to lose Magnum as a full-time employee of the construction company. I’d kind of expected that, eventually. Especially now that Magnum was a full member.
“We have three geeks, and I don’t know who to make head geek,” he told me. “We need either Brain, McGyver, or Shadow to spend time with all three and give me some feedback on their skill levels.”
“I get the sense that Magnum is the best at security, Gears is best at video and photo and graphic stuff, and Skippy’s more of an all-around tech guy with a really good handle on how electronic money moves around in the banking systems. McGyver knows Gears’ abilities. We could send the other two up to Chattanooga a few days so they can see how Brain has everything set up. Keep from having to ask one of them to come here.”
“Yeah. I’ll talk to Duke and Brain, maybe Bud. Gears has been stretched thin, managing the bike shop and handling geek duties.”
“We need to find a way to test Skippy so we feel comfortable voting him in. We need a money man. I’m happy to continue with what I’ve been doing, but if we can turn him loose with all of our information, I’m certain he’ll know things to do that I don’t.”
“We aren’t rushing anyone through. It’ll happen in good time.”
“I know. Trust me, I get it. That’s why I want to find a way to test him.”
“Not sure what test we could’ve given the last asshole to catch him.”
He made a valid point. I’d caught the wolf, but would I catch a raven? Birds are better at controlling our micro-expressions, since we know how easy they are to spot by another bird.
The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving were uneventful. Cheyenne invited me to have Thanksgiving with her, the kids, and Gil. They ate during the day, and our celebration was later in the evening, so it worked out. I invited them to our evening celebration. Gil declined for him and the kids, but Cheyenne said she’d love to come.
“Do you do the whole Black Friday shopping thing?” I asked her about a week before the big day.
She looked at me as if I’d lost my sanity. “Yes. Of course. I mean, most sales start the weekend before, so for some things, if you haven’t bought them before Thanksgiving, you won’t get them, but the best sales are that weekend.”
“I haven’t had to buy many gifts for a few years. The boys are easy. I’m wondering if I can take Nora shopping for some good quality leather boots. I can’t surprise her with them because she’ll need to try them on.”
“Why did you ask about Black Friday?”
“I’ll be leaving for Canada Friday morning. A few of us chartered a flight. We rent a remote cabin where we can all change and roam the forest. It’s colder up there, and we’re indigenous.”
“Bears?”
I nodded. “A few wolves, too. You’re welcome to come if you’d like. My treat.”
“But I won’t be able to shop.”
“Right.”
“I’ve made plans with Nora to actually go to the mall that weekend, so I need to skip this trip, but I hope I get invited on another one.”
“You will. We usually plan this out farther in advance, but we had an opportunity for a low-cost charter, so we took it.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Frost
Our three days in Canada rejuvenated my soul. Orange Crush had permanently joined us, which meant Birmingham had three bears, and all of them went, along with a few wolves, and me. One of the prospects was a wolverine, and he expressed an interest, but Mad Dog told him this trip was only for patched members. I had a feeling I understood his reasoning, but it was too bad — we could’ve used a prospect to act as gofer.
As it turned out, none of the ol’ladies went, so it worked out that Cheyenne couldn’t come. We were in our animal forms most of our time in Canada, though we spent one afternoon watching a game, drinking beer, and eating steaks.
The trip home on Monday, we loaded the plane with beer and played poker most of the way home. I love my brothers. I’d missed them while I’d won Cheyenne over, and I didn’t regret the time at all because it had to be done, but I was so glad I didn’t have to choose between them anymore.
Tuesday, Gil stopped by my office unannounced. I walked to the lobby so I could escort him back — we don’t