“The fundraiser run,” Jack said. “The one happening next weekend.”
“What about it?”
“We made a huge donation. It made sense—good visibility, good community relations, exactly what we talked about.” He paused. “She’s been running that event behind the scenes for years.”
“And?”
“And you didn’t tell me. I heard about it at the steakhouse last night. The one here in Elkridge, thirty miles from Irma, yet they are still talking about it.”
“Would it have changed anything?”
Jack considered that honestly. “No. But I would’ve handled it differently.”
“How?”
He didn’t have a clear answer for that, but differently. He picked up his glass and swirled the liquid, watching how it made patterns. The fire popped once and settled.
“She thinks I’m trying to take something from her.”
“Aren’t you?”
“No.”
“Jack.”
“I’m not. That was never the intention, and you know it.”
“I do know it. She doesn’t. And from where she’s standing, a guy showed up in her county with a fat check and a famous name and starts building something that looks a lot like what she’s dreamed of building. I’m not sure intention covers the distance between those two things.”
Jack couldn’t argue with Liam’s assessment, and the entire thing left a bad taste in his mouth. It hadn’t bothered him as much when he called her back in September and she was rude on the phone. He could live with that.
But something changed that day on Grand Avenue. The way she was looking up at him with her sunglasses all askew and wide eyes—she was cute. More than cute. Once she figured out exactly who he was and had politely told him off, she ran off, and everything changed.
For Jack, at least. Steph seemed just as irritated with him at the gear swap as she’d been after he kept her from getting run over. He had little doubt next weekend at the Jingle Run would be more of the same. She would glare at him with those brown eyes that seemed to pierce right through him.
Liam set his empty glass on the side table. “You could talk to her.”
“I’ve tried talking to her.”
“You’ve tried telling her your intentions. That’s different from talking to her. From what I can see, she’s very reasonable. She just doesn’t trust you.”
“She doesn’t trust you, either. Your family specifically.”
“No,” Liam agreed, without apparent offense. “She doesn’t. That’s a separate problem and one I’m working on. Steph is loyal to people she cares about, and she cares deeply for Sheriff Hepner and his family. You’d be smart to never underestimate her loyalty. By the way, my dad had a conversation this week with someone at Game and Fish. High up.”
“Okay? And?”
“The poaching is real. Multiple wilderness areas, like Hepner’s son said. They’ve been tracking it for weeks. Don’t know who’s behind it, haven’t caught anyone in the act yet. But it’s not rumors.”
Liam picked his glass back up. “They think it’s a fur operation, which means, even if they don’t catch them, it’ll be over before our event in August. But we need to keepit on our radar, especially if we decide on a winter event for next year.”
“Agreed.” Jack filed it away. It was the kind of thing that could complicate their future plans. “What about The Frozen Divide?”
Liam shook his head. “It’s far enough from here there’s no concern. The poachers are operating in the local mountains outside of Irma. The park, maybe.”
“Seems pretty bold to poach in a national park.”
“Definitely not smart. But with most of the park being closed for winter, they essentially have the place to themselves. People have been caught poaching in there before, so it’s not unheard of.” Liam was quiet for a moment. “The wilderness areas Steph plans to run in for her training, they’d be the same areas?”
