Reconsidering Riley by Lisa Plumley Read Free Book Online Page B

Mom was
busy in Rocky Point, Mexico, vacationing with her latest male
"friend." So that left Alexis alone, with a whole week of
aloneness stretching ahead of her.
    A movement outside her window caught her
attention. Pulling aside the curtain, she peered out. The
anti-heartbreak book author strode past, wearing a dress-and-heels
outfit straight out of Elle ...but with an attitude straight
out of Woman Power . She kept her head high, her back
straight, and her eyes on her destination—the edge of the lodge's
back deck, where Gramps stood smoking a cigar. While Alexis
watched, the author—Jayne, she remembered—approached Gramps. They
turned to each other, smiling and exchanging a greeting Alexis
couldn't quite hear, even though her room overlooked the deck.
    She let the curtain fall back and flopped
onto her bed again, still feeling misunderstood. Jayne probably
knew all about broken hearts, she reflected. She probably
knew all about getting over them, too.
    According to Nana, Heartbreak 101:
Getting Over The Good-Bye Guys was a pretty good book. Not that
anyone had let Alexis read it for herself. Her family still treated
her like a kid—look at the Cosmo incident. But Jayne...Jayne
was a different story. She'd talked to Alexis in a woman-to-woman
way when they'd met earlier. She'd been nice and pretty and so not trying to "get down" with teenager "slang." Alexis
appreciated that.
    She'd have bet anything Jayne had
interesting things planned for those women Uncle Riley would be
trail-guiding. Things to help them get over their broken hearts.
Things that...might help Alexis, too.
    Hey ! Filled with new energy, she sat
bolt upright on her bed. The answer to her troubles was plain: she
had to go on that heartbreak cure trip. No matter what.
     
     
     
    Jayne watched as Bud Davis tapped his cigar
into the ash tray balanced atop the deck's tumbled-stone wall. He
gave another thoughtful drag, then looked at her.
    "I'm sorry you're havin' a problem with
Riley," he said. "I've had my share of tussles with him myself, but
I know he means well. If he's offended you—"
    "No, it's not that." He's seen me naked,
sir. Again. And I'm mortally embarrassed that he goaded me into a
show-all bath accessories battle, too . "Riley and I...I just
think it would be better if another guide were assigned to my
group."
    Bud squinted toward the desert landscape.
"How many people are in your group?"
    "Six, including me."
    "How many days will you be stayin'?"
    "Six. Until Sunday."
    "And how long did you and my grandson
date?"
    "Six months, give or take a—hey!"
    The older man smiled. Too late, Jayne
glimpsed the wiliness in his eyes. Until just this minute, Bud had
seemed merely a good-natured older gentleman, white-haired and
countrified in his flannel shirt. Now, all of a sudden, the rest of
the story was revealed. This was a man, she realized, who loved a
good adventure—whether it was a trek through the wilderness or a
fact-finding mission to uncover his unsuspecting guest's
secrets.
    No wonder Riley had grown into the wanderer
he was. If his grandfather were any indication, seeking out
uncharted territory was in his blood.
    "I thought so," Bud said, nodding. "And how
long since you two split?"
    She couldn't resist the gruff understanding
in his face. "Not quite two years. I guess Riley didn't...tell you
and Gwen about me?"
    At Bud's head shake, Jayne's spirits sank. A
part of her had hoped Riley had been compelled to talk about her,
had been unable to resist confiding news of the woman he'd met in
San Francisco and the whirlwind romance they'd shared.
    "I'm sorry," Bud went on. His lined hand
covered hers, squeezed, moved away. He gazed at a distant red rock
formation. "I shouldn't have pried. But the truth of the matter is,
Gwen and I are pretty close to Riley. It was obvious something
about you got to him, even before the rest of your ladies ambushed
him."
    At the memory of the way her breakup-ees had
leapt to her post-breakup defense, Jayne