Page 54 of Ultimate Freedom

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When Bella moved in for a hug, Demi knew her people would be friends, and she sighed with relief. After all, Bella could be sticky sometimes and it might take people a while to get below her prickly exterior. Trust Whit to find his way inside without any trouble.

Once they’d shopped for the most necessary items, they had lunch and let Whit drive them around town to help pass the time. Since Demi seldom got to see the city, and Bella was avisitor, they pretended to be tourists. Whit took them on a native village tour and along the dock. They saw carvings and huge totem poles and loads of fishing boats.

Not wanting to do anything too strenuous, most of their sightseeing was done from inside the truck. Within a few hours of wandering around, Demi signaled to Whit that Bella needed to stop.

They returned to the hotel and Demi helped Bella settle under the quilt on the bed with the remote control close by. She gathered a bottle of water and added protein bars in case Bella got hungry. “Whit and I will only be gone for a short time. We need to pick up some supplies while we’re here. Okay?”

“Sure. Go. I’m a little tired and will probably nap while you’re gone. Don’t worry about us. Me and them will be just fine.”

Laughing, Demi nodded. “Back soon.”

Once she met up with Whit, Demi had a lot of questions. “Did you talk to Glen? How’s everything with Charlie?”

“Glen’s good. I talked with the kid, and he’s fine. Today’s Saturday so he’s staying with Teddy. Clive’s taking the boys with him while they clear away the slide.”

“I bet he’s excited about that. Both him and Teddy love riding in the big snowplow.”

Whit gave her his phone so she could read the texts. “Oh, look. He seems really excited. I’m glad.” She scrolled up and saw where Charlie had asked about her. “He was worried about me?”

“Yeah. Guess he knew you’d be upset about Bella and hoped everything worked out.”

“That kid’s got the biggest heart. You know that? And it’s not just me being a proud mom. He’s thoughtful and kind. I adore him.”

“Good, because he adores you too. In fact, we both do.”

Demi felt her chest expand until she thought it would burst.How did I ever get so lucky?Knowing the situation for Tanner and Bella, being on the brink of breaking up, she hugged tight to the unmistakable awareness she’d learned last night. A wisdom reinforced. One she wouldn’t ever forget.

Listening to Bella, she’d seen how easy it might be to let distrust and anger grow. And how simple it could be to clear it away. She’d studied on the power of communication, had taught it to her teens. Now she’d seen firsthand how powerful a tool it would be to help Bella and Tanner.

She just needed to get them together before it was too late. Before separation over a long time made their anger and hate grow past the point of being repaired.

Chapter Thirty-three

The next day, driving through Stewart and then under the big Hyder, Alaska sign, Bella couldn’t get over how small the town really was. “This is home?”

Demi laughed. “Well, not exactly. We live about eight miles down the highway and a couple more into where the cabin is.”

“Wow, you’re really in the boondocks. How many people are there here?”

“About 500 in Hyder and a couple thousand in Stewart. It’s kind of cool because you get to know almost everyone by name.”

“I bet. Not a lot of law breaking around here I suppose.” She laughed as if telling a joke.

“You’d be surprised. One night, I’ll tell you some of the stories from this place. We’ve had our trying times.”

“You say the medical clinic is close? Not that I’m worried. I still have a number of weeks to go according to the dates the doctor gave us.”

“Yep. Most of the facilities are in Stewart but we all just consider it one big community.”

“Wow. It’s actually beautiful with the snow-covered mountains in the background.”

Whit added in a droll voice, “It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Demi piped up. “Me either. It’s become home now, and I love it. The wilderness is in my blood. I guess it got passed down from Johnny, my grandfather.”

Bella sighed. “I’m happy for you… not so much for me. Visiting here is great, but home is the city. Now I know you’ll never come back, and it makes me kind of sad.”

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