Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
W yatt pulled up to Thane’s house, already second-guessing his decision to bring Sophie to the Labor Day gathering. But after their morning hike and camera rescue mission, she’d mentioned wanting to film some local perspectives on Skagway’s ghost stories. His older brother knew every tale in town, embellished or otherwise.
He killed the engine but didn’t move to get out, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel as he reconsidered every life choice that had led him to this moment.
“Your brother lives here?” Sophie asked, taking in the craftsman-style house with its wide porch and Alaskan fishing gear mounted on the walls. Her eyes sparkled with that genuine enthusiasm that never failed to catch him off guard. “It’s gorgeous.”
“He built it himself.” Wyatt forced himself to stop drumming his fingers. “Listen, about my family...”
“Let me guess—they don’t believe in ghosts either?”
“Actually, Thane loves that stuff. He’ll talk your ear off about local legends. It’s just...” He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words to warn her about the chaos she was about to walk into. “They can be a bit much.”
The front door burst open and his sister Kelsey’s kids, Emma and Jack, raced out onto the porch. “Uncle Wyatt!” Seven-year-old Emma called out while five-year-old Jack simply launched himself down the steps with reckless abandon.
Kelsey appeared in the doorway, calling after them. “Walking feet, you two!” Her husband Ben followed, looking amused as the kids swarmed their uncle’s truck like tiny pirates boarding a ship.
They carefully exited the truck.
“You must be Sophie!” Kelsey made her way down the steps, her blonde ponytail swinging. “We’ve been dying to meet you after all Wyatt’s texts in the family group chat.”
“We’re here for research,” Wyatt protested, helping Jack climb down from where he’d somehow already scaled the truck’s side. The boy had clearly inherited his mother’s climbing abilities, much to everyone’s concern.
“Sure you are.” Kelsey winked at Sophie. “That’s why Sophie’s name keeps popping up in our messages. All in the name of research.”
“Kelsey—”
“Wyatt!” Thane appeared in the doorway, all six-foot-four of him filling the frame. “About time you showed up. Mom and Dad just got here.”
Great. His entire family was here to witness his slow descent into madness. As if that wasn’t enough, the sound of another car pulling up made his stomach drop.
Mayor Uriah Anderson stepped out of his SUV with a self-satisfied grin that told Wyatt this day was about to get exponentially worse. Lisa Anderson followed with a warm smile, balancing what looked like her famous berry cobbler, while their kids, Zayden and Lily, raced around the side of the house, no doubt heading for the swing set.
“About time you got here, Anderson,” Thane called out, clapping the mayor on the back. “Thought you were too important for a little family gathering.”
The mayor’s grin widened as he caught sight of Wyatt. “Had to make sure our town’s finest ranger wasn’t too busy entertaining our special guest.”
Wyatt barely managed to get out a greeting before the mayor turned his attention to Sophie, who was currently being shown Emma’s fairy house in Thane’s garden.
“I hear you’ve been keeping Wyatt on his toes,” Mayor Anderson said. “That’s a tough job, Miss Marlow. Normally, it takes a grizzly bear or a full-on avalanche to rattle him.”
Sophie laughed, clearly amused. “Oh, I don’t know. He’s been very accommodating.”
“Against my will,” Wyatt muttered, which only made the mayor’s grin grow wider.
“He says that now, but just wait. He’ll be filming TikToks with you by the end of the month.”
“Not going to happen,” Wyatt said flatly.
Lisa threw Wyatt an exaggeratedly sympathetic look. “Poor Wyatt. Forced to spend time with a smart, charming woman in the most beautiful place on earth. How will you survive?”
“Really,” the mayor nodded. “Sounds awful. Maybe next time I’ll assign you to the junior nature walk with the kindergarteners.”
Wyatt finally decided to get a dig in. He looked at Lisa and smirked. “And yet, I can’t help but notice you came straight to the barbecue instead of volunteering to drive Miss Marlow from the airport.”
Lisa burst into laughter. “Oh, I married a very smart man. He knows better than to stick me with last-minute airport runs.”
Mayor Anderson sighed, shaking his head. “Delegation, Wyatt. It’s a leader’s best skill.”
“Convenient skill,” Wyatt muttered.
Incside, the house smelled like grilled meat and fresh rolls. Maris emerged from the kitchen, her dark hair escaping its bun, her hands nervously smoothing down her apron.
“I hope everyone’s hungry,” she said. “I might have gone a little overboard with the baking. When I get nervous about meeting new people, I tend to...” She gestured at the kitchen behind her, where several pies cooled on the counter alongside Lisa’s cobbler.
Sophie smiled warmly. “I’m Sophie. It’s so nice to meet you. And so nice of you to open your home to a stranger.”
Maris instantly relaxed, struck by the Sophie effect. “I’m Maris. Thane’s wife. You’re very welcome here.”
As everyone stood around chatting, his mother appeared from the back deck where his father was manning the grill, cooking both salmon and steak. Her sharp eyes took in every detail of Sophie’s appearance, and Wyatt recognized the look. It was the same one she’d worn when his ex had announced she was taking that job in Seattle. The one that said she was already worried about him getting hurt.
They loaded their plates and found seats at one of the picnic tables on the deck, Sophie settling between Emma, who was full of questions about ghosts, and Ben, who was curious about her camera equipment. Wyatt watched as she easily fielded both the technical questions and the imaginative ones, somehow making both his practical brother-in-law and his fairy-obsessed niece feel equally heard.
“So,” his mother asked during a lull in conversation, “how long are you staying in Skagway?”
“Just a few weeks,” Sophie said, helping Jack rescue a pickle that had escaped his burger. “Long enough to document the paranormal activity and hopefully capture some evidence of the aurora’s influence on spiritual energy.”
His mother’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly. “I see.”
“Mom, you should tell Sophie about the lights you saw last winter,” Kelsey jumped in, obviously trying to ease the tension. “The ones over Echo Pass?”
“Those were just atmospheric conditions,” his mother said firmly.
“I don’t know, Mom,” Thane grinned. “Hard to explain away those voices you said you heard.”
“I never said—” She stopped, flustered. “Well, it was very late, and I was tired.”
Before Sophie could pursue that line of questioning, Zayden and Lily Anderson came running up, whispering excitedly.
“Are you really a ghost hunter?” Lily asked, tugging on Sophie’s sleeve.
“I prefer paranormal researcher, but yes.”
Zayden, looking skeptical, crossed his arms. “That’s not a real job.”
Sophie, without missing a beat, replied, “Neither is ‘annoying older brother,’ but here you are.”
Wyatt snorted into his drink while Mayor Anderson gave his son a told-you-so look.
Zayden, unfazed, pointed toward the woods near Thane’s property. “If you’re a real ghost hunter, then you should go see the haunted shed.”
“It’s really haunted!” Lily gasped. “My friend’s cousin said the door opened on its own, and they saw glowing eyes inside!”
“That old thing?” Thane grinned. “It’s just full of my fishing gear.”
Mayor Anderson, looking entirely too amused, said, “Sounds like prime ghost-hunting material.”
Sophie perked up. “I do have my equipment with me…”
“Oh, for the love of—” Wyatt groaned, but it was too late. The kids were already dragging Sophie toward the shed while she cheerfully set up her camera equipment.
“Come on, son.” Mayor Anderson clapped a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “The people demand answers.”
Lisa, smirking, said, “I’ll go get the popcorn.”
“What’s wrong, ranger?” Sophie called back. “Afraid of the dark?”
Wyatt growled. “I hate everything about this.”
He followed anyway, watching as Sophie set up her equipment while the kids whispered excitedly. A sudden gust of wind rattled the shed door, causing Lily to scream and Zayden to yelp. Even Sophie jumped. Wyatt just sighed.
“That shed’s been falling apart for years,” Thane laughed.
“Or it’s the spirit of an old fisherman, angry that his gear was abandoned,” Sophie suggested, her eyes dancing with mischief.
“I’m abandoning you if you keep this up,” Wyatt muttered, but there was no heat in it. He was finding it harder and harder to maintain his irritation when she looked at him like that.
Later, as they were getting dessert, Mayor Anderson leaned over to Wyatt and smirked. “Well, son, that was some top-notch investigative work back there. The town can rest easy knowing the haunted shed is just a pile of old tackle boxes.”
Wyatt sighed, stabbing his fork into his pie. “Glad to be of service.”
Across the table, Sophie grinned, reviewing her footage. “Oh, I don’t know. That door moved suspiciously on its own. I might have to come back for a follow-up investigation.”
Wyatt groaned, but the glint in her eyes made it hard to be too annoyed. “Of course you will.”
Sophie was called away by the kids once more and Wyatt watched her laughing as they dragged her away.
The mayor chuckled. “You know, I was going to have Travis handle the influencer thing, but Whitney insisted it had to be you.”
Wyatt glared. “Seriously?”
The mayor laughed. “The man doth protest to much? Careful, Boone. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re actually enjoying having Sophie around.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Uh-huh. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”
Lisa chimed in. “Uriah, don’t tease him too much. We wouldn’t want Wyatt distracted from his work duties.”
Mayor Anderson winked. “It seems to me he’s distracted enough already.”
Wyatt ignored them as he watched as Sophie chatted with his family, her auburn hair catching the late afternoon sun, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as she listened to each new tale. She had a way of making people want to open up, of finding the extraordinary in ordinary moments.
It was going to be a problem.
Because in a few weeks, she’d be gone, chasing the next story, the next adventure. And he’d be here, remembering how naturally she fit into his life, his family, his world.
His mother caught his eye across the table, her expression shifting from warm to warning. The look clearly said, ‘Don’t you dare fall for someone who’s leaving.’
Yeah. This was definitely a problem.