Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
I glanced at Sutton with raised eyebrows. “You two know each other?”
The smirk on Sutton’s face was off-putting, like there was something he knew that I didn’t. “You could say that. It’s a small town and all. Don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine.”
I bit my bottom lip and tried to remind myself they were adults. The two of them could sort out their own shit. “Okay, well… I’m going to grab my camera and notebook from my room. Be right back.”
Maybe I took a little longer than I needed, but I really wasn’t sure how I was going to handle these two guys. Inviting a stranger on the excursion had been stupid. If I were being honest with myself, I really just wanted another day in Pete’s company without anyone else along.
It wasn’t a good idea, though. And after having such an easy time conversing with Sutton at the pizza place, I knew I’d at least have a good distraction from the inappropriate feelings I was having for Pete Valentine.
When I returned to the bar, Sutton was nowhere to be found. I glared at Pete. “What’d you do?” Even though I may have regretted inviting Sutton, I had invited him. It wasn’t Pete’s place to disinvite my guest.
“He changed his mind about joining. Also, he’s a lying asshole who’s seen plenty of glaciers. The man’s probably spent more time over Pintok than you’ve spent on a beach. He needs a glacier tour like a hole in the fucking head. And now that I mention it, he could use a hole in the head,” he muttered as he shrugged on a thin jacket. “Let’s go.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What the fuck? It’s none of your business who I want to join me on my tour.”
Pete’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to me. Maybe I should have been intimidated, but I knew deep down he would never hurt me.
Physically, at least.
“Stay away from Sutton Lavoy,” he said in a low voice. It wasn’t mean like I would have expected. There was a slight hint of… something like a plea in his voice.
“Why?” I asked hesitantly. I wondered if I even wanted to know.
He looked up at the sound of the front door opening and several people walking in talking to each other. “Can we please just get into the air?” he asked softly.
I nodded and followed him silently out the back door to the floatplane. He helped me into the co-pilot’s seat again and buckled me up. The smell of his shampoo wafted around me, but I forced myself not to sniff it. Much.
We didn’t speak as he did his final checks, flipped a ton of switches, called Poke on the radio, and steered us away from the dock. The sun was once again shining gloriously on the glassy surface of the lake. This small Alaskan town was like a piece of heaven. I wondered how different it was in winter. What did it look like covered in snow and ice? What was it like with so much darkness? How did that change life around here?
The deafening buzz of the engine nearly drowned out my thoughts as Pete pushed the throttle and rocketed us down the long stretch of lake and into the air. This time, instead of fearing for my life, I tried to trust the man in the seat next to me.
Pete would keep me safe. He’d joked that first day about being a newbie pilot, but Maggie had told me the truth later that night. He’d been flying since he was a teenager, and he’d successfully landed aircraft with dead engines, missing pieces, and dangerous weather situations.
We flew over the far end of the lake, the end we hadn’t approached the day I’d arrived. After a few minutes of staying just above the trees, Pete spoke through the headset.
“Look down to your right. A herd of elk.”
Sure enough, there were several gray-brown elk moving across an open meadow. I leaned closer to the window and stared as Pete flew us in a wide circle around the meadow. We were close enough for me to make out a giant rack on one of the males. I didn’t have enough room to pull out my camera, but I was able to pull out my phone and snap some photos of the animals that way.
After we flew away from the meadow, I flashed Pete a giant grin of thanks. “That was amazing!”
He smiled but kept his eyes forward as he pointed us toward a ridge in the distance. Once we got close, I could see the powder-blue surface of an alpine lake at the base of a giant glacier. Pete’s voice slid into my ears explaining why the water was that color.
I listened to him tell me all about glacial silt and runoff, the barren zone showing proof of the glacier thinning over time and how there was a similar glacier nearby that was experiencing accumulation rather than ablation due to changing wind patterns.