A Lady's Heart (Takhini Shifters #3)(10)

She'd said she would trust him, so until proven otherwise, that's what she was going to do. It would take less energy on both their parts if she weren't questioning all the time.

Mandy was in a full-on personal debate to decide if she should ask where they were going, or if that crossed the line, when he volunteered some information.

"It's going to be pretty clear which way we're going to anyone with half a brain. There are only three main routes out of Whitehorse that don't end in the middle of the bush, and no one is going to believe you're foolish enough to get yourself trapped on one of those." 

"Right."

"You mentioned you wanted to go snowmobiling. Best place for that right now is farther north."

Mandy twisted in her seat to stare at him. "Seriously? We're really going to work on my list?"

"Well, not this instant, but sure."

She was one second away from protesting before deliberately slamming her lips shut. I need to trust him. He knows what he's doing.

She forced herself to relax back into the leather seat. "I've never driven a snowmobile."

A soft chuckle escaped him. "As you said, that's kind of the point. Don't worry, you'll have a ball. We'll give you a couple of lessons, and you'll be bombing around in no time."

"And there's enough snow?"

"Not in Whitehorse, not yet. But up on the mountain passes, and farther north, winter arrived a few weeks ago. We'll have to pick some routes carefully, but I've got a buddy who will give us a hand."

Curiosity struck again. "You said you texted a contact and they got the Land Rover ready. When? And when did he have time to pack bags for you?"

Justin flashed a grin at her. "I have a set of emergency codes preprogrammed into my phone. One touch, and they know what I expect them to do."

"You're the biggest boy scout I've ever met."

His grin widened. "Always prepared is a great motto."

Mandy turned her gaze forward and jerked in surprise, snapping up a finger to point out the front window. "Bear."

"Right on time." Justin pulled off the highway onto a narrow gravel road as the black bear meandered off the main road and into the trees.

They drove not even a mile when the road turned a sharp corner and doubled back into a clearing. They were completely out of sight of the highway, mostly covered by dense trees. Justin parked beside what seemed to be a souped-up RV.

Mandy's confusion increased. Camping had been on her list, but the timing seemed odd. "Are we camping?"

"Here? No."

Justin was a font of information. Not.

She poked for more details. "I kind of figured the camping was going to happen in spring."

He was out the door and around by her side, helping her to the ground. "It's a pretty skookum camper. We'd be warm enough."

He guided her to the front of the camper, glancing down at his watch impatiently while Mandy moved toward the smoke-coloured windows in an attempt to peek inside.

A dark-skinned man rounded the front of the camper, walking toward them wearing nothing but a smile.

He was obviously the person Justin was waiting for, because instead of pouncing on the fellow, or shouting, Justin just let out an enormous sigh.

"Are you really planning on driving like that?"

The other man shrugged. "Clothes make me itch."

"Fine, your choice, but I'm not bailing you out if you get arrested." Justin turned to Mandy to offer introductions. "This is Dale. That's his Land Rover we were just in."

Dale offered a fancy bow, hand waving before him as he bent low toward her. "And 'tis my camper you'll be enjoying, as well. If there's anything else you need, you be sure to let me or my kin know. We're at your disposal, milady."

"Umm, thank you. If there's anything I can do in return … "

Dale's gaze jumped between her and Justin before settling on her again. "No favours required," he insisted.



       
         
       
        

He walked past them and climbed into the Land Rover.

"If you get pulled over, the RCMP are going to go ballistic on your bare bear ass," Justin warned.

Dale closed the door before rolling down the window and leaning out. "There's a pretty young lass on the department in these parts. If she pulls me over, I'm sure we can come to some better arrangement than me spending the night behind cold metal bars."

He offered a cheeky wink before backing the vehicle up and turning it around. A low layer of dust rose from under the tires as he drove slowly to disappear around the corner.

Justin guided Mandy to the camper and got her buckled in. "You can look around later. I want to get on the highway."

Mandy had a million questions buzzing in her brain, and burning curiosity seemed to be her go-to new status. "Dale is a very- Oh no! He's got our suitcases."

Instead of panicking or grabbing for his phone to call the other bear shifter back, Justin put the camper in gear and manoeuvered out of the trees, heading to the highway.

Where he turned east, returning to Whitehorse.

Justin glanced at her. "Dale will drop our bags off as soon as he's had a chance to run them under a bug scanner, just to make sure no one's left any surprises for either of us."

Wow. This was getting way more twisted and complicated than she'd expected. "So … are we camping in Whitehorse?"

"No. Too close to unknown factors. I've got a safe house for us where we can hide and have fun working on your list."

With everything that had been going on over the past hour, her list seemed unimportant, and yet it was clear Justin was determined to stick to his commitment.

Which made it easier for Mandy to relax and go with the flow. "You really do know what you're doing."

"I really do."

She adjusted the seat slightly so she could lean back farther, looking out the window as the lights of Whitehorse drew nearer.





Chapter Six





Mandy tried her best to stay awake, but the smooth ride after the full day slowly toppled her into dreamland.

She felt wonderfully rested when sleep finally let her go. She woke up in a comfortable shifter-sized bed-i.e. big enough to hold her and an entire family of bears.

For one moment she held her breath in hopeful anticipation before rolling over to discover an empty space at her side. Disappointment that Justin wasn't with her made her think hard about what she wanted.

Their little excursion out of Whitehorse had been unplanned, but Justin was right. Even though she needed to stay safe that didn't mean she should be willing to give up on the next steps in her life. 

Mandy rolled again. Satiny smoothness teased her skin as she slipped her legs over the edge of the bed. She glanced down at a familiar nightgown, then over at the side table where her suitcase sat open.

Faint memories returned. Justin bringing her into the apartment, laughing softly at her sleepy clumsiness before leaving the room to let her slip into her night clothes and under the covers.

Her clothes from the previous day were neatly folded on a nearby chair. She got dressed quickly, glancing around the comfortably established room with curiosity before making her way toward the door behind which a soft, repetitive noise trickled.

The floorboards were warm underfoot, and beautiful pictures of wild mountain scenery hung on the walls as she stepped quietly into the living space.

Justin stood behind the island counter, whisk in hand as he rapidly beat batter in an oversized bowl.

He offered a smile. "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Mandy glanced at the clock on the wall oven. "Wow. It's nearly good afternoon."

"Ten o'clock isn't that late, and we've got no agenda. I figured you should sleep until you were done."

She settled onto the stool on the side opposite him. "What time did we get here?"

"About four in the morning."

Whoa. "I hope you slept."

"Enough. I can nap later if necessary. Let me finish this and get it in the oven, then I can show you around."

He poured the batter into muffin tins, expertly filling each one to the exact same level without pausing or spilling on the countertop.

His competence at so many things, big and small, astounded her, and reminded her all over again that there was so much she didn't know. So many basic life skills along with the recreational activities, and she was like a little child wandering into the big, wide world for the first time.

She considered the sensation in her gut carefully, pleased to discover it wasn't a lack of confidence or hopelessness that had settled in hard, but more a sense of anticipation for what she had to look forward to learning.

All in all, that was a far better realization than returning to the fear and separation from community that had been part of her life for so long.

Mandy found herself smiling happily as she waited for him to finish and put the tin in the oven.

Justin dusted the flour from his big hands. "Twenty-five minutes until breakfast, and after, we can go explore."

"You want to tell me where we are?"

He blinked. "My bad. We're in Chicken."

Mandy opened her mouth to answer him, but nothing seemed to come in answer to such a weird proclamation. "Okay … "

Justin laughed softly. "Let me clean up. Take a peek-there should be a great view of Main Street from there."