He and Halo sealed the agreement with a handshake.
Bodie, the resident survival expert at Mountaintop, had been quiet all this time but now asked with genuine seriousness, “So we’re not eating the cake today?”
There was technically nothing to hurrah about, but Silas said, “No, let’s eat it. It’ll be an early celebration.”
* * *
An exhilarating fizzy rush swept over Raven as she left the Mountaintop Adventure’s office.
She owned a tour company.
The excitement of that reality clung to her as she drove down the mountain straight to the diner Silas had recommended. It was time for celebratory pancakes.
The Yodeling Loon was a cozy restaurant with a giant loon sculpture at the front and waitstaff in matching aprons. It smelled like cinnamon buns, and the people inside looked like some version of patrons she’d seen before. There was the table of old men talking loudly to one another behind their newspapers, the folks inhaling their breakfasts before they needed to clock in, and dozing workers who’d just ended their shifts.
Once inside a booth, Raven placed her order with a waitress then looked out the window at the store facades on the other side of the street. She could picture the glittering snow that would appear come wintertime. If all worked out, she’d be here to see it.
Raven’s phone buzzed with an incoming call from Gwen. It was as though her heedful best friend sensed, all those miles away, that pragmatism was being evaded.
“How’d the meeting go?” Gwen asked.
“It was fine,” Raven began. “Unexpected.”
“Unexpected? Wait, explain.”
“I had the bill of sale right in front of me, and all I kept thinking about were the odds of me getting fired the day before I learned about an inheritance. Or the odds of a boyfriend my mom dated almost fifteen years ago forgetting to remove me from his will. It all feels synchronous.”
The opportunity also surfaced just as Raven had begun to feel the pull of ennui. It was a sign, and Raven paid attention to signs. From the obvious ones that told her how to comport herself on the road to the subtle ones the universe sent her way to take that job, dump that boyfriend, or buy a dress on sale.
“So you’re just going to own a tour company?” her friend asked. “You’re the least outdoorsy person I know.”
“No, I’m doing a trial run and will make a final decision at the end of the summer.”
An old version of Raven would’ve been all-in by now, so her current plan felt judicious. There was virtually no risk to it.
“And the would-be buyer is okay with this?” Gwen asked.
“That would be a no,” Raven said, laughing.
She’d been a little sad to see Silas’s charming smile shift into a scowl. But she supposed she couldn’t blame him for being irritated by her change of heart. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t be persuaded to do what he wanted. In fact, the way her personality was set up, she didn’t do well at all with people telling her what to do.
“All right. What about the practicalities?” Gwen asked. “Did you bring enough clothes for the summer?”
“No, but I’ll call my mom to send a suitcase on one of the long-distance buses that passes through.”
“Okay, where will you live?” her friend then lobbed. “I’m assuming you’re going to pay yourself a salary while you’re there, but hotels still aren’t cheap.”
“I’m staying at a motel right now, and I’ll talk to the owner and work out a deal or something,” Raven said.
Gwen sighed heavily. “I guess this will be another one of your adventures.”
“Yes, exactly,” Raven said, smiling at her friend’s familiar refrain.
Everything would work out fine. She could feel it. Nothing as small as logistics or a territorial man would be insurmountable.
ChapterThree
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