corners of Dakota’s mouth twitched. “Seriously? You think Aurelia is a cougar?”
“What else would she be? Look at her.”
“I am,” Dakota said. “You look at her. She’s mousy. She was always like that in high school. I don’t know her whole story but I’m pretty sure I remember she has an awful mother. Aurelia never got to do anything. She wasn’t allowed to go to school dances or football games. It’s kind of sad. You don’t have to worry—she’s not the type to trap him by getting pregnant or something.”
“Cry me a river. I don’t care about her past, I care about her being with my brother.” He froze. “Pregnant?” He swore. “She can’t get pregnant.”
Dakota winced. “I shouldn’t have said that. Stop worrying. She’s no danger to Stephen. Come on, Finn, she’s a nice girl. Isn’t that what you want for your brother? A nice girl?”
“Sure I want a nice girl, but I want a nice girl who’s his age.”
Dakota grinned. “It may seem like a big age difference now, but when he’s forty-two she’ll only be fifty.”
“You’re not making me feel better. I don’t think you’re even trying.”
Finn was done talking. Bad enough that his brothers had come to Fool’s Gold to be on the stupid show. Maybe he could learn to live with that, but he was not going to stand here and let his brother be set up for a fall.
But before he could stomp down to the front of the stage and disrupt the live broadcast, Dakota stepped in front of him.
“Don’t go up there,” she said firmly, staring into his eyes. “You’ll regret it, but more important, the boys will be humiliated on live television. They’ll never forgive you. Right now you’re an annoying older brother who wants to keep them safe. That’s a livable condition. I’m serious, Finn.”
He could see the truth in her eyes, and as much as he didn’t want to believe her, he knew he had to. But the thought of leaving his brother alone with that woman…
“He doesn’t have any money.”
“Aurelia isn’t after his money.”
“How do you know that?”
“She has a great job. She’s an accountant. From what I’ve heard, she does amazing work. There’s a waiting list to be one of her clients.” Dakota grabbed his arm again and stared into his eyes. “Finn, I know you’re worried. Maybe you have reason to be. It would have been great if your brothers had stayed in college like you wanted them to. But they didn’t. Please don’t make this worse by going out there and acting like an idiot.”
“I know you’re trying to help,” he said, realizing he sounded frustrated.
“Look at it this way. If she is as boring as I think she is, they’ll get voted off early.”
“If she’s not, he’ll be in trouble.”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “You’ll be here to make sure nothing bad happens.”
“Assuming he’ll listen.”
He glanced toward the stage. Aurelia stood next to Stephen. If her body language was anything to go by, crossed arms, averted gaze, posture so stiff it was as if she were made of steel, she really wasn’t happy about the situation. Maybe he would get lucky and they wouldn’t last a date. He was due for some luck.
“You’re quite the tough guy,” Dakota told him. “Is that an Alaska thing?”
“Maybe.” He took a deep breath and looked into her dark eyes. “Thank you for talking me off the ledge.”
“I’m a paid professional, it’s my job.”
“You’re good at it.”
“Thank you.”
He continued to stare into her eyes, mostly because he liked it. She was easy to be around. And his body couldn’t help but be aware of the smoothness of her skin, the shape of her mouth.
“I need to get going,” she said. “Can I trust you to stay here on your own?”
“Sure.”
“Have a little faith,” she said, stepping back. “It’s going to be okay.”
She couldn’t know that, he thought. But for today, he was going to believe her.
He waited until she had left before walking out of the sound studio. After pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he dialed the number for his office in Alaska.
“South Salmon Cargo,” a familiar voice said.
“Hey, Bill, it’s me.”
“Where the hell are you, Finn?”
“Still in California.” Finn shifted the phone to his other ear. “Looks like I’m going to be stuck here for a while. They both got on the show.”
A couple of thousand miles away, Bill sighed. “We’re going to get busy soon. I can’t do this by myself. If you can’t get back here soon, we’re going to have to freelance a couple of extra pilots.”
“I know,” Finn said heavily. “Go ahead and start looking. If you find somebody good, hire him. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I need faster than soon,” his partner told him.
“I’ll do my best.”
The business mattered, he thought as he ended the call. But his brothers would always be more important. He was stuck here until he finished the job he’d come to do.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE AIRPORT AT THE NORTH END of Fool’s Gold was typical for its size. There were two runways and no tower. Pilots were responsible for staying out of each other’s way. Finn was used to flying under those conditions. It was the same in South Salmon but with a lot worse weather.
He got out of his rented car and walked to the main office of Fool’s Gold Aviation. He’d been told this was the best place to find out about renting a plane. He was also going to talk to the owner about picking up some extra work. There was no way he could stay in town for any length of time without doing something more productive than flying show contestants a couple of times a week.
He knocked on the open door and stepped into the two-room office. There were a couple of battered desks, a coffeepot on a rickety table by the window and a view of the main runway. An older woman sat at the larger of the desks.
When he entered, she looked up. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Hamilton.” He’d been given a single name and little else.
The woman, a pretty redhead in her fifties, sighed. “He’s out with his planes. I swear, if he could sleep with them, he would.” She pointed to the west. “That way.”
Finn
