He let her soak in the beauty during their forty-three-minute flight, instead inviting the comfortable silence. The overcast sky in the distance promised rain soon, but for now, it gave the mountains an eerie foggy look that Liam loved. Drizzly raindrops splattered the windshield, but not enough to be of concern.
“It’s amazing up here,” Tessa said, never peeling her eyes away.
Liam wondered if she remembered that day, at their special spot just beyond the beach, where the waterfall was hidden a stretch after the path ended. They found refuge and privacy behind the wall of water. On the rocks looking out, they talked about the future. About one day having a small plane of their own so they could go off on Alaskan adventures anytime they wanted.
Closer to Anchorage, Liam radioed in, ensuring he was cleared in the airspace near the float plane pond. It was as much a small airport for bush planes as any place in town. But this one offered more than just a place to park a plane for a few hours.
“You’re going to land in the pond?” Tessa asked, hearing his concise request.
He gave her his mischievous smirk. “We have skis, remember?”
“Right.” A flash of the old, thrill-seeking Tessa returned in that fearless smile. It made him feel seventeen again. “What is that?” She pointed toward a brown two-story building with an abundance of windows. A patio of tables was filled with people.
“Restaurant and lodge.”
“Really?”
“We can grab lunch there before we head back.” He wished it were dinner, but there was just too much in his schedule to swing that this week.Next week though . . .
“Trying to give me ideas, are you?”
Liam never did anything without intent, and it seemed he’d been caught this time. “Can’t hurt, right? You’re one of the owners, too.”
Sunset Ridge had too many eating establishments to support a new standalone restaurant, but if the lodge opened one, the chance of success would be higher. And it would give Tessa a purpose—a reason to stay without sacrificing her dreams. Years ago, that type of option hadn’t existed. He knew she wouldn’t have become the chef she did without culinary school and years in New York learning from the best.
Liam wondered for years what life would have been like had he not joined the Army. No one was thrilled to learn he signed the papers the day after his eighteenth birthday—especially Tessa. She’d been hurt and angry, much as he expected. But he enlisted because Tessa would’ve sacrificed everything she wanted out of life to stay in Sunset Ridge with him. Liam hadn’t needed a crystal ball to know how that would eventually work out.
He landed on the water nice and smooth; the perfect landing to impress a perfect girl.
“That was fun!” Tessa’s eyes sparkled with a light he hadn’t seen in years. Liam wanted to lean across the console and kiss her, and almost did with the way her gaze kept dropping to his lips. Instead, he focused on floating to the dock and shutting down the engine.
“Not a bad way to travel, huh?”
“When did you get your pilot’s license?”
“Couple years ago.” His evasive answer didn’t go unnoticed, if Tessa’s raised eyebrow said anything. But he wasn’t about to launch into detail about an idea that sparked during his time in the service. Talking about the Army today—as proud as he was of his time in—might unravel all the progress they’d made. It could bring Tessa back to that awful day, her cheeks soaked in tears. Liam shook away the memory he didn’t want to relive. “Bucket list thing, you know?”
She allowed him to help her out of the plane, rocking against him when her unstable boots caught on the dock at an odd angle. Liam held her against him a few moments longer than necessary, enjoying the familiar vanilla scent from a shampoo she apparently still used. “What else is on this bucket list of yours?” she asked, low and near.
“Oh, a few things,” he finally answered, his lips close to her ear. She shivered in his arms seconds before she shrugged her way free. They’d always had that electrical current strung between them. Some thought they made a dangerous combination.Maybe they’re right. “Still have skydiving on my list.”
“Everybody says that.”
“Okay. I want a family,” he said with such raw honesty Liam surprised himself. It was no secret to anyone in town he was ready to settle down. And Tessa knew years ago he wanted that. But speaking the words so plainly now, he felt vulnerable.
“Is that why you got out of the Army? Moved home?”
“Something like that.” But Liam wasn’t in the mood to discuss any of that today. Someday he’d tell her all about his time in the military, when it was no longer a sore spot between them. Though he’d joined to push Tessa to pursue her own dreams, Liam had a lot of incredible experiences.Bad ones, too.
He led the way down a sidewalk that traveled past diners enjoying a late breakfast on the patio. When he noticed Tessa several steps behind him, her eyes on the people, he retreated the few paces and took her hand. “Getting ideas, are you?”
“Can’t hurt, right?”
“C’mon, we need to go get your radiator. You can gawk later.”
“We’re not walking, are we?” she asked glancing down at her shoes. They were the same impractical little boot things she had on the day he found her half-dangling from her car window.
“We have a truck. A buddy owes me a favor, so I cashed in today.”
