What Are The Chances?. D. Graham R.

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СКАЧАТЬ he wished they had chosen Mexico instead of the rugged Canadian wilderness as their summer vacation destination.

      There wasn’t anything I could do to prevent whatever bad thing was going to happen if I didn’t know what that thing was. Or where it happened. Or when it happened. Or who it happened to. I tried not to worry about the vision, although it wasn’t working that well. Once the majority of guests had either gotten in their cars or gone back to their rooms, I carried a tray of the breakfast leftovers down the hall to my granddad’s room. He was still sleeping. I opened the blinds, which didn’t make the room that much brighter since the sky was so thick with black clouds.

      “Good morning,” I said at a volume gentle enough not to startle him, but loud enough to hear without his hearing aids.

      He rolled over and patted down the few wispy white hairs left on the top of his head. “Oh dear. What time is it? Is the coffee brewing?” He got out of bed and put on a robe over his pyjamas.

      “Everything is taken care of,” I reassured him. “Everyone has already eaten and I’m finished the clean-up too.”

      “Oh Derian. Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” He hooked his glasses behind his ears and squinted at the clock, wondering why the alarm hadn’t gone off.

      “I turned your alarm off. You deserve a day to rest once in a while.” I laid out some clean clothes on his bed. “Taking it easy will prepare you for retirement.”

      “I can’t take today off. Alan and Paula are coming by this morning.”

      “The new owners?”

      “Yes. I’m supposed to give them an orientation today. They also want to come in and do shifts while we’re here so they can get the hang of how to run things.”

      “That’s a good idea.” It made me feel better to know they were eager to learn. Out of all the people who could have bought the Inn I was grateful it was a family who would retain its old charm and continue to run it the same way we always had.

      “They’re going to be a good fit. I can feel it,” he said.

      “I feel it too.” I rested my hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek as I reached over to steal a piece of toast and peanut butter off the tray. “But since we’re technically still on the clock until the end of the summer, I should get back to the front desk. Enjoy your breakfast.” I left his room and headed back to the lobby.

      Two more families who were desperate to entertain their kids during the storm took brochures on the attractions in Squamish. Growing up in an ancient rain forest, I was brought up with the attitude that there was no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. But even I had to admit it was a particularly dreary day. Curling up next to the fireplace with a good book appealed to me.

      As I scanned the list of check-ins for the afternoon, three trucks, all black, pulled into the parking lot—one after the other in a convoy—a Hummer, a Mercedes G Class, and a Range Rover. I knew who they were and a jolt of excitement slammed through me when the driver of the Range Rover got out and crossed the parking lot towards the front door of the Inn.

      I ripped the elastic out of my ponytail and shook my head to make my hair fall straight over my shoulders and down my back. My reflection in the black computer screen reminded me that I still looked like I just rolled out of bed. At best. Oh well. Too late. The driver of the Range Rover, Mason Cartwright, stepped through the door into the lobby. He ran his hands through his wet caramel-brown hair and pushed it back off his forehead. He smiled. “Hi Derian.”

      “Hey.” Saying something more elaborate would have been helpful to at least pretend to be articulate. Unfortunately, my lips felt as if I had gone to the dentist and then got caught in a blizzard.

      “How have you been?”

      I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I tried again and was able to spit out, “Um. Good. You’re home.”

      He chuckled at my blatant statement of the obvious. “Yeah.” He did his shy smile. It had been almost a year since I’d seen it and I had forgotten how adorable it was. He ran his finger over the nick in his eyebrow and said, “A bunch of us are going off-roading. Would you like to come with us?”

      I stared at him for an awkwardly long time. After I blinked three times, I finally forced myself to breathe and answered, “Can’t. Have to work.” My Neanderthal sentences came across sounding rude, so I scrambled to find more words. “Thanks anyway.”

      “What time do you get off?”

      “Never. Um, I mean, it’s not like a real job. It kind of depends on how busy it is. And it is. Busy. This weekend. Lots of people.”

      “Okay. Would you like to go to a party with me in Squamish tonight?” His hand rose in a hold-on-a-second gesture. “Before you answer, I want to remind you about the deal we made last summer. Remember?”

      I remembered our deal—of course I remembered our deal. I had thought about it about a thousand times since then—I was just surprised he remembered. The deal had happened during a crazy time in my life. I had just found out my boyfriend Steve had cheated on me. Trevor had just gotten home after five months away but made it clear we shouldn’t be more than friends. And to top it all off Mason informed me that if we were both single when he got back from working abroad for a year, he would ask me out on a date. At the time, I didn’t know where I would be living in a year or if Trevor and I would be together in a year. Plus, I had always been curious about Mason, so I had agreed. But I thought the chances of him actually honoring the deal were slim. Apparently I was wrong.

      He seemed half-amused and half-worried by my lack of response. “What do you say?”

      Again, I was frozen in an excruciatingly awkward stare as I considered the prospect of a summer fling with him. Then I choked out, “Sure.”

      “Great. I’ll pick you up at eight.” He handed me a business card. “Here’s my number. Text me yours.”

      I nodded like a bobble head.

      His mouth flashed a lopsided smile as if he wanted to laugh at my peculiar behaviour, but he hid it with the back of his hand, probably not wanting to be rude. I knew I was acting like an idiot, but tragically I couldn’t help it. Mason was literally the best-looking human being I had ever met. To save my dignity, I didn’t even attempt to say anything else. I just waved at him, then watched him run back through the rain and climb into the truck.

      The guy in the passenger seat said something. Mason nodded, smiled, and then waved at me before he drove off with the convoy of trucks following him south on the highway. I jiggled around, trying to contain my excitement.

      “Is that a friend?” Granddad asked, making me jump out of my seat.

      Clutching my chest to attempt to still my heartbeat, I said, “No. Not exactly. I kind of know him from school. He’s one year older than I am. We never really hung out with the same crowds.”

      “Does he go to university?”

      “No, he works for his dad’s import business. He’s been travelling, so I haven’t seen him since last summer.”

      “What’s his name?”

      “Mason.”

      “The СКАЧАТЬ