6
Julie stomped down the hall to the meeting room. Mason had rented the small building at the airstrip so they could load the planes that would take them to Barrow directly from the hangar instead of having to transport everything. The smart move meant she could really spread the supplies out and check everything closely.
The entire drive to the hangar had worry knotting in her stomach. Mason would figure out how to make the expedition a go. His calm, steady demeanor had been the main reason she’d agreed to go on the expedition. Well, that and the fact if she didn’t, she’d probably lose his sponsorship.
The expedition had started out as something she had to do for her kennel and her father’s legacy. Training with the team the last four months had transformed the trip into something she looked forward to, even despite her momentary breakdown the night before. Her team would attempt the incredible. How could she not be excited?
She stepped into the room only to find Mason and his best friend—expedition physician, Clark Simms—bent over the computer at the table. Mason and Clark had many adventures under their belt together, from scaling Denali to mushing across Antarctica. They’d crossed the Sahara by camel and kayaked the Amazon River. If there was an adventure to conquer, these two men were bound to do it. She couldn’t let the stress of preparing make her forget how blessed she was to be a part of their next conquest.
“Morning, boys.” Since the two of them liked to joke and mess around like children, she’d started calling them boys.
Normally, they smiled at the term with a twinkle of mischief in their eyes. At the moment, their matching frowns pulled her own mouth down.
“How are the Reeves?” She took a deep breath, darting her eyes from one man to the next.
The Reeves were a couple from Eagle that took guests on adventures through the northern wilderness. Both being paramedics and having extensive mushing backgrounds made them invaluable members on the team. Over the last four months, Julie depended on their steady assurance.
“They’re fine.” Clark rounded the table and draped his arm across her shoulder, leading her to a chair. “Just injured. Mary has a concussion and dislocated shoulder, and Jack’s femur snapped in half. Thankfully, they weren’t hurt worse, though their truck is totaled.”
“Thank God.” She slumped into the seat with a huff.
“Glad I had a back-up plan.” Mason’s words snapped her head up. He shrugged. “I always have a back-up plan.”
“Okay. How are we going to get to the North Pole with two fewer people on the team?” Julie crossed her arms over her chest, still a little cross at him for not clueing them all in yesterday.
“I had fill-ins training just in case something like this happened.”
Smart, except it was like adding a new forward and goalie to the team just as you headed into the Stanley Cup.
“I don’t know. We’ve melded as a solid unit these last four months. We know each other so well we can communicate without a word. Isn’t it dangerous to throw two new people into the mix we don’t even know?” She hated pointing that out when Mason had everything planned, but one wrong move on the Arctic Ocean could mean death.
“I have total confidence that these two will fit in just fine.” Mason’s gaze went to the door and relief softened the creases at the corner of his eyes. “Good. Just in time.”
Julie turned in her seat as Gunnar Rebel stepped into the room behind a woman who had to be one of his sisters. Was she little Sunny? It was a good thing Julie’s behind was already parked in a seat, otherwise she would’ve been on the floor. Her entire body trembled.
Gunnar’s gaze connected with hers, his eyebrows shooting to his hairline in shock. Good. At least she wasn’t the only one in the dark. She couldn’t do this, could she? Couldn’t spend the next unknown number of days and nights trekking over the frozen ocean with the man who hadn’t been there when she’d needed it most.
She should say something, anything, to get Mason to make a different decision. She turned to him, her mind spinning with options that didn’t include Gunnar Rebel.
Mason extended his arm to the door. “This is—”
“Jules?” Sunny interrupted Mason. “Julie Sparks?”
Julie turned back to the door and lifted her hand in a pitiful wave. “Sunny?”
Sunny peeked back at her brother, worry crinkling her forehead, before she smoothed it out and closed the distance between them. “It’s so good to see you.”
Julie stood and stiffly returned Sunny’s hug. “You too.”
“You all know each other?” Mason asked.
“We used to hang out all the time before Gunnar enlisted.” Sunny answered Mason, then focused back on Julie.
Julie prayed Sunny wouldn’t give Mason and Clark all the details about their connected past.
“Good. Then this transition should be easier than I thought.” Mason sat in the chair and motioned to the others to do the same. “Sit. We have a lot to discuss.”
Julie felt Gunnar’s eyes on her. Felt the heat of his gaze swirl to settle uncomfortably in her gut. She ignored him, staring at the seat in front of her like it was an electric chair, and she was going to her execution.
She should say something, ask Mason to talk privately. Heck, she could channel Saylor and demand someone else. Anyone else.
“Julie?” Mason lifted an eyebrow.
She swallowed and wiped her slick hands on her jeans as she slid into the chair. She couldn’t make a scene, not with everyone here. The conversation buzzed in her ears as she spent the next hour figuring out how to convince Mason that taking the Rebels wasn’t a good idea. Because one thing was for sure, she couldn’t spend countless nights in a tiny tent with the man who’d broken her heart. The man her foolish heart still trembled for.