Page 25 of Deserving Ryleigh
“Apparently,” Brick said with a grin. “Dylan John Fowler was underweight, but the doctors think he’ll be just fine. He’s in the NICU, but Spike said it was a precaution, not because anything was majorly wrong.”
The worry in the room bled away. No one expected the second baby of The Refuge to be born so soon after the first, but the occasion was just as joyous as when Henley’s little girl arrived.
Everyone began to talk about moving up the baby shower they’d planned for next week, and deciding who would be going down to Albuquerque to see Reese, Spike, and Dylan first.
Everyone except Ryleigh. When Tiny looked over, she had her head buried in her phone, thumbs racing over the screen.
“What’re you doing?” he asked as he sidled closer to her.
She didn’t even look up. “Ordering food for Spike. And clothes for all three of them. They left here so fast, they didn’t have time to pack a bag. When Reese feels better, she’ll want some soft PJs to wear. And hospital food sucks. Reese will probably be too exhausted to eat right now, so I’m making sure they have good stuff delivered to her room for later.”
Her compassion made Tiny feel guilty all over again about how he’d treated her.
“And I’m making sure their insurance is good to go,” Ryleigh mumbled under her breath.
Tiny smiled at that. Should he be worried about what databases she was hacking into as they stood there? Probably. But since she was looking out for one of his best friends, he couldn’t seem to dredge up any concern whatsoever about what she was doing.
Lunch was a celebration of sorts. Even though the people they were celebrating were down in Albuquerque, it didn’t take away from the happiness of the moment. Everyone was excited about Dylan’s appearance in the world and very relieved Reese was all right.
Tiny overheard Owl and Stone talking about the problem with the fuel delivery for the chopper, and how that could be a huge issue if, in the future, someone needed evacuation because of an injury or wildfire.
It took a moment for Tiny to realize Ryleigh wasn’t eating. She was picking at the food on her plate and pushing it around. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly, for her ears only.
She looked up at him. “Nothing.”
Tiny pressed his lips together in frustration, reminding himself that her reluctance to talk to him wasn’t a surprise. He’d been a dick to her for a long time. It wasn’t as if she was going to open up and tell him her deepest, darkest secrets just because he’d apologized. He’d have to prove to her that she could trust him, that he wouldn’t go back to being the asshole he’d been up until this point.
He opened his mouth to tell her as much, when sounds of a ruckus came from the reception desk.
Someone had arrived after lunch was served, and Alaska had gone over to help the man. Nothing seemed amiss…but now the new arrival was yelling and waving his arms in the air.
Brick was moving before anyone else had even noticed, but Tiny and all the other guys were quickly on their feet. Some of their guests were volatile because of the traumas they’d experienced. No one judged them for it, but at the same time, it wasn’t acceptable for that anger to be taken out on Alaska, or any other staff or guests at The Refuge.
“I don’t care what your computer says, I have a reservation!” the man shouted, his face turning red. “See? It’s right here! This is why I printed off my confirmation, things always get fucked up!”
“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s no record of that reservation number in the system. It must not have gone through,” Alaska said in a calm, steady tone.
“How could it not have gone through when I have a freaking reservation number and an email telling me what time check-in starts?”
The man had a good point, but Tiny wasn’t interested in that at the moment. He was more concerned with how angry the guy looked. While Brick circled the desk, heading for Alaska, Pipe was the first to reach the guest, and he didn’t pull any punches. He stepped into the newcomer’s personal space, forcing him to take a few steps back from the desk.
“We’ll figure this out, but you need to relax, mate,” he said firmly.
“You can’t tell me—” The man’s words abruptly cut off when he got a good look at Pipe. The man could be intimidating, with all his muscles and tattoos, and he was usingboth to his advantage at the moment. The angry man probably also thought better about whatever he might have said next when he saw all the remaining Refuge owners converging on him.
Brick gently pushed Alaska behind him at the desk, but she refused to completely back off.
“Mr. Henderson has a reservation number, but there’s no record of it in our system,” she told Brick unnecessarily. “I’m not sure how that happened.”
“Do we have a cabin available?”
Alaska bit her lip and wrinkled her nose. “We’re booked up tonight. Tomorrow, cabin four will be empty because we had a cancelation, but not tonight.”
“The friends and family cabin?” Owl asked from beside Tiny.
Alaska took a moment to consider his suggestion, then nudged Brick aside so she could reach the computer. She clicked on the mouse and typed something, then nodded.
“That should work,” she said. Looking at the guest, she took back control of the situation, as if she wasn’t surrounded by six very protective men. “Sir, I’m not certain how this happened. The cabin you reserved isn’t available, and tonight, everything is sold out. But we have a special cabin that’s reserved for friends and family that’s available. It’s smaller than the one you reserved, but you can stay there tonight, and tomorrow move into cabin four. To apologize for the inconvenience and the mix-up, we’ll give you fifty percent off your stay, if that’s acceptable.”
