Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
#AlaskaLife #GhostHunting #NightSky #SpectralSights
S ophie woke to sunlight streaming through her cabin window and the distant sound of children laughing. For a moment, she lay still, remembering last night’s dinner and Darrow’s incredible story. She’d stayed up far too late editing footage on her laptop, thankful that Wyatt had retrieved her equipment case from the airport yesterday. The portable editing setup wasn’t quite as good as her home studio, but some stories were worth losing sleep over.
The aurora hadn’t made an appearance, but that was fine. She had time, and the footage of Darrow’s stories would make excellent content in the meantime.
Grabbing her phone, she did a quick check of her latest post’s performance. The video of her arrival at Kirkham Lodge had already hit 100K views, with comments flooding in:
“OMG that ranger tho ??”
“Please tell me you’re going to interview the ghost guy!”
“Those mountains! I’m dying! ??”
“But like...has anyone seen the northern lights AND ghosts at the same time??”
Sophie grinned at the last one. Her followers always asked the best questions. She quickly typed out a response: “That’s EXACTLY what I’m here to find out! Stay tuned—we’re going aurora hunting as soon as the conditions are right! ???”
She scrolled through a few more comments, answering the most intriguing ones. To the ranger comment, she just added a winking emoji—no need to encourage that line of discussion. But she made sure to respond to the ghost guy question: “If you mean Darrow, just wait until you hear his stories! They’ll give you chills!”
Setting her phone aside, she threw on jeans and her favorite cream-colored sweater, quickly ran a brush through her wavy hair, and headed toward the main lodge.
On the porch, she found Johnny playing with what looked like a remote-control car while Quinn, a teenager she remembered being introduced to at dinner, watched from a nearby chair. He had dark brown hair that fell slightly into his blue-gray eyes, and though his expression was serious, there was something quietly confident about him.
“Good morrow!” Johnny called out, not taking his eyes off the car’s trajectory. “Did you see any ghosts last night?”
Sophie laughed. “Not yet, but I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually.”
“Dad says the best ghosts come out during the aurora,” Johnny informed her solemnly. “He would know, since he used to be one.”
Quinn nodded, his expression serious. “He’s right about that. Darrow knows more about ghosts than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Well, he should, since he used to be one,” Johnny replied with perfect childhood logic.
Sophie settled into a chair near Quinn. “So, you’re from California, right?”
He looked surprised she’d remembered. “Yeah. My family comes up every summer, but this year I stayed behind to help out for a few weeks before college starts.”
“Stanford, right? That’s impressive.”
His cheeks colored slightly. “Thanks. I’m excited about it, but...” He gestured at the stunning mountain view. “I’m going to miss this place. It’s kind of become a second home.”
“Because of the scenery?” Sophie asked, catching something deeper in his tone.
Quinn was quiet for a moment, watching Johnny maneuver the car. “The people, mostly. Darrow especially. He’s just...I don’t know. He loves life more than anyone I’ve ever met. Like, genuinely loves it. Maybe it’s because of everything he’s seen—you know, being a ghost and all that. But he makes you see things differently, appreciate what you have. Know what I mean?”
There was weight behind his words that Sophie couldn’t quite decipher, but before she could ask more, Johnny called out for Quinn to watch his next trick with the car.
Sophie followed Quinn’s gaze as he smiled at the boy. Whatever his history with Darrow was, it clearly ran deep.
The smell of coffee and bacon drifted out onto the porch, and Sophie’s stomach rumbled. “I’m going to grab some breakfast,” she said, heading inside. The main dining room was already warm with morning light, the long table set for breakfast. A sideboard held warming trays filled with Nukak’s offerings—eggs, bacon, pancakes, and what looked like fresh biscuits. Through the serving window, she caught a glimpse of the cook himself, his long black braid swinging as he moved through his kitchen.
Whitney sat at one end of the table while Darrow entertained Connor in his high chair, the toddler’s giggles filling the space. The whole scene was so perfectly domestic it made her heart ache a little.
“Perfect timing,” Whitney said. “Help yourself to breakfast. Nukak always makes enough to feed an army. And Wyatt called—he’ll be here soon to take you exploring.”
Sophie’s heart did a little skip at the mention of Wyatt, which she firmly told herself was purely professional interest. After all, having a handsome, skeptical ranger in her videos would definitely boost engagement. Though she had to admit, there was something compelling about his determined rationality in the face of all things supernatural.
After she filled her plate, poured some coffee, and settled at the table, she asked, “Has Wyatt always been so...” Sophie searched for a diplomatic word.
“Grumpy?” Darrow supplied helpfully. “Aye, ever since I’ve known him. Though he seems particularly bothered by you, which is interesting.”
Whitney shot her husband a look. “Darrow.”
“What? I’m just making an observation.” His innocent expression fooled no one. “Besides, someone needs to get that man to lighten up. Did ye know, Sophie, that he once tried to explain away a genuine ghostly encounter by blaming it on, and I quote, ‘probably just some weird Alaska thing’?”
Sophie nearly choked on her coffee. “Really? What happened?”
“Oh, just the usual,” Darrow said with a wave of his hand. “Mysterious footsteps in the snow, voices on the wind, that sort of thing. But our Wyatt, he’s determined to find a logical explanation for everything.”
“Which isn’t always a bad thing,” Whitney pointed out. “Sometimes weird things do have perfectly normal explanations.”
“And sometimes,” Darrow countered, “the perfectly normal explanation is that it’s a ghost.”
Connor chose that moment to send his sippy cup flying across the dining room with impressive force. As Darrow went to retrieve it, Sophie filled her plate from the warming trays, the aroma of fresh biscuits making her mouth water.
The conversation flowed easily as they ate, Quinn and Johnny joining them at the table. Sophie found herself relaxing into the family atmosphere, adding bits of maple syrup to her pancakes as Darrow regaled them with more tales of Alaskan ghost sightings.
The sound of a truck pulling up outside made her pulse quicken. Through the window, she could see Wyatt climbing out, looking unfairly attractive in his ranger uniform despite his perpetual scowl.
“Ready for some ghost hunting?” Whitney asked with a knowing smile.
Sophie grabbed her camera bag and took a deep breath. “Always.”
As she headed for the door, she heard Darrow call out, “Remember, lass—the weird Alaska things aren’t always what they seem!”
She had a feeling this was going to be an interesting day.