CALLEY (RIBUS 7 Book 3) (29 page)

Chelan sat down on her bed and mulled over the situation. Jason exuded a gentlemanly charisma, a strength entwined with a softness that moved her profoundly. If it had been another time and place, she felt she could almost care deeply for the man. But her time and place were not here on Earth. Chelan squeezed her eyes tight. Things were getting unexpectedly complicated, and it was imperative that she keep them simple. But a knock on the door deflected her away from her disturbing thoughts.

Chelan jumped to her feet and opened the door. “Come on in.”

Jason entered. “I know I haven’t left you time to get settled, but the food on the plane was far from adequate. I know a great restaurant not far from here if you’re interested.”

Chelan nodded. “Yes, I’m hungry. Should I change?”

Jason shook his head. “No, you’re fine. But we should go now so I can get back and finish preparing for tomorrow.”

Chelan started toward the door, but Jason took her by the arm and whispered in her ear. “We forgot one thing,” he said, and he reached for his phone.

Chelan cocked her head in confusion as Jason began punching numbers. He looked at her and mouthed the name “Jim” just as he handed her the cell.

Chelan’s knees felt suddenly weak and she sat upon the bed quickly. Jason sat next to her and watched as she rolled her eyes. He reached for her free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Chelan’s tremors lessened at his touch, and she focused on the large hand that comforted her as she listened to the rings.

Finally, Jim answered. “Jason?”

“Hey, Jim. No, it’s Chelan.”

“Hey yourself. It’s really late. Where are you, and better yet, why is this Jason’s number?”

“I’m with Jason at the moment. We’re in Canada.”

There was an extended silence during which time Chelan glanced at Jason. The man smiled at her almost mischievously.

Chelan looked back down at his hand and then closed her eyes. “Jim? You there?”

“Yeah, I’m here. What the hell are you doing in Canada?”

“Jason is doing some contract work here for a Canadian company, and he thought I would be interested in having a look.” Chelan glanced at Jason and he nodded.

“And are you?”

Chelan bristled. “And am I what?”

“Interested in the work.”

“As opposed to…?”

Jim sighed. “I’m sorry. I was just surprised to see you gone.”

“Sorry. I should have given you some warning, but I didn’t know I was going for sure until earlier in the day.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“A couple of weeks.”

Chelan peered at Jason as the man chuckled. Then Jason spoke in a loud voice. “And I promise to return her safe and sound.”

Chelan covered her mouth as she laughed.

Jim was not amused. “Hey, can I talk to Jason for a sec?”

“Sure.” She handed the phone to Jason.

Jason grinned. “Jimbo, how was your trip?”

Chelan watched Jason intently as the man concentrated on the conversation.

“Actually, it’s a remote sensing job, and it appears Chelan knows a lot about it.”

Chelan smirked at him and he winked at her. He was silent for a long time before he spoke again. “Okay, good buddy. All will be well, and I will take good care of her. We’ll see you soon.” And he ended the call.

Chelan took a deep breath. “What did he say?”

Jason’s eyes were alight. “Well, he was none too pleased to come home to an empty condo… and he wanted to know what the hell you knew about remote sensing anyway.”

Jason was smiling, but Chelan’s stomach turned. She rose slowly. “He’s going to kill me.”

Jason stood and looked down into her worried eyes. “No, he won’t. He knows it was all my idea, and over the next two weeks, he’ll defuse.”

“I hope you’re right,” she uttered with uncertainty.

Jason became serious. “He will. But if for any reason he does threaten you, ever, you let me know.”

Chelan caught the stern tone in his voice, his protective stance displaying his sincerity. “Okay,” she agreed.

He smiled and offered her his arm. “Well, now that that drama is over with, shall we go?” And they did.

Chelan stared at the stereographic image of the land mass. Jason touched her on the arm. “Here, now look at this one.” And a second image came up on the computer.

She peered at both of them, her eyes skipping between the two pictures. “I don’t know. Maybe the coloring is all wrong. You’re right, there is more clarity in the second, but I think the overlay we’ve added is obscuring the landforms.”

Jason leaned closer to the screen for a moment and then sat back. He tapped on the keyboard. “Let’s put them on separate monitors and have a look at the larger images.”

“You know,” she began, “what you did has increased the resolution, no question. I think we need to manipulate the false coloring to enhance the contrast, though. Right now things are too monochromatic and it’s taking away from what you’ve done.”

Jason began typing again. “Okay… now take a look.”

Chelan squinted at the image. “See, now you can actually make out more of the geologic structure of that side slope area.”

“I think you’re right. But I do want to tweak the program some more. Right now I’m worried about artifacts creeping in.”

Chelan nodded. “Good point. You don’t want the company out there sinking drill shafts in the wrong location. That would cost them a fortune.”

“Exactly. But I’m also going to contact the company and get some close aerial pictures taken of the same spot so I can actually tell what is structure, what might be detritus, and what is shadow. The program needs to be able to differentiate between it all.”

Chelan’s lips tightened. “Good luck with that,” she whispered.

Jason smiled. “We’ll get there. You’ll see.”

*****

The two weeks went by quickly for Chelan, and she found that accompanying Jason to his work was exhilarating. She loved watching the Earth technology materialize before her eyes, comparing it every step of the way with Iceanean technology. Earth had a long way to go, but they were certainly on the right track. And with Jason at the helm, things were going to improve exponentially—of that she had no doubt.

In the end, she did help out with some of the basic computer programming, but her ability to participate fully was hampered somewhat by her unfamiliarity with the advances in the computer programs Jason was using. A lot had changed over the last decade, and she had to watch that she did not expose the vast gap in her knowledge.

But through it all, she enjoyed spending the hours watching him work. She could see why he was so highly valued, and probably highly paid. All his work progressed with flawless accuracy, and in pinpoint succession. He had a knack for problem solving that went above and beyond what she had ever seen someone do before, and it did not matter if the problem presented was with software or hardware. Even when it was not his particular line of expertise, many departments within the company came to him looking for direction and advice.

It wasn’t far into the trip that Chelan decided she was just excess baggage. But Jason always had a task for her to do, even if it was something she felt he could probably do many times faster or better.

In the evenings, after dinner, they continued to work side by side until it was time to retire. Then Chelan would return to her room and collapse, her mind sated by all the knowledge. Near the end of the contract she helped him compile his final report, and then, right on time, Friday afternoon, he presented it to the company, and his job was complete.

Jason opened the door to his room and ushered her in. “All done,” he announced with satisfaction. He looked around. “Should we celebrate?”

Chelan shrugged out of her jacket. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, to start with, whatever it is, it’s my treat. I have to thank you properly for all the work you did these last two weeks.”

Chelan smirked at him. “All my work? Right. If anything, I held you up.”

“Hardly,” he countered. “I was more than impressed with your expertise. Your training has gone well past the university level. I suspect that whatever you did for the government was highly advanced.”

Chelan put her hands on her hips. “And what gave you that idea? I barely said a word about anything pertaining to the contract. And I certainly wasn’t much help with the actual software.”

Jason slipped her a sly smile and then sat down on the bed. “It’s not what you said or didn’t say, or what you did or didn’t do. I could tell by the areas you were studying and by the expressions on your face what you thought. You knew the trouble spots, although you rarely volunteered your ideas. And I suspect you knew the solutions too.”

“Well, I didn’t need to contribute much. You did quite well on your own.”

Jason studied her for a moment from under his brows. “Tell me: if I had made a mistake, would you have corrected it?”

Chelan pondered his question carefully, watching for hidden meaning. “Probably,” she answered slowly.

Jason put his hands behind his head and leaned back into the pillows. “If you could have done as well as me, which I now know for sure you could have, why aren’t you working right now? Why do you choose to depend on Jim instead?”

“I’m not dependent on him.” Chelan changed the direction of the conversation quickly. “And besides, if I was working, I couldn’t follow you around the world, now, could I.”

Jason chuckled. “Good answer.” He raised his brows. “And an even better plan. Now, do you want to go out, or should we eat in?”

Chelan sat on the bed beside him. “If it’s all right with you, I’d prefer not to go out. Though I enjoyed going to the company and the work, I did find it a little hectic at times.”

Jason agreed. “Okay, you decide.”

“Let’s order up some wine and some pizza, and watch a movie.”

“Sounds great,” he said, and he grabbed the phone. In no time at all, they were immersed in a movie, stuffed with pizza, and mellowed with wine. When the movie was over, Jason turned on the news and reclined among the pillows. Chelan put the pizza box in the garbage and then returned to the bed beside him.

Jason rolled to his side and looked up at her. “That was great.”

Chelan sipped at her wine. “It was, but whenever you’re tired, just let me know and I’ll leave.”

Jason smiled. “Don’t worry; I’ll kick you out when I’m ready. I want to watch the news first, so you’re welcome to stay.” He rolled to his back and propped his head up with the pillows, wine glass in hand.

Chelan glanced at the news and then focused back on his tranquil face. “I like it here,” she whispered.

Jason’s eyes flickered to hers. “Me too.”

“I wish we didn’t have to go back.”

Jason smiled. “I’ll second that. But soon I’ll take some holidays.”

Chelan held her breath for a moment, wondering if that was an invitation. She slid down the bed a bit and twisted to face him more directly. “What will you do?”

His eyes remain on the TV. “Oh, probably some hiking and some camping. I love the wilderness. It’s so peaceful, so rejuvenating.”

“I love it too. My dad used to take me out all the time when I was young. We used to take just a sleeping bag, a tarp, some fishing equipment, and a big oiled frying pan.” She smiled fondly. “No fish, no food.”

Jason chuckled and nestled farther into the pillows, his face alight. “So, where’d you go?”

“Oh, all over. Usually high mountain lakes, fishing for trout. Anywhere secluded and unspoiled. Mostly in the Rockies and the Cascades.”

“Have you done any camping lately?”

Chelan looked down at her wine. “No. But I’d like to soon. And I will. I want to return to one of our old haunts when the weather warms in April and do some. I adore the wilderness in the spring.”

Jason smiled warmly at her. “Want some company?”

Chelan’s eyes grew large, his request surprising her, and for a moment, she was tongue-tied. April was the rendezvous time.

Jason reacted to her silence. “I’m sorry. It was inconsiderate of me to even try to crowd in on your quiet time.”

Chelan felt her heart thud against her chest as she rushed to think through his offer. Maybe early April was okay. But he could not be with her when it was time for her to leave the planet. “No, no, don’t be sorry. I had just never considered having company.”

“Well, I would never want to cramp your style or cause you any stress. But so far I haven’t booked any contracts for April and I can always leave it open. So if you want company, I’m available, that’s all.”

Chelan’s mind continued to race. “Had you planned to head to Oregon?”

“Actually, I didn’t have any concrete plans. But I’m like you—I love the spring, and that’s when I usually head out for a little R & R in the backcountry.”

Chelan was weighing as many factors as she could possibly handle as fast as she could. But what tipped the scale was the man himself. He was simply a delight to be with, and surely they could part ways before the pickup date. “Actually,” she began, “I think doing some hiking with a companion would be wonderful. You could carry all the gear.”

Jason burst out laughing. “Oh sure—use me, why don’t you?”