In the hall, she knocked on Eddie’s apartment door.
Footsteps, then the door opened. Eddie stood there in his state-trooper pants and shirt, fully unbuttoned. Unlike his music, his abs were something Montana could appreciate, and she took a long moment to do so. After all, if he didn’t want his body admired, why answer the door with it on display?
Toned, sculpted, tanned, smooth—the strong-looking chest gave way to one of the hottest six-packs she’d ever seen. Eddie had a surprisingly amazing body, hidden behind clothes that hardly did it justice. At about six feet tall, he had just the right balance of height and muscle ratio.
But his guitar playing sucked, and that’s why she was there.
He smiled as he leaned against the door. “What’s up, Danger?”
How many times had she asked him not to call her that? “Eddie, it’s early, and some of us are trying to sleep.”
“The guitar keeping you awake?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry. I’m still on rotating shifts. Just got home, and I have trouble unwinding.”
She raised an eyebrow. Unwinding from sleeping in his patrol car and chasing raccoons away from garbage bins in the back alley? They shared an apartment wall; she’d heard him complain about the lack of activity that life as a state trooper in a ski-resort town afforded him.
“Actually, I’m behind on the homework my guitar teacher assigned this week.”
“You’re taking lessons?” Was he shitting her? If he was serious, he should definitely ask for his money back.
“Yeah. My teacher says I’m a natural.”
Right. “Okay. Well, if you could maybe wait until eight or eight thirty...”
“Sure. No problem. Sorry to wake you,” he said, grinning as he ran a hand along his stomach.
Her gaze followed it, and she quickly averted her eyes. She’d filed her complaint; time to leave. “Okay...” She turned to go but the smell of something delicious reached her, and she leaned past him to sniff inside his apartment. “Are you cooking something?”
“A breakfast quiche—an old family recipe.”
She blinked. She could never tell if he was serious or not. Dry humor or lack of humor, she’d yet to figure out. “Really?”
“No. The women in my family would rather dive in front of bullets than stand at a stove. It’s just something I threw together from the leftover ham and veggies I’d made for dinner the other night.”
“You cook?” Her mouth watered and her stomach growled the longer she stood there.
“Yeah. I did two years of culinary school before I went into the academy.”
“Why?” Seemed like vastly different career options.
“Because I couldn’t get into the academy, and I love to eat, so I figured it wouldn’t be wasted time either way.”
“Smart.”
His smile was wide and arguably sexy. “Thank you. I thought so.”
“I learn something new about you every day,” she said, finding it oddly true. When she’d first met Eddie, he’d seemed like a one-dimensional, straight-laced, annoying guy who seemed to be keeping an eye on her. But in the last three months, she’d had no real choice other than to get to know him, and he was actually growing on her. Not the guitar-playing obviously, but other qualities like the way he always made sure he removed his laundry from the shared machines down the hall in the building so others didn’t need to wait, or how he left extra quarters on top of the machine in case someone needed one, or how he opened doors and held elevators, or helped the elderly lady down the hall with her grocery shopping every Wednesday evening.
“I’m like an onion. So many layers.” He paused.
Had she missed something? Was that a joke?
“And I cook with onions. See what I did there?” He waited. “Nope. Nothing. Okay, never mind. Would you like to come in for breakfast?”
Tempting. She wasn’t exactly a great cook. Her idea of breakfast usually consisted of microwave popcorn or dry cereal. But, she was more tired than hungry, and so far she’d managed to keep her interaction with Eddie to tolerable-neighbor status. There was just something about being friends with a police officer that made her uneasy. He was the definition of good and she was...well, not good all the time, and he was always keeping an eye on her. Since she’d gotten lost in the woods months before and he’d helped the search and rescue crew find her, he’d been even more protective, it seemed. Letting him feed her was probably not the best idea. “Um...no, but thank you.”
“Okay. No guitar before eight or eight thirty. Got it,” he called, and she could feel his eyes on her as she went back to her apartment.
Two minutes later, she climbed back in bed and set her alarm for eight thirty. Unfortunately, now her stomach still grumbled and the recurring image behind her closed lids of Eddie’s abs reminded her how long it had been since she’d had a naked male body in her bed.
So long, she actually couldn’t remember the last time. Things with Lance were heating up. There had been a lengthy make-out session at the end of their last date, but she was holding back a little, and obviously her lack of sex was messing with her mind because in her half slumber state, she couldn’t erase Eddie’s body from her imagination as she drifted back to sleep.
An indeterminable amount of time later, the sound of a blender next door made her jump. “Oh, my God, Eddie!” She grabbed a pillow and covered her ears.
The noise continued. And continued. What the hell was he blending? Body parts? She banged on their shared wall.
“Sorry, Montana! All done,” he called through the wall.
She needed to move.
“He’s cute.”
Not now. Her sister’s ghost had the worst timing. “Well then, go haunt him.”
“I don’t haunt you. I visit.”
“No, you appear as a result of my overactive brain cells because of the injury to my left temporal lobe when I’m overly stressed.” Montana’s therapist and her doctor had both confirmed that her sister’s apparition was a side effect from the damage done to her brain. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get her to stop appearing.
“Exactly. I’m here when you need me.” Dani jumped up onto the dresser, swinging her legs, the way she did when they were kids.
Of course, Dani was still a teenager. Apparently, spirits don’t age.
But the most unsettling part of it all was that she was still in her swimsuit from the day she drowned. In Montana’s mind, the clothes you die in were the clothes you stayed in for eternity. Definitely something to think about when getting dressed in the morning.
“What I need is sleep,” Montana said.
Dani didn’t take the hint. “What’s your hang-up with Eddie, anyway? He seems nice enough.”
Nice, sure. Her type, absolutely not. “He’s a cop, and he thinks I’m trouble. Therefore, I’m under constant surveillance, living next door to him.”
“It could be worse.”
“Really? How? Eddie is so straitlaced and obedient.”
“You’re supposed to be that way too now, remember?” Dani had moved on to the lecture component of that day’s visit sooner than usual.
“I know. I’m trying. But do you have any idea how hard it is to constantly fight every adrenalinecentric cell in my body?” Every part of Montana’s being craved excitement and adventure and challenges. Living a nice, quiet, simple life was hell on earth for her. But for Kaia’s sake, she was desperately trying to be happy with the life she was living now. No BASE jumping. No breaking the law. No jumping into casual flings.
Basically no living, as far as Montana was concerned.
“Yes!” Dani said. “I do know, and maybe I should have tried a little harder. If I had, I might have seen my seventeenth birthday.”
If Montana was the wild one, her sister had been the reckless one. A division-one
athlete, Dani had excelled at every sport—soccer, volleyball, basketball. But she was a champion diver, headed straight to the Olympics on the US swim team. So much promise, but she just couldn’t stay away from anything sharp or on fire. Dani was drawn to danger.
And alcohol and illegal drugs...
“I’m doing my best,” Montana said.
“I saw the motorcycle,” Dani said, shooting her a look.
In death, Dani had finally recognized consequences for her actions, and now she was on a mission to prevent Montana from doing anything remotely dangerous.
“I needed something.” Driving at warp speed down the highway didn’t exactly scratch the itch, but it helped. Also, the motorcycle’s vibration was appreciated in her ten-year celibacy.
“You’re at least wearing a helmet, right?” Dani asked.
“Of course...sometimes.” When Kaia was around, or the local authorities.
“Look, Mon, I love seeing you, but I’d rather if you don’t visit me anytime soon, okay? So, be careful.”
Montana got out of bed now that more sleep was out of the question. “I will. But now, you need to go away. Kaia will be here soon.”
“I love Kaia! Let me stay. She won’t see me.”
“No, but I will, and I don’t want my ten-year-old daughter or her dad to think I’m a lunatic.” Montana headed toward the bedroom door.
Dani appeared in front of it, blocking her escape. “Fine. But think about what I said about Eddie.”
“I’m dating Lance, remember?” Sort of. How closely was her sister monitoring her, anyway?
Her sister’s ghost shivered. “Shit. Someone just walked over my grave.”
“Not funny!”
“I know. It’s creepy as shit. But it happens every time you talk about Lance, so I think it’s a sign that you should break up with him.” She rubbed her thin arms.
“No.”
“Look, I don’t make these spirit rules.”
A knock on Montana’s apartment door, and Dani was gone.
Montana turned in a circle, looking for her. Satisfied that she was once again alone, she shook it off and opened the door to Tank and Kaia. “Hey! My favorite person! And you’re early.” She hugged Kaia and stepped back to let them enter, hoping they couldn’t sense her disruptive morning mood.
“Hey, Mom,” Kaia said with a smile.
Damn. Hearing her daughter call her Mom would never get old. Kaia had a magical way of grounding her. Keeping her from tipping over the edge. Being near Kaia gave Montana a clear, definitive purpose, and she clung to that like a safety net. Whenever she got too antsy or started to question her life in Wild River, seeing Kaia reminded her what was important.
“Yeah, sorry for the early drop-off, but I have to get to the station. Is someone else here?” Tank asked, looking around. Her already-tiny apartment always seemed to shrink with Tank in it. At six foot five and two hundred and seventy pounds of solid muscle, her ex was big and scary on the outside, but squishy and lovable on the inside. They had always been great friends, and he was an amazing father. The way he’d welcomed her back into their lives and made the transition as easy as possible for her was something she’d always be grateful for. But the pressure of not disappointing him or Kaia did weigh heavily.
“Um...no. No one else is here.”
“Oh, I thought I heard you talking.”
“The TV was on before,” she said. If she said she was talking to herself, he’d rethink letting Kaia spend the day with her.
His concerned look was one she hated but luckily had occurred less lately. She was proving that she was okay being on her own and that she could handle day-to-day stuff without anyone’s help. Her memory loss hadn’t created a cause for concern in months. And all joking aside, her lack of culinary skills actually put everyone’s mind at ease.
“Okay.” Tank nodded. He turned to Kaia. “Well, do you want to tell your mom your exciting news?”
Kaia shot him a look. Her dark eyebrows meeting in the middle. Obviously she hadn’t. “Sure...” she said reluctantly.
Montana looked back and forth between them. “What’s up?”
“I’m going to summer camp at Camp Willow.” Kaia looked nervous as she twisted a strand of long, dark hair around her finger.
“Wow! That’s fantastic!” Montana studied her. “I thought you were excited?”
“I am. It’s just... I leave in a few days.” She paused. “For a month.”
Montana’s eyes widened. “Camp is a full month?”
“Yes, but Kaia’s been going to camp every summer,” Tank said. “Usually just for two weeks, but this is a great opportunity. Camp Willow is on the shores of Kenai Lake.” He looked at Montana expectantly.
Had her ex forgotten she wasn’t exactly up on Alaska geography? Was Kenai Lake an hour away or eight? Would she be able to visit Kaia, or was she actually going to have to survive a full four weeks—the entire month of August—without seeing her? “Right. Yes, of course,” Montana said.
“You have no idea where that is, do you?” Tank asked.
“Of course I do. It’s near...the water.”
Kaia looked worried as she tucked her long dark hair under a baseball hat. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, Mom? I don’t have to go...”
“Yes, you do! You love the outdoors and camping and learning new survival skills. Of course you’re going.” She hugged her daughter again.
“You’ll be okay without me?” Her daughter’s muffled words made her feel even worse. She was the parent. Kaia shouldn’t be worried about taking care of her.
“Absolutely,” she said confidently. “And I have a surprise for you.” She reached behind a chair for the new motorcycle helmet she’d bought her daughter. Bright blue with orange flames on the side. Kaia was going to love it.
“That better not be what I think it is,” Tank muttered, his height allowing him a glimpse of the gift.
Montana paused before revealing the surprise. “What do you think it is?”
Tank shook his head. “No motorcycle rides for Kaia.”
Buzzkill. Montana rehid the helmet. “Of course not!” She turned to Kaia. “Your surprise is coming in the mail...next week...once I order something.”
Kaia frowned at Tank. “Come on, Dad! I have a dirt bike.”
“Not the same thing.” Tank’s tone was firm. Final.
“It kinda is.” Montana slammed her lips shut at Tank’s intense glare. “Nope. Not at all the same thing. Your dad and I are on the same page here.”
Kaia cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
“Page adjacent,” Montana said. “Or even a few pages back. But definitely same book. A book on good parenting.”
Kaia’s exasperation was obvious. “Fine. It’s really annoying that you two get along so well.”
Tank laughed. “So, what’s the plan for today?”
“I thought I’d take you up to the new jump site,” Montana told Kaia. “If that’s okay?” She looked at Tank.
If he was worried that Montana was taking Kaia out into the backwoods where she’d been lost for two days only months before, he hid it well. “Yeah, that’s cool. Just be careful,” he said, checking his watch. “I better get going.” He kissed the top of Kaia’s head. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Dad,” Kaia said.
“Hey, I’m just going to walk your dad out. Be back in a sec,” Montana said, closing the apartment door behind her and Tank before turning to him. “You’re seriously okay with her going to camp for that long?” she whispered.
“No, but you’ve met our daughter. If you want to take on this battle, I’ll support you, then say I told you so when Kaia goes to camp, anyway.”
Damn, he was so right in his assessment on exactly how that would play out. “Why is she so headstrong?”
“I just don’t know what I’m going to do with myself for an entire month without her.” It was definitely selfish, but she needed Kaia. She hoped to eventually get to the point where her daughter needed her more than Montana needed her daughter, but she wasn’t sure that would ever happen.
“What are you talking about? You’ve got the jump site opening soon, and your training sessions start next week. Not to mention a certain someone occupying your evenings...”
Her eyes narrowed. There seemed to be zero girl code in these mountains. Instead, everyone was just one big friendly family, who knew everything about everyone. “Cassie told you about Lance?”
He nodded. “All I’m going to say is, you can do better. But as for Kaia and camp, be careful not to let her know this is bothering you. She was nervous about telling you, and I think if she senses you’re not entirely cool with it, she won’t go.”
“Copy.” She’d never hold her daughter back from doing anything.
“Great. Have fun today,” Tank said with a wave, heading down the hallway. “Remember, no motorcycle!”
* * *
WHY HAD HE worked so hard just to play Candy Crush on his phone eight hours a day? Three attempts at the police entrance exam, followed by working his butt off at the academy and graduating third in his class, and now he was a human barricade.
Eddie sat on the wooden gate at the entrance of the newly constructed trail leading to the BASE-jumping site on the side of Suncrest Peak and rolled the sleeves of his shirt. It had to be eighty degrees out there in the midmorning sun. The tree cover had been cut back to allow ATVs to safely navigate the trail, and he was cooking in the dead, late-July heat.
“All units in the area of South West Street and Main, please report to a break and enter at Gary’s Convenience...”
The police scanner next to him hadn’t stopped with calls all day. Unfortunately, the crimes were happening everywhere but Wild River.
His sister might be a jerk sometimes, but she wasn’t wrong in her assessment. Living in a quiet, popular, touristy resort town was not going to give him the career he wanted. He wasn’t looking for danger, but he struggled to feel like a real officer when his job most days consisted of keeping graffiti off the highway bridges and sweating his balls off, making sure no unauthorized hikers stumbled past this barricade. He’d gone into this career to make a difference. His sisters were either saving lives or solving murders. He ached to do something as important as they did.
A Sweet Alaskan Fall Page 3