Page 53 of Harper

Whew, that was cold. Especially after everything we’d done the night before.

I was angry, at first. It even occurred to me to get dressed, drive over to Dyea, and yell at her for being so spineless, but instead, I took a moment to think. In the space of a week, we’d spoken again for the first time in years, gone out on a date, kissed in the car, made love five times, and she’d slept over at my place twice.

This is progress, I told myself. Big progress. Don’t derail it just because you want too much, too soon.

So, instead of calling her out for cowardice, I’d taken a long run, cleaned my house (but not my sheets—they still smelled like her), mowed my lawn, and watched a baseball game on TV. And yes, every fifteen minutes or so, I checked my phone, hoping that she’d text. But she didn’t. Sunday turned into Monday, and so on, and so on.

By Friday afternoon, I still hadn’t bumped into her around Skagway, and I was itching to see her, so I decided to head up to Dyea on the excuse of checking on the Dyea Road bear situation.

“Hey, Aaron!” I call to my deputy, who’s sitting at his desk. “Heading up to Dyea. Wanna come for a drive?”

“Sure,” he said. “Everything okay?”

“Just want to check on that mama and her cubs—see if the Stewarts have noticed any activity.”

The campground looks quiet when we arrive. No doubt most of the Stewarts are out and about with tours and tourists.I climb the steps to the main lodge and knock on the door.

“Joe!” Mrs. Stewart’s wrinkles deepen with her smile. “Good to see you.”

“Hey, there, Ms. Stewart.”

I’ve known Harper’s family since I was a child, and they’ve always treated me with affection, regardless of Harper’s and my on-again, off-again relationship.

“And hello to you, too, Aaron.”

Aaron touches the brim of his hat. “Ms. Stewart.”

“What’re you two doin’ up here?” she asks. “More trouble with that girl from last summer? Tanner’s not here. He’s up on the Chilkoot.”

“Got a lot of tours out right now?” I ask, keeping my voice as casual as I can.

“Yep,” she says. “Hunter and Parker are in town. Got Tanner up on the Chilkoot, like I said. Harper and Sawyer are inthe middle of a five-day up to Dawson City, and Gary’s down in Juneau on business.”

A five-day.

Well, that explains why I haven’t seen her around.

I wonder what day she’s on, but I can’t ask because Mrs. Stewart might make note of the question and tell Harper I was here. I know my girl. She’d think I was breaking our deal by swinging by…and she’d be right.

She specifically said, No more running into me on purpose.

Damn it, why’d I agree to that?

“Joe?” asks Mrs. Stewart, tilting her head to the side as she scans my face. “You all good?”

By way of the perfect distraction, Reeve appears over her gran’s shoulder. “Hey, Joe! What’s up? Want some coffee?”

Beside me, I worry Aaron might give himself whiplash from the way his neck jerks his head up.

“Oh,” says Reeve, her smile fading as she looks at Aaron. She adopts a snooty look. “It’s you.”

“Hey, Reeve, um, Ms. Stewart,” says Aaron, his husky voice weaker than usual.

She ignores him, turning back to me with a now-phony smile on her face. “How ’bout that coffee, Joe?”

“Sure,” I say. “We can stay for a minute.”

We join Mrs. Stewart in a small sitting area in the front of the dining room, while Reeve fetches a carafe of coffee and a tray with four cups. She sits on the arm of her grandmother’s chair, arms crossed over her chest, giving Aaron a hefty dose of stink-eye.

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