Come To Me (Dare With Me #3) - J.H. Croix Page 0,47

me. Turning toward her, my lips tugged into a smile instantly.

Her eyes twinkled when our gazes collided. Her hair was a little damp, and I wished I’d been able to shower with her.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey. The class was great.”

Since there was no such thing as a private conversation around here, Gabriel chimed in, “It was. Are you actually gonna come out every week? Because that’s fucking awesome.”

Gemma smiled. “If the guest class stays filled, I’ll keep coming every week.”

Nora approached, resting her hands on the counter by the stove across from us. “That means enough of us need to show up too, right?”

Gemma cocked her head to the side. “I suppose so. But once I’m here, I’m here. An extra hour is no big deal even if it’s a small group.”

When I glanced to the side, I didn’t miss Gabriel’s hard stare at Nora. But then, it was hard to miss. She ignored him completely. The tension between those two was at its height lately. They generally tried not to be in the same room, which was probably for the best.

Nora’s eyes bounced off of Gabriel, her lips twisting slightly and a flush cresting high on her cheeks. She whipped her gaze back to Gemma. “I’ll be there. I’m also going to keep coming at least once a week to your classes in town. It’s a nice change of pace.”

Daphne bustled by with a platter, tossing over her shoulder, “Dinner! Since it’s just staff, let’s take advantage of the table.”

As we crossed the room, Gemma asked, “Do you all usually not use the table?”

“Only when Daphne’s not serving guests. When she’s serving guests too, we usually grab what we can in the kitchen right at the counter.”

“Not that anyone’s complaining about that,” Tucker chimed in after my explanation.

We sat down to enjoy a dinner of silver salmon with a lemon dill honey glaze and sautéed veggies and rice. In short, it was heaven.

“Oh, my God,” Gemma moaned after a few bites. “It’s a good thing I’m not here all the time. I would definitely gain weight.”

Daphne cast her a quick smile. Harley behaved herself during dinner, actually having a normal conversation with Gemma, and even getting some pointers from her on Harley’s consideration of going back to college. She did well for herself with transcription and translation, but she kept toying with whether or not she needed a real degree.

“I don’t know. I think a college degree is important in some fields. But for what you’re doing, your work will speak for itself more than anything. I would only go if that’s what you want. Because it’s a lot of work. I have a college degree, and I don’t even use it.”

“Really?” Harley looked startled at that.

Gemma wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “Yup. I went into sports medicine and didn’t really love it. I found that I enjoy teaching yoga more. I do apply the knowledge I gained from those classes, but I definitely don’t need that degree to do what I do. I don’t see myself going back to that work.”

Dinner carried on, and I walked Gemma out to her car afterwards. Just as I was thinking I might follow her into town and sweet talk her into letting me stay the night, there was a loud snorting sound in the trees. Glancing sideways, I saw a mama moose with two yearlings right behind her dashing out of the trees. That was no big deal. It was the brown bear that followed that sent a prickle of icy fear down my spine.

Gemma and I happened to be halfway across the gravel parking area. We were between the resort and the vehicles parked on the far side of the lot. I grabbed her by the elbow. “Over here,” I said quickly.

The only thing giving us a breather to move was that the bear was distracted. I got us between two vehicles. Gemma was tense with tremors running through her. “Oh, my God, oh, my God,” she whispered rapidly. “After seeing one of those in the airport, dead and stuffed, I thought that was good enough. I was totally okay with never seeing a bear up close.”

“Understood. Keep your voice low. We’re gonna get in this truck.”

The bear had stopped just along the edge of the parking area. Whether he heard us, or sensed our motion, his massive head swung in our direction.

Flynn came out on the porch at that moment with a twelve-gauge shotgun in hand. His eyes met