She turned—too fast—and the room tilted. Jericho stood in the doorway that led to an expansive kitchen, holding a mug of what smelled like peppermint tea.
Orlando came to her. Sat.
“I’m fine standing.” Her voice came out scratchy, and she saw him flinch at the sound.
He didn’t argue, just walked over to the conversation area and set the mug on a heavy oak coffee table that bore the scars and water rings of family life. “Your mom’s recipe. For headaches.”
The words caught her off guard. “You remember that?”
“Hard to forget. She used to bring it to every hockey game.” His mouth quirked. “Peppermint, honey, and magic, she called it.”
Yes, she had. Her mother had a home remedy for everything, a true artist in all she touched, from her original poetry about the northern lights to her hand-knit sweaters and her belief that God’s love could fix anything.
The room swayed again, and Harley caught herself on the back of the couch. Jericho took a step forward, hands lifting, then stopped himself.
“Please sit before you crack your head open.”
She sank onto the leather couch, its cushions bearing the same worn softness she remembered. How many nights had she sat on this sofa, watching a movie with Jericho? All the time wishing, of course, he’d pull her closer.
Orlando padded over and, to her surprise, laid his chin on her knee. His brown eyes blinked up to her.
“He doesn’t usually warm up to people this quick,” Jericho said quietly, lowering himself into a chair across from her. The firelight caught his face, highlighting the sharp planes, the shadow of dark stubble on his jaw. “Especially since...”
“The avalanche?” She kept her voice soft, scratching behind Orlando’s ears. The dog’s tail gave a tentative wag.
“You know about that?”
“It made the PEAK K9 rescue page.”
He stared at her. “You follow PEAK K9?”
She lifted a shoulder, offered a smile. “It came into my feed one day—probably because I follow Winter. She has her own YouTube account. She posts videos from Air One Rescue, and PEAK K9 is similar content, I guess.”
He nodded. Sighed.
“What happened?” She put her hand on Orlando’s head, ran her fingers into his fur. “You mentioned him being afraid of big sounds?”
Jericho’s jaw tightened. He looked toward the fire and something dark moved through his eyes. “Yeah. We were running a training exercise at a resort in Montana. My fault. I didn’t check the schedule, didn’t realize they were doing control work...” He drew in a breath. “We got caught in a slide. Trapped for four hours.”
Oh.“And this guy got scared?”
“Hasn’t been the same. Spooks at loud noises, forgets his training. I’ve been working on it, but ... yeah, I think we’re back to square one. I thought a new environment might helphim, so we came up to Alaska. I’ve been working with ski patrol in Anchorage just to get him acclimated to being back on the mountain.”
“So that’s why you came back?”
“Partly.” He rubbed his palms on his jeans. “After the slide, I couldn’t ... The training center was doing well, but I ... I needed a change. And I missed active SAR work. Then I heard about my uncle’s arrest, and I needed to check on my brothers.”
“Your uncle?”
“Yeah. Turns out he was a murderer.” His mouth tightened at the edges. “Long story. But Hudson and Mal were trying to run this place on their own, and I just”—he lifted a shoulder—“needed to check in, I guess.”
He looked away, his jaw tight.
And so many questions sat inside her—like why he hadn’t returned after he got out of the military. And more, what kept him from setting up shop here?
Orlando whined softly and hopped up onto the couch beside her, settling down against her. The warmth of him seeped through her borrowed clothes, oddly comforting.
She took a sip of her tea. “Yeah, you nailed it.”