“A little girl’s moose-themed party is at stake.” He gave her a wink that annoyingly caused her heart to pitter-patter. “I can’t stand by and do nothing.”
She was lucky to have Denver as a friend.Afriend,Sophie. That’s it.
For more than five years, Sophie had lived in Hawaii while married to Blake. When her ex first told her about the surgeon position open on the island and asked her to move there, she was excited for the adventure and hopeful for new friends. But Sophie’s hope dimmed as one cocktail party after another left her feeling more and more out of place. She never connected with any of the uppity wives at those dinner parties the way she connected with Denver.
“Hey there, Sophie. How’s the training going?” Jeffrey the postmaster greeted her warmly, as always. Despite the best efforts of many young women in town, Jeffrey was still single. Outside of running the local post office, he ran marathons, too. He signed up for most any marathon in the state of Alaska.
“Good,” she answered, hoping to keep the topic light and void of detail. Though Denver was her official unofficial coach, Sophie’d talked strategy more than once with Jeffrey. Her cross-country days in high school had nothing on running a full marathon, and Sophie was open to all the advice she could get. “Still nervous, but I think I’ll be ready next weekend. Time doesn’t matter. I just want to make it to that finish line.”
“Just remember to load up on your carbs next week,” added Jeffrey. “And don’t start off like someone struck you with a bolt of lightning. Let the fast guys go first.”
“You’ll do just fine,” Denver said, his reassuring voice calm as ever. “I have complete faith.”
“He’s right,” Jeffrey agreed. “Let me grab your things from the back.”
With a town as small as Sunset Ridge, the post office only hired one full-time and one part-time employee. The mail carrier route was condensed and consisted of only a few blocks, but the lodge sat one street out of range. This forced the sisters to pick up their mail from the post office, though none seemed to be great at remembering to do that more than once or twice a week. Except when they expected something.
“Howwasyour run this morning?” Denver asked. “Should’ve been an easy three miles.”
Sophie turned her back, pretending to read the flyers on the bulletin board. Half a dozen related to the upcoming Moose Days Festival—the parade, the town moose hunt, and the marathon itself. “Good. Felt good. Easy, like you said.”
“Soph?” She recognized that tone, the one that warned her Denver was onto her.
Jeffrey slid a large box across the counter, saying, “Here you go,” and saving her for the moment. Sophie couldn’t see the postmaster over the huge box. “Don’t know what you have in this box, but it’s a little heavy.” The easy way he hefted it onto the counter seemed to suggest the opposite. “Want some help out?”
“I’ll get it,” Denver said.
“One more thing.” Jeffrey handed Sophie a certified letter. Relief washed over her. Though Caroline was in her second week of kindergarten, she desperately needed new school clothes. This check—the only remaining attachment to her former life and something she’d fought a hard battle to get—would provide for that need. Along with a new twin bed should she find a suitable rental.
“Thanks, Jeffrey.”
Denver lifted the awkwardly large box from the counter and carried it toward the door with as minimal effort as Jeffrey. Once it was loaded in the back seat of Denver’s truck, she asked, “Mind if we swing by the bank?”
“Not at all.”
“We still haven’t figured out exactlywhoMalcom stumbled onto,” Sophie said as Denver backed onto the main road. Finally feeling normal around Denver again and not so schoolgirl nervous, she launched into her ideas for the victim’s identity until they reached the bank in the midst of downtown.
Though her life was far from perfect, it was perfect for her. Sophie and her sisters ran their great-aunt’s lodge together as one unit, closer now than they’d been in years. Caroline, despite being abandoned by her father during her parents’ divorce, was happy and thriving. Sophie was less than two weeks out from running a full marathon. And she soon hoped to have her very own place, for the first time in her entire adult life. She loved the Sunset Ridge Lodge, but it would always be Cadence’s home, not Sophie’s.
“This shouldn’t take long,” she told Denver outside the bank. He followed her in anyway.
“Have to make a deposit.” He waved a folded check as they each approached a teller.
“Good morning, Ms. Whitmore,” said the teller.
Sophie smiled, relishing in the sound of her maiden name returned to her. It was one of the first orders of business she saw to when she moved to Sunset Ridge. “Good morning, Annie.” After a quick endorsement, she slid the check over to the young woman. She didn’t miss how the teller kept sneaking looks at Denver.
It would be futile to deny Denver Grant was attractive. Any woman with breath in her lungs recognized that. She wondered when he’d finally give in and go on a date with one of them. Would the first be Annie?
“Just be a moment,” said Annie.
Though Sophie had to lawyer up to obtain the stipend, she still hated cashing Blake’s check every month. Hated mostly that she relied on it so much. But after a rough battle with lawyers, she finally relented and took what little he offered: one monthly check by mail, intended as a replacement for both child support and alimony. Without it, she and Caroline would still be stuck in Hawaii without a means off the island.
“I’m afraid I can’t cash this,” said Annie.
“What?” Sophie was certain she heard wrong.
“We sent the request to the other bank.” Her apologetic eyes tugged at Sophie’s cracking heart. In situations like this, Blake used to explode on the innocent people who had no control. Sophie promised herself she wouldneverbe like him, no matter the circumstances.
“What happened?” Her voice remained calm, but the fingers curled around her purse strap trembled.
Annie leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Insufficient funds.”
Sophie stared at the check. It was the same yellow patterned check he sent every month. Same address. Both his name and his new wife. “Are you sure?”
“I tried it twice,” Annie said with a sympathetic smile.
“Thank you.” Sophie pocketed the bad check and turned toward the door. She needed a minute to collect herself in case Denver peppered her with questions. The bounced check couldn’t have come at a worse time.
