Chapter Five - Scott

Despite the fact that Scott had been strong-armed into working at Zion Ranch, he’d found a silver lining to the whole thing. For the first time since he and his bandmates had been discovered in that local garage band competition, he’d be able to pretend he had a normal life. Yes, he was missing out on going to Cabo with his best friends, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t been before. Matt and Jordan would probably spend the whole month drunk and wouldn’t remember it anyway.

Scott had sometimes wondered what it would be like to be a normal guy—work at a summer job and hang out for a few months without all the pressures of his rock-star lifestyle. Not often, of course. It hadn’t taken him long to get used to fame and the special treatment that came with it. But on occasion, he wondered what life would be like if he decided to walk away from it all.

After less than twenty-four hours, he had his answer. It turned out he couldn’t go back to being normal.

Instead, Scott had never felt lonelier. When the other guys at the ranch found out who they were rooming with, they immediately distanced themselves. Some appeared to be intimidated, sending smiles his way even as they chose bunks on the opposite end of the large room. And then there were those who didn’t even pretend to like him. That mostly had to do with their girlfriends. Nothing personal, Scott tried to tell himself.

He was relieved when he walked into the lodge the next morning for breakfast and saw the blonde girl he’d met when he’d first arrived. She was sitting at a table by herself. Scott couldn’t remember her name, but at least he’d have one friendly person to eat with. Except, by the time he’d gotten through the cafeteria-like line and approached her table, another girl was sliding into the spot next to her.

Scott tried to make it seem like he was just walking past, but the curly haired girl caught his eye and smiled. “Hey, Scott Dallenforth. Come sit with us.” She patted the empty space next to her.

Another byproduct of fame. He was never just Scott. It was like people thought if they didn’t use his last name, he wouldn’t know they were talking to him. Or maybe they thought they weren’t allowed—like only his friends and family were on a first-name basis with the star.

The blonde girl didn’t look so eager to have him eat with them. In fact, she looked panicked, like she’d prefer anyone else sit with them. Anyone but him. Disappointment settled in his stomach.

Scott was about to decline when he noticed every other girl in the room watching him, their gazes predatory.

“Thank you,” he said, and slid in opposite the blonde girl. Her name started with an L, he thought. Maybe a J. Jessica? Julie? Yeah, he thought it was that last one. Scott remembered now. She’d liked it when he’d called her Jules. He threw her a smile as he cut into his sausage. “Hey, Jules. How’d you sleep? Dream about anything exciting?”

She blinked, apparently too stunned to answer. Or do anything else, for that matter. A half-eaten pancake sat on her plate, her fork in hand but hanging limply, like she’d forgotten what she was doing with it.

“I slept great,” the curly haired girl said when the silence became too stifling. She threw a pointed glance at her friend, who still hadn’t said anything. At one point, Jules’s lips moved, but nothing came out. “I’m Penny, by the way.” She stuck out her hand, and Scott shook it. It was sticky. Hopefully from syrup.

“Hi, Penny.” He shoved a forkful of sausage into his mouth, then said, “What’s wrong with her?” He pointed his fork at Jules.

Penny lifted a shoulder. “Don’t know. She was fine until you showed up.” And then she busied herself with what was left of her pancake. “But that’s not saying much. I think that’s probably true of everyone here.”

Scott wondered what Penny meant by that, but before he had the chance to ask, Jules spoke up.

“It’s Julianna.”

He had just shoved a large piece of hash browns into his mouth, and he nearly choked on it. “Sorry?”

Even though Jules had seemed to find her voice again, she seemed flustered, and she wouldn’t look at him. Her gaze remained on her plate when she said, “It’s Julianna. My name. Not Jules.”

Scott raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

She still wouldn’t look at him. “That’s what my parents named me.”

Nobody was so uptight that they didn’t appreciate a good nickname, and she certainly hadn’t seemed it yesterday. In fact, Scott would go so far as to say that they had had a nice flirting session. They might have even had a “moment.”

So, what had happened between yesterday and today?

That was when Scott noticed her gaze flicking between him and a group that sat on the other side of the room. Two couples who were obviously dating, considering they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other.

Was that why she was mad? Was Jules expecting that of him? Maybe she’d misunderstood and thought because they had flirted a little the day before, they would suddenly be one of those couples.

He’d just been having a little fun, but that was the problem. Scott could never just have fun. If he gave a girl too much attention or went on more than one date with her, she expected things of him.

“I’m sorry, I think this was a bad idea. Sorry to bother you.” Scott slid out from the table and carried his tray to where a dishwasher was collecting them. He tried to ignore Jules’s surprised expression.

It wasn’t just sitting next to her for breakfast that had been the bad idea.

It had been coming down to the ranch at all.

* * * * *

The first staff meeting of the summer. Yay.

Jimmy, who was apparently the activities manager, leaned against the checkout desk in the barn. As the name implied, it was where guests could get equipment or sign up for activities. His gaze swept over the group gathered in front of him. It wasn’t just the activity guides who were there, but also housekeepers, maintenance…anyone who was there for the summer.

“Look around,” Jimmy said. “These are your new best friends. You are going to eat together, work together, play together, sleep together…” He frowned as chuckles rippled through the group. “Not like that. You know what I mean. If y’all aren’t getting along, then everyone else has to suffer. So…we are going to get to know each other in the best way I know how. A six-hour hike.”

If this had been back home, that announcement would have been accompanied by a collective groan. Luckily, Scott stopped himself just before his own groan escaped. Here, with all these people who had actually chosen to come work on a ranch, excited chatter broke out. It was like these people couldn’t think of anything more fun than literally wandering around the middle of nowhere. Hungry. Sweaty. Tired. Sore. That was what apparently equated to a good time around here.

“And yes, before anyone asks, you will be paid for it. We take our guests on guided hikes, and so you need to be familiar with Zion National Park’s unique terrain.”

More excited chatter.

“Go fill up your water bottles in the cafeteria, make sure you are wearing proper footwear and have sunscreen, and I will meet you back here in thirty minutes.”

Scott thought there were probably worse things than being paid to go hiking, but he couldn’t think of what. It wouldn’t be so bad if he were going with people he liked. And who liked him back.

This?

This was going to be six hours of torture, trying to avoid the attention of the girls while at the same time the daggers from the guys. There was no way this thing was going to have a happy ending.

It wasn’t that he thought he was particularly attractive. Or that his personality was any more charming than the next guy.

But he was Scott Dallenforth, and being famous had changed things, both for good and bad. Would he ever wish to go back to how it had been?

Nope.

As annoying as situations like these were, he would never give up that feeling he had when he was on stage. All the lights on him as he did what he loved best, with the people he loved best.

He wouldn’t give up a thing.

Which meant that it was time he stopped tiptoeing around everyone.

It was time for Scott Dallenforth to just be himself, whatever the consequences. It might lead to a few broken hearts and a couple of angry guys, but hey, that was nothing new for him.

Just another day in the life of a rock star.

So, with new resolve, he tightened his brand-new hiking shoes, only worn once. He then filled up his water bottle, stuck on a baseball hat, and planned on having the best hike of his life.

At least, that was what he told himself. Until they were descending the trail that led into a slot canyon and Jules appeared at his side. She looked amazing, her long hair pulled up into a ponytail and sunglasses accentuating her features. Even her jeans and T-shirt seemed to have the one job of making her look good.

“I’m sorry,” she said, skipping any pleasantries. “This morning. I was rude.”

Scott kept his gaze on the trail, trying to play it cool. “Does that mean I can call you Jules?”

Her lips twitched up. “No.”

“I might anyway.”

“I won’t answer.”

Scott fought a smile. He didn’t know why it was such a big deal to her. Or to him, for that matter. He knew he should respect her wishes, but she just didn’t seem like a Julianna to him. When he thought of her, he saw the teasing smile she had worn the day before and not the stiff frown of that morning.

“If it means that much to you, I won’t call you Jules. To your face.”

“I suppose that’s something.”

They walked in silence before Scott got up the courage to ask, “Is that why you were distant this morning? Because of the name thing?” He usually never cared what girls thought of him, but he found himself hoping that that was all it had been—her being annoyed by a nickname.

She hesitated. “No.” She paused before rushing on. “If I’m being completely honest here, I’m not the kind of girl that rock stars talk to, let alone eat breakfast with. I’m the nobody in the corner. If you’re looking for an ego trip—someone to tell you how amazing you are while sneaking pictures when they think you’re not looking—I’m not your girl. Not to mention the fact that you’re totally messing with my groove.”

Scott stumbled on a rock on the trail and Jules grabbed his arm, helping stabilize him. She let go just as quickly.

“Your…what?”

“You know, my groove? My mojo?” She made a hand sign that looked like she might be trying to be a gangster, but a really terrible one. Scott bit back a smile as Jules raised a shoulder, no longer in gangster stance. “It’s hard enough for someone like me to make friends. And if you are sitting across from me at breakfast or acting like we’re close…or something…it only makes things that much harder. They’ll see me as competition, even if I’m not.” Her words stopped as quickly as they had started. Like it hadn’t been something she’d wanted to admit. Especially aloud.

“You have Penny,” he pointed out.

Jules paused as she considered that. “Yes, I do.” She looked around. “Speaking of, where is she?”

Scott spotted Penny’s curly hair up at the front of the group. She appeared to be trying to jump while clicking her ankles together, but because of the steep decline, she kept stumbling forward, then laughing uncontrollably.

When Scott pointed her out, Jules said, “She has such an infectious personality.” Her tone was sadder than Scott would have expected. “She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and everyone is drawn to her.”

“And…is that a bad thing?”

“No. It’s just…I guess I wish I could be like that.” She released a small sigh. “Sorry, sometimes I say too much. And really, I’m talking more to myself than to you. It helps me process my thoughts.” Jules glanced around, like she was suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m…going to walk somewhere else now.”

“Wait.” Scott grabbed Jules’s hand before she could hurry off. He hadn’t meant to, but now that he had, he realized how nice hers felt in his. It had been a long time since he’d held a girl’s hand. Scott had lost count of how many girls he had locked lips with, and the sad thing was, even though it was fun, he no longer felt anything when kissing someone. It wasn’t special anymore.

But holding hands—that was about connection. Intimacy. He dropped Jules’s hand.

She folded her arms over her chest, like she wanted to make sure he didn’t grab her hand again. But she didn’t seem mad. Instead, her gaze was curious.

“What?” she asked when Scott didn’t say anything. “Why did you ask me to wait?”

How could he tell her that he felt as lonely as she did? That he wanted to connect with people in a way that wasn’t fake? Like he could with her.

But he didn’t. Because he was too much of a coward to actually get real with someone.

“Who were those people you kept looking at during breakfast?” he asked instead.

Jules’s expression turned panicked, and her gaze darted around, like she wondered if the people from breakfast were listening in. “No one.” And then she hurried down the hill.

She was promptly replaced by several other girls vying for his attention, but Scott barely registered their presence.

Because the one person he wanted to spend a six-hour hike with wanted nothing to do with him.