Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The Hotline was already rockin’ when Jade showed up on Jed’s bike. Cars jammed the dirt lot, the enticing lure of smoked ribs tugging her inside, along with a cover from one of Ben King’s country hits.

The twangy sounds, the deep vocals filled the air as she walked inside, the cadre of smokejumpers, hotshots, and locals loud, some singing along, a few on the dance floor, booths crowded, chairs scattered at random tables, and a few familiar faces shooting pool.

The Ember vibe she remembered. Jade slid into a booth beside Nova and stole a French fry from her basket.

Nova glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “Hey, you.”

“How’s the ankle?”

“Good enough to dance, if Booth decides to show up.” She turned on the stool. “He’s with Crispin, talking with Henry.”

“I don’t know how to get ahold of Crispin. His phone took a dip in the river.”

“I heard about that.” Nova reached for her glass of soda. “Still can’t believe we stopped it.”

“The fire?”

Nova raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, the other thing.”

“Booth filled me in. Hard to believe that Floyd was an international terrorist connected with Russians.” Nova took a sip of soda, put it on the counter. “But it’s Montana. Anything happens here.”

“Oh, it’s the little brother to Alaska. You want crazy terrorists hiding in the woods, you try jumping with the Midnight Sun smokejumpers. We’ve walked into fields of marijuana, nests of rogue militia, and even spooked a couple runaway prisoners out of hiding.” She motioned to the barkeep and pointed at the basket of fries for herself.

“Does that mean you’re staying?” Nova ran a fry around ketchup.

She cast a look past her to the dance floor. “Hey, is that…” No, it couldn’t be— “That looks like the actor Spenser Storm.” He was dancing with a pretty blonde. She looked familiar.

Nova followed her gesture. “Oh, yeah. He was here filming a movie earlier this summer. He met Emily on set. Actually, he reported the ignition of the original blaze. A cabin that blew up.”

“Really? I remember watching him as a kid in Trek of the Osprey .”

“Me too. And the guy on the stage—Oaken Fox. He did music for the movie.”

She spotted the man, dark-blond hair, wearing a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, his low voice leaning into the mic. “Right. He did a reality show recently—something about joining a rescue team in Alaska.”

“Well, once upon a time, I might have let him rescue me, but…”

“But you have Booth,” Jade said. The barkeep handed her a water, a straw. “Thanks.” She unsheathed the straw and put it in the water, took a drink. Her throat still burned a little from yesterday’s fight with the flames. They’d gotten back to Ember last night, and she’d taken a shower and then fallen into a dead sleep for twelve full hours. When she rose, she discovered a note in the kitchen from Jed, inviting her to stay.

Sweet, but…no.

Probably not.

Except…well, maybe after twenty-four hours, the drama of the fire and the intensity of what had gone down between her and Crispin might have worn off. She didn’t want to lean too hard into his suggestion about Alaska.

“I’m a little afraid that maybe Henry is talking Booth and Crispin into something…more…” Nova said, staring at her fries. “Although, Booth did say he wanted to stick around, so…”

“I get it,” Jade said. “Crispin said he might want to follow me to Alaska, but…that’s crazy, right? I mean, we barely know each other. At least you’ve known Booth for years.”

“He drove me crazy for years, really.”

“Crazy good?” Jade said.

Nova smiled. “Maybe. But I know all this hero stuff speaks to him, so…”

Jade lifted her glass. “We wouldn’t want them any other way.”

Nova tapped hers against Jade’s. “You said it.” She took a sip, then set her glass down. “So, will you still go to Alaska if Crispin doesn’t?”

Her foxhole prayer rose inside her, about God delivering her and using Crispin to do it.

Three days, and three days more. And Jed had invited her to stay.

“I love Alaska, but…”

Nova slid off the stool, lifting her hand, and Jade turned to see Booth coming into the Hotline. Nova grabbed his hand, then put her arms around his neck.

So, the former team lead was clearly off duty.

And then Crispin came in behind him.

Oh, the man could eclipse a room with his dark, heady good looks. And when his gaze roamed the room and landed on her, her heart nearly stood still.

Yep, three days and she was a goner. Oh boy.

He walked past Nova and Booth and over to her. Slid onto Nova’s empty stool. “Hey there, Sparky.”

She raised an eyebrow. He laughed. And oh, it washed over her, warm, deep, and found root inside. Something had changed over the last twenty-four hours. He’d shucked away the desperation, the earnestness, the laser focus on his mission, maybe. And when he smiled, it touched his beautiful eyes, sparked something in them.

Or…oh no. Wait. “What happened with Henry?”

He motioned to the bartender and ordered a root beer. Turned back to her. “Henry is going to be fine. But…I have bad news.”

She knew it. Her throat tightened, her chest suddenly hot. “He gave you another assignment, didn’t he?”

He stared at her a moment, then…laughed? What? “Sort of. But I’m dead, remember? And the bad news is that I probably have to stay dead.”

“Are you in danger?”

“Maybe. The Petrov Bratva has long arms. But…I have a plan.”

The bartender slid his drink over. He took it. Took a sip. “Oh, I love old-fashioned root beer.”

“Crispin!”

The voice came from over his shoulder, and he turned as a woman came running up to him. Pretty, with her hair pulled back, wearing a white shirt and jeans, cowboy boots, she threw her arms around Crispin.

He’d gotten up, set his drink down, and now pulled her up against himself.

Behind her stood Houston James, one of the hotshots. She’d met him briefly during mop-up. Nice guy, he wore scars from his own wrestle with fire, so she felt a sort of kinship with him. Now, he shoved his hands into his jeans, watching the two embrace. Wore a smile.

She did the quick math and came up with—Crispin’s sister?

He set her down and put his arm over her shoulder, even as he reached out a hand to Houston. “Good to see you again.”

Then he turned to Jade and confirmed. “This is Sophie Lamb, my sister.”

Sophie held out her hand, her eyes warm. “Hey. I hear you’re a smokejumper.”

Jade nodded. “I’m from Alaska. Came down for the big fire. And the barbecue afterparty.”

Sophie laughed, and it sounded like Crispin’s, and Jade immediately liked her.

Jade’s fries arrived and she reached for the ketchup.

“We’ll catch up later, Soph,” Crispin said as Houston took her hand. “Looks like your preacher wants to dance with you.”

“Preacher?” Jade asked as Crispin sat back on the stool. She shoved the fries toward him.

“He was a youth pastor back in Last Chance County.” He glanced again at his sister. “And they had a thing there, years ago. He’s not the same guy she left behind.” He turned to Jade. “But finding the right woman can do that.”

Her eyes widened. “Do what?”

“Make a man look at his life. Ask what he wants.”

Oh.

“And…” She swallowed. “And what do you want, Crispin?”

He smiled then and leaned close to her. “I want to get out of here.”

Oh.

“Jed let you take out his bike?”

She nodded.

“Wanna let me drive?”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

He motioned to the bartender, who came over. Crispin pulled a twenty out of his pocket, handed it over, and asked for a bag for the fries. He dumped them in, handed the bag to her, and took her hand.

Outside, the sun still hung against the northwest mountains, casting a fiery twilight across the town of Ember and into the parking lot.

He held out his hand and she gave him the key. He climbed on and she settled in behind him, her hand on his waist.

“C’mon, you can do better than that,” he said, and she leaned in, put her arm around him.

“Hold on tighter.” Then he peeled out of the lot.

She laughed. Clearly this was his MO, mission or not. Ernest, driven, high action. But his words returned to her.

Henry had sort of given him a mission?

Oh. She hung on tighter. Because if he was officially dead, the freedom it gave him to live life in the shadows, rooting out evil, saving the world…

The hero stuff speaks to him…

So she’d hang on while she could.

He drove them out of town and along the back roads that wound through the woods and up a mountain, and finally pulled up to a dirt lot with a trailhead sign.

“Where are we?”

He just held out his hand to help her off. Then laced his fingers through hers and headed for the trailhead. A thin path led through the forest, not far, and after a moment, they came out to a ranger fire tower.

“What’s this?” she asked as she climbed up the stairs that led to a small platform. It wound around the building. Unmanned, although the inside held a small cot and communication equipment.

“I always wanted to come up here,” he said. “You can see it from the highway, and I thought the view would be perfect.”

She stood at the rail. Indeed. From here, the world stretched for hundreds of miles, mountain upon mountain, with the valley below still lush and green. The twilight had deepened, dark purple in the heavens, just a glow of orange light in the valley. And against the pane of sky, white droplets. “It’s breathtaking.”

“Yes,” he said, and the husky tenor of his voice made her turn. He stood right behind her and now parked his hands on her hips, met her eyes, desire in them. “Breathtaking.”

Oh. Her mouth dried. She put her hands on his chest. “You’re destined to break my heart, aren’t you, Crispy?”

One side of his mouth tweaked up. Then, “Why is that?”

“Because you have a new mission, don’t you?” She couldn’t look at him, so instead focused her gaze on his chest, that well in his neck where the smallest patch of hair peeked out from it. He hadn’t shaved, so he wore a small layer of dark grizzle too. But he’d showered, because the delicious scent of soap lifted off him.

“I do,” he said quietly. And her eyes closed. She knew it.

But his hand caught her chin, raised her head.

“Open your eyes, Jade. I want to see your eyes.”

Oh, she refused to cry. She’d managed this long without him?—

His hazel-green gaze searched hers. Then, “Jade, don’t you already know?”

She frowned, shook her head.

“Sparky, my new mission is you.”

Her mouth opened.

“I’m going to Alaska. Not to hide, and not to die, but to live.” He smiled then. “Somebody has to keep you alive.”

“So the Sparky thing is staying?”

“Probably. We’ll see.”

She laughed. “I think I’m the one keeping you alive.”

He leaned in, his voice close to her ear. “Yes, Jade. Yes, you are.”

Then he kissed her. Sweetly. Perfectly. Deeply. Taking his time, as if forever stretched out ahead of them.

And as the stars settled around her and the moon came out to light their path, she knew it did.

* * *