by Croix, J. H.
Marley. He turned the name over in his mind. It suited her though he couldn’t say why since he barely knew her. He watched her until she rounded a curve in the trail and vanished from sight. With a sigh, he glanced around. The building beside this stopping point for the ski lift was also in dire need of a new coat of paint. He turned in a circle. The vantage point up here offered a three hundred and sixty degree view. Kachemak Bay lay glittering under the sun in one direction, Cook Inlet could be seen beyond that with Mount Augustine, the volcano anchoring the bay, rising in the waters. In the other direction lay Mount Illiamna, another volcano. Southcentral Alaska lay within the Ring of Fire, an area within the Pacific basin where over seventy-five percent of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes lay. As a little boy, Gage had loved this detail about his birthplace.
Returning to Alaska and his grandparent’s ski lodge was a childhood dream. His parents had moved away when he and his four younger siblings were little. They went to visit Last Frontier Lodge every winter and some summers until his grandmother had closed down the lodge after his grandfather died. She’d moved to Bellingham, Washington to live with his parents until she passed away a few months back. Gage had long ago let go of his childhood dream to be back in Alaska because life…happened. Dreams turned into fragments of hope and hope was hard to find for him anymore. He’d recently retired from the Air Force on the heels of his second tour of duty in Iraq.
Gage had been surprised to learn his grandmother had left the lodge to him and his siblings because he hadn’t even known she still owned it. He’d inherited the largest share of the lodge with her will stipulating the lodge must be reopened within one year, or the will required them to sell it and divide the profits. He’d assumed she’d sold it as she rarely spoke of it. Lugging far more emotional baggage than he wanted to contemplate, he hadn’t hesitated for a minute to move to Alaska. The neglected state of the ski lodge would give him something to focus on beyond what he’d stared down in Iraq.
He took a last look around and began jogging slowly down the trail. An eagle flew across the trail ahead of him, its wings casting a wide shadow on the ground. Magpies chattered in the trees. When he reached the lodge, he jogged down the drive to the road and looked toward the cabin he now knew to be Marley’s. It was hard to miss with its bright red roof practically glowing amongst the deep green spruce trees surrounding it. He turned and looked at the sign for the lodge. It hung at a drunken angle, one of the chains holding it up broken. The lettering was faded. Something else to repair. He looked at Marley’s cabin again, sitting on a small rise, a cheery picturesque home. Her auburn hair, green eyes, and sensual mouth flashed in his mind.
Coming December 2015!
Christmas on the Last Frontier (A Last Frontier Lodge Novel)
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Diamond Creek Alaska Books
When Love Comes
Follow Love
Love Unbroken
Love Untamed
Tumble Into Love
Acknowledgements
Every book I write is lifted up by my husband’s endless support of my dreams. He’s my real-life hero. My editor, Laura Kingsley, continues to make each story better than it was at the start. Many thanks to CT Cover Creations for weaving magic and making my covers beautiful.
Saving the best for last: my readers. Thank you for such fabulous support! Cheers to many more books ahead!
Author Biography
Bestselling author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes sexy contemporary romance novels with strong independent women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. The Bestselling Diamond Creek, Alaska Novels are set amidst the wilderness and stark beauty of Alaska, where she lived for over a decade. Come join her to find love on the last frontier!