“We’re flying to Big Bear Lake.”
“Ohmigod, this is…” Jade couldn’t even finish what she was going to say. He was already leading her to the hangar, but she didn’t see a pilot waiting for them.
“Going to be fun,” Rafe finished for her. “You probably haven’t been there, have you?”
She shook her head as she climbed into the jet and saw seating for about seven, with room for skis, golf clubs, whatever a jet-setter would need. This was amazing. She’d never expected anything like this. When he moved into the cockpit, she was even more surprised. “You’re flying?”
“Been flying since they invented airplanes, practically. Air Force fighter pilot. Flew in two wars. Not that anyone would ever know. I used a couple of other identities back then.” He motioned to an icebox. “There are drinks in here, if you’d like something before dinner.”
“Where are we eating?”
“At the best little bar and grill in California.”
“That sounds good.” She pulled out bottles of water and sat in the copilot’s seat. Rafe talked about the places they were flying over while she watched the scenery pass beneath her.
She was feeling a little better about Toby because Lizzie had shared a video of them earlier this evening on her cell phone. They were playing hide-and-seek, and Toby appeared really happy. The video had been taken indoors, and Jade didn’t recognize the sparsely furnished place. She imagined her brother had assumed she’d be too distracted from her mission if she was worried about her son and so had had someone take the videos. Unfortunately, they had disabled the geotagging feature so she couldn’t get a location on it.
“Does your brother take jets around like this too?”
“Yes, but he has a pilot fly him wherever he needs to go.”
Jade bit her lip, realizing this was the perfect opportunity to broach the subject of his whereabouts and said, “So he has a long way to come to get to your place?”
“A fair way.”
“From where?” she asked, hating this.
“All over.” Rafe gave her a charming smile, but she swore something about his response said he didn’t trust her. Was she just being paranoid now?
And how could she ask again without it sounding odd?
When they landed at another small airport, she kept thinking how this was the experience of a lifetime. She hated the deception but didn’t know what else she could do to rescue her son from her brother.
After she and Rafe left the plane, he escorted her to the parking lot, where he unlocked a black Yukon Denali.
“It has your name on it,” she said. He didn’t own a car company too, did he?
“That’s why I bought it. It’s the perfect four-wheel drive SUV for trips to the lake. But it isn’t named after our family. I thought it was a nice touch.”
“How many cars do you have?” she asked.
“I have several in various locations so that when I arrive, I’m all set to go. Cars are kind of a passion of mine. I have a dozen scattered around.”
He drove her to the Bear Paw Bar and Grille, where two carved wooden bears stood out front on a wooden porch. The overhang on the porch shaded guests sitting on benches, waiting to be called when their tables were ready.
A garden surrounded the sides and back, and Jade and Rafe walked around so she could see the garden seating, fountains, and flowers. Bronze statues of bears were on display: one on its back with a cub climbing onto its belly, another fishing for koi in a pond at the edge of the gardens, another taking a sip of water out of a fountain. Stained glass hangings of bears were situated all over the gardens, catching the sunlight and looking fairylike. Wondrously whimsical. Jade loved it and would have loved showing it to Toby.
When they walked inside, she figured Rafe would give his name to the hostess and they’d have a long wait out on the porch like the others—maybe about twenty in all—but he didn’t even have to give the hostess his name. She smiled at Rafe as if he were her best friend and said, “Right this way, Mr. Denali.”
Jade had never been with anyone who had that kind of influence. She closed her gaping mouth as several people waiting for tables glanced at them, probably wondering why they got immediate seating. She touched Rafe’s arm and whispered, “We shouldn’t cut—”
Then a woman waiting with a family asked the hostess, “We can’t make reservations, but they just arrive and get seated?”
“He’s the owner,” the hostess said, smiling.
All gazes instantly switched to him.
Someone whispered, “He’s the billionaire.”
“He owns the place?” someone else asked.
Jade looked up at Rafe. He shrugged and said for her hearing only, “The owner doesn’t need to have a reservation. He just has his personal assistant call ahead, and he always gets the best seat in the house.”
Jade laughed and slipped her arm through his, rethinking their preferential treatment as the hostess escorted them to a table with a view overlooking the gardens. “Okay, I agree with you there. It would be strange if you had to wait to be seated at your own restaurant. This is truly the best experience I’ve ever had. I can’t thank you enough for saving me in the ocean and making my vacation the grandest one ever.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this. Just think of it as a Californian’s welcome to the great grizzly bear state.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. Something had changed between them, though she wasn’t sure what. He was still friendly and interested, but she sensed a subtle change in him. He was more reserved, she thought. She worried again that he knew she was a fraud.
He pulled her chair out for her, and once they were seated, they looked over the menus and ordered their meals.
“Do you look a lot like your brother?” Jade asked, trying to figure out something to say to lead him into revealing something of his brother’s whereabouts.
“A fair amount.”
Their salads, rolls, and drinks arrived, and while they ate their salads, Jade said, “I had a friend whose twin sister looked just like her, and they pulled all kinds of pranks on boyfriends. Have you ever used your similar looks to pretend you are your brother or vice versa?”
Rafe smiled a little. “A time or two. We couldn’t do it with our kind. Our scents would give us away. But if we weren’t together, we could pass ourselves off in each other’s place.”
“When you were young? Or do you still do it today?”
“When we were young, we did it on purpose. Today, it’s a case of mistaken identity. Aidan doesn’t live where I do, but if he visits the places I frequent without me, or with one of our mutual friends, they’ve thought Aidan was me.”
“Does he tell them he isn’t?”
“No. They call him Mr. Denali, and since he is also named Denali, he just leaves it at that. Technically, his title is doctor, but rather than confuse the clerk or waiter, he doesn’t correct him or her. Now, if the person has a business relationship with me and needs to speak to me about it, he’ll explain he’s my brother and tell the person to call me.”
Their filet mignons and baked potatoes were served, and Jade took in the delightful aroma of the beef. “So your brother visits you often?” she asked, slicing into her tender steak.