“Stay here, Graham.” She pushed the door open enough to poke her head out through it, but whatever the disturbance was, it was coming from around the back. Quietly, she closed the door behind her and tiptoed over the snow she hadn’t felt like shoveling off her deck.
When she rounded the corner, she screamed.
An enormous moose stood half on her deck, half off, snorting and scraping one hoof. Ed’s attention was laser-focused on the man he’d cornered.
“Cody?”
“Surprise,” he said with a weak laugh.
“Ed, what are you doing?” It was probably a bad idea to address the moose when he was clearly upset. She’d never seen a moose charge someone, but if Ed could figure out how to get the rest of his heavy frame up those narrow stairs, she might have a new Alaskan experience to add to her list. “Ed, leave Cody alone.”
“In his defense, he did chase me onto the deck instead of back to the water.”
Jenna glanced toward the shore, surprised to see a bright blue kayak tied to a tree. “You do know there’s a road here, right?”
“It’s not plowed. My car got stuck half a mile in.”
Never mind that seeing Cody here in Sunset Ridge, onherdeck, should be impossible. Butterflies she thought had died came immediately back to life as she realized what lengths he’d gone to in order to see her. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Maui?”
“Yes. No. Not anymore.” Cody flattened his back against the cabin when Ed leapt forward. It was the reminder to them both that Ed wasn’t some tame pet. He was a wild animal capable of serious damage.
“Hold on. I’ll be right back,” she called to Cody, running back into the house.
“Jenna—”
She zipped through the cabin, sprinting for the master bedroom that faced the bay. She shoved the window open, pushed out the screen, and yanked Cody inside. They fell back onto the bed with a bouncy plop. But before Jenna could take a single breath of relief, Ed stuck his snout through the opening and snorted.
Jenna curled into Cody, fearing Ed would knock down the logs with his antlers when he charged, wondering if Cody’s embrace would be the last thing she remembered before her time on this world ended.
Graham charged into the room, barking at Ed like he was chewing the moose out. Ed’s ears went down, then back up. He tilted his head in that odd way that onlythismoose could pull off. He turned his attention back to Jenna and Cody, who were wrapped up tight together. He straightened his crooked head and— “Did he just nod at us?” Jenna asked Cody, because it seemed too weird to be true.
“Okay, Ed. I believe in you,” Cody said to the moose with a laugh. “Happy now?”
Ed retreated from the window. They lifted from the bed to the window in time to catch the moose trotting toward the woods. “Looks like you need some new deck steps,” Cody mused.
Graham leapt onto the bed and smothered Cody with excited licks. The eager pup tackled him to the bed. The sound of Cody’s laughter filled the empty holes in her heart. But before she dared to feel an ounce of hope, she had to get to the bottom of this. “Cody, why are you back?”
“I’m not just back,” he said, forced to lift Graham in order to stand. “I’mhome.”
“But Maui—”
“Isn’t what I want anymore.”
“You gave up three million dollars?”
“It’s only money.” He set Graham onto the bed and reached for Jenna’s hand. “I know why you lied, Jenna. I know what you were trying to do. But I went to Maui. I spent two weeks there trying to convince myself I was happy to be back on set, doing what I loved. But the truth was, I missed everything about Sunset Ridge. My family, my pitiful car, my favorite foods, my favorite four-legged buddy. But most of all, I missed the woman I’mstillin love with.”
“Cody—”
“I know it’s crazy, Jenna. Who falls in love with someone they just met?”
“Grandpa Eddie did.” Jenna reached for his cheek, tilting his head down to capture his attention. “It’s not crazy, Cody. Because in that same week, I fell in love with you, too. I just couldn’t stand the thought of you staying for me and resenting me for it later.”
“Leaving is what proved to me that there is nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Even if I can’t get over my fear of flying to travel anywhere else?”
“We’re going to work on that.”
