3. Elsa
Chapter Three
Elsa
“Haven Silver,” I said aloud in my car.
I knew Haven even though we hadn’t really spent much time together. We’d grown up on the outskirts of the small town of Willow Brook, Alaska, and technically lived next door to each other. Although the concept of next door in Alaska was a little more stretched out than in most places.
The Silver family owned Heartfire Falls Resort, a wilderness and adventure-type place.
I’d always been so curious about them. While my family had consisted of my parents and me, the Silver family seemed huge in comparison.
Seven siblings: one daughter and six brothers.
Although I wouldn’t say we were close, they’d always been nice. All of them.
For years, I’d stayed away from this town until I finally stared down the reality that the only way to banish my ghosts was to storm them. Grief never went away, but sometimes running from it twisted it tighter in your heart.
I glanced in my rearview mirror, taking a glimpse of Haven as I drove away. Even in the objects in mirror may be closer than they appear sort of way, his shoulders were broad against the backdrop of the bright blue sky.
“He’s married,” I murmured to myself in the car as I looked ahead again. I didn’t need to think about Haven Silver being handsome. He had a son who he might as well have chewed up and spit out, they looked so similar.
My car bounced a little over the gravel. Maybe this whole thing of coming home was ridiculous. All that was left of my childhood home were remnants of a foundation.
I remembered reading about the Heartfire Falls Resort burning down in the same fire.
Logically, that made sense. Ever since the spruce bark beetle kill claimed swaths of Alaskan forest, fires have kept sweeping through areas.
While wildfires were part of life here, clusters of dead, dry trees meant the flames had plenty of fuel.
Even then, I’d been shocked when I heard about the wilderness lodge burning up.
It had happened maybe five years after we left.
I’d assumed it would be rebuilt quickly, but that hadn’t happened. I guess, until now.
Even though my memories of Willow Brook were tangled with loss, I’d always loved the landscape and could never banish my longing for it. The land itself was stitched into my heart.
At the time, I’d needed the change of location when my mom and I moved away.
Years later, I still found myself looking up the news in town because I missed it so much.
I wondered how far along Haven was in rebuilding the resort and what it would be like.
I also wondered about renting a room there. It could be perfect for me.
As it was, Janet—my mom’s old friend, and I suppose everyone’s friend in town—had told me she wished she had a space for me to rent, but she didn’t have anything available.
While I had a few friends from my days growing up here, I didn’t have many.
We’d lived far enough out of town, and though loving, my father had been offbeat in ways that didn’t invite too many people into our world.
I drove into town, pondering how much I’d missed the area along every mile. For tonight, I was staying at Wildlands Lodge. You’d think my car would be packed to the gills, but all I had was one bag and a tiny crate of clothing, just enough to be ready for winter when it came in a few months.
After checking into my room, I made my way down to the restaurant. It was kind of funny that even though this resort was practically a centerpiece of Willow Brook, I’d only been inside a few times. It had always been a place I was curious about, like so many places.
My dad only ever took us to the grocery store on occasion, the pharmacy, gear stores, and school for me.
The rooms here were nice, with big beds piled high with pillows and lots of windows offering beautiful views from all angles.
Plush carpets in the hallways softened footfalls.
The whole Alaska lodge vibe was strong downstairs, with wide, exposed wooden beams crisscrossing the tall ceilings and polished hardwood floors.
I could hear the murmur of voices spilling down the hallway from the restaurant, and anxiety started to spin inside me.
I figured I’d always be a little anxious about social situations.
Though I’d loved my dad and missed him a whole lot, his quirks meant “living off the land” was a pretty concrete experience.
The woman at the reception desk smiled at me as I walked by.
I slipped past the lobby and into the restaurant, looking around and wondering if I should go to the bar or take a table.
I didn’t want to sit at the bar, because then I might be expected to order a drink.
It wasn’t that I didn’t drink, it was just that I rarely did.
The host was a tall, lanky man with a bright smile and twinkling eyes. “Hello, hello,” he said. “Where would you like to sit?”
I cleared my throat. “By the windows?”
“You’ve got it.” As we crossed the restaurant, he asked, “What brings you to Willow Brook?”
I cleared my throat again. “I grew up here. But it’s been a minute since I was here.”
His brows arched, and I saw the questions swirling in his eyes. “So I’m sure you’ve been to Wildlands?”
“Actually, I haven’t. Well, I did technically grow up in Willow Brook, but it was a ways out of town. I moved away when I was a sophomore in high school.”
“Ah, I see.” With a smile, he seated me at the only table left by the windows, which had a beautiful view of the lake.
With autumn nipping at the heels of summer, the days were getting shorter, but they were still long by most standards. The colors of the sunset shimmered on the water, the sky stained with tangerine, gold, and pink.
“A server will be with you in just a few minutes.”
After I ordered, keeping it simple with a glass of water and a salmon burger, I glanced around curiously. I kept wondering if I would see anyone I knew. Although I didn’t have a lot of friends, I knew people because I had gone to school here.
The little girl in me, a quiet voice always, wanted to have friends in a way I hadn’t when I lived here. I forced myself to stop looking around and just enjoy the view. A flock of trumpeter swans drifted across the lake, beautiful in the glow of the setting sun.
Maybe I missed Alaska because the landscape had always been a source of peace for me. I pondered Haven’s offer to stay at Heartfire Falls.
After my question, Haven had gone on to explain that, yes, they were rebuilding, and it was due to open soon. I wondered how much he knew about how my dad passed.
His mom had been the one to call the ambulance. My mom had always told me to call Maggie for help if I needed it, so that’s what I’d done that day. She’d already called for the ambulance before she got to our house. That help had come too late for my foolish father. I’d always wanted to thank her.
“Elsa?” My eyes lifted to see a familiar woman standing there. My brain rifled through my memories.
“Um, Holly?” I prompted.
Her face broke into a smile. “Yes! What are you doing here?”
“Well,” I said slowly, “I’m moving back.”
“That’s awesome!”
Holly was memorable. We hadn’t been too close, but she had always been nice to me.
Before I knew it, she was pulling me into a hug.
Holly had sat with me that night at the hospital while we waited for news on my father.
Even though he had no pulse, they emergency team had still brought him here while they tried to resuscitate him.
Holly’s hugs were wonderful. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said when she stepped back, squeezing my shoulders.
Her eyes were bright, and her blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She was dressed practically, in nurse scrubs.
“Did you become a nurse?” I asked, recalling that she had been at the hospital that night because she was a volunteer then.
She nodded quickly. “Sure did.”
Her gaze sobered. “How are you?”
“I’m pretty good,” I said. Because I was.
It was hard to explain to anyone, even myself, that even though I’d lost my dad and my childhood had been a little strange because of him, I really was doing okay these days.
“We need to exchange numbers,” she said quickly.
Just then, another person I recognized, although I didn’t know if he recognized me, approached. Nate Fox.
Holly had been a few years ahead of me in high school, and so had Nate. Living in the small world of Alaska was weird. I’d always felt a little outside of everything, but I knew all the details about everybody. In those days, Nate had been Holly’s twin brother’s best friend.
When he stopped beside Holly and curled his arm around her shoulders, I quickly realized maybe they were together.
She glanced toward me, her brows waggling. “I hated Nate in high school, but we ended up getting married. Who knew?”
Nate flashed a sly grin. “I knew.”
“You did not.” She nudged him with her elbow. “You remember Elsa, right?”
“I do, I do,” Nate said, his smile warm when his gaze met mine.
I felt nervous all over again and swallowed. “Nice to see you, Nate.”
“Good to see you, Elsa. Let me guess, you’re moving back? Willow Brook’s awesome. Smart move.”
Before I could say anything in return, someone called Nate’s name. He glanced over his shoulder before bringing his attention back to me. “Welcome home. I’m one hundred percent sure I’m gonna see you again, but I gotta roll.”
Holly shook her head slightly, her smile bemused as she watched him walk toward a group of men.
“Nate’s a pilot,” she explained. “Those are a bunch of firefighters that he flies around. Anyway, give me your number.”
I quickly recited it, and she tapped it into her phone. In a few seconds, my phone vibrated with a text.
It’s Holly! Put me in your contacts!
“If you need anything at all, just text me,” she said. Her gaze sobered. “I’m serious.”
Suddenly, I felt choked up. The emotion and weight of returning home were starting to hit me. “I will.”
As much as I wanted friends and to connect with the life I had always envisioned having here, instantly getting a hug and exchanging numbers wasn’t what I’d expected.
A little while later, I was back in my room, flipping through the channels on the television and smiling to myself. I had, I guess, sort of a friend.
Day one was working out okay. I just had to figure out the rest of my life.