A Timeless Romance Anthology: Love Letter Collection Read online

  “It takes a lot more than mascara when you’re my age,” Barbara said. “You’re still young and adorable. Too bad Braden’s not a few years older. I’d be playing matchmaker. I’m pretty good at that, you know.”

  “You’re a matchmaker?”

  “Not officially, of course. But I introduced Emma and Mike. He sold pharmaceuticals to the doctor’s office where I work, and I knew as soon as I met him that they’d be a good fit. And I introduced Dr. Phillips to my neighbor Donna. They got married four years ago and have two wild little boys now.”

  “Two for two,” Maggie said.

  “Oh, and I introduced my niece to a friend of Mike’s at Mike and Emma’s wedding, and now they’re dating.”

  “Maybe I should hire you. My love life’s been stalled for a long, long time.”

  “Hmm. I find that hard to believe.” Barbara said.

  “It’s true.” Whatever Barbara was thinking, she was certainly wrong. A love life required two interested people, not one hopeless woman who’d been pining for the same man for far too long.

  The sun warmed everything it touched. Heat beat down from above and curled off the rock walls, wrapping the hikers in a dry, feverish blanket. The jackets and sweatshirts were quickly discarded and stored in backpacks.

  “Don’t forget to drink,” Lucas called over his shoulder. “Dehydration is no fun.”

  When the trail opened up to a wide, flat area, Lucas stopped for a breather. Dennis and Barbara found a boulder and sat down to rest while the others scattered around to talk and eat the bags of trail mix Lucas had handed out.

  “How long have you been guiding?” Mike asked Maggie. He and Emma had found some shade against the wall and had sat down. Emma’s face was cherry red.

  “We started doing tours during the summers when we were in college.”

  “We?” Emma asked.

  “My cousin, Dan, and Lucas and me. We worked for another guide company, but after two summers, we decided to start up our own.” Maggie was concerned about Emma’s flushed face. She wasn’t sweating like everyone else, meaning her body was having a harder time keeping cool. Maggie pulled a water bottle out of her backpack. “You should drink some more water. And splash some of this on your face. We want to keep your body temperature where it should be.”

  Emma took the bottle and followed Maggie’s instructions.

  Laughter caught Maggie’s attention, and she looked down the trail to where Jane and Montana were flirting with Lucas. Why wouldn’t they? He was outrageously handsome. The frustrating thing was that Lucas was so friendly and open that it was difficult to tell if he was just being nice, or if he was interested back. He probably was. Jane and Montana were both attractive. He could take his pick— tanned and athletic Jane or curvy and exotic Montana. Then Jane reached out and put her hand on Lucas’s arm. Lucas must have felt Maggie’s eyes on him, because suddenly their eyes locked. He reached into his back pocket, moving his arm away from Jane’s touch. Pulling herself together, Maggie smiled and pointed at her watch.

  “Let’s roll,” Lucas said and hoisted his pack back onto his shoulders. Maggie glanced around the group, mentally accounting for everyone. When her eyes reached Barbara, she caught the older woman watching her again. Barbara winked; Maggie felt embarrassed and exposed. She’d spent years perfecting her role as buddy and carefully guarding herself around Lucas, but Barbara’s expression made Maggie realize she might not be hiding her feelings as well as she’d thought. She’d have to watch herself a little more closely.

  Chapter Four

  The sun was directly above them. The barren, red cliffs of the upper canyon had gradually given way to weeds and a few flowers. Up ahead was a valley of trees and grass. Fence posts lined the trail that led into Supai Village, a small settlement scattered over less than two square miles. The wood houses looked more like shacks. Some tourists flew in by helicopter and stayed in the lodge, but rarely did anyone stay more than one night. It was tired and rundown, and the service so laidback as to be almost nonexistent.

  The group had covered eight miles. Between Lucas and Maggie, the hikers walked in an untidy line. Jane and Montana continued to stay close to Lucas, but everyone else was scattered behind them. Barbara had slowed down, and Dennis kept pace with her. The trail widened to the width of a single-lane road, and Maggie stepped up alongside them.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked.

  “Fit as a fiddle.” Barbara smiled a little too brightly.

  “It’s plenty hot,” Dennis said. “Looking forward to the water. It’s sure pretty, though. Nothing at all like Pennsylvania.”

  “It gets prettier and prettier the farther we go,” Maggie told them.

  “Do we get to stop here for a while?” Barbara asked.

  “We’ll be here in town for about an hour. There are some picnic tables up ahead where we’ll eat lunch, and then we’ll stop at the general store so you can check out their jewelry and buy postcards. Be sure to mail them from here. This is the only place in the country that still has the mail delivered by mule. They have a special postmark that’s only for Supai Village.”

  “I should have brought some addresses with me.”

  “You can always mail one to yourself,” Maggie said.

  “Good idea.”

  They stopped at two picnic tables in the shade under a grove of cottonwoods. Lucas pulled out sandwiches and apple slices.

  “Peanut butter has never tasted so good,” Braden said.

  After they finished eating, they left for the general store. Barbara encouraged Dennis to go ahead, and she sat at the table a few more minutes before she and Maggie started out to join the others.

  “How are you really?” Maggie said quietly to Barbara as they walked together.

  “I’m fine.”

  “What about your feet?”

  Barbara sighed. “They’re killing me.”

  “I thought so. What’s going on?”

  “My toes are on fire. I’m afraid of what I’m going to find when I take these shoes off.”

  “Did you go up a size when you bought them?” The information packet recommended that all hikers buy their boots a size larger than they usually wore to accommodate swollen feet and thicker socks.

  Barbara looked chagrined. “No. I know I should have. But I’ve never worn a size 9 in my life, and when I tried them on, my feet looked huge. I’m paying for my vanity.”

  “How are you ladies doing?” Lucas asked. Maggie hadn’t even noticed him joining them until he was beside them.

  “We’re fine,” Barbara said. “I’m just old and slow, I guess.”

  “We don’t have much farther to go,” Lucas said. “And you’re doing great.”

  They’d reached the steps of the general store. “Take some pain relievers,” Maggie said. “I have some if you need them.”

  “Thank you, dear.” Barbara stepped gingerly up the steps and into the cooler darkness of the interior of the store. Maggie sat on a bench against the wall, enjoying a little wedge of shade.

  “Mind if I share the shade with you?” Lucas asked as he took a seat. Their arms brushed, so Maggie shifted to give him a little more room and put a few inches between them. Keeping her mind off her feelings for Lucas was hard enough; doing so would be impossible if he was touching her.

  “How does it feel to be guiding again?” Maggie asked.

  “Feels good. I love these trails.”

  “Me too.”

  “I even love Supai Village. For about an hour.”

  Maggie laughed. “Good thing that’s about how long we’re here then, right?”

  Lucas and Maggie looked out across the most remote town in the continental United States. The only ways in and out were by hiking trails or helicopter. Supai Village was the capital of the Havasupai Reservation, and despite their poverty and isolation, the people seemed content.

  If only Maggie could feel content. Sitting beside Lucas was distracting, and all she could think about was how s
he wished she hadn’t scooted over. If only she could lean over and rest her head on his shoulder. It would be so nice if he’d reach out and hold her hand.

  Would she ever stop longing for something she couldn’t have? She’d thought she could handle Lucas working in the office. It made perfect sense for him to come back fulltime and handle the business end of the company. But the close proximity had proved more difficult than she’d anticipated. Friendship was no longer enough for her. More and more, she found herself leaving the office frustrated and unhappy. She was tired of working hard then going home to an empty apartment. She wanted someone to share her life with.

  Maybe it was time to move on. Maybe it was time to take a teaching position far enough away from Flagstaff that she could put Lucas out of her mind and begin to meet new people.

  “You’re quiet,” Lucas said, pulling Maggie out of her thoughts. “What’s on your mind?”

  Maggie couldn’t share what she’d been thinking. She scrambled for something safe to say. “I’m worried about Barbara’s feet. Her boots are too small, and I can tell she’s in a lot of pain.”

  “If only people would follow instructions,” Lucas said.

  “She thought the larger size made her feet look too big,” Maggie said. “I wish there was a way to let people know before they come that after the first ten minutes, they’re not going to care what they look like.”

  “That cold water is going to feel like heaven.”

  “I know. I was thinking that if she’s having a hard time, I might stop when we get to the stream and let her soak her feet. I can stay with her if you don’t mind taking everyone ahead so they can enjoy the rest of the day. Just save setup, and I’ll help you when I get there.”

  “No worries. I can get started. If you’re not there by the time camp is up, I’ll come back and meet you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lucas patted Maggie’s leg. “Anything for you,” he said as he stood up.

  Maggie took a deep breath. If only!

  Chapter Five

  “Can you hear that?” Lucas asked.

  “Hear what?” Montana asked.

  Lucas stopped and put up one hand as the group gathered around him. Maggie and Barbara were the last to catch up. “We’re almost to the water. If you’re quiet, you can hear it.” They all listened, and some nodded. “Havasupai means ‘people of the green-blue water.’ The Havasupai tribe discovered this place more than six hundred years ago. Just ahead, you’ll see why they never left.” A new energy surrounded the hikers as they started out again.

  The bubbling sound of water got louder, and when they rounded the corner, there was a creek on the right side of the trail. The water was clear and cold and tinged with the turquoise Havasupai Falls was famous for. Braden was the first to the water, with the others right behind him, running their hands through the cold surface and splashing their sweat-streaked faces. And each other.

  “Everything okay, Maggie?” Lucas asked.

  “We’re going to stay here a little while and let her soak her feet,” Maggie said, and Lucas nodded.

  “You want me to stay with you?” Dennis asked.

  “Heavens, no,” Barbara said. “I’ll be fine. I’ve got my own personal guide. You go on with the kids.”

  “All righty then,” Lucas said. “On to paradise.”

  Barbara removed her shoes and socks. Her toes were a deep, shiny red, like the skin of a bruised tomato, and were so swollen that her pink toenails looked like buttons in a stuffed pillow. Barbara winced as she touched her big toe. “It feels like the nail’s going to fall clear off.”

  “That’s happened before,” Maggie said. Barbara shook her head and looked like she might cry. “Hey, if it does, you can brag that you’re the most hardcore hiker of the bunch. We’ll let them soak for a while. That should give you a little relief and take down some of the swelling. Please tell me you brought sandals to wear around camp.”

  “I did, thank goodness,” Barbara said. “You know, they’d make a killing back at that little store if they’d carry hiking boots for stupid people like me.” She lowered her feet into the water and let out a happy sigh. “That does feel good.”

  Maggie sat with her back against a tree. Just the sound of the water made her feel cooler and relaxed. “We’re not in a hurry. You can soak them as long as you want.”

  “How about until Saturday?” Barbara said with a laugh.

  “Hey, once we get into camp, you don’t have to put those on again until Saturday unless you decide to hike to Mooney Falls. You can soak and relax as much as you want.”

  “I watched the video of those guys hiking into Mooney Falls. I already decided I’m leaving that to the young folks. And probably Dennis.”

  While Barbara soaked her feet, Maggie closed her eyes. She might have fallen asleep, if Barbara hadn’t been a chatty woman. They talked about the years after her husband had left and how she’d spent over a decade as a single mother. She told Maggie about how Dennis had swept her off her feet after they’d met at Braden’s soccer fundraiser. Her best friend’s son was on the same team. They visited about the challenges of blending families with mostly grown children and about the differences between autumn in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

  After a while, Barbara gritted her teeth, replaced her socks and shoes, and the two women hiked the last mile and a half into camp.

  Chapter Six

  Lucas had claimed a beautiful part of the campground. The trees in this area were well-spaced for putting up hammocks, and Lucas had already attached three of them to the trees.

  “Good job getting this spot,” Maggie said.

  “I thought this was the one you liked best,” he said.

  The rest of the hikers had gone down to the water, and Lucas was working on the fifth of seven tents, which were spaced several feet apart, with the creek running directly behind them.

  Barbara took off her shoes and claimed a hammock. She nearly tipped out of the back of it before she got adjusted and closed her eyes.

  Maggie pitched in, and together, she and Lucas finished the tents and began working on their makeshift kitchen. They moved two picnic tables to a level area between the hammocks and tents, and organized the equipment the mules had hauled in. On the end of one of the tables, they set up the camp stove, then lined one of the benches with coolers. The other side would be the prep area, and the remaining table would be for eating.

  Lucas took a cooler to get drinking water while Maggie unfolded several camp chairs and placed them around camp. When Lucas returned, he filled two paper cups with water, handed one to Maggie, and they sat down in two of the chairs. Lucas’s water was gone in a few quick gulps, but Maggie drank hers slowly.

  “This place is just about perfect,” Lucas said.

  “I’d like to have a cabin up here,” Maggie said. “But I’d want it to be the only one, and I don’t think that would go over very well.”

  “Imagine this place filled with cabins. It wouldn’t be perfect anymore.”

  “I guess I’ll just have to be satisfied with a tent.”

  Lucas stretched his legs out in front of him and laced his fingers behind his head. “Coming up here reminds me that it was good that Erica left. She didn’t love this. I should have known it would never work with someone who didn’t love spending time enjoying God’s handiwork.”

  “So you’re over her?” Maggie asked, careful to keep her voice neutral, her eyes focused on a tree across the campground.

  “Have been for a while now. It didn’t take as long as it should have, which is another sign she wasn’t the one.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “When are you going to fall in love, Mags?”

  She couldn’t tell him she already had. Years ago. “Someday, I hope.”

  “I’ll bet Dan’s married by next summer,” he said. “He and Rachel are getting pretty serious.”

  “I’m glad. She’s good for him, and he’s so happy. I really like her.”

  “She�
�s a lot better for him than Erica was for me. I like her too.” Lucas straightened and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was looking at Maggie with a serious expression.

  “What?” she asked.

  “I was just thinking. We’ve got to be sure we find people we can all get along with. I know you didn’t really like Erica, and that would have made things hard if I’d married her. Dan’s got someone we both like, so let’s make a pact right now. Let’s promise that we’ll be sure to end up with people we can all like so we don’t lose each other.” Maggie nodded but didn’t trust herself to speak. “I’m serious, Margaret Jensen. I don’t want to lose you guys.”

  She swallowed. “I know you are. And don’t call me that.”

  Lucas laughed, but he kept watching her. “Let’s say it. I promise right now that I won’t marry someone who doesn’t get along with you and Dan. And Rachel, too, I guess.” He stuck out his hand, and when she put hers in his, he gave it a vigorous shake. “Now you say it.”

  “Oh, brother.” Maggie laughed as she looked at their hands, still pumping up and down.

  Lucas stopped shaking hers but didn’t let go. “Come on, Maggie, say it. We’re making a pact here. Take it seriously.” He still held her hand, and Maggie tried to control her heart, which had begun to flutter like hummingbird wings. His hand felt warm and strong, and his dark eyes were looking at her too intently. “Unless you don’t care if we all lose each other.” His voice was quiet.

  Maggie wanted to hit a pause button. “Of course I care.”

  “Then say it.”

  “I promise not to marry someone you guys don’t like.”

  Lucas let go of her hand, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. “I should make you promise it’ll be someone who likes us back, but of course they’ll like us. What’s not to like?” He smiled at his little joke, his eyes still closed.

  Maggie watched him as his body relaxed and he started to doze. She knew someone she could marry who would fit in perfectly, because he was already in. Lucas was a smart guy, so why was he so clueless?