Page 103 of The Puckable Playbook

Our easy chatter makes the time fly by, along with the fact that driving this thing hasn’t been an issue. Soon, we’re nearing our exit, and I put my blinker on.

Lenore sits straight up. “Are we close?”

“Yep.” My stomach squeezes. Partly in anticipation, partly because the narrower roads out here in the sticks freak me out, but I go slow, nearly crawling when we pass other vehicles. Within ten minutes, I’m pulling up to the main image I saw on their website.Serenity Ranch and Spa.

“What?” Lenore’s forehead wrinkles.

“We’re here.”

I roll down the window as a male gate attendant walks toward us dressed in a polo and cowboy hat. “James party?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Nice rig.” He hands over some paperwork. “You got a premium spot, dinner, and hot springs reservations. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you.”

I give him a nod. “Thank you, we will.”

He taps the RV twice, and I take that as the signal to roll on through.

As soon as I let my foot off the brake, Len starts asking questions. “Zaiah, seriously. This is like a camping spa?”

“Yeah, kinda. My dad found it. He’s been talking about taking Mom up here, but they haven’t done it yet, so I stole his idea.”

“This is so freaking cool.” She squeals, pointing out the windshield on my side. “There are horses!”

“They have trail rides. I just have to make a reservation.”

“Are you shitting me? This is the coolest place. I’m in love.”

“It has everything. We can go on nature hikes around the lake. There’s a pool, but Serenity’s claim to fame is the natural hot springs. You’ve got to see it. The pictures on the website are amazing.”

She gasps, and when I peer over to see what’s grabbed her attention now, she’s staring at her phone screen. I should’ve known she’d go straight to the website.

“That’s it,” I tell her. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“This is… Holy shit.”

“This is what we’ve needed.”

She reaches over to rub her hand up and down my arm. Ahead, I spot our site: number five. Luckily, it’s a pull-through, so there’s no reversing this baby, and we also have a prime location with a lake view. The sites are set up to give ample distance from one to the next, and each one has theirown permanent stone structure that boasts a small kitchen, a fireplace, and a rooftop terrace, along with a working, plumbed bathroom.

Upscale.

Like I’ve done it a thousand times, I pull right in and park the rig in a good spot. When I get out to check, I’m amazed that it looks damn near perfect.

Climbing back in, I shut the engine off and push the auto-level button. I’ve seen my dad do this a thousand times, so I tell Len to go out and start enjoying the site while I hook up the electric and plumbing.

It’s too bad we can only stay one night, but Lenore and I can’t spend too much time away with our senior year dwindling down.

After I set everything up, I find Len standing at the front of our site, gazing out over the lake. I place my arm around her shoulders, and she immediately leans into me. “This is so pretty.”

To the west, a stunning view of the acres of horse pastures greets us. Pressure releases from my shoulders nearly on cue. Here, I can’t obsess over hockey. My mindset coach told me to set the intention and let it go, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m freeing up space to enjoy life.

“You’ve changed,” Len says, turning into me and reaching up to place her palm on my chest.

“I’ve changed a lot.”

“I know we said it before, but this mindset coaching is going to do wonders for you. I can already tell.”

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