Race to the Top

Chapter 21

-Ginger-

The next morning, Jackson makes breakfast while I get ready and look at procedures for leaving the cabin then start to help by making a bunch of toast.

Just as the last of the overnight guests join us, Jackson declares breakfast ready. We set up a buffet line on the kitchen island of eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, and home fries. I can't help but smile at all the sights, sounds and smells as everyone laughs and talks excitedly and dishes up their plates. I always kind of imagined that this is what full families looked like.

"You're next," Jackson leans down and says behind me. I turn and give him a confused look.

"W-what?"

"For breakfast?" He gently pushes on my lower back so I move to the beginning of the buffet line.

"Oh, right, yes," I say, trying to recover. Jackson gives me a strange look with a hint of a smirk and gets in line behind me.

After breakfast, Fiona and Callum take off and Anne stops by to pick up Taylor and Samantha. We're the last ones at the house and I do one more walk through to make sure we didn't forget anything. In Callum's suite, I notice a watch on his nightstand that he must've left. I pick it up and turn the lights off before heading down.

"Callum forgot his watch, we should give it to him when we meet up with him later," I say.

"Ahh and what kind of watch does a Scottish millionaire have?" He takes the watch from me as I roll my eyes. "Holzkern?"

"It's a luxury brand that focuses on using natural materials for construction," I say sliding the watch out of his hand. "And your pissing match with Callum is going to get real old real fast."

He chuckles.

"So then I guess you don't want to tell me why you two snuck off last night?" We lock the front door, drop the key in the drop box and head to the car. Jackson opens my door.

I roll my eyes at him and slide into the passenger seat.

"Jackson, I—"

He shuts my door before I can get a few words out. He has an evil grin on his face and my mouth drops open in faux outrage. He laughs as he walks around the car and gets in.

I flick his ear.

"Ow, what the hell?!"

I give him a sweet smile but don't say anything. He just laughs and starts the car.

The Wuksachi Lodge is a gorgeous, rustic lodge in Sequoia National Park and all of us will be staying in rooms there. I'll kind of miss the cabin dynamic of all of us staying together but at least we'll be right inside the park and won't have to drive far. Callum and Fiona are off to meetings in Nebraska with the purchasing team of Cabelas but they hope to join up with us again in Utah so it'll just be the eight of us in Sequoia.

I was familiarizing myself with the different features of each of the Adair Knives products while Jackson drove the SUV through the Sierra National Forest towards Sequoia.

"Geez, there's so many different features. How would someone pick the right knife?" I ask, more to myself.

Jackson shrugs while keeping his eyes on the road.

"Depends on what you are doing," he says.
I turn to him.

"Have you ever been, like, camping or backpacking?"

"A few times, mainly with my family. My brother and his best friend have gone up and down the Appalachian Trail a few times and I've met up with them out there," he says. My eyebrows go up.