Chapter 4
The next day, Sheri and Elizabeth were doing some background checks on individuals applying for jobs with some local businesses when Hans texted. She wondered what the matter was. He was supposed to be on his way to the cabin with Slade.
Hans texted: I’m sick and I can’t go with Slade on his cabin stay. I hate disappointing him.
She immediately thought of how Slade and his sister, Amelia, had piloted the plane to come to Sheri’s best friend Elizabeth’s rescue, and Sheri had managed to finagle a spot onboard the private plane to make her getaway from Yellowknife too. Since Sheri and Slade had both been single, they’d started dating each other.
She texted her brother: You’re really sick?
He’d been so looking forward to this that she figured he wouldn’t have canceled on the trip unless he had a really good reason.
Slade was taking some time off now because this was their offseason for flying. He and his sister and their father would take paddlers to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) and also take visitors on sightseeing tours during the spring, summer, and fall. But now everything was snowed in and the water iced over. Though for emergencies, they would fly in to help. And he did have some sightseeing trips scheduled to see the beauty of the BWCA in winter.
This was the perfect time for skiing, snowshoeing, and ice fishing, no paddling and for taking time off to enjoy this trip.
Her brother didn’t respond.
She texted him again: You’d better tell Slade. He’s going to have to make other arrangements then. He shouldn’t go out there on his own.
Her brother didn’t answer back. Ugh. She didn’t want to be the one to tell Slade. Shoot, she should have asked Hans what was wrong with him. She tried calling her brother, but he didn’t answer his phone.
She glanced outside the window. It was thirty degrees today with a light snow falling, but she and her family and her best friend, Elizabeth, were from Canada, so the cold didn’t bother her. She would love to go with Slade if she could get away from work.
Sheri called Slade right away. “Hey, my brother texted me that he’s sick.”
“What has he got?”
“I don’t know. I texted him back and called him, but I didn’t get any response. I’m running by his apartment now and I’ll let you know what I learn. Can you ask one of my PI partners to go with you instead?” They all loved camping with the guys, so surely someone would be willing to take Hans’s place.
“No, we already asked the guys when Hans and I first planned this. The cabin has enough room for eight, but everyone’s mated and busy for the holidays before Christmas. Someone might be joining us at the end of the trip, but not this early on,” Slade said.
“Let me check on Hans then. I’ll talk to you in a little bit.” Sheri ended the call and told Elizabeth, “Hans is sick. I’m going to run by his place and see what he has got.”
“He’s supposed to be going with Slade on a glamping trip today, isn’t he?” Elizabeth asked.
“Glamping?” Sheri laughed. “Yeah, he might not be able to go.”
“Okay, well, give him our love,” Elizabeth said. Elizabeth, Hans, and Sheri had grown up together, so she was just like Hans’s sister too.
“Thanks. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Be back shortly.”
“See you soon.”
Then Sheri put on her parka and left the office building to check on her brother. When she arrived at his place, she knocked on the door, but her brother didn’t answer. “I’m coming in,” she called out. She had a key to his apartment and their parents’ home, like all of them had a key to each other’s residences in case of an emergency.
She unlocked the door and called out for her brother, but then she heard him throwing up in the bathroom. So that’s why he hadn’t responded to her text or phone call. She got him a glass of water from the kitchen and peeked into the bathroom, where Hans was crouching at the toilet bowl. He looked pale, his dark-brown eyes soggy. “Hey, it’s just me,” she said.
“I feel awful.”
“Is it the stomach flu? Or something you ate that didn’t agree with you?”
“Stomach flu. I have a fever and all the lower GI issues. I ate with Mom and Dad for breakfast this morning and we had all the same food. Both of them are fine, so it can’t be something I ate.”
“I told Slade you were sick. I’ll call him back and let him know you have the flu.”
“Thanks. Can he go with one of your PI partners on the camping trip now that I can’t?” Hans sipped some of the water.
“He said no. You know they’re all married, and with it being so close to Christmas, they’re busy with their families and their PI workload at least for the beginning of the stay. Not to mention Amelia and Gavin have two-week-old twins.”
“You could go.”
She laughed.
“No, really. You’re an experienced winter backpacker, hiking in the parks in Yellowknife, ice fishing, camping. You and Elizabeth loved to go to the Tuktut Nogait National Park and Wood Buffalo National Park. You have the gear for it, the stamina, and you’re used to the cold weather. And Slade really cares for you.”
“I know, but I think Slade was looking forward to going with a bachelor male wolf, not a single she-wolf.” Though Sheri thought it would be a great way to get to know each other.
“He needs someone to go with him. You said you had finished your last major investigative case and you’re just waiting for another one to come along.”
“I’ve got to make some calls.” Sheri walked into her brother’s living room, which was all decorated for Christmas—his mantel covered with greenery and poinsettia flowers and his six-foot tree with sparkling lights and Christmas ornaments. Everyone in the family had decorated their places for Christmas, helping each other, though they would spend Christmas with their parents.
As far as the camping trip went, she didn’t want to impose on Slade or make him feel obligated to take her instead of one of the guys, all of whom he was really close to, as if they were brothers. What if Slade thought she was trying to make more of the situation between them than there was for now? That she hoped he wanted a mating? Which of course she did. But what if he really wasn’t ready for it?
She sighed and called Slade. “Hey, Hans has the flu. Fever, throwing up, all the rest. I’m going to call Mom and see if she can take care of him. In the meantime, if it wouldn’t be a problem, or a dumb idea—and I want you to be honest with me—I could take my brother’s place. His gear is all packed. I just need to run home and get my personal items and clothes, but the rest can go as is.”
Silence.
Well, she knew proposing such a notion wasn’t a good idea.
Then Slade chuckled. What was so funny?
“Okay, well, I need to call Mom and Dad to let them know Hans is sick,” she said.
“I’ll pick you up as soon as you’re ready to leave and we can drop by your brother’s place to get his gear,” Slade said.
Her jaw dropped. “Really? Are you sure? I know you wanted to go with one of the guys.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. We’ll have a great time. I want to do this more than anything in the world.”
She was thrilled that he felt that way. “Okay, great. I’ll call Mom and the office and tell them I’m abandoning them for a camping and fishing trip with you.”
“Good. See you in a little while.”
He sounded cheerful about it, and she was glad he didn’t seem to feel obligated to do it. She called her mom and put the call on the speakerphone while she hurried to pack. “Hey, Mom, Hans is sick with the flu. I would have made him some homemade chicken soup, but you know he was supposed to go with Slade on the camping trip today. So I’m going to go with Slade instead.”
“Oh no, okay. I’ll make the chicken soup for him and take it over. Dad’s going over to his place now.”
“I’ll see you in a short while. Slade will pick me up at my apartment and we’ll arrive at Hans’s apartment after that. We need to grab Hans’s gear.”
“See you soon then.”
They ended the call and Sheri had to check on work. That was the great thing about working with the wolf pack. Everyone helped everyone out when anything came up that needed to be done. “Hi, Cameron? My brother’s sick and I’m taking his place on the camping trip with Slade, if that’s all right with you.”
Cameron laughed.
Why did everyone think the situation was so funny?
“You don’t have any cases right now, and we’ll take care of the background checks that you were working on. We can handle the missing delivery truck case and everything else that comes up,” Cameron said.
“Are you sure my being gone isn’t going to be a problem?” She knew they were a little shorthanded.
“Yeah. We’re good. We don’t have a full-moon issue for a few weeks. And we have the work covered for now. Have a great time,” Cameron said.
“Thanks. I’m sure we will.” She just hoped she didn’t forget to bring something important, since she hadn’t planned to do this months ahead of time like her brother and Slade had. Or that Slade ended up regretting that he had agreed to take her with him. On the other hand, this would be the perfect opportunity to see if they could really get along in close quarters for a whole week.
She went to her place and began packing up her stuff. She took some Christmas napkins too because she knew her brother and probably Slade would just use paper towels otherwise. She grabbed a small tabletop decorated Christmas tree because she was sure the cabin wouldn’t be decorated for Christmas. She wanted to take a little Christmas spirit with her.
***
Well, this was sure a wild turn of events. Slade hadn’t expected to be taking the vacation with Hans’s sister instead of Hans. He’d had to laugh about it because Hans had joked about him taking Sheri with him instead because he would have more fun that way.
Of course, because Slade and Sheri had been dating, everyone in the wolf pack believed a mating was in the works, though when Sheri’s dad had cautioned Slade about pushing Sheri into something she wasn’t ready for, he’d taken her father’s advice to heart.
He was glad she was okay about going with him when she hadn’t been his first choice.
When he arrived at Sheri’s apartment, he gave her a hug. “I’m glad you’re able to come with me.” He was wearing a warm parka this time, not his leather pilot jacket.
“It’s not safe to go alone. Staying at the cabin would be fine, but doing all your activities would not be, though I know people do it all the time. And sometimes they get themselves into real trouble for it.”
“Yeah, I agree. And the cabin stay wouldn’t be half as much fun. I just didn’t know if you could do it or not, what with work, and I wasn’t sure you would want to. Elizabeth said you and she and some others had gone winter camping and ice fishing in Yellowknife, so I know you had done it several times before and you enjoyed it when you were back home.”
“Absolutely. If I’d been in the middle of an important case, I might have been reluctant.”
“One of the guys would have picked it up from you.” He grabbed her bags.
“I’m sure you’re right.” Sheri pulled on her parka, hat, scarf, and gloves and then locked her door as Slade placed her bags with his in the trunk. They climbed into Slade’s black SUV that she swore looked like an FBI vehicle. She settled against the seat and sighed. “I never thought I would be doing this for the week.”
“I’m so glad you are.” Then Slade reached Hans’s place and saw Sheri’s parents’ cars there.
“Mom and Dad to the rescue. I’m so glad that when I decided to settle here with Elizabeth and all of you, my parents and Hans agreed to come and stay. Family means everything.”
“It sure does. My dad will probably continue to fly planes for a while longer and Mom loves managing flight schedules. We’ve all stuck together—my parents, Amelia, and me—from the time we were in Seattle to Alaska, and now here.”
“Exactly.” They went inside to get Hans’s gear. “Hey, Mom, how is Hans?” Sheri asked.
“He’s in the bathroom again. I brought the ingredients to make homemade chicken soup, since it would have taken too long to make it at home and bring it when I wanted to be here for Hans right away if he needed me. But it might be a while before he can keep anything down,” Georgia said. “You and Slade are bound to get tongues wagging in the pack again, you know.”
Sheri laughed. “Yeah, like that hasn’t been going on all along.”
Slade just smiled at her mom.
Georgia hugged Sheri. “You be safe. You have a satellite phone, right, Slade?”
“Yes, I do. We’ll have our cell phones, but once we get to the cabin at Clearwater Lake, there’s no cell reception,” Slade said.
“I’ve got Hans’s satellite phone too,” Sheri said. “And his hand warmers that he took from Slade at the white-elephant gift exchange.”
“I told you karma could come back to bite you, Hans,” Slade called out.
Hans groaned from the bathroom.
Fred came in and shook Slade’s hand. “I hadn’t planned to be here to give Hans a send-off when you and he were going camping, but now that I am, I want to tell you to keep Sheri safe.”
“Oh, Dad, how many times have I camped out in the snow country in the wilderness?” Sheri asked.
“Dozens of times in Yellowknife, but not here. Just be safe.”
“I will be.” She gave her dad a hug, then walked over to the bathroom door and said, “Hey, Brother, feel better. I’ll try to keep Slade out of trouble.”
“You do that. Oh, and grab the food in the freezer—steaks, chicken, hamburger meat. The canned goods are already packed.”
“Okay, thanks, but we should be able to catch some fish too,” Sheri said.
Then they said goodbye and Slade and Sheri drove off to the cabin where they would stay for the week. She sure hoped that she and Slade would further their interest in each other and it wouldn’t be a disaster instead.