Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,43
to say something, then closed his mouth and nodded again. “I’m good to go and I think Selena’s ready anytime.”
“Great. Um... I’ll meet you both at the truck?” She needed a moment alone with her father’s things, with his memory.
Levi nodded as he opened the door and left the garage.
She scanned the space, feeling the first sense of calm wash over her, the first feeling that things were going to be okay. Her father—even when he wasn’t physically there—had a way of quieting her conflicted heart.
“Miss you, Dad,” she said, turning off the light.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LEVI NEEDED TO get back to the station.
As they drove in silence back to the resort—well, not Selena, whose chatter was incessant from the passenger seat—it couldn’t be clearer that there was nothing left to stay in Wild River for. Despite the few moments of tension-free time together in her father’s garage, Leslie was right back to ignoring him once they were inside his truck, her gaze lost somewhere out the window, clutching her father’s old camera to her lap. When Leslie walked away from things, it was for good.
The visit to her family home had only put her more on edge and while he understood how hard this must be for her, she’d have an easier time if she’d just let them all in. Let them help. She’d said she’d moved on, but obviously not. The tension and conflict between her and her mother was still very much alive, eating them both up. He remembered the day he’d helped her move in with her grandmother vividly. He remembered her tears, he remembered her pain and he remembered her devastating confession. He’d never told anyone what had happened that day, but he’d never forgotten.
It was so long ago and he’d been a teenage boy dealing with his own adolescence and being in love with a girl who was both his best friend and his best friend’s girl, so everything had seemed even more intense and there’d been a brief moment while he’d been her shoulder to cry on that he’d been tempted to tell her how he felt, to be honest with her. But the timing hadn’t been right. He hadn’t wanted to add to her conflicted heart. She’d needed a friend that day, not a confession of feelings, and then the moment was gone.
Leslie had been sad and withdrawn for a few months after moving in with her grandmother. He understood, having made that same difficult transition himself, and despite her troubles, it had connected them even more. She’d missed a few weeks of school, but with his help and support, eventually she’d gotten better and was back to her old self—at least, mostly.
If only she could find that same persevering strength now to somehow find happiness again and let herself be open, to feel...
He pulled into the parking lot of the resort and parked his truck in the fifteen-minute parking spot space. He’d pack his few things and hit the road.
Selena frowned. “I thought you were staying here?”
He shrugged casually as he cut the engine. “I think I’ll head back to the station. I’ve got a bunch of pretraining stuff I should do...and I really should get back to Smokester...the station’s German shepherd,” he added for clarification.
That only made Selena more interested. “Ohhhh...a puppy.” She sent a look full of daggers at Leslie. “Someone wouldn’t stop at the puppy spa to pick up my adorable little girl on the way out of town. I haven’t seen her or talked to her in days. Do you have pictures?”
“Um...no,” Levi said, opening the door and climbing out.
Selena’s mouth dropped open. “How is that possible? I take at least a hundred pictures of Unicorn every day. I named her Unicorn because she’s unique and the groomer actually dyes her fur a fun rainbow of pink and purple.”
Wow. “Well, Smokester’s not really a pet. He’s kind of a retired work dog that stays at the cabin,” Levi said.
“Well, I have pictures,” Selena said. Then she glared at Leslie. “No, wait. I don’t because I don’t have my phone.”
“You’ll get your phone back soon and maybe you can email them to Levi,” Leslie said sharply as they entered the resort and headed for the elevators.
“That’s a good point,” Selena said. “I should get your email address to stay in touch, you know, in case you have questions about fundraising and charity event planning.”
Right. “Um, yeah.” He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a pen and an old grocery