The guy must have been at their location sometime earlier. Gavin couldn’t pinpoint the time any better than that. Hours, a couple of days? He didn’t have a clue.
He recalled Amelia saying she’d seen a bear standing upright outside the tarp, silhouetted when lightning lit up the sky. What if it hadn’t been a bear, but a man?
* * *
Amelia paced across the alcove, unable to wait any longer. Even though it would take Gavin a considerable amount of time to paddle to the location on the other island and then to search for the man, she couldn’t sit still any longer. It could take him hours.
She decided the best thing they could have done was all stick together, paddle out to the location, and search for the man as a team. Gun holstered, she put on the holster, then got dressed in the rain gear. “Come on, Winston.”
Amelia doubted anyone would come back for anything at the camp, since the really important thing was the canoe. She wanted to go to the beach across from where Gavin had said the other paddler’s canoe had been so she didn’t have to wait as long for him to return.
She jogged through the trees as fast as she could with Winston at her heels. She encouraged him to stay with her the whole way, and he didn’t wander off to explore.
As soon as Amelia reached the shore where Gavin had taken her earlier as a wolf, she saw Gavin’s orange canoe up in the trees near the shore on the other island. At least he’d made it there. She considered swimming across to search for him, but she wasn’t a really good swimmer, and she was afraid Winston might tire out before they made it. So now what?
She began to pace again, but the whole time, she watched the trees where the canoe was, just in case Gavin or someone else showed up. She was glad she was wearing the rain gear, but she knew it would take her a little longer to reach the gun if she had to use it. She hoped she wouldn’t need to. She also had it in mind to protect the canoe if anyone turned up and thought to move it.
Then she saw movement in the bushes on the other island. She was unfastening the rain jacket so she could grab the gun when she saw Gavin lifting the canoe and carrying it out of the woods.
“Gavin!”
He quickly lifted the canoe in front to look across the water and saw her and Winston beside her, wagging his tail vigorously. “Is everything all right?” He kept moving toward the water.
“Yes! I just couldn’t sit still any longer. Did you find him?”
“His scent. By the time I reached the island and made the portage, he was way the hell downriver, headed for the next lake. I called out to him, but he couldn’t hear me. At least, he didn’t respond. So I assume he couldn’t hear me from that distance.”
Gavin put the canoe into the water and climbed aboard. Then he paddled across the lake to where Amelia and Winston waited. Winston was such a mellow dog for being a pup. He waited quietly on the shore with her until Gavin was nearly to the beach, and then he wagged his tail like crazy and ran into the water to greet him.
“Hello, pup. Do you want to go for a ride?” He helped Winston into the canoe, then joined Amelia.
Before she climbed aboard, she let out her breath. “I was worried you were taking so long. What if something happened to you and we were stranded?”
“I worried something was wrong when I saw you and Winston standing on the shore. Then I figured you just couldn’t get enough of me.”
She cast him a small smile. “Right. I just worried someone got the best of you.”
“I’m under your skin, right?”
Her smile broadened. “I hate to admit it, but yeah, whether that’s a good thing or bad.”
“It’s a good thing.” He pulled her close, leaned down, and kissed her, long and hard and deep.
His warm lips felt good against hers as they stood in the rain kissing. She was glad to see him, even gladder that she hadn’t waited for him to rejoin them.
They came up for air, their hearts beating as one, heat suffusing every cell in her body. Any time she touched the wolf like that, her pheromones kicked in, and she smelled his too. She had never felt that strong of a sensual connection with another wolf.
“Sorry it took me so long. I was running through the woods, afraid I would miss him. It didn’t matter, because it had taken me so long to get there that the wind had scattered his scent. I will say it’s the same man who had been in our camp. Before we settled or after, I’m not sure.”
“Then the bear I thought I saw might have been a man.”
“Possibly.”
“The same one who took the raft?”
“I didn’t smell his scent there. Or on the canoe either. I would have otherwise.”
“So, a different man who’s wearing hunter’s spray?”
“Must be. And the other guy? Most likely just another paddler.” He kissed her again and then helped her into the canoe. “In the meantime, I think it’s best if we stay put at the camp tonight. Once the weather clears up tomorrow, if it does, we’ll head for the bay and wait for the next seaplane to arrive. No more trying to chase down paddlers who might have a sat phone. It could be days before anyone comes though.”
“That’s true.” She thought about their fired pilot again. “I can’t believe Heaton would do all this, if he’s the one responsible.”
“The fact Red wouldn’t fly with you—and your father switched places with you—sure makes it appear he’s got a stake in this. I still suspect Heaton though.” Gavin dipped his paddle into the water. “If your family learned you didn’t return with the seaplane once the weather cleared, and there’s no sign of it, the raft, or any debris, they won’t have any clue where you are. That is until we can get ahold of someone paddling out here or if we can make contact with another seaplane. Were either your brother, you, or your dad bringing anyone out here anytime soon?”
She began paddling back to their camp. “I was. If I don’t show up, my dad will know something’s wrong. The guy had to have been watching us. He probably saw the plane go down, then maybe he took cover during the storm, or maybe he just kept an eye on what we were doing until we went to sleep.”
“I’m glad you had hidden the gun.”
“Me too, because if he comes anywhere near here, I’m shooting him. What are you going to do about your client’s request?”
Gavin let out his breath in exasperation. “I need to make sure you are returning home safely, first and foremost. And that your dad is able to have this business investigated so he can catch the bastard who did it.”
“No matter who did it, I still believe we need to hire a good private eye to investigate this—one who’s a wolf. And I’ve heard of one who is having trouble getting to his original assignment in the Boundary Waters. He’s already seen the whole situation firsthand. So he’s in on the ground floor, so to speak.” She paddled faster, wanting to get to the safety of their alcove quicker, the rain still coming down fast. “I understand rich heiresses think enough of his agency that he gets hired without hesitation. And that he’s already where he needs to be. Well, almost, once he finds the person responsible for this. He’s said business is really picking up, so I wouldn’t want to lose the opportunity to hire him on the spot.”
“You’re talking strictly about PI work, right?” Gavin asked. He sounded hopeful she might be talking about something else. Something more to do with them.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Depends on how much encouragement you might need.”
“To leave here in a plane, lots.”
Amelia laughed. “What about your other job, learning whether the executive is having an affair or not?”
“As soon as you and Winston are picked up, I’ll catch up to the husband’s group and do as much surveillance as I can. Your dad needs to make sure the other seaplanes are in good shape, in case the saboteur messed with any of them.”
“Which means we need to get word to
him and my brother before they fly again. Then again, if the saboteur was going to do something to each of the planes, he would have sabotaged them before this, at the same time as this one.”
“True. So tomorrow, we head for the bay,” Gavin said.
Even though she wanted to ensure everyone was okay at home, she didn’t want to leave Gavin behind either.
“Or, if we see a canoe or canoeists paddling anywhere nearby, we can try to hail them,” Gavin asked.
“What if Heaton is paddling one of them?” Wouldn’t that confirm he had everything to do with this? She couldn’t imagine he’d be out here otherwise.
“We have the gun, if he tries anything.”
“But we stick together from here on out.” She wasn’t going along with a plan where they were split up again.
“Right. Until you go home.”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” She’d been thinking about this a lot, and if he was agreeable, she really wanted to help him. “If you’re going to take this job, you’ll need a partner. And since I know what Heaton looks like and what he smells like, in the event we run across his scent, and I’ve seen the people you are going after, I’ll stay with you. Besides, if we find the people who are having their company canoe trip, a couple on a trip out here looks a lot less suspicious than one man with a camera. You could even take pictures of me, but instead, you would really be focusing on the husband and his shenanigans, if there are any.”
“Well, hell, I think I got myself a new partner.” Gavin smiled.
Amelia hadn’t been sure how he’d take the news. She’d thought he might feel she’d be more of a hindrance than anything. She was glad he was agreeable.
“That means sealing the deal.” Gavin loved paddling with her, camping with her. He couldn’t believe she’d offered to stay with him. And he was more than willing.
“I’m all for it. We work well together.”
“We sure do.”
“But we’ll need someone—my brother or dad—to bring us a sat phone so that if we have an emergency, we can get ahold of someone.”
“I agree.”
The whole time they paddled, they watched for other paddlers or any sign of smoke curling in the air. All they saw was more rain.
When they could see the cliffs, Amelia perked up. “We’re almost home!”
Gavin laughed. She was right. It had become their home away from home.
When they finally landed on the beach, Gavin helped Winston out of the canoe. Amelia hopped out, and they carried the canoe next to the alcove.
“I’m ready for us to seal the deal.” Amelia hurried to strip off the rain gear while Gavin pulled off his rain jacket, and they set them near the banked fire. Winston shook all over them. “Oh no, Winston! You could have done that when we were still wearing the rain gear.” Then she slid her hands up Gavin’s arms and pressed the barest of kisses on his cheek and whispered, “I can’t imagine this was how you sealed the deal with your other PI partners.”
He pulled her in close and nuzzled her cheek gently. He was aware his stubble could scratch her, so he was trying to be careful, but she wasn’t. She dragged her hands through his hair, then pulled his face down to hers, and he kissed her. As if they were on a desert island, never to be rescued. As if their life depended on it.
Gavin didn’t know about her, but kissing her was making him react in ways he’d never done with any human woman. He’d never kissed a she-wolf before. Smelling her sweet scent and the way her pheromones were in turmoil kicked his own into action, and he was lost in the kiss. Her heart was thudding as hard as his as she pressed her soft curves against his body, her nipples pebbled, her skin hot.
He kissed her throat, her breastbone, and then he took a deep breath, not about to go any further. Instead, he placed his hands on the sides of her face and kissed her deeply, their tongues colliding. She was as aroused as he was, but he had to put on the brakes.
They came up for air, and he said, “You’ll make one hell of a partner.”
She smiled up at him. “Flying comes first for me, but yeah, anytime you need some help with pretending to be a couple, I’ll be happy to do so.”
Despite the rain and thunder overhead, Gavin heard movement in the brush near where the canoe was tied. Hell. If someone tried to take it again… He got the gun from Amelia and was about to head out to face the bastard when she grabbed his arm. “Bears. I smell bears.”
Chapter 9
A mother black bear weighing around four hundred pounds was climbing a tree to get to the food Gavin had tied up there. Three cubs were watching her, waiting for her to bring them their meal, learning just how it was done. Amelia was right behind Gavin, pots in hand, and began banging them together, determined to chase off the bears and not lose the food to her and her cubs.
The mother bear scrambled down from the tree, and Amelia thought she was going to run off with her cubs. Instead, the bear bluff charged Gavin and Amelia.
As terrifying as it looked, Amelia knew the bear was only bluffing, snarling, trying to chase them off.
Amelia and Gavin yelled and stood their ground, clanging the pots and pans. Winston began to bark, wagging his tail.
Worried the dog would stir things up, Gavin said, “No barking, Winston. Quiet.” He banged the paddles together and charged the bear in the same way, nearly freaking Amelia out.
Sure, she knew some first aid, but if the bear really tore him up badly…
Realizing Gavin and Amelia weren’t running away, the bear and her cubs finally ran off.
Relieved, Amelia relaxed. “That is so not good. She smells our food, and the bears are discovering they can steal from paddlers and don’t have to work to scrounge for their own food.”
“We’ll keep chasing her and her little ones off if they keep coming back. Our shelter is too well protected from the storm to leave it for now. Tomorrow morning after breakfast, we’ll head to the place you were going to fly me to. Maybe your competition will be flying some folks in, if neither your dad nor brother show up.”
She hoped it would be her dad or Slade. She couldn’t tell their competition what had happened. Especially not if they had anything to do with this.
Gavin heated up the stew for dinner and spent the rest of the day watching through the rain for the bears or anyone paddling across the lake, though they didn’t see any signs of either.
That night, Gavin lifted one of the sleeping bags. “Separate?”
“Together. In case it gets cold.”
Gavin quickly unzipped the bags so he and Amelia could zip them together into a single large one.
While they were zipping the bags together, she said, “I was surprised to find you sleeping next to me and Winston on the other side of you this morning.”
“He didn’t want to separate us.”
She laughed, and they curled up in the bag together.
“You traveled a hell of a way as a wolf to get help after you ditched the plane in the woods after the heist,” Gavin said, snuggling with her. “Did you run into anyone while trying to reach your family?”
“Some horseback riders. They didn’t see me, and I skirted way around them, afraid I’d spook the horses. They were eight hours or more from where you were. I couldn’t have told them about you anyway. Not without clothes and trying to explain how I’d moved so quickly from the crash site. And I came across a couple of campsites, but again, I stayed clear of them. It’s easier for a gray wolf to blend into the woods. As a white wolf, I have to be much more careful. Though we’re shorter legged, so sometimes we can pass as a mixed dog of some sort.”
“We’ve taken some service dog training so we can carry vests with us on trips if we need them,” Gavin said.
Amelia laughed. “I’m sorry. We never have trouble like that. But that’s a really good idea.”
“We’ve had to re
sort to it a few times. Sometimes the urge to shift still isn’t controllable. And yeah, it works.”
The rain was letting up, the thunder moving off in the distance.
Amelia sighed. “Considering how we got here, I feel like this has been the most interesting camping experience I’ve ever had.”
“And I wish it didn’t have to end.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’m your PI partner in this venture, right?”
He smiled.
* * *
Early the next morning, Gavin was cooking the eggs and sausage before they packed up their camp and left when he heard rustling in the brush. He had his gun with him in case the person had come back for the canoe and quickly pulled it out of the holster, but only ten feet away, the big mother bear stood. “They’re back,” he warned Amelia, who was unzipping the two sleeping bags, then rolling them up to pack them away in the waterproof bags.
“The bears?” she asked for clarification.
“Yeah. Can you watch the cooking while I chase them away?” He didn’t want to burn their breakfast.
“Sure.” She came out of their alcove and hurried to grab the pan from him, scrambling the eggs while he picked up a couple of other pots and started banging them together, moving toward the bears a little to intimidate the mother.
The mother bear eyed the container of food and a couple of backpacks Gavin hadn’t slipped into the dry packs yet. He could see the thought process. Could the bear grab the pack and get away with it before Gavin could stop her? He’d read several accounts of bears taking off with field packs filled with food, sometimes ripping them apart and eating the contents in front of the surprised paddlers.
He yelled at the bear and growled. If he thought howling would have helped, he would have done that too.
The sow finally turned and ran off, the cubs racing after her.