Page 118 of 15 Summers Later

“Take Luke with you, then,” her friend said quickly. “He knows the way and he can drive his own UTV. It’s newer and faster than yours.”

Nicki reached for her phone and started texting before Madi could figure out a way to stop her.

She tried, anyway. “That’s not necessary. Don’t text him. Really. I can do it.”

The words were hardly out of her mouth before her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and somehow wasn’t at all surprised to find it was Luke.

“What did you say to him?” she demanded of Nicki.

Her friend shrugged. “I sent him an SOS and said you needed help.”

Oh. How was she supposed to resist a man who responded instantly when he thought he might be needed?

Warmth settled on her shoulders as she answered.

“What’s going on?” Luke asked, his tone urgent and worried. “Is it one of the animals?”

“Hi. No. Sorry about that. Nic jumped the gun a bit in sending for the cavalry. It’s not one of the animals. It’s Ava.”

She wasn’t sure what to tell him, as this was Ava’s pain and loss to share with those she wanted to know. Luke would not betray the confidence, she knew, and she had to tell him something to explain why she needed his help. Shedidneed his help, she acknowledged. Having him along made the prospect of driving up to Ghost Lake in the dark much less intimidating.

“Ava is miscarrying the baby.”

“Oh no.”

At the genuine sorrow in his voice, tears burned behind her eyelids once more.

“Yeah. It sucks. Right now, we have no way to reach Cullen. Ava wants to wait to tell him until he comes down out of the mountains tomorrow or Monday, but I feel like he needs to know now. He should be here, helping her through this. I want to go up to his camp to tell him and bring him back down, but Nicki doesn’t want me to go by myself.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

He said the words without any hesitation and hung up before she could even respond.

This was what every woman should have, she thought. A man who would drop everything to be there when she needed him.

“Is he coming?” Nicki asked when Madi slid the phone back into the pocket of her jeans.

“He’s on his way.”

“Oh good.”

As she gathered warm clothes, a blanket, a water bottle and headlamp, Madi thought about Luke and what a good man he was.

Of course she loved him. She’d never really had much of a choice.

He had risked his own life to save hers fifteen years ago. Since then, he had been a steady source of support and encouragement. Even when he had been away at vet school, married with a child, Luke would always send her a card or call her on important days like her birthday or the anniversary of their rescue to connect and make sure she was okay.

Her entire adult life, she had compared every other man to him, she realized now. All those summer guys and ski bums. No wonder she had wanted to date only casually and never let her heart become too involved.

Part of it had always belonged to Luke.

Before he arrived, she went back into her bedroom to check on Ava. Mabel looked up through the dim light, her tail wagging, then snuggled against Ava’s back once more. Her sister was asleep, eyes closed, but tears still trickled slowly down her cheeks, as if even in sleep, she couldn’t escape the pain of loss.

Oh, Ava.

Madi made sure the blanket was tucked around her sister, then retreated back to the hallway as she heard Nic open the front door. When she walked into the living room, Luke immediately crossed the room and enfolded her in his arms.

He was warm and strong and wonderful. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, feeling anchored for the first time all evening.

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