Just then, Elsa came through the doorway that led into the kitchen. “Are we ready to go?”
“We are ready!” Chloe announced with gusto. “Who’s driving?”
“I’ll drive,” Elsa offered with a quick smile.
As I walked outside with them and glanced around, my heart felt a little happy. I’d always wanted girlfriends, and it had never really worked out that way. Not because I didn’t want them. It’s just my life felt like it had stuttered throughout most of my childhood. Even though we weren’t that far from what my sister and I used to jokingly call “civilization,” we didn’t have a lot of social opportunities. With me missing chunks of school, it was even more challenging to make friends.
This experience of going together to card night with Chloe and Elsa, joking and chatting, made me happy in a way I hadn’texpected. Elsa insisted I ride in the front, with Chloe riding in the middle seat in the back.
“So what do you think about Alaska?” Chloe asked.
I glanced toward her over my shoulder. “I grew up here, so I love Alaska.”
“Oh, right,” she said slowly, her Southern twang lilting every word.
“What doyouthink of Alaska?” I asked.
“I love it!” she exclaimed.
“Well, that’s awesome. What brought you here?”
“My dad. He loves fishing, and before we came here, he had fished almost everywhere he wanted, except Alaska. I promised him, before he got too old, we’d come here. So here we are.”
“And you love it?”
“I love it.” Her tone was definitive. “It’s totally different from where I last lived, which was hot and flat.”
I sputtered a laugh. “Okay. Alaska is nothot, and it’s definitely not flat.”
“It’s for sure not. My dad is retired military, so I was a military brat and lived all over the place. Every place has its charms, but Alaska is so beautiful. It kind of blows my mind,” Chloe added.
“Where were you living before?
“Coastal North Carolina. Love it, but…” She shrugged. “I was ready for a change.”
“I think it’s so awesome that you and your dad came here. So, do you live with your dad?” I asked.
Chloe wiggled her hand back and forth. “Not really. He has his own place, and I stop by to help out and make sure he’s doing okay. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited to get this job. I have a place to stay here, and I love it.”
I contemplated the apartment above the garage and wondered why she wasn’t out there.
As if she read my mind, Elsa slid her gaze to mine and chimed in, “We offered her the barn apartment, but she didn’t want it.”
Chloe blushed a little and gave me a sheepish smile. I angled myself more in the seat so I could see both of them, my brows arching in question.
“Much as I love Alaska, I was worried I might get eaten by a bear walking from there,” she admitted. “So I wanted to be in the main resort.” She caught me biting my lip. “Go ahead and laugh.”
I giggled. “Okay, I get it. Bears are big and scary.”
“What about you?” Elsa prompted. “I mean, we know you grew up in Alaska, but give us your whole story.”
I quickly summarized, glossing over my medical stuff because that bored even me. By the time I finished explaining, both Chloe and Elsa were staring at me wide-eyed. “Wow. So even with your heart issues, you’ve hiked all over Alaska?” Chloe asked.
“I’m fine now,” I said quickly. “And I love being in the outdoors. It’s my favorite place to be.”
“Well, Maggie issoexcited to have you there,” Elsa said, casting a sideways smile my way. “I think it’s a great idea to have a female guide too.” With a gleam in her gaze, she added, “Cole totally has a crush on you. If you haven’t figured that out yet.”
“What?!” I exclaimed, heat spinning through me. The kiss and his comment instantly replayed in my mind.
