Page 60 of Paging Dr. Breakup
Mom snorted, a faint blush coloring her weathered cheeks. “Anyway, enough about us. You and Deirdre make a wonderful couple. You’re both smart, work in healthcare, and what with the tragedy of poor Elijah…”
“See, that’s the problem,” Cal blurted out.
“What is?” Mom said.
Pop’s eyes narrowed, studying him. Uh-oh.
Sweat prickled his lower back. “Even if I wanted to be more than friends”—and on some level that was his unattainable dream—“I can’t compete with a ghost.”
“You really think that?”
“I know that.”
She rested her chin on her hand. “Elijah was a good person. Everyone liked him.”
Cal’s stomach sank with every true and damning word.
Mom continued. “You and Elijah are different people, special and good in your own way. You have plenty to bring to the table. Any woman would be lucky to have you in their life.”
He squirmed in the wooden chair. “It’s easy to say that, but the reality is complicated. Nothing is going to happen with us.” Except for last night. Damn. Under the table, he curled his fingers into his thigh.
“I think what your mother is saying is, you have to be open to love. Willing to take a chance. Listen to those around you.”
Cal barked a laugh. “Now I know that aliens abducted the real Pop. I can’t believe that the most stubborn person in the state of Alaska gave me that advice. It’s rich.”
Pop shrugged as he spooned a bite of low-fat custard. “Do as I say not as I do, son.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tuesday evening’s meetingwith the Koyukon corporation elders, Yukon Valley town leadership, and Ray Mountain landowners left Deirdre fighting not to bite her nails. The nerves had little to do with the topic and her presentation. It had everything to do with the tall frame of the quiet man next to her who radiated both strength and tension.
Calvin and his parents took chairs next to Deirdre and Mav with murmured hellos. She tried to ignore a few craned necks as participants peered at them.
“Hello,” Calvin said.
That one whispered word was all it took for Deirdre’s toes to tingle. The impact of his low voice right next to her ear the other night, at times murmuring appreciation and then shouting his own release, hit her hard enough to momentarily knock the wind out of her.
He flexed and released his hands on the thighs of his dark brown canvas pants. She couldn’t stop staring at those hands. The same hands that had drifted over her, strong but gentle. How those long fingers twined with her own as he drove deep, time and again, until her vision sparkled with her release. She licked her lip but froze at Calvin’s sharp turn of his head.
She scanned the room. Tuli Sampson and his grandmother, Ruth Sampson, sat a few seats down. Ruth, an elder, was looking much better. A few months back, she had been hospitalized with lung problems. Tuli looked better, too, though he walked with a limp and used a cane. She shuddered at the memory of Tuli almost bleeding out in the ED. She glanced at Calvin who had caught Tuli’s eye and lifted a brief hand in greeting.
Tuli and his grandmother sat together, murmuring.
EMT Louise Wright entered with her father, elder Steve Wright. He took a seat next to Yukon Valley’s mayor. Louise seemed to fade into the group, sitting a row back, though Tuli’s head swiveled to follow her movements. Louise settled next to one of the other Ray Mountain landowners who Deirdre vaguely recognized.
Various other elders and town council members sat around the table, along with the local traditional chief. An informational piece of paper lay in front of each person.
After the mayor and the traditional chief gave introductions, the meeting began.
The fifty-year-old elder Steve cleared his throat and adjusted his brown leather vest, the intricate bead patterns of swimming salmon gleaming in the light of the Yukon Valley community center meeting room. “We’re here to discuss the concern regarding prospectors trying to gain access to our lands in the greater Yukon Valley area. Maverick and Deirdre Steen, could you share your information, seeing as the speculators targeted your property first?”
“Happy to.” Mav sat forward and presented, as he and Deirdre had agreed, given that he had dealt with the outsiders more than she had. “We own several hundred acres west of town, which backs up to a portion of the Ray Mountains. Our property is at the tail end of the range, bordering BLM land. Because of a misfiled Department of Natural Resources survey years ago, our family never knew that there were any provable minerals on our land. Luckily, our original property deed included subsurface mineral rights. Per the information we were given, there may be a vein of gold.” He paused and smiled as several faces lit up. “I know. Alaska gold. Everyone wants it. Besides that, and maybe more importantly, the DNR survey assesses that rare earth elements are there.”
“What does that mean?” Steve asked.
Several participants took notes.
Deirdre held up a paper as Mav motioned to her. “According to the survey, allanite and monazite, which I had to research. As of a few weeks ago, I had zero idea what these were and why they’re important. The names sound strange.” Several chuckles popped up. “These are rare earth elements that have a wide range of applications including medical equipment, magnetic properties, and use in nuclear reactors.”
