Rock and A Hard Place (Cascade Brides Series) (6 page)

Faith yanked the comb through her wet hair after a shower. Not
having a college education was bad enough in her precarious job
situation. Not having a high school diploma was a death knell. But
to take GED classes without Merle's knowledge?
I might as well
dig my vinyl shoes from the back of the closet where I left the rest
of my hopes and dreams
.

A familiar shame rose within her. Every year that passed, it got
worse. Dropping out of high school hadn't been a choice, but a
necessity. And it was a necessity to keep the knowledge from Merle.
Of course he'd be understanding and supportive if he knew—probably
more than most, but she felt she'd be diminished in his eyes. Like
she needed that
now
.

Faith tried to dismiss the gloomy notion and settled in front of her
laptop. It was new and powerful and she had yet to run it through
all its paces. The sleek design contrasted with the rustic décor of
the rental she called home—a lot of wood and some dried flower
arrangements. Plaid couches and overstuffed chairs separated the
living room from the small dining space where she worked—all of
which was already here when she moved in. She wasn't as good at 3-D
design as she was at the 2-D kind, so she hadn't changed any of the
furnishings. But her laptop, now that she understood. If she played
her cards right, it could be her key to a better future for
Bascombe's and ultimately for her.

Using a new, more powerful software, she began editing the alpine
flower photos. Shane's words came to mind about native plants. Had
he just been waxing poetic about the meadow? Either way, the notion
of a flower blooming where no one might see it intrigued her. Could
she turn it into a hook to draw especially female hikers to the
area? That there was all this hidden beauty just waiting to be
enjoyed?

She spent the next several hours putting together an entire brochure
slanted toward the female traveler. Every bit of text and editing
was done as if she didn't have a boss to please. Faith ran the
photos through different filters and made it as appealing to her
audience as possible without being too frou-frou. She targeted the
outdoorsy type of girl, and pulled in other photos from past shoots.

When she was done, Faith sat back, satisfied. Would Merle like it?
As savvy as he was, he still was hesitant to upgrade his business
too quickly after years of doing things a certain way. It had taken
some convincing to get a website up, but it had been wildly
successful. She knew it was hard for him to understand how fast
things moved these days, and yet the website generated daily
inquiries and had an impressive amount of visitors from all over the
world.

In addition to maintaining the website, Faith had worked on getting
Bascombe brochures into every motel and hotel, travel lodge, and
rest area in the state. She'd also convinced him to write a weekly
column in the local paper about John Day history over the years
through his eyes...complete with links to the website. Business had
doubled over the last five years due to her efforts.

Yet she still felt the weight of her lack of a diploma.

And now she had Mr. College Degree Photographer Family Member to
compete with. Faith sank lower in the chair, wishing she could
generate confidence like she could a brochure on the computer. Then
again, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Ugh
. She despised that saying—one she'd heard over and over
from her mother. How many dreams had been deflated, how many hopes
crushed by that phrase? After a time, Faith had discontinued sharing
such things with her mother, and lost faith in herself that she'd
ever be able to achieve much of anything.

The name her mother had bestowed on her had turned into a twisted
irony.

Faith forced her thoughts from her failures and examined her
smarting ankle. The swelling had gone down and over-the-counter
medication kept the worst of the pain at bay, but she'd over-worked
it. “Sorry, ankle, I was just trying to get the job done to keep
the rest of me together.”

Her ankle didn't respond, which was actually a good thing. Shaking
her head at her silliness, Faith saved her work and forwarded it to
her office computer to show Merle the next day.

For once, she went to bed with a hopeful feeling in her heart.

***

Shane knew he should just drive right past his uncle's storefront.
It wasn't like he needed to pop in
every
single day. He lived
in the same town. He was attending the same church. But Shane's foot
slipped from the gas pedal and his hand hit the turn indicator
anyway. As he slowed to a stop in front of the building, he took
stock of his behavior. As much as he'd love to admit he was here to
see his uncle, he knew the real reason was Faith. Her Nissan was
pulled up along one side of the building next to the house she
rented from Merle. He wondered how she felt living so close to her
work. Was it a boon in savings not having to commute? Or did she
ever have a hard time letting go of the daily grind when a reminder
of her boss was just out her window?

Of course he could ask Faith, but he doubted she would answer. Shane
shook his head and pulled open the door.

The bell above the door heralded his arrival. Merle and Faith looked
up at his entrance from where they were gazing at the computer
screen.

“Shane! Great to see you!” Merle said, crossing the room to
shake his hand. “Faith, Shane is here.”

“I see that,” she said with a quirk to her lips.

Her eyes sparkled with humor and he was glad she seemed to be in a
better frame of mind than the last time they were together. Maybe
her ankle had healed.

“Come on over and see what Faith has been up to. She's designed a
brochure for a particular demographic instead of the usual
broad-based ones we put out for a local tourism company we have on
account. They give us quite a bit of leeway with our designs as
they've been a client going on ten years, but this is something a
little different.”

Shane noticed a slight reddening of Faith's cheeks as he approached
the computer. He looked at the monitor and saw the reason for
Merle's exuberance. The photos glowed and the text flowed around the
images for a whimsical effect. “It looks fantastic,” he said,
truly impressed.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, lowering her gaze.

“I didn't know you were a graphic artist as well as a
photographer.”

Her eyes flashed up at him. “I'm not either one of those things.”

Before he could respond to such a strange remark, Merle spoke up.

“At first I didn't see the need for such a targeted product, but
Faith showed me dozens of organizations and clubs that could be
interested in this kind of design. She even has it ready to go
online.”

Shane looked back at the brochure then at Merle. “I'm surprised
you haven't done that already. You need to harness the power of the
Internet.”

The older man shook his head. “That's what Faith keeps telling me.
Guess I'm still stuck in past, but I'm so busy as all get out, I'm
not sure I can keep up with any increase in business.”

A shadow darkened Faith's eyes as she looked away. Shane wondered
why. “In this economy, it's a good thing.”

“You're right, you're right,” Merle said, a smile peeking out
from under his mustache. “So what are your plans today?”

Shane shoved his hands in his pockets, too late realizing the
gesture made him look nervous. “Still familiarizing myself with
the district. Didn't know if Faith wanted to tag along for some
shots. Maybe she can help me find some of the obscure back roads.”
Great. Talk about her like she's not there. Smooth, Zadopec
.

“Faith has a lot of office work to catch up on today,” Faith
said, pinning him with a droll look. “And I'm pretty sure the
ranger station has updated maps.”

He sent her a chagrined smile and pulled his hands from his pockets.
“Just let me know anytime you want to get a lift.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Shane glanced at Merle who seemed to sense his discomfiture if his
wide grin was any indication. Stifling a groan, Shane turned and
headed for the door. He only trusted himself with a quick wave as he
left the office. If he opened his mouth again he'd undoubtedly end
up sounding like a stammering schoolboy. Maybe there was something
up with the air this high in the mountains.

“Well, that was interesting,” Faith said as she watched Shane's
Jeep pull out of the parking lot.

“My nephew seemed struck all of a heap,” Merle said. “Maybe
he's more interested in his uncle's employee than his uncle.”

Faith primmed her lips. “No doubt he's not yet used to the smaller
amount of oxygen in the mountain air. He'll get used to it.” She
looked back at her computer. “At any rate, he liked the brochure.”
She held her breath, hoping Merle wasn't just impressed without
intending to take any action. The cost of printing could be
prohibitive for a project on spec and adding a new targeted brochure
wasn't a simple decision. Was there enough of a market for it? Did
his nephew's opinion hold any sway? Was she two-faced to hope it
might?

Merle stroked his mustache, apparently weighing the same
considerations. “Tell you what we'll do. This will be a trial run
for targeted brochures. Go ahead and post what you have online at
the sites you've selected. Then let's go with a small print run for
the local places and some specific mailings. If we see an uptick in
interest from that demographic, we'll know it was successful and go
from there.”

Faith swallowed back a surge of grateful emotion. “Thank you,
Merle. And would it be okay if I continue using the design software?
I can upload it directly to the printer's website instead of doing a
physical mock-up.” She bit her lip, wondering if she was pushing
too hard. At least she'd rather the suggestions for improvement come
from her this time instead of Shane.

The older man sighed. “I see you're trying to put me out of a
job.”

Before Faith could protest, he smiled, the corners of his eyes
crinkling. “I'm just jesting, young lady. But I have to wonder if
soon I'll be nothing more than eye candy for Bascombe Productions.”

“Eye candy, yes,” she said, keeping her tone light. “Outsourced,
no way.”

He chuckled. “Okay, do it your way, Faith, and keep me posted on
the numbers.”

“You got it.”

He squeezed her shoulder and headed back to his office. Faith slowly
scooted forward in her chair. Round one was done. She whispered a
prayer of thanks, wishing she could hold onto this feeling of
accomplishment. It was much better than the sting of not measuring
up. Now she just had to figure out a way to top today...tomorrow.

“Heading out now. You gonna lock up?”

Shane looked up from his desk and saw Shirley, the office
administrator reaching for her purse. Her bright red hair—at her
age most likely not bestowed by nature—was a colorful counterpoint
to the ranger station décor which consisted of geological wall
maps, nature photography, and utilitarian government-issue office
furniture.

“You bet. See you tomorrow.”

She sent him a breezy smile and headed out the door.

Shane rubbed the back of his neck. Hunching over the office computer
cramped his style—literally. But for every mile he traversed on
forest lands, there were piles of paperwork and spreadsheets to
complete. It was the price he paid for working in the great
outdoors—working indoors. He saved and closed his document, then
moved to shut down the computer for the night.

Faith's image rose in his mind. On impulse, he went to his uncle's
website. Sure enough the new brochure was up. This time he could
peruse it completely instead of just getting a glimpse of the cover.
That Faith had talent was obvious. She had a good eye for color and
composition, but he knew there were a few tweaks she could make to
take her work to the next level. The question was, would she feel
threatened by it? And why was he fairly sure she would be?
Enthusiasts liked to share tips with each other, but somehow Shane
knew Faith would stiffen up at any suggestions—just like she did
when he recommended the filter for her cougar photo.

He was certain she wanted to be the best at what she did, so why
avoid an opportunity to learn something knew? He didn't think she
was so immature as to refuse all help as a matter of form. So what
was it then? The only scenario that fit was Faith felt threatened by
him. Which didn't make a lick of sense. He went all loopy around
her, so intimidation just wasn't a possibility.

While the question plagued him to no end, the upside was that he'd
have to spend that much more time with her to figure it out.

He smiled to himself at the
hardships ahead.
Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's
gotta do.

Chapter Six

The following Sunday, Shane's plan was yet again nearly thwarted.
Faith was a no-show. Until he saw her at the end of the service. He
spotted her glossy brown hair across the lobby as other churchgoers
filtered out of the sanctuary.

Shane took the moment before she saw him to enjoy the picture she
made. As much as he found her work wardrobe appealing there was no
denying she cleaned up really well. Her usual camp shirt and worn
Levis had been replaced with a pretty summery dress. He headed in
her direction.

She turned and smiled up at him with only the slightest hint of
coolness.

“Missed you in the service,” he said in a teasing voice.
“Helping in the nursery again?”

“Um, not the nursery,” she said, tucking a lock of hair behind
her ear, “this time it was helping in the kitchen with a potluck
for the seniors later this afternoon.”

“Ah.” He cleared his throat. “It must be difficult working
around all that food and abstaining. You should let me take you to
lunch to rectify that.”