Jonah shrugged. “Grief is a bitch.”
It was an understatement, but true nonetheless. I liked how he didn’t try to push away my grief with empty platitudes. For a guy who could talk a lot, he also knew when to be quiet.
We spent some time in companionable silence after that, just enjoying the day and sharing our excitement when one of us caught something interesting.
“Do you have pets?” I asked at one point.
“Nah. I always wanted a puppy, but apartments in Miami are tiny. No room to run. I can’t imagine owning a dog in the sand and heat of Miami. But out here…” He looked around. “Seems like heaven for a dog.”
“Yeah.” I ended up telling him about Meeko, about what she’d been like as a puppy and how she’d loved sleeping outside in the snow. Those stories led to other funny animal stories about my brothers’ dogs, cats, and even Ryan’s short but intense history owning a pet snake.
By the time we returned home, I was worn-out from the unusually engaging day of conversation, but it was a happy exhaustion.
“Thanks for a great day,” Jonah said with a big smile. “Lots of ‘Nevers’ to write about today.”
I laughed, remembering the moose we’d spotted and how Jonah had waited until much later in the day to admit he’d almost pissed himself until I stepped between him and the huge animal.
“Never have I ever peed my pants?” I asked.
“While sober,” he added before winking. The wink hit me like a gut shot, hard and dirty. My breath faltered for a brief moment before I remembered my no-greenhorn rule.
My brothers and I disagreed about whether or not tourists were fair game, but I had zero doubts Jonah Oliver was someone I needed to stay well away from.
I stammered out a goodbye and busied myself cleaning the day’s equipment and preparing for the following day’s glacier tour. I refueled the plane, noted the weather forecast, and even triple-checked the passenger manifest to make sure Jonah’s name wasn’t on it.
When I saw he wasn’t part of the group, I blew out a relieved breath. At least I’d have half a day to focus on something besides his comfortable companionship and sexy ass.
But when I sat at the bar the next morning to eat my breakfast, Maggie told me about a change in plans.
“That group wants to go on the boat with Baby to see the grizzly cubs.”
I stared at her. “Since when does Baby run boat tours to scout animals from the lake?”
She shrugged. “Since the guy got your little brother drunk last night and made him promise to take his family out on the water. If you ask me, it’s really a fear of heights. I overheard the mom say something about it when they flew in the other day. He was scared of the, quote, shitty tin can on floats, unquote.”
“Suits me. I’ll run down to town and pick up the tires Boston wants for his truck before I need to run up and get Ryan’s group. Make a Costco list for me.”
I took a bite of cereal and tried to swallow it quickly when I saw the know-it-all look on her face.
“Nope, you’re still doing a glacier tour. I convinced Jonah it would be a great new experience for his article.”
I snorted milk across the bar despite knowing something like that was coming. “Why?” I whined. “Why did you talk the poor guy into—”
She held up her hand to stop me. “No. He was already signed up for a glacier tour, but it was for Saturday when the winds might be up. It’s a good idea to go now when you know the weather will be good up there.”
Maggie was right, but it didn’t make it easier to accept. Being alone with Jonah up on the air was going to be a temptation I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to resist.
Before I could argue with her anyway, Jonah came bouncing into the bar. “Look who I convinced to come with us! I met him last night at the pizza place, and he said he’d never been on a glacier tour.”
He stepped to the side to reveal Sutton Lavoy.
My ex-husband.
CHAPTER FIVE
JONAH
The bar had been set very low. All I’d needed was someone, anyone, to accompany me on the glacier tour so I would stop fawning all over Peter Valentine like a groupie.
So when a handsome guy had chatted me up last night during dinner, I’d offered him a spot on my excursion.
“No,” Pete said calmly, standing up and taking his bowl to the kitchen behind the bar.
I glanced at Sutton with raised eyebrows. “You two know each other?”
The smirk on Sutton’s face was off-putting, like there was something he knew that I didn’t. “You could say that. It’s a small town and all. Don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine.”
I bit my bottom lip and tried to remind myself they were adults. The two of them could sort out their own shit. “Okay, well… I’m going to grab my camera and notebook from my room. Be right back.”
Maybe I took a little longer than I needed, but I really wasn’t sure how I was going to handle these two guys. Inviting a stranger on the excursion had been stupid. If I were being honest with myself, I really just wanted another day in Pete’s company without anyone else along.
It wasn’t a good idea, though. And after having such an easy time conversing with Sutton at the pizza place, I knew I’d at least have a good distraction from the inappropriate feelings I was having for Pete Valentine.
When I returned to the bar, Sutton was nowhere to be found. I glared at Pete. “What’d you do?” Even though I may have regretted inviting Sutton, I had invited him. It wasn’t Pete’s place to disinvite my guest.
“He changed his mind about joining. Also, he’s a lying asshole who’s seen plenty of glaciers. The man’s probably spent more time over Pintok than you’ve spent on a beach. He needs a glacier tour like a hole in the fucking head. And now that I mention it, he could use a hole in the head,” he muttered as he shrugged on a thin jacket. “Let’s go.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What the fuck? It’s none of your business who I want to join me on my tour.”
Pete’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to me. Maybe I should have been intimidated, but I knew deep down he would never hurt me.
Physically, at least.
“Stay away from Sutton Lavoy,” he said in a low voice. It wasn’t mean like I would have expected. There was a slight hint of… something like a plea in his voice.
“Why?” I asked hesitantly. I wondered if I even wanted to know.
He looked up at the sound of the front door opening and several people walking in talking to each other. “Can we please just get into the air?” he asked softly.
I nodded and followed him silently out the back door to the floatplane. He helped me into the co-pilot’s seat again and buckled me up. The smell of his shampoo wafted around me, but I forced myself not to sniff it. Much.
We didn’t speak as he did his final checks, flipped a ton of switches, called Poke on the radio, and steered us away from the dock. The sun was once again shining gloriously on the glassy surface of the lake. This small Alaskan town was like a piece of heaven. I wondered how different it was in winter. What did it look like covered in snow and ice? What was it like with so much darkness? How did that change life around here?