"If he scares that easily, I don't know how much hope he has in this life."
Duke sends her a derisive look. "He is twice your age. I think he's doing just fine."
"Enough," Grandma says, and we all know when Grandma uses that tone of voice, we're teetering on thin ice. "I know Dom and Cecily have been here for an hour, but I'm ready to have a little alone time in my room. You all can do whatever you want, just don't be late for dinner."
"When is dinner? And where?" Kerrigan asks.
Rainbow answers for Grandma. "The primary restaurant on the property. Six o'clock."
At first I feel cross at how Rainbow is speaking for my grandma, but when I look closer at my grandma's face, exhaustion sits heavy in her eyes. Rainbow must know this, must understand when it is ok for her to step in.
"We'll be there at six, Grandma." I lean over, lightly kissing my grandma's cheek. It's the same cheek I've been pressing my own against during a lifetime of hugs. How can this be a last hurrah road trip for her, when she feels the same to me?
A ranch attendant hovers near the door, waiting to show Grandma to her room. Rainbow escorts her, not holding onto her exactly, but very present nonetheless.
"I wonder how Rainbow knew the details of dinner?" Kerrigan asks. "Grandma must've told her."
"The binder, Kerrigan." Duke's tone of voice gives away the eye roll he's holding back.
"Right. I should go get that from the motor home." Kerrigan sends us a quick wave and sails out the front door of the reception area.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hampton?" An employee approaches my parents. "Are you ready to see your room?"
My parents follow after, and then it's only Duke left standing with us. Not for long though, because the woman who showed us to our room strides up. Her hair is shinier, her lips slicker.
"Can I walk you to your room?" Her voice is pleasant, but she has lost the saccharine tone, the manufactured smile she used on us. In its place is something deeper. Less eager, more sultry.
If Duke notices, he doesn't make it known.
They go off, and now it is just me and Dom. "Pool?" he asks.
I nod, and we make our way back to our casita. He sits on the bed while I take my bathing suit into the bathroom, and when I'm out, he takes a turn. For someone I claim to loathe, we get along well.
At the pool, Dom swims laps while I lounge in a chair and thumb through emails. Or, at least that's what I am pretending to do. It's hard to focus on emails when Dom's cutting through the water, powerful arms producing rhythmic strokes. His head is down, and I am free to stare without fear of being caught. Is it healthy for a male to be this attractive? Shouldn't there be a physical fatal flaw somewhere? I'd settle for a nubbin, but no. Dom is flawless.
He surfaces, hair slicked back, and my attention snaps down to my phone. Paisley told me she'll try to keep her emails to me at a minimum, but I know there's no way I can be totally off-grid when it comes to work. There are some accounts for which I am the only contact, and even though Paloma has said she'll monitor my email to make sure there isn't anything I might be missing, I don't want to depend solely on her. Technically, I'm not taking vacation time for this road trip, and since it was sprung on us with very little time to prepare, I wasn't able to manage projects like I would have had I known I would be gone for three weeks.
"Working?" Dom asks, settling himself on the lounge chair beside me.
"Mm-hmm," I answer, not because I'm busy, but because he looks so good in those bright blue swim trunks it should be criminal. He hasn't dried off, and rivulets of water stream down his toned torso. My lady boner is peeking her head up from dormancy, but thanks to my anatomy, hiding it isn't a problem. "How about you?" I ask, hoping work talk will be the equivalent of a cold shower. "Have you had to work yet?"
Dom checks the time on his phone. "There's a three-hour time difference. Or is it two right now?"
"Two," I answer. "Daylight savings was last weekend. You missed the turn of the clock."
Dom tosses his phone at the bottom of his chair, near his feet. "I didn't notice. It's nice not having to change a clock."
"One of the perks of living in Arizona," I say, setting my phone down as well. "The extreme summer heat in the lower half of the state isn't awesome, but in exchange our time is consistent."
"Very true." Dom nods. A bead of pool water slides off his shoulder, traveling down his arm.
I will not watch that water travel any further south.
"Do you miss living here?" I ask, desperate for a distraction.
Dom wraps his hands behind his head, tipping his face to the cloudless sky. "Yes, and no."
When he doesn't say anything more, I prod him. "Care to elaborate?"
