Fatal Descent Read Free Page B

the counter next to Rob, Mandy said, “We may need to rescue Kendra from those chatterboxes. We can’t have a sleepy rafting guide, especially in Cataract Canyon.”
    Rob shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If need be, she can sleep with you one night, and I’ll bed down outside.”
    Mandy leaned on her elbows and looked at the roster. “You know, when we were planning this trip, I imagined all sorts of things going wrong. I never dreamed that tent assignments were going to be such a challenge.” She wondered if this tent shuffle was a sign of more client issues to come.
    With a laugh, Rob said, “Hopefully the Anderson family will be okay with theirs.”
    “We can’t do anything about it if they aren’t!”

two
    In the duel of sex, woman fights from a
dreadnought and man from an open raft.
    — h. l. mencken
    While Mandy and Rob were checking the signed release forms for errors, the front door to the outfitter’s building swung open. A breeze came through the doorway, stirring up the papers. Mandy slapped her hand on them to keep them from flying, then looked up. A very tall, thin young man stepped through the door and swept his shoulder-length straight brown hair out of his face. He wore a tattered T-shirt and torn jeans, and his angular chin and cheeks were covered with two-day-old stubble. The breeze brought the strong scent of body odor to Mandy’s nostrils. She wrinkled her nose and wondered if the guy was homeless.
    “O’Day!” Rob shouted and came out from behind the counter to clap the man on the back.
    Mystery solved. Mandy moved to join the men. Tom O’Day was the climbing guide they had hired for the trip. Rob had interviewed him when he, Gonzo, and Kendra had come out a month ago to take an orientation rafting trip down Cataract Canyon. Still recovering from a cracked rib, Mandy hadn’t gone on that trip.
    Rob put an arm around Mandy’s shoulder and pulled her toward him. “Meet Tom O’Day, Mandy. Tom, this is my partner and soon to be ball-and-chain, Mandy Tanner.”
    Mandy glanced at Rob and caught his playful wink.
    O’Day grinned and held out a hand, but his blue, almost gray, eyes were assessing her. “Glad to meet you, Mandy. Call me Cool. Everyone does.”
    “Nice to meet you, too, Cool.” Mandy didn’t say anything about his pungent state, but she prayed that it wasn’t normal for him. Yes, by the end of a multi-day rafting trip everyone got a little ripe, but they usually didn’t start out that way.
    After they shook hands, Cool looked down at his filthy clothes. “Sorry I’m such a mess. I just got back from a two-day climb that took longer than I expected. I figured I should come over here first before I head home and shower. I promise I’ll have all my shit together by tomorrow morning.”
    Mandy held back a frown. O’Day didn’t seem to be taking their trip very seriously. What was he doing out climbing when he should have been preparing for it?
    “We were hoping you could join us for a meet-and-greet dinner with the clients at Milt’s Stop & Eat in …” She glanced at the clock. “A little over an hour. Can you make it?”
    “I can try.”
    “We’ll expect you,” Rob said firmly. “First you should meet Kendra, though. She and Gonzo Gordon—you remember him, right?—will be in charge of packing the gear onto the vehicles after dinner. You’ll need to make sure all the climbing equipment gets to them.”
    Cool frowned as he followed Rob and Mandy toward the back room. “Sounds like a late night.”
    “Doesn’t have to be, if your gear is all ready,” Rob said smoothly. “But tomorrow morning will be early. Mandy and I want all the guides here at six a.m., so we can get our act together before the clients show up at seven.”
    Cool groaned. The sound made Kendra raise her head. And Kendra’s looks made Cool let out a wolf whistle.
    Kendra rose with a forced smile. “Dream on, honey. Too bad for you I’m not