Ace let out a plaintive whine and put a paw on Avery’s lap. She held him a little tighter, burying her fingers in his thick, golden coat.
“I have to leave tomorrow,” she said.
But even as her words floated in the air, she knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Chapter Two
Logan Wagner stopped at the lookout above Austen and checked his smartwatch. Steps taken, heart rate, VO2 max…not bad. If he kept up with his training—and there was no reason to let himself off the hook—he’d definitely be ready for the Big Sur marathon at the end of summer. He made a mental note to get his assistant to sign him up. Maybe the company could be a sponsor this year—it couldn’t hurt to quietly get involved with more community-oriented projects.
Only then did he let himself look at the view. The Pacific Ocean stretched out before him, wide and deep, and as full of possibility as he’d once felt as a teenager stuck in a small town. Below, tucked into the bend of the Austen River where it made one last diversion before heading for the sea, was the town itself. It hadn’t changed much in the years he’d been away. The same random network of streets, flung out between the river and the sand dunes like leftover spaghetti noodles, with not a single stoplight. The same stores. The same small-town headlines in the newspaper. The same people.
Even Avery.
For some time he’d been feeling an inexplicable pull back to this place, the kernel of an idea forming in his mind. And when he heard about Owen Robinson’s death, he knew he had to come. He shaded his eyes against the morning sun and squinted down at the town, to where the Robinsons’ cedar shingle house sat at the edge of the river. There had been a time he was welcome there…not so much now.
He’d wanted to go to the funeral though. It wouldn’t make up for anything, but it was the right thing to do. Even though he hadn’t spoken to Avery—he didn’t want to create any drama for her on such a hard day—they’d seen each other across the rows of mourners in the church. Time had kaleidoscoped in on itself as he looked at her, ten years twisting and refocusing themselves until he could see seventeen-year-old Avery in his mind, while the grown-up version stood at the front of the church next to her father’s coffin. She was beautiful, composed in her grief as she talked about the good man he’d been, her long hair neatly pinned up and her voice steady.
All the while, the teenage Avery remained luminous in his memory—wild-haired, dreamy-eyed, perfectly suited to this unbroken coast. She’d always been in love with the river, and the beach, and the hills—even with the tiny town that had held no secrets for either of them—so he was half surprised when he heard that she’d left Austen for good.
But only half surprised. Because of the two of them, she was the one who deserved—
His watch beeped an alert for him to get moving again, snapping him out of the past. That was no place to linger. He looked beyond Avery’s house, over the river to the hills on the other side, a beckoning green landscape swathed in fir and maple and spruce. He was here for another reason too. A piece of that belonged to his family, and he had plans for it. He started back down the hill.
It was time to move again.
Avery speed-walked along the river path, working to keep her breath even as Ace tugged on the leash, pulling her forward even faster. Multitasking this phone call might not have been such a good idea after all.
“I know, Valerie, and I am sorry,” she said, trying to sound professional even as she stumbled over a branch on the path. “But it will only be for a couple of days, maybe three. There’s more to do here than I expected.”
Judging by his overenthusiasm, Ace needed some reminders about manners before she could risk him with a potential new owner. With everything that had happened, she didn’t even know when he’d last been walked. And she needed to find him someone special—someone who would love him, and appreciate him, and give him the home he needed and deserved as he headed into his retirement years.
The KXIP operations manager made a disapproving sound at the other end of the line. “This is something we usually only do for our big radio personalities, like Tony Trevino, or Carter Cox.”
Avery tried not to be bothered by the implication that she wasn’t in their league, despite being a host on the same show as Carter. “Would you do it if I had an alliterative name too?” She laughed, but it was as weak as her joke. She wouldn’t even mention their engagement, because that wasn’t a factor in why she’d gotten the job.
“Excuse me?” Valerie snapped.
“Never mind.” Avery had called Carter last night to update him, and even though he’d seemed preoccupied, he’d promised to talk to Valerie about it. Apparently he’d forgotten. “I spoke to Carter already, and he’s happy to have me call in to do the show.”
“Don’t think that because you’re romantically involved with him, you’re going to get special treatment,” Valerie said.
Avery pulled Ace to a stop, and took a much-needed breath of cool morning air before she replied. “I don’t think that at all.”
And it was true. After years working behind the scenes in radio, she’d finally gotten the chance to take her place at the microphone at KXIP. Okay, it was a smallish adult contemporary station, and she’d kind of ended up playing backstop for Carter, who portrayed himself as the main star of the show. But it was true that he had more experience on the air, and really, she was just glad to get her big break. Well, her medium-sized break.
Valerie sighed. “Fine. If Carter’s okay with it. I’ll get Kevin to call you shortly and set up the logistics.”
Avery looked down at Ace, who had given up his manic activity and was now standing on her feet as he tried to get closer to her. It didn’t seem likely that he’d let her out of his sight—hopefully he’d behave while she was on the air.
“Thank you,” she said to Valerie. “I appreciate it. It’s been a rough time.”
“Just do a good job.”
“I will.”
Without further comment, Valerie ended the call. Avery stood with her phone to her ear for a few moments, then laughed and shook her head as she put it back in her pocket. What had she been expecting anyway—condolences for her loss? Sympathy? Well, it didn’t matter. They would have been token platitudes, coming from Valerie.
She crouched down and put her arms around Ace, and he put his chin over her shoulder, snuggling in. He knew what real support was. She closed her eyes for a moment, resting her head against the dog’s sturdy body, letting his warmth soothe her.
Then she heard footfalls on the leafy path, and looked up. A man was rounding the corner at a run, wearing athletic shorts, a T-shirt, ear buds, and a look of slightly sweaty determination. He was almost upon them before he realized they were there and stopped suddenly, his expression changing to surprise.
Ace went straight to the man, his tail flailing wildly as he danced around in excitement. Avery dropped the leash and stood up, stepping back as the man took out his ear buds and ducked down to return Ace’s greeting.
When the canine flurry started to subside, the man stood up again, and Ace looked between them, one to the other then back again, seemingly delighted with the trio they formed.