Chapter Four
Adam could hear the boy’s boot heels hurrying down the hallway. He leaned back in the seat, stretching his legs out in front of him and flexing his toes.
Dropping his head back against the chair, he closed his eyes.
The door banged open a few minutes later, and Adam jolted at the sound. Blinking his eyes, he shook his head, trying to get his bearings. He must have actually fallen asleep.
This day had worn him out.
The kid barged in and dropped a large tan shoebox on the bed. The name “Justin” was printed on the side. Cody popped off the top and dug through the layer of tissue paper, then pulled a brown leather boot out.
The boot had a flat heel and the same square-toed design as the ones that Cody wore. The kid held the boot out. “These should feel much better.”
Adam reached out to take the boot, but the boy pulled it back.
“You said something about two hundred dollars.”
Adam chuckled. “Yes, I did.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and freed two hundred dollar bills, then pitched them on the bed.
Cody tossed him the boot and pocketed the bills.
He ran his hand over the smooth leather. He could already tell these boots were going to be better. They even smelled different. Like real leather.
He pulled up his sock then stuffed his foot down into the boot, expecting the same harsh fit, but his foot slid easily into the boot. He sighed in relief.
He held out his hand for the other one. Cody passed it to him, and he put it on, then stood and walked back and forth across the room.
The boots fit perfectly. He offered Cody a thankful grin. “Thanks, kid. These are awesome. Well worth the price.”
“You should just get rid of those other ones. Unless you like people making fun of you.”
Adam laughed. This kid had some jokes. “I’ll do that. Thanks again. I owe you one.”
“No problem.” He pointed to the sticker that cut diagonally across Adam’s bag. “Why do you have that sticker?”
He’d ripped the side of his bag as he was trying to walk out the door that morning. Too late to change bags, he’d grabbed a Masters of Misfortune sticker from a stack of marketing material on his counter and slapped it across the tear. He figured it would hold long enough to keep the rip from getting bigger as the bag traveled through the airport.
“It’s covering a hole in my bag. You familiar with the game?”
The kid let out a sarcastic laugh. “Uh, yeah. Everybody is.”
“You play?”
“All the time. It’s like my favorite game.”
“Which version?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Um, all of them really. But I guess I probably like the pirate one the best.”
“You get the new one yet?”
“The London one?”
Adam nodded.
“Yeah. I’m already on level twenty-nine.”
“Nice work. The catacombs are cool, huh?”
Cody grinned. “Yeah. Wait, you play? Masters of Misfortune?”
“You could say that.” He sat back down in the recliner. “What’s your favorite part?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like what do you like about it? The game?”
“Um, everything. It’s cool. I like the missions and the puzzles. That one part where you had to find your way out of the maze in Peru was pretty cool.”
“Yeah, I liked that, too. But what is it about the actual game play that you like. And is there anything you don’t like?”
Cody sat on the edge of the bed. He twisted his mouth to the side as he thought about it. “Well, there’s one thing, but it’s probably kind of stupid.”
“I doubt it. You don’t strike me as stupid. What is it?”
“It’s Vic. You know, the main hero guy?”
“Yeah.”
“I just wish he was more…” He paused as if searching for the right word. “Likeable, I guess.”
“You don’t like Victor?”
“Of course I like him, he’s the main character. And he’s the hero of the game. But it’s just that sometimes he doesn’t act like a hero. I mean, all he cares about is making money and finding the treasure. There isn’t anything that’s…just good about him, you know? Like, Gemma is the nice one—she cares about the people in the game—and Theo is the funny one. He makes everyone laugh. But all Vic ever talks about is the treasure.”
Hmm. He’d never thought about it that way. “I see your point.”
“The best heroes are guys you can look up to. They’re always doing good stuff and acting heroic, like saving the town or something. But sometimes Vic just doesn’t do anything.” Cody shrugged. “Dumb, huh?”
“Not dumb at all. It’s actually very smart. Really insightful. And it’s something we’re going to change.”
“What do you mean ‘we’?”
Adam narrowed his eyes at Cody. “You know when I said I’d played the game before?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’ve actually played it a thousand times. Maybe a million, even. I’ve played every part of it because I helped create it. I’m one of the designers.”
“No way. You work for Fishbowl Productions?”
He chuckled. “In a way. It’s my company. Mine and my two buddies’. We started it after college. It’s called Fishbowl Productions after the goldfish we had in our first apartment. Brandon is allergic to dogs and cats, so a fish was the only pet we could have.”
Cody’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? I can’t believe it. That’s so cool, dude.” His face fell and his expression changed to one of embarrassment. “Ah, crap. Sorry I just said all that stuff about Vic. I really do like your games. I play them all the time.”
Adam held up a hand. “No, it’s cool, really. I wanted to hear your honest opinion. That’s why I didn’t tell you I was one of the designers. And your ideas were really insightful. I totally intend to implement them in the next version.”
“Thanks, man.” The boy sat up taller on the bed. “There’s more things that I love about the games. Like the mechanics are really good, compared to a lot of other adventure games on the market. The climbing and the jumping and the fighting all feel totally realistic.”
Adam smiled. “That stuff is run by the physics engines. And those are what I design. I use real psychics to make it seem real, like when you’re falling, you’re actually accelerating at the correct rate, or when you throw a punch, the momentum is transferred in the right way.”
“Or like when you jump, you don’t fly ten feet in the air. Some games do that, and it just seems stupid.”
“Exactly. That’s all my work.”
“Wow. Is it hard?”
“Sometimes. And sometimes, it’s just time-consuming. It can take hours to create the simulation of throwing a simple rock. I have to make sure it falls in just the right arc or bounces a couple of times before it stops. But it’s also pretty fun.”
“That’s really neat.” A genuine smile covered his face, and Adam noticed his similarity to his mother. Not only was his smile the same, but Cody also had the same blond hair and sprinkling of freckles across his nose. He was just coming in to his height, and his body had that gangly, too-skinny look adolescents got.
It was good that he lived and worked on the ranch. It gave him a chance to get outside. That’s probably how the kid stayed so lean. It couldn’t be the fried chicken and gravy.
“So, do your friends play Misfortune, too?”
The boy’s face fell, his smile gone. “What friends?”
Uh-oh. Sounded like he needed to tread carefully. “It’s probably hard to hang out with buddies when the ranch is so far from town.”
“It’s practically impossible. Especially during the summer. During school, I have some friends I hang out with, but in the summer, no one wants to drive all the way up here. It sucks. I used to love the summer, but now I have to spend it working here so my mom doesn’t lose this place. The only kids I see are usually stuck-up rich kids who are only at the ranch for a few days.”
“I can see what you mean.” Obviously this kid needed a friend. Even though he, too, would only be around for a few days, at least he could listen now. He remembered the painful days of adolescence all too well.
He’d also caught the part about Cody’s mom needing his help so she didn’t lose this place. Was Skye in financial trouble? The ranch seemed to be in good shape, but he had no idea how much it cost to run a place like this.
“What about that girl who showed up today? The one having a birthday?”
Cody looked down at his boots. “Who, Haylee?”
“Is that her name? She was pretty cute.”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
“Isn’t she about your age?”
“Close. She just turned thirteen. And I’ll be thirteen this fall. We’re in the same grade.”
“Any chance she’s from around here?”
Cody shook his head. “Denver. It’s not too bad, only about an hour away. Better than the last kid that I thought was kind of cool. He was from Denmark.”
Adam chuckled. “That’s quite a difference.”
“But he still knew about Misfortune.”
“Do you play with him online, then?”
“Sometimes. But it’s kind of hard with the time difference. Mostly I play on my own.”
“Let me know if you ever want to buddy up. I’ll play on your team.”
“How? Don’t you already know how to do everything?”
“Most of it. But it’s good for me to go in from a player perspective. It helps me pick out bugs and come up with ideas on how to tweak the next version. Plus, I still think it’s fun.”
The boy narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. My gamer tag is AtomAdam3.14. You can add me to your list. Do you play on a gaming system or on a PC?”
“Both. Mostly on my PlayStation.”
“Okay. I’ll watch for you, then I’ll see if I can add some gold to your arsenal.”
“That would be pretty cool. I’ll get on tonight after supper and add you.” He glanced at the bedside clock, as if the mention of supper had just reminded him of how late it was. “Crap. I gotta go. I’m supposed to be setting up in the dining room. See ya.” He offered a small wave as he hurried from the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
Adam leaned back in the chair again and let out a sigh.
It appeared he’d just made a friend.
…
The smell of fried chicken filled the lodge as Adam made his way down to the dining hall. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a home-cooked meal, and his mouth watered at the thought.
He’d been in such a hurry to leave for the airport, he’d missed lunch, and his stomach rumbled at the sight of the steaming bowls of potatoes, corn, and biscuits laid out on the tables.
“Hey, Adam,” Cody said as he passed in front of him with a platter of fried chicken. “I think you’re at the table on the right. Your name is on the little card in the middle.”
“Thanks,” he muttered to the boy’s back. Cody had already set the plate on a table and was heading back toward the kitchen.
Adam maneuvered his way through the chairs, weaving his way toward his table.
The honeymooners were already there, and he sat in one of the three empty chairs. He assumed the other two seats were for Brandon and Ryan.
He nodded at the couple. “Hi, I’m Adam. We rode in on the bus together.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.” The guy stood slightly from his chair and held out a hand. “I’m Josh, and this is my wife, Brittany.” He grinned. “I can’t get used to saying that. We just got married yesterday.”
“Congratulations.” He picked up his napkin and folded it across his lap, then looked awkwardly around the room. He hated small talk.
“Thanks,” Josh said. “We’re pretty excited.”
His new wife didn’t look excited at all. She stared glumly into her glass of tea, as if the answers to life might be floating amongst the ice cubes.
But the guy had a goofy smile on his face. It was obvious he wanted to chat.
“We’re from Denver,” Josh continued. “Although we’ve been living in Fort Collins. We just graduated from Colorado State.”
“But Josh can’t find a job,” Brittany chimed in, her voice monotone as she continued to stare at her glass. “So we’ve moved into his parents’ basement. That’s also why we’re celebrating our honeymoon at a dude ranch less than an hour from our house instead of on a beach in Mexico.”
Adam might not be the most intuitive guy when it came to understanding women, but he sensed some obvious hostility coming off of this one.
Josh shrugged. “I keep trying to tell her that people come from all over the country to go to this place. Just because it’s in our home state doesn’t mean it’s not a great vacation spot.”
Adam had to agree with Brittany. He’d also prefer to be at the beach, soaking up the sun with a cold beer in his hand, but he didn’t say anything. It seemed like the poor guy already had his hands full with his sulky bride.
Time to change the subject. “What did you get your degree in?” he asked.
“Parks and Rec Administration. I love nature and like working with kids. My dad was pushing me to go into business, but I wanted to go into a field I would actually enjoy. Unfortunately, a lot of people have the same idea. The job market is pretty saturated. But I’ll find something. It’s just a matter of time. I think the perfect job is right around the corner.”
“Well, good luck.” He really meant it. The guy seemed earnest enough, and he obviously believed the perfect job was just around the corner. More power to him.
Skye slid into the seat next to him, and his heart rate increased. He wiped his suddenly damp palms on his napkin.
“Is it all right if I sit here?” she asked, smiling first at him and then at the honeymooners. “I figured your table would be a little light without your coworkers.”
Her smile was sending funny darts of heat along his spine. And he could smell her perfume, or her shampoo, or her skin. Something apple mixed with the scent of vanilla and some kind of flowers wafted around her, and his head swam with the intoxicating scent.
“Yeah, of course you can sit with us.”
“Thanks.” Skye offered him a grin, then turned to the other two at the table. “Hi there. You must be Josh and Brittany, right?”
Oh brother. He hated small talk enough the first time around—now he was going to have to hear it again.
“They’re from Denver, recent college grads, he can’t find a job, and she’s pissed ’cause they’re living in his parents’ basement and not at the beach.”
“Oh,” Skye said, looking from Adam to Josh.
Brittany’s gaze was still on her ice cubes, but she did offer an eye roll and an impressive sigh.
Oh shit. Did he just say that out loud?