Chapter One
Tessa
There were wiser things to do than face off with a moose, Tessa Whitmore supposed. But this was aboutprinciple. She folded her arms across her chest, dug her heeled boots into the deserted road, and narrowed her eyes. “Are you happy with yourself?” she asked her roadblock. The giant beast simply stood in the center of the dirt lane and stared back at her like he hadn’t caused her to swerve into the ditch.
Steam hissed from the radiator she had no doubt demolished in her attempt to avoid a collision with the bull, and the animal didn’t even have the decency to run off into the woods, much less act a bit concerned about the dilemma he caused.
Sunset Ridge was at least two miles ahead, down the winding unpaved road. Tessa studied her ankle boots—the only remotely practical shoes in her possession—and let out a defeated sigh. She was supposed to be in Vegas, competing as one of the final four contestants on the cooking reality showOrder Up: Las Vegas. Not in Alaska confronting an indifferent moose.
“I don’t supposeyou’llgive me a lift into town?” she asked the animal.
She was fortunate enough not to have a scratch on her for as hard as the front end of the rented Mustang hit the earthen wall. But even if by some miracle the car was still drivable, the front tires were certainly stuck in the swampy ditch. One appeared flat.
Though she’d already tried three times, Tessa raised her cell above her head in search of signal. Her sisters had no idea she was coming, and last she knew, this private road wasn’t well-known, even to locals. Those who knew about it didn’t dare ignore the no-trespassing signs. It’d been thirteen years since she last snuck back into town this way, and a part of her was surprised to see it was still drivable. Better suited for four-wheel-drive trucks and ATVs. Not sports cars.
“No service. No car. No decent shoes.” Tessa gave up on intimidating the moose into leaving. She leaned against the rear of her car. She could wait for someone to come along and give her a ride. Sunset Ridge was a friendly enough town, but the rarely traveled road might go hours before seeing another driver. She’d be a mosquito feast before that happened.
“This is allyourfault, you know.” She jabbed a finger in the moose’s direction with enough emphasis to rock her body forward.
The bull’s ears dropped as its hooves shuffled against the road. More than a decade had gone by since Tessa last encountered a moose, but she remembered what those signs meant. Her heart thundered in her chest. Escape was impossible. The road sat several feet below the ground level of the forest surrounding the path. Her city shoes would never help her scramble up the dirt wall in time.
“Always thought it would be a bear,” she muttered, easing toward the car door. The moose could ram the Mustang, and might. But shelter in the cramped backseat floor was better than standing out in the open as his target.
The moose’s shoulders squared in her direction as his steps grew more deliberate. Time gone, Tessa dove in through the open driver’s window. She scrambled for the back seat, but the strap of her ankle boot caught outside the window. “Crap!” She hugged the bucket seat on the passenger side, bracing herself for the impact.
Which didn’t come.
The roar of a diesel engine gave her both relief and panic. She hoped the driver would have more warning than she did. A dog let out a few sharp barks. Tessa tried to twist herself around to see what was happening, but she was too tangled up. Outside of the leather seat and convertible topper she’d smartly left up, she could only view a sliver of light out the window.
Heavy footsteps crunched against the gravel. “You all right there, miss?”
Tessa’s heart lodged in her throat. More than a decade had passed since the summer that changed the course of her life, but she would never forget that voice. “I’m fine,” she called, desperate to hide her face. “Just fine.”
“You know, usually people drive with their feetinsidethe car.”
“Go away. I’ve got it all under control.”
The easy, amused laugh that had haunted her dreams for years echoed through the window. “Tell that to your radiator.”
“Triple A’s on the way.”
“No, they’re not.”
Tessa let out a frustrated groan. Liam Davies was always good at calling her bluff. “I don’t need your help.” But the sad truth was that she did. If she turned him away, it might be hours—even tomorrow—before someone else came by to save her. She could probably wriggle her ankle free of its trap. But her feet would be blistered and maybe even a little bloody if she attempted the trek into town with her current footwear.
“Your foot’s caught, miss.”
Tessa breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Liam didn’t recognize her. “I hadn’t noticed.”
If she could just get him to leave without seeing her face, he might never know she came back to Sunset Ridge. Last she knew, he was traveling the world in the Army. She didn’t plan on staying long. Only enough to figure out how to prove her innocence and return to Vegas to win the competition. But she would have words with her sisters for their failure to mention Liam had moved back to town.
“I’m just going to loosen this strap,” he said. “I promise I won’t try anything funny.”
“Right.”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” The graze of his fingers left a heat trail on her ankle as he undid the offending strap. It wasn’t fair that after all this time a simple touch had an instant effect on her. The second her foot was free, Tessa yanked it into the car and crawled into the far bucket seat. “Thanks, got it from here.”
