“I’m having second thoughts, and third ones, too.”
Shannon stopped kneading her dough and gave Cassie a knowing look. “This is about Cody Bradford.”
Cassie nodded.
“There’s a tradition in this town,” Shannon said. “You know the footbridge across the river, right above the falls?”
“Sure, I’ve walked there often.”
“Well, the legend goes that if you throw a stone onto the heart-shaped rock in the middle of the falls and it sticks, then you’ll know you’ve found the love of your life.”
Cassie had heard about the tradition shortly after moving to town and thought it quite charming.
“Do you believe it?”
Shannon gave her a secret smile. “What matters is if you believe it.”
“Like Santa.”
“Exactly. In any case, it’s a nice excuse to take a walk on such a pretty morning.”
“Have you ever thrown a stone?”
“I have.”
“Did it stick?”
Shannon gave a mysterious smile. “That’s a story for another day.”
Cassie was the opposite of superstitious, but a walk in the fresh snow did sound like a fine idea. She retrieved her luggage, changed into thick leggings and a warm wool top, added sheepskin boots, jacket, and scarf, and headed out the door.
As soon as she stepped outside, she could tell the early snow would melt soon. The sun was already warm on her face, and the fresh ice crystals sparkled wetly all around her. She crossed the main square, enjoying the sensation of creating new tracks in the snow, and approached the footbridge crossing Golden Falls, the city’s natural landmark namesake. The river had no ice yet, instead rushing briskly beneath the bridge and then plunging in pounding, merry torrents over the falls.
Cassie looked around for a stone, and then for good measure took a second one and put them both in her pocket. She walked out onto the bridge. She’d never noticed the heart-shaped rock before, but now that Shannon had told her it was there, she saw its unmistakable black outline amidst the white water. She stood there for a moment, one of the small rocks resting in her palm.
For several minutes she stood there alone, watching the waters surge beneath her.
Here goes, she thought, and lifted her hand.
“Don’t throw it yet,” said a voice, deep and quiet and beloved. “It only works if both people toss it at the same time.”
Cassie looked to the end of the footbridge. Cody stood there, hands in the pockets of his jacket, thick strands of hair blowing slightly across his forehead.
She’d thought she needed space. But now, seeing him, she knew didn’t want any space between them at all.
“Did Shannon tell you where I was?” she asked.
“She did.” Cody walked towards her. “She also told me I should propose—really scare the hell out of you.”
Cassie laughed. “I just survived a fire and a stalker. You actually think I’m afraid of you getting down on one knee?”
There was a smile in Cody’s eyes, a happy lightness she hadn’t seen for awhile. He stood next to her, put his elbows on the railing, and looked out over the falls.
“The thing is, I know you won’t really do it,” she said. “You’re an old-fashioned guy, and you wouldn’t propose without a ring.”
Cody smiled. Then he withdrew a small jewelry box from his jacket pocket.
Cassie felt something inside her lift, a feeling of surprise and exhilaration, as if a hot air balloon had plucked her up off the ground. She gawked at the box. “Is that what I think it is?”
His smile turned into a grin. “Afraid yet?”
Strangely, Cassie found she wasn’t, not in the least.
“What if we toss the stones onto the heart-shaped rock and they fall off?” she said.
“Then you get on the first flight out of here and we never speak again.”
She laughed again, because it was so not the response she was expecting. “Wait, what!?”
Cody shrugged. “Well, what do you think we should do?”
“When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me an easy way to make a hard decision,” Cassie said. “She said you toss a coin, close your eyes, and you’ll realize that you already know what you want the result to be, heads or tails. We used to flip coins to choose between chocolate or vanilla ice cream, but maybe it would work with something major like this, too.”
“I don’t need to toss a stone, and I don’t need to flip a coin to tell me what I know in my heart to be true,” Cody said.
“Neither do I.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“It didn’t start out his way. When I first came here, I was afraid. Being stalked made my world small. It put me into a corner. And I thought Golden Falls was the last thing I wanted, even though I was going to do my best with the situation.” She took a deep breath. “But then I met you, and you opened my eyes—you opened up the world for me again. Made me see there’s so much more beyond New York City, beyond everything I’ve ever known. You made me feel like I had room to breathe.”
Cassie looked to Cody. His vivid blue eyes watched her, moved across her face.
She continued, “The past few months have changed me.” As soon as she said it, she knew it was true. “I fell in love with Golden Falls. And I fell in love with you.”
Cody leaned over then and kissed her, his lips warm, and for a blissful moment there was only his kiss and the rushing roar of the waterfall below them.
“You love me?” he said after a moment.
“I love you. And I want to be with you. Here, in Golden Falls.”
“You’re a big city girl,” he said. “I have my doubts whether you could be happy here for years on end.”
“So why the ring, if you have your doubts?”
“Because my proposal’s going to be a little different than the usual,” he said. “First off, we could have a really long engagement. Marriage is forever, and it’s not something to rush into.”
“At least I should get through one whole winter here,” she said.
“I agree. It’s important to me that you’re happy, Cassie. I love your spirit. Your laugh. Your curiosity for life. I’m going to make it my mission that you never lose them. I don’t care what it takes—you’re going to be happy, and you’re going to be with me. And if things change and this place isn’t right for us anymore, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Together.”
Cassie gazed at him. This man was willing to leave Alaska, the land of his heart, for her. That simple statement told her more about the depth of his love than anything else could have. She felt her eyes fill with tears, happy tears. The best part was that now, she knew she didn’t need him to make that sacrifice. She knew what she wanted.
Cassie grasped Cody’s hand, feeling the strength of it, the way her own hand fit warm and snug inside his palm.
“For the last couple years,” she said, “I had horrible nightmares, ever since the stalking began. Actually, they only went away when I spent the night with you. But you know what I dreamed about last night, Cody? When the stalker was gone and I didn’t have you?”
His kind eyes waited.
“I dreamed of Denali, our gorgeous mountain to the west. I dreamed of the Eskimo ice cream at the Sled Dog Brewery and the cinnamon buns at the North Star Café. I dreamed of searching for lost Boy Scouts, and of these great north woods, and of being part of something bigger than myself. I want all those things, Cody, and I want this place—but most of all, I want you.”
"That's music to my ears, Cassie Holt."
And you’re music to my heart, she thought.
“Just for fun, let’s toss our stones.” Cassie handed one to Cody. “If they stick, then you can get down on one knee.”
Both laughing now, they threw the stones toward the rock at the center of the waterfall, in the middle of Golden Falls, in the heart of Alaska.
And they stuck.
Epilogue
&nb
sp; Cassie sat by herself in a cozy booth at the Sled Dog Brewing Company and took a sip of a delicious chestnut porter, their fall varietal. She was dressed in tight wool baselayer leggings and top, and her hair was pulled up into a high, messy bun. It was early November and she’d just finished her first run with the Golden Falls Ski Club, her first real cross country experience. She felt a warm glow on her cheeks, a kind of post-exercise exhilaration, or maybe that was because Cody would be there any minute.
He’d picked up some overtime that morning and would be coming straight from the fire station. Cassie hoped it hadn’t been too busy a shift, because she wanted to have a long, not-sleeping kind of night with him.
Cody walked in the door, his muscular frame filling up most of it, and he spotted her right away. His face was relaxed, smiling. Cassie remembered the silent, scowling guy who’d first answered the door during her ride-along and couldn’t help grinning at the memory. He might still be the silent type, but he was anything but scowling these days.
She stood up and Cody wrapped her into a hug, then kissed her deeply.
“Hi, beautiful.”
“Hi yourself. How was work?”
“Not bad. I’m glad to see you, though. How was your first ski of the season?”
“Fantastic. I really like cross country skiing. It’s a workout, though.” She lifted her beer. “I’ve earned some carbohydrates!”
“Hey, I got my time off approved for Vail,” Cody said.
“Great,” Cassie said, feeling a twinge of anxiety nonetheless.
She was still planning to meet her parents for their annual trip in January, but this time she was bringing Cody with her. It would be the first time he’d meet them, and Cassie wasn’t sure how it would go. At least Cody knew how to ski, which would count for something with her parents.
Cody peered at her. “Aren’t you looking forward to it?”
“Definitely,” she said. “Skiing is always fun, and it’ll be doubly fun with you. Plus there are hot tubs and roaring fires in massive stone fireplaces—romance galore. It’s like staying at the Pioneer Hotel, but better.”
Cody grinned. “The Pioneer did grow on me.”
He’d booked them a room there the weekend after their engagement, and it had been filled with champagne, room service, and lots and lots of thoroughly satisfying sex.
“So were you warm enough on the cross-country run? Not too hot?” Cody asked.
Cassie smiled. Cody was always concerned with the quality of her gear to make sure she was comfortable. She tugged on the sleeve of her wool top. “Everything performed admirably.”
“Good.” Cody kissed her again and they sat side-by-side in the booth.
The bartender, Elizabeth, approached. “Hey, Cody. Get you anything?”
“I’ll have what Cassie’s having. And some food menus. Thanks, Elizabeth.”
After Cody got his beer, they perused the menu together. Cassie had a vision of them doing this fifty years from now, two old people in a café, and decided she liked the idea. She liked it a lot.
Cody waved at someone across the room. Cassie looked and saw Josh Barnes with his widowed dad Bruce, who was the retired former police chief of Golden Falls. She waved, too, and beckoned them to come over.
“Hey, man,” Cody said, bumping fists with Josh. “Sit down and have a drink with us.”
“And I’m paying,” Cassie added. “As a thank you.”
Josh and Bruce slid into the booth on the other side. “I’m too old-fashioned to have a young lady pay for my beer,” Bruce said.
“Nonsense,” Cassie said. “You’ve been so helpful with the case.”
Bruce made a slight psh noise but he was smiling.
“Well, I sure as hell won’t say no to a fine craft brew,” Josh said.
After Stalker Doug’s arrest, Josh had introduced Cassie to the elder Barnes, who had kept her updated on everything regarding the case. Bruce Barnes still had plenty of connections and friendships within law enforcement and the judiciary, and he’d told her that a friend of his son’s was a friend of his.
“You guys have been so great,” Cassie said.
“We look out for our own here,” Josh said. “And you’re one of us now. Part of the family.”
His words warmed Cassie’s heart. This was impossible to find in New York City, or any big metropolis, where people shifted and moved and got on with their own lives. Here in Golden Falls, and amongst the firefighters’ brotherhood, she knew she had people to rely upon.
“Any word on the sentencing?” Cody asked.
After the night of the fire, Douglas Allen Grossman, a.k.a. Stalker Doug, had been arrested on charges of felony stalking, arson, and attempted murder. He had two past convictions for domestic violence in New York and New Jersey, with several restraining orders placed against him. With the evidence provided by Cassie, the reams of emails, phone call and text message records, and then the fire, plus the duct tape, zip ties, and knives found in the trunk of his rental car, the police had been confident they had enough to put Grossman away for a long time.
It also turned out Grossman was an IT guy who’d recently managed to get a job at one of the Columbia University dorms. From there, he’d had access to the university computer network—and former student records—which was how he’d gotten Cassie’s New York phone number. He’d also been able to track down Abby in Atlanta through her alumni contact information.
Cassie had testified at the trial, and while it had been harrowing to feel Doug’s stare from across the courtroom, she’d kept her eyes on Cody in the audience, his strong, rugged face wearing an expression of pride in her, and of faith in her strength.
“I talked to the judge,” Bruce said. “The sentencing hearing’s set for next week, and with that unanimous guilty verdict and Grossman’s priors, it wouldn’t surprise me if he goes for the maximum sentence. And prison is no picnic.” He frowned a little and looked at a crack in the wooden table.
“Good,” Cody said heartily. “I hope he rots in there.”
“I’m just glad it’s over,” Cassie said, squeezing Cody’s hand under the table. “Now we can focus on the future.”
“Speaking of which,” Cody said. “Josh, isn’t your big sled dog race coming up?”
“Oh, that’s right!” Cassie said. “Josh, I’d love to do an in-depth interview. You’re the sled dog race guy.”
Cody elbowed her. “You know he was the last-place finisher in the Iditarod last year, right?”
Josh grinned, well used to the teasing. “Nowhere to go but up.”
“How are preparations going?” Cassie asked.
“Pretty well,” Josh said. “I have a good team this year, a few new dogs I’m training. I’ve put a lot into it.”
“That’s the truth,” Bruce said, and took a long sip of beer. “A lot of time and a lot of money. It’s an expensive hobby.”
“It’s not just a hobby, Dad,” Josh said. “It’s …”
“It’s what?” Cassie asked.
“It’s just more than that to me.”
“No room for a woman in all this, huh?” Cassie said with a smile.
Josh laughed. “Oh, no! No set-ups, please. I don’t do long-term. Don’t get me wrong—I think it’s great for you guys, I’m really happy for you. But my focus is on the dogs right now.”
Cassie regarded Josh. He was good-looking, athletic, the right age to be thinking about a serious relationship … and more than that, he was an honorable man. Being one of Cody’s close friends, she’d gotten to know him pretty well, and she suspected he had the capacity for real passion and commitment to a woman. So what’s the holdup? she wondered.
“I think you just haven’t met the right one, Josh,” Cassie said.
“Here’s to finding the right one,” Bruce said, holding up his glass for a toast. “And soon.”
Josh raised a reluctant glass. “How about instead, here’s to my good friends Cody and Cassie.”
Everyone clinked glasses
.
The Barnes father and son finished their beers and left Cody and Cassie to their meal.
“I found out what Eskimo ice cream is really made of,” she said to Cody during dessert.
He paused, a spoonful of the Akutaq halfway to his mouth.
“It’s a blend of fish and caribou fat.”
“I thought if I told you, you wouldn’t try it,” Cody said.
She beamed, took her own spoonful, and ate it.
Cody watched her, smiling. “See,” he said, “you are turning into a real Alaskan.” He put his hand on her knee beneath the table, then moved it up her thigh.
Cassie shifted in her seat, already looking forward to that night. She tilted her face to him, just the right angle for a kiss. “I think maybe I am.”
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Dear Reader
Thank you for coming along for Cody and Cassie’s journey to happily ever after in True North! Hopefully, you enjoyed spending some time in the idyllic town of Golden Falls, Alaska, where the winters are cold but the firefighters are sizzling hot.
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Reviews mean a lot to an author because they increase book visibility and encourage readers to check out a new series or author they may not have tried before.
Love, Scarlett
P.S. Turn the page for an exclusive preview of
BRING YOUR HEART
Book 2 of the Golden Falls Fire Series!
Don’t miss the next book in the series!
BRING YOUR HEART
(Josh & Hayley)
For Josh Barnes, a serious relationship is the last thing on his mind. Since coming home from the military, all he wants is to fulfill his childhood dream of racing the Iditarod.
But while he treasures being out in the vast Alaskan wilderness with his team of sled dogs, it’s not easy managing the kennel while working as a firefighter in his charming hometown of Golden Falls, Alaska. And it’s darn near impossible to make time for love—not that he’s looking for that, anyway. Short-term and casual is more his style, at least until he meets a certain hazel-eyed beauty who throws off all his ideas about romance.
True North (Golden Falls Fire Book 1) Page 22