truck’s tailgate on her way past then pulled her tank top off to reveal a bikini. That was one of the problems with this kind of party. A lot of skin. In Brittany’s case, a guy could count every rib.

Words. He needed to find some. “So, um, hi. What brings you to Riverbend?” Man, he was tripping all over. This was amazingly unsuave, even for him.

She smiled at him. Amazing smile. “Brittany told me Base Camp Outfitters was hiring, so I applied online. I got the job, and here I am.”

His guess had been correct. “I think I saw you with Neil Maddrey out on Sandon Lake in a canoe Wednesday.” At 3:41 p.m. near the north shore. He’d sound like a stalker if he said
that
out loud.

Her face lit up.

Oh, man. She was cute enough without that extra glow.

“Not sure if Maddrey mentioned it to you or not, but a grizzly was sighted up that way last week.”

She angled a look at him. “A grizz? Not a black?”

Ah, she knew her bears. Good girl.

“It’s true we don’t see many in this area, but I trust the person who reported it to know the difference. A big silver-tip, he said. Distinct hump.”

“Neil didn’t say anything, but thanks for the warning. I’ll make sure to watch for it.” She nodded as though filing the information. “But that was you? In the cedar-strip canoe? I have such envy. Paddling around in a red floating cooler like Base Camp’s rentals is almost enough to make me quit my job before I’ve barely started.”

Reed’s spine straightened of its own accord. “You like it? It took me months to build.” He couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice.

Her mouth formed an o as her eyebrows rose. “
You
built that gorgeous canoe?”

“Yeah.” The interest in her eyes made him look down at his sport sandal scuffing the dirt on the path. But it was way easier to talk about bears or canoes than about himself. “Cedar-stripping fills winter hours when I can’t be on the water.”

“A bit of an addict, are we?”

He glanced up again at the teasing tone in her voice. “Just a bit.”

“My dad and I used to talk about building one together.”

What message was he supposed to get from that? “But something always came up, eh?”

“Like cancer.”

“Oh.” Now he felt like a heel. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“He fought for six and a half years. For a while we thought he had it beat. Anyway, he’s gone now.”

Reed searched her face, hoping she could see the sympathy in his eyes. “It must be tough to lose a parent.” He still saw his nearly every day. Yeah, he’d moved out of the house—all the way to the apartment he’d built above the boat-building shop on their property.

Her pensive gaze shifted to the river behind him. “Two for two.”

Carly’s words were so quiet he wasn’t certain he’d heard them. “Your mom?”

“Died when I was eight.”

“Oh, man. I’m so sorry.”

She bit her lip and glanced at him. “Sorry to overload you when we only just met. So, uh, what temperature is the water?”

Reed turned to watch his friends splashing in the deep eddy. Evan climbed up on a rock and cannonballed in. They’d been swimming here since they were kids. Everyone knew where the water was deep enough for a dive. “Pretty cold,” he said at last, eyeing her at an angle. “It’s glacier-fed. The snow is still melting in the mountains.”

“Those aren’t mountains.” Her eyes gleamed. “Jasper has mountains. These are like little bumps in the ground.”

Reed laughed. “Then maybe you’ll find the river like bathwater. Jump in and see.”

“You know, I think I’ll do just that.” She tugged her tank top over her head then stepped out of her shorts, leaving her clad in a one-piece racing swimsuit. She tossed her clothes in the back of the Mazda and kicked off her sport sandals. “I notice you haven’t been in yet. Bet I’m wet before you are.”

Carly sprinted across the rocky beach.

Reed gave his head a shake and took off after her, but she was right. She ran straight up that rock and cannonballed off of it. He was five steps behind her when she resurfaced and shook the water off her face.
 

“Cold!” she yelped.

He was grinning as he hit the river.

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Author Biography

Valerie Comer
lives where food meets faith in her real life, her fiction, and on her blog and website. She and her husband of over 30 years farm, garden, and keep bees on a small farm in Western Canada, where they grow and preserve much of their own food.
 

Valerie has always been interested in real food from scratch, but her conviction has increased dramatically since God blessed her with three delightful granddaughters. In this world of rampant disease and pollutio
n, she is compelled to do what she can to make these little girls’ lives the best she can. She helps supply healthy food — local food, organic food, seasonal food — to grow strong bodies and minds.

Her experience has planted seeds for many stories rooted in the local-food movement, such as those in her Farm Fresh Romance series.

To find out more, visit her website at
www.valeriecomer.com
, where you can read her blog, explore her many links, and sign up for her
monthly email newsletter
, where you will find news, giveaways, deals, book recommendations and more.

Other Stories by Valerie Comer

Farm Fresh Romance Series

Raspberries and Vinegar
(FREE!)

Wild Mint Tea

Sweetened with Honey
 

Dandelions for Dinner

Plum Upside Down

Berry on Top
(winter 2016)

Riverbend Romance Novella Series

Secretly Yours
(winter)

Pinky Promise
(spring)

Sweet Serenade
(summer)

Team Bride
(autumn)

Merry Kisses
(Christmas)