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“Now that we’re no longer enemies?”
A small chuckle slipped from her mouth, and Hunter nudged her with his elbow.
“I’m a big boy. Sometimes I even act like it.” His mouth twisted to one side. “Though I know I still do some really dumb things.”
Speaking of . . . “That bet—”
“Was really dumb.” He looked toward the construction, his brow furrowed. “I know.”
“Can’t you call it off? Janie really doesn’t like going places. Almost as much as I don’t. And her café—Hunter, she’s worked hard to make it what it is now.”
Hunter nodded. “I know that, Zel. I tried to call it off night before last. She says she’s going and that’s the end of it. And that she doesn’t need me to rescue her. And that I underestimate her.” He turned a tormented scowl toward Hazel. “Is that true? Do I underestimate Janie?”
Hazel shrugged. “I think Janie gets mixed up about some things sometimes. Every once in a while, she would say something like ‘Hunter didn’t think I could make this work.’”
“She did?”
“Yeah. Not very often. I didn’t know why she would say that. I just figured she was mad at you for leaving, and maybe you guys had argued about her taking over the café from her aunt.”
“Never. I don’t remember talking much about it at all, to be honest. But maybe I wasn’t listening. Maybe I was too busy planning a way out of Elk County. I don’t know . . . but I never thought that she couldn’t do it.”
A deep rumble shook the ground as a large vehicle climbed the widened access road toward the construction site.
“That will be the concrete.” Hunter glanced toward the direction of the road.
Hazel nodded. “I’ll get out of your way. But—”
She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. She only knew that she understood Hunter’s desperation and that with her whole heart, she hoped he wouldn’t lose. And she didn’t mean the bet.
Impulsively, she took a step and wrapped his arm with both of hers.
Hunter tucked her into his side and flexed. “Thanks, sis.”
She pressed her head into his shoulder, then pulled away. Turning, she summoned her dogs, and they made their way back to the cabin. Once there Hazel saddled Mr. Big. It was time she and Janie had a talk.
“We leave in four days.” Janie summoned what she hoped was a thrilled expression as she rolled out the last of the dough for the twelve dozen cinnamon rolls she’d been working on. Next she’d spread the butter, sprinkle on the filling, and then she’d roll it all into a spiral that she could cut and freeze. Three more days at this pace and she should have her freezer stocked and ready for Ms. Crofton to take over.
Her stomach burned. Likely at the thought of things going wrong while she was gone. Or at the thought of going, period. She worked to ignore the nervous sparks that shot painfully from her gut to her chest.
“Janie, that’s about the most forced excitement I’ve ever seen. Well, maybe with the exception of Bennett, when he first came claiming he wanted to hunt.”
Janie turned away. “No it’s not.”
“Look at me and tell me you really want to go backpacking with four strangers.”
“Grady’s not a stranger.”
“He’s not much more than one.”
Dusting flour from her hands, Janie spun around and planted her palms against her aproned hips. “You hike with strangers all the time.”
“I always have the advantage of knowing exactly where I am and how to get out of a sticky situation if I need to.” Hazel leaned forward against the counter. “But that’s not relevant. We’re talking about you going off to do something you don’t even like doing with people you don’t know.”
“I told you, Grady isn’t a stranger.” Janie wiped her fingers with a dishrag and tossed it into the sink. “I like him. He’s a good man. A gentleman. And he’s assured me this isn’t . . . he doesn’t expect . . .” Her face burned.
“Great. Good for him. What about his friends?”
“One of them is female.”
