Chapter Sixteen
Hayden
I let out a deep breath as I got into the spare truck we kept at the hangar. Normally, we kept it as a courtesy vehicle for the summer when tourist season was high. But it wasn’t something I advertised. Now, I needed it. Until we got Kory’s car situation figured out, it would help us get by. Kory had about five thousand dollars to her name, and that wasn’t going to get her a safe car for the snow and ice. This truck would be good. It wasn’t as big as mine, but it was safe.
Anthony walked out of the hangar. “Hey, man, got a second?”
Shit. I’d meant to talk to him before I left. I was anxious to see Kory.
I shifted the truck back into park. “Sure, what’s going on?”
“Well, I was thinking about Kory and her offer to help. Would she be interested in helping us clean up the files? It’s a mess in there.”
I smiled. “I’ll ask, but I’m sure she would.”
“Great. Since Sarah went back to school, things have gone to shit.”
They had. Sarah had been a nice college student who wanted to spend the summer in Alaska. She’d made some serious improvements in our filing. “I’ll check. Do you need anything for the flight this afternoon?”
“No, I don’t think so. It should be easy. Just flying up to Misty Fjords National Park to do a lake landing.”
I nodded. “If you need anything, let me know.”
“Sure thing.”
He rapped his knuckles on the hood of the truck before heading back inside. It had been a long couple of days, and I was ready to relax and just be with Kory. Eric and Scott were at the hospital with their mom. Before I’d left, they made the difficult decision about hospice. Her heart was giving out, and she was too weak to survive surgery. Eric’s mom had decided she wanted to live out her days as comfortable as possible. She’d be buried in Skagway when she passed.
Life was a bitch at times.
I rolled my neck as I turned left to drive through town. I wanted to pick up some flowers for my girl. Last night, in the group text, Alexa hinted Kory was ready. One, she was drunk. And two, it felt too soon. I wanted it to be special. It might take some planning, but I’d figure it out.
Romance wasn’t my thing. But for the first time, I wanted it to be everything Kory wanted. What do I do? Fuck. This must be what my mom referred to as courting. Hell, I was out of my league. Before I showed up to the house, I needed a game plan.
Otherwise, my dick would win.
There was one person who knew about this sappy shit. Hell, he’d built Alexa a cabin on the off chance she’d return to Alaska after she’d broken up with him. I dialed my brother.
“Hey, man,” Drake answered.
“Hey, you busy?”
“Lex is finishing up lunch here before she goes out to talk to Kory about the wedding. What’s up?”
Wedding? The last I’d heard, when Drake and I talked last night after the drunk texts, Alexa hadn’t set a date. “So you’ve set a date?”
“Three days before Christmas.”
“Congratulations, man. I knew you were stressing about that.”
Drake sighed. “Yeah, thanks. Just a couple more months. What’s going on?”
“Can I come by? I need some advice.”
“Sure thing. Just come on back to my office. Want anything to eat?”
“Burger. Fries. And probably a beer.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get it ready.”
I tried to focus as I drove to the Red Onion. Drake was so much better at this shit than I was. From the moment he met Alexa, he’d never hidden how much he cared for her. My other brother, Kane, refused to even acknowledge he had feelings. He was a brute, but loyal to the core. And I ended up somewhere in the middle. Feelings scared me, but deep down, I always wanted what Drake had. Up until Kory, I’d refused to admit it to anyone. The forever bachelor was mostly for show. I used sex to block out my real feelings.
A few minutes later, I pulled up in front of the Red Onion. Elvira and Sylvia spotted me and started walking my way. I dragged a hand down my face.
The last thing I wanted was to deal with them, but if I dodged them, they’d be after me like flies on shit. They were in their late sixties, but these women were full of pith and vinegar. At the same time, they were the heart of this community. Even though tourist season was over, they still had on what they deemed authentic gold digger uniforms in case anyone new came through town.
I got out of the truck and casually nodded to the Twiner sisters. “Afternoon, ladies.”
“Hey, Hayden, how are you doing?” Sylvia asked with a sweet smile. Oh, she was trying to butter me up.
“Good. About to have lunch with my brother. How are you doing?”
She pulled out her pencil from her satchel and grabbed the notebook that dangled around her neck. “I’m glad I ran into you. You’ve been mighty hard to get ahold of lately.” She paused, waiting for me to say something. I just tipped my head, hoping to get this over with sooner rather than later. “So, word on the street is you’re taken now.”
Yep, I was going to be in another newsletter. Shit. That would make two this week. Double shit. Now I knew how Alexa felt after first arriving. She’d made it in a couple of red hot Twiner Tellings emails. Keep it casual. I leaned against my truck like I had nowhere else to be.
“I’ve been seeing Kory for a while, but a man has to keep some secrets to himself.” I gave them a wink, and they giggled.
“We can’t wait to meet Kory. The poor dear. Alexa told us she has no family. We’re glad she came to Skagway.”
“Me, too.”
They made a few notes. “Well, thanks for the interview. We just wanted to make sure we had our facts straight.”
That was easier than I’d imagined. I owed Alexa big time for keeping the story uninteresting. I was about to say good-bye when Elvira asked, “Do you have Kory’s email? We figure she’d want to be added to the Twiner Tellings.”
There was no escaping it. I pulled out my phone and gave it to them. If I didn’t, they would hunt Kory down.
“Oh, perfect. Thank you, dearie. It’s a shame you aren’t going to be in the bachelor auction this year. At least we have that yummy doctor.” Elvira tucked her pencil into her gray bun.
Oh shit, poor Hollis. Each year, I had to fly out of town to avoid that damn bachelor auction.
“Anytime, Elvira. The ladies are going to have a real treat this year at the auction.” I tipped my head. “Have a great day.” I glanced across the street and saw Ol’ Man Rooster. He’d be the perfect diversion in case they wanted to keep chatting. “Looks like someone may want to speak to you.”
They giggled and headed across the street. “Bye, Hayden.”
“Bye, ladies.”
Ol’ Man Rooster was the male version of the Twiner sisters. He knew everything about everyone. And he’d put his sights on Hollis, too. Poor Hollis was now the man Ol’ Man Rooster wanted his granddaughter Marlena to marry. And she seemed to like that idea a lot. The Twiner Tellings had already matched them together and expected Hollis to go for a pretty penny in the auction. Throw in the Devney issue, and Hollis had quite the drama.
The Twiner sisters sashayed over to Ol’ Man Rooster, who appeared happy to see them.
Crisis averted.
Hell, those women were tenacious. No one wanted to see them, much less talk to them, but everyone loved reading the newsletters for whatever antics they uncovered.