Chapter Twelve
Kendall
An hour or so later, I drove the short distance from the rescue program to the main resort for Heartfire Falls. My lips teased into a smile as I drove past the newer barn that they’d renovated after the fire.
Elsa had painted the driftwood sign that had miraculously survived the fires, and it was beautiful. Heartfire Falls got its name from the waterfall nearby.
After passing that barn, which housed some of the goats for the rescue program and had a small apartment above it, I turned toward the main resort.
It had taken the Silver family years to rebuild it.
I knew how much it meant to all of them.
They’d lived in that cramped apartment above the barn before they scattered to the winds for a while.
When I parked and climbed out, Elsa was walking over and waved. Her blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her smile bright as she stopped beside me. “Hey!”
“Hey, hey. Where are you coming from?” I asked.
She nudged her head toward the trees, where there was a path that led to the barn where she shared an apartment upstairs with her husband, Haven, the oldest of the Silver brothers. They were finishing up a house to move into soon.
“Home. I got dirty today at work. Nothing new, but I needed a shower,” she explained.
“What were you doing today?”
“Checking on some trail cams.”
“I bet that’s fun,” I teased.
Elsa grinned. “I love my job.” She was a wildlife biologist and monitored whales and other wildlife in the area.
“Do you know what’s for dinner?” I asked.
“Nope. But it’s always good. Let’s go check the falls.” She glanced up at the sky. The sun was setting, and the sky was awash in orange, red, and gold.
I didn’t hesitate to follow her around to the back of the resort. Minutes later, we walked into the trees to an offshoot creek that branched off a nearby river. The sound of rushing water reached us. After a turn in the path, my breath caught in my throat.
I’d seen Heartfire Falls at sunset plenty of times, but it never failed to steal my breath. When the sun set just so, the falls looked like they were on fire with shades of gold and orange reflecting in the moving water. It was, simply put, stunning.
“Never gets old,” I murmured.
Elsa nodded. “It never does.”
We stood there for a few moments, watching the water roll over the rocks and shimmer with the colors from the sky. It felt so peaceful. After a few minutes, we turned and walked back.
“Are you glad you came back?” I asked. Elsa had grown up here, but moved away after her father passed when we were in high school.
She was smiling when I glanced her way, her cheeks a little pink.
“Absolutely.”
“Well, you got Haven.”
She giggled. “I got Haven?”
“You two are perfect together.”
“I just feel lucky.”
“Haven’s a good man, and you’re good for him.
” Having been friends with Jude for many years, I knew the brothers well.
Like all of them, Haven had struggled in the aftermath of their father's passing, followed by the wildfire and losing Bree.
Since Elsa had moved here, her presence visibly lightened his mood.
Moments later, we were walking into the resort. We passed a few guests milling about in the main area. Maggie was busy talking with some of them. We slipped through the public part of the kitchen into the private area. The second I walked into that room, I heard Jude’s voice.
The sound alone was like a fire on my nerves.