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Maybe it was the paint smell, I don't know, but I didn't sleep well. I thought I'd love sleeping in the room now that it seemed like it was really mine. I'm not sure if it was the fumes, thoughts of my upcoming hunting trip with Chance Munroe, or the confusion caused by Jim's good night kiss that plagued me with a night of strange dreams full of worries and speculation.
Until the kiss, my night with Jim had been fun and pleasant. He made me realize I should do the thing with Chance because Harry asked me to. It really was the least I could do for the man who gave me a new start in life just when I needed one.
Jim said he should be the one to notify Chance of my decision. I was glad to let him handle that. He told me I was probably going to need to fit in a shopping trip to the closest big outfitter. It was a four-hour drive one way, but Jim offered to take me. I told him I'd think about it, and I did. I decided I needed to slow things down with Jim, and I'd like to have some input from a female that had at least a bit of outdoor experience.
XXX
After I helped Rick cook for the breakfast rush, I walked down to Yours, Mine, and Ours. "Hi, Laurie. How are you?"
After trading small talk, I said, "I've agreed to spend a week in the woods with Chance Munroe."
"What helped you decide?"
"Jim."
"I thought he'd try to keep you as far away from Chance as possible."
"I don't know about that, but he made me realize I should do it because it's what Harry wanted. Nothing else mattered."
"Cool. Good for you," she said.
"I was wondering if you could get a day off. Jim said I should go to the outdoor store to get the gear I need for the trip. I'd like to have a woman's perspective on all this stuff."
"I'm not sure when you wanted to go, but if we could do it tomorrow, I'd love to. Tom's back in town so he can watch the store."
XXX
Later, I was in my office working on my list for the shopping trip. I figured since we were making the trip, I'd try to get anything I could think of that I needed in addition to the stuff for my hunting trip. It was hard for me to even think that with a straight face. I'd never hunted anything unless you include the occasional bug that invaded my space in Georgia. Even then, I usually called someone else to handle it for me. If I had to do battle myself, I was usually armed with my weapon of choice—a high-heeled shoe. A picture of me dressed in stylish camo, carrying a giant Kate Spade backpack, and armed with a cherry-red Christian Louboutin crossed my mind.
There was a knock on the door before Rita opened it and stuck her head in. "Hey, boss," she said. She took one look at me and asked, "What's so funny?"
"Just picturing something funny in my head. What's up?"
She thrust an envelope toward me. "Chance Munroe dropped this off for you. He said to get it to you as soon as possible." I could see she was curious about the contents, but I refused to feed the rumor mill.
"Thanks, Rita," I said. Stepping around my desk to take the envelope and close the door behind her.
I sat down in my chair holding the envelope and wondering what Rita might think was inside. I couldn't imagine that anyone would think Chance Munroe was the kind of man to right love letters to a woman. That thought was nearly as impossible as me going on a hunting trip.
I ripped open the envelope. Inside were three sheets of paper. One page was a list of the gear I would need. He'd color coded it to show what I had to have and other things I might want but could do without. I set the list aside to compare to what I'd already put on the shopping list.
The second page was a very professional looking liability release form. I suspected it was a standard form he made his customers sign before heading into the wild. I laid that aside. I'd call Jim and ask if I should sign it.
After my earlier thoughts about what people might think was in the envelope, I grinned when I saw that page three was a handwritten note. After reading it, I was tempted to ball it up and throw it across the room, but my office was so small I doubted that would provide much satisfaction.
There were three paragraphs. "If you buy new hiking boots for the trip, wear them to break them in. I won't be carrying you."
The next line said, "I'll pick you up at 4AM Sunday morning in the parking lot of Hairy's. Have all year gear ready to go. Pack a thermos of hot coffee(black) and another filled with whatever you like to drink in the morning."
The last paragraph said, "Glad you decided to do the right thing."
Chance Munroe could even irritate me in writing. If he hadn't added that last line, I would have been mildly irritated at his assumption that I'd be too stupid to know that you had to break in hiking boots, but that last line was unnecessarily antagonistic.