Free North of Heartbreak by Julie Rowe

like that.”
    “Yeah.” Liam rolled his shoulders back and resettled in his seat. “You’re stronger than you look.”
    The hunter barked a laugh, leaned forward and pounded Liam on the shoulder as if he were a brother. “Facing down a bear takes courage. When Pete’s fixed up we’ll have a party.”
    “Count me in.” Liam grinned and looked back at Willa. “Jason will have a plane fully fueled and ready for takeoff in Stony Creek by the time we get there, and Fairbanks knows we’re coming.”
    “Thanks,” she replied, concentrating on bandaging the wounds on Pete’s chest.
    “Is this kind of attack common?” Liam asked the hunter.
    “No. A bear will stalk people, but a couple shots off a rifle generally sends them running. This one has been on our heels for three, maybe four days. We used up our ammo hunting and trying to scare it away.”
    “Why was it so persistent?”
    The hunter shrugged. “Everyone has had a hard time hunting the last couple of months, including the bears. Not enough sea ice,” he explained. “Now they’re coming inland to find prey.”
    “You mean there could be more attacks like this?”
    “Maybe, if we don’t get a warning out.”
    “Jason knows who to contact,” Willa said. “We’ll pass the word to all the settlements.”
    The hunter smiled, showing yellowed teeth. “Thank you.”
    “Anytime.” Then Liam winced. “Jason is going to kill me for getting his plane all dented up.”
    “But it wasn’t your fault,” she protested.
    “Somehow I don’t think he’s going to agree with you.” He shook his head. “Damn.”
    It took four hours to transfer planes, fly Pete to Fairbanks and back to Stony Creek. Pete’s friend, Harold, flew back with them then left to tell Pete’s family what happened. Pete’s skull fracture had turned out to be minor enough that he regained consciousness by the time they left Fairbanks. The doctors had estimated he’d have two or three days in the hospital before he could go home.
    By the time Liam got her back to the clinic it was late, after 6:00 p.m. Willa walked in and dropped her equipment unceremoniously on the floor.
    “Tired?” he asked, coming in with the last of her stuff.
    “What comes after tired?” Her stomach rumbled loudly. “Right now, I could eat anything.”
    “Come over to my place. I went grocery shopping yesterday.”
    She gave him an exhausted smile. “Jason mentioned something called Sunday Surprise.”
    Liam laughed, shook his head and held out his hand. “You shouldn’t listen to gossip. Besides, I think I can come up with something better than that.”
    Willa stared at his outstretched fingers for a long second then put her hand in his.
    An hour later, Liam sat her down at the small table in the kitchen of his apartment. He watched her as she tasted his chickenàla Liam, and seemed to take great satisfaction in her surprised expression.
    “This is delicious,” she said with her mouth still full. She swallowed and immediately ate another forkful, closing her eyes to savor it. “I’ve got to have the recipe.”
    She opened her eyes to see him looking at her with a hungry expression, as if she were dinner. He smiled and shook his head. “Sorry, I’ve never divulged that to anyone.”
    “Please,” she pleaded, gobbling up another mouthful. Whatever was in his sauce would be good on pork chops too. “It’s so good.”
    “Nope. It’s my specialty. If I gave the recipe to every person who asked it wouldn’t be special anymore, would it?”
    “But I’m not just anyone.” Maybe she’d share her recipe for her fire-engine ribs. “I live in almost total isolation from the rest of the world,” she continued, pouting just a little. “Who am I going to tell?”
    Liam stared at her, the smile fading from his face, leaving an angry wrinkle between his eyes.
    “Oh, never mind,” she said, taking another bite. “I doubt I’d be able to buy the spices you used anyway. If it’s fancier than salt