The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska #1)(44)

“Mountainside Morning Yoga.” Lana didn’t look up from her phone.

“Sounds like a breakfast,” Graham decided, squeezing in between Lana’s and Zoey’s yoga mats. “L, no cell phones in class.”

Stretching out comfortably on the grass, he flicked her phone with a finger before turning back to Zoey. “So, yoga, huh? I pictured you more of the running through the woods screaming type.”

She opened her mouth to retort, then started giggling again as Jake scooted on his belly through the grass, resting his muzzle on the mat between her arms.

“Yes, I love you too,” she promised. “But I paid for this, Jake. I did; I paid way too much for it.”

“To see him? This guy?”

The instructor opened one eye, aiming it Graham’s way.

Graham jutted his chin upward in greeting. “Heya, Russ.”

“Good morning, Graham. If you’re joining our class, please lower your voice to pleasing levels and take a downward dog position. Feel the stretch.”

“Feel the stretch, Zoey,” Graham stage-whispered to her. Her glasses had slipped down her nose in this position, and he wanted to nudge them back up for her.

“Deeper,” Russ instructed. “Let the stretch take your mind off your worries.”

“This guy used to be so uptight in school. I used to cheat off his papers in kindergarten, and he’d throw a fit.”

“Sun salutation,” Russ hummed. “And greet the morning.”

“How do you cheat in kindergarten?” Zoey asked, giggling.

“I’d just copy what he drew.”

Clearing his throat, Russ raised his voice. “Greet the morning in quiet reflection.”

Zoey lowered her voice to an actual whisper. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“We’re closed today. There was the possibility of being criticized, and I don’t take criticism well, constructive or otherwise.”

“Graham. Greet the morning or please leave my class.”

Well, when Russ put it that way… Greeting the morning popped his back in the kind of way he’d feel for the rest of the day.

“Hey, Zo.” Getting her attention, he waggled his eyebrows at her. “What are you doing today? Besides this?”

Her already bright eyes brightened even more. “I have a shuttle to catch in forty-five minutes. Lana and I get to go whale watching out of Seward. Oh my gosh, I’ve been dreaming about this for years, and suddenly, it’s today. It’s in less than an hour! I couldn’t sleep last night.”

Could she have been any cuter? Graham wasn’t sure he’d ever been as excited about something as she was about this. Russ called for them to go back into downward dog, and for a moment, Graham watched his actual dog touch noses with Zoey, Jake shivering with pleasure and Zoey looking just as happy.

Okay. So that might have been the cutest thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“Sorry, love.” With a sigh, Lana shook her head. “It seems my work trip has become more work than trip. I’m going to have to sneak away from this one too.”

When Zoey’s happiness slipped, it took Graham’s heart right along with it. “What do you have to do?”

“Nothing for you to worry about, just a little investment meeting or two. Maybe Graham wants to go.”

Whale watching? With a whole bunch of tourists? Nope, Graham most certainly did not want to go. He glanced at Zoey and realized his reluctance must have shown on his face.

“Or Killian,” Lana continued, aiming a knowing look Graham’s way. “I bet he’s free, and you two get along well.”

Ooh. L always could hit a man where he lived. It was probably why these two were friends.

“How’s that fair? You offer a guy a fun-filled day of whale watching with his favorite Zoey and then take it away?”

“You snooze, you lose.”

“I’d enjoy the company,” Zoey said shyly, sounding embarrassed. “You don’t have to though.”

“Sadly, I’m going to have to pass.” Softening his tone, Graham scooted his hand over an extra inch and hooked his pinkie finger over hers. “I’d love to spend the day with you, but I have a feeling there’s a no Jakes rule on this trip. Even if I booked it out of here, I couldn’t get him home and get back here again in forty-five minutes.”

Despite her clear disappointment, Zoey gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. I’m fine going alone.”

“Just go with Killian,” Lana pressed. “He likes you. He won’t mind at all.”

Now, why did that stick in his craw so much? Graham grunted, glaring at the grass.

“Don’t force him, Lana. I’m perfectly fine on my own. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“No, but I promised you I would go with you, and this is the second thing I have to miss.” Lana sounded embarrassed and more than a little frustrated.

Eyes closed, Russ raised his voice to be heard over them, smooth and peaceful but so loud.

“Everyone rise to your feet. Now, take a deep breath. Reach for the sky, opening your chest and your shoulders and your mind. Let the mountain air wash over you. You are the mountain. As you go into mountain pose, be the mountain. Let its slopes be your slopes.”