Page 19 of Triumph of the Wolf
“Maybe I should take it up to Mom’s cave before he can steal it.” I could evenleaveit in that cave. He wouldn’t likely find it up there, and only the family knew about the place. “If she really had a vision that I’d learn something by doing so…”
“You think her vision involved more than us getting randy?”
“It might have.”
“Maybe it wasn’t about us at all.”
“She did say it was about protecting our people.”
“Why don’t we go for our date this evening, and then, tomorrow, I’ll take you back up there?”
“Okay. Remind me to stop at the ATM. I need to get some gas money for all the driving you’re doing.”
“You’re notpayingme to take you on a date.”
“No, but you took me to Mom’s, and you’re offering to do so again.” Realizing I held an envelope full of money, I pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and offered it to him. Since Minato had given the money to us both, it didn’t seem right to pay him out of it, but itwashere. Using some of the reward for gas seemed legitimate.
Duncan glowered at the bill without reaching for it. “If we fall madly in love, get married, and have children, will you still be giving me gas money? Five years from now?”
“Married couples here usually combine their incomes, so I wouldn’t feel compelled to, no. Unless it keeps vexing you, and then I might pelt you with twenties on a regular basis.”
“You’re a dreadful woman.”
“Yup.” I kissed him on the cheek and tucked the bill into his pocket.
6
“Ah,”Duncan rumbled with pleasure as he cast his magnet over the railing at the end of Pier 57. Laughs and cheers drifted down to us from the Ferris wheel sharing the area. With the cloudy evening almost warm, at least by January standards, numerous people were out. “Nowthisis romantic.”
“More so than the tasty dinner and the view of the city?”
“All that was fine, but I’m delighted that you wanted to take a walk afterward and knew of this wondrous locale.” Duncan pulled up his magnet, having already found numerous sets of keys.
I wouldn’t call themwondrous, but it didn’t take much to tickle him. Especially if it had rust on it.
“I figured with this being a tourist hot spot,” I said, “all sorts of things would have fallen over the edge.”
“Oh, and vastly interesting things too.” As Duncan pulled a sludge-covered row of staples off his magnet, my phone rang.
Maybe I should have silenced it for our date, but I’d called Cameron earlier, hoping I could speak to him without Chad around. It had gone to voicemail, making me wonder if he wasreallyhere in Seattle, or if my ex-husband had said that only to manipulate me. Chad had to knowI didn’t want to seehim.
“It’s Jasmine.” I debated whether to answer while we were on our date, but Duncan was peering in fascination at two rusty tin boxes that had come up, fused together by grime. Part of Mickey Mouse was visible on top of one, and the other looked like a Nabisco saltines tin even older than I was. They probably werebotholder than I was. But was tin magnetic? Maybe something inside was. Deciding Duncan wouldn’t notice if I took the call or not, I answered before it went to voicemail. “Hi, Jasmine. What’s up?”
“The price of hot-springs-filledresortland,” she said in a triumphant tone.
“Uhm, fill me in?”
“Dad’s been busily researching again. Remember that developer he found? Who bought the parcel down the road from your mom’s property?”
“Yes.”
“And the new rural-business zoning?”
“Yes.”
“Dad found out the owner has put out a release that he’s starting up a resort on the property. He’s looking for backers. In addition to all the usual spa kinds of services—mud wraps, massages, fine dining—it’s going to have tours of mining areas and the opportunity for guests to pan for gold, and there’s going to be a natural hot springs with private pools, a bathing-suit optional area, a salt cave, and all kinds of therapeutic and hedonistic services.”
“Mud wraps and massages in rural Monroe?” I scratched my jaw. It was far from a hoity-toity area.
