“River whatchahoosies?” asked Diego.
“Horsey thingamabobs?” asked Jenn.
I reapplied my most influential influencer smile. “Maybe while Noah and Maya are sorting out the details, the two of you could show me around.”
“The only details those two are working out is which one of you Noah is going to drop off the mountain first,” said Diego. “Besides, I’ve got a river whatchahoosie I need to get to.” Diego headed for a truck attached to a trailer filled with rafts.
“And I’d rather go shovel out some more horse thingamabobs.” Jenn headed around the back of the Adventure Center, toward the stables.
“Well, that went better than expected,” I said to Yeti.
Woof.
“Good wolf-dog. Nice wolf-dog.” I said, pulling out my influencer smile again. I hoped it worked on wild creatures. “Noah didn’t tell you to eat me, did he?”
WOOF!
“That sounded like a yes.”
“Hey!” Noah whistled one of his mountain-man calls to get our attention. “Stop scaring her and get over here.”
“Yeah, Yeti.” I wagged my finger at Noah’s pet. “It’s not nice to scare people.”
“I wasn’t talking to the dog,” Noah growled. “I was talking to you.”
As soon as I stepped inside, I saw Maya wasn’t kidding when she said the Adventure Center didn’t fit the LuxeLife brand. It looked like a dusty, moldy, grime-covered barn. Because it was. The air smelled like wet dog and burnt coffee.
“Well, this is quaint.” Legitimately, though, the place was a content goldmine, not because it was aesthetically pleasing. Or pleasing in any other way. But because it was real. Authentic. The very thing Victoria kept harping about.
Faded photographs of smiling tourists lined the unpainted walls, holding up fish or paddling on the river. Mismatched chairs surrounded a table spread with laminated maps. Brochures, pamphlets, and gear piled up on the counter. It was basically the mountain barn version of my apartment.
“Can I take some pictures?” At least there weren’t any decapitated animal heads wearing ski goggles on the wall.
“Better do it quick,” said Noah. “Before you help LuxeLife destroy it all.”
“Noah Barrett, stop.” Maya helped herself to a cup of coffee, then propped an elbow on the counter. She seemed right at home here. “This isn’t Sam’s fault, and you know it.”
Noah crossed his arms again, his go-to power pose, apparently. “Right. Just following orders.” Yeti flopped down near his feet, eyeing my new boots as if she had plans for them later.
I pulled out my phone and started documenting the space, ignoring Noah’s eyes as they followed my every move. I captured a shot of an ancient fishing rod mounted on the wall. A collection of river stones labeled with dates stretching backdecades. A wall of Polaroids showing what must have been regular customers returning year after year.
“There’s some petrified bear scat in one of the classrooms in back. You want to take a picture of that too?”
“It would certainly capture the essence of the place, so sure.”
Maya cleared her throat. “Okay enough. Both of you. Noah, let’s just cut the shit, okay? Your contract with LuxeLife is just about over. When it ends, Victoria’s gonna come in here with a bulldozer and level this place to the ground. Probably to make room for a salt cave and an oxygen bar.”
“Sounds about right.” Noah’s face got even grumpier, which I didn’t think was physically possible.
“But …” Maya made sure he was looking at her.
“But what?”
“Victoria said I could make a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“A deal to save your Adventure Center.”
