Chapter 17 #2
He smiled. “Yeah, you will, won’t you?”
“It’s what you pay me for,” she quipped.
“You’re amazing,” Drake said.
Alaska rolled her eyes. She wasn’t amazing, she was doing her job…something the other admins they’d hired hadn’t been able to do very well, but still. She couldn’t imagine ever interrupting such an important meeting. If something happened, she’d deal. It was what she did.
“Go,” she told him. “Kick some butt.”
Drake grinned. “Yes, ma’am. For the record…I’m going to be peopled out by the time this meeting is over this afternoon. You want to go for another hike with me? Or are you too sore?”
“I’m not sore,” she told him. At least not in the way he was asking. She could still feel him between her thighs—he wasn’t exactly a small man—but her leg muscles didn’t hurt from the hike last night. She’d gotten in much better shape over the weeks she’d been here.
“All right. Maybe just a short hike this time. We can grab dinner when we get back, if that’s all right.”
“Of course. I’ll grab a snack before I head to the cabin to wait for you.”
“Perfect.” Drake reached up and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. “I don’t deserve you,” he said.
“Yes, you do,” she countered. “We deserve each other.”
He gave her a small smile, then leaned down and kissed her. It was a passionate kiss, but not long. “I’ll see you later.”
She nodded and watched him walk away, licking her lips. Alaska could still taste him.
That she was here, that this was her life, was so wild.
She’d thought about Drake so much over the years.
Wondered where he was, what he was doing.
And after he’d left the Navy and started The Refuge, she’d been relieved he wouldn’t be putting his life on the line anymore, but she’d still worried about him.
And now she was here. With him. With him. It was a dream come true.
The years had been good to Drake. He was more handsome now than when he was an eighteen-year-old boy, and his maturity made him more attractive to her, not less.
In twenty more years, he would definitely be a silver fox.
She’d always be plain, would always fade into the background, but with Drake at her side, she realized she didn’t care.
The only person’s opinion she cared about was his.
And he’d made it more than clear that he didn’t think she was plain. That he loved her exactly how she was. It was a heady feeling.
“Excuse me?” a woman asked from next to her.
Alaska nearly jumped out of her skin, but chuckled as she turned to the guest. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. What can I do for you?”
“I didn’t mean to scare you…but I don’t blame you for being distracted. If I had a man like him, I’d have all my attention on his ass as he walked away too.”
Alaska laughed without taking offense. How could she? The woman wasn’t wrong. “He’s as beautiful from the back as he is from the front, for sure,” she agreed. “Now, how can I help you?”
“I was wondering if you could recommend one of the trails for my friend and me? I’m not the best hiker and don’t want anything too strenuous, but this place is just so beautiful, I don’t want to sit around and do nothing all day.”
Alaska smiled and did her best to turn her attention away from Drake. She was still worried about him and his friends. They were stressed, and she hated that for them, but Mr. Choo’s visit should be over soon and they could relax once again.
Brick sighed in relief as Owl walked Mr. Choo out of the room. He’d volunteered to take their visitor back to his hotel in Los Alamos. Brick had been with the man all day and it was a huge relief to pass the responsibility off to someone else.
“So?” Stone asked. “What does everyone think?”
There was silence in the room for a long moment before Tiny spoke. “He’s got some really good ideas. And while I think we could pull most of them off without his money, it would take several years before we’d be able to implement any of them.”
The others all nodded in agreement.
“I was ready to not like any of his suggestions, but he seems to be an astute businessman,” Spike agreed.
The next twenty minutes was spent going over the pros and cons of the improvements and expansions they’d discussed with Mr. Choo.
Tonka had been quiet throughout the conversation, much as he had all day.
The man was frequently silent, preferring to let others talk when he could get away with it.
He wasn’t so reticent around the animals.
When he thought he was alone, he talked up a storm to Melba, the goats, and the other animals in the barn.
No one was offended, they knew it was just who he was…
that all their pasts affected them in different ways.
But he spoke up now.
“I don’t like him,” Tonka said resolutely.
“Why not?”
“It’s just a feeling,” he replied.
Brick felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
There was something about the man that didn’t sit well with him either, but he didn’t know what it was.
He hadn’t said or done anything inappropriate in the hours Brick had spent with him.
He’d been polite, curious, and enthusiastic about The Refuge in general.
But there was a niggling voice in the back of his mind that said something was off about the man. And he hadn’t missed Alaska’s reaction when she’d met him either. She’d insisted it was worry for Drake. Now he wasn’t so sure.
If his friends had been in a normal boardroom anywhere other than at The Refuge, they might’ve dismissed Tonka’s words as paranoia. But they’d all been in situations where a gut feeling had saved their lives.
“I agree,” Brick said after a moment.
“Have we heard back from Elizabeth?” Spike asked no one in particular.
“No,” Tiny said. “Last I heard, she still hadn’t found anything on the man.”
“Which is a good thing, right?” Stone asked.
“Well, yeah. If she hasn’t found anything, then there’s a better than average chance he’s legit.
But Elizabeth wasn’t ready to quit. She said the more evil the person, the better they could hide their tracks.
She was determined to know with one hundred percent certainty that he was exactly who he claims to be…
a man who’s interested in growing his investments in the US. ”
The room was quiet for a long moment.
“I can’t speak for you guys, but I’m beat,” Pipe finally said. “I don’t know what it is about being ‘on’ that drains me, but there it is.”
“Same,” Tiny agreed.
“Choo’s coming back tomorrow after lunch to meet with us once more.
How about if we take the rest of the afternoon and evening to think about everything.
Tomorrow morning, we’ll get together and discuss what we want to do when we’re fresh and rested.
We can let him know when he arrives what our decision is,” Tiny suggested.
Everyone agreed and stood to clean up the room and head out.
Tonka and Brick were the last ones in the room, and Brick stopped his friend by asking, “What is it about Choo that makes you uneasy, do you think?”
Tonka shrugged. “I’m honestly not sure. On the surface, everything seems great.
But he’s almost too perfect. Every single thing we suggested, he agreed with.
If we didn’t like one of his ideas, he immediately backed off.
He didn’t push us—at all. That didn’t sit well with me.
Not from a man supposedly interested in profiting from an investment. ”
Brick realized he was right. “I hadn’t noticed at the time. Now that you’ve pointed it out, it’s obvious.”
“But it’s more than that,” Tonka said. “I watched the guy as you gave him a tour of the grounds. He said all the right things, but his eyes never stopped moving. Taking in everything.”
“Isn’t that what he should’ve been doing?” Brick asked.
“Yes, but this was…not normal. It was as if he was casing the place.”
Brick frowned.
“Remember when we first got Bubba? He’d been abused horribly and was way underweight. He wanted nothing to do with me or any other human.”
“I remember,” Brick said. “You were amazing with him. Taught him first to trust the other horses, then got him to trust not only you, but everyone else too.”
“Right, but in the meantime, when he was in the corral, I watched him. He was constantly on alert for an escape route. His eyes scanned the area looking for a weak spot in the fence. He was desperate to escape a situation he likely thought was exactly like the one he came from. I saw that same intense interest in Choo’s eyes today. ”
“What do you think he was looking for?” Brick asked.
“I have no idea. But it made me uneasy.”
Brick sighed. His head was throbbing. In the past, he would’ve been desperate to be by himself for a few hours. To take some time to get his equilibrium back. But today? All he wanted to do was see Alaska. She was his rock. His safe place.
“I appreciate you speaking up. I felt the same way, but didn’t really realize it until you said something.”
“I’ve learned the hard way that it’s more important to speak up when I have misgivings rather than to stay quiet and go with the flow,” Tonka said in a somewhat monotone voice.
Not for the first time, Brick wondered what the hell his friend had been through, but he knew when—or if—he was ready to share, he would. Brick wouldn’t push him.
“Again, it’s appreciated.”
“And for the record?” Tonka went on.
Brick waited for him to continue. It had been a while since he’d heard Tonka say as much at one time as he was right now.
“Alaska…I like her. She’s good for you. For The Refuge. She fits this place perfectly. She fits you.”
Brick’s heart swelled. He didn’t need his friend’s approval, but he definitely wanted it. “She fits me perfectly,” he agreed.
Tonka nodded at him, then abruptly turned and headed for the door. “Melba’s probably eating her stall about now,” he muttered. “Need to get her fed.”
He turned at the door, and Brick braced for whatever he was about to add.