I walked into the Willow Brook Fire Station and up to the reception desk where a young woman was on the phone. I’d never seen her before. Before I’d left for my hot shot training, I’d volunteered here regularly. Carol Rogers had been the nerve center of the dispatch here back then and for as long as I could remember. She’d passed away about a year ago, and I’d been sad to find out I was too late to make it to her funeral. I’d been out in the field dealing with a dangerous fire in the Sierra Mountains at the time. Carol had been like a grandmother to me, along with many of the firefighters who passed through here.

The young woman who appeared to be her replacement had curly brown hair barely tamed into a ponytail and wide brown eyes. She finished her call and looked at me over the counter. “Hi, can I help you?” she asked, her tone cool. She certainly lacked Carol’s warm, motherly manner.

“Cade Masters. I’m here to drop off my gear before I start next week.”

Her expression didn’t change, but she nodded. “Okay. Let me see if anyone’s expecting you.”

Slightly annoyed, I shrugged. So much for a warm welcome.

She picked up the phone and paged the back. I heard her mention my name and then nod. After she hung up, she stood and walked around the desk to open the door leading to the back. “Come on back,” she said, waving her hand into the hallway.

I stepped through and felt a sense of homecoming wash over me. I’d been home for a few days, but coming here was a second layer of it for me. I’d spent most of my adolescence bouncing around this place. With my father as the police chief and the police offices one building over, I was almost always running around nearby. Once I’d gotten my hot shot training out of the way, I’d always had half an eye on the jobs here.

I might’ve wanted to avoid the pain of seeing Amelia settle down with someone else, but I’d missed Willow Brook and my dream had been to be part of the hot shot crew here. Willow Brook had a local firefighting crew, which wasn’t too big because the town wasn’t large. However, the fire station here served as a base for two hotshot crews, so it was busy here. They had federal and state teams flying in and out of Willow Brook during the height of fire season. In recent years, fires out West, Alaska included, had increased markedly, so hotshot teams were in demand. We were the only teams specially trained to function independently in isolated wilderness and rough terrain. I’d taken a foreman position for one of the crews and was ready to start. I was slated to officially be on duty next week, but I had gear to drop off and wanted to see who was around.

The young woman barely cracked a smile as she waited for me to pass and turned to close the door behind us. I couldn’t help but notice she was a bundle of curves. I might not feel a thing, what with Amelia permanently lodged in my brain these days, but I could appreciate this woman was a likely distraction here at the station. Well, except for the fact she was cranky as hell. I decided to push her a little.

“So I’m Cade. Don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” I held my hand out.

“I’m Maisie Rogers,” she said, her voice flat as she shook my hand.

“You wouldn’t be any relation to Carol Rogers?” I asked as I dropped her hand and started to follow her down the hall.

“She was my grandma,” Maisie replied, the slightest softening to her tone.

“Really? You must not have grown up here, or I’d know you.”

A curl bounced as she shook her head. “Nope. My mom went to college in San Francisco and never moved back. Grandma left me her house when she passed away. I didn’t plan on ending up in her job, but they hadn’t filled it yet when I got here. I figured I could fill in and now I’m still here.”

We reached the door into the back and Maisie pushed through, stopping abruptly by the door.

The back area was as I remembered it—lockers, gear hanging in tidy rows, and a kitchen and hang out area to the back.

“Cade!” a voice called out.

The man in question turned from where he was by the kitchen counter and strode my way.

“Beck, man. Good to see you! I wasn’t sure you were still here,” I replied as we met halfway across the room.

Beck pulled me into a quick hug and stepped back, flashing a lazy grin. “Course I’m here. I’m foreman for the other crew. How ya been?”

Beck Steele had gone to high school with me. We’d run in the same circles, although Beck hadn’t started as a firefighter before I left town. I heard he was here through the grapevine. Beck was a good guy. Solid, steady and always good for a laugh. He didn’t take himself, or anyone else, too seriously. With his black curls and green eyes, the girls had chased after him in high school. As far as I knew, he’d never been caught by any of them. He enjoyed the chase and that was about it.

“Doin’ alright. It’s good to be home,” I replied.

“Good to have you here. You met Maisie, right?” Beck asked in return, glancing between us.

Maisie nodded, her curly ponytail bouncing. The incongruity of that with her cool expression made me want to laugh.

“Yup, we met,” I offered.

Beck shrugged, another lazy grin. “Of course.” He glanced to me. “We miss Carol like crazy, but Maisie’s almost as bossy as her.”

Maisie’s eyes narrowed, and her cheeks turned pink. She opened her mouth to say something when the radio hooked to her belt beeped. She snagged it and hurried back through the door to the front.

I glanced from the door back to Beck. “She might be bossy like Carol, but…. Not exactly warm and fuzzy.”

Beck shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we’re still trying to warm her up.”

I scanned the room, circling back to Beck. “So, I brought some gear to drop off. Okay if I go ahead and bring it in?”

“Of course, let me give a hand.”

In short order, I had hung my gear in a locker, met a few of the other guys and caught up with Beck. Beck walked me back out to his truck and leaned against the tailgate. “So, what finally brought you back?” he asked.

“Been meaning to come back for a while. When I saw the foreman position open up, I jumped at it.”

I left unsaid that I’d stayed away as long as I had, in part because I’d been deep into avoiding Amelia and everything that fell apart between us.

Beck eyed me and nodded slowly. “Guessing you heard your girl up and left Earl Osborne at the altar.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Amelia hasn’t been my girl for a long time.”

Beck chuckled. “Whatever, man. I love this place, but word travels. Already heard you’re the one who brought her back to town after she bolted at her wedding. Just a heads up, if I heard about it, well, that means the whole damn town did.”

I kicked my heel against a tire. I’d missed many things about Willow Brook, but gossip wasn’t one of them. “Aw hell. Don’t tell me I’m gonna have to face people pissed off at me. All I did was run into her at a bar. Damn woman managed to start a fistfight,” I said with a chuckle.

Beck threw his head back with a laugh. “That must’ve been a sight.”

“Oh yeah. I walk in and see her land her fist right in some guy’s face. Next thing I know, he knocks her right to the ground.” I paused and shook my head. “So, I waded in there and got her out of the way. Had no idea she’d just walked out on Earl, although the fact she was wearing a wedding dress tipped me off.”

Beck shook his head. “Well, she’s given the gossips something to chew on for a few months between walking out on Earl and you coming back to town.”

“Oh hell. I hate that shit,” I replied.

Beck eyed me for a beat. “Right, well at least it’s Earl. He’s so laid back about everything, I doubt he’ll much care. Far as I’m concerned, just goes to show she was right to walk out.”

Beck’s cell phone beeped, and he glanced at the screen. “Gotta take this. Trying to buy some land and it’s the bank. How about you meet up with me and the guys this Saturday at Wildlands?”

“Will do,” I replied as Beck gave a nod and took the call.

I turned and looked across the street once Beck disappeared inside. Willow Brook was one of the older towns in Alaska, established during the mythical gold rush era. The original fire station had been renovated into the Firehouse Café, while this newer building was built back when I was a boy. It was square and utilitarian, but situated right on Main Street with a nice view of Swan Lake.

The sun glinted off the lake with its namesake Trumpeter swans drifting in the center. The swans came every summer, decorating the lake as they floated regally in its waters. I looked out over the water and took a breath. I’d missed this view, missed so many things. I was partially kicking myself for holding out this long before coming home. Yet, in the back of my mind, I knew I’d have felt a hell of a lot differently if I were here dealing with the reality of Amelia with someone else like a punch to my gut. I might be gnawing on a lot of emotions over her, but the barren pain of thinking she was out of reach was gone.

I glanced at my watch. I figured it was time to track her down.