She wanted to be able to play the occasional soccer or baseball game with friends. Or fly drones with kids. Then, as Nonna said, eating was one of life’s pleasures. Bacon. Lasagna. Wine. Sticky buns. She wanted to savor her food, which meant burning some of those calories off. So, she’d returned to aikido and jogging.

The jogging wasn’t helping with her mopey feelings today. She’d been here in Alaska for just over two weeks. Kit still wasn’t free, and everything was stalled now, what with the PZ lockdown.

Then again, the delay would give her time to figure out how to use those night vision optics. Her trip to Soldotna yesterday had been successful, and last night, she’d worked on getting the head mount to fit and attaching the monocular.

She grinned, reminded of when she and Kit had tried to assemble a stroller for Aric. This strap goes…no, not there, it must go…no, not there either.

With a lot of lubrication from swearing, the night vision equipment was put together. Next step, get outside and learn to walk around without killing herself. She was going to need a lot of practice. Even with enhanced night vision, she wasn’t sure she could follow that windy, narrow path at night.

So…at night, she’d practice with the NVM. During the day, she needed to hike the trail to the PZ’s compound enough times so she could manage even after dark.

Surely there was an inconspicuous way to mark the trail, one the PZs wouldn’t spot. She grimaced. Well, she’d figure it out. It was just one more little frustration in a pack of them.

Like the very personal frustration that today was Friday, and she hadn’t seen Bull since early Wednesday morning.

How could she miss him so much?

Okay, sure, ever since the first day in the roadhouse, she’d listened for his deep voice and stole glances at him. Come on, who wouldn’t? The man was a walking advertisement for masculinity. And sometimes, he’d hold her gaze—a long look across the bar that was as palpable as a caress.

But, after spending the night with him, bare skin to bare skin, having him inside her, his hand moving over her skin, his skillful lips driving her crazy… The need to see him, to be with him, had grown into an addiction.

With a grunt of exasperation, she increased her pace. The swathes of shade were almost frigid, making her grateful for jogging pants. In the sun, the temperature rose a good ten degrees. By the lake was a huge brown bear, too much like in a grizzly horror film. But its attention was on the water and the glints of fish. Easing carefully away, she put a good distance between them before managing to breathe.