Reconsidering Riley by Lisa Plumley Page A

lunch, we'll warm up with a short hike around
the base of Lower Chimney Rock. We'll make sure your packs are
comfortable, your hiking boots are properly broken-in—"
    He stopped, looking at the sandals, Hush
Puppies, thongs, and—in Carla's case—purple-laced Puma's they wore.
"You did receive the information on hiking boots Gwen and
Bud send to all new adventure travelers, didn't you?"
    Everyone nodded. Riley breathed a sigh of
relief.
    "And you have been taking some easy
hikes to prepare?"
    Five heads nodded. Jayne raised her hand.
"Does fifteen trips to the Banana Republic near Union Square
count?"
    Riley began to nod. Then he gave her a sharp
look. "Did you take a taxi?"
    "Do you think I have a death wish? I love
San Francisco, but walking is the only way to go. I used to trek
twenty-two blocks just to get to work."
    Used to ? Had her despair over her
boneheaded former boyfriend caused her to lose her art department
job, too? Riley became more determined than ever to help her.
    But since singling Jayne out for special
attention would only make her feel...well, singled out , he
settled for saying, "In that case, yes. That counts."
    She smiled. He cheered up further.
    The women had had their slumber party. He'd
had a good night's sleep, plus a head-clearing sunrise hike.
Everyone was feeling good, ready to embark on their adventure.
Today, Riley would reassert his authority over the group and get
everything back on track. Only one detail remained to be
settled...
    "So." He rubbed his hands together to warm
them, glancing expectantly toward the lodge's front door as he did.
"Where's your esteemed leader, the so-called self-help guru? She
ought to be here for the training."
    The women all ducked their heads, glancing
toward one another silently. Then, to his surprise, Jayne stepped
forward.
    "She's right here. One so-called self-help
guru, at your service."
     
     
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    "I thought I might find you here!"
    Calling the greeting to her uncle, Alexis
finished the climb to his usual spot atop the mesquite-shaded rock
formation near the lodge. She scrambled over slippery footholds and
sat down beside him.
    From here, Nana and Gramp's lodge was still
visible beyond the rise, but the rocks and trees gave the place an
illusion of privacy. The sun-warmed granite would totally make her butt go numb if she stayed very long, but for now it would
be nice to hang with Uncle Riley.
    He looked up. Angled his chin in welcome.
"Hey."
    "Whatcha' doin' out here?" She brushed off
her palms and gazed at him curiously. "I thought you only did the mountain man routine when something was bugging you."
    Silently, her uncle stared out over the
scenery.
    Was he shutting her out? Alexis frowned. She
used to hate the way Brendan did that whenever his friends
came around.
    So she probed. "You didn't even wait to see
if your group came back from their orienteering test after the
hike."
    He shrugged. "I'm sure they did fine."
    Alexis kept her mouth shut.
    A moment ticked past. Uncle Riley looked at
her. "Did something happen? Did you come out here to tell me
something happened? I knew I should have hung back and
trailed them."
    He started to get up. A shake of her head
made him lower again, a question in his eyes.
    "Nothing happened," Alexis explained with a
wave of her hand. "They're all still in Sedona."
    " Sedona ? They weren't supposed to go
to Sedona. They were supposed to navigate their way to the Red Rock
Loop trail. Then call me on the two-way radio I left at the
trailhead, so I could come pick them up." He nudged the receiver at
his side.
    "Yeah. Well. Turns out Jayne's a natural at
using a compass." Alexis shrugged. "She led them straight to
downtown Sedona instead."
    "And tourist row." He nodded knowingly.
    "Yeah. They're probably working the
Kokopelli key chains and turquoise bracelet displays pretty hard by
now." Tourists loved that stuff, Alexis knew. "Jayne called
Nana to invite us to go shopping with them. For a famous