The Alberta Connection by R. Clint Peters Read Free Book Online Page B

sit
with Marge.
    Ramona caught up to Ryce and Tanya before
they could leave the chow hall. “I will stop by your apartment at
1:00 PM and take you over to the Sanctuary. This is the anniversary
of Jill’s death. John has a special memorial at her gravesite.”
    After Tanya and Ryce returned to their
apartment, Ryce fought a valiant fight, and stayed away from his
laptop for almost forty-five minutes. When Tanya reminded him that
Doug said they didn’t have to work all weekend, Ryce just
smiled.
    “I don’t think this is considered working. I
am not playing with any of the cyber programming. I am writing an
email to a friend of mine from the Army. I think I told you about
Jason Marsh. He is a county Mountie in New Mexico. I would like to
get him to move to the JBTF.”
    Ryce focused on his laptop again, typed for
several moments, and then looked at Tanya.
    “OK, the email is on the way to Jason. What
would you like to do now?”
    Tanya looked at her smart phone and then
smiled. “If Ramona wasn’t supposed to be here in less than an hour,
I think you know what I would like to do.”
    Tanya was only off by thirty minutes; Ramona
arrived a half hour early. As they were walking to the parking lot,
Ramona explained that she wanted to stop at a florist to pick up
some flowers for Jill’s grave.
    Fabian was standing beside the Hummer when
Ramona, Ryce, and Tanya walked up. After Tanya and Ryce climbed
into the limo, Ramona started the introductions.
    “O2 is at work, but our twin sons, O3 and
John2, are riding with me to the Sanctuary. I think you met AP and
Danielle in Research 1. You met Annette at breakfast, so all that
are left of that family are Lucy and Cory. You met Fabian’s wife,
Hollie, in Coeur D’Alene. She is keeping another Cory, Anna, and
Justin under control. The lady holding the flowers is John’s little
sister, Mattie. Sitting beside Mattie is her husband, Dale
Farnsworth. Dale is Doug’s younger brother. The boy on Mattie’s lap
is Andrew, and the girl on Dale’s lap is Jill.”
    Ramona pushed the intercom button.
    “Fabian, what’s the capacity of this limo? We
have eighteen in here right now.”
    Everyone heard a chuckle. “The license says
we can carry twenty passengers, but I think we had twenty-six in
here last winter. Please remain seated while the vehicle is in
motion.”
    The drive to the Sanctuary took almost thirty
minutes. A hay wagon was waiting to transport everyone to the
Sanctuary Hotel. After they were all loaded on the wagon, the first
stop was at a large hand-carved wooden sign.
     
    “ This Sanctuary is dedicated to
the memory of Jill Pendergast, the beloved wife of John
Pendergast.”
    “ Jill was a champion in the
preservation of a simpler life. She was never able to see the
Sanctuary, but those who knew her are confident she would have
loved it.
    “ Thank you, Jill, for being who
you were, and enriching all of those who loved you. You are
missed. ”
     
    Ryce looked over at Ramona while the
dedication was being read and saw that she had a few tears running
down her cheeks.
    The ride to the hotel was over in fifteen
minutes. After Ryce helped Tanya off the hay wagon, he looked
around.
    He was standing in front of a magnificent
three-story structure built of hand-felled and hand-sawn lumber. A
placard near the main entrance stated it had taken more than fifty
craftsmen three years to complete the hotel. That did not include a
year required for the trees to dry sufficiently to be worked.
    Ryce heard John’s voice behind him.
    “I am really proud of this place. The hotel
has ten three-bedroom suites on all three floors, five on each side
of the grand staircase. On the third floor, the stairs end at the
Jill Memorial Suite, which has four bedrooms and a sitting room.
The kitchen, dining hall, and personal facilities are housed in
their own building behind the hotel. We had to do some
modifications to the back of the hotel. All the guests were running
around in their