Duncan leaned a shoulder against the windowsill and stared at the slowly rising moon. It was hard to believe that exactly two months ago he'd met Neva. Hard to believe he hadn't seen or heard from her for almost the same amount of time. And while he hadn't really expected her to call, part of him had hoped that she might. Not that it mattered. In five days he was going home to Ripple Creek, whether or not he was given the job as head of the rescue team being set up over there. And he fully intended claiming what was his and making her parents see he was more than just his past.
Footsteps echoed in the hall beyond his office. He glanced over his shoulder and watched Dave Richards, the man in charge of the Eagle County search and rescue team, walk in.
"You want the good news, the bad news or the 'not-again' news?" Dave asked.
"I'm guessing the 'not-again' news would be another hiker getting lost." There certainly had been a rash of them lately. The latest influx of tourists didn't seem able to read a map and often panicked when darkness set in.
"You guessed that right." Dave handed him a piece of paper with the woman's details and last known position. "At least this one had a cell phone with her. She's up near Paddy's hut from the sound of it. I told her to stay put until you arrived."
"Let's hope she does." The last one they'd rescued decided to keep on walking and had almost walked off a damn cliff. "What's the bad news?"
"My spies over in Ripple Creek tell me you were passed over for the search and rescue post."
"I'm not entirely surprised." He may have the experience, but his reputation was shot to hell in Ripple Creek, and Levon was a strong voice on the council. He wouldn't willingly approve any action that would bring Duncan back home. "The good news?"
"Is that the head ranger caught wind of the decision and confronted the council. Apparently she told them that if they refused to pick the best man for the job, she'd hand in her resignation. When the rest of her team backed her up, the council backed down."
Duncan smiled. He'd have to remember to kiss Savannah when he next saw her. "When will it be official?"
"I'm told they'll be calling tomorrow."
"Good." At least he had a decent job to go back to when he went home. While he might own Snowflake Lodge, he had no intention of kicking the Harpers out to manage it himself. They were doing a far better job than he ever could.
He pushed away from the window and grabbed his coat off the hook. "I'll give you a call when I find our errant hiker."
"Do that," Dave said. "And good luck."
Duncan nodded and grabbed his gear on the way out. The night air was crisp and the sky above so full of stars it almost looked silver. He let his gaze drift to the moon, still hanging low in the evening sky. Two full moons without Neva were two too many, but at least the promising ritual had ensured neither of them suffered moon fever while they were apart. And yet he ached for her tonight. Ached with an intensity that cut through every part of him.
He shouldered the pack and headed up the mountain. Trees crowded in closer the higher he went, the various pines still hiding drifts of snow under their green skirts. He was almost at Paddy's hut when awareness surged, followed closely by a joy greater than anything he'd ever known.
Neva was here.
He walked on, not rushing, even though his whole body trembled with the need to grab her and hold her and love her. Through the trees ahead, flames flickered and danced. He smiled. His lost hiker had made herself at home.
He came into the clearing and shucked off the pack, tossing it toward the hut's door as he walked on. Neva was standing in front of the fire, her back to him as she stared out over the valley below. The warmth of the flames caressed her golden skin, so that she almost appeared to gleam like precious metal in the darkness.
She didn't turn around or acknowledge his presence in any way, and yet he felt her awareness of him through every fiber.
He stopped near the fire and took off his jacket. There was a sleeping bag at her feet, and a bottle of champagne and two glasses off to one side.
"I owe you an apology," she said softly.
"For what?" He pulled off his boots then stripped off his jeans.
"For not having the courage to ask you to stay two months ago."
"We were only together for four days. Confusion and doubt is allowed, I think." His shorts joined the pile of clothes. The night air caressed his skin but failed to cool the fever burning through him.
"You didn't doubt."
"But I have spent half my life looking for my soul mate. You were looking for nothing more than your sister's attacker."
"We found her."
"Together." He stopped behind her, not touching her, but so close that every breath held the warm citrus scent of her. So close that the heat radiating off her skin burned across his. "What of your parents?"
"That I don't know."