Kenzie yawned and lethargically sat up in bed. She thought about crawling back under the warm covers and drifting into the safe haven of unconsciousness, but then she remembered her plans for this day. She and Jillian were going to go to the big lookout point in town, and from there, they'd be able to see Hidden Springs in its entirety. This thought helped get her in motion even faster.
After sitting upright, Kenzie felt her muscles tense up. They were sore from their strenuous use in the pool yesterday. She chastised herself inwardly for not waiting to get that spa massage until after using the pool.
Jillian jostled in her sleep and opened her eyes. "Good morning," she said.
"Hey. How'd you sleep?"
"Like a rock. I'm glad we tired ourselves out at the club, so we slept deeper."
"For sure. Do you want some breakfast?"
"Yeah, I'm going to go take that bath. How about some waffles today?"
"No problem, but we may have to stop at the grocery store to get some more stuff. We're running low on eggs and milk."
"We can do that after we go to the viewing area."
"Sounds good. I'll get dressed and then get started on the waffles."
"Okay."
Jillian grabbed a dress and headed to the bathroom. Kenzie threw on a pencil skirt with a matching jacket and a shirt, then went to the kitchen to prepare the waffles. She saw that she was right in that there wasn't much food left in the refrigerator. She and Jillian would indeed have to pick up some groceries later.
As Kenzie prepared the waffles, her eyes drifted down to her clothes. It was funny, all of her clothes were the same size, yet some made her look heavier than others. That was a mystery she'd probably never solve - the mystery of vanity sizing and how much thread is used to make a shirt. As she was pondering this, she got an idea. When Jillian was finished performing her morning ablution, she'd have to tell her about it.
Kenzie stuck the waffles into the oven and watched them carefully. When they turned golden brown (and thankfully not charred black), she withdrew them and set two on two separate plates. Jillian emerged from the bathroom, and the two chuckled as they saw there were both wearing something purple. Jillian was wearing a sundress, but since the temperature wasn't scorching hot today, she'd put a t-shirt on underneath. Around her neck was a seashell necklace, projecting her love of the beach and sea.
"So Jill," Kenzie said as she carried the plates to the table. "I just had a great idea for you."
"For me? What is it?"
"You want to go into fashion design, right? And you're great with style and making people look good. You should make a fashion line for plus-size girls like me. Some of my clothes make me look good, and some make me look like I'm 20 pounds heavier than I am. What do you think?"
"You know, to be honest, I thought about doing that just for you. You look great Ken, but girls like you need cool clothes to wear too. They shouldn't be banished to the, no offense, hideous plus-size aisles where there's hardly anything good to wear. Now most of your clothes look awesome, but some don't, which isn't your fault. I really want to do a plus-size clothing line, and you'll be my inspiration. I just hope I'm not offending you."
"Offending me? No way! I'd be thrilled to have my best friend design a plus-size clothing line with me as her inspiration. I'm excited to see what you come up with!"
"I should have brought my sketch pad for when a random idea hits my mind."
"We're going to the grocery store later. We can look for a sketch pad around town if you want."
"That sounds great. I can't wait!"
"Oh, and if you ever need a model, I'm up for it!"
When the two had consumed their breakfast, they both pitched in with doing the dishes. One bad thing about the house they were staying in was that it had a trash compactor but no dish washer. Rather than letting all the dishes stack up into a mountainous heap, Kenzie and Jillian washed them every time they used them.
When they were finished at last, Kenzie grabbed her camera (even if she wasn't here on a case, she was on vacation, so pictures were a must!) and the two drove to Redwood Peak Viewing Area.
********************
Redwood Peak Viewing Area was atop a hill at the end of a winding dirt path. Unfortunately, the terrain wasn't drivable, so a disgruntled Kenzie and Jillian had to hike up several hills in sandals. Had they known that, they would have worn walking shoes.
By the time they finished their trek, the two friends were torn between feeling ecstatic that they'd finally reached the top and chagrined that they hadn't worn proper shoes.
Still, in the end, the journey had been worth it. Redwood Peak Viewing Area was beautiful indeed. Some locals were already there enjoying the serenity and the view. There was a tree in the middle of the lookout deck and a telescope was pointed toward the lake. There were places to sit and eat, campfire pits, and an easel was even propped up on the deck. Kenzie could see why - any artist would love to paint the spectacular landscaping beneath them. To the right, they could see and hear the exhilarating waterfall cascading down the side of the mountain and landing in a pool of crystal water below.
Kenzie bolted toward one of the two telescopes, the one with the best view of Hidden Springs. Jillian ran to the other one, which overlooked the side of one of the mountains.
"Wow!" Kenzie breathed in astonishment. "You can see everything from up here! There's the house we're staying at, and there's the disco-tech we were at last night. I can see a hot-air balloon too!"
"I can see a sailboat!" Jillian contributed. "The spa looks awesome from up here. I bet I could look in that top window and see people getting massages!"
"Hey, I'm the spy here, not you," Kenzie joked.
"Technically you're not a spy, you're a detective."
The friends laughed together, and then Jillian said, "Hey, I think I see one of the green people down there. I do! I swear they have a green skin tint!
"What?" Kenzie asked in bewilderment. She left her telescope and walked over to her friend. "Where?"
"Down there," Jillian pointed with her finger and stepped aside to let Kenzie look through the telescope.
"Spying on the locals, are we?" a voice asked from behind them.
Kenzie and Jillian both jumped and spun around to stare into the amused brown eyes of Patrick.
"Spying is hardly the word," Kenzie retorted to Patrick's statement. "We're sightseeing."
"Uh huh. And since when does sightseeing involve watching the locals?"
"That wasn't our main intention. Excuse us for making such an unforgivable error."
Kenzie could tell that Logan had already rubbed off on her. She feigned shock and guilt while projecting a demeanor of superiority. She had to admit, she was quite pleased with herself.
"Hey, stop it," Jillian cut in. "You guys don't have to fight. Really, Patrick, we were just looking around and happened to see one of the local people with green skin tints. We don't see that where we're from."
"The whole point of this viewing area," Kenzie added, "is to view things. Sorry that a citizen happens to get in the way of what we're viewing."
"What's your problem?" Patrick demanded. "You've been really cold to me since we met. You have something against me?"
"I have something against rudeness."
"Oh, and yesterday I was being rude?"
"Well, yeah. You just invited yourself over to us and took over the conversation."
"Oh, how dare I!" Patrick mocked Kenzie and dramatically flung his hand to his chest. "I see a pretty girl looking at me and I want to talk to her. I didn't realize she needed her friend's approval."
Kenzie had a sudden urge to slap this guy. Who did he think he was, anyway? But before she could whop him a good one, Jillian jumped in between the two.
"That's enough!" she exclaimed vehemently. "Patrick, we were up here minding our own business. What are you doing here? You're a local, you can see the town every day if you want."
"Well, I was at the lodge a few hills down," Patrick replied tersely, "and I saw you head up here. I thought I'd ask if you guys wanted a tour of the town, since I've lived here my whole life. But now I'll be more than happy to avoid you."
Kenzie was about to throw in some insults herself, but Jillian surprised her by saying to Patrick, "You listen here, mister. If we needed a tour guide, we would have gotten one. We're here on vacation, trying to enjoy ourselves. Kenzie's my best friend and the way you treated her was ridiculous. So you take your tour guide offer and shove it!"
It took all of Kenzie's strength to keep from bursting into loud guffaws. She'd never seen Jillian tell a guy off like that. And this one was a cute one that she'd seemed interested in.
Patrick, as baffled as Kenzie, barked, "Fine, have it your way!" before running back down to the lodge. The friends saw him get on a motorcycle and speed down the mountain.
Kenzie turned to face Jillian in awe. "Wow, Jill, you really let that guy have it."
"Yeah, well, I promised I'd be more strict with myself when it came to guys. Patrick's cute, but the way he treated you? No way. You've been there for me like a sister and you've always helped me. You come first, before any guy."
Kenzie was deeply touched. She'd thought some things about Jillian hadn't changed, like her weakness when it came to guys, but she'd just been proven wrong.
At least, she thought so, until Jillian prodded skeptically, "But just out of curiosity, how do you know Patrick wasn't just joking about the whole spying thing?"
Kenzie looked heavenward and sighed deeply. She should have known there'd be a catch.
"I'm a detective," she explained. "I'm perceptive and I can pick up vibes from people. I can tell if something isn't right with them, and that guy seems very suspicious to me. Plus, his tone hardly implied that he was joking."
"Do you have ESP or something? You're usually right about those kinds of things, but what's wrong with him? Except for how he acted just now, of course."
"I doubt I have ESP, I think I'm just talented thanks to my job. But this guy seems like he's hiding something. I don't know what it is, but it's driving me crazy."
"Oh, no. You're not going to start following him around and make a case out of it, are you?"
"No, as long as he keeps his word and stays away from us, it'll be fine."
"Good. Hey, what do you say we go looking for the Fountain of Youth?"
"Uh...why?"
"Seeing that person down there with the green skin tint made me wonder about it. I think it would be so cool to see. Please?"
Kenzie figured that was the least she could do for causing Jillian to basically lose a cute guy (even though it was undoubtedly for the best).
"Okay," she surrendered. "But it's supposed to be hidden somewhere in their part of town. We'll have to dig up some clues to find it."
"Why do I get the feeling you're even more excited about this now?"
Kenzie chuckled and the two friends headed back toward Kenzie's car, but not before getting some pictures of the spectacular view. A brochure was in the glove compartment, and Jillian read the description of the fountain aloud as Kenzie drove.
"It says the fountain looks like a little spring, and it's in one of the many gardens located by the small cottages owned by the people with green skin tints. Weird, you'd think they'd have an official name."
"I heard their skin turned green because they used magic. I'd love to meet and talk to one of them, but it would be rude to just ring their doorbell and be all, 'hey, I hear you used to do magic, can I talk to you about your life?'".
"Yeah, just a little."
Kenzie's excitement grew with each passing mile. She couldn't wait to see the legendary Fountain of Youth. It was said to be well hidden, but she was a detective. If anyone could find it, it was her.
No comments:
Post a Comment