An Alaskan Christmas

by Jennifer Snow

  She turned to face Reed, the bright light of day highlighting everything the night before had concealed. They’d actually had sex. Three times. Together. Her and Reed. Undeterminable emotions ran through her. Lust mixed with a slight embarrassed feeling. How was he feeling that morning? Was this it? Or did he want to spend more time with her? Have more mind-blowing sex? She’d be okay with that. “Thank you again for yesterday. It was...”

  “Unexpected,” he finished.

  “In a good way,” she said. She danced from one foot to the other, waiting. Would he ask to see her that evening? Did she want that? Physically, things had heated up between them fast...but she couldn’t deny that emotions had played a role in the night before. She liked him. A lot. He was a part of her past that she’d temporarily forgotten, but after only a few days together, an odd, comforting sense of familiarity was mixing with exciting newness to create undeniable chemistry between them.

  But she was going home in a little over a week.

  And that was just one of the reasons they should be thankful for the amazing night they’d had and go their separate ways.

  “So, seeing as how I promised you dinner last night and you didn’t get a chance to eat...at least not while the food was hot, how about a do-over tonight? A real restaurant with real plates and no convenient uncomfortable cot to distract us?” He stepped closer and touched her cool cheek. Heat radiated through her.

  She’d readily go for paper plates and uneaten pizza again, but they really should cool it a little. Still, the idea of seeing him that evening had her heart leaping with excitement, so she didn’t even consider saying no. “Okay. Seven?”

  He checked his watch. “That’s eleven hours from now. Pretty girl, I’ll never make it that long without seeing you. I was thinking more like five.”

  She laughed, loving the feelings of warmth that were flowing through her at his words. Loving them and also terrified by them. “That’s a little early for dinner...”

  “If the restaurants opened earlier, I’d suggest three.”

  Happiness like she hadn’t felt in a long time had her practically floating. “Okay. Five it is.”

  * * *

  REED WATCHED ERIKA walk away, fighting the urge to jog after her for one more kiss. This was crazy. She was literally still within sight and he missed her already.

  He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. He had to get a grip.

  Seeing Wade’s truck pull into the parking lot, he waved as the older guy got out. “Hey...was that Erika I saw walking away from here?”

  “Yes it was,” Reed said, unable to hide a grin as he followed the other guy back inside.

  “So, you two?”

  “Are having dinner tonight,” he said, forcing the new recruit out of his chair and sitting behind the desk. “You’re getting pizza sauce on your shirt. Use a plate, man.” He liked giving the new recruits a hard time and that morning, nothing could deflate his mood.

  Wade shook his head. “You boys and your casual flings with these tourists. Be careful. Someday, you’ll get attached to one of them, like I did.” He removed his coat and hung it on a hook. “Kim was here for less than a week on a girls’ trip. I still don’t know how it happened. One minute I’m casually flinging my brains out and then bam! Couldn’t live without her.” He pointed a finger at Reed. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

  Reed just laughed, but he suspected Wade was more right than he knew. The night before had been amazing—Erika was hot as hell and her passion had been a complete surprise. But Reed already knew it was more than just sex.

  “Hey, did you guys see this printout?” Harrison asked, placing a fax from the state troopers’ office on the desk.

  Reed scanned it.

  Alaska Search and Rescue had found the remains of a male body during a training session with the Coast Guard on Chichagof Island the day before.

  His heart pounded in his chest as he continued to read the details.

  The body was currently undergoing an autopsy and investigators at the station were going through missing person files. His hand shook slightly as he looked for the time of the printout.

  3:00 a.m.

  Around the same time he’d been making love to Erika for the third time. He hadn’t even noticed the fax come in. He didn’t regret their night together, but a slight unease in the pit of his stomach told him having her there at the station overnight hadn’t been the right thing to do.

  “Wow...looks like this body was out there a while,” Wade said, reading over his shoulder. “Probably wouldn’t have found him if loggers weren’t cutting back that section of the forest aggressively this past year.”

  Loggers. The body was found near the Whitestone Logging site.

  He thought he might be sick. His stomach churned and saliva coated the inside of his mouth. He checked the time. Almost nine. “Um...can you guys do a routine check on the vehicles? Tyler mentioned one of the tracks on snowmobile two was a little off the other day.”

  Wade nodded. “Sure, man. Harrison, shove that pizza in your face and let’s go.”

  Once the men were gone, Reed picked up the landline and called the state troopers’ office.

  “Wild River Station.”

  He cleared his throat. “Hey, Sergeant Keller, it’s Reed Reynolds from Wild River Search and Rescue.”

  “Hey, Reed, what’s up?”

  “I’m calling about that body found near Whitestone... Any updates on that yet?” He held his breath. He didn’t know what answer he was hoping for. Closure on his dad’s case would bring relief, but then what? His father would really be gone. He’d lived with the uncertainty for so long, how would he feel knowing for sure?

  “Oh yeah. You know, that find was a crazy fluke. One of the crew slipped and rolled down the bank toward the creek. Rolled right into the body... Just give me a sec and I’ll see if anything has come in yet.”

  He heard papers riffling in the background and he rested his forehead against his hand. For years he’d searched, waited, expected news like this to arrive someday... He wasn’t nearly as prepared for it as he should be. If this was his father, how did he tell his mother? Cassie? He took several deep, slow breaths.

  “Reed, you still there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. Anything?”

  “A report came in about five minutes ago from the coroner’s office. Male. About midforties. Caucasian...”

  His heart raced.

  “Dental records match a missing person by the name of Everett Parsons.”

  Not his father.

  Disappointment fought with relief in his chest. Still no answers. No closure. But no concrete proof that his father was dead. Meaning, he could still be out there... “Okay. Thank you,” he said, disconnecting the call.

  He sat back in the chair, hearing Wade reenter. The older man placed a hand on his shoulder. “Not him?”

  Reed shook his head. “Not him.”

  * * *

  ERIKA HUMMED “JINGLE BELLS” as she carried her peppermint mocha up the stairs to Cassie’s condo. The stares and whispers as she’d entered the café—her boots on the wrong feet and her hair a disheveled mess—hadn’t bothered her one little bit. Nothing could spoil her mood that morning. She unlocked the door and went inside. Removing her winter gear, her cell chimed in her pocket.

  New email messages.

  Grabbing her laptop, she sat on the couch and curled her legs under her. She sipped the holiday-flavored coffee as she waited for the remote connection. Only nine more hours until dinner with Reed. She could keep herself busy until then.

  Opening her inbox, she saw the first message was from Snowpeaks Powder Guides. She clicked on it and saw photo attachments.

  Pictures of their heli-skiing experience. She opened up the file and smiled as she flipped through the pictures of her and Reed in the helicopter, skiing dow
n the slopes... The photographer had even captured their near-kiss on the picnic bench during lunch. She sighed looking at the photo. She barely recognized herself. Her flushed cheeks and excited expression had so much more to do with Reed than the exhilarating day they’d been having.

  It was the moment he’d told her she was amazing.

  She hugged her coffee to her chest, butterflies in the pit of her stomach as she looked at his handsome face.

  Five o’clock couldn’t come fast enough. She didn’t even care if they made it to a restaurant. Food could wait until she got back to Anchorage.

  Her cell rang and she jumped.

  Caller ID said Unknown.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s Darren. Did you get my email?”

  “I’m just checking them now...” She closed down the email from Snowpeaks and scanned her inbox. “I don’t see one.”

  “I sent it thirty seconds ago, hit Refresh,” he said.

  No doubt he believed she was sitting around in a hotel room somewhere, clicking Refresh a thousand times. He’d be shocked to know what she’d really been doing on this vacation.

  “Is it there yet?”

  Man, he was impatient. And slightly frantic. “What’s wrong with you?” She was usually the high-strung one. Then the email popped up.

  A forwarded email from her father. The subject line made her mouth gape.

  “He’s selected the clinical trial study patients without me?”

  “I couldn’t believe it either.”

  While it was surprising, it wasn’t completely out of character. This wasn’t the first time her father’s executive decision-making had left her out in the cold. Working with him on the new drug had tested her, but she believed in what they were doing.

  “When do you get back?” Darren asked.

  “Not for another nine days.” She stared at the list of participants. If only her father had made a mistake, she could call him and let him know that not waiting for her was wrong. However, each candidate was exactly what she would have chosen. How could she be upset? And the main thing was that the trials were approved and would be starting soon.

  She’d be back before they did.

  “You’re not upset?”

  “He did a great job choosing the candidates.”

  “I’d be pissed,” Darren said. “You sound...different.”

  She felt different. “I’ll see you soon, Darren. Thank you for letting me know.”

  She disconnected the call and forced a breath. “Damn it, Dad.” She really should call him, but what could she say? There was always too much to say, but neither of them did.

  Her mother’s funeral had marked not only the end of their time with her, but also of the closeness Erika and her dad had once shared.

  After everyone else had left that day, she’d found him alone in his office. Head in his hands, sitting behind his desk. Throughout the ceremony, he’d stood stoic, unemotional, and as they’d lowered her mother’s casket, he’d stared expressionless.

  But finally, he was showing his devastation. Alone.

  “Dad?”

  He’d glanced up and his red-rimmed eyes looked pained for a moment before he’d sat straighter, clearing his throat. “Did you need something?”

  Yes—comfort, reassurance...a hug.

  They’d barely spoken since her mother died a few days before and she was struggling with sadness and a feeling of helplessness. They hadn’t had time to process their grief yet and she was depending on him to help her through it.

  Entering the room, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but he didn’t hug her back. “She’s gone,” he said and she sensed he wasn’t talking to her. “She’s really gone.”

  Fresh tears had burned her eyes as she’d squeezed his neck. She’d never seen him so destroyed, so heartbroken, so lost...

  But a moment later, he untangled her arms from around his neck, cleared his throat and stood. “I need to go into the hospital for a while.”

  “Today? But I thought you had some time off...”

  He shook his head as he reached for his coat. “Time off won’t bring her back.”

  He’d left the office and Erika knew she was alone to deal with her grief. Her father had decided the only way he’d survive his was to bury it with her mother.

  Reopening the email from Snowpeaks, she stared at the image of her smiling at Reed. Her father was right. Time off couldn’t bring her mother back, give her back what she’d lost, but she had nine days before she returned to reality and she planned to make the best of them.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  HIS PAGER SOUNDED just as Reed hit Send on the text to Erika letting her know he was leaving his place and would be there to pick her up in five minutes. It was four thirty, a little earlier than they agreed, but damn, if he didn’t see her soon, he’d go crazy. Since she’d left him that morning, he’d thought of nothing else.

  Shaking off the news of the body that had been found had taken a bit of effort and seeing her would help erase it from his thoughts. Erika Sheraton had turned out to be one hell of a surprise. And he wasn’t quite sure what to do with that just yet.

  Glancing at the pager, the distress call on the display told him he wouldn’t get the chance to find out anytime soon.

  A quick call to the station while he dressed in his search and rescue gear and he had all the details. A group of teenagers was hiking in avalanche territory and they hadn’t been heard from since the morning before. They’d been scheduled to return yesterday evening and no one had been able to reach the group by cell phone. The state troopers’ office had requested help in launching a search immediately.

  He dialed Erika as he climbed into the truck, his chest filling with emotion at hearing her voice.

  “You can’t be here that fast,” she said.

  “Unfortunately, I need to cancel. I just got an emergency call.” He felt horrible. It was the first time he was annoyed by the demands of his job, and having to cancel their date at the last minute. He reached for his seat belt and secured it as he pulled out of his driveway.

  But Erika didn’t seem fazed. “That’s fine. Change of plans. I’ll come with you.”

  He hesitated. As much as he’d take any opportunity to see her, this was an actual call. Not an injury on the slopes. She wasn’t a team member and this search could be dangerous.

  “I’m a trained medical professional. I don’t need to be an official crew member to offer assistance,” she said, obviously reading his silence. “I read it in the S & R manual online today.”

  His jaw dropped as he headed down Main Street. “You read the manual?”

  “Yep. Wanted to be prepared to argue with you if this opportunity arose,” she said, sounding pleased with herself. She’d switched to speakerphone and he could hear her getting changed—the sound of a zipper, the rattling of hangers...

  Damn, she was hot. He sighed. And she was right—as a trained physician, she was allowed to assist. With several crew members not available that evening, they could use all the help they could get. “Okay. I’ll be there in thirty seconds. But just so we are clear, you’re there to assist, not take over.”

  “No promises.”

  He couldn’t keep the grin from spreading across his face. “Fine. But for the sake of the rescue, please wear a bra.”

  “Again, no promises.”

  * * *

  THE WORRIED EXPRESSIONS on the faces of the teens’ parents gave Erika an unsettling feeling as she sat quietly in the station while Reed and Wade questioned them about everything from last point of contact to the size and brand of winter boots they were wearing.

  Every last detail could be important to the search and they weren’t leaving any question unasked.

  Erika had been more than willing to go on the rescue, but she hadn’t been p
repared for this part. Seeing the distraught families made her feel slightly nauseous. The teens ranged in age from sixteen to nineteen and it was their first trip in the mountains alone. The fathers looked a mix of worried and pissed, while the moms’ expressions were pure terror. Erika couldn’t even begin to understand what they were going through.

  Her only source of comfort came unexpectedly from Diva. The puppy could obviously sense the tension in the air and remained glued to her feet, as though waiting for her own rescue orders. Maybe someday, she would make a great search and rescue dog. Today, she’d be staying at the station with Tank. Not knowing how long she’d be out on the mission, Erika hadn’t wanted to leave her alone at Cassie’s, so she’d brought the dog along.

  Reed had thought it was a good idea to have the dog there, as well. She could provide a sense of comfort to the parents while the team was out searching.

  “The colors of the jackets and ski pants?” Reed asked, jotting down the answers. He gave a reassuring nod. “Red and yellow—great. Those will be easier to spot.”

  Since picking her up, he’d been on alert. He’d been friendly and obviously happy to see her, but his mind had already been on the rescue.

  Hers had taken a little longer to shift from the excitement of being near him to razor focus on the task they were about to embark on. Watching him, she marveled over his dedication and commitment to this volunteer role. Saving lives, putting his own at risk... His selflessness made her six-figure salary for doing the same thing seem frivolous.

  “Okay, I think we have everything to get started,” he said, zipping his jacket. “Tank will continue to ask further questions and if you think of anything...even something small, be sure to tell him. He’ll communicate with us over the radio.” He slid his hands into thick gloves and pulled a yellow hat on his head.

  “If we can’t reach the kids by cell phone, how will you be able to communicate by radio?” one of the fathers asked. A big, burly guy in a camouflage ski jacket. His Wild River Hunter’s Club badge on his shoulder suggested this was the guy who’d taught the teens to love the wilderness.