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She stiffened, ready to ditch this dinner if he intended to insult her. “What does that mean?”
“It means you surprised me enough times in the first few hours I knew you that I realized I shouldn’t make any assumptions at all about you. No assumptions, no surprises.”
His grin would have set any girl’s heart fluttering, Molly told herself. It was an automatic response to an attractive man.
She changed the subject. “Is there any news about Daniel and the avalanche?”
Sam’s smile vanished. “They’re planning a memorial service at the auto shop where he kept his equipment. His body’s being transported to Anchorage, to be flown back to his family in Missouri. That’s the latest that I know.”
“Did you know him well?”
“Just the way everyone kind of knows everyone in a town this size. I flew him to Blackbear a few times. Good guy. Hard worker. Good with machines. In the summer he ran a D9, barely charged enough to cover the fuel and maintenance costs.”
Molly had no idea what a D9 was, but figured it was some other big piece of machinery. “I was a little surprised this dinner didn’t get canceled.”
“Why?”
“Wasn’t Ruth Chilkoot seeing Daniel?” Lila had said it was speculation, but she’d also said Sam was good at keeping secrets. Hopefully she wasn’t breaking any confidences by asking about Ruth.
She felt, rather than saw, Sam’s body tighten into alertness. They were bouncing down a road that seemed to be one switchback after another, heading up, up, up into the hills. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Are you saying I know a piece of town gossip that you don’t?”
“If it’s actually town gossip, I would have heard.”
“Maybe I misunderstood.” Molly shrugged. She had no doubt that Lila was right—she always was about that kind of thing—but it was interesting that no one else knew about Daniel and Ruth. They’d tried very hard to keep it secret.
Sam was quiet for a while after that, as if he was thinking hard about that new piece of information. Buttercup snored in the backseat.
Why had he brought his dog with him to dinner? Was that normal out here? How far away was this place?
Molly realized it had been quite some time since they’d passed so much as a woodshed. The road was getting worse, too. The snow hadn’t been plowed up here, just flattened by the weight of tires passing over it. That meant icy ruts had formed that liked to grab the tires and yank the truck in a new direction every few minutes.
It was a good thing Sam was a pilot, she thought. He was probably using all his navigation skills just keeping the truck on the road.
What if they broke down out here? No cell service. No AAA to come to the rescue. They’d be dependent on the off-chance that someone would come along, and that someone would quite likely be a member of the mysterious Chilkoot family.
At least they had an animal protector in the form of Buttercup. She peered at the snoozing dog, who was spread across the entire backseat, two of his hairy paws drooping over the edge of the seat. How could he sleep so peacefully with all this bumping and swerving? He must really trust Sam.
Her gaze slid down to the floorboards, where something else caught her eye. Was that a rifle case?
15
At some point during the drive out to the Chilkoots, Molly went quiet. Sam didn’t worry too much about it. Maybe she was admiring the scenery. Then again, she could be regretting her choice to get into a vehicle with him and his dog and drive to the middle of nowhere.
He hoped this trip wasn’t a mistake.
No matter what, I’ll keep you safe, he told her silently. Though you can probably take care of yourself.
When they drove into the clearing where the Chilkoots had established their compound, a group of about ten kids raced toward their truck. Whooping and hollering, a crew of carrot-top moppets in homespun, they ran alongside the truck as it came to a stop.
“The next generation of Chilkoots, apparently,” he murmured to Molly. “I had no idea there were so many.”
Molly smiled and waved at the group, whose ages ranged from about five to maybe ten, a mix of boys and girls. Maybe there were even younger Chilkoots already going to bed. That’s a lot of Chilkoots, he thought. His family tree would need a serious update.
“Before we get out of the truck, if anyone asks about us…”
She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Don’t worry, I know exactly what to say.”
