“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.

“Excuse me. Are you River Lane?”

Darn it. River turned to give a polite wave to the woman who had said her name, but she found herself looking down at a child instead. The young girl in front of her had pigtails and the shiest, sweetest look on her face. Behind her, the girl’s mother stood with her phone, videoing her. Instead of giving an excuse or asking that the camera be turned off, River knelt so she was face-to-face with the child.

“Hello,” she said, smiling encouragingly. “What’s your name?”

“Jacie.”

“Jacie wants to be an actress,” her hovering mother supplied.

“Do you?” Did she? Or did Jacie’s mother want her to be an actress? The child seemed so shy. But she was also beautiful like her mother. River tugged the ear of Jacie’s toy moose. “I like your moose. I saw some in Alaska.”

The child’s wide, toothy beam was the first thing to make River feel better since she’d gotten up that morning and gotten on her plane. “I want to be a moose.”

“Well, Jacie, I want you to know that you are amazing. You’re smart and you’re strong, and you can be anything. An actress, an adventurer, a cowgirl. Anything you want.”

“Even a moose?”