Finding Paradise

by Barbara Dunlop

  His arms tightened around her, pushing his warmth against her back. She guessed he might be thinking the same thing.

  It seemed like a natural ending spot and, with a chorus of goodbyes, everyone made their way down the stairs and out through the hangar.

  As the voices faded, a low background buzz wafted up from the shop. Marnie gazed around at the comfortable living room furniture. There was a partial wall that closed off the bedroom area with a small bathroom beyond. They didn’t have a closet, just a freestanding rack in a corner alcove. But the guys had carried in a dresser and a king-size bed, and Marnie knew they’d be perfectly comfortable.

  With the sunshine streaming across it, she couldn’t help but smile at the result of everyone’s work.

  “This is way nicer than I expected.” She wandered to the coffee-colored sofa strewn with throw pillows from Mia. She sighed and sat down, kicking off her shoes to curl her legs beneath her.

  “You won’t mind this while we build?” Cobra asked.

  “Not at all.” She stretched out her shoulders, tired from the long day of moving. “Did I see Mia leave a bottle of wine?”

  “You did. She told me it was a housewarming present.”

  “Well, don’t just stand there.” Marnie shooed him with her hands.

  “There’s something you have to see first.”

  “Really?” She was comfortable now and tired, and she wanted wine.

  He reached for her hand. “Up you get.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “It’ll be worth it,” he said, hoisting her to her feet.

  The carpet was cushy beneath her.

  “Fine, fine,” she said on a pout. “I’ll come and see.”

  He grinned, still holding her hand as they rounded the end of the partial wall into the bedroom area.

  She saw it right away, in a corner by a newly discovered window. It was a desk, a beautiful pale maple desk, credenza and a matching shelving unit. There were plenty of drawers and a huge screen set up where she could plug in her laptop. There was also a comfy-looking ergonomic chair and a square white box tied up with a pretty silver bow in the center of the desk.

  “Cobra,” she said on a note of awe, taking steps toward it.

  “I knew you’d want to work,” he said. “I wanted you to be comfortable.”

  “This is amazing,” she ran her fingertips along the smooth desktop. “And you got me a present?” She couldn’t imagine why.

  “It’s a housewarming gift,” he said.

  “I didn’t get you anything.” She was teasing, not remotely worried about offending him.

  “I don’t need anything.” He came up behind her, touching her again, giving her a kiss at her temple. “Well, nothing but you.”

  She smiled, her heart filling with more joy than she could have imagined. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

  “Not since this morning.” There was a mock censure in his voice. “To be honest, I was getting worried you’d changed your mind.”

  “Not when you get me presents,” she teased back.

  “Open it,” he said.

  “Is it cupcakes?” she asked, realizing she was getting hungry.

  “You want cupcakes?”

  She reached for the ribbon and tugged at it. “I want something tasty. It’s been a hardworking afternoon.”

  She pulled off the bow and lifted the lid, gazing down to find a set of headphones. She picked them up to see a high-end logo. They looked state of the art and were obviously noise-canceling.

  “It’s going to be noisy downstairs during the day,” Cobra said.

  “What a thoughtful gift.” She couldn’t believe how hard he was working to make her comfortable in Paradise.

  The light in his eyes said he was pleased by her reaction.

  She laughed in delight and put them on. “What do you think?” She turned her head one way and then the other.

  “I think they suit you.”

  “They fit perfectly.”

  He moved his lips without sound. It was obvious he was messing with her.

  She leaned up to kiss him. “Thank you, Cobra. They’re perfect.”

  His arms went around her, and he pulled aside one of the earpieces. “I love you so much, Marnie. I want you to be happy here, really happy.”

  “You’re here.” She realized now that her happiness was with him. “And Ethan’s here.” She took off the headset, feeling herself get unexpectedly misty-eyed as she settled into his embrace. “This is more, Cobra, so much more than I ever hoped could be possible.”

  “That’s you, Marnie. You’re so much more than I ever hoped could be possible.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  An ongoing and heartfelt thank-you to my husband, Gordon Dunlop, for his expertise as a bush pilot, a technician and a northern outdoorsman. There was no way to write this book without you.

  Thanks once again to my editor, Angela Kim, and my agent, Laura Bradford, who have supported me unfailingly throughout the series.

  A big thank-you to the entire Berkley team, from editing and cover design to marketing and promotion, for turning my story into such a wonderful package.

  Also, a special thanks to my Yukon friends and family for decades of love, support and unparalleled life experiences.

  Keep reading for a preview of the next Paradise, Alaska, romance

  Strangers in Paradise

  Coming soon from Jove!

  It was a glass half-full kind of day for Hailey Barrosse. Sure, it had been a slow summer season in the tiny town of Paradise, Alaska. In fact, it had been an excruciatingly slow year, particularly for the bush pilots who flew for West Slope Aviation. They were paid by the mile. So, no miles, no money.

  Not that Hailey had a lot of day-to-day expenses. She lived in WSA staff housing, a small rustic room, just a bedroom, a bathroom and a tiny sitting area. But it stayed warm in the winter and had a great view of the mountains during the long summer days. The company provided three tasty meals plus snacks in the staff cafeteria, so if her bank balance suffered a little in the short term, she could live with that.

  Today, however, was a bright spot for the entire town. It was the first day of principal photography for the superhero action movie Aurora Unleashed. The production had brought new jobs to town. Local residents had been hired in catering, carpentry, hair and makeup, as well as in logistics. That wasn’t even counting the business spin-offs for everyone from Galina Expediting and West Slope Aviation to the Bear and Bar Café and Rapid Release Whitewater Rafting.

  Today, practically everyone had assembled at Mia Westberg and Silas Burke’s house on the banks of the Paradise River to check out the action. It was a picturesque location with a newly built two-story villa in a wildflower meadow with soaring mountains and snow-capped peaks in the distance. The spectators clustered behind the surveyor’s tape boundary that ran to the river’s edge. But as official pilot to the location scouting team, Hailey was allowed on set with the rest of the crew.

  “Grab a snack,” Willow Hale told her, stepping up to the heavily laden craft services table.

  “Is eating all anybody does here?” But Hailey joined Willow to check out the assortment of fruit and nuts, cookies and treats. In addition, enticing smells wafted from the catering tent, even though they were halfway between breakfast and lunch.

  “We have to keep up our energy level,” Willow said, selecting a peanut butter granola bar and peeling away the wrapper.

  Hailey was tempted by a bag of white chocolate–covered cashews. The delicacy was new to her, but how could you go wrong with cashews, white chocolate and crunchy toffee?

  You couldn’t, that was the answer. She picked up a package.

  “Besides,” Willow continued between bites, “they’re tossing me off the sundeck into the river this morning.”
/>   Hailey stopped tearing open the crimped foil. “They’re what?”

  “That’s the first scene. I mean, not the first scene in the movie, but the first one they’re filming. Probably want to get it done before the weather cools. I have to say, I’m all for that.” Willow took another bite.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” It was a twenty-foot drop from the sundeck into the water. And the water was freezing. Well, nearly freezing, just barely liquid. The river was fed year-round by glaciers high up in the mountain peaks.

  Sure, Willow was athletic. But she wasn’t a professional stuntwoman. She was a Californian who loved adventure sports and had been drafted by the production based mostly on her enthusiasm for Paradise and the project.

  “Not exactly,” she said.

  “Well, did you rehearse it?”

  “Are you kidding?” Willow’s voice rose. “Do it twice?”

  “Good point.” Hailey had to agree. “Plus, the first time might kill you.”

  “Well, hopefully not dead, dead,” Willow said matter-of-factly. “There’ll be a safety diver in the water.”

  “It’s three minutes to hypothermia in that river.” Hailey didn’t see how a safety diver would help in such a tight race against time.

  Willow pulled the high collar of her shirt down to show a patch of white fabric. “Dry suit. I’m brave, not suicidal.”

  Hailey felt a little better about that precaution. She tore open the bag of cashews. “What about the current? If the diver misses, you’ll be swept all the way to Weaver Lake.”

  “Riley and Nicholas are downstream in rafts. If it all goes bad, they’ll catch me.”

  “Oh.” Hailey popped a nut in her mouth.

  “See that?” Willow grinned and squeezed Hailey’s arm. “You’re not getting rid of me today.”

  “These are delicious,” Hailey noted, taking an appreciative look at the shiny blue bag. “Where have you been all my life?”

  “So, that’s it?” Willow asked with a pout, gesturing herself up and down. “No more worrying about me?”

  “You said it yourself, Riley will save you.” Riley’d had a soft spot for Willow since her first trip to Paradise nearly two years ago. Hailey held out the bag. “Have you tried these things?”

  Willow took a couple of nuts, biting one in half and checking the inside. “Yum.”

  “Right?” Hailey ate another.

  Willow focused on a spot past Hailey’s left shoulder, her gaze holding there. “Oh, hello. Who is that?”

  Hailey turned to look then compulsively swallowed. Who was that? Had they replaced Cash Monahan, the actor playing archvillain Dax Vanquich?

  “Is he the new Dax?” She was embarrassed by her fan-girl reaction. She wasn’t a fan girl of anyone. But this guy was . . . it was hard to find the right words: rugged, sexy, buff. The camera had to love those dark mysterious eyes.

  “They didn’t replace Dax,” Willow said. “They’d have replaced his stunt double too. And look.” She pointed to where the crew was getting the shot set up on the sundeck. “Buzz is still here.”

  Hailey didn’t want to look at the stuntman. She wanted to keep watching the man striding their way with such power and composure, like he owned the place.

  “He looks like money,” Willow said.

  Hailey agreed with that. “An executive producer?”

  “Mia’s the executive producer.”

  “Maybe she needed another backer. Does he look like he’s from LA?”

  The film’s financial backer Mia Westberg was a former fashion model who had moved up from LA nearly two years ago to marry local pilot Silas Burke. Not that this guy’s demeanor said fashion industry, not by a long shot—although he was wearing a custom-fitted suit, dark with a crisp white shirt and a blue silk tie, so he was definitely dressed the part.

  “I wouldn’t say LA,” Willow answered. “No tan, and that body doesn’t look like it was sculpted in a gym.”

  “It looks good,” Hailey said, trying to keep her voice even but wanting to sigh like a teenage girl.

  The stranger caught her gaze. He stopped walking, and his eyes narrowed, as if he were trying to place her but couldn’t.

  It was then Hailey noticed the woman beside him. She was dressed as suavely as he was in a black-and-white checkerboard blouse, a short, tailored steel-gray jacket and a matching slim skirt. Her dangling earrings looked terrific below her short, dark hair. But she’d made a bad choice in shoes. The heels were too narrow for walking over the meadow.

  “She looks more like New York,” Willow said.

  “What are they even doing here?” Hailey wondered.

  “On set?”

  “In Paradise.”

  The woman said something to the man. He tilted his head to listen but kept his quizzical gaze on Hailey.

  “He’s staring at you,” Willow whispered.

  “Do I have something on my face?” Hailey wondered if she’d smeared chocolate in her enthusiasm over the cashews. But even if she had, the chocolate was white. He wouldn’t see it from that distance. She glanced down at her mottled blue T-shirt and gray cargo pants. Nothing seemed off with her outfit.

  Her leather hikers might be scuffed and worn, but they were eminently practical. And she’d popped a WSA ball cap over her ponytail to keep off the sun. There was nothing remotely noteworthy about her appearance.

  Willow studied her for a minute. “You’re good.”

  Then a bad feeling came over Hailey. “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, no what?” Willow asked sounding worried.

  “He might be from Atlanta.”

  “Atlanta?”

  “My family might have sent him.” Hailey’s stomach turned queasy at the notion.

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because they want me to come home.” Hailey’s sister had sent three texts yesterday alone, and Hailey had flat-out ignored the recent phone calls from her mother.

  “They’d send a guy?” Willow sounded skeptical.

  Hailey knew it was unlikely they’d send someone to fetch her. Sure, her family wanted her home for the annual shareholders meeting, just like they always did. But she never attended. She just gave her sister Amber her proxy for the votes.

  Then again, unlikely wasn’t impossible.

  “He’s coming this way,” Willow said with a thread of excitement in her voice.

  The man’s attention had definitely zeroed in on Hailey.

  She considered making a run for it, but he looked like he’d have some speed. And even if she made it to her pickup truck, what then? Head for the airstrip and commandeer a plane?

  She wasn’t letting this guy run her out of Paradise.

  He was only yards away now, and she braced herself, planting her feet, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin.

  “Hello,” he said in a deep honey-smooth voice that sent a ripple up her spine.

  She waited, gaze narrowing, prepared to tell him she wasn’t leaving Paradise and he could march right back to where he came from.

  “I’m looking for Raven Westberg.”

  Surprise tumbled through Hailey, and it was immediately followed by embarrassment. He was clearly not here for her.

  She almost laughed at her own absurdity.

  “I’m not sure she’s on set right now,” Willow said, glancing around.

  “Is Raven expecting you?” Hailey asked.

  He might not be here for her, but this guy didn’t fit in Paradise, not by a mile.

  “We don’t have a specific appointment.” His assessing gaze told Hailey it was none of her business. Unfortunately, the smoldering look also made her heart beat more deeply in her chest.

  Residual adrenaline, she told herself. Not that he could have bodily removed her from Paradise. But she hadn’t wanted to argue
with some brash stranger about returning to Atlanta.

  The professional-looking woman handed Hailey a business card. “If you do see Raven, could you ask her to call?”

  The card read Dalia Volksberg, PQH Holdings embossed in gold letters.

  “What can I tell her?” Hailey asked, growing curious and slightly uneasy. Were these people lawyers? Headhunters? What did they want with Raven?

  The man answered, an edge to his deep voice. “That we’d like to speak to her.”

  “About?” Hailey wasn’t going to be intimidated by him.

  His lips thinned, as he stood in pointed silence.

  Hailey’s back stiffened in response. People obviously hopped to it for him in his world. But she wasn’t part of his world.

  She handed the card back to the woman. “I don’t expect to see Raven anytime soon.”

  She felt Willow’s surprise. The man clearly noticed it too, because his suspicious gaze slid to Willow then back to Hailey.

  “Alaskan hospitality?” he challenged Hailey on a drawl.

  “Urban entitlement?” she returned with the same level of defiance.

  For some reason, he smiled at that. “I guess we’ll track her down ourselves.”

  He turned to walk away then, tossing a steely-eyed look over his shoulder.

  “Wow,” Willow said.

  “High on himself or what?” Hailey asked rhetorically.

  “I wonder what he wants with Raven.”

  “I hope he doesn’t find her.”

  “How could he not find her?”

  Willow was right. A person couldn’t hide in Paradise if they were trying.

  * * *

  * * *

  Parker Hall had grown up in Alaska, but Paradise seemed quirky even to him. To be fair, he’d spent the last ten years in Anchorage refining his image to better fit in with his expanding business circle.

  He’d expected the town’s mood to be gloomy, given the tough times they’d faced over the past year. But what he’d found was optimism, almost a festival air.

  “You do know it’s going to come out,” his business manager Dalia Volksberg said as they threaded their way through the trailers, equipment and people crowding the set. Pickups and semitrucks were parked in a neat line beside the long gravel driveway and multiple generators rumbled in the background.