“Good,” her dad said. “Because I already bought you a plane ticket.”
Sophia rolled her eyes. “Of course you did. You always find a way to get your way, don’t you?”
“So do you, Sophia,” he said with a wink. “Don’t hate on your old man, because the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Sophia rolled her eyes again, exaggerating the movement as much as possible for her dad’s benefit. He laughed and then hopped up to go grab some dessert. Sophia’s Aunt Riley had brought several of her famous pies to the barbeque, and the delicious treats were already disappearing.
But Sophia wasn’t in the mood for pie, for once. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and hoping that Alaska would work out for the best. Sophia couldn’t argue with her dad when he said she always found a way to get what she wanted. He was right about that. The problem was that, right now, Sophia had no idea what she actually wanted.
The only thing she really knew was that she wanted a lifemate, but she was beginning to think maybe that wasn’t in the cards for her. With every year that passed, leaving Sophia just as alone as the one before, she felt her hope for a lifemate and family of her own slipping away. Maybe there wasn’t actually someone for everyone. Maybe Sophia was one of those bears who was just destined to be alone.
Sophia glanced up to the sky, taking in the glittering stars and full moon. The air was crisp, but even mid-November here in California didn’t require anything more than a light jacket. Alaska would be a different story, of course. Sophia made a mental note to pull out her heavy winter gear this weekend and make sure it still fit.
She’d spent the holidays in Alaska before, and did love the nature up there. But she had been so young last time she was up there. Too young to feel the sharp ache of loneliness that a Christmas without romance could bring. Alaska at Christmastime felt magical, but it was hard to enjoy magic when your heart felt empty.
Sophia sighed, and pulled her jacket around her. She needed to snap out of it. If she was going to Alaska, she needed to do it with a good attitude, and not mope the whole time. She had a family that loved her, and that was more than a lot of people had this holiday season.
Sophia felt tired suddenly, and stood to bid her dad farewell. She knew he’d try to get her to stay at the bunkhouse tonight, but she was determined to take her hovercar back to the city and sleep in her own apartment. She had a lot of things she needed to prepare for the trip to Alaska.
Of course, the biggest thing she needed to prepare was her heart.
Chapter Three
“Sophia!” a loud voice called out.
Sophia’s feet had barely touched the tarmac at the Frost Peak airport when she was tackled by a huge hug from her brother.
“Drew,” she said. “It’s so good to see you! You look great.”
And he did look great. Family life seemed to have softened his rough edges a bit. He was still the rugged, handsome man he’d always been, but these days his eyes looked a little less wild and a little more at peace.
“It’s good to see you, Sophia,” Hope said. Drew’s wife stepped forward to offer a hug, and Sophia grinned as she threw her arms around the girl. Hope had saved her brother’s life, in more ways than one, and Sophia loved her for it. One of the things Sophia really wanted to do during this trip was spend time getting to know Hope better.
“And who is this grown up little lady?” Sophia asked, turning her attention to the toddler in Hope’s arms, which shyly peeked out at Sophia.
“Nikki!” the girl said proudly in the sweetest baby voice Sophia had ever heard. Sophia felt her heart instantly melting. How could she ever have doubted the decision to come to Alaska? She couldn’t wait to spend more time with her niece.
“Hi, Nikki. I’m your Aunt Sophia,” Sophia said, reaching out a hand to the little girl. Nikki used her entire hand to grab just one of Sophia’s fingers, squeezing tightly with a grip that was surprisingly strong for someone so small.
“Aunt Fee-Fee?” Nikki asked uncertainly. This toddler adaptation of Sophia’s name brought roars of laughter from the group.
“Yes, Aunt Fee-Fee,” Sophia said. Her heart felt like it was going to burst.
“Okay, okay, move over. It’s Grandma’s turn,” Sophia’s mom said, pushing her way into the circle and reaching for Nikki.
“Hey! Move this party out of the middle of the hangar door so I can get this plane inside,” a booming voice called out.
Sophia looked up to see her Uncle Sawyer, making shooing motions with his hands. Her dad, who was helping Uncle Sawyer with the plane, was also waving the group to the side. They all scurried into the hangar and out of the way of the small bush plane so that the two men could pull it indoors and out of the harsh Alaskan weather.
Uncle Sawyer was, like Sophia’s other “uncles,” not related to her by blood. But he was very close to Sophia’s dad, and to many of the other shifters who would be arriving soon for the Alaskan reunion. Sawyer was the alpha of the Frost Peak Grizzlies, the clan that occupied the small city of Frost Peak that was nestled cozily into the Alaskan wilderness. No major airports served Frost Peak—it was far too small. And, in the winter, the roads here were nearly impassable, even for the hovercars which could fly above the snow. The snow drifts got so high and the trees were so thick that you needed a full-on plane to make the trip. Luckily, Uncle Sawyer was an experienced pilot. He had been giving air tours of Alaska for decades, and now he was ferrying the shifters in from the Kodiak airport for the reunion. He still used gasoline planes, too, which was rare these days. Almost all pilots had switched to self-driving, electronic hoverplanes. But the Frost Peak Grizzlies were reluctant to trust too much in new technology. They’d been doing things their way for centuries, and were slow to embrace change.
Sophia realized, as she climbed into a hovercar with Drew and the rest of her family to go to the cabin where they were staying, that being in Frost Peak felt a little bit like stepping back in time. Sure, there were hovercars around, and many of the stores used fancy, computerized electronic displays. But in a lot of other ways, things looked the same as they had during Sophia’s childhood.
“Looks like this place doesn’t use a lot of the latest technology,” Sophia remarked as the hover whizzed through the streets. She saw a wooden sign in front of one of the shops, which was counting down the days until Christmas. Today was the first of December. Twenty-four days to go.
“Yeah, the shifters here like to keep things simple,” Drew said. “They don’t trust new technology that much, especially after the war on shifters and the bear flu epidemic. It’s kind of nice, actually. Hope and I come up here often just to get away from things and relax.”
Drew and Hope lived in Kodiak, the closest big city to Frost Peak. They had their own little makeshift clan in Kodiak, who would all be arriving in Frost Peak throughout the day today for the reunion. Sophia had met many of the Kodiak shifters as a kid, but she felt a lump of nervousness in her throat at the thought of seeing them all again as adults.
“There are gonna be a lot of shifters here soon, huh?” Sophia said. Her voice must have given away her nerves, because Drew turned back to look at her with a smile.
“Relax, sis,” he said. “Everyone’s really nice. We’re all family, you know that. It’s going to be a great month.”
Sophia grunted in response. She had to admit that she was excited for the holidays. How could you not be, after landing in Frost Peak? The town was covered in pristine white snow, and decorated in every corner with tinsel and lights. She felt like she had stepped right into a Christmas postcard. Still, her stomach was a bundle of anxiety right now, thinking about all of the shifters who were going to be arriving soon—all of whom had lifemates and families already. She was going to be the odd one out again. The only one without a man on her arm to snuggle during the Christmas festivities.
“I don’t suppose you know any handsome, single shifter men?” she said as they hover came to a stop in
front of the large cabin where Sophia would be staying with Drew’s family. Her parents would be staying in the cabin next door, and most of the other shifters coming in for the reunion would be staying in the cabins lining this street.
Sophia had been trying to keep her voice light, to make the man question sound like a joke. But Drew saw right through her façade, and raised an eyebrow in her direction.
“Are Mom and Dad putting pressure on you to find a lifemate?” he asked.
“Well, no. They’re pretty lax about it. But everyone else is acting like my life is over because I’m past thirty now and haven’t found a man. Uncle Sawyer peppered me with questions about potential lifemates the whole flight over here.”
Drew winced. “Don’t pay too much attention to his questions. He’s always been a bit of a hopeless romantic, and the older he gets the worse he is about it. I don’t know of any single shifters off the top of my head, but if you really want a lifemate then being in Frost Peak this December is a good thing. There are more shifters in this town than pretty much any other city in the United States right now.”
“Right, but are there single shifters?” Sophia asked, her voice despondent. “Everyone seems to be already paired up.”
Drew shrugged. “There are a few. If you want a mate, you’ll find one eventually. Come on, cheer up! It’s Christmastime, you’re in one of the most beautiful towns in the world, and you’re with family. Life ain’t all bad.”
“I know,” Sophia said. “It’s just hard sometimes not to let all of those amazing things remind me of how much more amazing they would be with a partner.”
“You know what you need?” Drew said. “You need a good brother-sister night out. We haven’t done one of those in a while. What do you say we leave Nikki with Hope tonight and head out for some beers and comfort food? I know a great little place that’s a five minute walk from the cabin.”
Sophia felt her heart leap in her chest. It had been a long time since she and her brother had hung out, just the two of them. “Are you sure Hope won’t mind?” she asked. Hope had already headed into the house, quietly taking Nikki, who had fallen asleep, in to her crib.
Drew smiled. “Hope will be delighted with the idea. She knows how much I miss you. And she’s a big fan of sibling time. She has a twin brother, you know? They’re the closest I’ve ever seen a brother and sister be.”
Sophia grinned. “Okay. Just let me get unpacked and settled in. I could use a couple beers after the last few weeks.”
Drew nodded and stepped out of the hover. “Looking forward to hearing the whole story.”
Sophia sighed. What a sad story it was—quitting her job, floundering around and wondering how she was going to pay her rent without borrowing money from her parents. But she knew Drew would be kind and understanding. And he would have good advice. He always did. For the first time since she landed in Frost Peak, she was truly glad that she’d come.
* * *
“Finn’s Bar,” Sophia said slowly, reading the sign above the door of the small wooden building that looked like it used to be a one room cabin. The place was small, and felt like it was frozen in time. As far as Sophia could see, there were no electronic signs of any kind announcing the bar’s name. The parking lot, if you could call it that, was just a small dirt strip in front of the bar. Only one vehicle was parked there right now, and it wasn’t a hovercar. It was an old gasoline truck. Sophia hadn’t seen one of those in ages. They had been outlawed in most cities long ago, but no one up in Frost Peak cared about laws like that. The shifters here did what they wanted, regardless of what the rest of the world was doing. Drew must have seen Sophia’s eyes resting on the truck.
“It belongs to Finn. The guy who owns the place,” he said.
“Huh,” Sophia said, sweeping her eyes over the small building again. “Looks like Finn likes to keep things very old school.”
Drew chuckled. “Yeah. He’s not one for technology, as you can see. I know the place doesn’t look like much, but, trust me, the food is good and the beer’s even better. Come on.”
Sophia followed her brother curiously into the bar. It was clearly a bit of a dive bar, and looked about like what she would have expected. It was small, and dimly lit. The furnishings were simple, but clean and in good condition. A tap up front had four different beers available, and the wall behind the bar top was well stocked with several different kinds of liquor. There wasn’t a television or computer screen in the place, as far as Sophia could see. Given the lack of technology on the outside of the building, though, the lack of screens didn’t surprise Sophia at all. What did surprise her was the bartender.
She knew he was Finn, since her brother had greeted him as such the moment they entered the room. He must be the owner of the bar. But, due to the obvious lack of technology use in this establishment, Sophia had been expecting an old guy. She thought Finn would be one of those curmudgeonly types who loved to rant on about the evils of computers and the wonderful simplicity of the “good old days.”
Finn was not an old man. He looked like he was about Sophia’s age, or maybe just a few years older. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and defined biceps. He had dark hair and olive-colored skin, and his sharp jawline was covered with just a hint of stubble. And his eyes. Oh, his eyes. Sophia had never seen such piercing, expressive eyes before. The irises were deep blue but they seemed to shimmer like a sapphires. And he seemed to see right through everything he looked at. He nodded in Drew’s direction, and then looked over at Sophia.
She felt frozen to the floor. He let his eyes slide up and down her body, assessing her. But it wasn’t in the leering way men in the law firm had so often assessed her. His look wasn’t one of sexual hunger, exactly. It was more one of curiosity. He was looking into her, through her, as though he wanted to know who she was at her core. Sophia felt a warmth filling her body. She wasn’t sure if the heat came from desire, or from embarrassment at feeling so exposed. But she was certain that no one had ever affected her quite like this before.
Finn’s eyes slid back up to her eyes, and Sophia did her best not to look away from his intense gaze. He nodded slightly, a small gesture of approval, although Sophia wasn’t exactly sure what he was approving of.
Drew, was already sitting at the bar top perusing a menu, completely oblivious to the interaction going on between Finn and Sophia. He had started asking a question about whether Drew still had the shepherd’s stew available, and Finn slid his eyes away from Sophia to talk to Drew. Sophia took a few moments to catch her breath, while Finn ambled easily over toward Drew to discuss the menu.
At some point, Drew realized that Sophia was still standing in the middle of the room. He glanced back at her and gave her a funny look.
“Are you gonna come order food, or are you going to just stand there like you’re completely lost in the middle of the room?”
Sophia snapped back to the present moment and scurried over to the bar top. She took a seat next to Drew, and snatched up a menu. She held it in front of her face, hoping that she could hide her red cheeks from him. She wasn’t sure why Finn had her feeling so flustered, but she definitely didn’t want Drew to notice.
Sophia was surprised by the paper menus. Paper was almost completely obsolete, and it was very expensive to buy these days. So finding a bar that had paper menus instead of the usual tablet screen menus was rare. Sophia was even more surprised when she started actually reading the print on the menu. Instead of usual dive bar fare, like greasy burgers and fries, the menu read like one you might find at a five star restaurant. A cheese plate was offered, along with tomato basil soup, roasted chicken with sautéed greens, pork belly and roasted beets, venison, and, of course, the shepherd’s pie Drew had mentioned. There was a small section for dessert, which boasted of apple corn cake and rhubarb cheesecake.
Sophia glanced over at Drew, her eyes widening. He seemed amused by her confusion, and grinned widely. “I told you the food here was good,” he said. “Wha
t are you having? I’m taking the shepherd’s pie. It’s my favorite.”
Sophia decided on the venison, then handed the menu back to Finn, who mercifully didn’t make eye contact with her this time. Drew suggested one of the beers on tap, and Sophia agreed. Finn filled two mugs to overflowing for them, and then disappeared into the back room of the bar.
“He’s gonna cook,” Drew explained.
Sophia furrowed her brow. “I am so confused,” she said. “Is this a dive bar or a fancy restaurant? And what year is it? Because, seriously…paper menus? How does he afford them?”
Drew laughed, apparently pleased by Sophia’s confused reaction.
“Finn is a strange one,” he said, lowering his voice. “His parents were born in Frost Peak, but they wanted to get out of Alaska and see the world. They moved to New York City before he was born. His dad was an artist, doing all that weird modern art shit that no one really gets but everyone says is really deep. Apparently his dad became famous for his art in New York, and his parents were filthy rich by the time Finn was born. He grew up mostly in New York, but when he was a teenager his parents were killed in a freak airplane accident. They were in a small aircraft doing a tour of the Niagara Falls area when the wings iced over and the pilot lost control. At least, that’s what he was told. No one seems to have any good answers for how exactly the accident happened. Finn inherited millions of dollars, but he didn’t seem to have much direction for his life after he lost his parents. Everyone says he withdrew into himself, spending his days drinking pots and pots of coffee while reading everything he could get his hands on. He dabbled a little in writing, I’m told, although he denies this if you ask him. He eventually discovered a passion for food, and went to some big name culinary institute in New York. He worked in a few New York restaurants for a while, but he hated the ‘scene’ out there. So he moved to Frost Peak, where his parents had been from, even though he’d never been here himself. He wanted to get back to his roots, I suppose. That was a decade ago, and he’s been here ever since. He’s still something of a recluse. He opened this bar mostly so he could cook. It’s a weird place, isn’t it? He wanted a place to make the fancy foods he learned to make in New York, but he wanted to keep things simple. Just good food and good beer. As for technology…he hates it because he blames it for his parents’ deaths. He thinks that there was a malfunction with the plane’s electronic hover systems. He keeps things as low technology as possible. That’s why he uses the paper menus. Lord knows he has enough money to pay for them. He doesn’t run the bar for money or a profit. He just wants to cook for people. And he doesn’t own a computer or a hovercar, either. Even here in Frost Peak, that’s a little unusual.”
Christmas in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 7) Page 2