Page 24 of A Lady's Heart
A soft chuckle escaped him. “As you said, that’s kind of the point. Don’t worry, you’ll have a ball. We’ll give you a couple of lessons, and you’ll be bombing around in no time.”
“And there’s enough snow?”
“Not in Whitehorse, not yet. But up on the mountain passes, and farther north, winter arrived a few weeks ago. We’ll have to pick some routes carefully, but I’ve got a buddy who will give us a hand.”
Curiosity struck again. “You said you texted a contact and they got the Land Rover ready. When? And when did he have time to pack bags for you?”
Justin flashed a grin at her. “I have a set of emergency codes preprogrammed into my phone. One touch, and they know what I expect them to do.”
“You’re the biggest boy scout I’ve ever met.”
His grin widened. “Always prepared is a great motto.”
Mandy turned her gaze forward and jerked in surprise, snapping up a finger to point out the front window. “Bear.”
“Right on time.” Justin pulled off the highway onto a narrow gravel road as the black bear meandered off the main road and into the trees.
They drove not even a mile when the road turned a sharp corner and doubled back into a clearing. They were completely out of sight of the highway, mostly covered by dense trees. Justin parked beside what seemed to be a souped-up RV.
Mandy’s confusion increased. Camping had been on her list, but the timing seemed odd. “Are we camping?”
“Here? No.”
Justin was a font of information.Not.
She poked for more details. “I kind of figured the camping was going to happen in spring.”
He was out the door and around by her side, helping her to the ground. “It’s a pretty skookum camper. We’d be warm enough.”
He guided her to the front of the camper, glancing down at his watch impatiently while Mandy moved toward the smoke-coloured windows in an attempt to peek inside.
A dark-skinned man rounded the front of the camper, walking toward them wearing nothing but a smile.
He was obviously the person Justin was waiting for, because instead of pouncing on the fellow, or shouting, Justin just let out an enormous sigh.
“Are youreallyplanning on driving like that?”
The other man shrugged. “Clothes make me itch.”
“Fine, your choice, but I’m not bailing you out if you get arrested.” Justin turned to Mandy to offer introductions. “This is Dale. That’s his Land Rover we were just in.”
Dale offered a fancy bow, hand waving before him as he bent low toward her. “And ’tis my camper you’ll be enjoying, as well. If there’s anything else you need, you be sure to let me or my kin know. We’re at your disposal, milady.”
“Umm, thank you. If there’s anything I can do in return…”
Dale’s gaze jumped between her and Justin before settling on her again. “No favours required,” he insisted.
He walked past them and climbed into the Land Rover.
“If you get pulled over, the RCMP are going to go ballistic on your bare bear ass,” Justin warned.
Dale closed the door before rolling down the window and leaning out. “There’s a pretty young lass on the department in these parts. If she pulls me over, I’m sure we can come to some better arrangement than me spending the night behind cold metal bars.”
He offered a cheeky wink before backing the vehicle up and turning it around. A low layer of dust rose from under the tires as he drove slowly to disappear around the corner.
Justin guided Mandy to the camper and got her buckled in. “You can look around later. I want to get on the highway.”
Mandy had a million questions buzzing in her brain, and burning curiosity seemed to be her go-to new status. “Dale is a very— Oh no! He’s got our suitcases.”
