by Zoe York
I was relieved when my mother’s phone started chirping from where it sat in the middle of the table. She flashed a grin. “Saved by your brother,” she said as she glanced down at the screen and picked up the phone.
“Hey Quinn,” she said.
She nodded along at something Quinn said, her eyes flicking to me. “Your sister’s sitting right here. Like I told you, she came back home two days later after a hideaway night at your place.”
“Tell him I said hey,” I offered.
She held a finger up as she listened to Quinn. “She says to tell you hey.”
At that, my mom handed the phone over. I didn’t have much choice, so I took the phone, lifting it to my ear. “How’s it going, Quinn?”
“Well I’m fine, but how are you?” he countered.
I could imagine his concerned gaze. I’d always felt lucky when it came to my brother. He was a good guy all around.
“I’m fine,” I replied, not sure what else to offer after my rather dramatic weekend. I was supposed to be on my honeymoon now, but was nowhere near that. In the span of a few minutes, I’d turned my planned life on its head. I was so relieved, just thinking about it sent another wave of relief through me.
Quinn chuckled softly. “That’s what Mom said. Good to know. Next time you decide to bolt on your wedding day, how about not giving Mom a heart attack and calling one of us back?”
I bit back a sigh, a wash of guilt rolling through me.
“Quinn, I’m sorry. I really am. I wasn’t thinking too clearly and chucked my phone. It was Earl I didn’t want to deal with, but I didn’t think about much else.”
“I figured as much. Anyway, guess I can say now it seems like it’s best?”
I leaned back in my chair and traced the grain of the wood on the table. “It is. It was right before I needed to go in, and I just couldn’t.”
“Okay then. I just want you to be okay, so as long as you’re okay, I’m good. Lacey said to tell you to call if you need to talk.”
I smiled, emotion clogging my throat. Even if it might chafe, I knew I was blessed to have family that cared. “Tell her I just might. Right now, I’m laying low and trying to get back to my life.”
“Good enough then. If you need to stay at the cabin more than one night, it’s all yours.”
“Thanks Quinn. I chopped plenty of wood for you.”
Amidst his laugh, he said goodbye. I stayed a bit longer to help my mother take care of a few things in the yard and then headed to the office. Cade had taken up residence in my thoughts, so whenever I wasn’t busy, he was filling my mind. He had a commanding presence, and I felt caught in the tides of a powerful pull toward him. When I wasn’t busy worrying over how to get through to the other side of seven long years marred by a misunderstanding and our shared stubbornness, I was fantasizing about him. Just now, heat rolled through me, recalling the feel of his lips on mine and his fingers buried inside of me.
Cade
I walked into the Willow Brook Fire Station and up to the reception desk where a young woman was on the phone. I’d never seen her before. Before I’d left for my hot shot training, I’d volunteered here regularly. Carol Rogers had been the nerve center of the dispatch here back then and for as long as I could remember. She’d passed away about a year ago, and I’d been sad to find out I was too late to make it to her funeral. I’d been out in the field dealing with a dangerous fire in the Sierra Mountains at the time. Carol had been like a grandmother to me, along with many of the firefighters who passed through here.
The young woman who appeared to be her replacement had curly brown hair barely tamed into a ponytail and wide brown eyes. She finished her call and looked at me over the counter. “Hi, can I help you?” she asked, her tone cool. She certainly lacked Carol’s warm, motherly manner.
“Cade Masters. I’m here to drop off my gear before I start next week.”
Her expression didn’t change, but she nodded. “Okay. Let me see if anyone’s expecting you.”
Slightly annoyed, I shrugged. So much for a warm welcome.
She picked up the phone and paged the back. I heard her mention my name and then nod. After she hung up, she stood and walked around the desk to open the door leading to the back. “Come on back,” she said, waving her hand into the hallway.
I stepped through and felt a sense of homecoming wash over me. I’d been home for a few days, but coming here was a second layer of it for me. I’d spent most of my adolescence bouncing around this place. With my father as the police chief and the police offices one building over, I was almost always running around nearby. Once I’d gotten my hot shot training out of the way, I’d always had half an eye on the jobs here.
I might’ve wanted to avoid the pain of seeing Amelia settle down with someone else, but I’d missed Willow Brook and my dream had been to be part of the hot shot crew here. Willow Brook had a local firefighting crew, which wasn’t too big because the town wasn’t large. However, the fire station here served as a base for two hotshot crews, so it was busy here. They had federal and state teams flying in and out of Willow Brook during the height of fire season. In recent years, fires out West, Alaska included, had increased markedly, so hotshot teams were in demand. We were the only teams specially trained to function independently in isolated wilderness and rough terrain. I’d taken a foreman position for one of the crews and was ready to start. I was slated to officially be on duty next week, but I had gear to drop off and wanted to see who was around.
The young woman barely cracked a smile as she waited for me to pass and turned to close the door behind us. I couldn’t help but notice she was a bundle of curves. I might not feel a thing, what with Amelia permanently lodged in my brain these days, but I could appreciate this woman was a likely distraction here at the station. Well, except for the fact she was cranky as hell. I decided to push her a little.
“So I’m Cade. Don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” I held my hand out.
“I’m Maisie Rogers,” she said, her voice flat as she shook my hand.
“You wouldn’t be any relation to Carol Rogers?” I asked as I dropped her hand and started to follow her down the hall.
“She was my grandma,” Maisie replied, the slightest softening to her tone.
“Really? You must not have grown up here, or I’d know you.”
A curl bounced as she shook her head. “Nope. My mom went to college in San Francisco and never moved back. Grandma left me her house when she passed away. I didn’t plan on ending up in her job, but they hadn’t filled it yet when I got here. I figured I could fill in and now I’m still here.”
We reached the door into the back and Maisie pushed through, stopping abruptly by the door.
The back area was as I remembered it—lockers, gear hanging in tidy rows, and a kitchen and hang out area to the back.
“Cade!” a voice called out.
The man in question turned from where he was by the kitchen counter and strode my way.
“Beck, man. Good to see you! I wasn’t sure you were still here,” I replied as we met halfway across the room.
Beck pulled me into a quick hug and stepped back, flashing a lazy grin. “Course I’m here. I’m foreman for the other crew. How ya been?”
Beck Steele had gone to high school with me. We’d run in the same circles, although Beck hadn’t started as a firefighter before I left town. I heard he was here through the grapevine. Beck was a good guy. Solid, steady and always good for a laugh. He didn’t take himself, or anyone else, too seriously. With his black curls and green eyes, the girls had chased after him in high school. As far as I knew, he’d never been caught by any of them. He enjoyed the chase and that was about it.
“Doin’ alright. It’s good to be home,” I replied.
“Good to have you here. You met Maisie, right?” Beck asked in return, glancing between us.
Maisie nodded, her curly ponytail bouncing. The incongruity of that with her cool expression made me want to laugh
.
“Yup, we met,” I offered.
Beck shrugged, another lazy grin. “Of course.” He glanced to me. “We miss Carol like crazy, but Maisie’s almost as bossy as her.”
Maisie’s eyes narrowed, and her cheeks turned pink. She opened her mouth to say something when the radio hooked to her belt beeped. She snagged it and hurried back through the door to the front.
I glanced from the door back to Beck. “She might be bossy like Carol, but…. Not exactly warm and fuzzy.”
Beck shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we’re still trying to warm her up.”
I scanned the room, circling back to Beck. “So, I brought some gear to drop off. Okay if I go ahead and bring it in?”
“Of course, let me give a hand.”
In short order, I had hung my gear in a locker, met a few of the other guys and caught up with Beck. Beck walked me back out to his truck and leaned against the tailgate. “So, what finally brought you back?” he asked.
“Been meaning to come back for a while. When I saw the foreman position open up, I jumped at it.”
I left unsaid that I’d stayed away as long as I had, in part because I’d been deep into avoiding Amelia and everything that fell apart between us.
Beck eyed me and nodded slowly. “Guessing you heard your girl up and left Earl Osborne at the altar.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Amelia hasn’t been my girl for a long time.”
Beck chuckled. “Whatever, man. I love this place, but word travels. Already heard you’re the one who brought her back to town after she bolted at her wedding. Just a heads up, if I heard about it, well, that means the whole damn town did.”
I kicked my heel against a tire. I’d missed many things about Willow Brook, but gossip wasn’t one of them. “Aw hell. Don’t tell me I’m gonna have to face people pissed off at me. All I did was run into her at a bar. Damn woman managed to start a fistfight,” I said with a chuckle.
Beck threw his head back with a laugh. “That must’ve been a sight.”
“Oh yeah. I walk in and see her land her fist right in some guy’s face. Next thing I know, he knocks her right to the ground.” I paused and shook my head. “So, I waded in there and got her out of the way. Had no idea she’d just walked out on Earl, although the fact she was wearing a wedding dress tipped me off.”
Beck shook his head. “Well, she’s given the gossips something to chew on for a few months between walking out on Earl and you coming back to town.”
“Oh hell. I hate that shit,” I replied.
Beck eyed me for a beat. “Right, well at least it’s Earl. He’s so laid back about everything, I doubt he’ll much care. Far as I’m concerned, just goes to show she was right to walk out.”
Beck’s cell phone beeped, and he glanced at the screen. “Gotta take this. Trying to buy some land and it’s the bank. How about you meet up with me and the guys this Saturday at Wildlands?”
“Will do,” I replied as Beck gave a nod and took the call.
I turned and looked across the street once Beck disappeared inside. Willow Brook was one of the older towns in Alaska, established during the mythical gold rush era. The original fire station had been renovated into the Firehouse Café, while this newer building was built back when I was a boy. It was square and utilitarian, but situated right on Main Street with a nice view of Swan Lake.
The sun glinted off the lake with its namesake Trumpeter swans drifting in the center. The swans came every summer, decorating the lake as they floated regally in its waters. I looked out over the water and took a breath. I’d missed this view, missed so many things. I was partially kicking myself for holding out this long before coming home. Yet, in the back of my mind, I knew I’d have felt a hell of a lot differently if I were here dealing with the reality of Amelia with someone else like a punch to my gut. I might be gnawing on a lot of emotions over her, but the barren pain of thinking she was out of reach was gone.
I glanced at my watch. I figured it was time to track her down.
Amelia
“What do you mean you can’t get out here until next week?” I asked into my phone.
“Amelia, I’m sorry. My excavator took some damage last week when a tractor-trailer clipped it on the way back from Anchorage. Trust me when I say I’m as annoyed as you about the whole mess,” Max replied.
Max Richards was the guy I usually subcontracted with for excavation work. It wasn’t a full-time gig for him. In fact, it was very part-time. He was a biologist for the federal government, but like most everyone in Alaska, he had several irons in the fire. After getting burned by a few of the more full-time crews around here who thought I was stupid enough to trust their rates, I’d heard Max did this work on the side and called him up. He was an old friend of Quinn’s, and I trusted him completely. He charged fair rates and his pace worked with mine. With my small two-woman crew, I stayed busy, but I didn’t line up too many projects.
I paced back and forth in front of my work truck, considering what to do. “When will it be ready?”
“Next week. If you can wait, I’ll be at the site Monday,” Max replied.
Knowing I couldn’t get anyone else in on such short notice without paying a fortune for an emergency job, I figured it was best to wait. “That’ll have to work.”
“Thanks Amelia. See you then,” Max said before ending the call.
I tucked my phone in my pocket and glanced around for Lucy. I caught sight of Lucy’s blonde hair peeking out from under her baseball cap over by the stream running through the corner of the lot. I strode over to find her leaning over with her face practically in the stream.
“Okay Lucy, what are you doing?”
Lucy glanced up quickly before looking back into the stream. “Look! There’s some small trout in here,” Lucy said, pointing to the stream where all I could see was the sun glinting off its surface.
I stepped closer and leaned down to see trout hovering in the water in a small eddy created by the rocks. “Nice. Wonder if the Jacobson’s are into fishing?”
Lucy straightened and shrugged. “Maybe. Have you met them yet?”
The Jacobson’s were the couple that had hired me to build their house after a recommendation from none other than Cade’s father. I shook my head. “Nope. They’ve visited here in the summer, but haven’t come up yet this year. They plan to be here next month, so here’s hoping they don’t mind a week’s delay on the project.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Max’s excavator got a little dinged up when a tractor-trailer hit clipped him on the highway. He says he can be here next week, but until then…” I shrugged. “Not much for us to do. All the plans are ready, but we can’t build until the land is ready, so we wait. Let’s split up for today. How about you take care of finishing up the decking on the job on the far side of town? I’ll go meet with that couple that wants to draw up plans for a house. I think it’s a little late to start this year, but they want to get the process going. Sound like a plan?”
We turned and started walking back toward my work truck together. Lucy idly kicked a pebble as we walked. “Works for me. Do you think it’s worth seeing if someone else can handle the excavation on short notice?”
“Not unless I want to pay through the nose. Plus, Max does good work and never tries to cut corners. I’d rather deal with a delay than worry about someone squeezing the job in and not getting it right.”
We stopped when we reached the truck. Lucy started to say something and stopped when we heard the sound of tires coming down the gravel drive leading through the trees. “Who would be…?” Lucy started to ask before a grin spread across her face.
My back had been to the drive, so I glanced over my shoulder to see Cade’s truck rolling up to us. My pulse lunged, and my belly did a slow flip.
Cade parked beside my truck and climbed out. My eyes ate him up. I couldn’t help it. I was near starved to see him. Seven years of swatting him out of my thoughts ha
d only led to seven years of stored up longing. To have him here, in the flesh, and to recall the feel of his lips on mine while his fingers drove me to near madness—I was instantly hot and bothered.
He wore faded black jeans paired with a black t-shirt, basically a uniform for him, both of which did nothing to hide his hard muscled form. My mouth went dry when his eyes landed on me, his green gaze darkening in a flash. I forgot Lucy was standing right there until Lucy cleared her throat, so audibly it made me flush.
I tore my eyes free from Cade and looked to Lucy, grasping for some semblance of casual. “So, uh…”
Lucy cut in, looking between us. “Cade, you mind giving Amelia a ride to her office?”
Confused, I stared at her. “What? No, I’ve got work to do. I’ll…”
“I’m the one who needs the truck. I’ll pick up the decking and head out to finish up that job. You don’t need the truck. This way, I don’t have to go through town,” Lucy said matter-of-factly.
Lucy had a perfectly reasonable point, yet I didn’t miss the subtle teasing gleam in her eyes. Before I had a chance to reply, Cade beat me to it.
“Sounds like you’re riding with me then. Wouldn’t want Lucy to waste time on a trip to town,” he said.
His gruff voice sent a shiver through me. This is ridiculous. All he’s doing is talking and you’re practically panting. I shushed my internal critic and glanced between Lucy and Cade. I was torn between two urges—the urge to flee because Cade brought up all kinds of feelings inside and I wasn’t so sure I knew how to handle them, and the urge to fling myself at him and forget the rest of the world.
When I didn’t say anything, Lucy reached over and snagged the keys right out of my hand. “That’s settled then. Text me about our schedule tomorrow.”
Lucy, being Lucy, moved fast and hopped in the truck inside of a few seconds, leaving me to wave as she backed up and turned the truck around. I watched the Kick A** Construction tailgate fade from sight as Lucy drove swiftly down the driveway.
