She bit down on her bottom lip. “Would it be weird if I hugged you?”
It took all he had to hold still. “Do you care if people ask questions?”
She tilted her head. “Do you care if we lie?”
“Not a bit.”
“Great.” She all but threw herself into his arms.
He wrapped her close and squeezed her tight for just as long as he dared. But then he released his hold and stepped back before anyone could become truly suspicious.
“I’m going to miss you, Cobra,” she said then turned away before he could respond.
She all but trotted across the gravel and quickly took the stairs, ducking and disappearing into the plane.
He clenched his jaw, telling himself to buck up. It was far from the end of the world. She was an unexpectedly charming woman who’d livened up a weekend he’d dreaded. And now it was over, and life would go back to normal.
The last of the women filed into the plane.
Mia and Raven stood side-by-side, waving at the faces in the twin otter windows. Cobra looked for Marnie but realized she must have taken a seat on the other side of the plane.
Brodie started to fold the ladder and secure the door, but Mia rushed forward and stopped him. Then she boarded the plane herself.
Cobra guessed it was for one final goodbye. Women really seemed to draw these things out.
He waited too, although he wasn’t sure why. The fuel system was working fine, and the test flight had been perfect. There was nothing for him to do to help with the takeoff. If Mia wanted to individually hug every passenger on-board while the twin otter burned aviation fuel, that wasn’t his problem.
Cobra turned away, heading for the hangar, forcing his mind away from Marnie and onto the next hundred-hour maintenance on the schedule.
He heard the engine speed change, and the gravel crunch as the plane moved ahead, taxiing up the access road for the strip.
As the sound diminished, he heard Raven and Mia talking. But then a third voice chimed in—Marnie’s.
Cobra whipped around, shocked to see her with them. The twin otter was still taxiing, so that didn’t make sense.
His first thought was that something was wrong, and he instantly strode her way. But all three women were smiling, laughing even, sending a wave of relief through him. He started to smile too, but quickly controlled his expression—looking delighted at the turn of events would inevitably raise questions.
“I thought you were leaving,” he said in a deliberately neutral tone. They all looked his way. By their expressions, he knew his words had been more abrupt than he’d intended.
“We talked her into staying,” Mia said defensively, linking her arm with Marnie’s.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get your room back,” Raven added, like he cared about that.
“She’s got some lawyering to do for us,” Mia said, while Cobra looked to Marnie.
Unease came into her eyes, and she slid her gaze from his.
He could have kicked himself, realizing how his surprise might have come across as disappointment. He wanted to backtrack, to tell her he was happy she’d stayed, thrilled that she’d stayed. But he couldn’t say that in front of Mia and Raven.
“She’s staying at our new place,” Mia said. “We’re moving the furniture in today.”
“I get my cabin back,” Raven said.
“So, everything’s back to normal,” Mia said. “And I have a brand-new house with a very comfortable guest room.”
Cobra tried to catch Marnie’s eyes and convey an unspoken apology, but the three women turned away, and he was left kicking himself for his stupidity.
* * *
* * *
Marnie tried to stuff the memory of Cobra’s expression to the back of her mind as she gazed around the living room of Mia’s new house. He’d been more than gracious before she got on the plane, hugging her goodbye, telling her he’d enjoyed their time together, acting sad to see her go and asking for a picture of the blouse. It would have been the perfect ending to a perfect fling—if only she’d held up her end of the bargain and flown out of his life.
“What do you think?” Mia asked her gesturing around the expansive living and dining room.
Marnie refocused her attention, taking in the huge stone fireplace, the bank of windows overlooking the river and the soaring ceilings. “I love it.”
She did. It wasn’t as magnificent as the mansion in LA, but it was spacious and beautiful, with warm wood on the ceilings, red-toned beams highlighting the walls, and the fireplace as a feature at one end. Their voices echoed in the empty room. The air was cool since the double front doors were standing open. Plastic sheeting covered the floors, crackling under Kenneth’s and AJ’s feet as they carried a mattress through the door.
“North-side bedroom.” Mia pointed for them.
Raven came in next, dressed for work, tablet in her hand. “I’ve got three trucks coming from the warehouse,” she said to Mia. “Bedrooms and loft first, appliances second, then living room last.”
“Perfect,” Mia said.
“Your kitchen won’t be up and running until tomorrow.”
“It’ll take us another day to unpack the dishes anyway.”
Silas appeared from a hallway past the dining area. “I’ll do a Bear and Bar run later on.”
“Get them to make lots of burgers,” Mia told him as he put an arm around her and gave her an affectionate kiss at her hairline. “You’ll have plenty of hungry people.”
Marnie shook the thoughts of Cobra from her mind. That interlude was over and done. The best thing she could do now was respect his space and stay out of his way—which shouldn’t be too hard, given all the work there was to do helping Mia move in. And that was before she even started researching entertainment and film law or helping Mia set up the new production company.
She was excited about the film project. She wouldn’t have considered expanding into entertainment law, but she could see it now as a good fit, especially since Hannah and Henry wanted her help with the fashion business.
She was confident the new adventures would take over her brain and consume her emotional energy—better that than thinking about Cobra and speculating on his sudden coldness when he found out she was staying longer than planned.
Other groups of men entered with more loads of furniture, a box spring, a dresser, a stack of drawers.
“We need you to show us where to put everything,” Silas said to Mia.
“Happy to direct traffic.” She looked excited.
“I’m heading back to the warehouse.” Raven stepped out of the way for Kenneth and AJ, who were lugging in another king-size mattress.
“Other bedroom?” Kenneth asked Mia.
“South side.” She pointed past the fireplace to a hallway that led off the other end of the living room. “Go ahead and take a look around,” she said to Marnie before following Silas to the master bedroom.
Activity all around her, Marnie wandered into the kitchen. It was spacious, with cherrywood cabinets and burgundy countertops. The appliances hadn’t arrived yet, but the stovetop and a double oven were built right in.
She peeped through cupboards and closets and wandered into the glassed-in octagonal breakfast nook that practically hung over the river. She imagined drinking coffee there with the morning sun reflecting on the mountains. Next to it was a glass door leading to a sundeck with an even wider panoramic view.
Between the living room and the kitchen was a feature staircase that led to an open loft. Marnie climbed the stairs, running her fingertips along the smooth natural-wood railing. The upstairs space was bigger than she’d expected, with a bathroom and walk-in closet that meant it could be used as a bedroom. It would also make a fantastic office or family room. Astonishingly, the view was even better from up here. She could see miles down the
river and into a mountain pass still filled with gold and red autumn trees.
A few things had been moved upstairs already—two cream-colored armchairs, a low table and a big rectangular box filled with something that likely needed assembly.
Curious, she dropped to her knees on the plastic-sheeted carpet and folded open the top of the box. It was filled with polished maple wood panels, posts and hardware. She guessed it was a shelving unit, and a set of instructions in seven different languages confirmed her assumption.
She looked around the room and tried to decide where it might go. It was twenty-four inches high and had three sections, making it twelve feet long, perfect to fit under the windows. She removed the top pieces and set them below the windowsill against the cream-colored wall to test the fit. It was going to look great.
A small toolkit came with the set, so she fastened the bottom shelf to the posts and the braces. It went easily and smoothly together—the sign of an expensive piece of furniture. After she stepped back for another look, she gave into the impulse to carry on, curious to see how the finished product would turn out.
As she settled the last panel on the pegs, footsteps sounded on the stairs.
“There you are,” Mia said from behind her. “What are you doing?”
Marnie came to her feet, surveying her work. “It looks great, doesn’t it?”
Mia came alongside her. “We have people to do that.”
“I know. I’m a person, and I just did it.”
Mia nudged her arm. “I meant the guys. You’re too valuable to waste on furniture assembly.”
“It was fun. Do you like it?”
“I do. It looks great.”
“Will this be your office?”
“Den more than an office. I don’t know what kind of work I’ll end up doing. We’ll put a sofa in here, a pullout in case we need more than one guest room. It’ll get the afternoon sun, so on cold winter days, it should be very cozy.”
“This whole place is terrific. That kitchen is huge.”
Mia laughed. “We used the plans from the Wildflower Lake Lodge villas. But Silas kept adding to them, a few feet here, a few feet there, a garage, a bonus room above the garage, an arctic entry, an extra closet.”
“He wants you to be comfortable.”
“I’m way more than comfortable. Did you check out the guest room?”
“Not yet.”
“No rush. It’s full of guys debating how to assemble the bed frame.”
“I can help,” Marnie offered.
Mia ignored the offer. “Scarlett had her friend send me the original script. The email was full of caveats about changes they’re planning to make for filming in Paradise. I think they’re nervous that I won’t be able to see how it’ll work here.”
“Have you read any of it?”
“Just a page or two. I’m not going to be the best judge of the writing.”
“I’ll reach out to the office today and find an entertainment law contact. We want to get this right.”
“We do.”
“You’re completely sure you want to do this?” Marnie asked again. “Sure you want to spend all that money?”
Mia shrugged. “I’ve got money. And I have to do something with it. I’m tired of watching it pile up in my bank account.”
“You could invest it.” Marnie had made that suggestion in the past.
“I am investing it. We’re making a movie.”
“That’s more of a gamble than an investment.”
“Westberg Productions International—what do you think?”
“International?”
“I’m thinking we might have to go on location, maybe somewhere warm come January.”
Marnie grinned. “Now you’re being realistic.”
Men’s voices sounded over the rail in the living room.
Marnie’s stomach clenched as she recognized one as Cobra’s. The very last thing she wanted to do was face him again and see that guarded expression in his eyes.
“T brought it from the strip,” Cobra was saying.
“She’s around here with Mia somewhere,” Silas responded.
Marnie took a surreptitious step toward the back wall in case Cobra glanced up and could see her.
“I’ll set up an LLC,” she said to Mia, keeping her voice very low.
Mia lowered her own voice to match. “Is that a secret?”
“I’ll let her know,” Silas said.
Marnie couldn’t make out Cobra’s answer.
“No,” she said to Mia, as close to normal volume as she dared. “I’ll make sure you can operate internationally. I’m guessing Scarlett will need some advice too.”
It was going to take a lot of research to make sure Marnie got this right.
“Whatever she needs,” Mia said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
“—whoever’s idea it was,” Cobra was saying.
“Don’t just give me a blank check,” Marnie responded to Mia, wondering what Cobra had meant by his words. What idea? Did he hate the idea? Was he talking about the fact that she’d stayed behind?
“It’s going to be an exciting winter,” Silas said on a laugh.
“Why not?” Mia asked.
“Huh?” Marnie blinked, having lost the thread of their conversation.
“Are you saying I can’t trust you?” Mia asked.
“Of course, you can trust me. I’m your lawyer.”
“—a few more hours tonight,” Cobra was saying.
“Then do whatever you need to do,” Mia continued. “Xavier’s got a thing for Scarlett, and she likes him back, and Willow just plain wants to hang out in Paradise.”
“That’s the season,” Silas said.
“Plus, Brodie’s finally on board with our plans,” Mia continued, paying no attention to Cobra and Silas’s conversation. “When you get back to LA, we’ll start on the next group.”
“Catch you later then,” Cobra said, and Marnie breathed a sigh of relief.
“What do you think?” Mia asked.
“About which part?” Marnie asked, having lost all meaning of Mia’s words.
“Getting ready for the next matchmaking group. We’ll have to wait until spring for the trip, but we can start taking applications right away.”
“Already?” The first women weren’t even back home in LA yet.
“No sense in waiting,” Mia said. “We should take the town’s enthusiasm and roll with it.”
Chapter Ten
Cobra prided himself on rolling with the punches, and he’d do it this time too. He was nothing but glad Marnie was still in town, confident he’d eventually get a chance to see her, even if she had seemed elusive the past couple of days.
He knew from Silas that she was setting up a company for Scarlett’s film. He also knew she and Mia were unpacking dishes, positioning lamps and hanging pictures in the new chalet. The two women were obviously close friends. It only made sense they’d be spending time together.
As for him, he was gearing up as planned for the annual Klondike Challenge, exactly like he did every year. On the workbench at WSA, he pushed a cleaning patch through the barrel of his .30-06 target rifle.
“There’s a new event this year,” Brodie said, looking up from the Klondike Challenge mailout. The three-day competition was Central Alaska’s quirky northern games weekend, held to close out the fall season.
“What’s that?” Cobra discarded the tarnished patch and looped a fresh one on the end of the rod.
“The Green Energy Challenge. It’s a team event on a stationary bike array. The winners generate the most kilowatts in thirty minutes. It’s sponsored by Glacial Solar, that renewable energy start-up in Fairbanks.”
“That seems appropriately progressive.”
“I thought so. They’ve
also changed the name of the Wife Packing Contest to the Partner Packing Contest.”
“I’d say that one was long overdue.”
“I guess Silas and Mia can enter for us this year.”
Cobra couldn’t help thinking about Marnie and how light she’d be to pack. “Silas might want to get in some road training.” The race was about half a mile long.
“Did you talk to Raven about a rifle?” Brodie asked.
“Last year she used the .270.”
“She came fifth.”
“I’m not sure it was the rifle’s fault.” The .270 was lighter with less of a kick than the .30-06—a nice gun for someone Raven’s size.
Cobra had promised to work with her over the summer on target practice. But the summer season had been so challenging, they hadn’t found the time.
“We need two men and two women for the Green Energy Challenge contest,” Brodie said.
“T and T-Two are constantly mountain biking.”
“Silas says Mia’s a runner. She might have strong legs.”
“She’s pretty skinny.”
“True.”
“Breena would be good,” Cobra said. “Too bad she’s back in Anchorage.”
“We can’t put Raven in everything,” Brodie said. “The two of us should do Firewood Stacking again this year.”
“Hell yeah,” Cobra said. Brodie and Raven had taken first place in Firewood Stacking the last two years running.
“We run out of women really fast around here,” Brodie said.
“Maybe we should get Willow to come back,” Cobra joked. “She was sporty.”
“I bet she bikes.” Brodie seemed to be seriously contemplating the idea. Then inspiration seemed to cross his face. “What about Marnie?”
“Biking?” Cobra couldn’t see that. “She barely weighs a hundred pounds.” Then he realized he had an opening here to learn about Marnie’s plans. “You think she’ll still be around by then?”
“Good point,” Brodie said, not providing the slightest scrap of useful information.
Cobra tried not to be exasperated by his burning desire for information about her. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from trying another angle. “I could ask her,” he said casually.
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