“Yeah. And I . . . I sorta freaked out. I thought . . . I don’t want to leave Copper Mountain, but . . . I don’t want to lose you either. I waited for you for ten years. And I tried to tell myself that I was over you, and sometimes that I deserved you walking out of my life, and I tried to just stopper up all the hurt and pain, but the fact is . . . you’re the only man for me, Dodge. You’re brave and smart, and in the darkness that can be my life . . . you’re the sunrise. So . . . okay. Let’s do this.”

He was grinning at her. “Let’s do this?”

“It doesn’t matter where you go, I’m going too.”

He laughed, a deep sweet burst that she felt to her soul. “Oh, Echo. I’m not moving to Anchorage. I’m starting an Air One Rescue branch in Copper Mountain.”

“What?”

“Yeah. After the last week, it’s clear we need SAR a little closer than Anchorage.” He turned her, and now the chill of the wall was at her back. “And, I’m thinking that we might need a good dogsled team, and a musher.”

“Me?”

“Oh, please.” He braced an arm over the top of her shoulder and leaned in. “I can’t think of anyone who knows Alaska better than you do.” He bent down, his mouth inches from hers. “So, sweetheart, I’m afraid I’m here to stay.”

She put her hands on his chest, found his beating heart, and lifted her face to his. “Really?”

“Just try and get rid of me.”

Then he kissed her, and as usual, he tasted of home, of the happy ending she’d been too afraid to wish for, of the big, wild man who was hers.

“Never,” she whispered, and kissed him again.

She could stay here forever, but after a moment, she pushed him away. “C’mon.” She took his hand.

As Echo walked back inside and reentered her father’s hospital room, she spotted Effie sitting in the chair, her face in the bedclothes, her father’s hand on her as she sobbed.

Okay, Dodge was right. Echo took a breath and let go. And into the hollow space inside slid compassion.

Love.

A love that really didn’t belong to her. A love that she could give away.

Her mother lifted her head, her eyes reddened.

“Okay, listen,” Echo said, her hand tight in Dodge’s. “You wreaked havoc in my life in countless ways. Never mind that I was afraid to leave my dad—I was afraid to accept love. Instead, I sabotaged it.” She shook her head. “Effie, I will never forget the choices you made that destroyed me, but I refuse to let the past hold me hostage. I choose hope. I choose freedom. So, yes, I’ll try to forgive you. That’s the best I can do right now. It’ll have to be enough.”