Chapter 4
Jack
Jack watched Steph cross the gym to the sled seller. Lean and athletic, she moved easily in jeans and a brown sweater that matched her eyes.
She threaded through the crowd with the kind of ease that didn’t draw attention to itself—an easy word here, a brief touch on an arm, a laugh thrown over her shoulder as someone tried on boots. She wasn’t working the room. She just moved through it like she belonged.
And she did. Jack knew that. Steph was a natural fit in Irma, Wyoming.
Liam appeared beside him. “Saw you talking to her.”
“She was looking at the sled.”
“The one I told you to buy?”
“I have a sled.”
“Uh-huh.” Liam surveyed the room with the expression he wore when he was deciding how much to say. “You met Chris and Bethany Hepner.” His tone held a note of distaste.
Jack nodded toward them. They were stopped at the table advertising Wild Bill Hill. “You know them?”
“Everyone knows Chris. Local boy. His dad’s the county sheriff.”
“I gathered that much. He used to date Steph?”
Liam shrugged. “Old news. They were together for a long time. Years. Then they broke up, and he married her not long after.” He tilted his head toward Bethany. “Few months, maybe.”
Jack said nothing.
“Sheriff Hepner’s been good to Steph’s running club,” Liam continued. “Knows people and has helped her find sponsors.”
“Your family isn’t a sponsor.”
Liam chuckled. “Sheriff Hepner isn’t a fan of my dad or my granddad. Probably not me either.”
Interesting, Jack thought. When Liam had first suggested Jack explore the world of distance running, saying how much something like it was needed for Elkridge and Basin County, he hadn’t said anything about Steph’s running club.
Liam said that bringing a nationally recognized event to the small community could bring in some serious tourist money.
He also didn’t mention that not everyone in the area was on board with the idea. He certainly never said anything about issues with the sheriff or that it might be a problem.
The sheriff’s backing meant something in a county like this. It meant doors that stayed open, permits that moved through channels without friction, a community that paid attention when he paid attention.
It explained some things about the position Steph held here, though he suspected she’d earned most of it on her own. It also explained why he and Liam were facing roadblock after roadblock for their event, and they were only in the exploration stage.
“Steph’s doing some great things,” Liam continued. “The programs at the college are giving young people a way to make a living in the great outdoors. It’s more of a tech school and offers national accreditation in certain areas. She’s bringing in students from around the world.”
He watched her finish with the sled seller, shaking hands and pulling out her wallet. Transaction done. She’d made up her mind and acted on it, no deliberating once the decision was made. He couldn’t deny that kind of action impressed him.
She impressed him.
Jack was an outsider, standing at the edge of something Steph had spent years building, and he knew it. The newcomer with a well-known name and face, using someone else’s money.
Now, learning that the sheriff admired Steph and her Basin County Running Club but didn’t share that enthusiasm for Liam and his family’s money, he suspected it could become an issue down the road.
People might warm up, but warming up was not the same as belonging, and he understood that difference.
“Hepner mention anything interesting?” Liam asked.
“Poaching reports. His dad’s got a task force going. Different wilderness areas.”
Liam’s expression sharpened. “That’s worth knowing. For permits, logistics.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“He say what they’re poaching?”
“Didn’t give any details.”
“I’ll see what I can learn. Probably won’t affect what we’re doing in August, but that may explain the hesitation we got yesterday when talking about a winter event.”
“Not the place to be discussing this,” Jack said softly.
“Yep. You’re right.”
The long-term business plans centered around several events each year.
A winter race in the Absaroka Mountains outside of Elkridge would be a big draw—if they could do it in a safe manner.
The mountains were known for heavy snowfall and weather that could turn on a dime.
In early spring, some of Steph’s racing club members got caught in a storm, and things turned deadly for reasons beyond just the weather.
Steph had the sled now. She’d set it down and was checking something on the tow bar, crouched over it with the focus of someone who had done it before and knew what to look for. A few feet away, a woman stopped to talk to her. Steph looked up and smiled.
She looked happy, but there was something else underneath it, something that had surfaced briefly when Chris mentioned the baby and disappeared again just as fast, tucked away behind good manners and genuine warmth.
He’d caught it because he was watching, and he’d been watching because he couldn’t help himself. Not just because she impressed him, but because she was beautiful and he couldn’t look away. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
He wanted to know what that look meant. He wanted to know a lot of things about her that he had no business asking.
“She’s not going to make this easy,” Liam said, following his gaze.
“I know.”
“I’m not just talking about the business.”
Jack picked up a pair of gloves from the nearest table, gave them a cursory look, and set them back down.
“I know,” he said again.