Chapter 42
FORTY-TWO
JOE
Friday
After one too many connecting flights, layovers, and standby seats, Joe was back in Maple Falls.
Any trace of travel fatigue drained away the second Bear Lake came into view. The water caught the last light of day in streaks of gold and blue. Smoke drifted lazily up from the campground firepits.
He wasn’t sure where Krista was—at the condo, at the Hideaway, juggling a dozen things at the campground—but he knew who would be able to tell him.
He turned down the familiar lane and pulled into the gravel lot. The sound of cicadas rose and fell in the trees.
Walt was on the front porch, rocking slowly in his chair, a paper bag at his feet and a small mountain of peanut shells gathering beside it.
“You got all that work done in two weeks?” Walt asked, a knowing smile tugging at his mouth as Joe climbed out of the Jeep .
Joe huffed out a laugh. “You knew I wasn’t going to be able to stay away.”
“How’s Europe?” Walt asked. “See all the big, fancy things?”
“Some of them,” Joe said. “None of them looked like this, though.”
Walt’s eyes softened.
“How’s Alice?” Joe asked, praying she was doing okay.
“Her body’s a little better every day,” Walt said. “Her memory’s another story, but we’re taking it one day at a time.”
Joe nodded, throat tightening. “And Krista?” he asked, trying not to sound as hopeful as he felt. From inside, he could hear the murmur of the TV, the low hum of a radio.
“Working at the Hideaway, I believe,” Walt said. “Place is hopping tonight.”
Of course it was.
“Alright then,” Joe said, starting to turn away.
“Son,” Walt said, stopping him. Joe glanced back.
“You stayin’ this time?” Walt asked. “For good?”
Joe slowly let out his breath. “I’d like to,” he said honestly. “If Krista will have me around.”
Walt studied him for a moment, then nodded, satisfied.
“Good. Because if you’re interested, I’d like to hire you on proper here at the campground.
Doesn’t pay much, but it comes with a guest cabin and all the free sunrises and sunsets you can photograph.
Seasonal work, of course. Still leaves you time to go chasing your fancy assignments now and then. ”
A slow smile spread across Joe’s face. The offer felt less like a job and more like someone sliding a key into his hand.
“I’d like that very much, sir,” he said. “If it’s alright with your granddaughter.”
Joe left the Jeep at the campground and walked the short distance along the shoreline path toward the Hideaway. The sky had gone soft and honey-colored, streaks of pink and orange fading at the edges. The first fairy lights along the deck railings winked on in the dimming light.
Voices reached him before he rounded the last bend. Laughter, clinking glasses, the low thump of music from the speakers. Just like his first night in Maple Falls, the sound of joy hit him before the building did.
He slowed, letting himself take it in.
Chairs were flipped on the far side of the patio tables, but the string lights were on, casting warm halos between the trees. The last smear of sunset was sinking behind the pines, turning Bear Lake dusky purple. The firepit crackled, sparks drifting up into the evening air.
It wasn’t crowded at all—just their people.
Zoe and Jackson sat in a double Adirondack chair near the fire, her legs draped over his, his hand splayed over her knee.
Kit had claimed one of the picnic tables, boots up on the bench as she told a story funny enough to make Madison snort-laugh and Zach shake his head, amused.
Elsie lounged on the edge of the deck steps, a margarita in hand, phone abandoned for once beside her.
And at the center of it all was Krista.
She was behind the bar, shaking cocktails, listening to the conversation around her.
Her ponytail was a little messy, curls escaping around her face, tank top the perfect shade of coral, like that one bathing suit she’d modeled for him ages ago, and those cutoff denim shorts that always made his mouth go dry.
She shook her head at something Kit called out, her gold bee necklace catching the light every time she moved.
She looked…unsettled. He couldn’t explain it. Like she was physically there, but her emotions seemed a million miles away. He recognized that feeling all too well.
He stayed in the shadow of a maple for a moment, just watching.
Krista moved like she and this place were threaded together, pouring drinks, sliding a glass down the bar to Madison, stealing a lime wedge for herself. Leaning on her elbows to listen as Zoe said something that forced a soft smile from her lips.
His chest tightened with how much he’d missed this. Missed her.
This time, he wasn’t here for a story.
He was here for her.