Renee forced her lips to curve—a response to head off nosy questions. “Forgot my mother’s birthday.”
“Oh! You’ll be in trouble,” Janet trilled.
“Yeah.” Renee concentrated on her paperwork, then set down her pen. “I’d better grab my jacket. I left it in the helicopter.”
“Before you go, you have a booking for tomorrow. Two actually. You’re a popular lady. Both groups requested you in person.”
Renee froze. “Oh?” she managed.
“A woman for next week. She wants a longer tour and is happy to pay for the entire helicopter instead of sharing. And tomorrow, there is a group of men. The woman came from a family recommendation. The guys say they know you.”
“The Taktuq brothers?”
“Yes, that’s the name.”
Renee worked to keep her expression neutral since Janet enjoyed a good gossip. Renee didn’t intend to add to the town crier’s arsenal. “Sax Hallsten mentioned they want to go out to the lodge this week. Did they book a time? I saw him at the Lanky Moose.”
“They’ve booked several slots. You will be busy.”
Renee shrugged. “It makes a change from tourists. See you tomorrow.” Once she’d grabbed her jacket, she darted back through the office, lifting a hand in farewell. Janet waved as Renee exited. After her normal pause to check her surroundings, she took two steps before Kansas and Dakota slipped from concealment behind the building.
She ignored them and kept walking.
“Renee, you promised to have lunch with us.” Kansas darted in front of her and stopped her forward progress.
“You bailed, so we’ve come to take you for a drink instead,” Dakota added.
“You think I slept with Hunter.”
“You categorically denied it, and we believe you,” Kansas said.
“Matto slept with me thinking I was a cheat.” Pain sliced through her chest. She’d thought he’d liked her for herself. He’d been different from her previous lovers. Even though she’d accepted the date, thinking he’d be like all the others, her thoughts had shifted right about the time he’d ordered dinner. He’d turned their outing into a real date. He’d treated her like a lady instead of an evening of quick sex. She gave an irritable shrug. None of her thoughts or jumbled mood made sense, considering she preferred casual sex. All she knew was that Matto and his brothers had hurt her.
“No.” Dakota’s expression turned serious. “Matto told us about a conversation you had—one that occurred before your date. He trusted you, respected you. Matto never sleeps with a woman unless he’s interested in her.”
“It’s true,” Kansas confirmed. “And here’s more honesty for you. We all want you. Even Calian, and he doesn’t trust lightly. He had a wife for a while, you know. She cheated, so that was why we couldn’t refuse our sister’s request.”
“I’m not a play toy.” Renee’s hands curled at her sides and the urge to strike Kansas and slap Dakota next was so strong, she trembled with the force of it. She was not like her father. She would control her temper in the way her stepfather had shown her. She breathed in, exhaled and repeated the action twice more.
“Please,” Dakota said. “My brother is an uncouth fool. Come for a drink with us. We’ll tell you about Calian’s and Matto’s bad habits and the stupid things they did while growing up. We can buy food as well. You have to eat and might as well share a meal with us.”
Dakota had a way about him that soothed away the rough edges of her temper. She sucked in another breath and let it ease out, the tension fading from her stiff torso.
“Friends only?” she asked.
“We want more, but we’ll settle for friendship at this stage.” Kansas opened his mouth again as if to say more but shut it with a click when Dakota elbowed him.
“Can we talk about Hunter?” she asked. “He truly was my best friend, and I miss him so much. It’s killing me that I can’t speak about him with anyone.”
Dakota nodded and took her arm. “We can. He has a son now.”
Renee walked with Dakota and Kansas. “Hunter was so excited about having a child. It was all he talked about the last time I saw him. What is his son’s name?”
“Misty called him Rufus Hunter,” Kansas replied. “She and Hunter had agreed on a list of names.”
“Should we go to the local bar?” Dakota asked.
Casual. Yes, that suited her perfectly. “They sell bar snacks. That will be fine for dinner.”
