Rocky Mountain Mayhem (35 page)

“Time to go!” Lucy knocked on the door again.
“Free massages! We don’t want to be late!”

Vivian pulled her hair back in a clip and
slipped on Ridge slippers. “Ready.”

“You’re looking much better than you did
earlier this morning,” Lucy said.

“Thanks for taking such good care of me.”

“It was mostly Wendy’s doing.”

“Thank you both, then.”

Wendy and Kate had emerged. Wendy, who was
able to walk with a slight limp, looked rather perky. Kate looked
green.

“You okay?” Vivian asked Kate.

“I’ll make it.”

“Let’s work together,” Vivian said, linking
arms with her.

Kate complied and put her head on Vivian’s
shoulder. “I think I drank too much.”

“We all drank too much, thanks to Rodney,”
Vivian said, patting her head. “Let’s go get those nasty toxins
worked out, c’mon.”

The girls rode the elevator down to the spa.
A new girl was at the counter, not Suri, but she greeted them
warmly. They went to the locker room and changed into the luxurious
robes, then went into the lounge.

After a few minutes of mostly silence, a
female masseuse came in, calling for Kate. Then one for Wendy and
another for Lucy. Before following her masseuse out the door, Wendy
looked back and smiled as the door closed behind her.

Vivian was alone.

She sat in the lounge, a little
uncomfortable. She picked up a magazine, then put it back down.
It’s because I’m so rarely alone. And because last time I was in
here things didn’t go so well. Geez, relax
!

She watched the fire and scrunched down into
the softness of her lounger. The soft music playing overhead and
the warmth of her blanket forced her eyes closed, but only for a
moment. Her masseuse touched her on the shoulder gently, introduced
herself, then escorted her to the Blizzard Room. Vivian undressed
and slid onto the warm table.
These linens feel and smell
amazing
. She positioned her face into the smushy, round
cutout.

The masseuse knocked on the door, then
entered.

“Everything good?” she asked.

“Perfect.”

Finally
.

Vivian’s massage started with her scalp and
ended at her tippy toes. It was magical.

“Take your time getting dressed. I’ll get you
some water.” The masseuse closed the door behind her.

“Mmmmmm mmmmm,” was all Vivian could say.
After a long moment she slowly peeled herself from the table and
wrapped up in the robe. She opened the door and the masseuse
pointed to her feet.

“Oops, you forgot your shoes.”

“So I did,” Vivian said lazily. She shuffled
to them and stuck her feet in, then trailed behind the masseuse to
the ladies lounge where Lucy, Kate and Wendy were waiting.

“How was it?” Kate asked.

“Fantab,” Vivian responded, dropping into a
lounger. “I don’t want to leave.”

“Too bad your first massage didn’t go like
that.” Wendy stood at the beverage station, dipping a teabag into a
steaming to-go cup. “Want one?”

Vivian waved her off. “No thanks.”

Wendy snapped a lid onto her tea and walked
toward the door. “Ladies, I hate to say this, but we have a plane
to catch. Well, not you, Lucy, but you have to get us there.”

Groans.

“I know, I know, but I speak the truth. Let’s
get upstairs and pack it up, pack it in.”

They forced themselves from their loungers
and made their way back to the room. Vivian threw clothes into her
suitcase as Lucy neatly folded and placed.

“Are those all clean?” Vivian asked.

“No,” Lucy responded.

“Then why are you folding them?”

“You just focus on cramming and stuffing,
I’ll handle my own packing.”

Vivian shook her head and threw another
sweater into her bag. “You need therapy.”

“Twenty minutes,” Wendy yelled from the other
room.

Vivian picked up the tossing and stuffing
pace, did a final sweep of the bathroom and grabbed her razor.
Need this baby
!

She zipped up her burnt orange bag and hauled
it off the bed. “I’m ready!” She then started packing up the bar.
“What time is it?”

“11:45,” Lucy called from the bedroom.

Close enough
, she thought, and poured
herself the last of the rum with a splash of Coke.
Gotta get
ready for that flight
. She swirled her drink around with her
finger, took a taste, then added more Coke.

“Look who’s starting early,” Lucy teased and
picked up an unopened bottle of tequila. “Should we tip the luggage
guy with this?”

“Definitely,” Vivian agreed. “I can’t believe
we have extra.”

“I think wine was our beverage of choice on
this trip, but don’t be fooled, we drank a lot of everything
else.”

Vivian finished packing the bar and Lucy
called down for a bellman and for the valet to bring her SUV
around.

“Did y’all do one last check of your room?”
Kate said, rolling her luggage to the door.

“I did,” Lucy said as she peeked around the
bedroom door. “I think we’re all set.”

Wendy emerged with her suitcase and purse.
“I’m sad to leave.”

“We’ll just have to come back sometime,”
Vivian said. “
Sans
stalker.”

“Amen to that!” Wendy said. “All of it.”

“Let’s take one last ride to the spa, just to
smell it,” Vivian said, hitting the B button in the elevator.

The doors opened and they all inhaled the
fabulousness of the spa before the doors closed again and they were
taken to the lobby. Trey greeted them and had their bill ready to
review.

“Guess it’s time to settle up,” Kate
said.

“Can you divide the total by four?” Wendy
asked.

“Of course,” he said with a smile.

Vivian tapped her credit card on the marble
countertop. “Wish we didn’t have to leave. Just when I’m finally
beginning to relax!”

Trey handed each of them a leather bill
presenter.

Vivian flipped hers open and started to slip
her credit card inside. “Something must be wrong. Mine has a zero
balance.”

“Mine, too,” Lucy said, handing it back to
him.

Trey gave them a big, broad smile. “We’ve
comp’ed the entire stay. Food, room, spa services, all of it. I’m
sorry things didn’t go the way we intended, but we’d love it if you
came back to see us another time.”

“Shut the front door!” Vivian yelled.

Trey nodded.

“Y’all rock!” Lucy said, digging in her
purse. “I can’t believe it.” She tried to hand him some cash, but
he declined.

“It was our pleasure.”

“Thank you so much!” Kate said, smiling at
him. “Truly.”

Wendy shook Trey’s hand. “Thank you. And
we’ll be back, you can count on it!”

“I’m just glad everything turned out
well.”

They said goodbye and headed to the SUV. The
bellman had it skillfully loaded, leaving a space for Lucy to see
out the rearview. She handed him a tip and hopped in. Vivian got
into the passenger seat, and Kate and Wendy slid into the back.

“We need some good goin’ down the mountain
tuneage!” Vivian said and plugged Lucy’s phone into the radio jack.
“What are y’all feeling?” She scrolled through about 50 songs
before they decided on James Brown’s “I Feel Good.”

“Cuz you know what…I
do
feel good!”
Vivian squealed, dancing to the music.

They zoomed down the mountain, passing the
Continental Divide and rocking out to a variety of upbeat
music.

Around Idaho Springs, Lucy looked at Wendy in
the rearview mirror. “You said on the drive out here that you’d
make a decision about Jake. Did you?”

Wendy fiddled with the cooler lid before
answering. “I think he and I need to talk when I get home, but I
think it’s over. He likes his new job and being back home and I
don’t think I’m factored into that.”

“I’m sorry, Wendy. I know you really liked
him,” Vivian said.

Kate patted Wendy’s shoulder. “He’s losing a
great girl. Hang in there.”

“What about Nelson?” Lucy asked.

“It’s the long distance thing again, and I’m
guessing with his job, that would be next to impossible to make
work.”

“He sure did have the hots for you, though,”
Kate said.

Wendy sighed, then changed the subject. “We
never did decide where we are going on our next trip. We need to
start saving.”

Vivian got the map out of Lucy’s console.
“New York City… Miami… Vegas!”

“Not Vegas, but New Orleans has a casino…”
Wendy tempted.

“Then New Orleans sounds
great
!”
Vivian said.

Lucy shook her head. “You may have a problem.
Do I need to get you that 1-800 number?”

Vivian ignored her. “Any other
suggestions?”

Kate leaned toward the front and pointed to
the West Coast. “What about something like Washington?
Seattle?”

Lucy got excited. “Yeah, we could hike Mount
Rainier.”

“Dear god, you’re killing me,” Vivian
mumbled.

“I don’t mean hike to the top! I mean hike
around the back country. Geez! It’s actually a volcano, you
know.”

“Great, we can get lava’ed to death
while
we hike,” Vivian joked.

“It’s not active like that, but snow doesn’t
build up around the rim.”

“I’d like that,” Kate said. “Whatever we do,
we need to look now.”

“Before you’re lost to motherhood,” Lucy
said. “You know it’s coming.”

“We won’t lose her,” Vivian said, patting
Kate’s knee. “She’ll always still go. Look at me. I
need
these trips to maintain my sanity.”

“Yeah, how’s that working out for ya so far?”
Wendy smirked.

“True, so far they’ve only raised my blood
pressure, but hey, at least we were together, right?”

“Right!” they chimed.

The trip down the mountain flew by, and
before long they emerged on a long downhill straightaway.

“I can see Denver,” Kate said, pointing to a
hazy clump of buildings.

They hit some traffic along the way, but
nothing too crazy. Lucy announced they’d be there in 10
minutes.

“The airport is so isolated,” Kate said.

“Probably won’t be for long,” Wendy
responded. “If you build it, they will come, and all that.”

“True.” Kate nodded her head and looked out
the window.

Lucy followed the signs to short-term
parking.

“I figured you’d just drop us,” Vivian
said.

“Nah, I want to make sure you don’t have any
issues. Plus, I can help Wendy if she needs it.”

Wendy laughed at that. “I’m able to walk
today, and I’m not the one with the oversized, overstuffed suitcase
here. I’ll manage just fine.”

“Oh goody, you can help me then!” Vivian
said.

They parked and Lucy helped unload everyone’s
stuff. What remained of the backseat bar she was taking home as a
thank-you for driving.

“One last hoo-rah, ladies,” Lucy said,
sticking the cowboy hats on everyone’s head, then putting on her
own. “Or should I say, yee-haw?”

The wind whipped up, and Vivian pushed her
hat down and tucked some of her curls behind her ears. They made
their way to the check-in kiosks at their various airlines, handed
over luggage to screeners and then reconvened in the center of the
concourse to say goodbye.

Vivian was just about to give Lucy a hug when
a deep voice took her by surprise.

“I heard a rumor I’d find you here.”

VIVIAN couldn’t believe her eyes. Agent
Nelson hobbled toward them using a wooden cane and looking a bit
pale.

Wendy rushed up to him as quickly as her
ankle would allow and threw her arms around his neck, knocking her
hat to the floor.

Vivian scooped it up and stuck it back on
Wendy’s head after she let go. “Looks like the patient has
escaped.”

He nodded and exhaled. “They tried to keep me
there, but I was ready to go. Things to do, you know.” He glanced
at Wendy.

“Oh, I know,” Vivian grinned, then she gave
him a big hug. “Agent Nelson, thanks for everything you did for us.
Really.”

“It’s my job. And please, call me Wade.”

“I know it’s your job,
Wade
, but
still.”

“You’re welcome,” he said and bowed his head
gracefully.

Lucy and Kate took turns hugging his neck and
thanking him, too.

“You really should be in the hospital,” Kate
urged. “I can’t believe you aren’t.”

He shifted position and winced a little.

“Do you need to sit down?” Wendy asked.

“That’s probably a good idea.”

Vivian checked her phone for the time. “I
really need to get going. My flight’s in 45 minutes.”

“Me, too,” Kate said.

Nelson looked at Wendy. “You have a few
minutes? I’d like to talk to you.”

“Sure, my flight’s not for an hour and a
half.”

The girls started to say goodbye.

“Oh, wait, I have news,” Nelson said.

“What’s up?” Kate asked.

“There’s a reward for the jewelry.”

Vivian’s mouth dropped open. “You’re
kidding.”

“Nope, not kidding. It was for the capture of
the thieves, and I’m going to recommend it go to you.” He pointed
at Vivian. “It’s a bit of an approval process, but I imagine in a
few months you’ll be receiving a check.”

Lucy jumped up and down, clapping. “Oh my
god, how much?”

Nelson smiled. “$50,000.”

The girls started screaming and hugging. All
but Wendy jumped around in a big circle. Vivian tried to compose
herself. “Holy crap, that’s freaking fantastic! We need to set up
the Getaway Girlz Traveling Trust Fund and use that money for our
girls’ trips!”

“Woo-hoo!” Lucy yelled.

“
Aye ya yai ya yai
!” Wendy
chanted.

Kate stopped jumping. “Are you sure, Viv? You
might need that money to help with the kids.”

“Seriously, Vivian,” Wendy said. “That is a
lot of money for us to travel on. Why don’t you take most of it and
leave some in the trust fund?”