Head over Heels for the Holidays

by Jennifer Bernard

  The affectionate tone in her voice took all the sting from her words. Maya and her father were just as close as ever, except now she was taking care of him instead of him taking care of her.

  “I always envied you, you know,” he told her softly. “Your relationship with your father, I mean.”

  She nodded, obviously knowing exactly what he meant. He’d never known his father, who’d had a quick vacation fling with his mother and didn’t leave a number. In some ways, Harris had provided the best male role model of his childhood—until a lifeguard had rescued him from an ocean current and he’d discovered EMT work.

  “I want to keep it that way,” Maya was saying. “My dad’s a wise old man, except when it comes to taking care of himself. When he started arguing with me about how many pillows he wanted in his chair, I realized that someone else better take over. That’s where you come in. I can tell already that he’ll listen to you more than he does to me. Funny how I can get a three hundred pound inebriated fisherman to obey me, but when it comes to my own dad…I’m still a little girl, in his eyes.”

  He caught the wistfulness in her tone. “It’s hard to blame him. You were a very cute little girl. Do you still have those purple bear barrettes you used to wear?”

  She burst out laughing. “Damn, you remember those?”

  “Yup, after all these years. Never going to forget those barrettes. That’s how cute they were.”

  “I mean, I have them in photos, but nope. Those are long gone. Along with my braces and a few other embarrassing things.”

  To his mind, endearing was a better word than embarrassing. But she seemed uncomfortable with his compliments, so he didn’t say so.

  The guesthouse was perfect—light and airy, with a view of the lake that brought an immediate sense of serenity. A small bedroom in the back would suit Cara just fine. She’d get the privacy she craved, while he could sleep in the loft. Security-wise, he liked it because it would be impossible for anyone to lurk nearby without being spotted. Not a single bush or tree or even a large boulder within fifty yards. A stand of spruce trees provided a border at the edge of the property.

  “This could work,” he told Maya as he turned in a slow circle, checking out window placements and lines of sight. “But I don’t want to put Harris in any danger.”

  “From the stalker, you mean? Has he ever hurt a bystander?”

  “Not that I know about. He swung a bat at me once, when I tried to chase him away. But I worry that he might escalate. From what I’ve read, these guys can get very twisted.”

  Maya cocked her head, thinking it over. Hopefully taking it seriously. “My father’s dealt with a lot in his life. He has a hunting rifle locked in a safe. Normally, he’d be an asset. But while he’s recovering, I don’t want him to have extra stress.”

  Rune nodded through his disappointment. “Enough said. We’ll find something else.”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying. You said you usually have some time before the stalker finds you.”

  “Yes, a couple of months at least.”

  “Then let’s hold off on explaining the situation. You guys move in, and if it suits you and it seems like it’s working out, I’ll tell him. It’s better if he knows, I just want to get the timing right.”

  “Your call on the timing. If he decides he doesn’t want the risk, we’ll move out.” Rune wanted to make sure that was clear. “We’re used to moving.”

  Maya shook her head as she checked her phone again. “I gotta go. I’m sorry you two have been dealing with this creep. I wish we could put him behind bars instead of making you move around the country like you have been.”

  “I wish that too, except that would mean he actually harmed someone. That’s what the police told me, that he has to commit a crime before they can do anything.”

  “Yeah, that’s the way the laws are written. Did she ever try to get a restraining order?”

  “We tried, but without his real name it’s tough. We were able to in Hawaii, but since then we’ve had no luck. He’s extremely savvy. I don’t think even a court order would do much to stop him.” He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, the tendons tightening the way they always did when he talked about the stalker. It was unbelievable how one man had caused such an upheaval in his and Cara’s lives.

  “Best believe that if he comes here and makes one wrong move, I’ll be on him like scales on a fish,” Maya told him. “Might even gut him like one too. That’s not in my official capacity,” she added quickly. “Officially, all rules and regulations will be followed.”

  He smiled at her, with the sense that for the first time, he had a real ally in this ongoing battle. None of the other law enforcement people he’d worked with had brought him this much sense of hope.

  Cara ran up from the dock and burst through the door, her face as bright as a light bulb. “Can we really live here?” she asked.

  “I’m in if you are.”

  She danced around for a moment, then paused in mid-pirouette. “There’s a toilet, right? Show me the toilet.”

  Chapter 6

  About three months until Christmas…

  * * *

  Maya was late. Of course. Her friends were supposed to know that she was overloaded these days. So why did they keep texting her? Over the past twenty minutes, she’d gotten messages from Kate, Jess, and Toni, all reminding her that they were gathering at Sweet Harbor Bakery for a girls’ night in.

  Be there in a few, she texted Jess. Can you get everyone off my back?

  I can buy you ten minutes.

  Maya shook her head and turned her phone off.

  One month ago, she never would have done that, in case her father needed her. But with Rune around, she didn’t worry nearly as much. At least forty percent less, anyway.

  Ten minutes. She could finish up in that amount of time. She turned back to Ethan James, who’d stopped in to deliver his report on his latest trip to Lost Souls Wilderness. He’d been hired by the brother of a plane crash victim to find any information he could about what had brought his sister’s plane down fifteen years ago.

  “Your girl is starting to get on my nerves, Ethan. Wrap it up quick, would you? I need something I can use to convince the Feds to come down here.”

  The tall private investigator, who was now engaged to Jess, leaned forward and planted his elbows on his knees. “There’s a lot to report, but I don’t know if it helps you. We located the idiot who shot up Jessica’s float plane.”

  “Great news.” That bit of the Lost Souls mess was the only part that fell within her jurisdiction in any way. “Did you learn anything from him?”

  “No. He claimed he did it to keep Lost Souls Wilderness from getting overrun by tourists. I have all his information for you if you want to follow up. Which you should.”

  “You don’t believe him?”

  “Not for a hot second. It’s absurd. The damn lake doesn’t even have a name, let alone a churro stand.”

  “Churro?”

  “It’s an LA thing. Fried dough with sugar. Like a funnel cake. You really need to get out of Alaska, babe.”

  “Don’t call the police chief ‘babe,’” she said severely. “There’s a fine for that. Moving on to the other plane crash, the one that killed Carole and Anthony Berenson. Good job on finding the crash site. I already called the coroner and the NTSB. They’ll send someone out to take a look.”

  His quiet hazel eyes went grim. “There’s not much in the way of remains. That was rough for Alastair, but it might bring him some peace. I took a lot of photos of the wreckage.” He handed her a thumb drive. “It’s been fifteen years, so there’s not much to see.”

  “Anything to back up the theory that it was shot down?” In other words, something she could use to get the Feds involved.

  “Not that I can tell, but the NTSB might find something.”

  She sighed in frustration. In many ways, Lost Souls Wilderness was a no-man’s-land. In such rugged, inaccessible territor
y, how was anyone supposed to investigate anything? No wonder the Feds wanted nothing to do with it.

  “Your client, the victim’s brother. Alastair Dougal. What’s his status?”

  “He had to go back to New York. Finding the crash site helped bring him some closure, but he’s still not satisfied. He’s convinced it was a deliberate act and that means murder.” He shrugged. “If so, the trail’s cold. But I’m betting he’ll be back as soon as he can.”

  “Well, maybe between the NTSB’s report and the shooter you found, maybe I can make a case for the Feds.”

  “Good.” He sobered, his hazel eyes concerned. “I never liked the idea of you chasing this one down. My theory is that it’s either drug-related or a trafficking ring of some kind.”

  Great. Whatever was going on out there, Lost Harbor was uncomfortably close to it. She sighed. “Send me everything you’ve got. Thanks for filling me in, Ethan.”

  Ethan nodded and unfolded himself from the chair. “One more thing. We saw Kelsey Lewis at the Aurora Lodge. I asked if she was ready to see S.G.—Maggie, I should say. She said she’s been thinking about it nonstop, but she still doesn’t think it’s safe. It’d be great for Maggie if she finally got to meet her mother.”

  “I’ll talk to her. I’d love to see that happen too, but not if it puts her in danger.”

  “Agreed.”

  Maggie—formerly known as S.G.—had been kidnapped as a baby and raised by a trapper in Lost Souls Wilderness. Just a couple months ago, Ethan and Jessica had located her long-lost mother, Kelsey Lewis. Kelsey was the manager of the Aurora Lodge, which was an insanely pricey high-end resort in the heart of Lost Souls. It catered to wealthy adventure-seekers who didn’t want to give up their luxuries. Instead of outhouses, it offered suites with two-person showers and private Jacuzzis.

  Whatever was going on in Lost Souls, Kelsey clearly knew something about it, but so far she’d refused to talk. Clearly she was being threatened. For years, she’d received occasional photos of her missing daughter. The message: say anything and we’ll hurt her. Even though Maggie was now safe in Lost Harbor, Kelsey still feared for her daughter’s life. That was why she insisted it wasn’t safe for her to see Maggie yet, no matter how much both of them longed to.

  Maya certainly understood, though it made her job a lot harder. Damn the FBI and their reluctance to get involved.

  Ethan’s phone beeped. “It’s Jessica. She says if I don’t vacate your office in two minutes, I’ll be cut off from sticky buns for a week. Sorry, gotta go, Chief.”

  “That’s a dirty trick.”

  “For a good cause. You need a break, Maya. Your friends await you.”

  He gave her a salute and strolled out of her office. She sighed wistfully, just a teensy bit jealous of Jessica’s blissful new relationship. Ethan and Jessica were adorable together. In their group of friends, Jessica had always been Team Romance. Kate was Team Sex—although now she was madly in love with Darius Boone, so consistency wasn’t really her forte.

  Maya, on the other hand, was Team See-Where-It-Goes. She was open to romance, and to sex, together and separately. Except that neither ever seemed to pan out in her case. The last time she’d been in love, she’d gotten her heart crushed.

  On Christmas Eve, Jerome had come to her house to pick her up for a party. Except instead of a whisking her off to the Elks Lodge, he’d told her that he’d met someone else. Leanne McGee, who was barely out of high school.

  “They’re transferring me to DC,” he’d told her, barely able to look at her. “Leanne’s coming with me and we’re going to get married.”

  “Wait…what?” So confused, so stunned, so tongue-tied.

  “You know it wasn’t working with us, babe. I need someone who’s a hundred percent for me. That’s never going to be you, not with your job.”

  The rest of it was still a blur. He’d crushed her heart under his boot heel like one of the gold ornaments on her Christmas tree.

  The worst part was that he’d found someone else right under her nose without her noticing. So he’d humiliated her professionally as well as personally.

  Ever since then, the holiday season had lost a lot of its joy.

  She shook off the unwelcome Jerome memories and hurried into the station restroom to change out of her uniform. She kept several changes of clothes at the office because she worked late so often.

  As she pulled on a pair of skinny jeans, she propped her phone on the sink and scrolled through the messages she’d missed during her meeting with Ethan.

  Greg, 29, a lawyer from Anchorage: Lost Harbor chicks are the bomb. Want to meet halfway with a six-pack of beer?

  Okay, no. What kind of lawyer talked like that anyway? She texted him back. I don’t think this is going to work out. Good luck.

  The next message came from Neal, 38, a biologist from Sitka. There’s a documentary on seal pups playing here next weekend. Like to make a first date of it?

  She copied her answer to Greg and pasted it into a text to Neal.

  Next one: Always wanted to date a black girl. Do you mind if I call you black, or should it be African American?

  Good thing she had her response already pasted and ready to copy.

  Pulling on a fuzzy sweater in her favorite shade of goldenrod yellow, she thought about throwing her entire phone in the bay. What had possessed her to sign up for a dating app?

  She blamed it on one thing: the holidays. She just couldn’t face another holiday season on her own. This one would be harder than ever, with Jessica and Kate both happily paired up. Out of desperation, she’d decided to try the AK Hearts dating app. If there was any chance she could find someone to date for the next few months, it was worth a try.

  There was another reason too: Rune.

  He was on her mind a lot. She kept running into him at her father’s house, or around town, or while jogging on Seafarer’s Beach. Even though he was always his friendly self, the chemistry between them didn’t feel “friendly.” It felt tempting. Distracting. Her heart always jumped at the sight of him. She’d find herself completely focused on him, oblivious to everything else. But they were just old friends.

  She needed someone to take her mind off him.

  Speaking of Rune, a text from him flashed onto her screen. She grabbed up her phone and scanned it quickly. There was always the chance that it was about her father.

  But if she was honest with herself, that wasn’t why she gobbled up his texts. It was because they made her feel good.

  Howz girls night? he’d texted. C and I are watching a Community marathon. We have popcorn. Sugar and cayenne, just how you like it.

  God, that sounded fun. Maybe even more fun than girls’ night, which she wouldn’t have imagined saying a few months ago. But Rune…spending time with Rune was like…she didn’t really have a good comparison. Maybe like gorging yourself on calorie-free cheesecake? Sinfully enjoyable and yet guilt-free?

  Being around Rune made her…what was the word? Oh yeah. Happy. He never made her feel bad about getting called away for work. Even when she was at her most exhausted and grumpy from some shit that had gone down at the station, he always looked at her as if she was beautiful. Was it because their old friendship had clicked into place just like before?

  Community marathon and popcorn with his little sister. Ultimate friend activity.

  But it sure did sound relaxing, especially compared to the barrage of ridiculous messages she’d gotten since she’d signed up for that app.

  She answered his text. Still haven’t made it to girls night. Maybe another night?

  Ok. I’ll tell Cara to stop crying because her Auntie Maya never comes over.

  Auntie Maya? No. Just no.

  LOL. I knew that would get you. Better come kick my ass.

  She smiled, then moved her thumb over to the dating app, ready to delete it.

  Then she remembered that the first meeting of the Winter Parade committee was coming up next week.

  As police chi
ef, she had to ride in the winter parade in a cruiser decorated with tinsel, with a plastic snowman wearing a Lost Harbor police jacket mounted on the roof. After that, she’d be serving hot chocolate at the Lost Harbor Home for Seniors. And then came the station holiday party.

  She’d be doing all of that alone unless she found herself a damn date. Three months to go. She could do it. Or lose her mind trying.

  Chapter 7

  “So how’s the date hunt going?” Kate asked her as soon as she was settled in with a glass of wine in the corner of the glassed-in terrace at Sweet Harbor Bakery. She was wearing her purple suede half-boots, which she propped on the next table over in that casual, jaunty way of hers. It was probably driving Jess crazy, but she was too tenderhearted to say so.

  “Ask me after I finish this wine,” Maya grumbled in answer. “And by ‘this wine,’ I mean that bottle.” She gestured toward the full bottle of red in the middle of the round table.

  “Going well, then.” Jess lifted her glass in a toast. “Here’s to Maya finding her soul mate. Whoever he is, I can’t wait to meet him.”

  “I’m not going for soul mate.” Maya had to correct that misunderstanding. “I’m going for ‘Let’s hang out for the holidays.’”

  “That’s about as unromantic as it gets,” Jess complained, lifting her mane of curly auburn hair off her neck. Maya used to envy Jess her hair, until she’d found out that when she didn’t comb it, knots would develop that she had to snip out with scissors. “I think you should aim for ‘head over heels for the holidays.’”

  “Well, this isn’t a rom com, Jess. You know me. I’m realistic AF. I like to be honest with myself—and everyone else,” she added.

  Toni poured herself another glass of wine with a gesture straight out of a movie about rival New York sommeliers. She was a bartender, after all. “Be honest with us, then. How many guys have you already shot down since you joined that app?”