Page 26 of The Northern Lights in His Eyes

Enrique nodded. “You want him to stay, don’t you? He’s let something loose that you kept locked up for a long time, and now you can’t put it back in the box.”

Garvin shrugged. “I know that he can’t stay. His life is back in California. What is he going to do up here?”

“You made a life up here,” Enrique told him. “You didn’t think you’d be able to when you first came. Remember, you had planned to just stay for the summer? And then you found something and made this place your home.”

Garvin nodded even as he knew it hadn’t been that simple. “I found peace and quiet here.”

Enrique lowered his head but still managed to glare at him. “I think that’s what you tell yourself. But you became part of the community here quickly. You helped the ladies with the garden tour. You went out and helped the kids with their summer activities. You didn’t do the peace and quiet thing—you became part of the community.” There was something about the way Enrique spoke that Garvin should maybe take offense at, but he didn’t. “You come to the trading post most days for lunch and spend the time gabbing with the other guys.”

“Everyone is familiar, and they’re friends.”

Enrique nodded. “Of course they are. It’s part of life out here. But what I think is that you’re ready to open yourself to more, to someone special again.”

“I suppose I am.” He bit his lower lip. “And what if it’s William?” He was the last person Garvin would have expected to capture his heart. William, who seemed to go through life moving the way the wind blew, regardless of the consequences, and yet things always seemed to work out somehow. When he first showed up, Garvin had wondered what the hell William had been thinking, and now… dammit, Garvin was worried about what he was going to do when William left.

“If William is the one you want, then make sure he knows it. Show him the best of life out here. We all stay because there’s something almost intoxicating about this place. Nature is right out the window. We don’t need to go to a zoo or an aquarium to see it. There are mountains and lakes, streams and valleys that will take your breath away.”

“That’s true. But….”

“And you can get anything you want through Amazon.” He winked. “Except a bride.” Enrique snickered. “Did you hear that Gerald Spinner looked into a mail-order bride?”

“You’re kidding,” Garvin said. “What happened?”

“I think he came to his senses before he pursued it. But he told Devon and me about it, and we told a few close friends who have sisters. They had a party and invited all the single ladies, and Gerald met Marie. They’ve been going out for six months now. See? We all help each other.”

“I see,” Garvin said. “But I don’t think there’s anything any of you can do to help me with this.”

Enrique shot him one of his looks again. “Don’t be so sure. Remember, no matter how things work out, we’ll all be there for you. If we have to, Devon and I can have a party and invite all the single gay men in this part of the state to see if one of them rings your bell.”

Garvin laughed. He should have known Enrique would make him feel better. “Okay. That’s one option.” The other one was Garvin trying to figure out how to get William to stay. The more he thought about it, the more he figured that a damned party might be the more viable option.

Chapter 12

“I NEVER KNEW how quiet life could be,” William said a couple days later, once Garvin had finished his online classes for the day. “I spent much of the day reading a book with Sasha, and it was nice.” He peered outside at the sun glistening off the snow before placing a few additional logs in the stove.

“That’s good, because we get plenty of quiet out here. The first few days you got here were incredibly active for this time of year.”

William sat down in the chair across the desk from Garvin. “I sort of figured that it wasn’t an everyday thing for you to go out and rescue folks from an avalanche.” He leaned back, rubbing Sasha’s head. In the week he’d been there, he’d gone from cautious around the dog to them being good friends.

“Those happen, but usually no one is there for it to affect. This whole mining issue is a real problem. Enrique and Devon put an end to one operation a few years ago that was illegally dumping chemicals into the river. They found out what they were doing, got proof, and shut them down. We all protect the area around here as best we can.”

William leaned forward. “What I can’t understand is how shady people can get a license in the first place.”

Garvin turned off his computer and stood. “In this state, mining is a huge business. We don’t pay state or sales tax here. The government is funded by oil and mining revenue, so without both, the government has no money. Therefore they tend to be pro mining, and as long as a company pays what they’re supposed to….” He shrugged. “Like I said, we try to keep our part of the state as clean as we can.”

William sat back, closing his eyes. “I keep wondering what they were doing. It had to be cold as hell up there.”

“I have a theory,” Garvin said. “The area up in the pass has been mined for years, and so has the river, because gold is contained in the rock. If it was spring, I could take you up the pass and you’d see the old mines with their piles of tailings.”

“Okay?” William prompted. “That would be cool.”

“So, put yourselves into their place. Three guys were supposed to be looking after the buildings and equipment during the winter. But let’s say they went down into the mine to look around, and let’s say they found something. What do you do?” He drew closer, his eyes filling with excitement.

William took his hand, tugging Garvin down into a kiss. “I’m with you so far.”

Garvin snickered. “Does talking about mining get you excited?” William drew him even closer. “Because that’s something I never would have guessed about you.”

“You get me excited. You’re passionate about this place, and I like that.” After years of seeing Garvin down and mourning, this was wonderful. A passionate Garvin was sexy as hell, regardless of the reason.

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