Match Made In Paradise by Barbara Dunlop (black female authors TXT) 📕

the edge. She didn’t want to guess what Raven might have for laundry facilities in her cabin. Whatever they were, she doubted they’d take grease or oil out of Malaysian bamboo.

“I understand the governor is busy,” Raven was saying. “It doesn’t have to be the governor. Just give me the number of whoever’s in charge of road maintenance.” She paused and pulled an expression of exasperation, clearly aimed at the person on the other end of the line. “I know we’ve had a lot of rain this summer. It’s been falling on our heads.” She waited again. “Brodie could do a fly-by of the capitol building. Would that get his attention?” Then she grinned. “I thought so. Yeah, I’ve got a pen.”

She jotted down a number and ended the call.

“The governor?” Mia asked.

She’d met the governor of California once. As head of the California Fashion Design Council, Alastair’s friend Joseph McKenzie knew most of the movers and shakers in the state, and he’d introduced Mia to the governor at a party.

“The road problems keep compounding.” Raven had talked about the flooding to Mia last night.

“It didn’t rain today.”

“Not here, but it rained up in the mountains. Runoff hits the tributaries, tributaries hit the rivers, and the permafrost can’t absorb the moisture.”

“And water runs downhill.”

“Exactly, right onto the haul road. The washout they fixed yesterday got un-fixed last night. They need to put in some culverts and use better material, even if it does cost more.” Raven straightened a stack of papers on top of her organized desk. “How was your day?”

“Good.” Mia had maxed out her data allotment, but Breena France, a waitress at the Bear and Bar, granddaughter of the owner, had been very friendly and sat with Mia during the afternoon lull. Breena had grown up in Paradise and was home for the summer from the University of Anchorage, where she was studying computer science.

Raven rose. “Brodie told me Silas gave you a ride in?”

Mia gave a hollow chuckle as she remembered the experience. “He told me all about bears. At first, I thought he was joking; you know, messing with me because I was new in town.”

“He wasn’t joking.” Raven looked deadly serious.

“I got that.”

“I’ll give you some pointers.” Raven slung a small, battered backpack over one shoulder. “I should have done that last night.”

“Was I crazy to go running?” Mia asked, following Raven out the office doorway.

“Not crazy, but—”

“Are the bears just roaming around out there, like by the hundreds or something?”

Silas had acted like it was inevitable she’d run into one.

“Well, yeah, by the thousands, really. But it’s a big state, and they’re not all in the vicinity of Paradise.”

Mia shuddered at the idea she’d put herself in danger. “I guess I won’t be running again anytime soon.”

They made their way down the stairs and back along the warehouse wall, keeping to the right side of the red line. At least Mia knew that rule now.

“You need to take a friend along—well, friends, plural. Bears almost never bother groups of three or more.”

“Almost never?”

“You massively decrease your chances of having a problem. It’s like getting mugged in LA. The bigger the group, the safer you are.”

“I know which neighborhoods to avoid in LA. And the muggers don’t have sharp teeth and claws and weigh . . . what . . . five hundred pounds?”

“It can be closer to eight hundred.”

Mia let out a little eek as they left the building.

The parking lot was quieter now, no semis idling, no backup alarms, no drivers yelling at her. They crossed the wide swath of gravel to Raven’s green truck.

“You mind if we make a stop?” Raven asked as they climbed inside.

“Not at all. Where’re we going?”

“I have to talk to Brodie about the governor.”

Mia remembered Raven’s telephone conversation. “Would Brodie really buzz the governor’s mansion?”

Raven laughed as she started the engine. “Juneau’s a long way from here. But it would sure make our point, and get some media attention on the problem.”

“Can I help?” Mia asked.

Raven glanced over at her, obviously puzzled.

“Some of Alastair’s friends know important people. I once met the governor of California.”

“I don’t think we need to go interstate quite yet.”

Mia couldn’t tell if Raven thought she had the problem under control, or if she couldn’t imagine a way a mere fashion model might be able to help with a real-world problem. Mia tried not to let the dismissive reaction hurt her feelings.

Joseph McKenzie would help her if she asked. She was sure of that. At least, she was fairly sure he’d still take her call now that Alastair was gone. Joseph wasn’t one of the people who’d shunned her at the funeral.

It was a short drive across Main Street to the unimaginatively named Red Avenue. Red Avenue and Blue Crescent; she couldn’t help but wonder if there was a Green Parkway somewhere in town. Could they at least have gone with Scarlet, Indigo or maybe Chartreuse?

Raven nosed the truck into a long strip of street parking alongside about thirty other pickup trucks of varying colors, ages and rust-patch sizes.

“That side is the Galina barracks.” She pointed her thumb behind them. “This side is WSA housing. The big, flat building down at the end is the WSA cafeteria.”

“Could you live in the Galina barracks?” Mia couldn’t help but think it would be nicer to be in town; maybe safer from marauding bears too.

“And share washroom facilities with all those guys? No thanks.” Raven opened the door.

“Keys,” Mia called out, seeing them still dangling from the ignition.

“They’re fine.” Raven climbed out of the truck.

Mia followed suit. So, too dangerous to jog alone on the road, but leaving your truck keys in the ignition was perfectly safe. She couldn’t help but smile at the irony, thinking she wasn’t in LA anymore.

They followed a raw-wood raised sidewalk and entered a set of double metal doors into the big, square building that was obviously the facility’s cafeteria.

Mia could smell the grease, the salt and the grilled beef as soon as they stepped inside. She