Match Made In Paradise

by Barbara Dunlop

  “Bert can be a jerk,” he said.

  She assumed Bert was the truck driver.

  “But you were in his blind spot,” the younger man said.

  “I didn’t mean to be.”

  The young man pointed back behind her. “If you take the gravel walkway around the corner instead of cutting straight through the loading dock, you’ll be safer.”

  “Thanks.” She’d do that in the future.

  “I’m AJ Barns. I’d shake.” He self-consciously wiped his hands down the front of his coveralls. “But you probably don’t want to get your hands dirty.”

  “I’m Mia Westberg.”

  He started to walk beside a long wall. “I know. Raven’s cousin from LA.”

  She went along with him. “That’s right.”

  The noise from the backing semi was replaced by the sound of a forklift and the clatter of crates being moved from one place to the other.

  “We don’t get many ba—I mean, girls.” His brow furrowed. “I mean women here in Paradise.”

  “It does seem to be mostly men,” Mia said.

  “There’s Raven, of course. But she’s . . . well . . . Raven, you know?”

  Mia didn’t know, but he didn’t seem to be looking for an answer.

  He kept right on talking “And Dixie. She’s older than my grandma, like Mrs. France at the Bear and Bar. Hailey’s a girl pilot over at WSA, but you don’t want to mess with her. I mean.” AJ chuckled. “If she didn’t kill you, Silas or Brodie would.”

  “Silas?” Mia asked, partly from curiosity about Silas’s relationship with Hailey the pilot, and partly to stop AJ from listing every woman in town.

  “He’s the chief pilot over at WSA. Next to Brodie, Silas is the head honcho.”

  “He’d defend Hailey’s honor?”

  AJ’s head bobbed up and down. “Yes, he would.”

  “Why?”

  AJ looked confused. “He takes care of all his pilots. I mean, not that the guys need someone to defend them. Neither does Hailey, really. But she is one of the few girls here and has to deal with all these guys, and he don’t take no guff.”

  Mia could see that in Silas. He did not seem to be a guff-taking kind of guy.

  “Raven’s right up those stairs, around at the end. Don’t cut across the red line to get there. You need a hard hat for that.”

  Mia remembered the way, but she hadn’t known about crossing the red line.

  “All right. Thank you, AJ.” She held out her hand; to hell with the dirt. She appreciated him walking her back here.

  “You sure?” he asked.

  “I’m willing to brave it if you are.”

  A little flush came up on his cheek and his grin went wide. “Nice to meet you, Mia.” He shook her hand, a little too vigorously and a little too long.

  “Nice to meet you too, AJ. Thanks for the help.”

  “No problem.” His head bobbed again. “Anytime.”

  Mia stuck to the red line until she came to the stairs. She found Raven on the phone behind a little desk in a small room crowded in by filing cabinets, a credenza and about a three dozen manuals overflowing a bookshelf.

  Raven grinned and pointed to a torn green leather guest chair.

  Mia’s pants were pale turquoise and peach, and it was impossible to know if the dark-colored chair was clean or dirty. She took a breath, hoped for clean and perched herself on the edge. She didn’t want to guess what Raven might have for laundry facilities in her cabin. Whatever they were, she doubted they’d take grease or oil out of Malaysian bamboo.

  “I understand the governor is busy,” Raven was saying. “It doesn’t have to be the governor. Just give me the number of whoever’s in charge of road maintenance.” She paused and pulled an expression of exasperation, clearly aimed at the person on the other end of the line. “I know we’ve had a lot of rain this summer. It’s been falling on our heads.” She waited again. “Brodie could do a fly-by of the capitol building. Would that get his attention?” Then she grinned. “I thought so. Yeah, I’ve got a pen.”

  She jotted down a number and ended the call.

  “The governor?” Mia asked.

  She’d met the governor of California once. As head of the California Fashion Design Council, Alastair’s friend Joseph McKenzie knew most of the movers and shakers in the state, and he’d introduced Mia to the governor at a party.

  “The road problems keep compounding.” Raven had talked about the flooding to Mia last night.

  “It didn’t rain today.”

  “Not here, but it rained up in the mountains. Runoff hits the tributaries, tributaries hit the rivers, and the permafrost can’t absorb the moisture.”

  “And water runs downhill.”

  “Exactly, right onto the haul road. The washout they fixed yesterday got un-fixed last night. They need to put in some culverts and use better material, even if it does cost more.” Raven straightened a stack of papers on top of her organized desk. “How was your day?”

  “Good.” Mia had maxed out her data allotment, but Breena France, a waitress at the Bear and Bar, granddaughter of the owner, had been very friendly and sat with Mia during the afternoon lull. Breena had grown up in Paradise and was home for the summer from the University of Anchorage, where she was studying computer science.

  Raven rose. “Brodie told me Silas gave you a ride in?”

  Mia gave a hollow chuckle as she remembered the experience. “He told me all about bears. At first, I thought he was joking; you know, messing with me because I was new in town.”

  “He wasn’t joking.” Raven looked deadly serious.

  “I got that.”

  “I’ll give you some pointers.” Raven slung a small, battered backpack over one shoulder. “I should have done that last night.”

  “Was I crazy to go running?” Mia asked, following Raven out the office doorway.

  “Not crazy, but—”

  “Are the bears just roaming around out there, like by the hundreds or something?”

  Silas had acted like it was inevitable she’d run into one.

  “Well, yeah, by the thousands, really. But it’s a big state, and they’re not all in the vicinity of Paradise.”

  Mia shuddered at the idea she’d put herself in danger. “I guess I won’t be running again anytime soon.”

  They made their way down the stairs and back along the warehouse wall, keeping to the right side of the red line. At least Mia knew that rule now.

  “You need to take a friend along—well, friends, plural. Bears almost never bother groups of three or more.”

  “Almost never?”

  “You massively decrease your chances of having a problem. It’s like getting mugged in LA. The bigger the group, the safer you are.”

  “I know which neighborhoods to avoid in LA. And the muggers don’t have sharp teeth and claws and weigh . . . what . . . five hundred pounds?”

  “It can be closer to eight hundred.”

  Mia let out a little eek as they left the building.

  The parking lot was quieter now, no semis idling, no backup alarms, no drivers yelling at her. They crossed the wide swath of gravel to Raven’s green truck.

  “You mind if we make a stop?” Raven asked as they climbed inside.

  “Not at all. Where’re we going?”

  “I have to talk to Brodie about the governor.”

  Mia remembered Raven’s telephone conversation. “Would Brodie really buzz the governor’s mansion?”

  Raven laughed as she started the engine. “Juneau’s a long way from here. But it would sure make our point, and get some media attention on the problem.”

  “Can I help?” Mia asked.

  Raven glanced over at her, obviously puzzled.

  “Some of Alastair’s friends know important p
eople. I once met the governor of California.”

  “I don’t think we need to go interstate quite yet.”

  Mia couldn’t tell if Raven thought she had the problem under control, or if she couldn’t imagine a way a mere fashion model might be able to help with a real-world problem. Mia tried not to let the dismissive reaction hurt her feelings.

  Joseph McKenzie would help her if she asked. She was sure of that. At least, she was fairly sure he’d still take her call now that Alastair was gone. Joseph wasn’t one of the people who’d shunned her at the funeral.

  It was a short drive across Main Street to the unimaginatively named Red Avenue. Red Avenue and Blue Crescent; she couldn’t help but wonder if there was a Green Parkway somewhere in town. Could they at least have gone with Scarlet, Indigo or maybe Chartreuse?

  Raven nosed the truck into a long strip of street parking alongside about thirty other pickup trucks of varying colors, ages and rust-patch sizes.

  “That side is the Galina barracks.” She pointed her thumb behind them. “This side is WSA housing. The big, flat building down at the end is the WSA cafeteria.”

  “Could you live in the Galina barracks?” Mia couldn’t help but think it would be nicer to be in town; maybe safer from marauding bears too.

  “And share washroom facilities with all those guys? No thanks.” Raven opened the door.

  “Keys,” Mia called out, seeing them still dangling from the ignition.

  “They’re fine.” Raven climbed out of the truck.

  Mia followed suit. So, too dangerous to jog alone on the road, but leaving your truck keys in the ignition was perfectly safe. She couldn’t help but smile at the irony, thinking she wasn’t in LA anymore.

  They followed a raw-wood raised sidewalk and entered a set of double metal doors into the big, square building that was obviously the facility’s cafeteria.

  Mia could smell the grease, the salt and the grilled beef as soon as they stepped inside. She wasn’t generally a fast food person. Then again, she wasn’t generally a cinnamon bun person either, but she’d tasted one at the Bear and Bar today, and it was delicious.

  The building was a big, open square room; well, two rooms if you counted the pass-through kitchen. She could see two men back there in white aprons and white hats busily putting together food orders.

  There were ten picnic tables in two rows of five. Each was covered in a different patterned plastic tablecloth, very colorful. About thirty men were distributed around the picnic tables, with four others at a round table in what looked like a lounge area. The four were playing cards while two others stood back to watch.

  Curious glances turned her and Raven’s way.

  Raven made a move, and Mia looked ahead to see Silas. He was sitting at one of the picnic tables, a burger and fries on a plate in front of him.

  The man across from him spotted Raven approaching and smiled.

  “What’s going on?” the man asked. It was clear from his expression that Raven’s appearance was welcome but unexpected.

  “I tried for the governor again,” she said, climbing in to sit next to him. “This is my cousin Mia. Mia, this is Brodie.”

  At the mention of her name, Silas looked up at Mia. His eyes narrowed, but otherwise his expression was unreadable.

  “Nice to meet you, Mia,” Brodie said. “Saw you were at the Bear and Bar earlier.”

  It seemed awkward to lean across their dinner to shake his hand, so she settled for a smile. She could feel interested stares at her back, so she sat down next to Silas across from Raven.

  Silas bit down on a fry.

  “How’d you do with the governor?” Brodie asked Raven. The amused glint in his eyes said he expected her attempt had failed.

  “Got the commissioner’s direct number.” She pulled a folded piece of paper from the breast pocket of her denim shirt.

  “No kidding.” Now Brodie looked impressed.

  “You want to call?” she asked.

  “You don’t want to do it?”

  “A deeper voice is usually most effective.”

  “That’s sexist,” Mia couldn’t help but observe.

  They both looked at her.

  “You shouldn’t have to be a man to get things done.”

  “Way of the world,” Silas said.

  She turned to rebuke him with a look. “That doesn’t make it right.”

  “I agree with you,” Raven said to Mia.

  Mia couldn’t tell if Raven saw her point or if she was placating her for the sake of conversational harmony.

  “But,” Raven continued, “I’m more interested in getting the haul road fixed right now than chalking up a win for the sisterhood.” She pushed the paper Brodie’s way.

  Brodie cleared his throat. “Happy to be of assistance,” he rumbled in a ridiculously low bass voice.

  Silas cracked a smile as he popped another French fry.

  A man appeared in Mia’s peripheral vision and the table shifted as he sat down on the bench with a tray of food. “Nice to see you again, Mia.”

  She recognized Xavier as the copilot who’d flown with Silas yesterday. She’d also said hello to him as he left the Bear and Bar this morning.

  “Hi, Xavier.”

  “Mia, is it?” Another man joined them, sitting next to Raven and across from Xavier. “I’m Zeke Podeswa, ground crew with WSA.”

  “Nice to meet you, Zeke,” she said, and he gave her a friendly grin.

  He glanced down at his burger. “Are you hungry? Can I get you something? Thirsty?”

  She looked to Raven, thinking they likely weren’t here to eat, but Raven’s attention was on Brodie.

  “Thanks, but no,” Mia said to Zeke.

  He looked disappointed.

  “I had a cinnamon bun earlier,” she said to soften her refusal.

  The answer seemed to make him feel better. “Oh, at the Bear and Bar? Those are fantastic!”

  “It was delicious,” she said. She’d eaten less than a quarter of the giant concoction, but she’d have happily indulged in more.

  The way food was served around here, she’d have to find a replacement for her gym workouts, and fast. Once she took over Lafayette Fashion, she wasn’t planning to continue modeling, but she’d still want to keep her form for the new styles.

  AJ stopped at the end of the table, a dinner tray in his hands. There was clearly nowhere for him to sit down.

  “Hi, Mia. I see you found Raven okay.”

  “Hi, AJ. Thanks again for your help.”

  AJ glanced around the table, obviously wishing he could join the group.

  Silas abruptly came to his feet. “I’ll give you some room,” he muttered.

  Mia looked up, intending to tell him to stay and offer to make room herself. She and Raven had obviously broken up his conversation with Brodie.

  “I didn’t mean to—”

  But he was gone, walking away, shoulders square, stride determined.

  Mia looked at Brodie to see if he was annoyed by the turn of events, but he seemed engrossed by Raven’s description of the haul road problems.

  AJ took Silas’s spot.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked Mia.

  Chapter Five

  Two nights later, the cafeteria poker game seemed more intense than usual.

  Silas balanced a slice of deep-dish pizza and took a glass of water from the kitchen pass-through and headed over to the game table, where Zeke, AJ and four other guys were playing around stacks of red, blue and green chips.

  “What’s going on?” he asked Xavier, who was part of the standing crowd.

  “Whoa,” a collective exclamation went up as Zeke raised the pot by one hundred dollars.

  Since these were friendly games using fake money, and Brodie had a rule against gambling for anything more
than a bottle of bourbon, the level of excitement didn’t make sense.

  Silas took a bite of the hot, crispy pizza.

  “Zeke’s bound and determined,” Xavier said in an undertone.

  Silas swallowed. “To what?”

  “Win.”

  “Why?” Silas wondered if the Co-op had brought in some particularly fine bourbon.

  “To be the first to ask Mia out.” Xavier seemed surprised he had to spell it out for Silas.

  “What?” Silas stared at Xavier then at the game, half stupefied, half angry, with the angry half quickly taking over.

  “Everyone wants a date with her, and this seemed like the fairest way to decide. We don’t want to be jerks and bombard her all at once.”

  “So, you made her a prize? That was your solution?”

  “She’s not a prize. You don’t win her. You just get first crack at asking her out.”

  “That’s splitting hairs. Does Brodie know about this?”

  Xavier shrugged. “I didn’t tell him. But it’s not a secret.”

  Silas polished off the water and abandoned his pizza, his appetite gone.

  “You going to tell him?” Xavier asked.

  Silas shot back a look that said it was none of Xavier’s business. Then he left the cafeteria, fired up his pickup and headed out of town.

  He was at Raven’s in under ten minutes, slamming his truck door behind him. He heard their voices on the screened porch, so he cut around to the side of the cabin.

  “Hey, Silas,” Raven called out from a chair facing his way, giving him a smile.

  Mia twisted in her seat to look at him, her expression staying neutral.

  Silas slowed himself down and tamped down his anger since Raven and Mia had nothing to do with the absurd poker game. Well, Mia did, he supposed. But all she’d done was exist around lonely men. He couldn’t fault her for that.

  “Hi,” he said, keeping his voice calm and easy.

  The outside entrance to the screened porch was around the back, and he went that way.

  “Wine?” Raven asked as he came up the steps and opened the rickety screen door.

  “I’m good.”

  “Not a social call?” Mia asked, tipping her head, looking like she saw through his façade.