They both looked up. My two best friends. Sierra Kerr was the blonde, and she was bubbly and never ran out of energy. We called her Energizer. A California transplant, she was the Outdoor Events Coordinator, and ran all the outdoor activities for the resort. And while I was a respectable five foot six, standing next to Sierra, who barely scraped in at five feet, made me feel like a giant.

“Morning, Tessa.” Sierra tapped her clipboard. “Do you want to try out a new biking trail with me tomorrow morning?”

“Um…” Biking wasn’t really my thing. I skied in the winter, did the occasional hike in summer, but other than that, I did the odd yoga class and counted that as regular exercise.

“Ask her what time,” Allie Ford said.

Allie and I had gone to school together. All I’d ever wanted was to manage the Windward Resort. All Allie had wanted to do was escape our small town. She’d dreamed of working at a classy advertising company in New York, having a fancy apartment, and traveling the world.

My heart squeezed. She had moved to New York for several years, but when her brother and sister-in-law had been killed, she’d moved back and taken custody of her five-year-old nephew. Obviously, the similarity of the situation to my own had hit me hard. I’d vowed to help her anyway I could.

She’d asked me for a job and all I had was the housekeeping supervisor position. She was woefully overqualified but one of my hardest workers. I admired how much Allie loved her nephew, even though the loud, fun-loving Allie had given way to hard-working, always-tired, and slightly grim Allie.

I pinned Sierra with a look. “What time?”

“Five AM. It’s beautiful and peaceful then, and we’ll have the place to ourselves.”

I winced. “Um, I can’t at five AM.”

Sierra propped a hand on her hip. “You have plans?”

“Yes, I’ll be sleeping.”

Allie snorted, then looked at my arm. “Did you and Simba go a round before you came in?”

“Yes. That monster escaped and parked his fat butt in a tree. Haley begged me to rescue the poor, little thing.”

Sierra shuddered. “That cat scares me.”

“You can’t show any fear. He can smell it.”

“Don’t you have a Band-Aid in your magic pouch?” Allie asked.

“In fact, I do.” I unzipped my kit again and pulled out a Band-Aid.

“Let me.” Allie ripped it open and pressed it over the scratch. “Let’s do a cocktail night soon.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I need a margarita or seven.”

“Alcohol is bad for your health,” Sierra said. “Biking is healthy. It will give you natural endorphins.”

“You always say that, but after I exercise with you, all I feel is hot and sweaty,” Allie said. “I’ll add some fruit to my cocktail. And voila, healthy.”