Northern Encounter. JENNIFER LABRECQUE
nodded. “Gus trained in Paris.”
“Wow. And she wound up here?”
“I told you,” Nelson said, “Good Riddance has that effect on people.”
“And sometimes the infatuation with wilderness living wears off after a while. Not everyone who decides to move here winds up staying,” Clint said. His tone was neutral but there was something about him, the way he held his body, that made her think there was some personal story behind his words.
“No doubt about it, Good Riddance can be an acquired taste,” Dalton said.
It was early on but so far Tessa liked what she’d seen of Good Riddance. Clint’s arm brushed against hers and an awareness quivered through her. There were some things in Good Riddance she liked more than others, and unfortunately for her peace of mind, the man sitting next to her was at the top of that list.
SWEET JESUS, HAVE MERCY! Merrilee eyed the man in front of her with a mixture of loathing and contempt. It had been twenty-five years since she’d seen him and it still wasn’t long enough. Of course, she’d pretty much counted on never seeing his sorry ass again and this was still too soon. However, it appeared to be Theodore Jackson Weatherspoon, better known as Tad, standing in the airstrip office.
At least she was fairly certain it was Tad … or maybe just some very bad approximation thereof. The overhead light glinted off his poorly placed hair plugs, and he’d dyed the whole mess some funky orangish-yellow color she supposed was meant to be a shade of blonde. And that was all set off by his spray-on tan. And while Tad had favored button-down Ralph Lauren paired with khakis, this fool was wearing a graphic T-shirt that had obviously come from one of those mall stores which catered to teens and twenty-somethings. And what was he thinking wearing jeans that hung low on his hips? Better yet, what was he thinking with the twenty-something with the collagen lips and silicon boobs hanging on his arm?
“Wassup, Merrilee?”
“Tad?” She nearly pinched herself to verify this wasn’t some crazy nightmare, although she’d blessedly not dreamed of Tad in all the time since she’d left him.
He grinned like the total jackass he was. “Not bad for a fifty-one-year-old, huh?”
“Except you’re not fifty-one, ace. You’re sixty-three.”
The blonde next to Tad pursed her lips in equal parts of displeasure and surprise. “Sixty-three, Daddy?”
“Merrilee’s confused, baby doll.” Tad patted Ba by Doll’s hand then turned to Merrilee with what she supposed was intended to be a charming boyish smile. “You never were very good at math, were you, Merry?”
She wanted to instruct him to kiss her lily-white ass but under the circumstances she figured she had to play relatively nice. She did not, however, intend to lie down and roll over. He might have the upper hand, to some extent, but he was still on her turf. “Don’t call me Merry.”
Before Tad could respond, Bull came through the connecting door from Gus’s carrying two plates. She could see him sizing up the newcomers as he crossed the room and placed the plates on the desk. He nodded and introduced himself, offering his hand, “Bull Swenson.”
“Tad Weatherspoon,” the jackass said, shaking Bull’s hand.
Of course he recognized the name, he’d only known about Tad for nearly twenty-five years. Bull slanted a quick glance Merrilee’s way before saying to Tad, “Ah, the ex-husband, huh?”
It was Tad’s turn to glance at Merrilee. “In the flesh.”
“This is Jenna,” Tad said, motioning to the woman at his side as if he was presenting a prize ribbon at the county fair.
“I’m his fiancée,” Baby Doll, nee Jenna, said, holding out her hand, not to offer a handshake but to flash her three-carat, Princess-cut diamond. Merrilee could still size up a diamond from across the room. Tad had obviously gone for quantity rather than quality as the clarity was poor, but she doubted Baby Doll knew the difference.
“Pleased to meet you, Jenna. Nice ring.” Bull, ever the gentleman, despite his rough-around-the-edges appearance, admired the jewelry.
“She wanted bling, so she got bling,” Tad said.
Bling? Oh, boy.
“Are you hungry, Jenna, honey?” Merrilee asked, and continued without waiting for the younger woman to respond. “And I bet you could use a drink after what was surely a bumpy ride. Bull, why don’t you take Jenna over to Gus’s while Tad and I sort out their arrangements for tonight.”
It was thin, but it was the best she could do on short order. However, Bull’s expression clearly told her she had some explaining to do before the evening ended.
The door had barely closed behind them when she faced Tad. “What do you want?” She had no idea how much time she had with him alone and there was no point in beating around the bush.
“Well, hell, Merry, it’s been twenty-five years and that’s the best you can do?”
She’d told him not to call her Merry but that darn sure wasn’t a hill to die on. She let it slide. “Tad, let’s get something straight right up front. If you breathe a word to a single soul here that we’re still married, I’ll gut you like a bottom-feeding catfish.”
“I THINK THAT’S THE BEST meal I ever had,” Tessa said, her eyes sparkling, her smile genuine and altogether sexy, as she and Clint made their way through the restaurant.
Unfortunately for Clint, she eclipsed every other woman in the room. “Every meal is that way. Gus knows her way around a kitchen.”
Across the room he spotted Bull with a woman who looked as if she’d taken a wrong turn on her way to a day at the spa—not your typical Good Riddance visitor. Glancing up, Bull caught Clint’s eye. The other man looked grim—well, a little grimmer than usual.
Clint held the door for Tessa to precede him back into the air strip office. Dinner had been great and it was rather disconcerting how much he’d enjoyed her company. She had fit right in with Skye, Dalton, and Nelson. But he had to admit he was damn curious as to who had flown in with the Barbie over at the bar under these conditions.
As he and Tessa walked into the airstrip office, they were clearly interrupting a conversation between Merrilee and an older man who looked very strange. Merrilee turned to face them, the smile on her face not quite reaching her eyes. “How was dinner?”
At his side, Tessa glanced from Merrilee to the stranger, obviously sensing the same level of tension Clint had. “Great.”
“Good, good. Tessa, Clint, this is Tad Weatherspoon. Tad, Clint Sisnuket and Tessa Bellingham. Clint’s one of our best local guides and Tessa flew in this afternoon from Tucson. She shoots and produces great ambient videos. In fact I’ve been enjoying one of her beach videos. It’s just like being at Orange Beach down in Alabama.”
Weatherspoon? And Merrilee was talking a lot even for Merrilee. Tad Weatherspoon had shaken Merrilee and that was a pretty damn hard thing to do. He’d known Merrilee to be animated and outgoing but for the most part she was unflappable. Except now.
“Pleased to meet you,” Tad said with a smile that revealed obviously over-bleached teeth. “I’m the reason Merry moved to Alaska. When she runs, she runs, wouldn’t you say?”
Merrilee offered a tight smile. “A continent apart has proved to be a good plan.”
Clint wasn’t even sure what to say to any of this. He opted for, “Well, we’re all glad she wound up here.”
“Yep, Merry always was bossy as hell so having her own town to run is right up her alley. Say, if you’re a guide maybe you can show me and Jenna, my fiancée, around some this week. You probably saw her next door.” He smirked. “I can’t wait to see what Merry’s done with the place.”
Merrilee