“Well, if I end up staying in the area and have a big enough place, I would help out with Annie anytime.”
Cole happened to hear this as he sat down across from me. “Oh? Are you thinking of moving here now? It’s me, isn’t it?”He gestured dramatically, placing his palm on his chest. “I’m irresistible.”
Laughter circled the table, with everyone clearly accustomed to his teasing. Meanwhile, I willed the heat away from my cheeks, but it was rising forcefully. For the hundred-thousandth time in my life, I hated my tendency to blush.
Lincoln sat down across from me, his gaze landing on Cole. “Seems like you’ve only gotten more dramatic since I was away.”
Cole waggled his brows. “Maybe.”
“Where were you?” I asked.
They were such a tight family, and yet something flickered in the air—just a beat of silence—as I glanced around the table. I didn’t know how to read it.
Lincoln shrugged lightly. “I’m a hotshot firefighter. We’re all trained for it, but I did it full-time up North for a while.”
“It’s only been recently that we got this place back up and running,” Haven added.
“It burned down,” Tommy chimed in.
Haven lightly squeezed his son’s shoulder. “It was hard on all of us. Took a while to get the insurance sorted out and get it rebuilt.”
“Oh,” I said quietly, sensing there was a whole lot more to that story. The wildfire here had been all over the Alaskan news.
“Anyway, I did that full-time,” Lincoln continued, “but I finally moved back.”
“Well, it’s beautiful here,” I offered.
“So where were you in Fairbanks?” Lincoln asked next, smoothly shifting the focus back to me.
“Originally my parents wanted to build on the outskirts of the Arctic Refuge.”
Grady let out a low whistle. “That’s out there.”
“Yeah, but they moved to be near Fairbanks.”
“Too much nature?” Haven prompted.
“It was just them and me and my sister. I had some heart problems, so they needed to be closer to medical facilities,” I explained matter-of-factly. I was practiced at explaining this and knew if I didn’t, there would only be more questions.
Maggie’s brow furrowed in concern. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah. I was born with, um, a heart condition. Doctors don’t know what causes it, but it runs in families.” I shrugged lightly.
“Oh, huh, well what’s that called?” Maggie asked, her gaze curious.
“Tetralogy of Fallot. Basically, it means that because of the abnormalities, my heart had trouble getting enough oxygen throughout my body. I had two major surgeries when I was younger to repair it, but I’m in the clear now.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, her tone careful.
“I have some good scarring to show for it,” I said, thinking that might dissuade Cole from flirting with me once and for all. I didn’t like to admit it to myself, but I was a little disappointed to know that’s probably how it would play out.
“You’re hiking all over Alaska by yourself, and you’ve had heart surgery?” Elsa lifted her hand in a mock high five from across the table. “Youarea badass.”
I shrugged. “I love hiking.”
“So, where’s your sister then?” someone asked.
“Oh, we kind of went in opposite directions. I wanted to do all the things in the outdoors, and she actually works at a hospital in Anchorage. She’s a doctor.”
