Essential Beginnings (4 page)

“One dinner and then he’ll be gone,” Henley whispered to herself as she slipped out the front door and strolled down the gravel path toward the main lodge. “You can do this, girl.”

The large building occupied the center of the camp. It contained her office and a check-in desk off of the foyer. The rest of the first floor facilities were centered around the great room with its massive river rock fireplace. It had an old log cabin charm on a grand scale and yet contained a rustic tasteful décor. To the right of the fireplace toward the back of the room was an archway leading to the taproom and bar. It had all the amenities of an English dart tavern, which was always well stocked with virtually any liquor or beverage imaginable.

To the left of the fireplace was the passage to the restaurant and a truly splendid commercial kitchen. Farther left was a spacious main area with several French doors leading to a long, glassed-in four-season room filled with comfortable pine deck furniture and multiple overhead fans running off of an old-fashioned pulley system. Flanking the main room on the right were two separate archways leading to either end of the library and game room. Inside these walls were lined shelves, floor to ceiling, stuffed with a great number of volumes spanning hundreds of subjects. Quite to Ernie’s amusement, many of the guests had never bothered with his unique library, preferring to utilize the room’s billiard or gaming tables covered in their green felt rather than enjoying a good read in one of the many overstuffed high-backed leather chairs.

Opposite the check-in desk and Henley’s office in the foyer was the stairway leading to the second floor balcony overlooking the great room and granting access to the more modern guestrooms in the main lodge. The remainder of the guest cabins were arrayed around the main lodge in a semicircle, but all of them could be seen from the thin lane she was walking. Henley continued toward the lodge, ignoring the early spring mosquitos that wanted a fresh meal and the sounds of the horny crickets in the surrounding forest. She was not able to stop herself from looking over to the right where Mav usually stayed, his lodging tucked in amongst the foliage. Why did it stand out more than the others?

Henley finally reached the main entrance and she sighed to herself as she opened the door before she could change her mind. The one thing that prevented her from running back to her cabin were Mav’s earlier words. He thought she’d buried herself in her cabin and wasn’t living her life? She felt more at peace here than she ever had in front of the runway lights, so he didn’t have the right to judge her. Why then was her heart pounding and the blood rushing in her ears? She didn’t have anything to prove to this man or any other. It was because Mav’s earlier words continued to haunt her and she didn’t want that hanging over her head for another whole year. She’d face him head on and make him see that she was just fine here in Lost Summit. This was her life and she damn well loved it.

“Henley, we’re back in the dining room,” Ernie said as he emerged from the passageway leading to the restaurant.

There were a couple of doors to storage and utility areas on either side of the hallway leading to the open dining area. Mav was sitting at one of the dozen unused tables looking at some papers that were strewn all over it. He peered at her with his sensual brown eyes, looking exactly like he had the day she’d met him the first time at this very place. As a matter of fact, he might even be wearing the same cargo pants and faded brown USMC T-shirt. He was at least six feet tall, with a broad chest and biceps bigger than her thighs. His brown hair was closely cropped on the sides, but was thicker and longer on top and swept to the side in a casual wave. His jaw was square and his lips were what people in her old business would call downright sinful. Sexual frustration was what she was suffering from, but he wouldn’t be the one to satisfy it.

“You need to see this data that Ernie has collected.”

Henley crossed the threshold into the room and resisted the urge to run her palms down the sides of her denim. Mav was watching her too closely and she didn’t want him to know that he affected her in any way. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed having the other four men around. They were a buffer, although she truly enjoyed their company. Mav, on the other hand, got under her skin worse than the ticks that caused Lyme disease around these parts. That would probably be preferable over this underlying tension between them. He knew exactly what to say to rile her and he seemed to take pleasure in doing so. She’d been proud of herself this morning at the diner when she’d walked out without rising to his bait. She’d do the same this evening and looked forward to when she’d be able to breathe a little easier come tomorrow morning. There was no way that Ernie would be able to talk Mav into staying again.

“See what?” Henley asked, walking right behind the service counter to the glass-topped beverage cooler to pull out a bottle of water. Mav shifted to the side and rested his arm on the back of his chair so he could see her. She had to look away when he lifted the beer bottle to his lips. “I’ve had the radio on since we got back from town and nothing has happened that would indicate something more major than a natural series of smaller aftershocks.”

“Tank has collected enough data over the years to have a valid point on what would happen to the United States if the caldera at Yellowstone erupted,” Mav replied, although his eyes said something completely different. It appeared he still wasn’t convinced that Ernie was right about it occurring anytime soon. “You should read this stuff and make your own best judgment.”

Henley really didn’t have a choice but to join both men in front of the open table facing a small row of three booths against the opposite wall, so she slowly made her way over to the nondescript dining table as she unscrewed the cap on her water bottle. Ernie would hire local workers to staff the dining room during the height of tourist season—a couple servers and a cook who managed a decent breakfast, lunch, and dinner service. Anything outside of that and the guests had to rely on the diner in town or use the kitchen as long as they cleaned up after themselves.

Once Ernie finished preparing the side dishes, wrapping the potatoes in foil with a bit of salt and butter, and placing the steaks in a black pepper marinade, they would carry their preparations over to his cabin. It was the same as hers with basically three rooms—the living area, the bedroom, and a small bathroom that only allowed for a stand-up shower. The main room contained a couch, two chairs, and a coffee table plus a kitchenette. It was simple, homey, and efficient, just the way Tank had intended it to be.

Tank emerged from the kitchen and asked for some help getting everything back to his cabin. Mav made sure he carefully packed up the stack of papers detailing all of the information Ernie had put together. They arrived at Tank’s place after a short walk.

The fireplace was the focal point of the cabin, with multi-colored river rock forming the hearth. The rough-hewn thick wooden mantel contained pictures of Ernie and the guys from their annual vacations, but there was one with only Tank and Mav that was front and center. Both men had on their sunglasses and were wearing smiles as they held up their catches from the day on one of the local lakes. It had been a beautiful morning and one that had been captured on film as a reminder of how close the two men were.

“You don’t think it will erupt from the sound of your voice.” Henley leaned back in the chair after having delivered everything she’d carried onto the counter and made herself as comfortable as she could, considering Mav’s smoldering eyes had made the room rather stifling. She fiddled with the cap on her water bottle again, not really thirsty. “Like I said, there’s been nothing on the news.”

“I wouldn’t be making assumptions without looking at the evidence first,” Ernie chastised, taking a seat next to Mav after shooting him a sideways look. Henley smiled for the first time since this morning, loving when Tank got his feathers ruffled. Mav hid his own grin, probably figuring he was closest to Ernie and not wanting to get backhanded in the head. Tank shuffled through some of his papers and sorted them into some kind of order until he found the one he was looking for and handed it over to Henley. She secured the cap and placed the bottle in between her legs as she leaned forward to take it. “This is a report that documents what can occur if an earthquake was large enough to be a catalyst, a precursor to a major event.”

Henley shared a look with Mav, whose brown eyes held a bit of skepticism at what Ernie had just given her. She could see Mav’s hesitation in saying he didn’t quite believe what he was reading, but she’d decide for herself and then give her honest opinion. Scanning the document, she didn’t see anything that stood out. It took her around ten minutes to read the report and by the time she was done, she understood Mav’s uncertainty.

“Tank, I admit that this is a pretty dim view of what could happen.” Henley did find it a bit peculiar that there was a Yellowstone Volcano Observatory at the University of Utah, where the caldera was monitored every second of the day. She hadn’t known that and she doubted most of the public was aware of it either. “I do see where you’re coming from, but the geologist who wrote this also states that he doesn’t expect Yellowstone to explode for another one hundred thousand years.”

“The odds are one in seven hundred thousand every year.” Ernie pointed to the paper still in her hand. “Those are the same probabilities of getting struck by lightning.”

“It’s still just sheer speculation unless certain specific events follow a large quake. None of which has happened,” Henley argued, not willing to let Ernie’s paranoia get out of hand. She was surprised that Mav wasn’t saying more, but then again…she wasn’t sure why he stayed in town either. “We can’t live our lives in fear worrying about what might happen in the future.”

“It’s not the future I’m worried about,” Ernie shot back, leaning his elbows against his knees. “It’s the present, and the two of you are putting your lives in danger if neither one of you can see that a six point one earthquake followed by swarms almost just as severe
is
the catalyst all these scientists have been talking about for the last few years.”

“Going on the assumption that you’re right, where are the events that your research said would follow?” Henley asked as she leaned forward and placed the report on the table. “Is there really anything we can do about it if it did happen? There would be virtually nothing left of Wyoming, Montana, or Idaho should the caldera explode from the facts given in your report. After that it’s only a matter of time before the ash cloud travels and sulfur dioxide is released into the atmosphere.”

“Together they would cause temperatures to plummet, pushing us into a volcanic winter for years,” Mav added on, taking another swig of his beer. “Nothing that we’ve read gives an indication of how far apart the catalyst would be from the main event. Are we talking hours? Days? Years? Tank, even you can understand that we can’t put our lives on hold for something that may never happen.”

“While Mav starts the grill up, why don’t you show me why you think we’d be okay up here in Lost Summit?” Henley suggested this for a few reasons. The main one was to give Mav something to do besides stare at her. That didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking of Ernie in this situation. She really was curious as to why he felt their small valley would be protected from an apocalyptic event that would affect the entire world, unless he thought he could fit every resident in that bunker of his. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m rather hungry from all the extra errands I ran today.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mav replied with a relieved smile as he unfolded his large frame from the couch. He went to the small refrigerator to retrieve the steaks that Ernie had marinated, along with the grilling utensils. She had a hard time looking away from his muscles as they moved underneath his shirt, but then Tank leaned forward and pulled out a large map from underneath the other papers, spreading it out on the coffee table and demanding her attention. “When you guys are done in here, come outside with another beer and join me as I master the grill.”

“Look at this,” Ernie instructed as he ignored Mav’s intention to lighten the mood. Tank used his callused index finger to circle a large area around Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Henley breathed a little easier when the door closed behind Maverick, allowing her to concentrate on what was in front of her. “This area will be eradicated rather quickly once the eruption occurs. No one within hundreds of miles of the caldera could survive the initial blast, and then that’s when the ash will begin to spew into the upper atmosphere to be carried by the prevailing winds.”

Henley sat in her chair and listened as Tank went on to explain that most of the United States within seventy-two hours would be covered in ten centimeters or more of ash. Most people think of volcanic ash as the same as that on the end of a cigarette, but that wasn’t the case. It is made of pulverized rock and glass shards. It would limit visibility and worse, especially should it rain, the ash would double in weight by at least fifty percent, if not more. The massive weight of ten centimeters of wet ash alone would collapse the roofs on most houses. The list of what volcanic ash could do was downright frightening, including contaminating the water supplies and having the ability to affect radio and satellite communications to the outside world. The worst? Breathing in the ash could coat the inside of their lungs and when the residue mixed with the moisture inside one’s body, it could basically turn into a cement-like substance. It would be a horrible smothering death and if Ernie was trying to scare her, he was doing a damn fine job of it.

“Tank, you’re telling me we’re safe here in Lost Summit even if all of this were to happen,” Henley said, softly laying her hand on his arm. She finally had his attention. “That would depend on Mother Nature quite a bit and from what you’re showing me, going north into Canada might be a better choice. I know what you’re trying to do, but Mav and the rest of the group cannot put their lives on hold to move here based on a chance of something happening. What would they do? How would they support themselves? It’s not like the silver mine is open for them to have a place to work. We are basically a tourism town and the only thriving business is this fishing lodge and the camping grounds that Rat owns. Anyone that had small children moved out years ago, leaving behind the older generation that didn’t want to leave their home. There’s no industry here for them to support themselves.”