Open Skies by Marysol James Read Free Book Online Page B

perfect excuse to swing in to Ben & Jerry’s near Gate A and grab a cup of their Cheesecake Brownie ice cream. She was a hardcore ice cream fan, and it was a personal tragedy for her that there was no Ben & Jerry’s in Clarity.
    With deep regret, she scooped the last bite of her treat and tossed the container in to the recycling bin. She glanced up at the arrivals table, and saw that Julie Everett was now in Denver, right on time. She sighed and tried to stay positive. Maybe everyone was wrong, and Dave’s daughter would be a good thing for Open Skies Ranch. Rosie hoped so, anyway.
    She only had to wait about thirty minutes when she saw a woman looking at her closely. Rosie held up the sign with Julie’s name written on it and grinned encouragingly.
    Julie looked at the young woman holding the sign with her name and walked over to her. As she approached, she looked her welcoming party up and down. The young woman was maybe in her twenties – Julie guessed this must be Rose-Anne, one of the groomers and trainers. She was dressed in tight black jeans and a button-down blue denim shirt and a lined jean jacket; she had a few chunky silver rings on her fingers, and her boots were brown leather and very flat. She was pretty, in an outdoorsy, all-American, healthy kind of way. This girl looked like she breathed fresh air every day and drank all her milk. Her blonde hair was thick and lustrous and her teeth were straight and disturbingly white.
    Julie reached the young woman and said, “Hello. I’m Julie Everett. Are you Rose-Anne?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Those teeth flashed as she spoke. “But everybody calls me Rosie.”
    “Nice to meet you,” Julie nodded. “Shall we go?”
    “Sure.” Rosie gestured at the trolley, piled high with what looked like very expensive luggage. Louis Vuitton was expensive, right? “Do you need a hand?”
    “No. Thank you.”
    “OK, then. I’m parked over here. Follow me.”
    They walked through the DIA, and out to the parking garage. When Julie saw what Rosie had come to get her in, she stopped, disbelieving.
    “I’m sorry. Is that a pick-up truck ?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Julie looked at her luggage, and back at the truck. “And where do my bags go, exactly?”
    “In the back.” Rosie looked puzzled.
    “On the filthy floor? Exposed to the elements?”
    “Of course not.” Rosie laughed. “I have a new carpet laid down, and I have a clean tarp to cover your luggage.”
    “Oh. A tarp. What a relief.” Julie sighed. “I don’t believe this.” How am I meant to look all competent and professional, pulling up in this thing?
    “I’m very sorry. I didn’t think your luggage would be so fancy.” Rosie looked distraught. Oh, my God… this is my boss! I’m pissing her off within three minutes of meeting her. She hates me. Oh, God. She’s going to kill me with that death stare. Jesus, she’s scary.
    “No, it’s fine. Go ahead and cover it all up.”
    Julie climbed in to the passenger side of the truck. Jesus Christ, she wasn’t wearing the right kind of shoes to have to clamber up and in to this piece of crap mode of transportation. Right at this moment, she was bitterly wishing that she’d arranged to take a taxi the hour’s drive from Denver to Hicksville, Colorado.
    She sighed and looked out the window, wishing that she was back in New York with Tammy. They could be all dressed up and sipping wine at a club right now, gossiping and talking about Tammy’s latest mistake in the relationship department. Instead, she was here. Wherever here was.
    Rosie got in and started up the engine. She turned to Julie. “I’m really sorry, again.”
    “Are all my bags covered adequately?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Fine.”
    Rosie pulled out and started to count down the seconds of the drive back to Clarity. She had a feeling that being stuck in a truck with Julie Everett was going to be a very uncomfortable experience: the temperature in the truck had actually dropped several