The rendezvous point where the rescue helicopters were supposed to meet the Boy Scout troop was a huge meadow, the size of several football fields, so there was plenty of space for the KFLS chopper to set down and for Cassie and her cameraman to set up for the live shot of the rescue. They’d already gotten fantastic live footage of the rope rescue from the creek bank, and then of the airlift of the two adult leaders into the State Trooper helicopter a few minutes ago, which had been broadcast to the major networks.

There was a bite of true cold in the air, and Cassie pulled the collar of her vest closer around her neck. She couldn’t help remembering the shopping trip with Cody when she’d bought it.

Cassie and the cameraman set up with a pristine backdrop of Denali, the towering foothills of the Alaska Range, and the sweeping meadows and forests around them. The meadow itself was pretty, with small plants hugging the soft ground and tender grasses starting to turn yellow in the autumn temperature.

Cassie had been taken aback by the extreme splendor of this place from the air. Even now, there was a sense of infinite space around her that left her breathless, almost giddy, the same feeling she’d had at first when she’d gone to White Spruce Lake with Cody. With no sign of humanity on the landscape, it was almost prehistoric, a glimpse into a lost world of savage beauty.

Cassie also couldn’t help but think how much better off the Scouts would have been with a ham radio, like Cody had.

She laughed and shook her head at herself. She was starting to think like an Alaskan.

At the edge of the meadow, there was movement, a flash of bright reds and yellows and blues. The Boy Scouts and their rescuers.

Cassie’s heart thudded. Cody was among them.

He loped across the meadow toward her, as at ease in this environment as if he was part of the wildlife. In a way, Cassie supposed he was.

She recognized Josh Barnes and Sean Kelly as the other two in the rescue party. They and the Scouts followed Cody’s path toward Cassie and the camera.

“Hi,” Cody said. His eyes shone the same bright blue as the sky above them.

“Hi.”

He nodded at the helicopter. “This was your doing?”

“I kicked up a big fuss. What’s the point of having a charter with a helicopter if you’re not going to put it to use? You said you needed more people searching.”

Cody grinned. “I’ve seen how you kick up a fuss. It doesn’t surprise me at all that you got your way.”

She felt herself blush, remembering her behavior after the bear incident.

“Well, I knew we’d get some great footage out of it. That moment you reached the Scouts was live on CNN.”

Cassie saw a flush creep across Cody’s face. She knew he didn’t want credit or acclaim for his role, and really didn’t want celebrity. She wasn’t going to try to get him on camera, although with his good looks he would be an instant star. She respected him too much to inflict that on him.

She was glad for the cold wind that picked up and whipped away the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

Josh came up to them. “Hey, Cassie! You ready to film some hero stuff?”

She was grateful for the distraction and then remembered that Cody was the distraction and she had a job to do. “Yep!” she said. She was going to do the filming, preferring not to stick her face into the drama but rather record it as it unfolded, then voice over later for the finished piece. It was a more elegant documentary style, what Steve would have called “too polished,” but at this point it didn’t matter.

Cassie hoisted the camera on her shoulder and the cameraman followed her with the microphone boom. Cody and the others had already marked out the landing zone and guided the rescue helicopters to a safe touchdown. Cassie filmed as the Boy Scouts were lifted into the waiting helicopters.

Cody didn’t look her direction as he boarded one of the choppers, but Cassie followed it with the camera’s eye as it lifted off and got smaller and smaller, finally vanishing out of sight into the blue sky.

“Talk about being in the action,” said her cameraman.

“Yeah,” Cassie said softly. She was thinking that everything in Alaska made for good imagery, and how cool it would be to make films here, or hell, even reality television. She understood now why Alaska shows were so popular.

The chartered helicopter flew them back to Golden Falls, and as soon as Cassie’s cell phone had signal it blew up with messages and voicemail notifications. She ignored most of them, only responding to Steve’s entreaty that she get her butt to the airport terminal as soon as she landed to interview the ecstatic Scout parents.

“You’ve proven yourself a huge asset, Cassie,” Steve said. “I’m awful sorry you’re leaving us.”

So am I, Steve, she thought.