“Yeah. I mean, last night was brutal, but it ended well. That’s what matters,” Wade said.

“Do I get promoted to lead now?” Tyler asked, leaning an elbow on the bar.

Only the third time he’d asked that day. “You’ve been on the team a year. Stick it out, keep proving yourself and you’ll be bossing the rest of us around soon enough,” Reed said. Tyler was one of the best S & R members he had, definitely one of the hardest working. But he was also young and impulsive, and Reed couldn’t fully trust his decision-making. However, he knew the guy also had different aspirations. He’d applied to become a volunteer firefighter in Wild River. If Reed didn’t help promote him to lead soon, he might move on. Reed would hate to lose him. Good, qualified team members were hard to find and even tougher to keep. The team was lucky—they were all as close as family. They looked out for one another on and off rescues.

“How’s Cassie?” Wade asked.

“She’s okay. Rebecca’s family reassured her that they don’t hold Snow Trek Tours responsible. They had gone against Mike’s advice.” The family’s assigned tour guide had suggested a different trail because of the unpredictable terrain, but they’d insisted on the more experienced trek. They took full responsibility for what happened. Still, he knew his sister had been just as stressed and worried as everyone else during the rescue hours. Her company had an amazing reputation in Wild River and he knew it was because she always put the safety of her clients and employees first.

Seeing her enter the bar now, he nodded and smiled.

But his smile faded when he saw she wasn’t alone. He squinted in the dim lighting of the bar.

No shit.

The girl who’d crossed his mind just the night before was walking toward him with his sister. Unfortunately, she was hardly a girl anymore. Dressed in a red-and-black-checked cashmere coat, cinched at her tiny waist with a leather belt, a red hat covering her mocha-colored hair and three-inch, impractical yet sexy leather boots, she was definitely not a little girl anymore.

What the hell was she doing here?

Tyler and Wade gave up their barstools to the women, waving as they headed toward a booth.

“See ya, guys,” he said. Then, turning to his sister, “Hey, Cass, who’s your friend?” He wiped the bar in front of them and set down two new coasters.

His sister shot him a look that resembled a plea for help...or for something strong. Obviously this visit was as much of a surprise to her. He reached for the top-shelf premium vodka and held up the bottle.

She nodded, removing her scarf and coat. “Make it a double. This is Erika... You remember her, don’t you?” She placed her coat over the stool before climbing up.

Erika was still scanning the bar as though she hadn’t decided yet if she was going to stay.

“Um... Erika.” He pretended to think. “Right, yes, I remember—how’ve you been?”