A Sweet Alaskan Fall

by Jennifer Snow

CHAPTER TWENTY

  “IF WE’D KNOWN you were capable of solving cases this fast, maybe we’d have promoted you sooner,” Captain Clarkson said back at the station late that night. Ralph Baker and his associates were in custody, and they’d initiated the process of tracing his gun to the scene of the shooting.

  “I’m just glad this was the case I was able to solve as fast as we did.” Eddie would never admit how terrifying the last twenty-four hours had been. He hadn’t slept in almost four days, but he was still wide-eyed and buzzing. The crash was coming soon, but now that it was all over, he’d have a chance to sleep.

  “Yeah, I’d say saving your girlfriend’s kid ranks up there as a priority,” Captain Clarkson said with a grin. “Bet it gets you some bonus points at home as well.”

  Eddie glanced down at his lap. Captain Clarkson was right. The look he’d shared with Montana out there in the woods told him her feelings for him were still as strong as his were for her. She’d looked grateful for his help in locating Kaia so quickly, but there had been so many more layers of emotion in the brief exchange between them. She wasn’t seeing Lance anymore, having officially ended things with him, but Eddie couldn’t reopen that door. Three days away from her, and the hurt and disappointment hadn’t dimmed even a little. If they tried again and things didn’t work out, he’d never recover. “Yeah, things with Montana were just casual. I’m not sure there’s anything there anymore.” The lie was one he would have to get used to repeating.

  Captain Clarkson studied him. “And you’re good? That’s okay with you? You both thought it was just a casual thing?”

  His captain thought he’d been dumped. Eddie almost smiled—it was the most logical assumption. What guy in their right mind would ever end things with a woman like Montana? One who was smart enough to know she was out of his league. “Absolutely,” he said.

  “In that case, what I’m about to say will be much easier.”

  Eddie frowned, his heart picking up pace.

  “They still want you in Anchorage. Your position may be...modified, but they were impressed by your abilities on this one and would still love to have you.”

  Eddie’s jaw dropped. His dream job hadn’t been lost because of his accident? He cleared his throat. “So...they still want to promote me?”

  “Yes. And I want to lose you even less than I did before, so I’d been hoping your relationship with Montana might make you consider staying.” Captain Clarkson shrugged as he collapsed into his chair behind his desk. “But if there isn’t one, I guess I can go ahead and finish the transfer paperwork?”

  Yes. Absolutely yes. This was what he wanted. This was something he’d thought he’d lost. Yes, finish the paperwork and let him get to Anchorage and away from Montana, so that the burning need to be with her could start to fade. “Can I think about it?” Damn.

  Captain Clarkson nodded. “Maybe not so casual, huh?”

  * * *

  HER PARENTS WERE waiting in her apartment when Montana entered just before midnight. She’d called them as soon as she’d gotten back to cell service range, but they were still anxious and slightly on edge. “How is she?” her mother asked, hugging her tight.

  “She’s good,” Montana said. Now that her adrenaline had subsided and the fear had dissipated, she was exhausted, but she hadn’t wanted to leave Tank and Cassie’s until Kaia was safely asleep in her bed. “She was studying by campfire,” she said with a tired laugh, as she removed her coat and flung it over the back of a chair.

  Her father chuckled softly. “She reminds me of you so much,” he said.

  Montana sat on the arm of the chair her dad was sitting in. “Really? I’m not sure I was ever as competent as Kaia is already.” Her daughter had done all the right things out there in the woods to keep herself safe, calm and visible until help arrived. She was brave and smart and capable.

  Her father took Montana’s hand in his. “Oh, you were—still are. But I mean her spirit,” he said. “She’s so full of life, and she’s up for any adventure, just like you.”

  Across the room, her mother smiled. “And we’re sorry that we tried to curtail that...after your sister died. We were just so devastated and worried about losing you, too,” she said.

  “I know, Mom.” She did know, and she hadn’t let her parents’ fear stop her from living her life the way she wanted. And she couldn’t let it now, either. “I’m not moving back to Denver. Not now or ever,” she said gently.

  Her father squeezed her hand. “We don’t want you to. You are exactly where you should be.”

  “We’re proud of you, darling,” her mother said, moving closer as they wrapped Montana in a group hug.

  The sound of the elevator doors opening in the hallway had her pulse racing, then the sound of Eddie unlocking his apartment door made her chest tighten. She’d only had a moment to thank him out in the woods, but it had been brief and not exactly private. She wanted to thank him properly, but her parents were there.

  “Is that Eddie?” William asked.

  “Um, yeah. I think so,” she said.

  Eleanor stood. “Let’s go see him. I want to thank him,” she said, heading for the door.

  “No, Mom. It’s late...”

  Her father stood as well. “He’s obviously still awake.”

  Montana sighed. There would be no deterring them. “Okay,” she said, following them out into the hall.

  Her father stood back from Eddie’s apartment door and gestured for her to knock. She knocked gently and waited. “We really shouldn’t be bothering him.”

  “I thought you were seeing him,” her mother said. “This shouldn’t be a bother.”

  Montana stared openmouthed at her mom. Was she serious right now? Their arrival in town had upset everything, and now they were cool with Eddie?

  Eddie opened the door, and a look of surprise flashed on his face. “Hi...”

  “Hi. Sorry, I know it’s late, but my parents—and I—just wanted to thank you again,” she said. Damn, all she wanted to do was rush forward into his arms, cuddle into him and show him how grateful she was for him—and how in love she was with him.

  “Yes, that’s right,” her father said from behind her. He stepped forward and extended a hand to Eddie. “We can’t thank you enough for...everything. You’re an amazing officer, and we’re proud to know you,” he said. “Montana’s lucky to have you living next door...and in her life.”

  Eddie nodded, surprised at the unexpected gesture. “Thank you, sir.”

  Eleanor smiled as she reached out to gently touch Eddie’s arm, her own emotions making it too difficult to echo the sentiment.

  “We leave tomorrow to head back to Denver, but we hope to see you at Thanksgiving,” William said.

  Eddie nodded politely. “Have a safe trip home.”

  It didn’t escape her notice that he didn’t comment on Thanksgiving, and Montana stared at the man she loved, waiting, hoping, for what she wasn’t sure. He looked exhausted but happy, and she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he wasn’t struggling like she was. It took all her strength not to beg him to reconsider their relationship, the two of them together, but he didn’t seem to be having the same issue.

  “Well, uh...” he said.

  Montana blinked and shook her head quickly. “Right. We’ll let you get some rest. That was all we came over for,” she said. “To thank you. Again.”

  “Okay... Good night,” Eddie said, closing the door.

  Montana hesitated, staring at the door, then she slowly followed her parents back to her apartment and went inside.

  * * *

  THE DRUNK TANK was busy and loud the following weekend. A dart tournament had an influx of visitors to the town, and they all seemed to be in the bar that evening. Normally, Montana liked when the town was bustling with activity and excitement, but she’d been hoping for a laid-back, quiet girls’ nig
ht with Erika and Cassie. Her parents had already gone home, and SnowTrek Tours had been fairly quiet with her BASE-jumping course having wrapped up the week before, so she was feeling slightly lost again. She really wasn’t in a partying mood, but being home alone was worse.

  She still hadn’t decided which was harder—being next door to Eddie when he wasn’t there and feeling the empty loneliness of missing the sight and sounds of him as they passed casually in the hallways, or when he was home and the wall between their apartments felt impenetrable.

  “Why don’t you go over there?”

  “What?”

  “Go talk to him,” Erika said, nodding toward the opposite side of The Drunk Tank where Eddie sat now with a few coworkers.

  Obviously her friends had seen right through her attempt at pretending not to notice him. “I don’t want to interrupt his night out. And besides, things are still kinda tense.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. “And I thought Tank and I were stubborn. You two are even worse.”

  “Hey! This is not my fault. Eddie’s the one who broke things off. He’s not interested in being with me.” Which she’d need to keep reminding herself if she continued drinking Tank’s famous Crantinis. She pushed the half-filled glass away.

  Erika scoffed. “Are you blind? He keeps staring over here at you as much as you’re staring at him.”

  “No, he’s not,” she said. She’d been desperately hoping to catch his eye, to see if there was anything there—see if he was regretting his words that day in the truck as much as she was regretting letting him push her away. When he’d helped them find Kaia, she’d thought maybe...

  “Do you want me to call out to him?” Erika said, pushing herself up in the booth and getting ready to flag him down.

  Montana reached across, grabbed her T-shirt and yanked her back down in her seat. “No. Seriously, I’m not sure where we stand, and I’m not eager to be shut down again.” Eddie’s life had changed a lot over the last few months. He was adjusting. And maybe she’d simply helped him get to a better place, and now he didn’t need her anymore. Maybe his excuses in the truck were a way to soften the truth: that he didn’t see himself being happy with someone like her.

  “Hey, so I heard that the gun they found in the cabin was a match for the gun the night of the shooting,” Cassie said.

  Erika nodded. “The bullet I removed from Eddie’s body is a match.”

  Montana winced at the mention of the injury and the bullet—and Eddie’s body. Damn, she missed that body.

  “I can’t believe Lance’s father was actually trying to shoot him,” Cassie said.

  Neither could Montana have if she hadn’t met the man, but she couldn’t say she was surprised. Ralph Baker was rumored to be a control freak who didn’t handle failure or rejection well. He’d pushed Lance to his breaking point as a kid, wanting him to be the best, and Lance’s refusal to be involved with the illegal performance-enhancement drug had been a betrayal in Ralph Baker’s mind. Montana was just happy that the guy was behind bars and his drugs were no longer a threat to her family or their community.

  “Have you talked to Lance?” Erika asked her.

  “No. He texted to say sorry about his father, but we’d ended things before, so...” She didn’t want to talk about Lance. Her friends had been right about him—he wasn’t the right man for her, and she hadn’t really given him a second thought. Eddie, on the other hand, she couldn’t stop thinking about.

  Montana checked her watch. “I have to pee, then I think I’ll call it a night.” She’d been wanting to escape since Eddie and the others had walked in, but she didn’t want it to look like she had trouble being around him.

  She’d already started to look for a new apartment. She couldn’t continue sharing a wall with him when she wanted to share so much more—her heart, her bed, her life... Damn, she’d fallen hard for him. So hard. And what he did—saving her, saving her daughter—it only made the hole in her heart created by his absence that much bigger.

  She climbed out of the booth and made sure to hold her head high and add an extra sway to her hips as she passed Eddie’s table. The girls might be right. She could certainly feel his eyes burning into the back of her as she passed, so she took a slight detour and paused near the old jukebox. She pretended to survey the song choices, keeping an ear to their table.

  “How does it feel to single-handedly take down a major drug dealer?” she heard the state trooper they called Sanchez ask.

  “I had help,” Eddie said.

  “Yeah, an eleven-year-old kid. Crazy,” Sanchez said.

  Montana’s heart swelled with pride at the thought of her daughter’s incredible bravery. Since the investigation was over and Ralph Baker was facing jail time, they seemed to have the old Kaia back. Precamp Kaia. And the boys involved in the dealing were being dealt with as juveniles, so they’d most likely get community service, but the surprising thing was how relieved those kids seemed that this was over. They’d known what they were doing was wrong, but they’d been afraid and caught up in the criminal activity and weren’t sure how to get themselves out.

  “Kaia’s pretty amazing,” she heard Eddie say.

  “Well, Captain’s pissed at the thought of losing you,” Adams said, and Montana’s ears perked. Losing him?

  “Yeah, we’re going to miss you, man, but you more than earned the position in Anchorage,” Sanchez said.

  Eddie was going to Anchorage? He was still up for the promotion to the drug division. Montana was simultaneously thrilled for him and devastated for herself. She’d thought maybe, eventually, he might have a change of heart about them, but he wouldn’t if he was away.

  Having heard enough—more than she wanted to—she ducked into the ladies’ room and took a deep breath as she leaned against the bathroom door. Disappointment escaped her on a long exhale.

  Eddie was leaving and moving on with his life. It was over between them. He’d sacrificed so much for her already, and he deserved this opportunity, this chance to have what he thought he’d lost.

  And she somehow needed to find a way to let the man she loved go, even if it broke her heart.

  * * *

  BREAKUPS IN A small town had to be so much worse than breakups in a big city where waves of strangers and the fast-paced lifestyle could help sweep away lingering feelings. Eddie hadn’t really faced the challenge of living in proximity to an ex-girlfriend before, but even if they weren’t building mates, Wild River was small enough that he’d see Montana all the time, anyway.

  That was one reason Anchorage was appealing. An hour drive between them would at least make awkward encounters like running into her at the bar less frequent.

  It wouldn’t erase her from his thoughts, though.

  Despite working again and hanging out with his coworkers and hitting the gym daily—the one across town, not the one in his building—he couldn’t shake her from his mind.

  Seeing her now, across the bar, was the ultimate torture.

  There should be a law against looking that beautiful after a breakup. Dressed in a pair of black leather leggings and a loose-fitting red sweater that hung off one shoulder, exposing his favorite freckle to the world, Montana shined brighter than the neon lights in the room. How was he supposed to get over her?

  He watched as she reached for her coat in the booth.

  She was leaving.

  A feeling like panic set into his chest, and he instinctively shuffled his way out of his own booth and grabbed his crutches from against the wall. “I’ll be back,” he told his coworkers. He just wanted to make sure she wasn’t walking home alone.

  The heels of her boots echoed against the wooden bar floor as she waved goodbye to Erika and Cassie and headed toward the front door.

  Eddie followed, his eyes drawn to her curvy ass still visible under the puffy, bomber-style jacket she wore. Then he noticed the
helmet.

  She was still driving the bike?

  Sure, they’d only had a light dusting of powdery snow several times that winter so far, and the ground was dry that evening, but how long was she planning on keeping the motorcycle out of storage?

  She pushed through the door, and he saw it parked outside.

  “Hey, am I going to have to commandeer that bike to get you to stop driving it?” he called after her.

  She turned to face him, and his heart pounded in his chest as she said, “Somehow I don’t think this bike’s getting all your things to Anchorage.”

  Damn, she’d heard. He had no idea what to say, and her conflicted expression mirrored exactly how he felt.

  When his silence lasted a fraction too long, she climbed on and started the engine. “Bye, Eddie.”

  And his tortured heart could do nothing but watch her drive away.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  EDDIE’S GRANDMOTHER WAS getting married in four hours, and in her imagination Montana had already crashed the wedding thirteen times. He hadn’t exactly uninvited her to the wedding as his date, but she assumed she wasn’t still expected to go. Or that he wanted her to go.

  But she desperately wanted to go.

  Weddings weren’t her thing, but she wanted to be with Eddie. They’d barely spoken since the rescue and Lance’s father’s arrest, and she had no idea if he was still planning to take the job in Anchorage or not. He didn’t owe her an explanation or clarification. He’d certainly done enough for her, but she longed for something from him. Anything.

  She rinsed her coffee cup in the sink, and it nearly slipped out of her hands when she saw Eddie leave the building and head toward his van. His garment bag was draped over his lap as he got into the van, and Montana’s heart ached as she watched him drive away.

  “Why are you being so stubborn?”

  Ah, so her sister was finally back. “Why don’t you ask Eddie why he’s being so stubborn?” Why was this on her? Eddie was the one who’d put the brakes on the relationship—not her. “And where the hell have you been, anyway?”