Moving out of the shadows, he walked toward the steps. His heavy boots clomped on the wooden planks, and those dark eyes never left my face.
Lord, have mercy.
Up close, not only was he even larger, but I could see the flecks of mahogany, amber, and copper in his dark brown eyes. Even in the dull light from the overcast sky, shades of blue and violet shifted in the locks of his coal-black hair.
The man looked like some dark god, come down to impose his will on the earth.
“I’ll go, but you’re going with me.”
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
“I beg your pardon?” Why was my presence necessary for him to track down Dustin?Hewas the expert guide, not me.
“You heard me. I’m not running around the bush, searching for your lost groom with secondhand details. Locked in that pretty head of yours is the details the fiancée told you. I need access to that information. Honestly, taking her along would probably be better, but this close to her wedding, I’m assuming I’d have to drag her out there, kicking and screaming.” One of his dark eyebrows rose again.
All I could muster was a short nod, mypretty headtoo busy trying to wrap itself around the idea of traipsing off into the wilderness with this mountain of a man.
“If you want me to do this, I need one of you to come along, so I can ask questions and get answers when I need them.”
My tongue darted out, dampening my top lip, as I focused on a point past his shoulder, thinking about his proposal. “I’m really not sure what all I’ll be able to tell you. Tina didn’t give me too many details.”
A quick grin slashed across his face, showing off a deep dimple in his cheek. “Well, you’ve got about eighteen hours or so to pick her brain and get all the information you can. We’re leaving at first light, provided my bush pilot friend is free to drop us off.”
“Bush pilot?” My eyebrows hit my hairline.
“That area is extremely remote. We’ll fly over it first and see if we can spot any sign of him. Regardless, if we want to get in there with any expediency, we need a bush plane to drop us inthe region. If you could get better coordinates from your bride, that would be even better. It’ll narrow the search.”
I raised a hand to my forehead, rubbing at the wrinkles that had formed. This had not been part of the plan. The plan was to hire someone, point them in the right direction, and go back to managing Tina’s rapidly disintegrating wedding. I had a florist delivery to coordinate. One hundred chair covers were arriving from Juneau on Thursday morning. Leaving the week before a wedding when you were the wedding planner wasn’t wise.
Oblivious to my inner struggle, Toren continued.
“I’ll meet you at the airport at five a.m. Wear layers and bring a pack with enough supplies to last a week.”
“A week!” He’d lost his mind. “I can’t stay out there a week. And surely you can’t, either. It’s black bear season.”
“It is, and I don’t plan to be out that long, because you’re right. I have other clients. But it’s always wise to bring more supplies than you need. The more—and better—information you can get from the bride, the easier this will be and the faster it will go.”
His gaze ran over my attire once more, this time, lingering on my feet. “I hope you have better boots.”
My eyes narrowed, a slow burn of anger beginning to simmer at his attitude. “Of course I do. I know better than to wear heels on a hike.” Even wide heels, like the ones I had on now, were idiotic for something like that.
Toren shrugged one massive shoulder. “You look like a city-slicker, and even up here, we have some of those.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Yes, well, I’m not one.”
“Good.” He crossed his arms. “Five o’clock, Ms. Decker.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him no thanks, that I would find someone else. But the truth was, I didn’t know who else I could ask, especially on short notice.
Clenching my teeth, my jaw worked. “Fine,” I finally pushed out between tight lips.
Spinning on my fancy heeled boot, I marched back to my car and got in.
This was a stupid plan. They made satellite radios and satellite phones for a reason. He could call anytime he needed something.
