“Of course you do,” he lobbed back.
The little twitch at the corners of his mouth sent my belly into a dizzying spin. I didn’t even know what the hell was happening with my reaction to this man.
“What do you mean, ‘of course’?” I bit the inside of my cheeks, annoyed with myself for sounding so defensive.
“It doesn’t even matter. Although, I guess it sort of does since you’re on my property. You seem like you can take care of yourself. That’s all I meant.”
“Well, I can.” I lifted my chin.
“Are you from around here?”
“I’m visiting, but I’m from Alaska.” His brows arched. “I’ve lived all over Alaska,” I added. “But I haven’t been to this area, so I came to spend some time here before flying over to Katmai.”
He nodded. “Okay. Well, you have permission to hike all over this area. We have miles and miles of trails. Hiking after the snow melts, cross-country skiing in the winter. That kind of thing.”
“Who are you?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Cole Silver. We own Heartfire Falls.”
“Oh. Luna mentioned the falls. She said they’re beautiful when the sun is setting.”
“So they are.” When his lips kicked up at one corner, I felt hot all over.
“You know what?” he said, almost to himself. “Why don’t you come to Heartfire Falls for dinner while you’re in town? My mom would love to have you. It’s an official resort, so we have guests all the time. Luna must’ve liked you, or she wouldn’t have sent you out here.”
I felt as if I were holding my breath before I finally nodded, offering vaguely, “Not tonight, but maybe another evening.” This was the kind of thing I loved about Alaska—people being kind and welcoming.
“You haven’t told me your name yet,” Cole pointed out.
“Adele. Jacks,” I added belatedly.
“Well, hello, Adele Jacks,” he drawled.
Another flutter in my belly.
Just then, the wolverine made a mad dash, passing close to Cole. He stuck his foot out and—I kid you not—tripped the bold wolverine, who immediately changed course and ran off. When we glanced back toward where the snowshoe hare had been, it was long gone.
“You saved her!” I beamed at him.
He looked a little sheepish and shrugged. “I tripped a wolverine.”
We started laughing together, not something I did often with almost-strangers.
I fell into step beside Cole when he said, “I’ll walk you back. Sun’s setting. It’s going to get colder soon.”
When we reached the area where I had parked—a little pullout along what I assumed was a gravel road when it wasn’tcovered with snow and ice—Cole held my gaze. “Come out to see the sunset here soon. I’ll take you to the falls.”
“Maybe.”
I didn’t dwell on guys. At all. I’d never even had a boyfriend. That was a story for another day. I’d never had a romantic relationship of any kind.
My life had been my parents and my sister. My need to be independent overrode everything. I didn’t like to think about why.
I also didn’t like how much Cole occupied my thoughts in the hours that followed my encounter with him. I did want to see Heartfire Falls when the sun was setting. And yet, I was reluctant to take him up on his invitation.
So I did what I usually did. I checked out places in town. I met people, but kept my distance. The coffee at Firehouse Café was extraordinarily good. And the donuts? Out of this world. Downright holy.
A few days after my brief encounter with the wolverine, the snowshoe hare, and Cole, I went out to get dinner at Fireweed Winery. I’d been to their flagship location in Fireweed Harbor, so I knew the food would be good.
