Stars Over Alaska

by Jennifer Snow

  Great for the environment. Not great in this case, when a cabin fire could and would quickly spread to nearby trees. And getting to the cabin would require smoke jumper assistance.

  “I’ve put the call out to the on-call team and I’m getting the plane ready,” Chad said.

  They were operating on a skeleton crew with it being off-season. Only two supervisors were eligible for year-round employment. Luckily, their on-call crew were all nearby in Fairbanks. “I’m on the way.” He disconnected the call and then hit speed dial for the Wild River state trooper office and asked for Eddie Sanders.

  A moment later, Eddie picked up. “Hey, Levi, what’s up?”

  His cabin. Up in flames. “Hey, are any of your family members at the cabin this week?” That was the most important thing—establishing if anyone could be in danger.

  “Not that I know of. Katherine only goes out there during the summer.”

  “Your mom or grandma?”

  “Nah. They wouldn’t try driving out there this time of year. Something wrong?”

  “I hate to tell you this, buddy, but the cabin is on fire.”

  “Shit. Let me call around to make sure no one’s there and I’ll call you back. Thanks for the heads-up,” Eddie said.

  After going inside the cabin, Levi grabbed his gear from the wall in his room. He undressed in record time.

  Eddie’s quick return call revealed none of the Sanders family were there that week, which was a relief, but it wasn’t unusual for homeless people to break into abandoned cabins and squat for the winter. Levi suspected the fire was an accident and not an act of arson and hoped no one was still inside.

  Hurrying back out, he climbed into the C-212 with the others. No emergency was ideal, but this one was particularly unsettling.

  He knew the Sanders family well. One member in particular—too well. His childhood...and adulthood (until a few years ago) best friend, Leslie. Luckily he knew there was no way she would have been at the cabin. She’d been living in LA for three years now and it took small miracles to get her back to Alaska.

  Levi certainly didn’t qualify as important enough.

  They flew through the snow toward the location of the cabin and his heart pounded a little, seeing the flames illuminating the darkness in the distance. He’d spent a lot of summers at that cabin with Leslie, her family and their close friends. As kids, they would all go hiking and swimming and play capture the flag in the woods. They’d have campfires by the lake, and then as older teens, they’d head to the cabin to host parties without parental supervision.

  So many good memories were wrapped up in that cabin.

  Now it was gone.

  As they drew near, they prepared to jump. Chad located the best jump site and signaled them when it was time.

  Levi exited the plane and parachuted to the ground, just yards from the burning cabin. The fire had spread to the surrounding trees and after stockpiling their equipment, the team spread out to create a fire line to prevent further spreading. Using crosscut saws, the team cut back the brush and Levi immediately started digging a trench below the deep snow to stop the flames in their tracks.

  The aircraft circled above, dropping water onto the blaze and minutes later, the area was secured. Unfortunately, the cabin had completely burned to the ground, now just a large pile of smoldering debris. Luckily, no one had been inside.

  Chad radioed as the team toured the area to make sure the flames were out. “I see a car...looks stuck on the inroad about a mile from the cabin. Vehicle is running. Can’t confirm passengers inside.”

  Levi led the team to where the car sat idling and approached with caution.

  The passenger door opened and a young woman dressed in jeans and winter boots with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders came hurrying toward them. “Oh thank God...” She nearly collapsed into his arms and Levi struggled to steady her.

  “Hey...it’s okay. What are you doing out here? Were you in the cabin?” The singed edges of the blanket and the smell of smoke on her hair suggested she was, but who the hell was she?

  “Yes...it was so terrifying,” she said, her lips trembling.

  The driver’s side door opened and another woman got out...wearing only a towel and rubber boots that looked miles too big. She turned and his heart stopped beating.

  “Leslie?” She was back? She’d somehow burned down her family’s cabin?

  She was in a towel.

  His mouth was a desert and he swallowed several times. Hard.

  “Hi, Levi,” she said tightly, shifting uncomfortably in big oversized boots and the towel.

  Hi, Levi. That was it?

  He continued to stare at her, until Miller, one of his crewmates, nudged his arm. “Your friend’s probably cold,” he muttered, guiding the other young woman out of Levi’s arms.

  Shit. Right. Levi quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around Leslie’s shoulders.

  “Thanks,” she said, sliding her arms into the coat sleeves and pulling it around her body. It was far too big for her, but gave her some warmth and coverage at least.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “My...uh...friend isn’t familiar with flammable substances.”

  Was it his imagination or did she look murderous when she glanced toward her “friend,” who was getting checked on—and checked out—by the other rescue members. She was a stunning woman with long dark hair and big blue eyes. If he were to guess, she must be someone famous. “What were you doing out here? I thought you were in LA?”

  “I was.” She looked hesitant, her dark blue eyes sliding toward the others as she lowered her voice and moved closer to him. His pulse soared to an unhealthy rate. Having her this close, after so long... “Okay, look Levi, you have to take in what I’m about to say with strict confidence and zero judgment.”

  As if she’d ever need to ask him for either. He’d only been in love with her since the fifth grade but he admired and respected the hell out of her enough never to tell her. Whatever she was about to say couldn’t possibly compare to that. “You got it,” he said.

  “She’s not exactly a friend. She’s a client. And I brought her here for protection.” Her expression said she clearly saw the irony in their current situation, so he didn’t make a comment. “The problem is, no one authorized my actions or knows where she is...where we are.”

  His eyes widened. “So, you essentially kidnapped her?”

  She shook her wet hair, the blond strands nearly hitting him in the face. “No. I had to get her out of LA.”

  “Surely, there were other—safer—following-protocol ways to have done that.”

  “Hey, maybe I didn’t specify, but I wasn’t looking for advice either. I just...trust you and someone should know...in case the stalker does happen to find us.”

  She trusted him. Sure, she’d stumbled over the word, which annoyed him because she should know that she could trust him with anything and everything, but at least she was choosing to tell him, out of anyone she could have confided in, including her law enforcement family...or a confidant (maybe boyfriend?) back in LA. “What do you need?”

  Leslie glanced down at the towel under his jacket. “Right now? Clothes and a ride into Wild River.” She looked ruefully at the car stuck deep into the snowbank. “And we’ll have to get the car towed somehow.”

  “Keep my jacket as long as you need and I’ll call this in once we reach town. We’ll get you two a ride from the station.”

  She nodded and started toward the trail, to hike out through the deep snow to where the plane was waiting. Then she turned back abruptly, nearly colliding with him. “Oh, and one more thing.”

  He waited.

  “Tell no one about this.”

  He grinned. No doubt this was embarrassing for her. She would hate for anyone to know she’d been in this situation...especia
lly as compromised as she was. “I won’t say a word.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I REALLY DON’T think it’s necessary to go to the hospital,” Leslie argued in the back of Levi’s truck as they passed the Welcome to Wild River sign a few hours later. Already, six smoke jumpers and rescuers knew Selena was there... She wanted to trust that none of them would go spreading the gossip, after she’d explained the situation, but the more people who knew, the riskier it was.

  “Better to be safe than sorry,” Levi said. He glanced at her bandaged hand. “And a real doctor should check that out.”

  She barely even noticed the painful tingling under the bandages. She swallowed hard but no matter how many times she did, she couldn’t get rid of the lump in her throat. Emotions she was usually so in control of were now close to the surface.

  Her family cabin was gone. Despite not having used it much in the last ten years, she’d always liked knowing it was still there. A standing memory of good times when her father was alive. Before everything changed, started to fall apart. Now it was gone. And she was to blame.

  Would she always be the one responsible for tearing her family apart?

  This entire situation was made a million times worse because Levi was a part of it. She could hold things together when she was surrounded by strangers but her estranged best friend, a person she could trust if she needed to give in to her exhaustion and stress—was weakening her when she needed her strength the most.

  He had seemed surprised, but happy to see her, which made her cool exterior that much harder. It was obvious which of the two of them had essentially walked away from the friendship.

  As they pulled up in front of the hospital, he opened the doors to help them out. Selena was more than willing to accept any and all attention after her “ordeal,” but Leslie refused his hand when he extended it to her.

  If he noticed, he didn’t show it as he closed the truck door behind her. “Do you want me to come in?” he asked.

  “No...no need.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you for your assistance.”

  He nodded. “Of course, Leslie. Anytime.”

  The words weren’t casual. They were full of feeling—compassionate, kind and slightly questioning. She knew he had to be wondering why she’d basically disappeared from his life, but right now wasn’t the time.

  She caught Selena staring at them. Better wrap this up. “So, remember, tell my family...”

  His disappointment about her asking him to lie was clear as he said, “We aren’t sure yet how the fire started.” He nodded. “I got it, but we can only keep that up for about twenty-four hours.”

  He’d have to file his report with the details...the truth. Her family would know she was in town soon enough. But she appreciated the twenty-four hour reprieve. The head start. Time to process being in Wild River without having to face them. She would have to eventually. She owed them an apology for the fire. Her gut tightened at the thought. “That’s great. Thanks again,” she said.

  Levi turned to Selena. “Pleasure meeting you, Ms. Hudson. Enjoy your time in Wild River,” he said before climbing into the truck.

  Leslie turned to head into the hospital.

  Shit, she was still wearing his jacket.

  She turned back and tapped on the window.

  Levi’s hopeful expression was too much as he rolled it down. “Yeah?”

  “Your jacket...”

  “Keep it until you can get some clothes.”

  She wanted it off as fast as possible. Seeing him was like seeing a ghost from her past. Having his familiar smell wrapped around her just confirmed he was definitely real...and so were the memories threatening to destroy her. “Okay, I’ll get it back to you somehow.”

  He hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want me to call Katherine or Eddie...or your mom or grandma? They could bring you some clothes.” He reached for his phone.

  “No!”

  Selena turned to look at her.

  “No,” she repeated more quietly. “No. It’s okay. I’ll figure something out.” Her grandma would be the person she’d call if she needed to...but everyone else was going to be devastated when they heard about the cabin and more than likely pissed off at her. Especially her sister, who now wouldn’t be able to use the cabin for her yearly solitary retreats.

  “You sure?” Levi asked.

  “Yes.” Guilt wrapped around her, but she fought it. She’d face them all soon enough. Just not yet.

  “Okay.” Levi put the phone away.

  “Thank you...again. I’ll be sure to send your jacket back.”

  He nodded. “Take care.” The intensity in his ocean blue eyes made her shiver and she averted her gaze. Of all the people to come to their rescue—of all people to run into immediately upon being in Alaska—it had to be Levi. The one person who could break her, if she let him.

  Turning away from the truck, she hurried inside the hospital with Selena, and moments later the admitting nurse directed them to a small examination room.

  Selena eyed her as she climbed onto the examination table, leaving Leslie—the injured one—with the uncomfortable plastic chair. “You two have a history.”

  Understatement, but she’d play dumb. “Who?”

  “You and that unbelievably good-looking fire-hero guy.”

  “Nope.” This was not a conversation she was eager to have anytime, least of all with her client. Sharing personal details of her life with Selena was unnecessary and unprofessional.

  “You totally do.”

  “No. We don’t.” She pretended to examine the bandages on her burned hand.

  “Then why did he look at you like Ryan Reynolds’s character looked at Amy Smart’s character in Just Friends when they saw one another for the first time after she’d broken his heart by friend zoning him in high school...”

  Leslie held up her uninjured hand to stop the rom-com recap. The way Selena likened everything to movies was almost more painful than the burn. “We don’t have a history. We’re both from Wild River. We went to school together.”

  Selena was unconvinced, but she shrugged. “Fine... If you say so.”

  “I do.” Of course she was lying.

  Truth was, seeing Levi had made her temperature rise higher than the flames burning her family’s cabin to the ground. And she’d longed for metaphorical flames to engulf her as well.

  Three years since she’d last seen him. Three years of trying to put the tragedy from her past aside and focus on her future. Three years of ignoring any contact he’d tried to make.

  She had no real reason for it other than a desperation to leave everything and everyone that reminded her of Dawson behind, and there were few memories of her former fiancé that weren’t closely linked to Levi.

  Just looking at him hurt.

  The accident, everything that happened, was not his fault and she didn’t blame him. It was just difficult to be around someone who represented both the best times in her life and the hardest. He knew her better than most people and that made her vulnerable to him and vulnerable was the last thing she wanted to be.

  Especially right now.

  Twenty minutes later, her hand feeling pleasantly numb in fresh bandages, Leslie left the hospital in scrubs, with no idea what to do next.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Three years earlier...

  SHE WASN’T A DRESS person by nature, but it had to be true what they said—wedding dresses were designed to make every bride look her very best. Leslie almost didn’t recognize herself in the mirror as she slipped her feet into her ballet flats. The floor-length, off-white gown with its intricate beading along the bodice and A-line skirt was flattering to her figure, while still modest and her style. No frills or lace, but something uniquely special for the day.

  She hadn’t even planned on wearing a real wedding dress, since it
was going to be a small ceremony at the courthouse—just the two of them, plus her grandmother and Levi to act as witnesses. But at the last minute, she’d decided to splurge on the dress. At least part of the whole thing would be following tradition. Without their parents’ full support, it didn’t make sense to hold an elaborate event with a large guest list and a massive, unnecessary budget.

  She moved closer to the mirror in the B and B honeymoon suite where they planned on spending their first night together as a married couple and applied her pale pink lipstick with a shaky hand. Her stomach twisted and she forced a breath.

  This was the right thing. This was what she wanted.

  It was just nerves getting to her.

  She loved Dawson. He loved her. That was all that mattered.

  “Ready to—” Levi’s voice broke off and he cleared his throat “—go,” he said, entering the room behind her.

  She turned with a smile, seeing him in a gray suit and white dress shirt, a smart-ass comment about his lack of jeans and T-shirt on the tip of her tongue, but then her smile faded, seeing his expression.

  Completely unreadable as he stared at her like she was a stranger. Stared at her made-up face, her blond curls hanging loose around her shoulders, and then he stared for a really long time at the dress.

  “It’s just a dress, Levi,” she said with a laugh, hoping to break some of the tension filling the air around them. His reaction was only increasing her nerves.

  He shook his head and immediately her friend was back. “It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful,” he said, looking away and reaching for her purse on the table. “We should go or we’re going to miss your timeslot.”

  She nodded, forcing her best confident look. She was ready for this. They’d been together for years. Life without Dawson didn’t make sense, so why not get married?

  “Thank you,” she said, accepting the purse from him.