by Addison Fox
“It was an old basketball injury that got aggravated.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay, smart-ass. So what did he give you in exchange for your modeling skills?”
“Free use of his very splendid ice fishing house for an entire Saturday.”
“No shit?” He couldn’t keep from being impressed. “I had no idea the old coot was so generous.”
“Clearly he knows a good place to advertise when he sees it.”
“That he does.”
“Besides, I’m not above being a shameless shill for commerce. I could see way better in this cap than trying to see around the rim of my hood.”
“Which would account for those late-game death bombs you nailed our opponents with.” Walker pulled her close in a side-armed hug. Years of friendship made the move as natural as breathing and he grinned when she laid her head against his shoulder.
“You doing okay, Ave?”
“I am. I really am.”
“You’ve changed.”
“I think I have. For the better, too.”
“You’re enjoying Sloan and Grier?”
“It’s nice to have friends without baggage, you know? They don’t know any of my history. Or any town bullshit. They’re just fun to hang out with.”
He gave her shoulder another squeeze before shifting slightly to look her in the eyes. He did know. “My offer still stands. If you want it.”
Avery’s eyes went round in her face. “Walker. I’m not taking your money.”
“It’s not taking any money. It’s accepting a loan that you can pay back at any time.”
“Where would I go?”
“Wherever you want to.”
She paused for a moment, whatever she was about to say getting caught somewhere between her brain and her mouth. Before he could jump in, she held up a hand. “Wait. Sorry, just wait.”
As her breath made steamy puffs in the air, he watched the girl he’d known for so long fade before his eyes. She was replaced by someone more confident and more relaxed. Maybe the old Avery had been fading all along and he just hadn’t noticed.
Or hadn’t thought to look.
But in the last week he’d finally begun to realize she wasn’t the same girl he’d known since he was small. The woman who stared back at him had seen her fair share of life and it had marked her.
Made her stronger.
More interesting.
And far more valuable than she’d been given any credit for.
“When he left, I thought my life was over,” Avery said in a quick rush. “And it wasn’t. It took me a long time to realize that. But it wasn’t over. I wasn’t over.”
“Of course you weren’t.”
“He left, Walker. Left to see the world. To live the big life. And he never looked back. I think that’s the part that hurt most of all.”
“He did look back, Ave. You know he did. All the gifts. He’s not immune, you know.”
“Gifts don’t count as looking back. They’re guilt. There’s a difference.”
Walker didn’t entirely disagree with her, so instead of replying, he rubbed a hand over her back.
“I’d have been okay if he’d just ended it. I really would have. But the hiding. The unwillingness to remember where he came from. The abandonment. I can’t forgive that.”
“You don’t have to.”
She let out a small laugh and she bumped him with her hip. “Good. ’Cause I’m not.”
He bumped her right back. “So don’t.”
“Come on, lover boy. I know you’re only being nice standing over here talking to me.”
“Nice, nothing. You’re a hottie in that skullcap you’re wearing.”
“I’m damn hot and don’t you forget that, Walker Montgomery. However”—she shoved at his shoulder, the impact just enough to turn him in the direction of Sloan and Grier—“I believe there is a certain lady over there who’s managed to capture all of your attention.”
“You mean the one who slammed a snowball at my head to kick off the competition?”
Avery patted him on the cheek. “You know you loved it.”
Scenes from the big fight flew through his mind on a fast track, with Sloan in the center of each and every one. “She’s extraordinary.”
“Then what are you doing standing here talking with me? The girl next door doesn’t hold a candle to extraordinary.”
“Now that, my dear friend, is where you’re wrong. And since it’s a well-known fact I have exquisite taste, it would make me quite happy to spend the rest of my evening with several extraordinary women.”
“Then lead the way.”
The giggles wouldn’t stop as she and Grier stood in a small circle with several opponents from their snowball fight, all with steaming mugs of hot chocolate in their hands. Sloan took a moment to reflect. Had she ever felt so relaxed? Or enjoyed herself more?
With a shake of her head, she tried for stern voice as she stared up at the massive mountain that was Bear. “There is no way you stared down a moose.”
Bear stopped his impression of his showdown on Main Street the spring before—his third retelling of the event—as her words penetrated.
“I most certainly did, Miz Sloan. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, and I’ve had quite a few of those, if I do say so myself. I’m a big man, but those animals are huge.”
She patted him on the back, the width of his shoulders further evidence of why the man was called Bear. “I’m just giving you a hard time. I believe you. Honest.”
Bear let out a loud guffaw. “Nah, you don’t. But that’s okay. Speaking of things that are hard to believe, you two have some arms for city girls.”
“We’re tough broads, my friend and I.” Grier moved up and wrapped an arm around him from the other side. Sloan could have sworn the man was practically glowing as his smile split his face.
“With hearts of gold, no doubt.” Walker’s voice floated over her, the dark, husky tones drawing her attention immediately as he and Avery walked up to join the group.
“But of course.” The hard slam of attraction buffeted her like the Alaska winter wind and Sloan fought to stand through it—fought to keep her wits about her—when all she really wanted to do was wrap herself around the man and never let him go.
How did he manage to turn her upside down so easily?
The snowball fight had been a revelation. The man she’d thought of alternately as the stern, legal eagle or the sexy, committed-to-his-bachelorhood single male had showed a different side.
A fun side.
And she was even more infatuated than she’d been before.
Which meant only one thing. She needed to make a decision—the proverbial fish or cut bait argument.
Of course, all her hormones wanted to do was fish.
And Walker Montgomery was quite the catch.
Sloan hadn’t missed the way the townswomen looked at him. The single women looked at him like he was their next meal and the married ones looked at him with the longing of youth, when their futures held endless possibilities.
“I’m getting cold,” Grier interjected before turning a huge smile back on Bear, then to the broader circle of friends that surrounded them. “And I hear there are enough burgers being fried up inside the diner to feed all of us three times over.”
“I’m in,” Avery shouted, untangling herself from underneath Walker’s arm.
Before Sloan could blink, everyone had taken off like the town square was haunted. “Was it something I said?”
“Mass quantities of beef products have a way of doing that to people.”
She only shrugged, her suspicions running high that it wasn’t only the lure of burgers that had people moving. Maybe it was the saucy wink Grier had tossed her as she’d herded everyone toward the warm, welcome lights of the diner.
“You’re quite the snowball warrior, even if you did think my head was fair game.” Walker moved into her line of vision and Sloan was instantly aware of the ugly cap
she’d willingly put on her head in the heat of battle. The large patch proudly announcing her loyalty to Tasty was funny in the moment and decidedly not so now as he stared down at her with a sexy longing in his eyes.
“I had to make sure of your loyalties.”
“Is that what it’s called?”
She couldn’t stop the nervous giggle. “I’d already taken three snowballs. You needed to catch up a bit. Ruffle that lawyerly exterior.”
“Speaking of exterior.” Sloan reached up to tug at the edge of material that lay over her right ear, the wool already slipping off her head when Walker’s hand covered hers. Even through both their gloves, warmth slammed through her, the heat seemingly enough to melt the entire square that surrounded them.
“Oh no, leave it on.”
“It’s hideous.”
“It’s sexy.”
She couldn’t hold back her indelicate snort if her life depended on it. “It’s awful, Walker.”
His hand never moved from hers as his head dipped, his mouth moving ever closer. “It’s incredibly sexy.”
She tilted her head back to receive his kiss, her eyes nearly closed when an explosion of light filled the sky.
“Oh my God!”
“What?” He lifted his head, his gaze darting to the diner, toward the square and then back to her, but she was already moving out of the loose circle of his arms.
She saw his confusion, but figured he was smart enough to keep up as she moved away from the lights of the diner and toward the middle of the square to get a better look. “I don’t believe it. That’s really it. It’s really what they look like.”
His boots crunched on the snow as he followed behind her and he might have even grumbled under his breath. The masculine complaint was like music to her ears.
He wasn’t unaffected.
The urge to fish grew another jolt stronger.
With a glance over her shoulder, she pointed toward the sky. “The northern lights. I didn’t think I’d actually get to see them while I was here.”
“It can be hit or miss, but the cold crisp night we’re having is a perfect time to see them.”
His voice was flat as it carried on the frigid night air. Was it the interrupted kiss that had him irritated? With a mental shrug, she ignored it, unable to tear her gaze away. “They’re amazing.”
Bright swaths of color lit up the sky, a dark iridescent red that fascinated as it drew the eye.
“They’re a favorite of the tourists.”
“I can see why.”
He came up behind her, his breath hot on her ear as he leaned down toward her. “I know a better place to see them.”
Whatever annoyance she thought she’d heard had vanished in the sensual notes of his deep voice.
“Where?”
“My backyard.”
She turned quickly, shocked surprise mixing with good old-fashioned feminine wisdom. “Oh, that’s smooth, Walker Montgomery. Is this like ‘come on over and see my etchings’?”
“Hardly.” His arched eyebrows had mischief stamped clear through them. “Unless, of course, you want to see my etchings.”
She lifted onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her lips curving in response as he moved closer. “Tell you what. Let’s go look at the lights and we’ll figure out the rest as we go.”
As his mouth came down over hers he whispered, “What man can argue with that?”
Tension gripped his body as he and Sloan walked the short distance to his home. The distance would be the equivalent of three Manhattan blocks to her, but it felt like an endless walk.
Desire for this woman had turned to a dark, driving need that lit up his nervous system like a freaking Christmas tree. The sharp edges of it hardened his body and it was all he could do to keep from snatching her up in his arms.
“What made you pick a place so close to town? I had you pegged for the outskirts-of-town-in-a-cabin sort of guy.”
“That’s Mick. Man likes his space. I, on the other hand”—he led her up the freshly shoveled walk to his front door—“like being in town. It’s easy to get to work and it keeps me close to my grandmother in case she needs something. Plus, I’m the town lawyer. It lends a certain Andy-Griffith-in-Mayberry comfort to folks to be that close to Main Street.”
“You look out for her.”
“My grandmother?” He pulled off a heavy glove to fish around in his pocket for the keys. “I do. She makes me bat-shit insane, but yeah, I look out for her.”
“And your parents?”
“Gone a while now. Mom’s in Seattle and my dad’s in Phoenix.”
“They’re not married?”
He heard the surprised speculation in her voice as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. They were met with a blast of warmth. “Technically, yes. In actuality. No.”
“I had no idea.”
He flipped a switch to the hallway lights and forced a light note into his voice. “Most people don’t. Including my grandmother, so I’d appreciate it if you kept that one to yourself.”
“Of . . . of course.”
The confusion in her response lanced through him. Damn it, when had the conversation turned to such an unpleasant topic? He was on the verge of a sexy encounter with Sloan and the last thing he wanted to discuss was his parents.
Her still-gloved hand came down on his arm. “Come on. Let’s go see the lights.”
“Are you warm enough?”
“I’m wearing about ten layers.”
“It’s winter in Alaska, Sloan. You have to be careful.”
She lifted on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m warm enough. Now, come on. I presume it’s that way.” She pointed down the hallway toward his back door.
“Yeah.”
She walked ahead on carefree feet and he held back, watching her. Whatever curiosity the subject of his parents had raised was gone as she unlocked the back door and twisted the knob. Another shocked “oh my,” this one far louder than when she’d first seen the lights on the square, drifted back to him.
Unlike most of the people who lived in town and all the people who visited, he wasn’t a huge fan of the aurora borealis. Shitty memories had a way of doing that to a person.
But a glance at Sloan’s wide, breathless grin as she waved him on from the doorframe had him rethinking things.
Maybe it was possible to make new memories.
Memories that would erase the pain that had come before.
Jack stared out the window of the diner. The flashes of light filling the sky were a welcome diversion from Mick’s sullen face. “The lights are strong tonight.”
“It’s the cold air. Does it every time.”
“That it does.”
Silence descended between them, but they’d both have to be deaf to miss the repeated peals of laughter that rang out from the far side of the diner.
“You want to get out of here?”
“Not particularly.”
“She’s got your dick in a twist.”
Mick shot a sullen glance over his shoulder, his gaze unerringly finding Grier in the middle of a table full of men. “Clearly I’m not the only one.”
“She’s not doing anything. And I haven’t seen her move from that seat she’s sitting in.”
Mick shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. She’s not sitting here.”
“Seeing as how you look about as welcoming as a grizzly, can’t say I blame her.”
Waiting a beat, Jack decided to go for broke. He knew Mick’s bad mood was tied to Grier, but he suspected there were still quite a few raw spots left over from the rescue on Denali as well. “You get those researchers back to Anchorage?”
“Yeah.”
“Did it go okay?”
Another sullen shrug greeted him as Mick reached for his burger and took a large bite. After he swallowed, he added, “Good as can be expected.”
“You doing okay?”
“What the fuck, Rafferty? You channeling my gran
dmother?”
“Nothing wrong with asking after a friend. I figure if you don’t want to talk about it, you’d just say so. Seeing as how you’re all prickly and miserable, I have to wonder if something else is wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong.” Mick crumpled his napkin and Jack watched as the man fought for control. The happy-go-lucky grin his friend usually sported was nowhere in evidence and tension rode high on his shoulders.
“Funny, because that’s not the way I hear it.”
“Oh yeah? What have you heard?”
“Grier’s not giving you the time of day since you gave her the bum’s rush this morning.”
“I did not.”
“Avery’s telling a very different story.”
“Shit. When did Avery become the town grapevine?”
“Since she became thick as thieves with Jonas’s daughter. Besides, she only said it to me. My guess is she wants me to talk some sense into you.”
Mick ran a frustrated hand through his short hair before making a fist. “What the fuck was I supposed to do?”
“Stay put and spend some quality time, man. Don’t tell me you don’t know better than that.”
On a shake of his head and a muttered curse about the “fucking Oprah treatment,” Mick took a deep breath. “It was the most mind-blowing sex of my life and at five this morning, she crawls out of bed and goes to cry in the bathroom. I can read the signs a mile away and this one screamed regret in giant letters.”
Jack winced, imagining the slight. Sex gone bad was an unfortunate experience. But when it was good sex that ended badly, well . . .
He caught sight of Jessica where she sat between Avery and Grier, her head back and laughing at whatever joke Skate was telling.
With the force of a battering ram, the erotic images assailed him. The heavy feel of her breasts in his palms, the play of her fingers up and down his body and the unbearably hot, wet heat of her as he sank himself to the hilt.
And the sullen face staring at him across the table was a vivid reminder of what he’d done to Jessica.
How he’d made her feel afterward.
And ever since.
And wasn’t that just a fucking bitch?
“Look. Thanks for the therapy session, but I’m getting out of here.”
