Under an Alaskan Sky

by Jennifer Snow

  Turning off the lights and grabbing her coat from behind the door, she headed out. She was meeting Erika at The Drunk Tank that evening and she couldn’t get a glass of wine in her hand fast enough.

  Unfortunately, by the time Erika arrived forty-five minutes late, Cassie’s day had gone from bad to worse.

  “Sorry I’m late... Two back-to-back emergencies this afternoon,” Erika said, removing her coat and scarf. She eyed the empty wineglass in front of Cassie. “You started without me.”

  “I did,” Cassie said, nodding toward the other side of the bar.

  Erika squinted in the dim lighting. “Is that Montana?”

  “It is.”

  “Is she serving?” Erika asked, watching Montana carry a tray of drinks to a booth in the corner.

  “She is.”

  “Why? I thought Tank was upset that she’s here and now he’s given her a job?”

  “Looks that way.” Cassie drained the contents of her glass, the grapes tasting sour on her tongue. Was Tank honest when he said Montana being here wasn’t what he wanted? Or was he coming around to the idea a lot quicker than expected...and would his weakening resolve result in more than just an ability to coexist and coparent with his ex? Work with his ex?

  Montana’s laughter from the booth had Cassie reaching for her coat. “I can’t do this.”

  Erika grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Put. Your. Coat. Down.”

  “This is killing me,” Cassie hissed through a forced smile as Montana’s attention turned their way.

  “You can’t let her know that. You are here now. You can’t just leave or she will know that she’s gotten to you.”

  Cassie dropped her coat and forced a deep breath, turning in the booth so that Montana wasn’t in eyesight. “Okay...let’s talk about something else. Your emergencies—how’d they go?”

  Erika launched into the details of her afternoon at the hospital and Cassie did her best to pay attention.

  An incident with a chainsaw...a twelve-year-old’s broken femur...

  Two people who were arguably having a worse day than she was. Perspective. Good. Keep talking, Erika.

  A few minutes later, a cold breeze made her shiver as the door opened and an old familiar face entered. Mr. O’Neilly.

  “Is that Reed?” Erika asked, turning toward the door.

  “No. It’s Mr. O’Neilly. He used to own this place,” she told Erika. She watched as the man approached the bar and Tank greeted him with a handshake.

  Erika said something, but Cassie wasn’t listening. She was straining to hear the conversation at the bar as Montana hurried over to join it.

  “Wow, this place has changed a lot since the last time I was here,” she heard Mr. O’Neilly say.

  “Hope you like the changes,” Tank said, placing the man’s pint of cider on the bar in his own beer mug that he’d left in the bar for good luck when he sold it to Tank. No one ever used the mug and it was a customary habit of Tank’s to wash it every day now in preparation for the man’s visits.

  “Looks great. Wish I could have had the place as busy as you keep it, but I suspect that has more to do with the person behind the bar.” The older man laughed, flexing a bicep muscle. “Afraid I didn’t give the ladies too much to look at, so it was mostly men in the doghouse sitting on these stools back then.” He glanced toward a group of ladies sitting at the end of the bar and Tank laughed.

  How many times had Cassie said the same thing to Tank? The place could be falling apart and smelling of floor cleanser and the women would still come in. She’d gotten used to it over the years and had learned to turn her jealousy into amusement. Tank’s disdain over the attention made it all that much more entertaining for all of them.

  “The name is especially creative,” Mr. O’Neilly said.

  Cassie smiled at that. The man had to be in his eighties by now and his memory wasn’t what it used to be. He made the same comment every time he came in.

  “That was my contribution,” Montana said.

  What?

  Cassie stared at Tank. Did she even know the guy? She thought she did, but over the last few weeks she was learning that the man she loved had kept a lot of life details to himself all these years.

  Why hadn’t he told her his ex-girlfriend had named the bar? Why couldn’t he trust her enough to confide in her? Admit that his feelings for Montana had run deeper than he let on? Maybe if he’d been honest about his past relationship, it would have been easier for her to understand his reluctance to take a chance with her. Maybe.

  “Well, I love the new name and all the upgrades. And it’s lovely to see you two back together again,” Mr. O’Neilly said, pointing at Montana and Tank.

  Cassie was dying.

  “Oh no...” Finally Tank was back into the conversation.

  At least it was the perfect timing for him to speak up. Had he let Mr. O’Neilly think he and Montana were an item, Cassie would have been devastated. More devastated than she already was.

  “Tank and I are good friends...trying to figure things out for Kaia’s sake,” Montana said.

  “See... I know this sucks, but the two of them just confirmed that they are only in this for Kaia,” Erika said, obviously still paying attention to the conversation at the bar, as well. “Just give Tank a chance to sort all of this out.”

  Cassie nodded, pretending to look for her lip balm in the pocket of her jacket to compose herself as emotions combined with the wine she’d consumed, resulting in a burning sensation behind her eyes. She’d stay a few more minutes, then call it a night.

  Then avoid The Drunk Tank and maybe the real Tank for a while.

  When she looked up, Montana was headed toward their booth.

  “Here she comes,” Erika whispered.

  “I can see her.” She was all Cassie could see. Montana, dressed in tight jeans and a pretty pink sweater that complemented her complexion so well. Montana with her easy, inoffensive charm that made it impossible not to be drawn to her. And Montana working alongside Tank, who didn’t look at all annoyed by it.

  He could at least have the decency to act annoyed while Cassie was in the bar. He had to know this would be upsetting to her. The man could really be clueless sometimes.

  “Hey, Cassie.” Montana turned to Erika. “Erika, right?”

  “Dr. Sheraton, actually.”

  Cassie kicked her under the booth.

  “Erika is fine.”

  “Another round?”

  “No...”

  “Yes,” Erika answered at the same time.

  Montana looked back and forth between them. Cassie nodded. “Sure, okay.”

  “Hey, I know this must be hard, but they are only working together,” Erika whispered as Montana headed back toward the bar.

  Cassie let out a deep breath. “It’s really just the icing on a shitty cake. I lost three more bookings today. I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She stared across the bar at Montana. There was one option...

  She couldn’t believe she was actually considering it, but so far nothing else had presented itself. If she had to choose between selling out and accepting a job from Miller Hartwell or jumping on board with Tank’s ex’s insane proposal, which one would she choose?

  “I’m sorry, Cass... I wish there was something I could do.”

  Wade and Alison approached their booth. “Hey, Cass...gotta sec?” Alison said.

  Uh-oh. “Yeah, of course. Have a seat,” Cassie said.

  They continued to stand. “We’re about to head out, the babysitter needs to be home by eleven, but we...uh...just wanted to let you know that we have to cancel our hiking trip for next month.”

  What? Were they serious? They’d both been so excited about it when they planned it together in her office...for four hours the month before. It would be their first hike and weekend
away since having the baby. “Second thoughts on leaving Melissa?” As much as her business would suffer another hit, she understood that. Leaving their baby was tough. New parents and all.

  But Wade shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her eyes.

  Alison nudged him to answer.

  “Um...no. We checked out the ATV tours that North Mountain Sports Company are offering at half price and thought it might be fun to do that instead.”

  Now even her friends were jumping ship? So much for loyalty. “I have ATV tours. I’d be happy to switch it for you.”

  “I’m not sure you can beat their pricing, Cass...” Alison said.

  “You can’t put a price on experience, guys. Come on, you know SnowTrek’s tours are so much better,” Erika chimed in.

  Wade nodded slowly, but Alison shook her head. “Sorry, Cass.” She paused. “Is the deposit refundable?”

  “It’s totally fine if it isn’t,” Wade added quickly.

  Cassie forced a smile. “Of course. Stop by the office next week and I’ll process it.”

  “Thanks, Cass.”

  Wade and Alison waved as they left the bar and Erika gave them the finger behind their backs. “Can you believe those two? They’re supposed to be your friends. All that talk about supporting local. Assholes,” Erika muttered.

  “What can I do? North Mountain Sports Company is the new shiny thing. Their opening day prices are tempting. Shit, even I was tempted to book one of their skydiving packages.” Skydiving. An experience SnowTrek Tours didn’t offer. Not only were they able to provide everything she did, they could give customers more. Something different...

  Cassie’s gaze slid across the bar toward Montana.

  Something different.

  It’s now or never.

  If she didn’t jump on this opportunity with Montana, how long would it take before the woman approached Miller Hartwell with the idea? Maybe she already had.

  “I’ll be right back,” she told Erika, sliding out of the booth.

  Cassie approached the bar, resisting any remaining common sense. This was crazy, but maybe crazy wasn’t such a bad thing. Maybe crazy was what she needed.

  “Change your mind about the drinks?” Montana looked up as she approached.

  “No. I wanted to tell you that I’ve given a lot of thought to what we discussed—you working with SnowTrek Tours...”

  Montana nodded eagerly. “And?”

  Cassie took a deep breath. “I think we should do it.”

  “Really?” Montana dropped the dish towel onto the bar and leaned closer. “That’s fantastic! Thank you, Cassie. And trust me, this is going to put your company on the map.”

  With any luck.

  “You won’t regret this,” Montana said.

  She already kinda was.

  “What won’t she regret?” Tank asked, reappearing out of nowhere.

  Seriously, where the hell did he come from?

  Montana’s gaze met hers and their matching horrified expressions would have been comical if they both hadn’t just joined forces to do something that was sure to piss Tank off.

  Now, which one of them was going to tell him?

  * * *

  “YOU GAVE HER a job?” Tank asked as he entered SnowTrek Tours the next morning.

  Montana must have given him the “good” news. Fantastic. A heads-up would have been nice.

  “So did you,” Cassie said, turning away from her filing. Hands on hips, she prepared to defend her decision. Which would be so much easier if she felt certain about it. And she was nowhere close to certain. The decision had been part desperation and part impulsive the night before, but there was no turning back now.

  “That’s different because...” Tank paused, looking hesitant.

  Cassie made the confession easy for him. “Different because she named the place?”

  Tank looked like a child busted with his hand in a cookie jar. Good. He should feel guilty for never telling her.

  Tank nodded, letting his head hang. “I’m sorry I never mentioned it. She was so far away and it was so long ago, I thought it didn’t matter.”

  Of course it matters, she wanted to scream. Whatever happened to honesty among friends? True, he hadn’t lied to her, but he sure as hell hadn’t been completely forthcoming with certain aspects of his life. “It’s your business, Tank.”

  “Exactly my point. All of this Montana mess is on me. I don’t want anyone else feeling compelled to do things to help her out.”

  “I didn’t feel compelled.” Compelled and desperate were two different things. “You said yourself she’s planning to stay.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  She was so far from okay with that, but what choice did she have? Montana was here. Montana was Tank’s ex and Kaia’s mother. There was nothing Cassie could do about that. “It’s her choice, not mine.”

  Tank stepped toward her. “Why aren’t you freaking out more?”

  She preferred to freak out in private. “Because, Tank, this is life. Things happen, things change, I’ve learned to roll with it.” Montana’s choices were her own. Cassie could either learn to get used to the idea that Tank’s ex was staying in Wild River or she could go insane over it. She chose the former.

  “Damn, I wish I could.” He ran a hand over his scruffy beard. He looked exhausted and stressed. He was always the voice of reason in their group. He said the key was to never let the highs get too high or the lows get too low...but he was looking pretty damn low that morning.

  She hated that she might have added to his stress. What she wouldn’t give to step into his arms and feel that beard against the top of her head. Reassure him that things were going to work out. Together they’d figure it out.

  Instead, she turned away and resumed filing. “Well, anyway, her idea was actually perfect. I was looking for something to help me differentiate myself from the other adventure tourism companies, North Mountain Sports Company in particular, and her solution was great. We both get something out of this.”

  “What do you mean? What solution?”

  “Adding BASE jumping to our activities.” Cassie handed him a mock-up of the new brochures, listing the extreme sport, boasting tours coming soon for existing jumpers. Unable to sleep the night before, she’d created it to show Montana when she came in later for her first day on the job.

  “I’m sorry, what?” Tank blinked rapidly.

  Was he having an aneurism? Obviously this was news to him. “You didn’t know that’s why I hired her?”

  “No. She conveniently left that detail out,” he said tightly, through clenched teeth. “I thought she was going to be a regular tour guide.”

  “I have too many of those already during the slower months and I’m fully staffed otherwise.”

  “I can’t believe her.” Tank paced back and forth. “I should have known she was up to something crazy.”

  “I take it you don’t agree with this?” The fact that he was so wound up had Cassie’s chest tightening. If he didn’t still have feelings for Montana, why was he so annoyed right now? What did he care if she resumed her previous lifestyle?

  “How could I possibly agree with this? She almost died from BASE jumping years ago. She suffered a life-altering brain injury! What the hell is she thinking?”

  “That you get back on the horse?” This was different, but her annoyance got the better of her. She hadn’t seen Tank this riled up since Kaia claimed she was interested in motocross...

  “Don’t. Don’t life lesson me. This is different. She almost died. She left her daughter. Why would she want to risk that again?”

  “Okay, yes, I get that. But think about it. Tank, this is what we all do. You and my brother rescue people who are thrill-seeking extremists all the time. Sometimes you have to rescue the same people more than once. Obviously Mon
tana has decided that she isn’t going to let her past or her fear rule her life anymore.”

  “Fear? Did she say she was nervous about jumping again?” He sounded slightly hopeful. Like maybe she wanted to do it, but wouldn’t actually go through with it.

  Cassie was confident that nothing—not even fear or her previous accident—could stop Montana or change her mind. The more she thought about it, hiring Montana for SnowTrek Tours was really the best option—perhaps the only option. If she didn’t, what was stopping Montana from doing it anyway? Opening up her own extreme sports company, giving SnowTrek Tours even more competition. “Not in so many words, but I’m sure it has to be a little scary.”

  “And she’s allowed to do this? She’s gotten clearance from her doctors?”

  “Apparently.” Why was he asking her? He and Montana seemed to be communicating just fine the night before in the bar. Why didn’t he ask his ex all of these questions?

  “And she’s okay to lead tours, provide instruction for other less experienced jumpers?”

  Cassie slammed the filing cabinet drawer. “Look, clearly you have a lot of questions about this, so why don’t you go talk to her?”

  “Good idea,” he said, swinging the door open and leaving her alone.

  Cassie took a deep breath, watching him leave, knowing exactly where he was headed.

  * * *

  SITTING IN A booth in the crowded Carla’s Diner, Tank waved at several familiar faces. He scanned his surroundings and realized it was a lot of familiar faces. Therefore, lots of curious eyes would be on him and Montana once she arrived.

  Maybe he should text her and suggest meeting at his place instead...

  Though that posed its own set of issues. In a small town, gossip would fly and he sensed they were a hot topic of conversation already. Montana’s presence in town had created a stir, from the whispers he’d been hearing around the bar. Most were harmless, curious questions sent his way, but he suspected there were others with strong feelings about the situation.

  But their situation was no one’s business and if Montana did stick around, the community would embrace her eventually...