Chapter 2
2
AIDEN
T he drive to the resort was quiet, though I didn’t mind, which was odd for me. I hated silence. It allowed my mind to wander, for all the mistakes I’d made and thousands of past regrets to force their way to the forefront of my mind, making me relive them over and over again.
Yet with the woman sitting in the passenger seat, who was as unique as her name, I didn’t need to ramble on about the town’s history or make casual, meaningless conversation to keep the uncomfortable silence away like normal. I felt at peace. Something that, lately, even downtime with Miles couldn’t create. Maybe because most of my regrets and mistakes revolved around my best friend.
How we were still friends after everything was 100 percent due to his forgiveness and understanding.
“Do you have a lot of hikes and things like that planned while you’re here?” I asked, shooting a look at Aspen out of the corner of my eye.
Fuck, she was gorgeous. Not in a flashy, look-at-me kind of way. Her beauty seemed to radiate from the inside out. The way her dark gaze kept sliding my way signaled that she thought I was attractive too.
Or she was worried I was a serial killer ready to make a skin suit out of her soft, fair skin. I wasn’t, but considering the mysterious deaths and disappearances that had happened in the last year, maybe she should be more wary of strangers.
A bolt of worry had my stomach twisting at just the thought of Aspen in danger, all because she chose Anchor Bay for her vacation. The idea of her going out into the woods, hiking on the long, treacherous trails alone, had me gripping the wheel harder than necessary.
“Nothing yet.” Leaning to the side, she pressed her head against the window. “This was kind of a last-minute decision, so I have no plans. Though I’d love some suggestions on close trailheads and the best trails with views.”
“Most people spend months planning out their trip to Alaska, or at least need that long to gather all the gear required for the climate and terrain.”
She shrugged. “I’ve worked for a fairly popular outdoor magazine for the last five years, so I already had all the hiking gear and recently did research on Anchor Bay as a place for us to spotlight. It was easy to throw everything into a bag and leave. I just needed to leave him and my job fast, so no time to plan out exactly what I’d be doing here the next several days.”
My ears perked up.
“Leave him ?” Fuck, was I crushing on some heartbroken woman who came here to heal?
She cringed and shot me a reluctant look. “Yeah, sorry for that slip. You don’t want to hear about the life and drama I’m here to escape.”
Normally, I’d agree with her, but I uncharacteristically wanted—no, needed —to know more about this beautifully sad woman sitting beside me. I inhaled deeply, forcing more of her sweet scent into my lungs, and held the full breath, hoping to imprint it deep inside me. Her casually gorgeous style, yummy scent, and the calming tones of her voice were drawing me deeper into her orbit, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Not that I wanted to. Because for the first time in way too fucking long, I felt something other than the heavy weight of my guilt pressing on my chest or my mind spinning with anxious thoughts about past mistakes I couldn’t change.
“Sure, I do.” When she shot me an incredulous glance from the passenger seat, I couldn’t help but chuckle. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes until we get to the resort for you to tell me all about it.” And don’t leave off in the middle of the story if you’re still with “him.” Or are still in love with him.
Fuck, don’t let her still be in love with him.
I gave my head a hard shake to dislodge that thought. What the actual fuck was all this about? Who cared if she was still in love with him? It wasn’t like I’d have a shot with her. She wasn’t from our community and didn’t understand the unique relationships we preferred.
Unless she was into sharing too.
I swallowed a groan that vibrated in my chest just thinking about this woman between me and Miles.
“Well, let’s see here,” she said.
I cleared my throat in hopes of dislodging those erotic thoughts so I could focus on her.
“When I left home to pursue my passion in nature photography, my mother said it was a waste of time, telling me I would fail and probably end up alone with a hundred cats. My dad wasn’t really supportive of my ‘illogical career decision’ either, but his opinion didn’t have anything to do with my wanting to pursue photography. He was more pissed that he was losing a ranch hand.”
I arched a brow at that, which made her smile.
“Surprised? I grew up helping my dad, doing whatever needed to be done. We mostly raised cattle, plus a few goats that my mom made Dad buy—oh, and the chickens, of course.”
“Of course,” I said with a smile.
“After submitting my pictures to different media outlets, I landed an internship at this magazine in Seattle. After a couple of years of proving myself, they decided to pair me up with James Peoples. If you don’t know his name, he?—”
My scoff cut her off. “I know who James Peoples is. He used to be this badass extreme sports and exploring guy until he?—”
“Became a household name and decided he liked the celebrity life as a fake explorer for a TV show instead of being hungry, dirty, and exhausted somewhere out in the middle of nowhere for a magazine article?” I nodded and pressed my lips together to keep from interrupting. “Yeah, I saw that awful transition happen right in front of me. James Peoples… that’s the him of my depressing story.”
“Oh.”
Not the most intelligent response, but it was all my brain could come up with after that bomb. Because damn, James Peoples was the adventure guy for years, and I guess still was, just more mainstream with his TV show. Some of his tips and tricks to survive in various climates were some I still used today when out on rescue missions. I had heard his new fame caused him to water down his survival suggestions, and now everything out of his mouth was about his sponsors or himself.
“So, after three years of following him around, and me just now realizing he led me on and used me for my talent, yesterday, I went into a meeting with James and our editor to talk about doing an article on Anchor Bay only to find him—” She groaned into her palms. “—in a compromising position with our editor.”
“What a fucknugget,” I snapped. “Who does that?”
“James fucking Peoples?”
I shot her a half smile. “Assholes, that’s who. Please tell me he’s now missing one, if not both, of his tiny balls.”
“How did you know they were tiny?” she responded with an almost smile.
“The bigger the ego, the smaller the balls. It’s science.”
“Hmm, science might be different up here in Alaska.”
“It is. It’s much, much better.”
Now her smile grew genuine, so wide the corners of her eyes crinkled. I reluctantly pulled my gaze away from Aspen and back to the road to keep from running into a five-foot-tall snow wall left behind by the plows this past winter.
“It does seem that way already,” she mused while staring at the gorgeous views out the window. “Better, that is. There’s always been something about the outdoors, the peace that settles deep inside you, that has spoken to me. But this place, after doing some research on the resort and town, there was this insistent pull. Almost like it was calling me home.” She shot me a wince. “That sounds strange, doesn’t it?”
My thick hair shifted with my quick headshake. “Not to those of us who live here and came here for that exact reason.”
“I’ve wanted to come here since the initial research I did several months ago, but we couldn’t fit it into James’s busy appearance schedule, and he didn’t want me coming here with anyone else from the magazine?—”
“What the hell? Why not?” I snapped.
She shrugged. “I mean, we were… whatever we were—practically a team after doing so many trips and editorials together.”
My hands tightened around the steering wheel. “That shouldn’t give him the right to dictate where you go and who you go with. It was your job, for one, and two, no one owns you.”
She turned in her seat and stared point-blank at me. “What? Explain more of that thought process.”
I cleared my throat and shifted uncomfortably. “If you trusted the person you’d be working alongside, male or female, then why shouldn’t you have been able to go if your editor allowed it, no matter what that fucker James said? Obviously, if there were other red flags about the coworker, that would warrant some concern, but it seems like he was more focused on keeping you at his side for selfish reasons rather than your safety. If he was a real partner, he would’ve dropped everything to go with you or encouraged you to go without him, knowing it was what you wanted.”
Her jaw dropped. Eyes wide, she blinked at me, not uttering a single word. My stomach cramped and my heart raced, worried I’d just fucked this up—whatever this was—by opening my damn mouth.
Out of nowhere, she lunged across the console and slammed a palm against my bicep. I cursed at the unexpected assault, even though it didn’t actually hurt.
“You are so right!” Aspen exclaimed, hitting me again. “Holy fuck, you are so right. He didn’t want me around the other guys at the magazine, yet he was messing around with Barbara behind my back. And we were never really a couple, even though he liked to make me feel like we were,” she grumbled at the end.
What a leeching fucker. Probably led her on, kept her waiting in the wings for when he was lonely or needed her for something. I fucking hated users.
“And Barbara is…?”
“My editor. Well, former editor, since I emailed her my resignation letter this morning.”
“Good for you. Look at you, taking a spontaneous trip to Alaska and starting a new chapter in your life. This calls for drinks.”
She beamed a megawatt smile and clapped her hands. “Yes. That’s exactly what I need. Alcohol to celebrate my 170-pound weight loss.” I shot her a confused look. “I’m talking about the relationship, losing the weight of James’s jealous, self-centered, egotistical ass from my daily life.”
“And how do you feel?”
Please don’t say sad.
Please don’t say regretful.
Please say horny.
She released a heavy sigh and slumped back against the seat. “Relieved. Free. Not sad. I should feel sad, right?”
I shrugged. “No one can tell you how you’re supposed to feel, Aspen. You’re the one who lived the life, felt the strain and effects of the toxic relationship you were in with him.”
“Are you a driver and a therapist?” she asked, hitting my shoulder again.
“Nope, just someone who has made his own mistakes and has fucked up enough to know everyone is different. How we handle life is based on our past. Only someone single-minded would ever put expectations or boundaries around how someone should feel.”
“Yep,” she said, popping the P . “Totally an undercover therapist.” Rummaging through the bag at her feet, she pulled out an expensive-looking camera. “And I’ve decided, starting right now, I’m going to document this new me—this new chapter, as you called it.”
Raising it to her face, she pointed it at me. Before I could protest, several clicks sounded through the SUV. Lowering the camera, she studied the small screen with a soft smile.
Fuck it. If taking random and terrible pictures of me made her smile like that, then she could waste the battery on me.
Though I should probably tell her I photograph best naked.
Too soon?
As we crested the hill, the resort came into view. Smiling to myself, I slowed so I could gauge her reaction. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but that wasn’t what the resort was for. The Nest was built for those who wanted to enjoy nature and experience it during the day or on short camping trips but have a warm, soft bed in a private cottage to come back to. Just outside Anchor Bay was a trailhead that started a long and dangerous trail that led to Kenai Fjords National Park, so a lot of people stayed at the resort before backpacking for days along the trail or as a reward after the long hike if they started in the park and headed our way.
Twenty-three cabins were spaced around the main part of the resort that housed the restaurant, bar, small outfitting shop, and reception desk, which was where I guided the SUV as we wove through the expansive property.
“This is exactly how I pictured it,” Aspen said, snapping pictures of the cabins as we passed. “It’s perfect. Just what I needed.”
Pulling up in front of the doors that would lead to the check-in desk, I put the SUV in Park and leaned against the driver’s door.
“Head in there”—I pointed just over her shoulder—“and get checked in. They’ll give you a key to your cottage, and I can drive you and your gear over so you don’t have to haul it. There are bikes you can borrow from the front desk—they have a shit ton—if you want to go into town. We try to manage our environmental impact, so most people take their bikes around instead of cars if the weather is nice. Meaning anytime it’s above freezing.”
With a hesitant nod, she reached for the door handle and paused. “Do you think I’m insane?”
I huffed a laugh. “Why would I think that?”
“I somewhat ended a toxic relationship yesterday, packed up my stuff, and flew to Alaska. It’s kind of like I’m running away.”
“Or running toward the life you were meant to live. Don’t overthink it, Aspen. Sometimes we need a reset in life. You’re one of the lucky ones who figured out you needed to make a change before too many years were wasted being unhappy.”
“Are you talking from experience?” she whispered.
I swallowed hard and broke off her intense stare. “My life reset came at the expense of someone I love nearly dying. After that, a lot of things shifted into perspective for me. Which is why I’m here. It’s not a flashy life full of material things, but I’m happy. The community I live in, they’re my family. Dysfunctional as shit, but what family isn’t?”
Chewing on her lower lip, she just nodded and shoved open the door.
“Everything will work out, Aspen,” I assured her.
“But what if it doesn’t?” she responded over her shoulder.
“Then you’ll have a lifetime of memories to look back on from your time here.” I shot her a cocky smirk. “I’ll make sure of it.”
With a choked laugh and flushed cheeks, she shook her head and climbed out of the SUV, slamming the door shut behind her.
That wasn’t a no…
So maybe we had a chance to have some fun while she was here.
We as in me, Aspen, and Miles.
All I had to do was get them both on board, and maybe this would be a week none of us would ever forget.