“You can’t do this tomorrow? Do they know it’s your birthday?”
Henry chuckles through a sip of coffee. “There are hundreds of people who have been waiting for weeks to get back to work. I’m not going to delay that because it’s my birthday. We’ve already lost loyal workers who can’t afford not to work.”
I huff.
“I’m just going up there to meet with the supervisors and let them see how I work, give a morale-boosting speech to the employees, and walk the mine to prove that the safety issues have been satisfactorily resolved. I’ll be back by midafternoon.”
I pluck a croissant off a platter and begin pulling it apart. “Fine. I’ll just be here, waiting….” I let the ends of my white robe fall apart, exposing my nakedness beneath, fresh from our shower together.
“Jesus Christ, Abbi. We’ve already fucked three times today and it’s only 8:00 a.m.,” Henry mutters, unable to resist a long gaze over my body, stalling on my full, round breasts, on the red mark he accidently left from sucking too hard. “You know, I think your friend Ronan may be right. I might not be enough to satisfy your needs.”
“You’re right. Maybe I need two men,” I quip, earning a flat look. “And I didn’t hear you complaining this morning.”
“Believe me, you will never hear me complain about waking up to my dick in your mouth.” He slides his last piece of toast into his mouth and then, wiping his mouth with a napkin, gets out of his chair. He reaches for my hand and pulls me to him. He cups my chin gently, and presses a soft kiss against my lips. “Thank you for arranging all of this.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want me to walk you to the helicopter pad?”
“Like this?” He yanks open my robe.
I slide my arms around his waist, his form-fitting black sweater soft against my breasts. His choice of clothing was intentional. He figures showing up at a mine as the new owner in a suit and tie won’t win anyone over. “I can change.”
“No. It’s okay. Stay here, where it’s warm.”
“And dinner? What do you want to do, Lux again? I can make reservations for us.”
He pushes a strand of my long red hair off my face. “Why don’t we just stay here? That way I can fail at satisfying you all night long without interruption.”
I giggle, my hands trailing over his sculpted back. “Deal.”
He leans in for one last, lingering kiss. “Gotta go.”
I release him and watch him stroll out the door, grabbing his jacket on the way.
“I love you,” I call out, but the door has already shut and he doesn’t hear me.
I check the clock again. It’s just after eight. If he’s back by midafternoon, that gives me a good eight hours. Hopefully it’s enough time for the plan that hit me the moment my eyes opened this morning.
I dial the concierge desk and cross my fingers.
“Good morning, Mr. Wolf. How may I be of assistance?” The voice on the other side chirps pleasantly.
“Autumn! Thank God! I need Isabella’s number. I need her help with something.”
“Hey, Abbi! Sure!”
~ ~ ~
“You are such a jerk, Connor,” I mutter as I hug my chest against the jolts.
“Hey. I didn’t put the potholes there,” he counters.
“Yes, but you’re swerving to hit them!”
He starts laughing, earning my hard slap against his rock-hard chest. It only makes him laugh harder.
Ronan sits on the right side of me as he always does—relaxed, legs splayed, hand gripping the roll handle above. “So, Wolf has no idea you’re doing this for his birthday?”
“No. I just came up with the idea this morning, after he left. I called Isabella to help set things up.” After her help with the fishing boat last night, I figured she might be willing. I was right.
“Isabella,” Connor moans with appreciation.
I roll my eyes, ignoring him. “Thank you, guys, for doing this.”
“The place was due for a check anyway,” Ronan murmurs, his gaze drifting ahead, over the narrow path that serves as a road to the old Wolf cabin.
“I’m serious. Thank you.”
Finally he meets my eyes and the look in his softens. I don’t know exactly why Ronan went toe-to-toe against Henry the other night; if Henry’s right, and Ronan’s feelings for me have changed. “Paige sent housekeeping over there a few hours ago, so it should be clean and set up already.”
“Awesome. So all we have to do is get the fireplace ready and the wood loaded in and it’ll be ready for him.”
“I don’t get it though. You guys could jump in his plane and fly to Vegas like high rollers for a hot and dirty weekend. Why stay here?” Connor lays his cornflower blue eyes on the old cabin that finally appears as we round the corner. The one that Henry’s grandfather built on his own. The one Henry has so many cherished childhood memories of.
I smile. “Because this place means something to him.”
~ ~ ~
“You just have to throw a match in and this baby’ll burn,” Connor announces, backing away from the expertly stacked pile of kindling and paper in the hearth. “And there’s enough wood here to keep you warm all weekend.”
“Thank you. Now if you can just help me figure out how to use this.” I stand in front of the antique woodstove.
He strolls over, switching on a lamp on his way past to add light to the dim space. He lifts one of the round covers on the surface. “Just stick the wood in here and light it up.”
“Right, but how do I bake a cake in it? Wait, it must be in here.” I pull on a handle and a door opens to a small compartment perfect for a cake pan.
“Bake a cake….” Connor’s face twists up. “You don’t bake a cake in this!”
I laugh. “Henry’s grandmother baked cakes for him in this thing all the time. I’m going to make a birthday cake for him.” I hold up the box of chocolate cake mix as proof. John was kind enough to grab it at the grocery store in Homer on his way in.
“You have a team of five-star world-famous chefs and sous chefs slaving over there in the kitchen, who will whip you up the fanciest cake you could ever imagine with the snap of your little fingers, and you’re making him a Duncan Hines cake mix cake?”
I smile. “Yes.”
“Because his grandmother baked him cakes here.”
“Yes.”
Connor frowns. “You want him to think of his grandmother when he looks at you? Is that what Wolf is into?”
“No! You weirdo!” I launch the box at him, missing completely.
“He’ll love it,” Ronan calls out.
I look up to find him leaning over the ornately carved cedar rail that lines the loft.
“It’s all good up here. They only prepared the one bedroom.”
“That’s fine. We only need the one. Wait, which one?”
He looks knowingly at me. “The one with the balcony.”
That’s the one that Ronan and I were together in for the first time.
I refocus my attention on the kitchen, rounding the table to pick up the box. “Okay. You start this fire and I’m going to start mixing this so I can get the pan in and….” My voice drifts as a wave of unbalance hits me. I take a moment to try and get my bearings.
But it’s not me.
“Are you feeling that?” Connor looks from me to Ronan, to the glasses in the corner hutch. They’re rattling and clanking against each other. And the antler chandelier that hangs from the thick beam in the ceiling is swaying. A few moments later, it stills. I feel normal again.
“That was a fucking earthquake!” Connor exclaims.
“They have those here?” I ask in disbelief.
“They have them somewhere.” Ronan climbs down the stairs. “Who knows where that one hit, but we definitely felt it here.”
“Wow. That was crazy. I’ve never felt something like that before.” Not that I know of, anyway.
Connor’s muscular arms curl around me from behind. “You mean besides that time Ronan and I rocked your world?”
I elbow him in the gut and wriggle away, shaking my head. “Help me with this fire or don’t, but I’m baking a damn birthday cake.”
“I’ll help you, Red.” Ronan wanders over, chuckling darkly as he punches Connor. “Go and check the cellar.”
“Fuck, no! I hate going in there,” Connor moans, heading toward the front door. “Why did I have to get stuck with such a pussy for a work partner?”
“Fuck off. I can’t help it.”
I frown. “Help what?”
“I can’t deal with tight spaces,” Ronan admits sheepishly. “I panic.”
“I can think of a tight place you’re fine getting into,” I hear Connor mutter before the door shuts.
Ronan sighs with exasperation.
I duck my head to hide my blush. “So they still make the crew come out here?”
“Every single week. And ever since they had a mouse problem in here, we’ve been having to go into that cellar to make sure nothing’s getting in there.” Ronan falls into silence as he stuffs kindling and newspaper down into the stove.
I watch him intently. “Are we good?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“What was all that about the other night?”
He strikes a match and sets it inside. “Nothing.”
“Didn’t sound like nothing.” I tear open the cake mix package and dump it into the bowl the kitchen supplied me with. “Henry thinks you have feelings for me. I told him we’re just friends,” I say as casually as possible.
Ronan says nothing.
“I’m right… right?”
“We’re just friends.” He sighs, resting his palms on the top of the woodstove. “And yeah, I have feelings for you.”
My stomach tightens. “What kind of feelings?”
“The kind I don’t want.”
I busy my hands with readying the hand mixer, my eyes averted. That wasn’t supposed to happen. “Since when?”
“I don’t know, but I didn’t realize it until you came back.”
Finally, I dare look up, to find those piercing green eyes on me. I release a shaky breath. “Ronan, I’m madly in love with Henry. I—”
“I know. I’m not asking for anything, or expecting anything. You asked, so I’m telling you.”
Awkward silence hangs.
Finally, Ronan turns back to the woodstove, where flames begin to crackle and lick the open top.
I catch the smirk curling his lips. “What’s that for?”
“Handing that lube to me the other night?” He shakes his head. “One hell of a move. That motherfucker crushed me with that one.”
I press my lips together, unsure of whether to laugh or cringe. In the end, I can’t keep the giggle down, and soon we’re both shaking with laughter.
A scream sounds from outside, cutting our mirth.
I drop the hand mixer and race for the door, Ronan on my heels. He grabs me by the biceps and forces me aside so he can open the door and step out first.
Connor’s standing beside the truck, holding a rake out in front of him, his face as white as a sheet of paper.
“Dude. What the hell?” Ronan takes the creaky steps down, his puzzled look scanning the area. The old wood door that closes off the cellar is still thrown open. “Bear? Cougar?”
“Raccoon!” Connor hollers, picking up a pinecone and whipping it into the bushes.
That’s when I notice the black mask peeking out. The sizeable raccoon chatters back at him before scurrying into the bush.
“I’m done with that fucking cellar! You tell him they need to board that shit up! They’re talking about putting fucking solar panels on this roof, but they still want a goddamn hole in the ground. For what! Fucking potatoes? Fuck!” Connor throws the rake to the ground and shudders, visibly shaken and ranting like I didn’t even know him capable of.
Ronan doubles over in laughter, and I immediately join him.
~ ~ ~
“I’ve gotta say, Betty Crocker, I’m impressed.”
“It’s not Betty Crocker. It’s Duncan Hines, remember?”
“Same shit.” Connor pulls onto the road that’ll take us back to the hotel. “I’d eat that cake.”
“You’d eat anything,” Ronan retorts, but quickly adds, “It looks tasty. Especially with the M&M’s.”
“Well, I’m glad because I was limited on time and materials.” I threw the cake into the fridge freezer to cool it enough to spread the chocolate fudge frosting over it, and then I spelled out “Happy 32nd” in colorful candy.
The dash clock reads four o’clock. I glance at my phone to see that I still have no messages from Henry. I guess he’s not back yet. That gives me time to change into something nicer and fix my makeup.
The Wolf helicopter is landing on the pad just as we pull in through the gates.
“Oh, perfect! Drop me off here.”
Connor eases the truck to a stop and Ronan hops out. He holds a hand out for me, just like he always did when I worked here, and I take it, just like I always did, even though I’ve never needed it.
“Thanks again, guys.”
“Make him board up that cellar, Red. I don’t get paid enough for that shit!” Connor yells.
I smile. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I turn to Ronan. But he’s not looking at me. His intense gaze is locked on the helicopter pad. The pilot is alone and several people, including Isabella, are running toward him. “What’s going on?” A sinking feeling is settling into my body.
“I don’t know. Come on.” Ronan takes my hand and leads me there.
“…they’re trying to get an emergency crew in but I don’t know what they’re going to be able to do. The shaft is completely collapsed. We’ve lost all radio contact.”
Oh my God. Henry.
“What’s going on?” I hear someone ask.
Everyone turns to look at me and I realize that it was me talking.
“There was a small earthquake earlier,” Isabella begins, her bright doe eyes full of concern.
“Yeah, we felt it. Where is Henry?”
She takes a deep breath. “He was in the mine when it happened, and a part of it collapsed due to that earthquake.”
“But… no.” A wave of dizziness hits me, and I feel Ronan’s arm wrap around my waist in support. “They fixed all the safety things with the gold mine. It should have been safe. It’s supposed to be safe. That wasn’t even that big of an earthquake. It shouldn’t have done anything.” I’m rambling.
“The gold mine didn’t take any damage,” the pilot confirms. “It’s the old mine that Mr. Wolf was in.”
“What?”
“He asked me to take him over. He said that Scott Wolf had been paying for some exploratory work and he wanted to see what had been done. The miners who’d done work there went with him.” The pilot’s face is etched with worry. “I don’t know how far down they got, but the entire shaft has collapsed.”
“Oh my God.” I’m going to be sick.
Voices begin all around me, but I can’t focus on any of them, my knees buckling, the world spinning too fast around me for me to stand. Ronan eases me down.
Henry went into a mine.
A mine collapsed on Henry.
Henry might be dead.
I can’t breathe.
I don’t know how long it takes me to refocus on my surroundings, but when I do, Connor and Ronan are climbing into the helicopter and the blades begin to whir.
“You need to move away,” Isabella says, gentle hands settling on my arms to try and lift me up.
“Wait. Where are they going?”
“He’s flying them back to the site. They’re going to see if they can help at all.”
“I’m going, too!” I scramble to my feet and make to run to the helicopter.
Isabella holds me back with surprising strength. “It’s not safe.”
“Henry’s trapped in a goddamn mine! I don’t care about safe!” I fight against her grip but she holds on tight.
“Let them go! The sooner they get there, the sooner they can work to free him,” she pleads, struggling.
The helicopter lifts off before I have a chance to argue my way onto it. I look up in time to see Ronan peering down at me. He tosses a casual wave, but his face is full of pain.
“Abbi!” From somewhere behind me, I hear Autumn’s voice, but I don’t turn.
“Can you take her back to her cabin? Stay with her. We’ll cover the rest of your shift,” I’m faintly aware of Isabella telling her.
“Of course.” Another set of hands settle on my shoulders and begin leading me away. My legs move of their own accord.
I hear Autumn’s voice all the way back—along the path I’ve walked with Henry, through the door I’ve passed with Henry, into the cabin I’ve shared with Henry—but I don’t hear a single word she says.
If Henry is dead….
I make it to the bathroom just in time to heave the contents of my stomach.
