Sophia grinned at him as she packed up her gear. “Alaska is a very chill place.”
He couldn’t agree with her more. Lately he’d been asking himself if he could imagine himself becoming a permanent resident of Moose Falls. At moments like this one, it wasn’t hard to envision at all.
Caleb helped Sophia carry her gear to the work van. They headed back to Yukon Cider, where Sophia focused onchecking the images from today’s shoot and comparing them to the ones she had previously taken. Caleb popped in the pics. He gave off star vibes. It wasn’t just his good looks either. He projected an effortless cool, the sort that was hard to come by. He radiated confidence. Every instinct told her that he was going to soar in this campaign. The public was going to love him, and by extension, the new hard cider product. The commercials would be icing on the cake.
Sophia couldn’t help but wonder if Caleb would stay in Moose Falls once this campaign blew up. After all, it was his dream to become an actor. The reality show hadn’t been a great stepping stone, but this Yukon Cider campaign could give him a shot at fame. She’d seen it happen before with ad campaigns and models who became personalities. The thought of losing Caleb made her pulse race and gave her an uncomfortable gnawing in her belly.
It would hurt to lose him just as they were starting to build something. But he deserved to live out his dreams. And even if it killed her, she would cheer him on.
By the end of the week, she had taken all of Caleb’s campaign photos and filmed two commercials. She wasn’t sure which of them was more excited about the upcoming ads. Sophia knew this was going to be a career high for her, and that felt exciting. Yukon Cider was a quality company, and if this campaign was successful, she might have a strong future with the company. That would help her establish a secure foundation for Lily, which was all she had ever wanted in this world.
When Saturday rolled around, Sophia handed Lily over to Donny for an overnight visit. Although it wasn’t easy, Sophia put her big-girl panties on and smiled at her daughter as if she were going on a grand adventure. She gave an Oscar-worthy performance. Thankfully, Lily enjoyed spending time with her dad, which made the situation morepalatable. Sophia knew from her own life and experiences the importance of daddy–daughter time. If Donny had decided to spend more time with Lily, then she needed to encourage it and try to minimize any conflict. He needed to prove to her that he could be a consistent, responsible parental figure in their daughter’s life before she agreed to grant him joint custody.
While Lily was away, Sophia planned to spend the day with Caleb. She had dressed in the perfect gear for snow machining—a lightweight snowsuit—advising Caleb to do the same. There was still a lot of snow on the trails despite the spring thaw. She had grown up snow machining with her dad, and it was something she truly enjoyed. And she wanted to share this pastime with Caleb.
When she swung by Hattie’s house, Sophia didn’t even have to step out of her vehicle. Caleb was at the front door in minutes, raring to go. He quickly made it over to her truck and stepped up into the passenger seat. “Good morning,” he greeted her, along with a wide smile. Sophia had to hand it to Caleb. He always had a positive outlook and a cheerful disposition. She wondered if that was part of a coping mechanism from a chaotic childhood torn apart by divorce and moving away from everything he’d ever known. Smiling through the pain.
“Morning, Caleb,” she said warmly, giving him a subtle once-over. He was decked out in snow pants, a navy turtleneck, and a lightweight parka. As usual, he looked amazing.
“Thanks for picking me up,” he told her. He held up a brown paper bag. “Landon baked some chocolate chip cookies, and he insisted we take some along with us.”
“Aww, that’s sweet of him. I love that he bakes,” she gushed. The idea of Landon up to his elbows in flour and chocolate chips was heartwarming.
“Well, I helped,” Caleb quickly added.
“Did you?” Sophia asked. “What was your role? Taste tester?”
“How did you know?” he asked, chuckling.
“I just had a feeling,” Sophia said, laughing along with him. She would love to have seen him as a little kid. She just knew he’d been mischievous and one of a kind.
She heard a rustling sound, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Caleb digging into the brown bag. “Want a bite?” he asked. A quick look confirmed that he’d already dug into one of the cookies.
“It’s kind of early for a cookie,” she answered.
He let out a gasp. “Seriously? Is that even a thing? In my world it’s never too early for a chocolate chip cookie.” He let out a moan of appreciation as he bit into the treat. The aroma of chocolate wafted over to her, serving as a temptation she couldn’t easily ignore.
“Wow. It’s so rich and gooey,” Caleb said in a garbled voice.
“Gimme some of that,” Sophia said, holding out her hand.
“You sure? I wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your principles on my account.”
She let out a little growl. “If you don’t break me off a piece of that chocolate deliciousness, we might never make it to JR’s.”
“Okay, okay,” Caleb said as he handed over half of the cookie. Sophia kept one hand on the wheel and took the cookie from Caleb. Instead of biting into it right away, she lifted it to her nose before taking a huge whiff.
She took a bite, letting out a little sound the moment the flavors hit her tongue. “Oh, my goodness. This is incredible. Like seriously amazing.”
“Why, thank you. Landon and I make a good team.”
“These cookies are bakery worthy,” she raved, taking little nibbles so she could savor the experience. “I’d love the recipe.”
“Hattie’s recipe,” Caleb said. “She handed it over under strict orders that it was for our eyes only.”
“Aww, bummer. I totally get it, though. My dad has so many secret recipes they could fill a cookbook. If they weren’t secret, that is.”
Conversation flowed easily between them in the truck. There wasn’t a single moment where the conversation lagged or became stalled. They shared a good rapport, and he made her laugh like no other. There was so much about Caleb that she found to be endearing. It was both scary and exciting to realize the depth of emotion he brought out in her.
