Love at First Light (Lost Harbor, Alaska Book 6)

by Jennifer Bernard

  She shifted her focus away from his fine ass. “Do you think someone at Aurora Lodge might remember S.G.’s mother?”

  “It’s possible. Hopefully we can find out which staff members have been around for that long.”

  “Fifteen years is a long time. They may not remember a pregnant teenage staffer.”

  His breath came fast as he rounded the next curve in the trail. “Still worth trying, since we’re headed there anyway.”

  “Maybe we should just look for a woman in her thirties who resembles S.G.”

  He made a sound that was half-laugh, half-pant.

  “Why are you laughing? Alastair said that the mother was a teenager. Let’s say she was nineteen at the most. That means she’d be thirty-four-ish today.”

  “But there’s no reason she would still be at the lodge. Why would she stay? Besides, we don’t even know if she’s still alive. She could have drowned, like in S.G.’s dream. Don’t get your hopes up, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “See, that’s the difference between you and me.” She brushed aside an elderberry branch. “I like to be hopeful. It works for me. It’s good for general overall health and well-being. Good for the skin. You should try it.”

  “Alright, I’ll try it now. How do I look?” He made a weird face over his shoulder at her.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Like you’re making fun of me.”

  “So cynical. So jaded. So pessimistic.”

  “Oh god, you’re right.” She let out a long groan. “You’re rubbing off on me. Two days in the wilderness with you and look at me.”

  He swept his gaze up and down her body. “You don’t look so bad to me. Smell, on the other hand…” He waved his hand in front of his nose.

  She lunged at him, laughing, but he evaded her and jogged down the trail.

  “You can run but you can’t hide,” she called after him. “I’m right behind you, getting stinkier every second.”

  Laughing, he broke into a half-jog. “Dibs on the first hot shower at the lodge.”

  “Are you trying to run into a bear?”

  He stopped so abruptly she nearly crashed into him. She slid past him and took the lead. “Eat my trail dust. First shower is mine.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Talking loudly to scare away the bears had another benefit. It distracted Ethan from his leg, and it made the journey pass faster that he could have imagined.

  The sky cleared and they were treated to the kind of sparkling vistas that belonged in a travel brochure. Hidden lakes dotted with pristine islands studded with spruce. Immense tangles of moss dangling from ancient twisted trees. Sudden sweeps of buttercups in a secret clearing.

  At first they talked mostly about the case. Ethan was intrigued by Alastair’s theory that his sister’s plane had been taken down deliberately.

  “They never found the Berensons’ plane, you know,” he told Jessica. “According to Maya’s notes, they did an airborne search but never spotted anything.”

  “I remember when it happened. I was about fifteen at the time. It’s not surprising they couldn’t find it. Big wilderness, small plane. No one could have survived anyway, so it wasn’t worth continuing the search. What about his idea that the crash is connected to my plane getting murdered?”

  “Strictly speaking, you can’t murder a plane,” he pointed out. “And I think it’s a stretch, quite honestly. It’s fifteen years later. I checked and there haven’t been any other plane crashes around Aurora Lodge since then.”

  “What do you think went wrong with the handoff?”

  “No idea. Maybe the girl changed her mind. That happens. And where were they flying to sort it out? Maybe she ran away somewhere and they were going after her to try and change her mind.”

  “Where would she have gone with a newborn in tow? It’s a several-day hike to get anywhere.”

  “That’s a good point,” he admitted. “Another possibility is that the story about the young woman was completely made up.”

  “No. Alastair didn’t lie about that. I’m pretty good at detecting lies. He was telling the truth.”

  “The truth as he knew it.” He paused to take in a sweeping view of a valley with a distant creek meandering through it like a silver eel. “There’s no guarantee it’s the truth.”

  Face flushed from exertion, she turned wondering eyes on him. “Wow, you really do have to be skeptical in your job.”

  “Question everything,” he said solemnly. “Trust no one. Survive the night.”

  “I think I’ve seen that movie. Or at least part of it. I might have walked out.”

  He laughed. He was starting to really dig her lighthearted, quirky ways. They’d been together nearly constantly for so many hours in a row that it was easy to forget they’d only met a short time ago. The pre-Jessica time might as well be the pre-Jurassic time. She was so easy to talk to, with no trace of judgement other than teasing him about his cynicism.

  After they’d finished speculating about the case, they moved onto other topics. More personal ones.

  He told her about a few of his brushes with death, starting with the hornet’s nest. She listened with wide-eyed fascination.

  “Did you have a vision during that one?”

  “I don’t remember. I was only six.”

  “Okay, what about the next one? How old were you then?”

  “Ten. When I got diagnosed—“ He broke off. Talking about his cancer was never at the top of his list of favorite things. “And no, I don’t remember any visions. I read a lot of books. Watched a lot of sports on TV. Played a lot of videogames.”

  “What books did you like to read?”

  “Detective novels. Mysteries.”

  “Crime-solving stories?”

  “Exactly.” He picked up the pace as they passed through a shaded section of forest humming with mosquitoes. Hopefully that answer would satisfy her, because the full story was a little embarrassing.

  She easily kept up with him. Darn her and her hiking prowess. “You’re hiding something.”

  “What would I be hiding? There’s nothing wrong with reading detective stories.”

  “Of course there isn’t. I like them too. I told you I read the entire—“ She interrupted herself with a burst of laughter. “Wait a minute. Nancy Drew! You liked the Nancy Drew series, didn’t you?”

  She sure was good with that intuition of hers. “Maybe I did,” he admitted.

  She shrieked with glee, the sound bouncing off a granite rock face with tree roots wrapped around it. “This is the best thing I’ve heard in forever! Did Nancy Drew inspire you to become a detective?”

  “No, that was Walter Mosley and Easy Rawlins. But Nancy might have given me a nudge too.” He laughed at the joy on her face. “I’ve never seen you so happy. Is it because you’re laughing at the idea of a boy fighting cancer by reading Nancy Drew?”

  “No! It’s because Maya and I were so obsessed with those books and now you’re here and you loved them too and I just…can I kiss you?”

  “If you must.” He planted his feet on the trail and opened his arms to her. Still laughing, she hopped forward and landed a soft peck on his chin.

  He glared down at her. “Excuse me, what was that?”

  “I warned you I was going to kiss you.”

  “Then you should kiss me.” He tugged her back against him and settled one hand on the small of her back, below her backpack. Its graceful curve tempted him to spread his fingers wider, to savor the swell of her ass. After all the time he’d spent watching her move down the trail ahead of him, he couldn’t keep his hands off her one more second. “Like this.”

  Groin to groin, hardness to softness, their bodies met and clung together. Her rosy soft lips opened in surprise. He claimed them with a ferocious hunger that shocked him. He never got carried away like this; he never allowed himself to.

  With Jessica, there was no holding it back. He ravaged the sweet flesh of her mouth as if he’d been wandering alone in
the wilderness for years. She made a soft keening sound as her mouth surrendered to his silent demands. Open to me. Trust me. Come with me.

  In a flash, his cock was so hard it was almost painful. He pressed against her, the contact tempting him to the limit. He wanted to strip all those layers of clothing off her and expose the curves he kept imagining. He wanted to taste every inch of her sweet-smelling skin. Even though she was sweaty and grimy from their time on the trail, her scent still went right to his head. Roses and baking spices and pure arousing woman.

  He cupped his hand on her breast, picturing how she would look. Her nipples would be the color of wild roses. Even through her gear, he felt the peak pebble into hardness. She pressed her upper body against him and groaned under his kiss.

  She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. But not here. Hell no.

  “We can’t do this.” With an effort, he pulled away from her.

  She gave him a dazed look. “What?”

  “I mean, we can’t do this here.” A buzz saw of lust roughened his voice. “It’s not safe. Or comfortable.”

  Awareness returned to her eyes. “Oh. Yeah. This. You mean sex.”

  “I do. Am I off-base?”

  “No.” She ran her tongue across her lips. “You’re on base. I think you just made it to second base, actually.”

  Her light comment eased the tension rampaging through his system. Hear that, cock? It could happen. Just not now.

  They continued down the trail, both breathing even faster than before. “Have you changed your mind, then? About us?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it. It’s possible it could be the perfect thing for the new edition of Jessica Dixon.”

  “Oh yeah?” he asked warily. He wasn’t sure he liked where this was headed. He liked the current edition of Jessica just fine.

  More than just fine.

  “Yup. I’ve been clinging to my comfort zone for too long. That’s one of the reasons I came out here with you. I wanted to shake things up.”

  “I thought you wanted to avoid the process server,” he asked dryly.

  “Well, that too. I’d rather run into a bear than see him again.”

  “She didn’t mean that,” Ethan called into the woods.

  Jessica laughed. “See, you make me laugh.”

  “That’s good, right?”

  “Yes, and it’s made me realize that being on Team Romance means I take certain things very seriously. I’m always examining my dates to see if they could be my soul mate. And I still want to find that,” she added hastily.

  “But in the meantime you want to step out of your comfort zone?”

  “Maybe. Maybe I do.”

  “Well, the welcome mat is down. Hopefully it’s next to a bed, not a tree or a boulder.”

  She giggled as she stepped over a gnarled tree root in the trail. “I have to admit, it’s very freeing that you’re not interested in a future. I know you’re cynical and jaded and don’t even believe in soul mates. So I don’t have to worry about whether or not you are mine.”

  “Good point.”

  He wasn’t sure it was, though. He didn’t entirely dismiss the idea of “soul mates,” though he might use a different term. What about his sister Olivia? She’d extricated herself from a bad marriage and been very guarded with men after that, until she fell in love with Jake Rockwell. Watching that happen had opened his eyes.

  Come to think of it, they’d fallen in love when Jake had hired her. They’d worked together, sort of like…

  He shook off that thought. It was nothing like him and Jessica. This was a one-time adventure, nothing more.

  “So I’m a cynical bastard and that means it’s okay to have sex with me?”

  She laughed at his bluntness. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Nope. No problem. I’ll prove it the next time we’re anywhere near a bed.”

  “It’s a date.”

  And if he did have a problem, he didn’t plan to worry about it. The thought of taking Jessica to bed was too enticing. Every second he spent with her made him want her more. He didn’t even mind the crystals and her reliance on intuition instead of logic. Maybe those things had bothered him at first, but he knew her better now. Jessica was about hope and staying positive, and how could that be a bad thing?

  And then there was her loyalty to Maya. And her bravery when it came to things like flying float planes into unknown territory. And her persistence. And her kindness—somehow always sensing when he needed a break, and stopping before he requested it. And that didn’t even include the lust that kept building as the hours passed.

  A thought filtered through, something new that he’d never considered. He’d made a choice not to ever fall in love. But he’d made it with his head, not his heart. Was that even really possible?

  Not that he was falling in love. It wasn’t like that. It couldn’t be. That would be nuts. Right?

  It was nearly midnight by the time they crested the final ridge before reaching Aurora Lodge. By then, his leg was trembling badly. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of a hot shower and a night in an actual bed. And the image of Jessica naked next to him in that bed.

  Limping and exhausted, he barely took in the magnificent Tudor-style compound as they approached. Solar lights embedded in the grass illuminated the drive that led to the portico-ed front entrance. All the interior lights were off. A place like this didn’t have a twenty-four hour registration desk, obviously.

  “What if no one’s awake?” Jessica whispered. “It is midnight.”

  “This is the land of the midnight sun.”

  “Yes, but it’s not like they get a lot of last-minute surprise arrivals. Everyone else comes by plane.”

  “You’re supposed to be the hopeful and optimistic one,” he hissed as he knocked loudly on the door.

  “That was the old Jessica. I’m trying to be realistic now.”

  “Can you maybe put that on hold until—“

  The door swung open. A woman wearing black-rimmed glasses and a fuzzy pink bathrobe stood before them. Her red hair—a few shades darker than Jessica’s—hung over her shoulder in a loose braid. The color combination made him blink.

  “Who’s out here bickering on the porch?”

  “Not bickering, just discussing the possibility that you might have a room available tonight.” Ethan tried his “charming” smile, but it had no effect on her.

  She looked the two of them up and down, eyebrows lifting. “Do you know this is the first time we’ve ever gotten a walk-in?”

  “Is there a prize for that?”

  She didn’t seem to appreciate his attempt at humor either. “Where are you coming from? Have you been hiking?”

  Jessica elbowed Ethan aside. Just as well, since he wasn’t getting anywhere. “We flew in on a float plane for a hiking trip. But my plane is now disabled so we had to hike across a few ridges to get here.”

  “Sorry about your plane.”

  “I’m Jessica Dixon, by the way. I own the Sweet Harbor Bakery in Lost Harbor.”

  Recognition spread across the woman’s features, and finally she relaxed. “Best walnut-cinnamon rolls in the entire peninsula. I sent a spy to figure out the recipe but no dice. I’m Kelsey Lewis, the manager here.” She turned toward Ethan. “And you are?”

  “Ethan James. Jessica’s partner.” He didn’t feel like explaining any more than that until he’d gotten some damn sleep. “Do you have any rooms open?”

  “We don’t have rooms at all. We have suites. And yes, I do have one available, but you’re not going to like the price.”

  Were women in Alaska always so blunt?

  “We have credit cards.”

  “I don’t want your money. I want that recipe.” She swung back toward Jessica with a grin. “Can we work out a deal?”

  “Can you maybe include a mention of Sweet Harbor in your menu?”

  “Hmm, I can think about it. Or we could call them Jessica’s Sticky Buns a
nd if anyone asks, direct them your way.”

  “Ooh, I like that idea—“

  “The room,” Ethan interrupted. “Any chance of actually setting foot in it tonight?”

  “He’s a bit grumpy,” Jessica explained to Kelsey. “He’s more of a city boy and it’s been a long hike.” She squeezed his hand, taking the sting out of her words.

  “Well, we get our share of those here. Come on, I’ll show you to your suite. We can work out the details later.”

  She ushered them into a great room that managed to be both stately and cozy at the same time. Massive rafters crossed the soaring space overhead. The biggest cast iron woodstove he’d ever seen took up the center of the room; its stovepipe ran all the way to the roof.

  Richly upholstered armchairs and loveseats were arrayed around the space. Shelves filled with games and books lined one wall. Several cozy side nooks offered a place to watch DVDs or play chess. It smelled faintly of woodsmoke and expensive lemon wax polish. It smelled, honestly, like civilization. A haven in the harsh wilderness.

  The relief of getting off the trail made him almost lightheaded. As they followed Kelsey up the wide-planked staircase to the second floor, he wondered how many trees it took to heat this place in the winter. Or maybe it was only open in the summer. He should have done more research, but he’d never expected to end up here.

  She showed them into a suite that opened its arms to them in luxurious welcome. Fresh bathrobes and towels were folded on the expansive king-size bed. An office area furnished with a desk and printer took up one corner. She showed off the bathroom, complete with tub and a two-person shower, and a sunken living room with an entertainment center.

  “This suite usually costs fifteen hundred a night,” she told them. “But to be honest, I would never turn away a stranded hiker. You have ID, I assume?”

  They both put down their backpacks and rummaged for their wallets. Kelsey scanned Jessica’s first, taking a picture of it with a pad she drew from the pocket of her bathrobe.

  When Ethan handed his over, she glanced up at him sharply. “You’re a PI?”

  Oops—he’d handed her his official California investigator license instead of his ID.