Under an Alaskan Sky

by Jennifer Snow

  “I don’t want that to happen. She belongs here with you,” she said quietly and relief flooded his body.

  Unfortunately Kaia wasn’t relieved. “You still don’t want me?”

  He whipped around at the sound of her voice and his stomach dropped. Shit.

  Montana was silent, looking to him to deal with it. Of course. “Kaia...” he started.

  She folded her arms and glared at Tank. “This is your fault. You kept Mom away so long, now she doesn’t want me.”

  “That’s not true. Things were never your dad’s fault,” Montana finally said.

  “Why would I believe you?” Kaia asked, her eyes filling with tears. “You lied to me. You said I could live with you. You said you were happy to be back in my life.” She swiped at the frustrated tears running down her cheeks.

  Tank longed to hug her, comfort her, but any attempt wouldn’t be appreciated at that moment. It broke his heart to see her like this.

  “I’m sorry, Kaia, but this is your home,” Montana said.

  To her credit her tone was firm, resolute, final. Man, he felt like an asshole to be relieved that he wouldn’t have to battle this out in court with Montana, that they were both on the same page. Especially when Kaia looked so devastated.

  “I hate you both,” Kaia yelled, going into her bedroom and slamming the door.

  Montana’s eyes immediately filled with tears and she looked as if she’d been kicked in the stomach.

  Tank knew that feeling quite well. He walked toward her and held out his arms.

  She stepped into them and his T-shirt was instantly wet from her tears. “She said she hates us.”

  “Welcome to parenting.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  MONTANA LOOKED A MESS, which was completely off-brand for the woman.

  “Rough day?” Cassie asked carefully as Montana entered SnowTrek Tours later that morning. She’d heard from Tank that Kaia was home, but not entirely happy about it.

  “Update. She hates us. All of us.”

  Cassie handed Montana a cup of coffee as she slumped into the chair next to her in the office.

  “Sorry about my part in that...” Why did she feel so awkward all of a sudden? She had nothing to apologize for. Montana and Tank were a thing of the past...but still, working together now would be slightly awkward for both of them. Hopefully not so awkward that they couldn’t still make this venture work.

  Montana squinted and rubbed her temples.

  “You okay?” She looked pale and the dark circles under her eyes hadn’t been there before. Cassie had assumed it was just the stress of the Kaia crisis, but maybe there was more to it.

  “Yeah. Fine. Just a headache,” she said, opening her purse.

  Cassie tried to pretend she wasn’t looking, but she caught sight of various prescription-labeled bottles inside. Montana bypassed them and reached for a bottle of over-the-counter painkillers. Shaking several into her hand, she washed them down with the coffee.

  “You sure you’re up for this?” They were planning on launching the first newsletter to the jumpers that day, a teaser that something exciting could be on the horizon. Drum up buzz and interest, without giving all the details. Montana had suggested it and Cassie could see how it was a good idea.

  She didn’t want to get ahead of themselves, but the minute the site was approved...if it was...they wanted to hit the ground running. Summer was coming and putting Wild River on these athletes’ radar early was a good idea, before they booked trips overseas to jump in other destinations. They weren’t promising anything just yet, so Cassie didn’t think it could hurt to reach out. At the very least, it might drum up other business for her company.

  “I’m fine,” Montana said. “These painkillers should kick in at any moment.” She reached for the laptop, turning it to face her. “Okay, so the newsletter blast should reach about three hundred and seventy people. That may not sound like a lot, but these are serious jumpers. They will all be intrigued and even if we get ten percent of them interested in our inaugural jump tour package, it will be hugely successful for SnowTrek Tours.”

  “Can we even handle ten percent?” They really were moving forward before things were finalized. They could pull together a tour package quickly if the site got approved, but she was worried about being able to safely accommodate a tour of more than ten or twenty people.

  “Absolutely.” Evidently the painkillers had kicked in in record time because Montana’s determination was back in full gear. “So, here’s the draft of the teaser promo I want to send out,” she said, turning the screen back toward Cassie as the promo loaded.

  Cassie held her breath as she watched the twenty-second video, a snapshot view of Wild River, the beautiful picturesque scenery shot she’d captured from the jump site...and then Montana running toward the edge.

  It cut off just before Cassie had ditched the camera to untangle Montana’s chute strings, and the footage switched to a GoPro shot. Cassie clutched the chair arms as a 3-D sensation of soaring over those mountains herself made her eyes widen. “You were wearing a camera that day?”

  “It’s built into my suit,” Montana said, her eyes on the video.

  The ending was a flash sequence of SnowTrek Tours’ current spring promo, featuring the Slush Cup race and a group shot of Cassie and her tour guides.

  “Wow. This looks professionally done. You could go into business making promo videos.”

  “No way. Jumping videos are the only ones I’m passionate enough about to put the work into, and I couldn’t sleep last night, so I had plenty of time to work on it... You really think it looks good?”

  “It’s amazing. Maybe a little crazy...” But she needed crazy. She’d been looking for crazy. She’d just never expected it to come in the form of Tank’s ex.

  “Do it,” she said. “Quick, before I change my mind.”

  Montana gave a sheepish grin. “Okay, so I may already have.”

  Cassie frowned. “What?”

  “Like I said, I couldn’t sleep. And after I made the video, I was excited...” She logged into YouTube as she spoke. The video appeared. With thousands of views already. “Look! Amazing, right?”

  That was one word for it. Unfortunately, her irritation with Montana overshadowed any excitement she could feel. “Um...you posted this without telling me?”

  “Yes. But I knew you’d be okay with it once you saw how many views it was already getting.”

  Right. Just like she’d known Cassie would be okay with the illegal jump once she saw that it worked to impress Mayor Morell. What other decisions would Montana continue to make without her?

  Before she could say anything, Montana continued, “And the best part...” She opened an email and turned the laptop toward Cassie. “Look at the interest.”

  Hundreds of unread emails sat in an inbox for a new BASE jumping site.

  Cassie blinked in disbelief. “You created your own website?” How much time did she have the night before?

  Montana shook her head quickly. “No! Of course not...it’s not live, anyway. I just created a template so that I could create an email address to attach to the YouTube version of the video. I knew you’d freak out if you started getting emails overnight to the SnowTrek Tours email. But don’t worry, we can link this new site...”

  “Montana...stop. Please,” Cassie said, her annoyance rising. She’d launched the promo, posted it to YouTube, created a new site... Montana had made all of these decisions without even consulting her. They were supposed to be doing this together. Slowly. Cautiously optimistically. Not recklessly full speed ahead. She cleared her throat. “While I appreciate the enthusiasm and focus... I think you should have waited to talk to me about it before doing all of this. The jump site’s not even approved yet.”

  Montana looked genuinely confused. “But you just said to go ahead and se
nd out the buzz email.”

  “Right. Together.” SnowTrek Tours was still her company. Montana was going to be a big part of this new venture. They’d be partners in it, in fact, but she couldn’t just take over completely when Cassie’s company’s reputation was on the line.

  Montana sighed. “I don’t see the problem here.”

  That was the problem. “I just think big decisions regarding and affecting my company need to be discussed with me. I mean, the jump the other day was risky as hell.”

  “It worked. So did this,” Montana said, pointing to the inbox as another email appeared.

  “That’s not the point,” Cassie said.

  Montana studied her. “What is this really about?”

  “You acting on things without talking to me!” What did she think Cassie was annoyed about?

  Montana nodded slowly. “This is about Tank.”

  What?

  “Look, I didn’t know you two were more than friends. I would never have done it if I’d known that you two were...together now. Officially.”

  Cassie’s heart raced. Done what exactly? And why the hell was she hearing this from Montana—whatever this was. Her annoyance gave way to severe irritation...no longer at Montana, but Tank.

  What was he keeping from her now?

  She was desperate to find out, but not from Montana. She refused to let Montana know that obviously her and Tank’s relationship wasn’t strong enough for him to be open and honest with her. Cassie took a deep breath. “This has nothing to do with Tank.” It was true. She was professional enough to be able to separate her personal and professional lives. “But, Montana, I need to think about if this—you and I working together—is going to work.” She wanted to save her company, but Tank had been right about his ex.

  Montana was too impulsive to be trusted with Cassie’s future, her career and obviously her love life.

  * * *

  NORTH MOUNTAIN SPORTS COMPANY’S opening had succeeded in one thing. Flooding Wild River with a bunch of tourists who would normally prefer the trendy Aspen scene to the real wilderness. Tank surveyed the crowd in his bar. Or rather the clothing choices and turned-up noses.

  Mountain ruggedness wasn’t for everybody. But if they thought he was changing his drink menu to accommodate all the fancy-named cocktails they were requesting all evening, they were in for a rude awakening. “The place is full of Pre-Wild-River-ized Erikas,” he mumbled.

  Reed laughed. “Do not let her hear you call her that.”

  “What? It’s a compliment. Your girl’s adaptation to life here has been a one-eighty transformation. I don’t think any of these people have ever used paper napkins or spotty glasses before.”

  “True. But they have cash,” Reed said, showing him the tips he’d collected all evening.

  “Stuck-up money is as easy to cash as any other,” he said, sliding the money from the too-full cash register into a bag to put in the safe out back. If business kept this pace, he might actually be able to solve his financial dilemma. Six months of profits like this, combined with a lot of restructuring his budget, and he just might be able to pull off a buyout offer for Montana. Maybe not the seventy thousand he’d originally planned, but close... “Watch the bar for a sec. I’ll be right back.”

  Reed nodded. “Hurry. These people aren’t used to waiting for service.”

  Taking the bag, Tank carried it into his office and secured the money. The influx of visitors would eventually taper off, but Reed was right. The money these tourists were bringing to his business was certainly appreciated. Though, he hated that something that benefitted his company was hindering Cassie’s.

  Grabbing his cell phone, he took the opportunity to text Kaia. She was still giving him the silent treatment, but his rule for letting her spend the night at a friend’s house was that she had to answer his text messages.

  So he was using it to his advantage and texting her more than normal. He was dying from the silent treatment at home and while he was determined to give her the time and space she needed to get over the initial shock of things and disappointment that he and Montana obviously weren’t getting back together, he missed talking to her. Missed her smartass jokes and hearing her sing off-key in her bedroom.

  This tension between them had never happened before and it needed to end soon. He had to find a way to talk to her.

  Just checking in... Everything good?

  He waited.

  A minute later, she replied.

  No change from the last ten times you asked.

  Most parents would be irritated by the attitude, but he grinned. She was coming around. Otherwise she’d just have replied yes...like the last ten times she’d replied.

  “Hey...” Cassie’s voice in the office doorway made him smile. Then it faded when he saw the look of irritation on her face.

  Shit. What had he done now?

  “Got a sec?” she asked, entering the office and closing the door.

  “Of course.” Something told him she wasn’t closing the door with the same intentions as when she’d visited the office the week before. Unfortunately. “What’s wrong?”

  “Did you kiss Montana?”

  His eyes widened. “What? No! Shit, no. Where is that coming from?”

  Her shoulders relaxed as she released a sigh of relief. “Well, what did happen the other night...when Kaia made dinner for you both?”

  “Nothing. Montana and I just cleared the air about a few things.”

  “So then why was she apologizing to me today for making a move to be with you?”

  Tank sighed as he walked around the desk and reached for her.

  Cassie backed away.

  Damn it. She was pissed. He ran a hand over his beard. “Look, it was really nothing. She just admitted that maybe the two of us together wasn’t such a horrible idea...for Kaia’s sake.”

  “And that’s nothing?”

  According to Cassie’s expression, he was quickly realizing it might not be nothing. At least not to her. “Okay, so it’s not nothing, but I shut it down immediately.” He touched her shoulders and bent at the knees to look her in the eyes. “I told her there were no feelings anymore. That we wouldn’t be trying again...not even for Kaia.”

  Cassie stared at the floor. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Damn, it seemed like she was asking him that question a lot lately. A lot more than she should have to. “I guess I should have, but I handled it and it was over. I didn’t want to upset you...especially when you two are going to be working together. I didn’t want things to be awkward.”

  She scoffed as she moved away from him. “All of this has been awkward...and challenging...and heart-wrenching. Working with her was never going to be the most comfortable situation, but at least when I thought I wasn’t in competition for you, it was a little less awkward.”

  “There’s no competition...”

  “But she loves you?”

  “No. She just wanted to try to love me for Kaia’s sake.” Like before. A relationship of convenience that could never truly work. He knew that now. Montana had ample opportunity in the past to develop feelings for him and she never did... She wouldn’t now. And more than that, Tank realized he didn’t want her to. He was falling hard for Cassie. Harder than he’d ever fallen for Montana... Now might be the time to tell Cass that.

  Nope. The words got stuck somewhere in his throat. Deep in his throat. What the hell was wrong with him? Why were feelings so hard for him to express?

  “Do you want her to love you?” Cassie asked.

  Oh Jesus. “No! See, this is exactly why I didn’t mention this. I didn’t want to make it worse.” He paced back and forth in his office, annoyed with himself for not having the balls to just say how he felt. It would certainly defuse the situation right now, but then again, he didn’t want the first time he confessed
his love to be in the middle of an argument to prove he still didn’t love his ex.

  “You have to stop thinking that you’re protecting me by not telling me things, Tank! I’m a grown-ass woman—I can handle hearing the truth. What I can’t handle is feeling like your ex has all the control... She’s holding all the cards and she knows you better than I do.”

  The pain in her voice killed him. “That’s not true. You and I are so much closer than Montana and I ever were.”

  “She knew your real name,” she said, sounding defeated.

  He sighed. They were back to that again? “It’s really no—”

  “If you say ‘it’s nothing’ one more time, I’m going to lose my shit.”

  “Okay, okay...you’re right.” Tank released a deep breath as he sat on the edge of his desk. He ran a hand over his face. Cassie was so right. About everything. He’d kept things from her over the years...not just to protect her but to protect himself. They couldn’t move on with a real relationship, though, unless he opened up to her, let her in...the way he’d let Montana in years ago.

  Cassie wasn’t Montana. She wouldn’t hurt him.

  Still, he wasn’t a freaking machine. Able to just bring up all the shit from his past without feeling the emotions he’d felt back then—hopeless, lost, confused, angry...

  Cassie still waited for him to say something, but he had no idea how to give her what she wanted. “I don’t know what you want from me, Cass.”