Page 85 of Paging Dr. Breakup
Breathing.
For some reason, she wanted to both laugh and cry.
She had not felt this alive in so long. Almost like her soul had been hibernating for years. Finally, in the fresh air and the promise of spring renewal, she had emerged.
The cheers faded into a dull roar, like her head was in a small barrel. Epiphany over. She’d overcome a huge fear, and she needed out of the tank. Now.
“I’ve got you.” Calvin’s mellow voice calmed her as he reached into the tank and grasped her arms.
Chapter Thirty
Cal wrapped herin a big flannel blanket. What had taking his place cost her?
“You did a great job.” Unable to stop himself, he dropped his head for a kiss, alarmed at how cold her lips were. He pulled the blanket closer around her and chafed his hands up and down her shivering back.
“I can’t believe we did that. Here. In front of everyone,” she said.
He pulled back. “Kissing? Are you okay with it?” he asked.
She tucked her head into his neck and burrowed into the blanket. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“What it means.”
The time was now. Cal cleared his throat and leaned back. “It means that I—”
A booming voice cut through the noise. “Is this what you bumpkins do for fun?” Randy strode through the crowd, hitting Lee’s shoulder and knocking her off-balance.
Two other people followed him. Cal’s gut dropped to the temperature of that damned dunk tank. His head throbbed. He recognized the other two people from the attack at his parents’ place.
Right on time. He scanned the crowd. No. Not yet.
Maverick yanked Lee to his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Then he bared his teeth. “Folks have been looking for you. Friend.”
Cal tightened his hold around Deirdre and rotated so they were sideways to the newcomers. Randy and his friends would have to come through Cal if they wanted to touch her.
“When I’m done with this town, you’ll all be working for me.” Randy sneered.
“Not likely,” Maverick said.
“So you think.” Randy strolled up to Cal and pulled out folded paper from his coat pocket. “Here it is, like we agreed. I have the check and the paperwork to sign over the property. No one else has to get hurt.”
“What?” Deirdre gasped.
In his peripheral vision, Cal spied the twin slack-jawed expressions of Mom and Pop, along with others in the crowd that had grown dead silent. Cal kept his arm around a gaping Deirdre. The color rose in her face, turning her into a spitting-mad Deirdre.
He squeezed her shoulder, hoping she’d trust him. “So, you want me to hand over the family’s homestead so you can dig up our mountains and ruin our town.”
“What’s there to ruin? It’s already backward here. Look around.” He lifted his hand to somehow encompass the colorful decorations, craft vendors, and community service booths. “Besides, we had a deal.”
Cal pivoted to keep Randy and his friends in his sights and protect Deirdre. He also needed to keep Randy talking for a few more minutes. “Why aren’t you giving this deal to the other property owners? To the corporation?”
“Corporation?” Randy laughed. “Oh, you mean theIndian tribe?”
Tuli’s dark expression was mirrored by other native Alaskans present. He took his phone back from Lee and turned it on Randy.
“I only need one point of entry to access the range.” Randy waved the check. “You said that your parents would be out of here soon. Less to deal with. You’re gone soon, too, right? This money will pay for you all to take a nice vacation.” Sniffing, he scowled at the gray skies. “Not here, though.”
