Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13)(53)

"Are you, now?"

"Men don't usually gaze at me that way," Clay explained. "Shew."

"When he thinks about this later, he is going to be so embarrassed."

Eleven

Jillian maneuvered the van into the Riordan cabin compound, her sister Kelly riding shotgun, her friends Penny and Jackie in the backseat. They drove past the river, wide and flowing strong beside the cabins, surrounded by trees, shrubs, autumn flowers with mountains rising behind it. Six small, quaint cabins lined the drive; there was a two-story house with a wide porch at the end of the compound.

This was the last leg of their annual vacation, one they were committed to and had taken every year since college. She drove past the cabins right up to the front of the owner's house. When she parked, a young woman holding a baby stood from her porch chair.

Jillian and Kelly were the first out of the van. "Hi," Jill said. "I'm--"

"Jillian Matlock?" she asked. "Hi, I'm Shelby Riordan. Welcome." She turned away and shouted into the house. "Luke, they're here."

"How did you know it was me? There are four of us!"

Shelby laughed. "I didn't. You were the one who called ahead, the only name I knew." She walked down the porch steps, baby held against her. "We have cabin number four ready for you and because today's a busy day for the town, Jack's Bar won't be open. It's the only place to eat in town, so I took the liberty of putting some food in your refrigerator--some bread, cold cuts, eggs, cheese and milk. Also some colas and coffee. You'll have to go as far as Fortuna for a restaurant meal--I'm sure you came through Fortuna on your way here. Just on the chance you don't feel like any more driving, I wanted you to have an option. There's no obligation--if that doesn't suit you, just leave it and Luke will take care of it."

Just as she said that, a man came out of the house carrying a diaper bag. "Can you think of anything else you need?" he asked.

"Um...a key?"

They both grinned. "The key's on a hook just inside the door--the cabin isn't locked."

"Oh," Jillian said. "Don't you ever lock up?"

"Sure we do," Shelby said. "We can't vouch for guests, so you should lock up your stuff after you unload and leave it. We're headed out."

"We'll be back by around five," Luke said. "There's Internet hookup, but your cell phones won't work here. I have a working phone in the house if you have calls to make later. We're headed to a garage sale--"

"Estate sale," Shelby corrected. "An elderly woman from town died recently and left a big old house filled to the rafters with interesting stuff. Not only will the whole town be there but probably most of the county. That's why Jack's is closed--he's flipping burgers at the estate sale."

Kelly stepped forward. "Is it open to the public?"

"Not only open, we've been advertising! It's free and with potential to find interesting stuff at rock-bottom prices. Most of the town just couldn't wait for a look inside that house--closest thing to a mansion we have around here. And no one from Virgin River was ever in it before she died."

"Interesting..." Kelly said.

"Have you heard of Muriel St. Claire? The actress?"

"Everyone's heard of her," Penny said.

"Well, she organized the sale. She's dedicated to yard sales, estate sales, antique sales... It's kind of her hobby."

"Did you hire her?" Penny asked, wide-eyed.

Shelby laughed. "She lives here. She dates my uncle Walt."

Jillian looked over her shoulder at her sister and friends. "Ladies?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to see this," Penny said.

A few minutes later, after Luke fetched Art, a man with Down syndrome, to ride with him, the girls were back in the van and following the Riordans out into town.

Jillian and Kelly Matlock, sisters aged thirty-one and thirty-two, had a ritual annual vacation with girlfriends Penny Gerhard and Jackie Davis. All four of them had been friends since high school and were very successful in vastly different arenas--VP of Corporate Communications for a large software manufacturer, a well-known sous-chef in a busy San Francisco restaurant, a PR director for a large banking chain and a political analyst, respectively. Four highly compensated, extremely pressured single women.

Come hell or high water, they managed a full week to ten days away together every year. Kicking back, laughing late into the night, just like when they were in high school, bleeding off some job stress, then going back to their challenging work worlds feeling renewed and ready to do battle for another fifty-one weeks. They had all gone to the same university, except Kelly, who attended various culinary institutes around the world. They'd been taking these trips since the year they'd graduated college. The destinations varied greatly, from spas to sailing and diving trips to camping. One particularly memorable vacation was spent at a lodge in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota and it had been one of their best--they had indulged in everything from canoeing, hiking and tracking large animals to just lying around in chaise lounges at the water's edge under leafy boughs of trees, and delighting in the magnificent talents of the lodge chef.

This year they'd rented a roomy van and taken a road trip from the San Francisco area, where they were from, to Vancouver. A restaurant owner in Portland who liked to hunt and fish tipped them off about a beautiful little mountain town off the beaten track in Northern California, and Jillian called to see if there was room at the inn. A final two-day stay on their way back home in a little cabin along Virgin River seemed like a great idea. It'd bring back memories of the Boundary Waters, and they could enjoy the early fall weather, warmer here than in the Bay Area, and rest up from their vacation before heading back to their demanding careers.