Graham, sensing she was distraught, crawled into her lap. She hugged him as the tears fell, and suddenly she was crying for more than just the loss of a sister. She missed Grandpa. She wished he were here to tell her what to do. She missed Cody, even though he hadn’t really left yet. But he would be. She wanted to ask him to stay, but she’d never forgive herself if he did as she asked and resented her down the road for it.
Jenna hated feeling this vulnerable, but she couldn’t stop the overwhelming rush of emotion.
She cried for what felt like hours, but in reality, was only half of one. When the tears dried up, Graham’s poor fur was soaked. The loyal pup didn’t seem to mind. “How did I get so lucky to find you?”
He licked her hand, then her cheek. She giggled and he licked it again.
“Okay, okay. We’ll go for afunwalk.” She slipped on her tennis shoes, grabbed a jacket and his leash, and headed out the back door.
They’d been making regular trips to Lookout Point, even when the sun wasn’t setting. It was windier up here than in town, which was why she suspected they had the trail to themselves. She liked it that way. The silence granted her permission to be still. To let go of everything that burdened her.
Graham let out a whine when a gust of wind shook a loose fence rail. “It’s okay, buddy. It’s just the wind.” But when he whined again, she realized he was looking behind them.
Jenna’s heart thumped, terrified she was going to turn around and see a bear. Cadence had warned her to be on the lookout for them. Black bears were rarely sighted, but theyhadbeen seen on occasion.
But it wasn’t a bear behind them.
It was a massive moose with enormous antlers. If he charged them, she was going off a cliff for sure. Her heart thundered in her chest as Graham whined again. At least her dog was sticking close to her side instead of doing hislet me at ’empacing. That might be the only reason the creature hadn’t moved.
“Wait. Are you—” The moose tilted his head and her eyes went wide. “You’re Ed.” Countless people had mentioned the beast’s doglike head tilt in the Ed-encounter stories she’d collected. It was one of his trademark gestures that distinguished him from other moose. “It’s really you.”
They stared at one another for several moments as the moose leisurely stripped the bark from a branch. Jenna wasn’t sure what she expected to happen. Cody was right; Ed wasn’t Santa Claus. She’d probably scream and tumble down the cliff behind her in shock if Ed starting talking.
“Everyone says you show up at the most inconvenient times, but I don’t know what that means for me. Well, except Cody’s not with me and this won’t count for the list.” She was talking to a moose. If anyone from Indiana saw her now, they’d probably have her committed. The thought made her smirk, reminding her she still had a two-week notice to submit. Something she was doing the second she got back to the lodge room. “Everyone who’s met you has some profound love story to share. All because you intervened somehow. What message are you trying to send me?”
Ed blinked as he stared down the trail, almost as if in thought. Except, moments later, he reached for another branch to nibble.
He’s a moose, Jenna. There’s no message.
* * *
CODY
Cody never performed stunts with cars, but he drove to Anchorage as though he’d mastered in Formula One speed and precision. Without cell reception most of the drive, he couldn’t check on Sadie, so speed was his best and only ally. He had no idea what he was walking into. His sister had cried wolf enough times in her life to make everyone else in the family hardly bat an eye when something went wrong.
But Cody worried that if he accepted that as well, the one time she truly needed someone, no one would be there. The one time it might mean life or death, she’d be on her own. He’d never forgive himself if it came to that.
I’ll never let that happen.
No one knew about the times he’d left a movie set halfway around the world to fly back for Sadie’s sake. Though both times had been for minor issues, they’d been major crises to her. She’d needed him to help put her broken pieces back together. He had no regrets because he understood his sister better than anyone. Better, he suspected, than she knew herself. Which was why this time, after he confirmed she was in no immediate danger, he was switching tactics and forcing tough love on her instead.
As the outskirts of the city came into view, a series of pings sounded on his phone. He waited until snagged behind a string of cars to check the texts. All were from Sadie, and to his relief, all were texts he expected.Are you almost here? I’m hungry. I’m sorry I put you through this. You’re the only one who cares. Can we get ice cream?
Cody typed out a quick text with one hand to let Sadie know he was close. Then, without forethought, he dialed Jenna’s number.
She picked up on the first ring. “Is she okay?”
Cody let out a heavy sigh of relief at the sound of Jenna’s voice. The way she put his sister first instead of herself stirred emotions inside him he swore he’d never let himself feel again. “I’m almost there. I think she is, but I won’t know for sure until I have eyes on her.”
He yearned for the consoling caress of her fingers as they threaded through his. That comforting squeeze that reassured him they were in this together. Her words confirmed it. “I’m here to help however I can. Just tell me if there’s anything I can do.”
“You’ve already helped. You didn’t even hesitate to lend me your truck.” He lifted the corner of his mouth, but his rearview mirror revealed that his usually carefree smile was forlorn. How would he help Sadie all the way from Maui when he wouldn’t have more than forty-eight hours off at any given time? The contract was very specific about expectations, and there was less wiggle room with it than Eddie’s bucket list. “You didn’t ask questions. How did—”
“I just . . . knew.”
“She’s not on drugs,” Cody said, pulling into the parking lot of the hotel in the middle of Anchorage. At least it wasn’t some rundown motel on the outskirts. He’d made Sadie promise never to hide out at one again after the last time he found her in one. “I know when my sister’s lying to me, and I know when she’s telling me the truth. She’s never lied to me about that. I don’t know why it’s so important you know that, but it is. Whatever’s happened to her—”
“I believe you, Cody.”
