California Bored and Tourism Page 3

  “She died from cancer, and he almost died from losing her,” Emogene quietly stated.

  Faith thought she sensed something, a dulled pain in him the day she met him. It was very subtle and as soon as she tried to hone in on it, he tucked it away. Nick had a beautiful smile and was indeed very charismatic, but he had a way of steering you where he wanted you to go. She thought maybe that’s why he was such a good tour guide. She glanced at him, looking like one of those typical happy-go-lucky, California people she’d seen on television and in the movies, never once looking like a man who’d lost the woman he loved to a debilitating disease.

  Nick must have sensed something change in her mood because he suddenly turned from his conversation with Marty and walked over to her. “Are you okay?” He smiled. “I promise you won’t be bathed in blood or anything.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Faith,” a pleasant, soothing voice said behind her.

  “Hello, you must be Tia.”

  “Are you of clean mind, body, and spirit?”

  “Come again?”

  “Think of it as a vision quest around a bonfire on the beach,” he quipped.

  “And you believe in this?” Faith mused.

  “I’ll admit, I did it once and once was enough.”

  “Are you of clean mind, body, and spirit?” Tia repeated.

  Faith had no choice but to smile at Tia’s words. She looked like an angel wrapped in a long skirt, flowing silk top, and a matching scarf wrapped around brown curls.

  Nick interjected, “Are you under the influence of any medication? The stuff she’s going to give you…let’s just say, it’s best not to mix it with anything.”

  “No. I haven’t taken anything.” Her eyebrows scrunched together.

  “Ok then. Faith, welcome to the group. I must say I like your name. You’re a walking advertisement for positive thinking.” Tia beamed.

  If Tia only knew that Faith was all out of faith right now. There were six other people sitting around the fire, talking, while Tia prepared for the ritual. Nick sat on a rock nearby. Everyone received a cup and instructions to drink a liquid that looked like it had grass at the bottom of it. Tia started chanting, asking everyone to keep an open mind and encourage their emotions to surface. Then the real fun began. Tia lit and passed around something that looked like a joint. Everyone took a few puffs and passed it to the next person. Faith didn’t know what to do when it was her turn.

  “What’s in it?” she asked Nick.

  “I don’t know but it’s pretty strong. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

  “Am I going to grow hair all over me and bay at the moon?”

  “Only if you want to. Tia is right, that herb has a way of bringing the truth out of a person.”

  “Are there any side effects?”

  “It may sound strange but I wouldn’t listen to the song Strawberry Letter 23 by Brothers Johnson for a week or so.” He laughed.

  “What?”

  “Just a warning.”

  Faith raised an eyebrow. “And why aren’t you partaking in this event? I’d love to ask you a few questions.”

  “I don’t need to inhale Tia’s truth herb to answer your questions honestly. Maybe you need to inhale it to ask them,” he said slyly.

  What the hell. She took a drag, looked at him, and offered but he refused.

  “Seriously, I’ve done that stuff three times in my life. Even Tia says that’s two times too many. That’s not something recreational and there is a good chance of killing valuable brain cells, so I can’t smoke it.”

  As she mulled over whether or not she should take any of this seriously or if she should have smoked the mystery contents of the homemade cigarette, a weird feeling came over her. It was a surreal moment that had her wondering if she was waking up from a dream or walking into a nightmare. Tia danced around the bonfire, tapping a tambourine, asking the negative energy she could feel among all the participants to leave. As Faith’s mind swirled about, she looked over to see Nick still sitting quietly on the rock.

  “You know I didn’t come to California to get hit with a narcotics charge.” She giggled.

  “Nobody’s going to jail.” Tia laughed. “So, Faith, tell us what’s on your mind.”

  “I don’t know where to begin,” Faith said quietly, wishing the ocean waves could sweep her away.

  “Take your time. We have all night.” That was the last thing Faith remembered.

  She finally woke up to the sound of melodic ocean waves rippling in her ears. She felt like she’d awoken from a crazy, lucid dream that included dancing fairies and magic cigarettes that compelled one to tell the truth, but reality shadowed the dream because she was wearing a beautiful, colorful sundress, not the carpenter shorts and blue t-shirt she’d arrived in. She lay nestled in the comfort of Nick’s arms. “What time is it?”

  He glanced at his watch. “Eleven.”

  “Aren’t you late for a tour?”

  “I called the office and Josh agreed to cover for me.”

  Faith sighed. “I don’t want to be blamed for your absence.”

  “I doubt anyone would notice. Josh is a pretty boy. Women love him. Makes me look like a dog.” He laughed.

  “Really?” She smiled.

  “So, now you want to go on the tour?”

  “Nah.” She punched him on the shoulder. “Do you know why I am wearing Emogene’s sundress?”

  “You and Emogene hit it off and decided to become blood sisters. When you both realized how messy that would be, you decided to switch clothes instead.”

  She vaguely remembered hugging Emogene and several murmured words between them, but she did not recall the clothes switch. “Oh my. I don’t…”

  “Normally do that?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “No. It’s taken me three months to give someone my phone number before.” She quipped. “Did I do or say anything embarrassing?”

  “Not really.”

  “Tell me. What did I say?” She shielded her face with her hands.

  “You said,” Nick started as he pulled her hands from her face, “that you were afraid your life would never amount to anything.”

  That’s exactly how she’d been feeling for years but was always too scared to utter the words.

  He continued, “You also said when you first met me you thought I was a typical shallow, California, pretty boy, but you were glad you were wrong about me. You said my kindness during this trip made you feel special. Then you kissed me.”

  “What?” She swallowed hard. “You’re making that last part up.”

  “Hey, Marty!” Nick yelled to his friend who was having a cup of coffee. “Did Faith kiss me last night?”

  “Yes, she did. Laid a good one on you.” Marty chuckled.

  “I can’t believe I did that.” Faith closed her eyes.

  “Hey, I didn’t say it was terrible. As a matter of fact, I didn’t mind at all.”

  She gave him a sideways glance.

  “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time now.” Nick leaned over and kissed her. Although she didn’t remember the kiss last night, his lips felt soft and familiar.

  Faith exhaled. “Isn’t this crazy? We barely know each other, but I feel I’ve known you all my life.”

  “No, I’ll tell you what’s crazy. My whacky friend Tia came to me three months ago and said she had a message for me from one of the spirit guides she communicates with. Her guide told her I would soon find ‘faith’ on one of my tours.”

  Faith laughed. “You do tours all the time. How would you know where you would find faith?”

  “Faith, I don’t do tours. I own California Scenic Tours. I have fifty-five tour guides that work for me and total, a seventy-four-person operation. Every once in a while, if we’re short handed, I pitch in. I usually give the specialty tours to Jason. Business has been booming. When your friend Kendra called and was so persuasive on the phone, I couldn’t turn her down. She emailed me the names of all
the people who would be on the tour, and I saw your name. At first, I thought it was a wild coincidence so I called Tia to joke with her about it. She didn’t think it was funny. She told me this was my sign and I should personally do the tour. It was either this tour or a VIP tour to some ambassador’s kid.” He smiled.

  “That explains the Jaguar.” She laughed.

  “I am financially able to take care of myself.”

  “Indeed. Well thank you for making this a very memorable vacation.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She moved closer to him and gave him a hug.

  “Well, my reality is beckoning.” She smiled. “Have to pack. Leaving tomorrow.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. How would you like to extend your vacation?”

  “I have to start looking for another job.”

  “You could be a tour guide.” He smiled. “God knows you’ve read everything there is to know about California. I think you would be good at it…but on one condition.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I’ll only employ you part time. You should go to cooking school. I have a friend who is teacher at a cooking school. He said he’s sure he could get you in.”

  Without thinking too hard, she replied, “I would need a place to stay.”

  “I have a guest cottage next to my house. Total privacy. Also, I have a huge kitchen in the main house so you can do your culinary homework assignments there.”

  She continued to ask more questions, but Nick seemed to have a good answer for all of them. After last night’s spiritual voyage, a new awareness opened within her, and she could see Nick’s determination on being her guide. Not to guide her around California. He was meant to guide her to the next phase of her life. She sighed, “Don’t you think it’s all too much and so fast?”

  “It may seem that way but life goes by even faster. Five years ago, I thought my wife and I would be having adventures and a ton of kids. Didn’t see the cancer coming.”

  Faith gripped his hand. Nick’s pain was very apparent, but he seemed to somehow be at peace with it all. She couldn’t see how he’d be able to care for, let alone love, someone again. Maybe his offer was some sort of goodwill mission on his part?

  He covered her hand with his. “I will always love her, but I wouldn’t open up to you and be hung up on my late wife at the same time. I wouldn’t do that to you, Faith.”

  Tears welled in Faith’s eyes. “You have to forgive me. I think I was born a skeptic. I have never taken a leap of ‘faith’ in my life.” She laughed. “Ironic, huh? Coming from a woman named Faith.”

  “I think you are just trying to find your way, and I think I am supposed to be in your life to catch you when you’re courageous enough to take that leap, Faith.”

  Faith smiled. “And what do you get for putting me up, helping me get into cooking school, and giving me a job?”

  “I’m hoping, one day, you will cook for me?” he said sweetly.

  Faith didn’t know if it was the hope in his eyes or the softness of the words, but she knew what he meant.

  “If I’m going to be a chef, I’m going to need a lot of practice. Who knows? You may even get three squares a day.” She smiled.

  *THE END*

  About the Author

  Rhonda Laurel is a contemporary romance writer whose two great loves are writing and landscape photography. She uses both as a vehicle to convey the complexity of the human spirit and the beauty of the world around her. The author is happily building her backlist.

  www.rhondalaurel.com

  Sweet Cravings Publishing

  www.sweetcravingspublishing.com