Free Heartache Falls by Emily March

the middle of Aspen Street one time, but she hadn’t given much thought to bears. If she was going to be living here, maybe she should give the bear-sighting flyer available in the tourist office a glance.
    Almost ten minutes after the sheriff stopped her, she saw a large black bear wander out of the garage, then disappear up the hill behind Angel’s Rest. A momentlater, a knock sounded on her door. She answered with a smile. “My hero. You saved me.”
    He grinned and extended his hand. “Zach Turner.”
    “Ali Timberlake.”
    They both said simultaneously, “You’re Sarah Reese’s friend.”
    Sarah was a single mom with a daughter Caitlin’s age. She owned the local grocery store and was a caretaker for her mother, an Alzheimer’s patient. Ali knew she had dated Zach Turner some, before they decided they worked better as friends.
    He was younger than she, probably mid-to-late thirties. He wore a khaki uniform shirt, complete with badge, tucked into worn jeans with a handgun holstered at his hip. He had thick brown hair, a handsome, angular face, and drop-dead gorgeous blue eyes. He was definitely a sexy man. Sarah, what’s wrong with you?
    “I saw you at Sage’s wedding,” Zach observed. “I got called away before the reception, so I missed the chance to actually meet you. I’m glad to have the chance to do so now.”
    “I’m happy to meet you, too, Zach. This is my first trip back since the wedding. I’m here to help Celeste get the Bristlecone Café reopened.”
    “Oh, yeah? That’s great news. I ate there twice a week before it closed. The town needs another full-service restaurant.”
    “Well, our plan is to get it up and running ASAP. Celeste is convinced we’ll find a cook and be able to reopen and get all the kinks worked out before the tourist season hits in force. I’m reserving judgment onthat until after I’ve seen what I have to work with. In fact, I was on my way to grab my umbrella out of my car and walk over there when you and your furry friend stopped me.”
    Zach glanced up toward the sky, where the dark clouds continued to build and thunder continued to rumble. “Looks like you’ll probably need that umbrella. I’ll walk with you. You can tease me with more details about the new Bristlecone. Are you changing the menu?”
    Ali offered up what few details she knew as she retrieved her umbrella, then headed for the Bristlecone, which was right across Angel Creek on Cottonwood. The restaurant faced the creek and offered a lovely view of a grassy slope leading down to clear, bubbling Angel Creek and, across it, the charming structures of Angel’s Rest nestled between the water and forested mountain behind.
    During new construction at the healing center, Celeste had ordered a footbridge to be built that offered convenient access to local businesses for healing center guests. As they neared the footbridge, Ali spied Celeste approaching from the direction of the mansion. Seeing them, the older woman waved and called, “Good morning. Isn’t it a lovely day?”
    Zach Turner frowned. “It’s about to storm, Celeste.”
    “I know.” The older woman beamed. “I just love thunderstorms in Eternity Springs. The echoes of thunder reverberating off the mountains are God’s exclamation points.”
    Ali smiled at the thought, then as a particularlyloud clap of thunder sounded said, “He’s exclaiming a lot today. I hope you brought your umbrella.”
    As Celeste pulled a compact umbrella from her bag, the hair on the back of Ali’s neck rose and a forked bolt of lightning flashed out of a dark cloud above them. Thunder cracked. She smelled ozone. Instinct had her diving for cover, dragging Celeste along with her.
    “It hit the Bristlecone,” Sheriff Turner said, grabbing the radio on his hip. He started running for the footbridge, shouting into the handset, “Fire! Fire at the Bristlecone.”
    “Oh dear.” Celeste sighed. “I do seem to have a bit of bad luck where fires are