Page 25 of Northern Escape


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“No. Not anyone, but you did. You risked your life for Moonbeam, and I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

She wanted to kiss him. The urge came on so suddenly, so strongly, it was impossible to resist. She leaned forward…

He very gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands from his face. “No repayment necessary. Really. I’m just glad Moonbeam’s okay.” He gave her hand a friendlypat patbefore releasing her. Like she was one of the dogs.

She wasn’t well-versed in the ways of relationships, but she knew a brush off when she got one.

The disappointment stung like the arctic wind and she scrambled out of the sleeping bag. It didn’t matter if he saw her now. He’d made it quite clear he wasn’t interested.

Silly of her to think he might be. He probably had models and actresses on speed dial in L.A. As handsome as he was, they were no doubt lining up around the block for a chance at him. So why would he want a disfigured hermit who preferred dogs to people?

Still, she kept her back to him as she dressed. She didn’t want to see his reaction to her spots. It would be more than her ego could take right now. “We still have a couple hours of daylight. If you’re feeling well enough, we should try to make up for lost time.”

He said nothing for several long moments. She pretended to be one hundred percent focused on her gloves like they were some tricky item of clothing to pull on. But she didn’t want to look at him. Didn’t want to see what she knew must be on his face. Horror. Disgust. Pity.

“Yeah,” he said finally after clearing his throat. “I’m okay.”

“Good. I’ll hook up the dogs. Dress warm. Lots of layers.”

Once outside the tent, she gulped in a deep breath of the icy air. It burned all the way down into her lungs, but it made her feel better. This was where she belonged. This was her element. Out in the barren cold with her dogs, not clumsily trying to seduce a man who was light-years out of her league.

She couldn’t forget that again.

She pulled on her ski mask and got to work. The dogs were exhilarated, more than ready to run after the morning of inactivity.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ellis step out of the tent. He shivered in the light breeze and still looked too pale. Maybe they should wait until tomorrow like she’d originally planned. Give him the night to warm up and recuperate. But sitting around in a tent with him until the morning didn’t hold much appeal. Not after the awkwardness of her trying to kiss him.

At least on the sled, they wouldn’t be able to talk.

10

Northern Rescue Animal Hospital

Anchorage, Alaska

* * *

At the daintyclick-click-click of nails on the tile floor, Nate straightened away from his dad’s old desk in the back room of Northern Rescue. He didn’t know what he was looking for when he started going through all the papers there. Clues, he supposed, but fuck him if he knew what kind.

Colonel Mustard in the drawing room…

Ha. If only it were as easy as his favorite childhood game.

While he wasn’t as jaded as Ellis when it came to their father—Will had his problems, yes, but at his heart, he tried to be a good man—he also wasn’t as idealistic about the whole situation as this Brielle Ives seemed to be.

More likely than not, Will had gotten into trouble. And judging by the late notices and threats of disconnection piled on the desk, the trouble had something to do with money. He was behind on property taxes for the hospital, behind on vendor payments, and he’d only seen a handful of patients in the last few months, so his income stream had dwindled to a trickle. He’d lost his truck two months ago and was about to have his plane repossessed too. Was that why he’d taken his dog Happy and disappeared on the Cessna? Lots of places to hide in Alaska where a repo man couldn’t find you.

Ellis was right. Wherever their father had gone, he probably didn’t want to be found.

Nate dropped the repo notice on top of the stack of other bills and the pile slid to the floor. He scrubbed his hands through his hair and stared down at the mess. How had he not known any of this? Unlike his brothers, he’d stayed in touch with Dad. They still met up every few months—though, admittedly, it had been a while since their last meeting. But Nate called regularly enough, and Dad had never mentioned any of this. If he had, Nate would’ve helped. He wasn’t rolling in cash, but he lived simply and the lab in Fairbanks paid him well for his research. He could’ve helped.

Of course, Dad would never ask for help. That was why he never said anything about his debt. He was too stubborn, too prideful.

And now he was missing. Probably dead.

What a clusterfuck.

Nate bent to pick up the stack of bills and noticed the scrawl of Dad’s handwriting on the back of one envelope. A string of numbers. He turned the envelope over, but there was nothing written on the front.

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