Alaskan Reunion

She looked up at him. “Are you okay?” Her voice was filled with worry.

“Never better,” he said. Hazel had already seen him at his worst. He couldn’t count the number of times she’d consoled him when he’d broken down over Paige and the financial scandal that had sent shock waves through his hometown. There was no way he was going to burden her with any more of his misery.

She let out an indelicate snort. “You look like you’ve been run over by a truck.”

Cameron shoved his hand through his hair and let out the breath he’d been holding. He stood up from his chair to face her. “I can’t believe this is happening. Paige thinks she can undo the damage she and Robert caused. She thinks she can just stroll into town after all this time and put all the pieces back together.”

“I heard every word she said,” Hazel admitted, rolling her eyes. “She always did have a pie-in-the-sky mentality.”

He frowned at her. “You were eavesdropping?”

Hazel planted her hands on her hips. “It’s called watching out for me and mine. I saw the carnage she caused the first time around. I’m not about to let it happen again. Not on my watch!”

A sigh escaped his lips. “Hazel, I love you dearly, but I’m begging you to stay out of this. And whatever you do, please don’t tell Jasper or Boone that she’s back. I want a little time to digest everything before complete chaos breaks out.”

Hazel quirked her mouth. A sinking feeling landed in the pit of his stomach.

Cameron folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his gaze. “Hazel,” he said in a reproachful tone. “I hope you didn’t—”

The door of the Moose Café burst open with a loud crashing sound. His brother Boone, town sheriff, and his grandfather, Mayor Jasper Prescott, came barreling into his establishment.

“Hey! Didn’t you two read the sign? We’re closed,” Cameron shouted, knowing it was too late to stop the impending hurricane from whirling all around him.

Jasper darted his gaze around the café. “Where is she?”

Cameron crossed his arms again and rocked back on his heels.

“Who are you talking about?”

“You know who I’m talking about. That beautiful blonde trickster you were so enamored of for all those years. Miss Paige Reynolds. Daughter of the most crooked man who ever stepped foot into Love.”

“Jasper! Knock it off! Let’s keep the drama to a minimum,” Boone barked. “Give him an opportunity to talk.”

“I can’t believe she had the nerve to come back here,” Jasper fumed. “Returning like a bad penny!”

“Settle down, Jasper,” Boone said, reaching out and clasping his hand around his arm.

He shrugged off his grandson’s hand. “I won’t settle down. As town mayor, I implore you to arrest her, Sheriff Prescott,” Jasper said in a raised voice.

“There’s no proof that Paige had anything to do with her father’s scam,” Boone explained. “We already went through this dozens of times. There’s no grounds to charge her.”

“There never was,” Cameron said, a slight defensive edge to his voice.

Boone shot him a curious look. Cameron looked away from him. His older brother had a canny ability to see straight through him, right down to the things that mattered most. He couldn’t afford that intense scrutiny right now, not when he was battling old feelings that were rising up in him like a strong tide.

“What about aiding and abetting a criminal? Rumor has it she reunited with that thieving dog once we ran her out of here. Doesn’t that prove they were in cahoots?” Jasper asked.

Cameron shook his head at Hazel. “How long did it take you to call them? Two minutes?”

“I figured we might need a small army to run her out of town again,” Hazel explained, her expression sheepish. “And they did need to know about her plans to give back the town’s money.”

“No one is getting rid of Paige,” Boone said. “I’d like to talk to her about the funds she wants to return. That’s important for Love’s finances.”

“And our future! This town needs money in the coffers,” Jasper growled. “If you ask me, we should charge her interest.”

Cameron rolled his eyes, resisting the impulse to show his grandfather the door. “Funny you should say that, since I don’t remember asking you.”

“So, Cameron. What did she say, exactly? How much is she giving the town? I must have missed that part,” Hazel said.

“I don’t know,” Cameron mumbled, feeling foolish that he hadn’t asked her for specifics. He’d been so blown away by her mere presence that he hadn’t homed in on it. Was she really prepared to give a hefty sum of money?

“You didn’t ask her?” Jasper shouted. He threw his hands up in the air and began muttering in a loud voice. “What a bunch of foolishness!”

“No, I didn’t. I was pretty much blindsided when she strolled in here. It took a few minutes to get my thoughts together.” Cameron ground out the words in a no-nonsense manner. It was just like Jasper to show up and start trying to boss him around. As long as they were in his place of business, he wasn’t about to allow his grandfather to walk all over him.

“Stop being so insensitive,” Hazel said in a loud stage whisper. “You’re acting like a bull in a china shop.”

Jasper and Hazel exchanged a long, meaningful look. Jasper’s expression softened. He took a deep breath, then continued. “Well, if you beg my pardon for asking, where is she?”

Already Cameron was feeling weary. Normally, he could go a full twelve rounds with his grandfather, but he was still reeling from the unexpected encounter with his ex. He simply didn’t have the strength at the moment. Paige’s surprise appearance was resting heavily on his heart.

“There aren’t too many places she could go, Cam. Matter of fact, there’s really only one,” Boone said, his dark brows knit together.

The homestead. The two-story log-cabin home and vast acreage that had belonged to the Reynolds family for generations. Years ago when Paige’s father had been flush with money, he’d renovated the home and transformed it into a modern showcase. Although many villagers had wanted to seize the property after Robert’s misdeeds came to light, homesteads in Alaska were not eligible for seizure.

And so it had sat unoccupied. Until now.

Three pairs of eyes were trained on him. It was clear what they wanted him to do.

“I’m not chasing after her. She said that she would talk to me more about all of this tomorrow.” He shoved his hands in his front pockets.

“Ha! And you believe that?” Hazel cried out. “Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you.”

“Do you really want to leave all that in her hands instead of being proactive?” Boone asked. “This isn’t personal, Cam. It’s about the town. You need to find out if she’s serious about the money. I wasn’t going to mention it just yet, but we need an influx of cash in order to move forward with the production of Hazel’s boots. This enterprise has become a lot more expensive than we anticipated. Strangely enough, Paige’s return could be the answer to all our prayers.”

Hazel had designed stylish and functional boots for the townsfolk that were now being mass-produced and sold throughout the United States in order to bring profit to the treasury’s coffers. Boone’s wife, Grace, had the brilliant idea to capitalize on the fashionable winter shoes as a way of boosting the local economy. For the first time in a long time, the residents of Love had hope of turning things around. But, like any new enterprise, it all boiled down to money.

The answer to all our prayers. Boone’s words were ironic. Once upon a time he had believed that Paige was the answer to all his prayers. Only he’d been wrong. Although the love he’d felt for her had been stronger than anything he’d ever known, everything had come tumbling down like a stack of dominoes. He still felt as if he was picking up the pieces of his former life. Opening the Moose Café had been a huge step in the right direction. It had always been a dream of his to have his own establishment in his hometown. And even though people had lost faith in him, they’d come around once they’d got a taste of his unforgettable coffee drinks and sampled the delicious menu. Finally, his life was back on track.

And yet he still felt guilty about being fleeced by Robert Reynolds. He continued to struggle with his leading role in the town’s financial downturn. Had he missed any warning signs along the way? Had his feelings for Paige blinded him to her father’s larcenous nature? Those questions continued to plague him in the hours between darkness and dawn as he struggled to get some shut-eye on sleepless nights.

Was it possible that he could help make things right by working with Paige? The one thing he knew he was guilty of was being biased against anything she had to say. She’d burned him once before and he no longer trusted her. But in order to help the town, he might have to take a leap of faith and take her at her word. The very idea of it rocked him to his core.

“I’ll do it,” he said. “I’ll go find Paige and get the information you want.”

“That’s more like it!” Jasper cried out. “I knew you’d come around.”

Cameron reached for his coat and shrugged into it. He glared at his grandfather. “Don’t get the impression I’m doing your bidding, Jasper. I’m acting in the best interests of this town. Considering my role in the economic downturn, it’s the least I could do.”