She did not say yes but she said to get a couple of beers that some of the kids had snuck up and that would probably be enough of an excuse.That was h...er word, 'excuse'.All the alcohol was gone by the time it happened, but that she did want me was out in the open. After the trip, she treated it as a joke so I had not pushed but her admission lay between us.She had probably figured we would at least hook up. There was no harm in that. Shit, a quick hook-up in high school was something to do. “I think that’s how it’s done, Bren.”“Huh. Well, you found what the plant looks like and how it grows. There’s plenty of lava lava flowers around, too, so it seems like they do grow together.”“Time to get to work,” said Steve.With that, the pair stripped off their backpacks and opened them. While Brenda was not a trained botanist, she had spent enough time with her husband on the other islands to understand the technique and learn the procedures involved. Samples of plants were gathered and. In a formal tone I said, “Good evening, Mr. Mendoza, it’s good to see you made it back safely. If you have a few minutes, I’d like to talk a little business. If not, I can come back first thing in the morning.”“I certainly have time to talk, young man. What kind of business did you have in mind?” he asked cheerily.“Well, Sir, I need to know the prices for a few things. First, I’d like to have these five horses shod. Second, I need a good saddle and tack. Third, I need four good mules with. After that, Angela and Roger were taken away in a family limousine to the chalet. There was a small mountain retreat for the royal family which had been used for honeymoons over the years and would be again. Anna told me that it was beautiful and was also used for winter vacations when the royal family wanted to ski.Jam and I were shown pictures. It’s beautiful and huge. Normally, it only has two staff to maintain it and cook for guests. When more of the family comes there, more staff comes.