Eli’s eyes widen.
So do mine, because when Alaska takes that cup from me—ah.
His fingers brush mine.
And I feel it like fire in my bones, burning through my whole body.
Uh-oh.
Okay.
Breathe.
Um.
Crap.
What was I saying again?
I jerk my hand back. Alaska’s oddly quiet, but then says, “Hey, kiddo. Why don’t you go find that album you’ve been putting together? And shower. Brush your teeth. And get dressed.”
Oof. It isn’t hard to tell he’s piling on to his son’s to-do list to buy time.
“...sure.” Eli looks at us weirdly, cocking his head as he slides off the stool. “You know you can just tell me you need to have a grown-up talk, right?”
“Go,” Alaska emphasizes, suppressed laughter in his voice.
Eli just grins and darts off down the hall.
Oh, boy. Why? Why did he have to leave us alone?
Because I’m totally not gawking at that nearly naked slice of Alaskan perfection again.
Nope.
I don’t need to, not when I can feel him like there’s an imprint on the air, changing the space around me into this Alaska-sized shape I want so badly to sink into.
My nostrils twinge with an unfamiliar smell.
Pancakes!
Crap. I’m going to burn them.
Scurrying back over to the skillet with a shy grin, I can feel him watching me.
“Sorry,” he murmurs, that unique muffled sound of someone speaking against the rim of a coffee cup. “I’ll go put some pants on, but we’ve got like two seconds to talk about the gold before he’s bouncing back in here.”
“Oh, sure. About that. I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night...” How I manage to keep my voice steady, no clue. Or my hands as I flip the pancakes. “My cousin Ember helped out at the gas station. I promise she’ll keep a secret. She’s got half the secrets of this town in that pretty blond head of hers, including some highly classified stuff.” Yep, I’m babbling. I clear my throat before continuing. “Her husband, too. After his veterinary practice burned down during that whole arson mess, he had a keycard-secured vault installed in the rebuild. So we just need to get the gold to The Menagerie without anyone noticing, and that’s it. It’s safe until we—”
No.
I catch myself and start again with a shaky breath that hurts.
“—until I figure out what to do with it,” I finish.
Alaska’s quiet again, but that feeling of him pressing in from all sides gets more solid, more heated as he steps closer, setting his coffee cup down.
Here we go.
I can see it in my peripheral vision. His hand, dark hairs bristling on his forearm and the backs of his knuckles, the thick swell of muscle from the stark lines of his wrist, the tanned lines of his skin.
He’s so still save for that vibrant presence, so still it sends chills sweeping up my body and ratchets my pulse to Mach three.
I think I’m in trouble and he’s pissed—
Until he laughs.
Low, incredulous, rich with so much warmth.
“This town really has some stories, huh?” he asks.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but that good-natured amusement lets me breathe, and I actually smile. “You have no idea.”
“Got a feeling I’m gonna find out sooner or later.” With an amused sound, he withdraws, the space around me no longer boiling with this carnivorous want. “Not sure yet if I’m supporting cast here or starring in my own big adventure. Either way, Fliss, I’m in it till the end. I’m with you. Let me get dressed, we’ll eat, and then haul some gold.”
Just like that, he’s gone, leaving me alone with the crisping pancakes and a sinking dull guilt in my belly.
I’ve pulled Alaska into my story without meaning to.
There’s nothing left but questions.
Is there any way to finish this tale without a tragedy?
And how do I survive without every glance at Alaska’s rough face tempting me to make devastating decisions?
12
Striking Gold (Alaska)
This morning was interesting.
Breakfast with Felicity at the table. Chasing Eli off to the Fords’ and reminding him to mind his manners around their niece—not that a shy boy like him needs to be told.
Wondering how much longer I had before Fliss straight-up bolted when she looked so antsy.
And then, you know, loading up a few hundred damned pounds or more of solid gold into my Jeep before squeezing the thing into an alley behind a vet clinic and smuggling said gold into a vault through the back entrance.
Another day in paradise.
Afterward, Felicity took off like a stray cat, mumbling something about needing to open The Nest. Considering I already got my fix of her coffee at home, I skipped stopping by the café for more, even if part of me kept screaming do it.
I have this sinking feeling she was running away from me.
Not sure what I did, but the last thing I’d ever want is making that beautiful kit fox of a woman afraid of me.