The Lure of Love

©2012
Mona Ingram

All
rights reserved

This
is a work of fiction.

Names,
characters, places, and

incidents
are either the product of

the
author’s imagination or are

used
fictitiously, and any resemblance

to
actual persons, living or dead,

business
establishments, events,

or
locales is entirely coincidental

“Wow, Goldie.
Look at all those blueberries.” Jamie glanced over to the passenger seat. As
usual, her dog had her head hanging out the window, breathing in the wonderful summertime
scents. “They look ripe. One of these days we’ll have to come back and pick enough
for a pie.”

The golden
retriever turned and looked at her with soulful eyes and then put her nose back
out the window. Jamie loved her old Jeep YJ for this very reason; she could
open it up in the heat of the summer and let the wind blow through her hair.
Come to think of it, she and her dog had that in common.

She was
driving at her usual fast clip, but the gravel road was familiar and she was
late for a meeting. There were some new arrivals at the Lodge today and she’d
made a habit of getting together with her office manager and her chef to review
the day’s check-ins, especially when important guests were due to arrive. It
was more than half way through summer and Long Lake Fishing Lodge was almost
full, but the new arrivals were important. She needed every booking she could
get to keep the place open.

Her favourite
corner was coming up. She slowed down every time she reached it, so she could
enjoy the first glimpse of Long Lake glittering through the trees. It was her
home; she loved it and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

When she rounded
the corner she was glad she’d developed the habit of slowing. Two vehicles sat
alongside the road. A long sleek job that looked like it might be a Jaguar had
pulled up behind a silver SUV. A man sat inside the Jaguar, but the driver’s
door was open on the SUV and the driver was standing on the passenger side between
the car and the shallow ditch, adjusting his camera.

Her heart
leaped into her throat. Browsing amongst the blueberry bushes were two grizzly
cubs, but she didn’t have time to enjoy the rare sight. Their mother stood in a
threatening stance, head lowered and the hackles on her back raised. Her fur
was the colour of buckwheat honey in the late morning sun.

Jamie pulled
her vehicle up in front of the SUV, popped open the glove box and pulled out a
canister of bear spray. Without taking her eyes off the mother bear she removed
the black plastic safety lock. Goldie whined softly and hunkered down; she knew
when to be afraid. Only her eyes and the top of her head showed above the
passenger door.

“Stay.” Jamie
knew the command was unnecessary, but she was nervous. She opened the door as
quietly as possible and stepped out. She had no idea how effective the bear
spray would be against a charging mother grizzly. Not very, she thought.

She decided
to speak in a normal tone. If she didn’t shout, or show fear, perhaps the
grizzly would see her as non-threatening. She couldn’t say as much for the man
who now had his camera up, taking pictures. What was the matter with him…did
he have a death wish?

She held the
gold canister loosely at her side, her finger through the loop and her thumb on
the ‘trigger’.

“Hi there,”
she said with what she hoped was a smile in her voice. “How old are you?”

“Huh? What?”
He turned to look at her. A pale city type who hadn’t seen the sun in a long
time, he was almost too good looking to be true. “I’m thirty-six.”

“Well” she
said, backing up a few steps, leaving room for him to retreat around the front
of his vehicle, “if you want to make it to thirty-seven, you’d better get back
in your vehicle.”

He stared at
her, uncomprehending.

“Right now,” she
said. “Unless you want to be lunch for that grizzly.”

What little
colour there was in his face drained away. He opened his mouth to speak, but no
sound came out. Then colour flooded back into his face as he realized his
predicament.

Jamie had to
admire him as he walked slowly back to his side of the vehicle. Most people
would have bolted, an action which would undoubtedly have caused the grizzly to
chase. She waited until she was sure he was safe then went back to the Jeep and
got in, but kept the bear spray at the ready. As she pulled out, she looked in
the rear view mirror. The man was slumped back in the driver’s seat, head on
the headrest, eyes closed.

* * *

Craig Hansen
relaxed his grip on the canister of bear spray and realized he’d been holding
his breath. He hadn’t been willing to embarrass the other man but had been
sitting with one hand on the door handle and the other on the spray. He’d never
needed it before, but it was rated at 30 feet. He fumbled for the safety clip
and snapped it back on, then shoved the canister into his back pack.

His thoughts
went to the woman. She’d been magnificent the way she strode along the side of
the road. At first he’d thought she too had stopped to take pictures and he was
beginning to wonder if everybody around here was crazy. Then he’d spotted the dull
gleam of the canister and it became clear what she was up to. He chuckled,
recalling her words. Now that he thought about her a bit more he realized that she
had to be local, driving a beat up old vehicle like that. There was something
about the women up here in Northern British Columbia. They were nothing like
the artsy types he worked with in Toronto, a fact which pleased him.

He checked
the time. It was too soon to check into Long Lake Lodge. The confirmation had
made it clear that check-in was at 3 o’clock. He was sure they would have bent
over backwards for him, but he didn’t like to ask for special favours. He’d taken
the time to study the map when he picked up the car at Prince George airport last
night and had noticed a town nearby; might as well pass some time checking it
out. You never knew where the next great idea might come from. He checked on the
grizzly who was now shepherding her cubs back into the woods. He couldn’t blame
the man for trying to take pictures. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, but
the danger had been all too real. He was still sitting there with his eyes
closed when Craig pulled out.

* * *

“Sorry I’m
late but you won’t believe what happened on the way back from town.” Jamie
grabbed a bottle of water and unscrewed the top. Brooke and Leeza were seated
at the usual table; the one in the corner that had the advantage of glass on
two sides. The view out over the lake was spectacular, plus they could keep a
casual eye on the children playing by the water’s edge.

Jamie took a
long drink and set the water bottle down forcefully. A few drops of water
splashed out the top and she wiped them off the table with her arm. “Some guy
with a death wish had gotten out of his SUV, walked around to the passenger
side and was taking pictures of a mother grizzly and two cubs.” As she spoke
she walked her fingers around the water bottle, her movements stiff and angry.
“Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous?”

Leeza laughed
but Brooke’s eyes widened. “What happened? Was he hurt?”

“I set him
straight and he got back into his vehicle.” The fingers marched back to the
driver’s side of the bottle. “That’s all we need is some tourist getting mauled
by a bear. Or worse.” She took another slug of water. “I think he was pretty
shook up when I told him it was a grizzly, though.” She gave a little shudder.
“There’s something about the word grizzly that frightens everyone.”

Leeza checked
her watch. “Shall we get on with it? We have a full house and we’re busy doing
prep work for lunch and dinner.” She pointed to the printout Brooke had placed
on the table. “Three VIPs in one day. That’s quite something.”

Jamie studied
the sheet as if she hadn’t seen it before, but she knew exactly who was
arriving.

She looked
across the table at her chef. If Leeza hadn’t been wearing a white chef’s
jacket, no one would have suspected that she worked in a kitchen, or for that
matter that she was in charge. With her diminutive stature, pale skin and black
spiky hair she looked like an escapee from a punk rock band. In spite of
Leeza’s unconventional appearance, Jamie was confident in her chef and knew
that she was as dependable as she was skilled.

“Brooke says
none of them have indicated any special dietary needs.” Leeza nodded to herself.
“Can’t say I mind that.” She tapped the list with a finger. “I see Slick Billy
is coming back again.”

“Slick
Billy?” Brooke looked down at the list and a slight frown marred her brow. “You
must mean William Talbot.”

Jamie grinned
in spite of herself. “Oh, yeah. Billy Talbot is slick all right, but of course
we only call him that behind his back.”

“Why do I
know that name?” Brooke had assumed the duties of office manager at the beginning
of the season and wasn’t yet familiar with their return customers. “I feel as
though I should know who he is.”

Jamie paused
to think for a moment. “I suppose if you don’t follow sports you may not have
heard of him. Remember how the Blue Jays were doing so well about six or eight
years ago?”

Brooke shook
her head. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay.
He played for the Blue Jays and was a terrific pitcher. He blew out his arm and
had to retire but he’s still famous. The press gave him the nickname of Slick
Billy because he was a real ladies’ man but he always managed to escape before
he got seriously involved. A love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy.”

“Oh.” Brooke
looked disappointed. “I’ve met enough of those to last a lifetime.”

“You?” Jamie
pulled back and looked at her Office Manager. “With your looks you could have
any man that walks through that door groveling at your feet. You must know
that.”

Brooke didn’t
try to deny that she was beautiful. Jamie liked that about her. “Not
interested,” she said simply. “I swear, at my last job I was hit on by almost
every man who checked in. Didn’t matter who they were with.”

Jamie and
Leeza looked at each other. “Billy will try anyway,” said Leeza. “If he doesn’t
come on to you, take his pulse; he’s probably dead.”

“He’s not
that bad, surely.” Brooke looked from one to the other.

“Trouble is,
he’s so charming.” Jamie looked at her new Office Manager with a raised
eyebrow. “I’ve watched him over the years and I think he actually falls in
love. But you could give him a taste of his own medicine.”

Leeza sat up
straighter, suddenly animated. Her dark eyes sparkled with interest. “You could
do it, you know. Hook him then let him go, same as he’s been doing ever since
he got famous.”

“Ladies! This
is one of our guests you’re talking about.” Brooke pretended to be shocked and
they all laughed.

“You’re
right.” Jamie sobered. “I don’t need any negative publicity right now. Besides,
Billy is more like family. He’s been coming here for quite a few years now.”

Brooke looked
down at the list. “I see that. This is his fifth visit.” Her finger trailed
down the list of names. “Here’s another one. Matthew Weber. Must be a hot shot
real estate agent. He’s won a prize as Salesman of the Year, and his stay was paid
for by the Valley Real Estate Board.”

Jamie raked
her fingers through her hair. “Sometimes I wish companies would find some other
destination for their prize winners.” She massaged her temples. “Don’t get me
wrong, I appreciate the booking, and the Lodge gets a lot of extra exposure,
but these people get here and don’t know anything about fishing. Within a
couple of days they’re bored.” She glanced over at the list. “He’s alone, isn’t
he? Same as Billy?”

Brooke
nodded. “Let’s just see how it goes. Maybe he’ll surprise us.”

“I hope so.”
Jamie motioned impatiently. “And the last of the VIPs was that documentary film
maker, right?”

“Yup.” Brooke
didn’t have to look at the name. “Craig Hansen. I’ve seen his work and he’s
good.” She slid a sideways glance at Jamie. “This is a big deal, him coming
here. Right?”

Jamie nodded.
“Yeah. It’s a preliminary trip, but if he decides to do a documentary on fly
fishing in the area, it could put us back in the money.” Jamie shared
everything with her two key employees. It was no secret that the Lodge had been
struggling since the economic downturn in the States and she was worried that
she might not be able to open next year. “I’m almost afraid to hope for too
much.”

Brooke spoke
thoughtfully. “Well then, let’s just treat him like we treat all the guests.
He’s probably used to people falling all over him.”