Page 17

HUNTER

W hen Dylan invited him along to the Bear’s Den, Hunter immediately accepted. He’d rather have stayed behind and made love to Trixie a few times before bed, but he hadn’t actually solved her problems yet, so it felt like cheating.

Someone had tried to sabotage the project, and they still needed to be brought to justice. Hunter wasn’t going to throw away a chance to get more information out of Kyle and Keith just to get laid.

Interrogation was of his better investigation skills, but friendly socialization was not in his comfort zone.

Fortunately, Noah seemed perfectly happy to start the conversation. “So, Hunter. Where are you from?”

“Colorado.” Hunter ordered a whiskey on the rocks.

Keith and Kyle ordered beers, Noah a bourbon, and Sam, sitting at the far end of the bar glowering at the screen showing a football game, ordered an Old Fashioned. Dylan had begged off with some other business to attend to.

Was he supposed to ask where they were from in return to carry the conversation? Hunter figured it was obvious they were all locals besides him.

The bartender proved to be a shifter, and he and Hunter exchanged a knowing nod when his drink was delivered.

Hunter caught Keith watching him suspiciously from the corner of his eye.

The brothers would know he was a shifter, just as he knew they were.

But they didn’t know that he was investigating the sabotage; they had all accepted his cover story without question, as far as Hunter could tell.

“So, Trixie. She’s pretty hot, right?”

Hunter clenched his hand around his drink. Either he hadn’t been as circumspect as he’d hoped, or Noah was interested in Trixie for himself.

Ours , his bear said jealously.

“She’s a fine lady, ” Hunter growled.

Noah cackled. “ Woo, is she! I wasn’t sure when she came waltzing into town, but I’d work for her again. Asks a lot, but works just as hard and looks good doing it.”

Hunter reminded himself that he was not there to stake his claim on Trixie or put anyone in traction, but to find out which of the Taylor brothers had something to gain from stopping the work.

“Guess there’s some drama about the project?

” he said mildly, taking a bracing sip from his glass.

“Saw the signs.” He made a point of including Keith and Kyle.

Noah snorted. “Enviro-nazis from out of state.”

Kyle took a swallow of his beer while Keith agreed, “You get that a lot up here. People who think that keeping Alaska pristine means stopping every drop of development.”

“Just ‘cause they already screwed up their own land,” Noah scoffed.

“Nothing wrong with protecting the environment,” Kyle added. “No one’s saying we should let them come in and strip-mine the place, but, like PETA wants to ban dog-sledding.”

“You don’t think they should?” Hunter asked pointedly.

That got him shouts of laughter. Noah pounded him on the shoulder. “You ever seen a sled dog ready to go? There is no abuse in those races. Mushers love their dogs, and those dogs are not happy if they aren’t running.”

“I grew up with sled dogs,” Sam volunteered. “Everyone I know feeds their dogs better than them. Only cruelty is not letting them run.”

“Cruelty is trying to make lapdogs out of hyper huskies,” Keith said. “They’re working dogs, and they love to work.”

“You got sled dogs?” Hunter asked Keith. If they were wolves, they probably didn’t.

“Dogs, but not sled dogs,” Kyle volunteered. “We’ve got a couple of sheep dogs. We’ve got barley fields off Mitner Road, right behind the property we’re building on right now. They let us know when there are animals after the chickens, or moose coming for the gardens.”

Hunter filed that information as useful. It was odd that wolves had sheep dogs , and he was sure there was a joke there somewhere, but couldn’t find it.

“Yeah, we helped build the new barn last year,” Keith added. “Trixie’s trying to convince us to go to Fairbanks to get a trade license, but odd jobs pay the bills.”

“Firefighting in the summer,” Kyle added.

“Except that it rained most of the summer,” Keith moaned.

“What do you do, Hunter?” Sam asked. “You’re definitely not a career carpenter.”

Hunter made a noise that hopefully passed for a chuckle.

“Not even. I’m up visiting my brother in Anchorage and he heard that Trixie needed a hand.

I didn’t have a lot going on, and it sounded like a challenge.

” That was exactly the story he’d contrived with Trixie, and he didn’t see a reason to deviate or elaborate.

“Doesn’t really answer the question,” Noah pointed out. “What do you do when you’re not moonlighting in Alaska?”

“Lay off,” Keith advised. “It’s clear he’s a dilettante.”

Everyone looked at Hunter to see if he’d take offense, and Hunter just shrugged. “I do odd jobs that sound fun.”

“He’s not stuck up like a billionaire,” Kyle said skeptically. “The privileged don’t get their hands dirty. I think he’s running from the law.”

“Nah,” Sam said. “He’s dodging a mad dad with a shotgun. He’s making Trixie blush and swoon, probably there’s a string of girls behind him.”

That made everyone laugh, including Hunter.

“You’re not the settling down type, though, are you?” Noah guessed. “Well, don’t go breaking Trixie’s heart until the job’s finished. The pay is too good.”

Hunter drained the last of his drink. “I wasn’t planning to break her heart,” he said gruffly.

“Oh, it’s serious , then,” Keith teased. “You’ve got intentions? ”

Hunter scowled at his ice cubes, not sure how the conversation had gotten so entirely out of his control. He was usually much better at investigations than this. “She’s my boss,” he said, trying to make it sound regretful. It wasn’t like that had stopped him yet.

“We’re just joshing you,” Noah said kindly. “Trixie is alright, and she looks at you like she wouldn’t mind you putting in some overtime.”

“I need another drink,” Hunter said desperately.