Failing at Juniper Resort

Here is the first chapter of a magical realism novel.





Chapter 1

Honey Apiary

The sweet words, you have reached your destination, announced the phone. Finally.
Her destination wasn't easily found especially considering it was a well-known resort
on the edge of a Rocky Mountain lake. She turned left before the sign which was a simple
white sign with sky blue lettering saying Juniper Resort. For the last bit, she followed
instructions from her new boss to her new home. The dirt road was two wheel ruts
and the instruction said that the cabin would be to the right when the ruts stopped and
Juniper Lake was in view.


Honey stopped the car and rested her head on the steering wheel. Part of her wanted to
sleep, here, and not move. Another part wanted to get the feeling back into her ass.


Driving across the country to her new and improved job and hopefully, new and improved
life was not a romantic adventure. It was grueling and each moment she spent staring
at the back of a semi truck, she wished she’d sold the clunker and spent the money on a
plane ticket.


Her shut eyes had almost stopped telling her brain about yellow lines when a knock on
the window next to her head. Her raw nerves jumped at the sound and she glared out to a
view of the middle section of a fit man. When she reached for the door handle, he stepped
back out of the way. Then, she failed. The first move into her new life was a complete misstep.


In one motion, she tried to exit the car but she’d forgotten about the seat belt. It kept her
from entering her new life with grace. The sensation of the strap across her chest and lap
attaching her to the car had held her together on the journey. Now, it felt like it trapped her
to her old life. This was not a good sign. She rolled her eyes at her ineptness.


The man snickered at her blundered exit.


“Damn seatbelt,” Honey cursed as she unbuckled and stood. In front of her was what only
can be described as a six-foot four-ish Nordic god dressed in khaki shorts and a white linen
shirt. Had she stepped into a model shoot for mountain resort men’s wear?

“Damn,” she inaudibly swore as an expression of appreciation for the male specimen. And,
in contrast, she looked like hell and smelled of gasoline and convenience store food. He,
she could tell without taking a whiff, smelled of linen hung in sun to dry.


“Sorry to startle you. I started to worry. It had been a while since you'd stopped the car.” His
lack of accent didn’t give a clue about his background. “I’m Larkspur Cascade, I’m the welcoming committee. You’re Honey Apiary, right?”


She expected to peer into blue eyes when she tore her gaze from his torso to his face but
was met with warm brown hazel eyes. Her knees turned to jelly and she grasped the top
of the car door. Was it that he was the male from her dreams or the fact she hadn’t eaten
a vegetable since she left Ashville?


The last bit of coherent brain internally moaned, shit, a welcoming committee before a
much-needed shower and nap.

“Yes, that’s me, Honey Apiary.” She extended her hand and hoped it wasn’t clammy while she let more words tumble out of her mouth. “I hope I’m making a good first impression.”


He laughed and grasped her hand which disappeared in his. “Yep, your ability to exit a car
on your second attempt, having only one coffee stain on your shirt after what I can only imagine
being a grueling drive and all with a smile is a great first impression.” A heartwarming and
joyous laugh lilted over and emphasized the end of the sentence.


She looked down at the white t-shirt with a Pabst beer logo and one huge dried coffee stain
screaming class across her chest. Why hadn’t she thought of the possibility of a welcoming
committee and had cleaned up at the last rest stop? The great first impression shirt was
coupled with a black t-shirt material skirt and then oh-so-responsible driving shoes, flip-flops.
It was the perfect first impression outfit. She looked like a perpetually hungover college student
during finals which were a fairly good assessment of her style during her entire college career.


“My road warrior look might not have survived but the bunny did.” She twirled her keys on
one finger trying to act collected in front of this put together man whose blonde mane framed
his strikingly masculine face.
He chuckled. “I’m glad you're not a bunny killer.” He hesitated a moment. “Umm, my boss
and your boss said my duties as a welcoming committee was to help haul your stuff into the
house, leave, and let you be until dinner time. I’ll come back at seven and take you to the
resort’s restaurant for dinner.”


She hit the button to open the trunk while thinking about her wardrobe. Did she own anything
that was clean and suitable for dinner with a Norse god? And, shit, potentially seeing her
new boss. Lost in thought she ducked her head into the car and grabbed the phone, purse,
and small travel bag from the front seat.


“I have keys for the house for you,” Larkspur said as he balances two boxes in his arms and
headed for the door. She watched him walk toward the front door. Damn, his rear was as
god-like as his front.


It was great to have someone take in the boxes since she probably would’ve left them in the
trunk for at least week or until she was in desperate need for something in them. When they
reached the door, he easily balanced the boxes in one arm, pulled out the keys, and opened
the door. She wondered if he was the resort handyman as she watched every move he made.
They made one more trip to the car and that was it.


“Thanks for your help,” she said while looking at the living room space which opened to a
kitchen. All that separated the two spaces was a long island creating a galley type kitchen.
There were two doors to the right of the kitchen.


“I was expecting more. Are you having stuff sent?” he said.


“Nope. All a graduated needs is a few versatile outfits and a laptop. Besides, I was told it was
a furnished house. I mean cabin.”


“Yeah, it’s not much, strictly a bare essentials cabin.”


“No, it’s great. Just what I’m standing in is more space than I’ve had in a long time. I like the
woodsy feel. Yarrow, Ms. Cedar said cabin so I was trying to use the correct western terminology.
A cabin to me is a permanent tent with the wood for a bathroom. And, If the two doors to the
right of the kitchen area bathroom and bedroom it has more space than I’ve ever had and ever
would imagine in a cabin.”  


Larkspur walked over to the fridge and opened it. “Then welcome to your palace with a few
basic food items to get you started.”


She smiled at the fully stocked fridge and saw that filling out the part of the employment
questionnaire on likes and dislikes wasn’t a joke. All of her favorite items were stocked including
a bottle of champagne.  


He closed the fridge. “Also as part of your welcoming packet, there are linens for the bed and
bathroom.”

Even though the exhaustion from the trek across the country, she knew she’d made the right
decision to accept the job even if she was truly under-qualified for it. She’d dreamed of living
in Montana. Here she stood in a fully equipped cabin with a Nordic god smiling at her and
surrounded by a pine forest on the edge of a lake. She could feel the failure from her disastrous
college life fading.



2 comments:

  1. I like it! Can't wait to find out about her adventures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed reading it.

    ReplyDelete