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.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Ryan said smiling.
He drove on, turned right at a truly massive boulder that Jeanie would love to examine and he stopped the truck under the spreading branches of a clump of pine trees. Jeanie looked up at them and noticed faerie lights had been strung between them. Then she noticed the caravan stuck in a hedge and the steps leading up to the red door.
A sign hung in the bush read Honey’s.
“Honey’s? What is this place?”
“Local hang out,” Ryan said. “I’d like you to meet the locals. We’re about to have a town meeting and I think you should be part of it. But first I think you need to meet some people.”
They got out of the truck and made their way across the car park and up the steps to the bright red door. Ryan opened it for her and as Jeanie stepped through she felt her mouth hang open. The room beyond was mostly open to the sky with only the sides sporting a roof of sorts supported by poles. In the center of the area was a huge fire pit. With the weather looking chilly, great big logs burned and smoldered. Jeanie noticed that the place was quite busy for a Wednesday morning with big, burly men and large boned women sitting on the rough-hewn furniture. It was perfect; exactly how she would have expected a rustic place to look.
A young woman, probably a year or two younger than Jeanie herself walked up to Ryan and smiled. She had the most beautiful blonde hair and golden eyes.
“Hey Ryan,” she greeted him smiling. “You’re early. The meeting’s only at twelve.”
“Hey Donna,” Ryan replied. “This is Jeanie. Is Kyle here yet?”
“Hi Jeanie,” Donna greeted her with a curt nod. She was balancing a tray on her right hand steadying it with the other. “Yeah, he and Val are over there with Marcus and Paul. Good luck, Paul’s in a mood.”
“When isn’t he?”
She shrugged and moved on.
Ryan led the way across the open grass to the far side of the room. There at a large table sat four people and only one was a woman. Jeanie looked at her just as the woman turned her head, saw them and smiled. She had dark curly hair and the brightest blue eyes that Jeanie had ever seen, with lovely olive skin. She stood up and walked to them.
“Hi, you must be Jeanie.”
“Yeah, I am.” Jeanie admitted.
“I’m Valerie. I feel a little responsible for getting you out here.”
“Oh, that Valerie! It’s fine. This place is wonderful.”
Valerie smiled and led her to the table.
“And you don’t greet me?” Ryan said petulantly.
“Don’t be such a baby,” an old man chirped from the table. He was playing chess with the other old man.
“No one asked you, Paul,” Ryan retorted as he took a seat next to Jeanie.
“So, introductions. Everyone this is Jeanie Buchanan. She’s the one doing the environmental study thing,” Ryan said. “Jeanie this unpleasant bastard here is Paul Barkley, that silent old man there with all that white hair is Marcus Pierce, this is his grandson Kyle, that’s Valerie who only greets strangers, and I’m still Ryan.”
Jeanie smiled and chuckled looking at Ryan. “Are you sure?”
He laughed at her.
“Oh God! Hell has finally frozen over!” Paul exclaimed suddenly lifting his hands to the heavens. “Ryan made a joke, and for a girl no less!”
“Ignore him,” the man introduced as Kyle said. He had dark blonde hair and a wicked smile. He was sitting next to Valerie. There was something about the way they acted that told Jeanie they were a couple. “Everyone else does.”
“Ha! Checkmate! I knew I’d get you this time you sly ol’ coyote!” Marcus exclaimed and sat back in his chair. “I need a beer.”
“Marcus its only eleven,” Kyle retorted.
“So? It’s five PM somewhere.”
“Yes, but not here,” Valerie said. “Let’s have another round of coffees.”
“Right, because caffeine is so much better for me.” Marcus said sarcastically.
Donna came and took the order for the coffees and left.
“I feel that I should really explain why you’re here,” Valerie said to Jeanie as they all sat looking at each other. “You see I recommended you a great many times to Petersen-Snow. I was really hoping Wilkes would send you.”
Jeanie felt she was being examined as exhibit A. “Why?”
“You’re honest,” Valerie continued. “And I’ve never heard of you ever taking a bribe. So in this situation we need someone like you.”
“Okay,” Jeanie said haltingly. “Ryan said the same thing. What are you hoping for here? All I can do is submit my report and so far…” she held her hands up in an uncertain gesture. “I mean as cute as the bears are, if they’ve been tamed then I can’t recommend this as a wild life preserve. Which would come with its own issues anyway.”
“Tamed bears? What is she on about?” Marcus asked.
“Cute?” Paul exclaimed. “Cute? She thinks we’re cute?”
“No, I said the bears in the forest were cute.” Jeanie looked at the faces around the table and sagged. “Okay what am I missing? There’s clearly something.”
Ryan sighed. “I was hoping to do this another way but we don’t have the time.” He stood up and began to take his clothes off.