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The three of us look at each other, the same question on our faces.
“That can’t be the same bird, right?” I ask.
“Only one way to find out,” West responds as he follows her inside. Blake and I are right behind him.
The cabin is small and cozy, with wood beam walls and ceilings over an open floor plan. A large fireplace is framed by bookshelves on either side and the living room is completely open to her kitchen. The bird flies past my head and lands on a beam above us.
“You just let that thing fly around in here like that?” I ask.
“Yeah, Blue’s been with me for four years. They’ll always be welcome inside with me.”
“They?” Blake looks around for another bird.
“I don’t know how to tell sex on a crow without another one side by side to compare it to, so I use they. Blue is more than an it to me.” She walks to the back door and pushes it open, whistling twice and waiting.
Blake, West, and I all trade glances, unsure of what she’s doing. The sound of heavy panting and thundering paws fills the air as she steps aside, allowing two big German Shepards to come racing into the cabin. They skid across the floor as soon as they see us.
“This is Storm,” she says as she pats the head of the larger dog with a mostly black coat. “And this is Ghost.” She scratches the ear of the mostly white dog.
West moves toward her and both dogs growl, their ears laying flat against their heads. He stops and meets her pleased smirk with a scowl.
“Any other animals coming to the petting zoo?” he asks with a sneer.
“Apparently just you three.” She waves her fingers in a subtle command and the dogs relax into a sitting position. “I’ll show you to the cabin you can stay in.”
She opens a drawer and grabs two key rings, tossing one set to West and one to me.
“You’ll be staying in the Denali cabin. It’s the biggest and nicest of all our accommodations, situated right beside our lake.” She leads us along a trail with mud squelching beneath our shoes as we walk along in a steady, light rain. “We renovated the cabin back in March before the season started, along with all the yurts. I can give you a tour of them tomorrow when I get back from the bakery.”
“Do you work there every day?” Blake asks.
“Most days in the off season. It was my first job when I moved here. I owe Emerie, the owner, so much.” She points down a short path to a cabin. “There you go. There should be clean linens in the closet. I’ll be at my cabin the rest of the night if you need anything.”
“Dinner?” West asks.
“There’s a market, a diner, and pub in town that will be open tonight. Don’t go out after dark alone. There’s a lot of wildlife roaming around before winter sets in.”
“We’re from Colorado, not some big city,” I scoff at her warning.
“Grizzlies are way meaner than black bears, and there’s a wolf pack that runs through this part of the forest from time to time. Alaska is a far cry from Colorado.”
“And you live out here alone?” West grabs her bicep, ignoring the warning growl from Storm.
“No. I have the dogs and Blue.” She yanks her arm from his grasp and turns on her heel, walking back toward her cabin.
The three of us watch her go until she disappears around the side of a yurt. She looks so similar to how she looked the last time we saw her, curvy and gorgeous with her long, dark hair and striking blue eyes. It took my breath away when her eyes met mine earlier at the bakery.
Blake’s hand finds mine and our fingers link. I know he’s worried about how seeing her will affect me. It’d be easy to blame her for losing my family and future. I’d be working side by side with my father, uncle, and cousins on the ranch right now if she hadn’t snapped that photo. I also wouldn’t have given in to my feelings for Blake without the photo pushing my family’s homophobia to the surface. I lift the back of his hand to my lips, reassuring him through the kiss that I’m fine.
“Should we go into town and get food?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, let me see what the kitchen setup is in here first,” Blake drops my hand and walks into the cabin with West and I hot on his heels.
It’s almost an exact replica of her cabin, but a little more updated as far as the finishings. The fireplace is smaller and there’s a pile of cut wood ready to go. A small sofa sits against a half wall that divides the living and kitchen spaces. There’s one bedroom, a bathroom, and a loft above that.
Blake moves into the kitchen, opening up cabinets to see what he’s got to work with while I check out the bathroom. It’s nice but a little small, especially the shower. My thoughts drift to that perfect night with Violet’s leg draped over my shoulder as I devoured her and her sweet cunt. The thought alone sends blood racing to my dick. Now that I’ve seen her again, I’m like a junkie itching for my next fix, and I’m not sure how long I can wait.
ChapterTwenty-Three
