Chapter Nine
Ace drove away from town with May seat-belted next to him. The troopers had his Ford, so he’d pulled his plow truck out of storage and removed the plow. The older rig rode steady on the narrow road with his suspension barely reacting to the uneven patches left behind by a long winter. Gravel popped softly beneath the tires where the pavement thinned. The engine hummed low and constant, a sound he’d always found calming.
May rolled down her window and lifted her face toward the breeze. Cool air rushed inside, carrying the scent of pine, damp earth, and distant water. “Such a nice night, although I do miss darkness.”
Ace glanced at the sky. It wasn’t full sun, but the light lingered in that strange Alaskan way, like a cloudy afternoon that refused to fade. The clouds hung low and gray, heavy but undecided. He didn’t need his headlights.
A plane caught his eye as it moved overhead, its drone cutting across the quiet. He tracked it automatically. He’d never admit it, but sometimes he dreamed about flying again. Knew he had to but wasn’t ready. Yet he wouldn’t be able to offer anything to anybody until he got his head on straight.
Anybody like May Smirnov.
It felt right having her beside him. The realization settled heavily inside him. The timing was terrible, and he knew it. In fact, he wasn’t sure she even liked him and couldn’t blame her if she didn’t. He’d spent the last six months getting wounded in increasingly creative ways, half the time just to be near her.
Pathetic.
May glanced over at him, blue eyes bright in the lingering light. “You didn’t have to drive me home. You could’ve taken the two influencers up on their offer.” Her lips curved as if in amusement.
Ace snorted. “That’s okay. I’m not quite sure what they were offering, but I know I’m not interested.”
“They’re both pretty.”
He hadn’t noticed. “Sure.”
“And more age-appropriate than Laura was.”
His jaw clenched. “Laura wasn’t my type, and I wasn’t hitting on her. I just wanted to make sure she was safe.”
“From Tyler.”
“Yeah.”
May studied his profile for a second before turning back toward the window. Wind lifted a few strands of her hair, tossing them wildly before they settled again. Silence stretched between them, filled with road noise and the steady rush of air. Then she spoke quietly. “Do you think Tyler killed her?”
Ace flexed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I don’t know. Considering I’m the troopers’ prime suspect right now, I hope they’re interviewing him as strongly as they did me. I should’ve made sure she got home.”
“You’re not responsible for everybody in town,” May said. “She was with a bunch of friends at the bar.”
“I know.”
The plane circled again in the distance.
May squinted through the windshield. “I saw that plane earlier. Is that the Jackson boys?”
“I think so.” Ace lifted his chin toward the sky. “They’ve been running tourists up to Loon Pond.”
May frowned. “Where would they land in the middle of the mountains?”
Ace smirked. “It’s a pretty big lake between two mountains, and there’s plenty of room for a sea plane.”
“Then why call it a pond?”
He shrugged. “It’s Alaska. Everything’s smaller or bigger than it sounds.”
She chuckled softly and looked out the window again.
The road curved gently, trees pressing closer on both sides. Tall spruce and pine crowded the edges, while birch trees flashed pale trunks between the darker growth. The wilderness felt endless out there, and he loved it. Always had and always would.
“It’s a pretty night, isn’t it? Well, night that’s all lit up,” May said.
