Maybe he saw her expression because his smile vanished and his own turned solemn. “Echo, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you, um, before.” He swallowed. “I was a jerk. I agree—we were both young, and it was a long time ago and . . . maybe I was tired. I don’t know. Just . . . I’m sorry.”

She blinked at him. “So you don’t want me to stay away from you?”

His eyes widened. “Oh, uh . . .”

A chair tipped over, and a shout rose from the nook in the back.

Echo turned and groaned.

Idaho had joined the party, and now he and her father were nose to nose, shouting over the top of each other.

Her dad looked very much like he wanted to put Idaho through the front window. She’d never considered her father a powerful man. Lean and wiry, he’d never put on much weight after his mauling, and now, compared to the burly mass of Idaho, he looked very much dwarfed. Except for his fury. He stepped right up to the guide and pointed a finger at him.

Idaho pushed him. Her dad went tumbling over a table and onto the floor.

“Hey!” Dodge said, and before Echo could move, he’d waded right into the fray. He slammed his hand on Idaho’s shoulder before he could go after her father, who was scrambling up from the floor.

Then he put his hand on her dad’s chest. “Take a breath there, Charlie.”

Hank was trapped behind the table, but he too found his feet. And Ace looked like he wanted to take a piece out of Idaho. Goodwin joined them, stepping up beside Dodge, and in a second, Deke Starr had also arrived.

“Let’s just calm down,” Deke said, and Dodge didn’t move as Deke led Idaho away.

“He violated his restraining order!” Idaho was yelling, but Deke didn’t seem concerned.

Echo was shaking as she walked over to her father, edging up next to Dodge. “Dad, what’s going on?”

Her dad was still shouting after Idaho. “He’s a poacher. He killed a denning mama bear, and that’s not the first time!”

He’d been drinking.

Dodge separated him from the crowd, his arm around him as he walked him out. “I know, Charlie. I know. Let’s just go home, get some sleep.”

Echo walked behind, aware of every eye on her, on them.

On Dodge, saving the day. Her throat burned.

Her dad got outside, then tore away from Dodge. Bent over, breathing hard, he looked up at Echo. “Sorry, honey. I don’t know what got into me.”

“How much did you have, Dad?”

He stood up, his eyes hard on her. Then he walked away, across the street to where he’d parked the truck in front of the Fish and Game office.