by Sabrina York
“Colton had me ride a bike once in Central Park. Not only did I crash, but I took Colton and two other people with me.” Damn. Being a jealous woman wasn’t becoming of her at all, and it made her go from one extreme to the other in a flash. One second she wanted everyone in this bar to know she had staked her claim.
The next she wanted to tell him to take a hike.
But no way did she want him landing in the likes of Casey or Lisa’s arms.
At least not while she was in Alaska. When she left, he could do, or have, anyone he wanted. Ugh. Flynn had lost her mind.
Casey narrowed her eyes into tiny little evil slits. “Your table is right there. I need to go change. I’ll be back to take your order.” She turned on her heels and nearly ran right into Willie.
“Watch it, Casey,” Willie said with a fair amount of annoyance to his words.
“Tell your guests to watch it,” Casey said under her breath as she stormed off.
“Well, she’s not going to get a good tip from me,” Lisa said with her nose in the air.
“She didn’t do anything wrong.” Great, now Flynn was defending Miss Flirty-Pants. “I’m the one who spilled my drink.”
“Let’s get you another.” Colton squeezed her shoulder. “Willie? A glass of the house cab, okay?”
“On it,” Willie said.
Flynn glanced over her shoulder, hoping Erica would hurry the hell up. No way could she handle an entire meal with Lisa’s dirty little hands all over Colton while she giggled like a stupid schoolgirl and asked him all sorts of dumb-ass questions, finding every chance she had to touch him. Flynn’s stomach churned like sour milk. She took in a long, slow breath. Exhaling, she pushed out all her crazy thoughts. She and Colton would never be anything other than really good sex. She would go back to New York and prove to her boss she had what it took to be a leader in the company, and he’d stay in Alaska.
Or some other open wide space state where he could be one with nature.
She took a seat and did her best to ignore the crazy emotions brewing like a witch’s potion.
“How long have you been a tour guide?” Lisa asked.
“A few months,” he said. “I run the hotel with my folks. I do these tours along with whitewater rafting and seaplane guides into the glaciers.”
“You fly a plane?” Lisa asked with an abnormally high-pitched voice.
“I’m a jack of all trades,” he said.
“What did you do before this?” Joan asked with sincerity.
Flynn opened her mouth, wanting to jump into the conversation, but what would she say?
“I was in the military,” he said with a strained voice.
“Thank you for your service.” Joan nodded her head. “Which branch, if you don’t mind me asking. My father and both my brothers served in the Navy.”
“Squids. I knew a few of those in my day,” Colton said. “I was in the Army, specifically Delta Force.”
“No way.” Lisa leaned in, hugging his arm. “That is so cool.”
He jerked back. “No. Not really.”
“It’s very impressive. I’m always so in awe of our military. What you men do is nothing short of amazing,” Lisa said with a little too much enthusiasm. “Have you been on secret missions and stuff?”
While Flynn had only really known Colton for a few days, she knew him well enough that he didn’t like it when anyone made a fuss over what he’d done for a living. He was a humble man when it came to his career, and he certainly didn’t like it when people glamorized him putting his life on the line for freedom.
And he didn’t like talking about it all that much either.
“It’s not something I can discuss.” Colton scooted his chair closer to Flynn and draped his arm over her chair.
You’d think the woman would take a hint.
Flynn’s phone vibrated for the millionth time. She pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the screen. More emails.
She tapped the email icon.
“Oh shit.” She bolted upright, knocking the chair over, sending it right into something or someone.
Glass shattering filled her ears.
“Seriously,” Casey’s voice echoed off the bar walls. Her new shirt was covered in a mix of wine, beer, and soda. “You’re just batshit crazy.”
“I’m so sorry.” Flynn scrolled through the last email her boss sent. “Colton, I need to get back to the hotel.”
“What’s the matter?” Colton asked, standing by her side.
“Please. Just get me back to the cabin.” Her hands shook. More than once, her boss had threatened to can her, but this time she honestly believed he’d come through with his threat.
“I can take care of lunch and getting everyone else back,” Willie said.
“You’re going to leave before lunch?” Lisa asked. “Can’t someone else take her? Maybe an Uber?”
“Ladies. It was lovely meeting all of you. Willie will take good care of you,” Colton said with a firm, authoritative tone.
Flynn raced to the front of the restaurant and snagged her parka. She couldn’t deal with the flirting parade. She needed to get to her computer and figure out what the hell happened to all her files and how the hell she was going to save her client and her job.
“What’s wrong?” Colton asked.
“Remember the files I sent over last night? Well, they never made it into the client’s side of the portal, and now they don’t have a single résumé. No contact information for potential employees. Nothing. And I’ve got them set up at them different colleges tomorrow. How are they going to know who the hell they are talking to if they don’t have the information in front of them?”
“Can’t you just send the client the résumés?”
“That’s just it. I could, except they are all gone.”
“What do you mean gone?” Colton asked.
“Someone deleted them from the shared Dropbox file along with the client’s contract and every other document needed. If I can’t figure this out, I’m going to be fired.”
“Can I help with anything?” Colton asked as he rolled his pickup to a stop in front of the Northern Lights cabin. Flynn had remained mostly quiet on the ride home, keeping her eyes focused on her phone. Occasionally, her fingers would fly across the screen, and she’d let out a big exasperated sigh.
“Unless you can magically make everything reappear, nope,” Flynn said as she tugged at her ponytail.
He reached out and grabbed her hand, running his thumb over her soft, silky skin. “It’s going to work out.”
“I’m glad you’re so optimistic, but I think I’m about to be fired.”
“You really think so?”
She turned her gaze away and swiped her finger delicately under her eye. “I need to call my assistant before I call my boss. She’ll know more, but it’s not looking very good.”
“Listen, my mom asked me to come up to the main house as soon as I got back. Are you going to be okay here alone? I won’t be more than an hour or two, tops. And you can call me if you need me, but I’ll stay if—”
“Go take care of your parents.” She opened the door and slipped from the passenger seat. “No offense, but I need to deal with this without any distractions.”
He wasn’t so sure she’d be fine. “Flynn?”
“Yes?” She stared at him with tears welling in her eyes. “No matter what happens, you’re going to land on top. I know you will. You’re smart, talented, and a special woman.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence.” She slammed the vehicle door shut and raced up the stairs to the cabin. She tripped on the top step but caught herself before she could plant her face in the snow.
He rolled down his window. “Let Hannah out and be careful, okay?”
She waved her hand over her head. “I’ll try not to break anything when I fall down the stairs.”
“And don’t burn the place down.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “If I do, it’s all your fault
.”
He laughed. He would really miss her when she returned to New York and her life there. But what was he going to do? Suggest a long-distance relationship? He’d tried that once, and he crashed and burned. Of course, if he was being completely honest with himself, he was far from ready to have a girlfriend three years ago. Hell, he wasn’t sure he was ready now. His mother had told him he wasn’t ready to venture out in the world when he’d been eighteen and enlisted without even discussing it with his folks. He told his mother if he waited until he was sure he was ready for something, it might never happen.
He hadn’t taken his own advice when it came to women and relationships, and that’s why he was still single. He hadn’t minded it until Flynn showed up in Alaska. In a single day, he questioned the majority of his life decisions.
Shifting into four-wheel drive, he kept his foot steady on the gas pedal. The pickup slowly inched up the long driveway toward his childhood home.
His future home.
At thirty-eight, he’d finally realized he wanted a family, but it was too late for him. Besides, he wasn’t the kind of guy to settle for just anyone just because he didn’t want to live in this big house alone. Seeing Flynn again, he knew he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by not pushing the conversation. Maybe nothing would have come from it, but now he’d never know.
It wasn’t like he’d let his family’s legacy die out before he was six feet under, and he’d never ask her to move to Alaska. What the hell was there for her in this neck of the woods?
Nothing.
He ran a hand over his scruffy face. This was not an internal dialogue he thought he’d ever be having with himself, even when he allowed the memories of his time in New York to spring to the surface. Flynn had always been the one that got away.
But now she was sleeping in his cabin, and he didn’t want to let her go.
Ever.
But he’d have to.
He parked the truck in front of the garage. His mother must have seen him coming because the door rattled open. She stood next to her SUV with her arms folded across her chest.
“Something wrong, Mom?”
She shook her head. “Just surprised to see you here so early. Didn’t you stop at the brewery for lunch? Where’s Flynn? Did you do something to upset her?”
“Really, Mom? Why would you think that?”
“I’m just worried about that young woman. Her mother had been agonizing over Flynn for the last few years, especially when her illness took a turn for the worse. Alice was troubled by the hours that Flynn was keeping at work, and she said it got worse after you left. I know you’ve said nothing ever happened, and so does Flynn, but you both changed after that trip. Why?”
Colton had no intention of opening up that can of worms with his mother. “I can’t speak for Flynn, but you know I was coming off a bad mission and walked right into a couple more. I was getting burned out.” Both those things were true, but not the real reason that Colton had retreated inside himself, avoiding the world, after his passion filled week with Flynn.
“I’m not buying that story,” his mother said. “You still haven’t told me where Flynn is.”
“I just dropped her off at the cabin. She’s got some work problems she’s got to deal with.”
“That’s exactly what her mother was worried about. That child works eighty hours a week.”
“And you and Dad don’t?”
“Actually, no, we don’t, and this is different. We have each other. We have good people helping us. We have you. Jack told me that Flynn has no life outside of work. She barely spends any time with her friends anymore, and she refused to talk to her father about her problems at work. That’s not healthy.”
He wanted to remind his mother that he didn’t have much of a life outside of the Mistletoe Lodge, but that would only freak her out. His sole purpose in returning to Alaska had been to honor his family legacy and take over the family business so his parents could enjoy their golden years. “It’s her life. She’s the one who has to live it. Who are we to judge?”
“Did she at least have fun out there today?” His mother rested her hand on his elbow. “This trip is all about her forgetting about work for five minutes and relaxing.”
He didn’t think Flynn knew the meaning of the word relax, although he did give her credit for trying today. “Other than knocking us both off the basket, I think she really did,” he said with a bright smile. He hated that the day had end.
“How the hell did that happen?”
He pulled open the back door for his mother with heat rising to his cheeks. “It was my fault. I was teasing her, and she got a little too excited with the commands, and the dogs came to an abrupt stop. Neither one of us was prepared for that. The best part, though, was when she doused Casey in beer and wine when she nearly tripped on the wood floor.”
“How did Casey handle that?” His mother pulled down a couple of mugs and poured fresh coffee. “I still can’t believe you ever went out on a date with that woman.”
“It wasn’t a date, and nothing happened.”
“That’s not what she tells people.”
“Casey is harmless.” Colton refrained from telling his mother all about how Flynn flirted with him to fend off Casey’s advances. That little tidbit won’t be kept quiet for long in this small town. “But she offended one of the guests more than she did Flynn.”
“Oh really? Why?”
“Because one of the guests had a problem keeping her hands in her lap. I felt like a piece of meat that two wolves were growling over.”
“Oh, the troubles you have,” his mother mused as she sat back at the kitchen table, cupping her mug. “How did Flynn respond to that?” His mother winked.
She would never drop it.
Ever.
“She let me pretend she and I were a thing, but Lisa, the guest, she didn’t take the hint too well.” Colton leaned against the counter, sipping his coffee. He knew he’d hurt his parents by joining the Army before he’d even graduated from high school. They had wanted him to go to college and get a degree in hotel management or something like it. “I hope she and her friends aren’t staying too long. They didn’t sign up for the seaplane exertion, did they?”
“They did, but I put them with Kalud and his plane so you can take Flynn on a private tour.”
“You’ve got to stop trying to make me and Flynn a couple. She’s here for a week, and then she goes back to her real life, and I stay here with mine. It would be a match made in hell.”
“That statement sounds like it comes from experience. Why won’t you just tell me what happened?” His mother held out her hand, keeping him from responding. “Don’t say nothing because I know better. And so did Alice. Did you know that after you left, she found Flynn crying on more than one occasion?”
He tapped his chest in tune with his increasing heartbeat. “I doubt that it had anything to do with me.”
His mother set her mug on the ceramic tabletop. “Sit down.”
“I came over to take care of—”
“Humor me,” she said with a tight voice.
He knew better than to argue with his mother when she took that tone.
She pushed a folder across the table. “In here are the papers turning the Mistletoe Lodge and everything that comes with it to you. It’s got a nice payment plan for your father and me, so we can live comfortably in Seattle. A friend of mine found us a nice little place on one of the islands off the coast.”
“Are you serious?” He reached for the paperwork, but his mother batted his hand away.
“Your father and I talked about it last night. After you left, he started having chest pain and—”
“Mom. Why didn’t you call me? Where is he now? Is he okay?” His mouth went dry. All his life, even when he’d been a rebellious kid, he wanted to be like his father. Strong. Caring. Decent. The kind of man the entire community looked up to. Everyone liked his father. Respected him.
Colton strugg
led with being able to fill his dad’s shoes when it came to running the lodge, managing all the tours, and in general, handling people. That had never been Colton’s strong suit.
“Relax. He’s upstairs resting. It was heartburn, but every little twinge or ache scares him. He’s afraid he’s going to die and leave me to deal with this place, and he doesn’t want that for me. But he’s worried about you and doesn’t want to rush this.”
“The sooner you and Dad are out of here, the better.”
“We don’t want to strap you with the burden of the Mistletoe Lodge, unless it’s what you really want, and right now, we believe you’re conflicted.”
“I love being back here, Mom. When I joined the military, I was young and angry. Like every other teenager that grew up here, I wanted out. I thought the grass was greener on the other side, but I know that’s not true. I loved my time with Delta Force, and honestly, I wouldn’t go back and change that. But it’s time for me to come home. So don’t think twice about it. This is what I want.”
“I think this is what you’re settling for.”
“What does that mean?”
“About two months ago, Alice borrowed Flynn’s phone. She hadn’t meant to pry. Hitting the photo app had been an accident, but she found some pictures of you and Flynn. She shared them with me, and those images didn’t look like two people who had a few dinners and then went their separate ways.” She handed him her phone.
He stared at an image of him and Flynn in Central Park. He had his arms wrapped around her midsection and his lips planted on her cheek. She sported a big smile while her hand palmed the side of his face.
“If you swipe, you’ll see more.”
He turned the cell over and placed it screen down on the table. He didn’t need to see anymore. Those memories were burned in his mind like a tattoo. “Alice never said anything to Flynn about this?”
“She meant to, but she was dying, and every time she brought up your name, Flynn shut her down. Alice even asked her if she had any pictures from the New York City trip to send to me, but Flynn told her the two of you didn’t take any. The only time Flynn got angry with her mother was when your name came into the conversation.”