Free Pathways (9780307822208) by Lisa T. Bergren Page A

wanted was the safety of the taxicab, the reminder that she was a cheechako, and the subdued smell of old cigarettes—anything to make her forget the spicy, outdoorsy aroma of Eli Pierce.
    “So tell me about Bryn Bailey,” Sara invited, her tone carefully neutral. They had dropped Bryn off at the mercantile for supplies.
    Eli smiled over at Sara and took her hand with his right. They had been friends from the start this summer, and dating for a couple of weeks. “She’s an old family friend. Her dad and my dad bought places on Summit the same summer. They met in Germany. It’s a long story.”
    “I have time.” She crossed her arms, and Eli could feel her eyes on him. A slight flush rose up his neck.
    “Bryn has come to Alaska every five years since we were kids. Last time I saw her was in 1991. Her dad practically dragged her up here. I’m surprised she came alone. I wonder where …”
    “And?” Sara asked impatiently, pulling him back to the point of their conversation.
    “And … we were friends, that’s all. Did some hiking, some canoeing, some flying together.” He pulled the truck over, across the street from the bakery, and looked at Sara. “I’ll be honest with you, Sara. I wanted to have something more with her; she wanted more with me. But we were just too different. Not to mention that she lived in California and I lived in Alaska. Now she’s in Boston. And she’s not a believer.”
    “But if she had been?”
    “If she had, something more probably would have happened between us. But there was still the major obstacle of distance.”
    Sara nodded, her eyes searching the park before them. They were on the edge of town, near the river. She nodded again, as if mulling over his words, but then simply smiled. “I’ll go talk to the guys, see if there’s someone who wants to take my day trip tomorrow so we can spend more time together at the lake. Meet you back here?”
    “Sure. I’ll go get the rolls.” He watched her turn to let herself out the door, and wanting to reassure her, he reached for her once more. “Sara, there’s nothing between Bryn and me. We’re old friends. That’s all.”
    “Uh-huh. I’m not staking a claim, just curious. We’re just
friends
too, right?”

    “How long you here for?” Eli tossed over his shoulder to Bryn. He had seated Sara beside him in the cockpit, wanting to make her feel like the priority. After all, he had invited her out to the lake to be with him.
    “Couple of months,” she called out. Eli caught Sara’s meaningful glance as he focused on the instrument panel again. It was clouding up quickly, and Denali was already behind a thick curtain of gray. He’d follow up with Bryn later. Right now he had to concentrate on getting to Summit safely and not setting off any more alarm bells for Sara. Sara was a fine woman and a fast friend, just his type; he didn’t want to mess up with her. They’d just started to really connect. There was the potential of something sweet between them … Somethinglike what he had once with Chelsea Thompson. Something big.
Yeah, something big
.
    He nodded at Joe, another pilot, who gave the prop a pull and pushed the plane out to the water. Bryn had two huge duffels with her this time and several bags of groceries. Eli ran through their combined weight one more time and, satisfied that they weren’t overloaded, cruised out to the end of the lake, radioed Talkeetna’s air traffic control, and, when cleared, took off.
    The trip to Summit took about ninety minutes, and much of it was spent listening to the roar of the engine and watching the fast moving, low-lying clouds move in on the Susitna Valley. “You okay?” he asked Sara.
    She nodded quickly, her wide eyes never leaving the front windshield. “Fine. How long till we reach the lake?”
    “Another ten, fifteen minutes.”
    “That cloud bank,” she said, motioning toward the wall of silver before them, directly over the mountain pass. “We’re going