The first time River had seen him, Easton had been wearing a dark T-shirt and worn blue jeans. Maybe he knew how good that particular combination looked on him, because he’d never looked as gorgeous as he did right then, biceps flexing with dangerous appeal just from his hands being stuffed into his pockets. Even from this far away, River could tell he was going both shoulders on her. And it worked too, because she wanted to be pressed against that tall, strong body, those arms around her.

“What’s all this for?” she asked, inhaling the deep, luxurious scent of evergreens and cedar wood.

Easton cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I’m not all that great with this stuff. Thought about taking you out for a nice meal, but you’ve been kicked out of pretty much everywhere in town.”

“Har har,” River said, rolling her eyes at him. “I’m only technically not allowed back at the resort.”

“I didn’t want to share you.” This time, Easton’s voice was stronger, surer. “I know they all want to see you, but I want you the most.”

River closed the distance between them, and only then did she realize his beard had been trimmed down neatly, leaving his smile visible to see. Reaching up to brush her fingertips along his jaw, she knew she didn’t want to share him either. And in a couple of hours, she was going to have to give him up completely.

“You’re very handsome, Easton Lockett. I know why the reporter gave you such a hard time. You probably broke her heart.”

Those kind brown eyes gazed down at her, the usual warmth replaced with a heat that River could feel down to her toes.

“Was the walk too rough?” he asked in a low voice, hands finding her hips.

She shook her head, because she would have hopped on one foot to get to him, to have this night with him. “No, it was perfect,” she promised, unable to keep her palms from sliding up his chest.

“Are you hungry?”

“Definitely.” At first, she misunderstood, reaching for him and drawing him down to her. Easton bent his head willingly, his arm wrapping around her waist and lifting her up on her good toes. When they pulled away to catch their breath, he smiled against her lips.

“I meant actual food,” he told her. “Come on.”

River let him draw her to the campfire, where their dinner waited. Upon seeing what he’d prepared, River slipped her hand into his, delighted.

“You ordered pizza. Pepperoni and pineapple. I can’t believe you remembered that.”

Easton’s fingers threaded with hers. “Not much I’m going to forget about you, sweetheart.”

They ate their pizza cuddled together by the fire. Because he was Easton, he made sure to put the pizza box in a bear-proof trash can back at the hospital, leaving her a couple of minutes of solitude to soak up the crackling fire as she relaxed in front of the tent. It wasn’t the same one they’d left on the mountain—that would have to stay there until it was safe to go back next season and retrieve it. But the tent was nice and smelled fresh and clean when she slipped inside.

The handheld had gone with Bree and Jessie, but River didn’t need a video camera to remember tonight. The little pillow he’d brought for them because she’d never loved sleeping without one on the mountain. The simple tin cup to share the bottle of Fireball whisky he’d set next to the sleeping bag. A collapsible sink in the corner of the tent to make her laugh. She’d remember it all.

When Easton ducked back in the tent, River was seated on the sleeping bag with the bottle open.

“What’s the risk of furry animals interrupting us, deep crevasses swallowing us, or freezing cold weather taking us by surprise?” She poured him a shot into the tin cup.

“The cold front passed, or I wouldn’t have you out here,” he murmured, running a thumb over the top of her injured foot as he sat next to her on the bedding.

“Don’t want to lose any more digits?” She waggled her fingers at him playfully. His hand slid up her leg, briefly squeezing her knee before he accepted the drink.

“Trust me, the only interruptions we’re getting are the ones we decide for ourselves.” Easton swallowed the liquor, then slipped his arm around her, drawing her down to lie with him. “River, this doesn’t have to be anything. No pressure. But we started out beneath the stars and I thought…”

He drifted off.

“I know,” River whispered. “It’s a good thought. You should keep thinking it because I’m thinking it too.”

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” he told her. “But since we have to…”

“Might as well make it good?” River gazed at him, chest rising and falling as she breathed deeply, drinking in the air and Alaska and him. He murmured his agreement, eyes drifting.

“I’m up here,” she teased him, even though she didn’t mind one bit. She wanted to see that smile again.

“You’re everywhere,” Easton rumbled softly, dipping his mouth to her ear. “You’ve completely taken me over.”

River knew exactly what he meant, but she didn’t have the right to say it, not when she was the one leaving. Instead, she whispered she loved him, pulling him to her. The alcohol lingered on her tongue, sweetness and fire as his hands traced a different fire over her skin.

“Are you sure?” River asked Easton, because she had absolutely no doubts. And when he repeated what he’d said on the summit of Mount Veil again, voice rough with unapologetic emotion, that was all the answer River needed.

As he reached for her in the firelight, River closed her eyes and let him sweep her away.

Chapter 21

   Getting on the plane in Anchorage was the hardest thing River had ever done in her life. Even harder than the day she stuffed her things into her car and moved to LA.

The airport in Alaska wasn’t LAX. Anchorage was small, busy but cozy. Filled with the smells of cinnamon rolls and hot dogs, the low murmur of people talking, the scent of cortado coffee, and vacations of a lifetime. LAX was simply noise. Once, she had loved this. The bustle and the energy had been a drug to her younger self. A part of her still did love it, but River had seen the other side now.

Coming home didn’t feel like home. It hadn’t for a long time.

The plane ride hadn’t been horribly long, but with every mile it took her away from Moose Springs, her heart had fought her. And she’d made the right decision…that town was Easton’s home, not hers. But she missed him terribly.

As she made her way toward baggage claim, River was so lost in thought about the man she’d left behind, she forgot that her face had been on the television a lot more recently. She should have worn a hat of some sort, or maybe a hoodie, if she hadn’t wanted to be recognized.