Page 14 of Fire Peak

Alaska. He tried to send her a photo he’d taken of the mountains, but the Wi-Fi wasn’t quite up to that task.

No shit. Was she supposed to be using that language? Should he say something? He dismissed the thought. Trying to be Mr. Authoritarian at this point would be stupid. He’d just alienate Hailey, and Jill might decide to clamp down on his time with her.

After Hailey had first reached out to him, he’d consulted a lawyer, who advised him to work things out amicably instead of going to the courts. He’d taken that advice to heart and it hadn’t led him wrong so far.

Finally the photo went through.

YOUR IN ALASKA???

Should he correct her grammar? Would that alienate her?

I’m in Alaska.

I always wanted to go there, there’s this dope vampire movie set there.

No vampires so far, but I just got here.

Ha ha. Wrong time of year for vamps. Isn’t it light all the time?

Yup. My motel has blackout shades.

I’m so jelly. Are you going to be there for the longest day of the year? Midsommar? Do they have rituals and stuff?

Did all her knowledge of the world come from horror movies? Don’t know. Hope not.

Hope SO! How’s Hector?

Fine AFAIK

He’d gone against his better judgment to check on the wounded warbler. That mistake was probably how Charlie had figured out he was still in town. Still, it was worth it because Hailey had been quite worried about Hector. Two things he knew about his new daughter so far: she loved horror movies and she had a soft spot for all wild creatures. He wasn’t sure how those two things fit together, but that was teenagers for you.

You should adopt him. He can be like the kid you didn’t even know you had

He sent her a laughing face emoji for that one, even though it stung a little. He would have liked the opportunity to be more of a dad, even though he could hardly blame Jill. She’d tried to find him, but after their one night together, he’d left town with no clue that anything had gone wrong with her birth control.

When’s your last day of school?

1 more week, ugh. I can’t wait for summer even tho Mom won’t let me get a job. How am I supposed to prepare myself for the real world when I can’t even work at Mickey D’s like everyone else?

An idea formed. A radical one, something he couldn’t possibly share with Hailey until he worked it through. She has her reasons. Just have fun this summer while you still can.

Why do grownups always make being an adult sound like a living hell?

Good point.

It’s not so bad, look at me, I’m in Alaska about to grab a beer at a bar called The Fang.

Sooooo jelly

After that, she had to sign off to finish up some homework.

This is your life now, he told himself with a sense of disbelief. You have a daughter who has to finish her homework. How fucking trippy and amazing is that?

Deciding that he’d be better off at The Fang if he abandoned any hint of “law enforcement,” he changed into jeans and a sweater. Even though it was full springtime, late May, he still felt the last gasp of winter in the air as he strolled down Pioneer Boulevard toward the simple cedar-sided building known as The Fang.

As he walked, he took in the mix of grungy, dilapidated frontier cabins with moss growing on their roofs, along with brightly painted new businesses that had opened up more recently. That was the conundrum of Firelight Ridge, from what he’d read. The old mining community—then known as Fangtooth—had nearly disappeared after the copper mine had shut down nearly a hundred years ago. But some hardcore residents had hung on, and over the years they’d been joined by newcomers drawn to the magnificent setting deep in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

Those two types didn’t always see eye to eye, to say the least. Some locals wanted to bring in more summer adventure tourists. Others would prefer it if the world forgot about Firelight Ridge.

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