Chapter Nineteen - Julianna

Julianna sent an elderly man down on the zipline, praying he wouldn’t have a heart attack on the way. He hadn’t seemed exactly confident as she’d sent him off the roof of the three-story barn.

Penny was up there with several of the kids from her camp, awaiting their turn. “You get ahold of Scott yet?” She pulled her newly dyed hair into a ponytail. It was red now, thanks to a prank gone wrong—or right, as it were.

A wave of bitter disappointment washed over Julianna. “No.”

“I’m sure if something were wrong, we would have seen it in the news. People belly-flop from ridiculous heights all the time.” Penny said it as if she were being helpful, but it only confirmed what Julianna had suspected. That Scott was fine, and he wanted nothing to do with her.

She had understood why he’d had to leave the ranch. The boy was deathly allergic to scorpions, and he may not be so lucky if he were on the receiving end of one of those stings again.

But Julianna had thought he’d changed—that he was more than how he appeared in the gossip magazines.

Except, more pictures had surfaced a few days earlier. Pictures of Scott that had been taken at a party, along with video of him purposely bellyflopping from a ridiculous height into a swimming pool. She had tried calling him that night—several times—and it had been the last time she’d tried.

Scott didn’t need her anymore—not now that he had his old life back. He’d only needed her when she was the only option available.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine.” Julianna tried to sound like she didn’t care one way or the other.

“And he’ll call.”

Julianna stepped back so that Penny could move forward with the kids. “No. He won’t.” She rubbed a hand across her eyes. “He obviously saw this as a summer fling. I mean, the only reason I had his number was because I bribed Katie at the front desk to look in his file.”

Penny smirked. “More like blackmailed.”

That was true. Turned out Katie had been dating two guys from the ranch at the same time, and it was just Julianna’s luck to catch her with the one that no one was supposed to know about. It was Scott’s number for Julianna’s silence. She was now wondering if that had been a mistake. Maybe it would have been better to leave things as “what might have been.”

She looked out the window, across the trees, and into Zion National Park. It really was beautiful here. Maybe they kept on a few employees through the off-season, and she could postpone college and stay a little longer.

She released a long sigh. “He’s moved on. And I should too.”

Truthfully, she wasn’t doing too badly. In the two weeks since Scott had left, Julianna had become better friends with the other girls in their little apartment, including Sandra. Turned out she was pretty cool when Julianna wasn’t trying to break Sandra and Blair up.

Julianna and Penny were going out on a girls’ movie night with their roomies after work, and it was the only thing getting Julianna through the last hour of zipline duty. They would have to drive an hour and a half to the nearest movie theater, so they’d get dinner on the way. And it couldn’t come soon enough.

Penny was quiet as she helped the kids get their harnesses on, but then she glanced at Julianna. Her gaze had an excited glint to it—like she was up to something. “I think I might have something that will help you feel better.”

“I’m not sure…” Julianna knew to be cautious whenever Penny got that glint in her eyes. Her friend had been involved in a feud with the boys at the ranch for the past couple of weeks, ever since they replaced her conditioner with hair dye.

“Please,” Penny begged. “We’ll be gone all night, so they won’t be able to blame me for anything that might—or might not—happen. It will be perfect!”

Julianna released a hard breath but couldn’t help smiling. “Fine. What did you have in mind?”

“Meet me upstairs in twenty minutes. The boys won’t be off work yet, right?”

Julianna glanced at her watch. “No, they’ll be cleaning up the equipment for at least another forty-five minutes.”

“Perfect.” And then Penny gave Julianna a grin that both made her nervous and helped her forget Scott. At least for the time being.

Penny had been right—a prank war was exactly what Julianna needed.

* * * * *

“I’m keeping watch—you do it,” Julianna said. Butterflies filled her stomach, and she thought she might puke. This wasn’t the type of thing she did—stealing things from the boys’ dormitory. What if they were caught? Could they be fired for doing this kind of thing?

“We’ll have more chance of being caught if you don’t help me, because it will take twice as long,” Penny said, giving Julianna a little nudge toward the stairs that led to the boys’ bunks.

Penny had a point, but Julianna still didn’t like it.

She was not meant for a life of crime and had managed to keep herself out of Penny’s shenanigans up until this point, which was pretty good, considering. Things had continued to escalate, though, and now here Julianna was. Stealing all the blankets and pillows off the boys’ beds.

“Can we at least leave the pillows?” Julianna whispered as they climbed the stairs. “Most of them will have sleeping bags to use instead of blankets, but I’ll feel bad if they have nothing but a hard bunk to lay their heads on. And then I’ll break—the guilt will gnaw at me until I tell them it was us.”

Penny laughed and shook her head. “All right. Just the blankets. That will help cut down the time and the space all this stuff will take up anyway.”

Julianna had never moved so fast as she did when shoving those blankets into the large black garbage bags they had “borrowed” from the kids’ camp. But when she approached an empty bunk against one of the far walls, she paused. Had this been Scott’s bunk? It was in the furthest corner of the room and had a lonely feel about it.

She forced herself to walk away and not feel bad for the boy who obviously hadn’t thought of her since he’d left. Scott was just fine—hadn’t been traumatized by his brief foray into the real world. Her sympathy would only be wasted.

Once all the blankets were in the black bags, they stowed them in the closet where the kids’ camp kept their supplies—a closet that only Penny and Sandra had the key for. And they’d both be gone for the evening.

Team Penny: 6

Team Boys: 5

As they drove through the canyon toward Cedar City, Julianna tried not to think about what would happen when the boys discovered their blankets missing. Sure, Penny would be gone for the evening, but Julianna knew the boys wouldn’t be fooled. They’d know it was her. And there would be revenge.

* * * * *

The repercussions were swift and strong. Taking those blankets had done more than require the boys to use their sleeping bags for an evening. It had apparently upended the entire ranch. The girls who had remained at the ranch had been even angrier than the guys—who, it turned out, hadn’t been angry at all—letting the guys borrow some of their own supplies and expressing rage on their behalf.

And, of course, everyone knew who it had been. The next morning, Penny was on the receiving end of glares from every girl there, or at least those who hadn’t been on the girls’ trip. It was like a barrier of tension had been erected between the girls who slept in the barn versus the girls who slept under the lodge.

“I don’t understand why the girls are mad,” Penny whispered, sending anxious looks around her.

“Because most of them are dating at least one of the guys you pranked, and in some cases, more,” Sandra said, her mouth full of eggs. She raised a shoulder. “Honestly, this was one of your tamer pranks. But definitely more creative than when you made those salty brownies. I mean, it was good, but kind of felt like you had run out of ideas, you know?”

Julianna laughed. Yeah, Sandra had definitely grown on her.

“I know what you mean,” Penny said, chewing on a piece of French toast stick. “But if this is how they react with something like this, I’m nervous about coming up with something bigger.”

Blair walked up at that moment with a few other guys. They all wore smiles.

Uh-oh.

Blair slammed his hands down on the end of the table, though his smile hadn’t diminished. “You know we’re not going to let this one go, right?”

Penny returned his smile. “As opposed to all the other pranks I’ve pulled? I mean, really, taking your and your friends’ clothes from the laundry and hanging them to dry on the zipline was one of my personal favorites. Did Sandra know you have hearts on your socks?”

Blair’s eyes flashed, but his smile managed to stay intact. “She gave them to me.”

Julianna glanced at Sandra and noticed her cheeks had gone red.

“We were going through the awkward phase where you give an anniversary gift every month. We were celebrating two months,” she murmured, while also sinking in her seat.

Penny must have known she had gotten under Blair’s skin, because her grin grew wider. She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. “Mazel tov. But in all seriousness, what is it about your blankets that has the ranch up in arms? I truly don’t understand.”

“Never mind the why,” Cameron said, stepping up from behind his friend. “It’s the how that you should be worried about. As in, how are we going to repay you?”

Blair shot Cameron a warning glance, like he’d already said too much.

And that one look made Julianna more nervous than anything else.

* * * * *

There was nothing like a day off work and spending it all in the pool. Eventually, though, Julianna’s fingers wrinkled to the point her hands could be featured in a senior citizen commercial.

“I think I’m done,” Julianna said, pulling herself from the water.

Penny followed suit and wrung her hair out. “I’m right behind you.”

Julianna wrapped her towel around her waist and twisted her hair into a bun. “After spending the past three hours in the pool, I’m looking forward to a nice hot shower and then collapsing in front of the TV in the lounge.”

The pool was right next to the lodge, so she had walked over barefoot, something Julianna now regretted as the sidewalk was a lot hotter than it had been three hours earlier. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.” She looked like she was doing an Irish jig as she jumped her way to the stairwell that led down to their apartment.

Penny laughed. “I warned you.”

“You sound like my mom.” As soon as they were in the apartment, Julianna dropped her towel and smooshed it into a ball. “Think I can make it into my laundry hamper from here?”

Penny squinted and tapped her chin, like she was trying to judge the distance. “You’ll have to make it clear across the bathroom, and it will have to still be high enough to drop in. If we were making a bet, I’d say no.”

“Then let’s make it a bet.” Julianna grinned. “If I make it in, you have to finally kiss Andy. I still can’t believe you two haven’t done it already.”

Penny’s cheeks pinked. “We’re taking it slow.”

“That would be great if this wasn’t a summer fling. But we only have four weeks left here, and time is something that is not on your side.”

Penny lifted a shoulder. “Maybe I don’t see this as a summer fling.”

Julianna stared. Wow, her friend really liked the guy. It made her heart heavy. Hadn’t she seen Scott as more than a summer fling—hoped it was more—even though it was destined to end? It was only going to make things harder for Penny when it was time to leave. When it was time for them to go their separate ways, live their separate lives.

But Julianna wasn’t going to be the one to rain on her friend’s parade—she was tired of being the realist, the one who didn’t take chances. Maybe if Julianna had taken more chances, Scott would still be at the ranch. Or at least answering her calls.

She shot her friend a smile. “I’m happy for you.”

Relief passed over Penny’s features. “Thanks. Me too.” She threw her shoulders back. “Now for that hot shower.”

“No…now for my epic towel shot across the bathroom. Then the hot shower.”

As Julianna cocked her arm back, though knowing this was an impossible shot, Penny jumped in front of her.

“Wait. We never decided what you have to do if you don’t make it.”

Right. Bets were usually two-sided. But it was a lot more fun when Julianna didn’t have anything at stake.

“Nah, it’s all right. This will just be for fun.”

Penny grinned. “No way. If you don’t make this shot, you have to finally leave a message on Scott’s phone.” When Julianna opened her mouth to protest, Penny shook her head. “I know you always hang up just before the beep.”

Julianna didn’t like this turn of events. It was one thing to challenge her friend to kiss someone she already knew liked her. It was another thing for Julianna to contact Scott, who had obviously already moved on and didn’t want to hear from her. She could handle him not answering her calls, but she didn’t know if she’d be able to handle him not returning them.

But Penny was giving her a look that said she wasn’t going to take no for an answer, her arms crossed across her chest and her eyebrow raised—challenging her.

“Fine,” Julianna said, releasing a long breath. And then, under that same breath, she muttered, “I better make this shot.”

She motioned for Penny to move aside, then once again cocked her arm back, the towel ball on the verge of falling apart. Crap. This thing was not very stable.

Julianna let her arm fly…and the towel landed with a thud four feet in front of her.

“That was a practice shot,” she yelled, running forward and grabbing the towel and throwing it again. It went another three feet, landing in the center of the bathroom. “One more try,” she yelled over her shoulder, panic lacing her words. She could not call Scott again. And she was definitely not going to leave a message for him. A message that told him how desperate she was—how she wasn’t over him. Just like every other girl.

And that was the problem, wasn’t it? She’d become what she’d been terrified of from the very beginning.

Julianna had become like every other girl—and Scott knew it. And now he didn’t want her—didn’t need her.

She ran to grab the towel, but as she snatched it up, she realized there was something under the towel. Something long and scaled.

“Rattlesnake!”

Julianna jumped onto the counter as Penny screamed from the other side of the room.

“Are you kidding me?” Penny yelled before bolting out the door. Julianna hoped it was to get help and that her friend hadn’t just abandoned her, leaving her to figure out the snake situation on her own.

Julianna eyed the snake, then scooted along the counter’s edge, her feet tucked up under her. There was something strange about the snake, though. Julianna’s heart calmed enough for her to realize that it wasn’t moving. And its head was tucked under another towel. Almost like…

“Aww,” she groaned. “This isn’t even my fight!” Julianna dropped from the counter, then noticed the video camera set up in the laundry room that was pointed her way.

She snatched up the second towel and saw that it was indeed a real snake, but the head had been cut off.

Before Julianna had the chance to register whether she was grossed out, impressed, or just mad, the apartment door burst open. She spun around, expecting to see Jimmy, or maybe Kat, but was instead met by someone who shouldn’t even be at the ranch.

“Scott!”

She was more stunned to see him standing there, shovel in hand, than she had been to see the rattlesnake. So she stared. And didn’t say anything. How could she when her emotions were tangled together, each fighting for dominance.

Part of her wanted to run to him and wrap her arms around his neck and give him a kiss that would ensure he’d never want to leave again. The other part wanted to still run to him, but rather than wrap him in her arms, it would be her hands that would be doing the wrangling as she wrung his neck.

How dare he just show up like this, like everything was fine and he hadn’t been gone for three weeks, never answering her calls?

But Scott didn’t seem interested in Julianna at the moment, his gaze bouncing around the room wildly. “Where is it?”

She folded her arms over her chest and gave him the best glare she knew how. “Where’s what?”

Scott gave the shovel an impatient shake in Julianna’s direction. “The snake. Penny said there’s a rattlesnake in your place.”

Julianna sounded almost bored as she gave a nod toward the bathroom. “In there. But it’s already dead.”

He slowly lowered the shovel until it hung at his side. “You…killed the snake?”

“Would have, if it hadn’t already been dead.” As if Julianna had been just about to take care of the snake herself, like it was no big deal. And like she wasn’t terrified of anything that moved. When Scott raised an eyebrow, knowing there was no way Julianna would have killed that thing herself, she said, “It was a prank by the boys. To get back at Penny. She started a bit of a prank war shortly after you left. Looks like the ball is in our court, but it will be tough to beat something like this.”

Scott looked from Julianna to the shovel, then back to Julianna. “Looks like you have everything under control, so I guess I’ll—”

“What are you doing here?” Julianna took a step toward Scott, no longer nervous around the rock star. Because that wasn’t who he was to her—not anymore. He’d transformed into a regular guy while at the ranch—one who was as kind as he was good-looking. Not to mention being Julianna’s first kiss. He had also been one of the best friends she’d ever had.

Until he’d left.

“I-I work here,” he said, seeming taken aback by the force behind Julianna’s words.

“No. You don’t. You used to work here. Before you went home. Before you went back to being Scott Dallenforth, party king. Before you didn’t take my calls.” Julianna’s voice broke on the last word, betraying the emotions she had been working so hard to keep buried.

In a vain attempt to maintain her dignity—or at least not feel like a complete loser, melting down in front of Scott, who had had his arms around a different girl every night since leaving—Julianna turned and stomped into the bathroom. She didn’t look back as she wrapped the snake in one of the towels and then returned and shoved it into Scott’s arms.

He nearly dropped the shovel as he attempted to keep the snake from falling to the floor, but his gaze never left Julianna through it all. It was curious and searching—and even seemed hurt.

“I didn’t ignore your phone calls,” Scott said, his voice quiet. “I never got them.”

“That’s funny, because it was your voice on the voicemail greeting.”

Scott remained quiet, his head tilting to the side. “You left a message?”

Heat rushed into Julianna’s cheeks. “Well, no. But I called like fifteen times.” Realizing how desperate and stalkerish that sounded, she said, “Or at least it felt like it. Might have been just two or three. I wasn’t keeping track.”

She squeezed her hands into fists, frustrated that she’d gone from being in charge of the conversation—strong and confident—to ending up where she always did. At the bottom, begging for the guy to like her.

“It doesn’t matter much,” Julianna said, steeling herself for whatever charm Scott might send her way. “Deliver that snake to Blair and Cameron, though, won’t you? Preferably under their bedsheets.” She then pushed Scott out the door, shutting it behind him before he had the chance to protest.

She leaned against the door, breathing heavily. Of all the scenarios she’d played out in her head if she ever had the chance to see Scott again—this had not been one of them.