Yep, he knew that. Of course she didn’t. He figured that Colt was more to blame for what he’d walked into than Echo.

But it surely didn’t look like she was putting up a fight, did it? And not even one visit to the county jail the entire week of his incarceration.

No, she didn’t love Colt. But she hadn’t loved Dodge either. Not really.

Not like he’d loved her. Because she’d been right about one thing . . .

She was the only woman he would ever love. And she’d taken that from him, leaving only darkness behind.

He was over her. He didn’t exactly know what to do with her other statement about not being over him, but it didn’t matter.

Another month, and he was out of here. Maybe sooner if he could talk someone into taking over his father’s homestead route. And between now and then, he meant his words . . . he planned on staying far, far away from Echo Yazzie.

Now if his brain would stop replaying the smug look on her face when he’d walked away from her.

From the air, Sky King Ranch looked like a postcard—snow layered the roof of the barn and the lodge, smoke curled out of the stone chimney in welcome. Scrub pines dotted the fields beyond the runway, new growth after the fire, and down by the lake, the red roofs of the cabins glistened in the sun.

The perfect wintery retreat.

Once upon a time, he’d loved this view. Had plans to expand the operation with snowmobile tours in the winter and fishing expeditions in the summer. He’d mapped out an addition to his grandma’s place, although he’d heard that Larke had remodeled it before it burned down.

The runway near the hangar had been plowed, so clearly his father was on the mend.

He landed the bird in the gravel and turned it off. He’d tow it into the hangar later. For now, he strapped it down and headed inside, his gaze falling on an unfamiliar red Silverado in the drive.

He stopped in the office and logged his hours, his flight, the fuel—he’d need a refill soon—and a few other details.

Voices lifted from the room beyond.

“We couldn’t find any structural defects, Barry. The plane was sound.”

“Ernie gave it a hundred-hour test a few weeks earlier, but I can’t account for how it slapped that tree.” Dodge heard his father’s voice and stepped nearer the door.

“Otto said you were coming in pretty low. You sure you didn’t just nick it? Wind was less than five knots.”

“I’ve flown that route a thousand times, coming in from Denali. I could fly it with my eyes closed.”