Page 5 of High Country Escape

“No! I mean, I don’t even know her.”

“I thought the two of you looked very friendly.”

“I only talked with her a few seconds.”

Debra shrugged. “I don’t really know her, either. We ran into each other at the coffee shop. I try to be friendly with everyone but she was downright rude.”

The woman he had met hadn’t been rude. Just...reserved. Like him. Though come to think of it, he had been accused before of being rude also. Too quiet. Standoffish. “Not everyone has an easy time talking to strangers,” he said. “I think she’s new in town.”

“So am I.” She leaned across the counter, flashing a bit of cleavage. He forced his gaze up. “Care to show me around?” she asked.

“Um, I have to work the booth right now.”

She laughed, a musical sound. “I didn’t mean right now, silly.” She picked up one of the shirts he had just folded and shook it out. “Eagle Mountain Search and Rescue,” she said, reading the logo on the front. “I take it you’re part of the group.”

“Yeah. We both are.” He gestured to Eldon, who was busy making change for a customer on the other side of the booth.

“That’s so heroic,” she said.

“No,” he said. “I’m just trying to help.”

“You’ll have to tell me about it some time.”

Again, he couldn’t think of a thing to say. Whereas men like his brother were always able to come up with a glib remark, it took Dalton a while to organize his thoughts. By the time he found the right words, it was often too late.

An older couple approached and he turned to greet them. They asked about search and rescue and ended up making a donation. When Dalton turned back, Debra was gone.

Eldon moved over to join him when the older couple had left. “Who was the redhead?” he asked.

“Her name is Debra.” He refolded the shirt she had left lying on the counter.

“I overheard some of what she said. She was really into you.”

“I don’t know why. She’s doesn’t even know me.”

“She doesn’t have to know you to be attracted to you. May and I didn’t know each other when I asked her out.”

May and Eldon seemed like such a good couple. Really in sync. “Why did you ask her out?”

“Because she’s hot.” He laughed. “Hey, if you like a woman, ask her out. Maybe it doesn’t work out, but maybe it will.”

Why was everyone after him to go out with someone? Was his mother bribing his friends to talk to him about his monk-like existence?

The arrival of Ryan Welch and his partner, Deni Traynor, interrupted his thoughts. “We’re here to take over,” Deni—her light brown hair in two short braids—announced. She propped her sunglasses on top of her head, revealing blue-green eyes. “Anything we need to know?”

“Did you sell any shirts?” Ryan, with the lean, muscular build of a dedicated rock climber and short brown hair just peeking from beneath an EMSAR ball cap, asked.

“It’s been kind of slow,” Eldon said. “We sold three T-shirts and collected forty dollars in donations.”

“Deni and I will see if we can do better than that,” Ryan said.

“Looks like Carter and Caleb pulled in the most money today,” Deni said as she scanned the day’s log.

“No surprise there,” Dalton said. “We always said Carter could sell sand in the Sahara.”

“You two are twins,” Ryan said. “Shouldn’t you have the same gift for gab?”

“We have different personalities,” Dalton said. He smirked. “Carter got all the charm, but I got the smarts.”