Page 59 of Protective Heroes

“That’s what I worry about. Your life is too perfectly planned and organized. I’m afraid of what will happen if something comes along to rock the boat.”

My chest constricted at her words. She’d just put a voice to my worst fears. My boat had been more than rocked before. More like capsized, blown to smithereens and buried at the bottom of the ocean. So I’d carefully constructed my life so that never happened again.

But Asha didn’t need all those messy details of why I sought out a life in a big city Like New York City instead of staying back home. I was happy she was willing to put up with me with all she already knew. If I laid the rest of my pathetic baggage on her, she might run screaming in the opposite direction.

I couldn’t even contemplate that. Asha was right. I needed a little messy in my life. The good kind of messy. The kind that offered warm hugs, liked to tease, and snuggled with my snobbish cat. Asha was my messy, and I couldn’t imagine how sterile my life would be without her.

I pulled in a deep breath and squared my shoulders. Time to let go of my unusual introspection and focus on the next steps I needed to take to get this wedding planned and get out of Alaska as soon as humanly possible with no one the wiser.

I threw Asha an affectionate smile. “You rock my boat on a regular basis. Did you see what my kitchen looked like after you toasted your bagel this morning?”

Her eyes stayed serious, her gaze lingering on my face. Then the clouds cleared and she beamed at me. “I did it for you. So you could work off some of your nervous energy with a little elbow grease.”

“Sure.” I rolled my eyes at her and she responded by sticking out her tongue.

I slowly released the breath pent up behind a wall of nervousness. I needed Asha to be her usual messy, teasing self. I needed to get my fill before I headed home.

I held back a shiver and pulled from her embrace. I clapped my hands together. “Okay, let’s get moving. My luggage isn’t going to carry itself to the curb.”

I would tackle the next few days one task at a time, get this wedding planned, and come home. And no good-looking Navy SEAL would steer me off course.

Two

Kami

Iwoke with a start. Opening my eyes, I examined my surroundings and it took me a full minute to figure out exactly where I was.

The Pine Hart Lodge Alaska. A home away from home. I worked here on and off when I was in high school. It was better than sticking around my place after what happened with my parents.

I sat up, allowing the faded patchwork quilt to fall to my waist. The warm sunlight streaming through the cabin’s front window told me morning had started without me.

I hopped out of bed, my stomach plummeting. I never slept late. The Alaskan sunlight was playing tricks on me.

I fumbled for my phone where it sat on the nightstand and swiped my thumb over the face.

I blinked. Almost eight o’clock. How was that even possible? I never slept later than six in the morning. I shook my head and put the phone down. Idly, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, feeling more well rested than I could remember feeling…ever.

Without much thought, I wandered over to the front window. I couldn’t have held in the gasp that escaped me if I tried. The sight spread out before me—the bay, the forest, the mountains—was beyond breathtaking. Until this second, I didn’t realize how much I had missed it.

Concrete, blaring horns and hurling insults from taxi drivers did not compare the majestic beauty of this place.

The land surrounding the lodge sloped down to meet the lake’s broad banks. The sun beamed through the tall pine trees, reflecting off the water. Colorful fishing boats bobbed up and down along the lake’s shore. Birds glided overhead and then swooped down to dive into the water before surfacing and taking flight once again. And a light frost coated the grass and trees giving everything an almost ethereal quality.

A longing built inside me so fast and so strong, I forgot to breathe. I wanted to go outside and walk through the late winter landscape in front of me. I wanted to hear the birds calling across the water, feel the sharp bite of the wind on my cheeks, see the diamond shine of the icy morning frost, run my hand over the worn, wooden hull of one of the bobbing boats.

Energy coursed through me at the thought of exploring the wilderness before me. It was only when the window fogged with my breath that I realized I’d all but pressed my nose against the glass.

I touched the windowpane and the cold glass immediately brought me back to reality. I shook my head at my own silliness.

“Of course I have a ton of energy. I slept for like nine hours.”

And if I were completely honest with myself, I would admit the chance of running into my old crush was as terrifying as it was exciting.

A quick glance back out the window started ideas churning, all bizarre longings to tromp through the wilderness forgotten as I made a mental note to add the dock at the shoreline here to my list of places for photo ops.

I added more to my mental to-do list as I headed for the bathroom to get ready for the day. A tiny sliver of relief slid through me as I refocused on the task at hand. The last thing I needed to do was come face-to-face with Trevor Ford.

Plan the wedding and get the heck out of Hartwood. I replayed those words over and over again in my mind and squared my shoulders. Time to get down to business. I was here to do my job and I’d never let a client down yet.

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