Page 27 of An Alaskan Wedding (Alaskan Grooms 1)

Boone shoved his hand through his hair and shifted his stance. “Grace, would you like to—” he began.

“I’d love to,” she said smoothly, bursting into giggles at the dumbfounded expression on Boone’s face.

A slow hiss escaped Boone’s lips. “I’ll take that hot chocolate now if you’re done toying with me.”

She quickly ushered him inside her cabin. Once Boone entered her abode, it felt as if he overshadowed everything else with his height and breadth. The atmosphere instantly changed, making it feel all the more intimate.

“Take a seat while I put the kettle on,” Grace said, tickled at the idea of Boone coming to see her on her day off in order to ask her out.

“Actually, no. Scratch that idea for the moment. Put your boots and jacket on, Gracie. I want to show you something.”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “Right now? But it’s so warm and cozy inside,” she said, not relishing the idea of being outside in the frosty conditions.

“Come on. Take a walk on the wild side. It’s twenty-four degrees outside. That’s practically balmy.” Boone was pleading with her with his eyes.

“Okay,” she grumbled. “But this better be good. My major goal for today was to get out of bed and get dressed. My feet are killing me from standing on them all day yesterday.”

Boone’s lips twitched. “Imagine how much they’d be hurting if you’d continued to wear those four-inch heels.”

Grace shuddered as she put her boots on. She let out a sigh of appreciation. The boots were a welcome relief for aching feet.

She still loved her high-heeled shoes, but the thought of standing around in them all day was not appealing. “I never thanked you for suggesting Hazel’s boots. They’ve worked out beautifully.”

She slid her arms through her coat sleeves, and Boone leaned in and zipped her coat up for her. “No, thanks needed. As I’m sure you know, Hazel gets a real kick out of seeing her boots walking around town. She almost had me wearing a pair.” He winked at her. “Almost.”

“She needs to start charging customers for the boots instead of bartering them for goods. Something tells me they’re worth more than a dozen eggs and a pair of wool gloves. I had to practically force her to take payment from me,” Grace grumbled.

Boone shrugged. “You make a good point. Unfortunately, Hazel doesn’t look at the big picture. Perhaps you could give her a nudge in the right direction.”

Grace liked that idea. If her fashion instincts were right, Hazel could make a small fortune off these boots!

* * *

Grace jammed a wool hat on and pulled it down past her ears. Once her mittens were on, she yanked open the door and stepped outside. The glare from the sun blinded her for a moment. Boone walked behind her down the steps and then stepped in front of her to lead the way.

Grace turned toward him. “Where are we going?”

Boone pointed down the long driveway toward the lodge. “Have you ever been down the Black Bear Trail?”

“Nope. The only trail I’ve been down is the one in Nottingham Woods. And we all know how that turned out,” Grace joked.

“You were a real trouper in that situation.” He stopped in his tracks and turned toward her. His expression was somber. “Just promise me you won’t go off legend hunting with Jasper again. I know he can be really persistent about it. He’s at a point in his life when he can’t afford to have any more broken bones, and he’s not rational when it comes to the legend. That ankle of his was pretty badly injured.”

Grace felt a twinge of guilt about Jasper’s ankle. She hadn’t even known it was a break and not a sprain. Perhaps she should have nipped things in the bud before they’d even ventured into the woods. On the other hand, Jasper seemed to get such joy from his adventures. Surely that wasn’t a bad thing.

She bit her lip. “All right, Boone. I promise not to entertain any more of Jasper’s treasure-hunting ideas. The last thing I want is to see him get hurt.”

Boone’s expression relaxed. “Thank you. I know I may sound like I’m overreacting, but Jasper tends to take things way too far and he’s had a few health issues this past year.”

Grace shrugged. “You love him and you want to see him safe from harm. You don’t have to apologize for that. Not to me or to anyone.”

Boone nodded in her direction before continuing to walk down the road. She joined in, staying close beside him.

A few feet past the lodge, Boone pointed toward a wooden sign with white lettering standing next to an opening in a copse of pine trees. Black Bear Trail. Boone took the lead and charged ahead, his steps full of purpose. He waited for her to catch up and then walked side by side with her, stopping on occasion to point out a black-billed magpie or a raven. He showed her the difference between the types of trees they passed—Sitka spruce and western hemlock—and pointed in the direction of a black-tailed deer as it scampered off into the woods.

Wherever Grace looked, beauty surrounded her. It was different from anything she’d known before or had ever paused to appreciate. She couldn’t think of a time back home when she’d stopped to simply appreciate her environment. She’d always justified it by telling herself that the busy schedule of a journalist didn’t allow for such luxuries.

After about five minutes of walking along the trail, Boone stopped at the edge of a clearing and pointed at a cliff about thirty feet away. “Take a look.”

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