Jeanie looked at him. She was famished but surely Ryan didn’t want to spend any more time with her. She was the “enemy.” She could see the inverted commas in her head. Oh boy! She was so high right now.
“Yeah, I think food would be amaze-balls!” she smiled.
Ryan chuckled. “Okay then. Best you lean the other way while I close the door. Don’t want to make you go back to the doc so soon.”
He had a very nice voice Jeanie decided. A very nice one. It was robust and manly and yet not so deep she thought his chest ended at his feet. And he was handsome. When last had someone wanted to take her out anywhere? Jeanie couldn’t remember. It might be the drugs, or it might be that it was that long ago.
Ryan got into the driver’s seat and then started the truck. He pulled out of the parking lot and drove along the road a little way. He turned this way and that and eventually they stopped outside a little place that proclaimed it to be a diner.
They went in and found a table near the door and sat down. A young waitress appeared and took their order. She smiled very sweetly at Ryan. Jeanie thought that was just adorable. She stared at him with her head on her left hand.
‘You’re drooling,” Ryan said handing her a napkin.
“Sorry,” Jeanie said wiping her mouth. “Those pain pills are something else.”
“I’ll bet. So what were you doing in the woods?”
Jeanie shrugged. “My job, silly.”
“Well someone already took a whole lot of pics of the area,” Ryan told her looking a little annoyed.
Jeanie nodded. “Yeah Valerie Rousseau I know. I read her report. That’s why I’m here. I know you think I’m batting for the enemy, but really I’m not. I’m not. I…” she realized she was drifting off in her head. She was wondering what it would be like to kiss Ryan. It would be good. She could tell. Jeanie closed her eyes and the images became more vivid.
Just then the drinks arrived; a coke float for Ryan and a Tab for Jeanie.
“Here you go folks,” the waitress said smiling as she deposited the drinks on the table. “Food will be ready in a moment.”
Jeanie jumped and it was only Ryan’s lightning reflexes that saved her drink.
“Better make that real fast, Rene,” Ryan commented looking pointedly at Jeanie.
“Sure Ryan, anything for you.” The waitress walked off swinging her hips so hard Jeanie was amazed she was walking in a straight line and not weaving all over the place.
“She likes you,” Jeanie said. “She’s flirting.”
Ryan looked shocked and shook his head. “No she’s not. I’ve known that girl since she was in diapers.”
Jeanie stuck her index finger under his nose, only it was the one on her injured hand and she winced. “Well she’s certainly not in those anymore and I think she’s waiting for you to notice. You know what I mean?”
“You were taking pictures of something in the forest. Can you tell me what it was of?” Ryan asked ignoring her.
Jeanie sighed. “Sure. I took pics of the bears. This family walked right by me, mom, pop and two cubs. Amazing! Got it all!” she suddenly looked panicked. “Where is my camera?”
“Glove box in the truck,” Ryan said. “What were you taking pics of them for?”
She shrugged. “Bears were the reason for the EIA request. Ms. Rousseau said there was something special about them. So this place needs to be protected. I came to do the EIA. Didn’t I mention this?”
“You did. So what happens if you find special bears in the area?”
“Oh, well I have,” Jeanie said smiling. “It’s not normal for bears to behave like these ones. Not at all. They should have eaten me. But instead they walked right by. ‘S very wee… wired… strange! Why is that?”
“No idea,” Ryan said. “If I can show you more interesting bears would you be able to save Sun Valley?”
“Prob’bly. You would have to get it proclaimed a special preserve and then I dunno what happens to the people who live there. You won’t want to live there if Mr. Petersen and his creepy partner, Mr. Snow, get done with the place believe me.” She took a sip of her Tab, then said sulkily, “They ruin everything.”
“What do they want to do to Sun Valley? Do you know?”
Jeanie nodded. “Sure. There’s gold in them thar hills. Or the ground, anyways. Deep underground. They want to mine. Messy. Nothing left in Sun Valley. Nothing pretty anyway.”
Jeanie was sad now. Morosely sad.
Rene brought their food but she was in two minds about eating it. Her stomach eventually reminded her that breakfast was forever ago and she ate. Ryan sat across from her lost in thought. He seemed to be unaware of her for the rest of the meal and it was only when Rene reappeared with the check that he snapped out of it. Jeanie paid for the meal insisting it was the least she could do.
“You staying in town?” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied.
“Where?”
“Old age home, I think,” Jeanie had left the final frontier far behind by now. Ryan smiled patiently and nodded. Then escorted her to the front door of Grandma’s Inn.
It was a quaint little place across from the diner with a huge bay window in the front. Jeanie and Ryan walked up the steps and Jeanie opened the door with her left hand. She felt about in her pocket and produced her key. “Good thing I checked in this morning. Not sure I could manage that now,” Jeanie smiled and chuckled.
Ryan smiled too. “Yeah, you are way over the limit young lady.”
She nodded. They stood in silence for a moment and it was a strange awkward one. Ryan seemed to be on the verge of saying something a couple of times, but he didn’t. Eventually Jeanie shrugged and came to life.
“Thank you for driving me all over today,” she said.
Ryan nodded. “It was my pleasure. I’ll pick you up in the morning if you like, take you back to your rental.”
“I totally forgot about the car!” Jeanie exclaimed slapping her forehead a little too hard. “Ow. I’m such an idiot. Will it be okay out there overnight?”
“Yeah. Should be fine.”
“Good. I’m too baked to drive right now,” Jeanie confessed.
Ryan nodded. “No kidding. Here, don’t forget your camera.”
“Thanks,” Jeanie said. Taking it in her left hand she slipped the strap over her head. “I hope my pictures came out alright. It was really so unbelievable to have those bears walk right there,” she gestured awkwardly with her strapped arm, “Ryan, they were so close I could have reached out and touched them. It was the most intense moment!”
A look passed over his face. Jeanie couldn’t identify it. It looked sad and hopeful all at the same time.
“G’night then,” she said feeling very tired.
“Bye,” Ryan said and turned to leave.
He walked out the door and down the steps. At the gate he stopped and turned to look back. Jeanie waited and then when he continued out to the street, she took the stairs slowly up to the second floor. Her room was right at the back of the old house. Why did it have to be so damn far? It was pleasant, though. Clean and covered in doylies and frills in an assortment of pastel shades.
Jeanie wasn’t a pastel person, and she certainly would never put frills and lace on furniture but, Mrs. Graham who owned the inn, seemed to love them. With a sigh Jeanie collapsed on her bed. She had the forethought to unsling the camera strap from her neck before she fell into a drugged and troubled sleep.
The sun was well up when Jeanie woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She had slept in her jeans and sweat shirt from the day before and she was a mess. With a herculean effort she hauled herself up and to her door. Unlocking it she poked her head out. The hallway was empty. Meaning to go back to bed, Jeanie looked down as she closed the door and noticed a small square of card on the carpet. She bent down and picked it up.
Someone had written a message on it in a fine, neat hand.
Ryan Hunt is downstairs waiting for you. It rea
d.
Right, Jeanie thought. We arranged a pick up for the morning to go get the rental.
With sluggish movements that were hampered by her injury, Jeanie managed to get in the shower, wash and then dress herself. She could do nothing promising with her hair and simply piled it all on her head in a ponytail. Then, dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a black hoodie, she went downstairs.
Ryan was sitting in an armchair, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. He looked up from his phone and smiled at her. His black hair was messy but his golden eyes shone.
“Morning,” he said. “Are you ready for an adventure?”
“So long as it doesn’t involve any injuries I’m all for it.” She smiled.
They walked out the door and down the path.
“How is the wrist?” Ryan asked.
“Excruciating,” Jeanie said. “Serves me right. Maybe I need new hiking boots. They had no grip on the needles at all.”
“I promise you, you’re in good hands today.”
“And whose would those be?”
“Mine.” He smiled at her. “Coffee? I got you a latte from the Lemon Drop. They also make these amazing cinnamon buns. They are so good. Better than doughnuts.”
She looked at him amazed at his friendliness. “Really? We’ll see about that.”
They climbed into Ryan’s truck and drove out to Sun Valley. The road was wet. It must have rained in the night while Jeanie was dead to the world and the whole place looked clean and fresh. A breeze was blowing again, and though the sun was shining, white clouds were rushing by overhead. Jeanie sipped her latte. She preferred a straight up black coffee but this was a sweet gesture and it wasn’t lost on her. They had both gotten off on the wrong foot the previous day. So it was clean slates all round, thanks to coffee and cinnamon buns.
“Good, right?” Ryan asked after she’d eaten her third little frosting covered sugar bomb.
“Surprisingly,” Jeanie agreed after she’d swallowed. “I could eat the whole box and then keep going. These things are bad!”
“I know, right, you gotta love them,” Ryan said smiling as he bit into another one, frosting sticking to his nose.
They laughed.
“So does this mean we’re friends?” Jeanie asked. “I’m not the big bad monster coming to take your home.”
Ryan shrugged. “I’m hoping that you will learn to see things our way. There’s a lot going on here that I’m pretty sure they didn’t tell you about. But we’ll get to that later. This morning I plan to take you on a guided tour of the forest. That way you’ll be guaranteed to see strange bears galore.”
“Right?” she said not believing him but enjoying the ride.
They took the turn at the T-junction and entered Sun Valley. The place was so pretty with the fallen leaves and the damp soil. Jeanie opened her window and took in lung-fulls of the air.
“I just love that smell,” she confessed. “You know that wet, earthy, mulchy kind of smell. Reminds me of my grandparents’ place in Canada. I know don’t shoot me, I have Canadian relatives.” She held her hands up in mock surrender.
Ryan held his fingers up like a gun and pretended to shoot her. “Actually, I don’t mind Canadians at all.”
“Good.”
The track they were driving on forked ahead and they took the left one, heading deeper into the forest. After a few minutes Ryan stopped the truck.
“Here we are,” he said and got out.
Jeanie had no idea where she was. If he was planning to kill her, then she was as good as a face on the news. There was no way anyone would ever find the body out here. Watching Ryan; the way he moved and spoke, just how he was with her, Jeanie decided that she definitely wasn’t getting the creepy insane vibe from him. It was probably fine to go deep into the woods with this man she only just met yesterday. Famous last words—possibly.
He led her through the trees, her camera slung around her neck. They came to a fallen log and Ryan said to crouch down behind it. It was huge, big enough for Ryan to hide behind.
“Wait here, the bears come by all the time,” he whispered. “You should be able to observe them.”
Jeanie was skeptical but she crouched down and waited. Ten minutes later a bear sauntered into the clearing ahead. It looked around and found a tree. Then it stood on its hind legs and began to rub its back up and down on the trunk.
Jeanie snapped pics. The bear was pulling faces. She was sure of it as it groaned and moaned with pleasure.
“That must be a really good scratching post,” she commented, laughing.
Ryan looked annoyed. “It’s not that good.”
The bear stopped his scratching. Landed back on all four huge paws and sauntered out of the clearing.
A few minutes later two more bears walked into the clearing. They sat down and stared at each other. Then they grunted and groaned, whimpered and snorted as though having a conversation. Jeanie couldn’t believe it. She was no expert but she was sure that bears didn’t behave like that. She finally realized that she was being had when a bear tottered into the clearing and bowed at her. It actually bowed and then smiled pulling back its rubbery lips.
“Okay Ryan, how did you do it?”
“Do what?” Ryan asked exuding innocence.
“How did you train the bears?”
Ryan had been very closed lipped about the bears. After their little show and Jeanie calling him out about them, Ryan had bundled her back into the car and driven off even further into the woods. Jeanie was beginning to think that maybe her vibe about him had been wrong. Maybe he was up to something. If it was just to mock her or make a fool of her, then why go to such lengths?
Every attempt at conversation met with silent resistance from him until eventually Jeanie threatened to open the door and fling herself out.
“Bad idea,” Ryan said. “You don’t know the area and its full of bears.”
“Yeah well, maybe I’d rather take my chances with a bear than you!”
He looked at her with a strange expression on his face. “Look. I’m taking you to a place where you can get answers. Isn’t that what you want? Don’t you want to know why Petersen and Snow are so hell bent on destroying this place?”
“I know why, they want the gold,” Jeanie said.
“That’s probably the frosting on the top,” Ryan replied shaking his head. “Please Jeanie. You just have to trust me a little. I’ll earn it I promise you. But you have to trust me so I can. Does that make sense? You see my people, the people of Sun Valley, we really need you on our side. And yeah it was a cheap trick with the bears just now, but I promise it will make sense when we get to where we’re going.”
Jeanie looked into his face and tried to find the lie. She was usually pretty good at this, seeing the rusting barrels of toxic waste in the man’s eyes long before they ever reached the lake he planned to dump them into. It was almost a superpower. But looking into Ryan’s open, hopeful face she couldn’t find the lie. He was hiding something, but not lying to her.
“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll trust you. But if you break my trust just know you’ll never have it again. I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
Beck (BBW Bear Shifter Moonshiner Romance) (120 Proof Honey Book 4) Page 36
