Rocky Mountain Mayhem (34 page)

“Not sure I have room for s’mores,” Vivian
finally said.

“Come on, there’s always room,” Kate said.
“Marshmallows are mostly air anyway.”

Vivian tried to stand. It took her a second.
“Are they? ARE they?”

“We’ll pretend like they are,” Kate said,
linking arms with her.

Wendy rolled back from the table. “After this
meal, I don’t mind being carted around.”

Lucy grabbed the handles on the wheelchair.
“I’ll push your ass to the fire.” She stopped and put on the brake.
“Actually, I can sit on your lap and let’s have a Ridge person push
us.”

“I bet they would!” Vivian laughed and looked
around for assistance.

“Uh, no!” Wendy shoved Lucy’s butt away. “I’m
injured here!”

Lucy sighed and unlocked the brake. “Fine,
I’ll push. But someone else is pushing you back to the room
later.”

They made their way to the fire pit, which
they had to themselves.

“Mud season rocks,” Vivian said, collapsing
into a chair.

Everyone agreed.

The fire was perfect. Peaceful. Warm.
Safe.

Vivian had just closed her eyes when she
heard a familiar voice.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

VIVIAN couldn’t believe it. Rodney, her
masseur from Playa Del Carmen, was standing beside her.

“Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?” She
jumped up and hugged his neck.

He squeezed her back, holding on to her with
his tall, lanky frame. He whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry you’ve
had such an awful time. Trey told me what happened.” He squeezed
her again, then let go and said to the group, “Trey emailed me. He
told me that some crazy Texas gals had checked in who had been
referred by yours truly. I knew exactly who he was talking
about.”

“You came all the way from Mexico?” Kate
asked.

“My sister got married this past weekend, so
I was in town, but I couldn’t go back to Mexico without a visit to
my old stomping grounds.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Vivian said. “Join
us!”

“I plan to,” he said. “But first…” He held up
a couple of liquor bottles. “Rodney Specials all around!”

They girls cheered as he mixed, swirled,
shook and poured five of his infamous Mexico concoctions, complete
with the “kiss” of grenadine. He delicately handed each of them a
martini glass, then held his high.

“To friends reunited, wrongs that are
righted. May the rest of your vacation be fantabulous!”

They clinked glasses and sipped their lovely
beige drinks.

“Mmmmm, just like I remember,” Kate said,
licking her lips. “You’ve got to teach me how to make these
things.”

“Sure thing, honey. The secret’s in the
shake.” Rodney sat in the chair next to Vivian and put his legs up
on the stone ledge. “I hear that things haven’t been exactly
perfect during your stay.”

“You can say that again,” Wendy said. “But
it’s over now, thank god.”

“So what’d you hear about our crazy
vacation?” Lucy asked.

Rodney swirled his drink. “I heard that
Vivian was being stalked by her ex but that he’s been shackled,
like all of us at Shorty’s party!”

“You were the only one who got shackled,”
Vivian said. “We got lucky!”

“It’s all coming back to me. Of course, give
me a few more of these and I’ll forget again.”

“Did you hook up with the trainer guy you saw
at the party?”

Rodney shook his head. “Not long term. He was
too immature for me.” He pondered that for a moment, then put his
drink on the ledge. “So guess what?”

“What?” they asked.

“I have an even bigger surprise for you than
me!”

“You’re full of surprises!” Vivian
laughed.

“First thing tomorrow morning, I’ve lined it
up for you all to have massages, and I promise, no weirdo stalkers
will crash your comfort.”

“Rodney, you’re the best!” Lucy yelled,
standing and giving him a hug.

“Really, Rodney,” Vivian said, holding her
glass high. “You’re our Rodney Special!”

They reminisced about Mexico, Al and
Adrienne, the big party bust and Jon.

“Lucy still talks to Pierre,” Vivian
said.

“He was the bald guy, right?” Rodney
asked.

“Yep,” Kate said. “We thought he looked like
Mr. Clean.”

“He was a hunk,” Rodney said, then looked
around the group. “Who’s ready for another?”

They all lifted their glasses, and Rodney
started mixing and shaking.

Vivian looked up to see someone walking
toward them. Her skin prickled and her heart pounded for a beat
until she recognized the man.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” a
scratch-faced Shick said as he joined them.

Only one eye looked back at Vivian, but she
pretended not to notice. “Agent Shick, this is Rodney, our friend
from Mexico.”

Rodney stepped forward, seemingly quite happy
to meet Shick, and they shook hands.

Kate and Wendy said hello and also ignored
the scratches and one eye.

“What’s up with the eye patch?” Lucy asked,
then gave him a hug. “Thank you, by the way.”

“That fucker clawed me like a rabid
wolverine,” Shick answered, touching the patch. “It’s not
permanent. Doc says I have to wear it for two to three weeks.”

“It’s pretty sexy if you ask me.” Lucy gave
him a high-five.

“I concur,” Rodney said, taking a seat while
holding up his drink so it didn’t spill.

“I’m just glad you didn’t lose your eye,”
Vivian said. “Those scratches look pretty bad.”

Shick traced a deep cut that started
somewhere under the eye patch and ended at his earlobe. “I turned
my head just in time. A split second slower…”

Vivian shuddered and decided it was time to
change the subject. “Way to take Craig down.”

“The bear spray helped,” Shick said and
laughed. “I may have to start carrying that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Wendy said, shoving his
shoulder.

“Seriously,” he said “it really was
instrumental in bringing him down. You probably saved your friends’
lives.”

“I have no doubt,” Vivian said, going over to
Wendy and hugging her shoulders. “Thank god somebody in this group
is Captain Safety. She keeps us supplied in bandages and bear
spray.”

Wendy rolled closer to the fire pit and
propped her bad ankle up on the ledge. “I know my role in this
outfit. Somebody’s gotta keep y’all healthy. Or at least
drugged.”

“And you do a greatastic job of that,” Kate
slurred, then plopped down. “Oh oh. I think I’m a little
messedrunk.”

“You never get drunk,” Vivian said. “It’s
about time!”

Kate smirked and leaned her head back in her
chair.

“I’m not drunk,” Vivian said. “But I’d like
to be. Rodney, pour me up another, will ya?”

He’d already mixed and shaken, so he topped
her off. Wendy and Lucy also got refills.

Shick sat on the ledge in front of Vivian.
“Craig won’t be able to bother you for a very long time. He has
been transported to a maximum security facility in Denver and
charged with attempted murder, premeditated murder, burglary,
multiple counts of assault to a federal officer, violating a
restraining order and international wire fraud.”

Vivian stopped rocking in her chair. “Well,
hell. That’s enough. How could I have misjudged his character so
much? He’s an evil person.”

Shick nodded his head. “In fact, there’s
more. I understand the man that died at your hotel in Aspen may
have been Craig’s partner in the credit card skimming
operation.”

“Please don’t tell me…” Vivian said.

Shick sighed. “We don’t know for sure yet,
but we suspect Craig was involved in his death.”

“Holy shit!” Wendy yelled. “We’ve been the
bait for a murderer!”

“We didn’t know,” Shick said. “We just
confirmed the identity of the partner a few hours ago.”

Vivian snapped in the air. “Rodney, help
here! This is too much to take!”

Rodney filled her glass.

Shick leaned forward, touching her knee.
“Vivian, Craig was very good at deception.”

Vivian started rocking again. “That doesn’t
make me feel any better, but thanks.”

Everyone was quiet for a minute.

Rodney stood and took the floor, waving his
drink around. “So Shick, you’re telling us…Craig was a credit card
skimming schemer, buddy off the balcony bumper, sail away with me
stalker and all around asshole?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Rodney lifted his glass. “Well, here’s to his
happy ending. Giving and receiving them. In jail.”

Everyone lifted their glass high and cheersed
to that.

“How’s Wade?” Wendy asked Shick. “Any updates
on his condition?”

“The doc was able to remove the bullet from
Nelson’s thigh. It didn’t hit anything major, but he lost a lot of
blood.”

She cringed. “What hospital is he in? Can I
see him before I leave tomorrow?”

“I’m not at liberty to disclose that,
sorry.”

Wendy nodded, then stared off into the
fire.

“He has your number, you’ll likely hear from
him.” Wendy perked up at that. “In fact, all of you might be
hearing from someone involved in the investigation and prosecution
of Craig. We have evidence of his crimes and audio of today’s
events, but you still may be needed to testify against him.”

Vivian didn’t know how she felt about that.
She didn’t want to see Craig again, ever. Maybe they’d let her do a
deposition.

“I’ll be happy to go to court and tell the
judge what a good-for-nothin’ scumbag Craig is,” Lucy said, waving
around her Rodney Special. She then switched gears. “How’s
Finck?”

Shick smiled at Lucy’s righteousness and
said, “Finck got really lucky. The shot through his shoulder was
just that, but his knee will need some reconstruction. He’ll be out
for a while.”

“Bummer,” Lucy said.

“It could have been worse,” Shick said.
“Nobody died.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Wendy said.

“What about Smith?” Vivian asked.

“He took all the credit,” Shick smirked, then
continued. “He’s the one who got the bastard booked and settled
away, dammit. The rest of us were being patched up.”

“We really appreciate all y’all did to help
Vivian, and we give all of you credit.” Lucy held up the last of
her drink.

“Yes, we do,” Vivian said, lifting her Rodney
Special. “To the FBI and everyone else who helped capture
Craig.”

Everyone cheersed except for Kate, who had
passed out in her chair, soaking up the warmth of the fire pit.

“Looks like it’s time for bed,” Wendy said,
handing Rodney her glass. “Sleeping Beauty here may need her own
wheelchair to make it upstairs.”

They said goodnight to Agent Shick and gave
Rodney big hugs goodbye.

“Thanks in advance for tomorrow,” Vivian
said.

“Honey, you deserve every minute of
relaxation, celebration, master—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Thank you Rodney!
You’re a gem!” Vivian and Lucy heaved Kate up from her chair, and
with Wendy rolling behind, they went up to bed.

Day 7

VIVIAN’S head hurt. And the light…dear god,
the light was beaming directly at her eyeballs through the crack in
the curtain. She groaned and rolled over.

“Morning, glory,” Lucy said quietly as she
put a fresh glass of water and two ibuprofen on the nightstand.
“Wendy brought these over.”

Vivian opened one eye and looked at the
white, chalky pills. She wanted to take them, but her arms, which
didn’t hurt, were warm and comfy under the covers, and the thought
of taking them out was too much. “Uhhhhhhhh.”

“Oh come on now,” Lucy said. “You can do
it.”

Vivian’s pounding head took precedence over
the warm covers and she reached for the pills.

“That’s a good girl,” Lucy said as she closed
the curtain so no light shone through. “Now we have about an hour
and a half before we need to leave for the spa. Lie back and take a
happy nappy.”

“Okay,” Vivian muttered and closed her eyes.
She was snoring before Lucy had left the room.

***

“Feeling better?” Lucy asked, pulling open
the curtain just a bit.

Vivian stretched her arms above her head. “Oh
my gosh, yes.”

“Good. We have to be in the spa in 10
minutes, so brush your teeth, throw that hair back into something
semi-tame and let’s go.”

“Where’ve you been?” Vivian asked, looking at
Lucy’s workout outfit.

“I did the circuit downstairs.”

Vivian threw the covers off and tried to
stand. She swayed a little.

“Then Wendy and I grabbed a small breakfast.
I had oatmeal.”

The thought of oatmeal was not appealing.
Vivian walked to the bathroom and closed the door. She looked at
herself in the mirror.

Wow, I’ve got a lot of gray
, she
thought, running her fingers through her hair. She’d had a few
strands before her first daughter was born, but now they were
running rampant. She pulled the magnification mirror away from the
wall and turned it on, looking at her skin.

Screw a massage, I need a facial. I think
I’m getting a new wrinkle
. She pushed at the skin next to her
nose, right under her left eye.
I’ve got to stop sleeping on
that side of my face
.

Lucy knocked on the door. “Two minutes!”

“Okay, okay,” Vivian said and pushed the
mirror back to the wall. She brushed her teeth and washed her face
with a washcloth, careful not to scrub too hard. Then she looked
through Lucy’s array of products. She plucked out an
expensive-looking facial moisturizer and slathered it on.
Damn,
this is good stuff
.

Lucy always had the best products. Hair
stuff, face stuff, skin stuff, you name it. Vivian, on the other
hand, was lucky to get out the door with her teeth brushed in the
morning, much less hair or makeup done. She’d recently perfected
the art of drying her hair with the minivan heater while driving to
the hospital. Her wonderful sitter, Miss Margie, was only a few
blocks away from her house so she could scrunch in silence. There
were just enough lights and traffic along her route that she
generally walked in looking decent, which was good because there
were lots of cute residents at the hospital.