Page 32 of Snow River

“I’m here!I’m here!”Lila skipped through the door that led to the prep room.She wore a sweater the color of spring daffodils, and an even brighter smile.Her hair pulled into a puffy knot at the top of her head, with tendrils framing her delicate face.In an instant, the entire atmosphere of the bar changed, the way a shadowed valley came to life when the first rays of the sunrise touched it.

He pulled his gaze back to Nick when the man reclaimed his phone.Nick wore a wry expression as he got to his feet.“I get it, man,” he murmured.

Bear decided that didn’t need any response.His and Lila’s situation was completely different from Nick and Charlie’s.No comparison.

16

Lila wasin a great mood because today was the day Molly and Sam were due back from Anchorage.She had high hopes that they’d bring information with them about Allison Casey’s death.Maybe if she knew more, if she understood what had happened, then the dead woman would leave her dreams alone.Pay attention, she’d said.

The poor woman’s murder seemed like a good place to start.

And today, when Molly shared what she’d learned from the FBI, Lila might finally make some progress.

Her sunny mood dimmed when Bear mumbled something about the generator out back and disappeared.

That was good, Lila told herself.She’d been avoiding him for the past few days, too.Why torture herself with getting closer to someone she was inevitably going to say goodbye to?

Everyone in the bar was placing bets on when the first snow would fall.They could all feel it—the snow coming like a freight train somewhere around the mountain.The bets could get insanely detailed as to which hour of which day, how many inches, and even how many inches per hour.

Even the crew from the Community was getting involved.A small group of them filled a table and kept coming to the counter ordering bowls of soup.They often came on “Meatless Monday” since the soup was guaranteed to be vegetarian.The older woman in the poncho lingered at the counter as Lila dished out her bowl.She wore her hair in two braids, and elaborate turquoise beaded earrings dangled from her earlobes.In no way did she look ready for an Alaskan winter.

“How are you liking Firelight Ridge?”Lila asked her.

“I’m thinking of moving on, to be honest with you.It’s too cold for my old bones.”She glanced back at the table.“But I worry about leaving these kids alone.They don’t always make…mmm…good decisions, if you know what I mean.I’m Sequoia, by the way.”

Lila smiled at that.Sequoia gestured toward a small oil painting that hung behind the bar.“Is that Ice Falls?”

“It is.One of our amazing local artists painted it.Paulina Volk.It’s not for sale but she has others.”

“Oh dear no, we try not to participate in the cash economy.”

“I know.”She’d accepted a box of carrots in exchange for the soup today.Bear had given her license to barter with any customer who needed to.

This distance between her and Bear was ridiculous, she thought as Sequoia rejoined the Community table.She needed to fix it.

When there was a lull in the flow of locals swinging through The Fang, she pulled a quad espresso shot into a metal mug and plopped the “back in 5 mins” sign on the counter.At the back door, she grabbed her padded corduroy jacket off the hook.The temperature had dropped twenty degrees overnight, and the dead grass was covered in frost crystals.

She found Bear crouched next to the generator, which sat in a shed off the side of the building.He’d stripped down to his t-shirt, and his powerfully muscled arms were streaked with grease.Some of the stains were actually tattoos, black against his bronze skin.

She sighed.Why did he have to be such a beautiful man?It made things so very much more difficult.

“I brought you a quad shot.Where should I set it?”

He sat back on his heels, on a piece of plywood he’d put on the ground to work on.“You think I need that much caffeine?”

“You’re a big guy.”She tried really hard not to look at his chest while she said that.Didn’t work.She allowed herself one moment to feast her eyes, then lifted them skyward.“When do you think the first snow will come?Everyone’s placing their bets.”

“I’m still feeling it out.”

“Well, everyone is dying to know what you say because apparently you have the best record of anyone in town.”

“That’s because I don’t jump in before I see enough signs to make a valid guess.”

That was so…Bear of him.He didn’t make impulsive moves.He thought things through until he could make the right decision.In other words, the opposite of her.She’d already placed a bet on her favorite number, twenty-three.October twenty-three, at two-thirty in the afternoon, twenty-three inches.

Bear accepted the metal mug and took a swig.“Damn, that’s good.The best yet.”

“I’m honing my skills.Did you know that coffee drinks made up fifteen percent of our take yesterday?That machine was a great investment.”

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