Polar Opposites by Susan Page Davis

Author:Susan Page Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

Ten

The Holland family gathered around Cheryl and Oz at the Anchorage airport as they waited to board their plane to Barrow. Several hardy tourists and a few natives of the town would also be on their flight, along with the other scientists.

Cheryl entrusted her boarding pass to Oz and took advantage of the chance to hold her grandson, Axel, before they went through the security line. Her son, Aven, and his wife, Caddie, sat on either side of her, trying to catch up during the hour they had together. The young couple had arranged to make a quick trip up from Kodiak to see her and Oz off, and then would go home with Rick and Robyn to spend a couple of days in Wasilla.

“He’s grown so much since Christmas.” Cheryl grinned down at the seven-month-old baby.

“He sure has,” Aven agreed. “Before you know it, we’ll have him out mushing.”

Caddie laughed. “Aven wants to get him a puppy already. I said let’s wait a year or two.”

“Say, Mom, did Dr. Thormond have to get permits to carry all the weapons he’s taking?” Aven asked.

“Actually, he’s only taking a dart rifle and one pistol, and they’re in his checked luggage. The airline personnel are keeping an eye on them. Oz says they’re used to people carrying guns for hunting trips and things like that, so he’s not worried about it. He plans to buy ammunition for the pistol in Barrow.”

Aven nodded. “Sounds good. Sometimes we get to take our personal firearms on deployment, if we’re going someplace where we think we might get a chance to do a little hunting.”

“Oz took me out a couple of times to practice, so I could use it if need be.” Cheryl smiled at the memory of their target shooting. “Oz is an excellent marksman. He surprised me a little bit there.” She looked up and saw that he was following their conversation.

“Have to be,” Oz said with a grin. “Those tranquilizer darts aren’t cheap, and if you miss, it can mean trouble.”

“Oh yeah, I wouldn’t want to duke it out with a polar bear.” Aven eyed his mother with raised eyebrows. “You’re the one who surprised me, Mom. When I heard you were going on this expedition, I couldn’t believe it. You never liked to go camping in the winter.”

Cheryl smiled and bounced Axel gently up and down. “Don’t worry about me. We’ll have enough gear to keep us comfortable. And I’ll put up with a lot to have this experience.”

“Yeah,” Robyn said, winking conspicuously at her brother. “After all, it’s for science.”

Oz laughed louder than Cheryl thought was warranted at that, and she felt her face redden.

A bearded man approached them and looked around at Aven, Rick, Oz, and Steve. “Is any of you Dr. Thormond?”

“That would be me.” Oz extended his hand.

“Grant Aron. I’m with the geological team on this project.”

“Pleased to meet you. Call me Oz. And that lovely lady holding the baby is my assistant, Cheryl Holland. The rest are just riffraff who came to see us off.

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