Mountain Refuge

by Sarah Varland

  “You’re not going to start sounding like my siblings are you?”

  Maybe he was.

  “Explain why you don’t think it’s a good idea.” She said the words like she meant them, like she really cared about his thoughts.

  *

  Summer was trying to see Clay’s point of view just like she was trying to see her siblings’. Really, she was. And it wasn’t that she was brave or ignorant of the danger she was currently facing, but she’d never been one to sit still and wait for life to happen. She was the one who ran up mountains, across ridgelines.

  She’d been accused more than once of looking for trouble, and while she disagreed with that assessment, she didn’t go out of her way to avoid risk. It wasn’t her style.

  Life was too short to be lived half-heartedly. Summer had always believed that and still did now, despite the fact that she’d shifted her priorities in the last couple of years, more toward family and away from some of the selfish dreams she’d had when she was younger.

  “Summer, the safest thing for you is to lay low while we figure out who attacked you. Proactively going and talking to other victims’ families isn’t that.”

  “Right, I can see that, but if I’m helping solve the case faster, isn’t it for the best?”

  Tires crunched the gravel in the driveway. Noah parked and walked over to them. Summer’s stomach growled. Tyler sure was taking his time with breakfast.

  “Glad you’re here.” Clay stuck out his hand and Noah shook it. Something about the scene made Summer smile. Her brother liked Clay, something that couldn’t be said for most men.

  Not that it mattered to Summer. She’d tried romance before, and it had cost far too much. She’d almost lost her family, and she wasn’t going to risk that again. No matter how great a man seemed at the beginning, there was no telling with her judgment.

  “I’m going to go see what’s taking Tyler so long with breakfast.”

  “You shouldn’t be alone,” Clay insisted. Summer looked to Noah.

  Noah shrugged. “We’ll both be right out here so it’s probably alright. Don’t be long, okay?”

  Summer jogged easily to the stairs of the deck and ran up and inside. She found Tyler in the kitchen, icing some cinnamon rolls.

  “Oh yum, where did those come from?”

  “They were in the freezer. I warmed up a couple. Sorry it took so long.”

  He set down the icing bag and looked at her a little funny.

  “What is it?”

  “You seem to mind Clay a lot less today.”

  Was it her imagination or was Tyler not as thrilled by that as Summer would have guessed?

  “I guess I felt like I was kind of a jerk to him yesterday. I’m trying to make up for it.”

  “Just don’t try too hard.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you two wouldn’t be good for each other.”

  The absurdity was so great Summer just laughed. “Tyler, someone is trying to kill me. The last, and I do mean the very, very last thing I am thinking about is getting into a relationship with someone.”

  “Clay’s not the kind of guy to do anything half-heartedly.” There he went, the caution in his voice still strong. “If he falls for you, he’ll fall all the way, Summer. I don’t want you to hurt him and I don’t want him to hurt you.”

  This conversation was giving her a headache. “I thought I should be nicer today. That’s all.”

  “I just wanted to make sure—”

  “Listen, message received, Tyler. I don’t flirt with every male I come into contact with, okay? I was just trying to be friendly.”

  She took the plate of cinnamon rolls he handed her, though she doubted she’d eat more than a bite or two—her appetite was suddenly not as large as it had been a few minutes ago.

  “Summer, I didn’t mean—”

  But she’d already left the house, wishing she could step away from the thoughts he’d put in her head just as easily. The truth was that Clay Hitchcock was attractive, sure. She’d noticed yesterday in the truck when he’d rescued her. She wasn’t blind. But today she’d truly only been trying to make peace for the sake of making the next few weeks more tolerable. She knew better than her brother did how much she needed to avoid a relationship for now. Or the next few years. Or forever.

  Still, it hurt to know that no matter how much she’d changed, how much she’d said she was sorry for hurting them, for not considering the reach of her choices, her family didn’t truly believe she’d changed.

  Her mistakes might not require her to wear a literal scarlet letter like Hester Prynne had in the book she’d been forced to read in high school, but in this small town and this family, they may as well. There was no escaping what had happened. She’d forever be the sister who had pushed her family away and run off with a man who didn’t deserve her love, trust or innocence.

  Years later and she’d asked forgiveness from everyone she’d hurt. God included, most of all. In return, she’d gotten an outpouring of love and acceptance. But that couldn’t actually erase what had happened, or the damage it left behind.

  No one seemed to be able to let it go and really put it in the past.

  If she were honest…?

  Herself included.

  Holding the plate of cinnamon rolls, she hurried down the stairs from the front deck. “Breakfast.”

  Clay frowned. Summer knew he was too perceptive to have missed the shift in her attitude in the last ten minutes. Whatever, it wasn’t something she could deal with discussing right now. He’d have to stay curious about what had come over her.

  Noah and Clay each took a cinnamon roll. Summer took the one that was left over and nibbled at the edges of it. Moose Haven Lodge’s cinnamon rolls were practically famous, so she couldn’t resist them, no matter what kind of mood she was in.

  “Did you find anything?” she asked her brother.

  Noah shook his head. “Nothing Clay hadn’t already thought of or found just by looking at it.”

  “Because there wasn’t anything to find?”

  “Because Clay’s that good at this job.” Noah eyed him. “After the summer, if you stay in Moose Haven I’d like to talk to you about a job. The city is increasing our budget for next year and adding you to the force would be money well spent.”

  “I appreciate you saying so.”

  He didn’t respond any further to the suggestion. Interesting, at least to Summer. Was he not planning to stay in town? It wasn’t uncommon for people to come up to Alaska to work only during the summers, but it still surprised her a bit anyway. Or maybe it had more to do with the offer of the job in particular?

  “What we did learn is that both of us agree on the ‘why’ you were asking about earlier,” Clay offered.

  “And what did you decide?”

  Noah spoke up. “It’s odd for someone to try to kill you and then de-escalate, essentially, to trying to scare you. With that in mind, the only logical motive is that he wanted to unnerve you, keep you off balance, basically scare you as a tactic to feel like he still has you under control.”

  “Why would he do that? Just because he’s mentally unstable?”

  “It’s not that simple,” Clay replied. “We can’t guess anything about his mental state besides the fact that he has a disregard for human life. Some serial killers are mentally unstable for sure. And some are people who seem to have all their faculties and then just…snap.”

  “Did you get a lot of serial killers where you’re from?” Summer couldn’t help the snarky comment as she hadn’t really wanted to hear any of Clay’s opinions. She trusted her brother.

  “We got more crime than you might expect.” Something in his face had changed, hardened, and Summer knew she’d crossed some kind of line—she hadn’t expected her words to affect him to the degree they had.

  “Besides,” Clay continued, “the FBI-led academies I’ve been to, the conferences I’ve learned at, all of which have taught me plenty, thanks.”


  It appeared two of them could play the “let’s be short with each other now” game.

  Summer exhaled. Why was she doing this? Just because of a little goading by her brother? She should know better.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Noah looked at her oddly and she shook her head slightly. Better to drop it and try to be normal around Clay, at least to the best of her ability.

  “So that’s why you think he’s doing this?” Summer tried to redirect the conversation.

  Clay looked to Noah to answer, apparently sensing that Summer was taking him more seriously. She felt bad about that. The truth was that she trusted Clay’s opinion a great deal and didn’t want to.

  “That’s the working theory.”

  “And do you think it’s the serial killer or not?”

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  The two men answered at the same time. Noah’s answer was more reassuring…

  But Summer felt somewhere inside that Clay’s was probably right.

  “What do you think?” The question came from Clay.

  Summer had to take a minute to compose herself before she reacted to his question. Had her expression given away that she agreed with him or had he just really wondered what she thought?

  “I think it’s him.” She exhaled as she voiced the words she’d hoped to keep inside. Something about saying them out loud made the threat seem more real.

  “Why?”

  Now she knew he was interested in what she thought. With that in mind, Summer considered her answer carefully.

  “Just the way it felt when he had me, with the knife…” she began. Images flashed in her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut tight for a second. Gut instinct said to push the images away, to try to forget about them, but Summer made herself focus on them instead, hopeful that some detail would stand out that she hadn’t noticed before. Anything that would help them make progress in this case. Because if someone was after her, she wasn’t going to sit around and hide. She was going to do something about it.

  “I’ve got my team working on it and I’ve also alerted the troopers.” Noah’s words were meant for reassurance, but they could only do so much. Nothing changed the fact that someone was after her.

  “Thanks.”

  “I’ll keep you posted on what I learn today, alright? Thanks for telling me as much as you did yesterday. I’ve got some calls in, and a forensic artist in Anchorage is doing a full body sketch today based on the description you gave me.”

  “I didn’t notice much.” At least, Summer wouldn’t have expected it would be enough to help.

  “You’d be surprised what those guys can do with just a little bit of information,” Noah said. “It doesn’t always give an exact picture, but often it’s close enough that someone recognizes them.”

  “Let us know,” Clay said.

  Noah nodded. “I’m going to climb up there, process the message for evidence and then head back to work. What are your plans?”

  “I’d hoped to take the tourists who arrived last night on a hike,” Summer said.

  “No.”

  “Noah, this is my job.”

  “And no job is worth your life.”

  Summer knew that but also didn’t think Noah understood how important her job at the family’s lodge was to her.

  Or why. But that was understandable. She tried not to talk about the why, tried not to think about it.

  “I understand you want to keep me safe. Believe me, I want that too, but I can’t stop everything because of some what-ifs.”

  “Someone has already grabbed you and then tracked you down to threaten you. I hardly think anything we are considering in any arena is as far-fetched as a what-if at this point. It’s just what is, Summer. Someone wants you dead.”

  “I know. And they’re going to want me dead whether I’m doing my job or not.”

  FIVE

  Clay watched Summer plead her case with her brother with a little bit of amusement and a lot of observation about both of them that he was mentally filing away. He respected Noah so far—he seemed like a decent guy. And Summer… Clay couldn’t get a handle on her. One minute she was friendly. Then next she acted like she couldn’t stand his presence.

  In either mood, she remained stubborn though, and he couldn’t help but admire the trait. Because the stubborn ones tended to be the ones who had the fight to stay alive when it came down to it.

  And anyway, he saw something desperate in her eyes, something that told him she’d be better off in the woods, climbing mountains, than trapped inside. He took only a second to decide the extra work it would bring him was worth it, and that the benefits to what she was asking outweighed the risks.

  “I think we should let her hike.” He winced a little internally at his phrasing. She wasn’t going to like the idea that she needed his permission to let her hike.

  “See, Clay agrees with me.” She passed right over it in appreciation for having someone on her side, apparently.

  “What’s your plan for keeping her safe?”

  “I’ll be with her, obviously. We’ll take my car in case someone is watching hers and hasn’t taken note of mine yet, and we’ll choose less popular hikes where people aren’t going to see her in case the killer is working with a partner.”

  “Do you think he is?”

  “No, I don’t. But we need to be as aware as possible. Not cautious in a way that keeps you locked in the lodge till this is figured out, but very aware.”

  She nodded.

  “What do you think?” He directed the question to Noah. Though Clay took his assignment to protect Summer seriously, he knew that Noah’s position as her brother, and police chief, meant that he might have stronger opinions and he certainly had the right to them. Clay was just summer help, just a friend, not someone who mattered much in the grand scheme of Summer’s life. Even if keeping her safe felt more personal than any job he’d taken before.

  “If you’re comfortable with it, we’ll try it for now.”

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Summer threw her arms around her brother and grinned. She looked back at Clay. “I’ll be on my guard. I don’t want to make your job any more difficult than it already is.”

  “Fine. Work it out and call me as soon as you’re back at the lodge,” Noah said.

  Summer nodded.

  “We’d better get back inside for now. The fewer people out here in the parking lot, the less chance that one of the guests’ attention will be drawn to the vandalism.” Clay didn’t want to point out the possible implications for their business when Summer’s life was so much more important, but the welfare of the lodge seemed important to Summer.

  “Right. Thank you.” Surprise was in her eyes as she turned to him.

  Clay offered a small smile. “So what was wrong earlier?”

  “When?”

  He studied her face. Shook his head. “Never mind.” Whatever the reason for her odd behavior, it seemed to be over now and Clay was only overly curious when it benefitted a case. Otherwise he believed in letting people have their privacy. Their secrets.

  He wasn’t much of a secret keeper himself. Or he hadn’t been, until recently. Now there were parts of himself he didn’t have any desire to share with anyone else—thoughts that haunted him when he tried to fall asleep at night.

  “Where are you planning to hike today?”

  “Bear Creek Falls.”

  Clay raised his eyebrows. “Bear Creek? Really?”

  “Yes, bears. As in those creatures in the woods up here. Why?” The smile that tugged at the edges of her lips showed a hint of amusement. Clay knew he was what Alaskans would occasionally refer to as a cheechako—basically a newbie, unfamiliar with the area—but he’d done a little research on the dangers he could expect to face before coming to Alaska.

  “You carry bear spray when you lead these hikes, right?”

  Summer rolled her eyes. “I’m from Moose Haven, Alaska, Clay. I carry a .44.
”

  He laughed, something he hadn’t been doing enough of lately. “Noted.”

  “Although I carry spray too. It works out better for everyone if you can deter a bear from attacking with the spray.”

  Clay nodded. He had both lines of defense Summer had mentioned also, and had planned to wear one on either side of his belt. Better safe than sorry. While the killer after Summer posed a bigger threat, it would be foolish to ignore the wildlife threat on the Kenai Peninsula.

  “And this place is not somewhere you regularly hike, correct?” he confirmed as they headed into the lodge. Summer was walking toward the living room.

  “That’s right. It’s been years since I’ve been there at all.” She frowned a little. “I wish I could use my usual places. I have my list of hike routes carefully thought out and edited to include what I think will challenge tourists just enough but still provide a payoff in views or something else. Anything not on that list, there’s a reason why it’s not ideal for tourists.”

  “That matters less than keeping you safe.”

  “True. But I don’t think you understand how much my family’s lodge means to me.”

  “Why is that?”

  She shifted in her seat. Clay waited, observing the tell and knowing she was either planning to lie—something that didn’t seem like her—or avoid telling him the whole truth.

  “It’s my family’s lodge. Why wouldn’t I care about it?”

  “It just seems to mean even more to you than that.”

  “Let’s focus on the hike, okay?” She opened a drawer in the small end table beside the couch and pulled out a map.

  “I should probably get a couple of those while I’m up here so I can learn my way around.”

  “You’ll figure it out quickly enough, at least where roads are concerned. There aren’t that many of them. It might take a little longer to get the trails down. Even I don’t know where all of those go, which is why I was in trouble the other day.”

  “What happened that you ended up somewhere you didn’t realize where you were?” Clay asked, realizing he didn’t think he’d heard that part of the story.

  “I had to run from him when I had the chance. He was standing between me and one route I knew, and another route would have meant backtracking down a wide-open trail that would have made it easy for him to follow. I figured the smaller, less used trail was my best bet because I grew up hiking these mountains, dodging trees, running over roots.”