Wildly, Boldly (Return to Culloden Moor #4)

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

#AlaskaLife #GhostHunting #RangerGrump #HeartOnSleeve

A few days later Wyatt was being stubborn again and Sophie tried not to grin.

“Absolutely not.” Wyatt crossed his arms over his chest, and Sophie had to admit that even out of uniform, he still managed to look every inch the stern ranger.

She adjusted her phone on its makeshift stand, a precarious tower of Whitney’s cookbooks perched on the lodge’s coffee table. “Come on! My followers think I made you up. They’re dying to meet you.”

“Good.”

“Please?” She widened her eyes, giving him her best puppy-dog look. The one that usually worked on him, though he’d deny it to his grave. “I’ll let you debunk all my ghost theories.”

A flicker of interest crossed his face, and she knew she had him. “All of them?”

“Well, most of them.” She grinned, unable to help herself. “Some things are simply unexplainable, Ranger Grump.”

From his spot by the fireplace, Darrow snorted. The Irishman’s eyes danced with amusement. “Just do it, boyo. She’ll wear ye down eventually.”

Wyatt shot him a look that could have stripped paint. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?”

“And miss this?” Darrow’s grin widened. “Not a chance.”

Sophie patted the couch beside her, trying not to focus on how much she wanted him there. “Think of it as community outreach. Educating the public about wildlife safety.”

“Using your ghost hunting channel?”

“My very popular ghost hunting channel.” She waggled her eyebrows, warming to her pitch. “With over a million potential tourists who need to learn not to feed the bears.”

She watched him wage an internal battle, could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Finally, he sighed. “Ten minutes.”

“Twenty.”

“Fifteen.”

“Deal!” She grabbed his arm and pulled him down beside her before he could change his mind. The warmth of him settled next to her, and she forced herself to focus on her phone instead of how right it felt to have him there. “Okay, ghost squad! We’ve got a special treat today. Everyone, meet Ranger Wyatt Boone, resident skeptic and wildlife expert!”

Wyatt’s “hello” was so quiet she barely caught it.

“Don’t worry,” she stage-whispered to her phone. “He’ll warm up. Eventually. Maybe. Okay, everyone, start dropping your questions in the comments!”

The responses flooded in immediately:

“OMG HE’S REAL! ??”

“Is he single??? Asking for a friend ??”

“RANGER GRUMP IN THE FLESH!”

Sophie bit back a laugh at Wyatt’s increasingly horrified expression. She could feel him tensing beside her, ready to bolt. “Let’s start with something easy. @ghostgirl98 asks: What’s the craziest tourist situation you’ve dealt with?”

“Besides this one?” His dry tone made her stomach flutter.

“Besides this one.”

To her surprise, his lips curved slightly. “Probably the couple who tried to take selfies with a moose.”

“No way!”

“They thought it would make a good Christmas card.”

“Did it?”

“The hospital bills probably didn’t.”

The comments exploded again:

“I can’t tell if he’s joking ??”

“Protect this man at all costs!”

“Sophie, marry him immediately!”

Heat crept up her neck. “Moving on! @spookhunter asks: Have you ever seen anything you couldn’t explain?”

“Yes.” His answer surprised her. “Tourist fashion choices.”

Darrow’s laughter echoed through the lodge as Sophie read more comments:

“THE SHADE OF IT ALL”

“He really said tourist fashion crimes ghost stories”

“I’m deceased ??”

“Well played, Ranger Boone!” The new comment made Sophie’s eyes widen. “Keep up the good work protecting our wildlife from badly dressed tourists.—Mayor Anderson”

Wyatt stiffened beside her, and she could practically feel the horror radiating off him. “Please tell me that’s not really the mayor.”

“That’s definitely the mayor’s verified account.” Sophie tried not to laugh at his expression.

He muttered something under his breath that sounded distinctly unprofessional.

“Okay, smart guy.” Sophie nudged his shoulder, trying to distract him. “Here’s one from @wilderness_wanderer: What’s your favorite thing about being a ranger?”

Something in his expression softened, and her breath caught. This was the Wyatt she’d gotten glimpses of over the past weeks—the one who lived and breathed this wild place. “The quiet moments. Early morning patrols when the fog’s just lifting. Watching the northern lights paint the mountains. Finding fresh bear tracks in new snow.”

Sophie forgot about her audience, caught by the warmth in his voice, the way his eyes lit up. He really did love this place, with a depth that made her usual wanderlust seem shallow in comparison. For the first time, she understood what it might be like to put down roots, to love somewhere so deeply it became part of you.

A comment notification snapped her back to reality:

“The way she looks at him tho ??”

Her cheeks burned. “Um, right!” She cleared her throat. “@hauntedhistorian wants to know: Do you believe in ghosts?”

“No.”

“That’s it? Just no?”

“Just no.”

“But what about all the stories about the northern lights? The gold rush hauntings?”

“Stories are stories.” But his eyes crinkled at the corners in that way that made her heart skip. “Though some storytellers are more convincing than others.”

More comments flooded in:

“The TENSION”

“Just kiss already!”

“This is better than any ghost story ??”

“Last question!” Sophie said quickly, before she could do something stupid like agree with her viewers. “@midnight_maven asks: What’s it really like dealing with a ghost hunter all day?”

Wyatt turned to look at her fully, and something in his expression made her forget how to breathe. “Exhausting. Entertaining. Never boring.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You would.”

Their eyes met, and for a moment Sophie forgot about the camera, the comments, everything except the way Wyatt’s smile reached all the way to his eyes, warming them to the color of a summer sky. Her heart thundered in her chest, and she wondered if everyone watching could see how affected she was by this man who claimed not to believe in magic, yet somehow managed to create it every time he looked at her like that.

“Well!” Darrow’s voice made them both jump. “I think that’s enough entertainment for one night.”

Sophie hastily ended the live stream, her cheeks burning. Comments were still pouring in:

“DID YOU SEE THAT LOOK???”

“Ghost hunting? More like love hunting ??”

“Petition for daily ranger content!”

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked Wyatt, trying to sound normal despite her racing pulse.

“Could have been worse.” He stood, stretching, and she tried not to stare at the way his shirt pulled across his shoulders. “Though if anyone tries to take selfies with a moose because of this...”

“I’ll take full responsibility.” She started packing up her phone, needing something to do with her hands. “Maybe we can do a follow-up on proper wildlife safety?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

But he was smiling as he said it, and Sophie caught Darrow’s knowing grin as Wyatt headed for the door.

“Not a word,” she warned the Irishman.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, lass.” But his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Though I might have to start my own social media account. ‘Courting Tips from a Former Ghost’ has a nice ring to it, don’t ye think?”

Sophie threw a pillow at him, but she was smiling too. Because maybe, just maybe, there were some mysteries even a ghost hunter wasn’t ready to solve.

At least, not yet.