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“Works for me,” I commented.
“We were at a training exercise all day, and someone forgot to bring granola bars,” Russell chimed in, casting a friendly glare at Graham.
Graham shrugged. “Dude, I’m not in charge of food. I’m just the crew superintendent.”
A few minutes later, a server had stopped by the table, handed us beers, and assured us a collection of appetizers would be on the way shortly.
“So, what do you think of Willow Brook?” Beck asked after she departed.
In my time here at the station, I had learned Beck was the male version of the nosiest person in an office.
“I like it. It’s not like I’d never been here before, though. I used to come up with my parents in the summer,” I replied.
Beck dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “I remember. We used to go fishing sometimes. You planning to get a boat?”
“I have to decide if I want the one my grandmother says she’s giving me.”
“If it’s in decent shape, you should keep it,” Cade offered from across the table.
“That’s what I was thinking,” I replied. “It’s in storage, so I’m gonna swing by and look at it.”
“Can you stay in that place on her property as long as you need to?” Russell asked.
I nodded. “I can. If you haven’t heard, she’s sick. She tells me she wants me to take her house. My parents are thinking of retiring here, so I think they’ll probably stay at her house.”
“Why not settle down and have kids? Then you’ll need a bigger place,” Russell offered.
I grinned over at him. “Dude, are you in a hurry or what?” I teased. “I’m not planning on settling down or having kids anytime soon.”
Beck got a text from his wife, and blessedly, the conversation moved away from me. Not that I had any secrets, but I preferred not to be the focus of attention. The smaller the circle of my personal life, the better.
A few hours later, I left, thinking I was glad my grandmother had told me about this job. It was good to be near her in Alaska while she was sick. I also really liked the crew and the other guys at the station. Everybody was solid and down to earth. It was such a huge change of pace from the life I had led before I came up here. I hoped the reset I was looking for would hold.
A short while later as I walked toward my house, my eyes were drawn over to Alice’s house. We actually parked in the same area, a small gravel pad with a shared path that diverged, one leading to hers and the other to my place. My pull to her was almost magnetic. The urge to find some random excuse to swing by was strong. But I kept telling myself that the kiss had been stupid and a fluke. I needed to keep my distance.
The following morning, I walked along the path to the parking area. The air was brisk with my breath misting in the air. Everything was covered in frost. With the sun just cresting over the mountains and its rays angling across the landscape, there was a glittering path where the warmth melted the frost. I stopped for a moment, glancing toward the lake through the trees.
Gram had insisted Alaska would be healing. She had said,“That kind of natural beauty offers something nothing else can give you. It calls to your heart.”
Her words echoed in my thoughts, and I took a deep breath, letting it out. The process was slow, but my heart was healing stitch by stitch.
“Good morning.”
I turned to see Alice approaching from her branch of the pathway. I felt my lips tugging into a smile. “Good morning,” I returned, waiting for her.
She stopped beside me, turning to look out over the lake. “Can’t beat waking up to this,” she commented, her voice low.
“No, you can’t,” I agreed. “I still marvel at it every day. Does it ever get old?”
My gaze shifted to Alice—her slightly damp curls, her silvery-gray eyes, the fresh quality she conveyed. The spray of freckles on her cheeks was endearing. I didn’t think I’d ever noticed anyone’s freckles. Her cheeks were pink from the cool autumn air.
Her curls swung when she shook her head. “It doesn’t.”
“Do you think it’s because you were away and came back?”
Her lips curled into a slow smile as she shook her head again. “I was born here.” Her arm swung in an arc from the trees to the lake. She turned toward the mountain range where the sun was rising before her arm fell to her side. “I never got tired of it, and I missed it the whole time I was away.”
When she looked back up at me, my heart started kicking hard against my ribs. That startling and intense attraction sizzled through the air. I thought I saw the answering flare in her eyes.
