Northern Rebel Daring in the Dark - By Jennifer Labrecque Page 0,17

Still, he felt better about Liam now. “I’ve just been concerned about you.”

“I’m not going to lie.” Liam shook his head. “I was madder than hell when I showed up here. Bull helped me through a lot of it and so did Tansy. Tansy’s the one who came up with the idea of putting together survival camp.” Liam had told him that before. “She wasn’t about to let me wallow in anything.”

“No, she doesn’t strike me as the type that would.” Lars broached the next topic even more cautiously than the first. It, too, was one of those things you had to discuss man-to-man. “And speaking of Tansy... Don’t get me wrong, she seems like a great gal. But marriage? I mean, you tried that once before and it didn’t exactly work out. If it was anyone other than you, I’d keep my mouth shut but...”

“We’ve always had a different attitude about women. You know that crap with you and Denise went down a long time ago. You’ve got to let it go.”

He didn’t know what Liam was thinking, but if he thought Lars was still holding on to the pain he’d felt when Denise dumped him...uh, no, not by a long shot. “I have let it go. I let it go back in the day years ago. But I won’t make the same mistake again.” And he didn’t want to talk about himself. This was about Liam. “You look happy and content. I guess I didn’t expect to find you this way.”

“Yeah? You thought I’d be miserable right before I got married?” Good thing he knew Liam, because his brother didn’t crack a smile.

Lars shrugged.

“You should’ve seen my sorry ass when I first showed up here. That’s probably the guy you were expecting to find.”

“I’m just as glad I missed that part. You gonna be able to handle those dark winters here?” That would be Lars’s undoing.

“It’ll make it interesting. I’ve already got bookings for the ‘extreme survival trip’ in dark, cold conditions. I’ve been working with a guy you need to meet before you leave. His name is Clint Sinuket. He’s a trail guide and a wilderness expert. I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s out on a trip right now, but you should run into him sometime in the next week.”

“Sure thing. I’ll look him up.”

Liam continued. “This is what I figured out. When I was in the military, it was great and it totally defined me. By God, I was a Marine sharpshooter. Nuff said. But after losing all of that...I had to dig deep and figure who and what I was beyond the military. I found out there’s a whole lot more to me and a whole lot more out in the world.”

That was all good. Whatever Liam needed to do to work through his discharge, Lars was all for it. “You’re different. I’ll give you that.”

Luckily for Lars, he didn’t need to go through all of that. He knew exactly who he was and what he was.... He was a marine and it was enough.

“And as for marriage...” Liam shot him a level look. “Some of the best advice I’d ever heard came from Bull. He said that when you find a good woman, you hold on to her.”

Something twisted and shifted inside Lars and it wasn’t a particularly comfortable feeling. An image of Delphi flashed through his thoughts. Liam was getting way too intense for Lars. Time to lighten things up. “I do, all night long.”

“Okay, Ace.” Liam laughed. “I’m just going to sit back and watch because your time is coming.”

It was a helluva time for Delphi to come to mind again.

* * *

“IT’S BEAUTIFUL,” DELPHI said to Skye and Dalton as she stood in their home and looked around. The open floor plan boasted pale wood floors, linen-tinted walls and an off-white leather sectional with a companion recliner. It could’ve been boring but it wasn’t. The varying shades of off-white were soothing. Framed prints on the wall provided the room’s color. Delphi walked over for a closer look. “These are fantastic.”

“It’s a hobby,” Dalton said with his ready grin. It had taken all of two minutes for Delphi to see just how perfect Dalton and Skye were together. Skye’s somewhat brash husband had loosened her up. Delphi had always liked Skye and gotten along well with her, but the other woman had been buttoned up tight, compliments of an overachieving family with impossibly high expectations. Good Riddance and Dalton had been