Fatal Descent by Beth Groundwater Page B

pointed.
    Before walking away, Les said, “You shouldn’t feel bad, Alex. At least you didn’t get beat by a girl, like Paulie boy here.”
    Paul bared his teeth in a nervous smile, looked at his daughter and explained, “Elsa and I went next, and she reached the top before me.”
    Mandy glanced at Elsa, who quickly wiped a triumphant smirk off her face. In a nonchalant tone, she said to Tina, “Your father and I weren’t really racing. It just turned out that we got on the two ropes at the same time.”
    I bet, Mandy thought. Elsa, like Les, seemed to have that type A personality that grabbed at competition whenever it could. These were the type of clients that Meander Canyon was best for, cutting them off from their electronic devices and forcing them to slow down and savor life.
    Cool came up behind Alice Anderson and Betsy Saunders and draped an arm over each, pulling them close to him. “The lovely ladies did great, too,” he said with a salacious grin.
    Alice slid out of his grasp. “I’m going to clean up before dinner.” She walked away.
    Still holding on to Betsy, Cool tried to throw an arm around Mo Heedle’s shoulders, but both women twirled out of his grasp.
    “We’re going to clean up, too,” Mo stated firmly, and the three women headed for their large tent.
    Mandy frowned. The last thing she wanted was Cool carrying the flirtation thing too far and pissing off the female clients. RM Outdoor Adventures couldn’t afford to deal with a sexual harassment lawsuit.
    Left with empty arms, Cool gave a shrug and went to work stowing the climbing gear back in one of the rafts. Gonzo snatched a spring roll and gave a toodle-oo wave with his fingers to Kendra before going to help Cool.
    Mandy raised an eyebrow at Rob, but she couldn’t really say any thing to him about Cool in front of the others. They would have to talk about him later in the privacy of their tent.
    _____
    Everyone had worked up an appetite. They descended on the Chinese meal like a swarm of locusts on a cornfield and stripped the pots bare. Dusk had descended, so the camping lanterns had been brought out and lit, and most of the group had applied bug repellant or donned long-sleeved shirts and pants.
    Exhausted now after her mostly sleepless night and work-filled day, Mandy struggled to maintain a perky smile and posture. She silently calculated how long it would take to clean up and put the campsite right before she could crawl into her sleeping bag.
    Too long.
    The clients had all settled back into camp chairs with s’mores and mugs of decaf or regular coffee. The three girlfriends passed around photos of their families to show the others. Kendra roasted marshmallows over the small driftwood fire burning in the metal fire pan for those who wanted seconds on dessert. She slapped Gonzo’s hand playfully when he grabbed a chocolate bar to eat by itself.
    Rob started a discussion on the differences between Meander Canyon, with its slow-moving flatwater, and Cataract Canyon, with its whitewater rapids. Cataract also had twice the water volume, from the confluence of the Colorado and Green rivers. Both canyons had their pluses. Meander Canyon offered more chances to interact with nature and examine the geology and history of the Utah Canyonlands while taking hiking, swimming, and climbing breaks. Cataract Canyon offered the thrill of surfing an almost continuous string of roaring rapids—an hours-long roller coaster ride.
    Rob leaned forward in his chair. “Here’s a challenge. I’d like each of you to choose which canyon you think you’re going to enjoy the most. At the end of the trip, we’ll talk about this again to see if anyone changes their mind. Surprisingly, I’ve been told that a lot of people do.”
    By then, Mandy felt sure she could predict which canyon each of their clients would say they preferred, but she listened carefully to see if her people-reading skills were right.
    Of course, the older Andersons, Diana and Hal,