Chapter Nine
They were able to move back into the New Journeys building three days later. The residents and townspeople worked together to get everything cleaned up and all their belongings transferred from the old building back to the new one.
Bree was still triple-checking Jared’s ankle monitor every day, making sure her results matched what was being sent to the Denver marshals’ office.
She’d also spent at least a couple hours every day still trying to come up with a way Jared might try to outthink the system.
She’d gone as far as to hack into the company itself to make sure everything was on the up-and-up.
It was.
Based on the conversation he and Noah had with the man, Tanner didn’t think Jared was behind the fire.
It was worse than that, if possible. Tanner was afraid Jared had something up his sleeve when it came to the trial.
He told Bree about the brief conversation he and Noah had with Jared—how secure he’d felt that the trial was going to go his way.
Tanner had been poring over every piece of evidence he could find, determined to make sure there was nothing that had been missed that the prosecuting attorney might need.
And all of it weighed pretty heavily on Marilyn.
There hadn’t been a peep from Jared or his ankle monitor.
Bree had written a program so that if the monitor went off for any reason, it would send a notification to her computer and damn near everyone’s phone.
They wouldn’t have to wait for anyone from Denver to notify them this time. They would know instantly.
But just the knowledge that Jared wasn’t behind bars, that he was so confident about his upcoming trial, ate at Marilyn. She’d been barely keeping it together over the past few days since the fire.
Everyone was glad to be moving back into the new building with its heightened security and the general feeling of being back in their home. The fire would mean that the renovations scheduled for the next few months would have to be pushed back, but ultimately it wouldn’t affect much now.
Cassandra was sitting in her office in the New Journeys building when Bree plopped down in a chair across from her after a day of carrying boxes up and down stairs.
“It’s good to be home,” Bree said.
“Yeah.” Cassandra smiled, but it wasn’t nearly as big as Bree would’ve thought.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m going to have to cancel the camping trip. There’s still too much going on with the insurance company and I just can’t go. I can’t be out of contact for three days right now, and there’s zero cell phone coverage in that section of the wilderness.”
Bree’s heart sank. Eva and Sam had been looking forward to this trip so much. They would be devastated.
But maybe they didn’t have to be.
“What about Tanner? He could lead the trip and do the teaching, right? I know he knows these woods well and as long as there’s nothing going on in his office, he’d be willing to do it.” She was sure of it. Nobody wanted to see these kids be disappointed.
Cassandra nodded. “Absolutely, he does. Dad used to take all three of us out all over these woods, and then they kept hunting and hiking even as they got older. That’s not the issue.”
“What is?”
“For insurance purposes, either you or I, as the directors of New Journeys, need to be there. Not to mention we can’t send Tanner alone with three women, given their histories, no matter how upstanding of a guy he is.”
Bree shrugged. “I’ll go. A chance to watch my fiancé out in the wilderness he loves? I wouldn’t mind witnessing that.”
Cassandra tilted her head to the side and gave Bree a look that all but screamed that the other woman thought she was crazy. “You do know we’re nine days from your wedding, right? What bride wants to go tromping off into the wilderness for three days a little more than a week before her wedding?”
“This bride right here.” The more she thought about it, the more perfect the idea became. Nothing sounded better to Bree than getting away from all the wedding craziness. Maybe some relaxing in nature would help her brain come up with her vows, because she hadn’t made one iota of progress on that.
And no amount of Jareds, ankle monitors or fires was going to stop the fact that she was getting married in nine days.
“I’ll tell you what.” Bree grinned at her future sister-in-law. “If you, Cheryl and Judy will handle all the wedding details for the next three days, I will talk Tanner into this camping trip slash rafting slash wilderness excursion. Believe me, I’m getting the better end of the deal.”
Cassandra reached over her desk and they shook on it. “I’m already making most of the wedding decisions anyway, since you’re hopeless at making decisions, so this will work out for both of us. The camping trip is officially back on.”
When two little cheers and a round of giggles rang out in the hallway, Bree and Cassandra met each other’s eyes and smiled.
The camping trip was back on.
THE BACKPACK ON Tanner’s shoulders was a familiar and comfortable weight.
Every step he took deeper into these woods made something inside him loosen and relax.
How many times had Dad taken him, Noah and Cassandra out here over the years?
Too many to count. Long after most teenagers weren’t interested in hanging out with their parents anymore, he and Noah had still loved to come out here with their dad.
He loved the diversity of this area most of all.
There were deep sections of forests and wilderness, then large patches of meadows that would open up out of nowhere, providing breathtaking views of the surrounding Rocky Mountains.
There were thousands of square acres to lose yourself—or find yourself—in.
And the Colorado River ran straight through it, at times gentle, but more often massive and majestic.
He’d been a little surprised when Bree called him up yesterday and asked him to lead the trip. He’d known how excited Eva and Sam were about it and would’ve agreed immediately as soon as he’d made sure there was nothing going on with the office.
But he was no dummy. When his bride-to-be started promising certain, quite explicit, sexual favors if Tanner would make time to do this, he’d pretended like his calendar was much fuller than it actually was.
And he intended to collect on every last sweet, sexy and surprisingly dirty thing she’d offered to trade on their wedding night.
Although the temptation to go pick her up right then and get started had been very difficult to resist.
But looking at the faces surrounding him now, he was doubly glad he’d been able to take the time to lead this little expedition.
Sam and Eva, both carrying appropriately sized backpacks, were beaming from ear to ear.
The two other children who were supposed to have come on the trip had to cancel, but that had not dampened the kids’ spirits.
Marilyn didn’t beam, but at least for once she didn’t look like the weight of the world was crashing down on her shoulders as she walked forward carrying a backpack not much bigger than Sam’s.
Tanner had made sure that was the case. The woman just needed to relax and enjoy herself rather than worry about the heavy lifting.
She had done the heavy lifting for long enough.
The other two women, Barb and Francis, he didn’t know very well, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves as they chatted quietly and walked.
Maybe most surprising was who brought up the rear of their group: Noah. His brother had shown up this morning at the place where they’d be leaving the cars, backpack ready.
If Tanner thought Sam had been happy before, the sight of his hero showing up to go on the camping trip nearly put him over the moon. The little boy hadn’t been more than ten feet from Noah all day.
Tanner didn’t press his brother for details about why he was here. He’d spent more time in Risk Peak in the last five days than he had since he’d gotten out of the army. Noah trusted Bree’s research on the ankle monitor but wanted to be nearby Marilyn just in case.
Tanner didn’t care why his brother was here. It was good to have a second person he could count on 100 percent in wilderness situations.
He knew he could count on Bree also. His computer genius had become quite the outdoors woman over the past few months. But this wilderness—as beautiful as it was—could turn deadly in a dozen ways before you could even blink.
“Everything good?” Bree’s hand slid into his and she smiled up at him.
“Perfect. We’re right on track and right on schedule. Not that we have anything too aggressive planned, since our group is made up of quite a few novices.”
“Excited novices.”
He smiled and took a sip of water out of his canteen before offering it to her. “Those are the best kind.” He leaned closer so only she could hear him. “You know I would’ve done this without all those special...favors you offered.”
She smiled as she sipped the water. “That’s okay. I didn’t even get to the really good stuff I was going to offer if I thought you wouldn’t say yes.”
Tanner couldn’t keep in his bark of laughter. This woman. He’d created a monster when he’d taken her to bed nearly a year ago. The very best, most sexy kind of monster. And he got to keep her as his own personal monster for the rest of his life.
“I can’t wait to get married to you,” he whispered, reaching closer to nuzzle behind her ear with his nose.
“I’m just glad to leave all the wedding planning to your sister and the other gals.
This will allow them to do what they’ve wanted to do for a while—get rid of the feet-dragging, decision-phobic bride.
They’ll be able to get stuff done a lot quicker without me there.
Plus, they can’t force me to try on my wedding dress again if I’m off hiking with you. ”
“Are you sure you’re okay being gone this close to the wedding?”
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, rising up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “More than sure. Believe me, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
They turned to look at Noah, who was crouched down, showing Sam and Eva something in the wildlife behind them.
“You didn’t tell me Noah was coming,” Bree said. “I was surprised.”
“I didn’t know he was coming. I haven’t talked to him since we paid Jared our little visit. I know Noah’s been around, keeping tabs on Marilyn and the kids as often as possible.”
“Anything new regarding Jared?”
He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and fingers. “No. I’m still poring over the files. Still trying to find anything that might prove he was connected to the fire. Ronnie and I even went out and questioned Paul Wyn and George Pearson, to see if they had alibis for the night of the fire.”
“And let me guess, they did.”
“Yes. Each other, and Jared.”
She let out a sigh. “Convenient. I just feel so frustrated that I can’t do more.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as Noah began leading the group forward again.
“How about no thinking about Jared today. No thinking about the case or the ankle monitor. No tulle. Only thinking about the majestic beauty surrounding us and making this trip as memorable for the kids as possible.”
She leaned into his side. “You had me at the words no tulle.”