“Dad, can I ask...? Why did you take me off the trials in the first place?” She hadn’t had the courage to ask until now.

He hesitated, staring at his feet. “When you came back from Wild River, you were different and I saw a struggle in you I hadn’t seen before. A desire to have something beyond all of this.”

He’d been able to see that?

“I realized that maybe I’d been pushing you too hard and I was afraid that if I continued, you’d leave. I thought taking you off the trials would give you more time and freedom to explore the other things in life you suddenly seemed to want...a work/life balance, I guess.”

“Oh, Dad...” He’d been trying to look out for her? He’d been trying to keep her happy and keep her there with him.

“I guess it backfired, huh?”

She moved in and hugged him again. “No. It didn’t backfire. Not at all.”

“I made some mistakes after your mom died...”

“Things changed. But that doesn’t mean we can’t change them again.”

He kissed the top of her head and released her, then stepped forward and opened the driver’s-side door for her. “Now, go before I call Wild River Community and tell them you’re a terrible doctor.”

She nodded and smiled, not trusting her voice, and climbed in next to Reed.

As she pulled the car away from the curb, she glanced once in the rearview mirror. Her dad stood on the curb watching and waving.

“What was that?” Reed asked, nodding toward the letter on her dash.

“Approval and hopefully a fresh start at being a family again,” she said.

He smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it. “I love you.”

Erika couldn’t believe she was actually doing this—driving away from the career that had meant everything to her. But her vacation from her life had taught her how to live, and now her future was waiting for her just beyond those snow-covered mountains in the distance.

She released a contented sigh as her fingers entwined with his. “I love you more.”

* * * * *

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A big thank-you to my editor, Dana Grimaldi, for loving this book and helping me realize my dream of being published with HQN. I am grateful to Susan Swinwood and the entire team for welcoming me into the HQN family and for all the effort in editing, cover design and marketing support for this new series.

Thank you a million times to my agent, Jill Marsal, who continues to believe in me, even when I have my own doubts, and for always pushing me to be a better writer.

A huge thank you to SAR Alberta and The Rocky Mountain Adventure Medicine Team for their research help. All mistakes are mine alone.