Free Alaskan-Reunion by CBelle

Emma’s sippy cup in front of her. “That would endear her to a lot of folks,” Hazel said. “And drive home the point that she’s willing to move forward to help this town.” She looked down at Paige, raw emotion shimmering in her eyes.
    Jasper snorted. “The last time I checked, I’m still the mayor of this town. I’ll decide how to address this at the town meeting.” He jumped to his feet. “I need to get back to my office. Hazel, can you whip me up one of those turkey-and-avocado sandwiches to go?”
    Without even saying a proper goodbye, Jasper reached for the check and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. He walked over to the counter with Hazel, his thoughts having presumably shifted to his lunch and away from the town’s fiscal concerns. Paige shook her head at his abrupt departure. Just as it seemed she was making a little headway, Jasper had taken his marbles and left.
    Boone checked his watch and let out a groan. “Looks like I need to head back to work, as well. Seems like I’m taking my lunch to go also.” He nodded at Cameron, then Paige. He reached out his hand and stroked the top of Emma’s head. “I’ll be seeing you soon, cutie-pie. Can’t wait for Gracie to meet you.”
    “He’s a happily married man now,” Cameron explained as Boone walked away. “In case you missed that telltale twinkle in his eye and the gushing tone in his voice.”
    “I happened to see their wedding announcement online. Their love story made quite a stir,” she admitted, feeling a little sheepish about the fact that she’d been keeping tabs on the town. At the time she had felt happiness for Boone and sadness that she and Cameron hadn’t gone the distance. “They seem like a great couple.”
    “They are,” Cameron said with a nod. “I’ve never seen Boone happier.”
    “And how are Liam and Ruby? And Honor?” she asked. Although she felt as if she might be overstepping by posing the question, she was filled with curiosity about the remaining Prescott siblings. They had all been close once, and even though she had tried on numerous occasions, she couldn’t just shut off her feelings. She still cared deeply about them.
    Cameron’s face blanched. All the light went out of his eyes. He began to stammer. “I—I can’t pretty this up, Paige. Ruby passed away a year and a half ago.”
    Paige let out a gasp. Shock roared straight through her. Beautiful, strong Ruby. Everyone’s friend. Wise sage. Warrior. Nurturer. “No! What happened? Was she ill?”
    Cameron released a ragged breath. “She was killed in an avalanche search and rescue in Colorado. You know how Ruby was about saving lives. If there was an opportunity to help, she was there.”
    “I can’t believe it.” She choked out the words. Tears slid down her cheeks. She swiped them away with the back of her hand. Although she had kept tabs on the town, there had been a period of time after Emma’s birth that she had been too occupied with her newborn baby to keep up with the major goings-on in Love. “I’m so sorry, Cam. For all of you, but especially for Liam and Aidan. I had no idea!” Impulsively, she reached out and clasped Cameron’s hand. Seconds after making contact, she realized that touching Cameron hadn’t been a good idea. Goose bumps had popped up on her forearms. For a moment tension hummed and buzzed in the air around them as they locked gazes.
    “She died the way she lived. Heroically. Not that it eases the pain for Liam, but Ruby was a rock star as a search-and-rescue team member. My dad worked that rescue operation right alongside her. He said she saved several lives that day.”
    Paige remembered how Ruby had emailed her after she’d left Love. She’d been the one person who had attempted to reach out to her in kindness and friendship. They’d kept up communication until the emails had abruptly stopped on Ruby’s end. It was devastating to realize that her friend’s tragic death had been the reason for the lack of