Cassie sat by herself in a cozy booth at the Sled Dog Brewing Company and took a sip of a delicious chestnut porter, their fall varietal. She was dressed in tight wool baselayer leggings and top, and her hair was pulled up into a high, messy bun. It was early November and she’d just finished her first run with the Golden Falls Ski Club, her first real cross country experience. She felt a warm glow on her cheeks, a kind of post-exercise exhilaration, or maybe that was because Cody would be there any minute.

He’d picked up some overtime that morning and would be coming straight from the fire station. Cassie hoped it hadn’t been too busy a shift, because she wanted to have a long, not-sleeping kind of night with him.

Cody walked in the door, his muscular frame filling up most of it, and he spotted her right away. His face was relaxed, smiling. Cassie remembered the silent, scowling guy who’d first answered the door during her ride-along and couldn’t help grinning at the memory. He might still be the silent type, but he was anything but scowling these days.

She stood up and Cody wrapped her into a hug, then kissed her deeply.

“Hi, beautiful.”

“Hi yourself. How was work?”

“Not bad. I’m glad to see you, though. How was your first ski of the season?”

“Fantastic. I really like cross country skiing. It’s a workout, though.” She lifted her beer. “I’ve earned some carbohydrates!”

“Hey, I got my time off approved for Vail,” Cody said.

“Great,” Cassie said, feeling a twinge of anxiety nonetheless.

She was still planning to meet her parents for their annual trip in January, but this time she was bringing Cody with her. It would be the first time he’d meet them, and Cassie wasn’t sure how it would go. At least Cody knew how to ski, which would count for something with her parents.

Cody peered at her. “Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“Definitely,” she said. “Skiing is always fun, and it’ll be doubly fun with you. Plus there are hot tubs and roaring fires in massive stone fireplaces—romance galore. It’s like staying at the Pioneer Hotel, but better.”

Cody grinned. “The Pioneer did grow on me.”

He’d booked them a room there the weekend after their engagement, and it had been filled with champagne, room service, and lots and lots of thoroughly satisfying sex.

“So were you warm enough on the cross-country run? Not too hot?” Cody asked.

Cassie smiled. Cody was always concerned with the quality of her gear to make sure she was comfortable. She tugged on the sleeve of her wool top. “Everything performed admirably.”

“Good.” Cody kissed her again and they sat side-by-side in the booth.

The bartender, Elizabeth, approached. “Hey, Cody. Get you anything?”

“I’ll have what Cassie’s having. And some food menus. Thanks, Elizabeth.”

After Cody got his beer, they perused the menu together. Cassie had a vision of them doing this fifty years from now, two old people in a café, and decided she liked the idea. She liked it a lot.

Cody waved at someone across the room. Cassie looked and saw Josh Barnes with his widowed dad Bruce, who was the retired former police chief of Golden Falls. She waved, too, and beckoned them to come over.

“Hey, man,” Cody said, bumping fists with Josh. “Sit down and have a drink with us.”

“And I’m paying,” Cassie added. “As a thank you.”

Josh and Bruce slid into the booth on the other side. “I’m too old-fashioned to have a young lady pay for my beer,” Bruce said.

“Nonsense,” Cassie said. “You’ve been so helpful with the case.”

Bruce made a slight psh noise but he was smiling.

“Well, I sure as hell won’t say no to a fine craft brew,” Josh said.

After Stalker Doug’s arrest, Josh had introduced Cassie to the elder Barnes, who had kept her updated on everything regarding the case. Bruce Barnes still had plenty of connections and friendships within law enforcement and the judiciary, and he’d told her that a friend of his son’s was a friend of his.

“You guys have been so great,” Cassie said.

“We look out for our own here,” Josh said. “And you’re one of us now. Part of the family.”

His words warmed Cassie’s heart. This was impossible to find in New York City, or any big metropolis, where people shifted and moved and got on with their own lives. Here in Golden Falls, and amongst the firefighters’ brotherhood, she knew she had people to rely upon.

“Any word on the sentencing?” Cody asked.

After the night of the fire, Douglas Allen Grossman, a.k.a. Stalker Doug, had been arrested on charges of felony stalking, arson, and attempted murder. He had two past convictions for domestic violence in New York and New Jersey, with several restraining orders placed against him. With the evidence provided by Cassie, the reams of emails, phone call and text message records, and then the fire, plus the duct tape, zip ties, and knives found in the trunk of his rental car, the police had been confident they had enough to put Grossman away for a long time.

It also turned out Grossman was an IT guy who’d recently managed to get a job at one of the Columbia University dorms. From there, he’d had access to the university computer network—and former student records—which was how he’d gotten Cassie’s New York phone number. He’d also been able to track down Abby in Atlanta through her alumni contact information.

Cassie had testified at the trial, and while it had been harrowing to feel Doug’s stare from across the courtroom, she’d kept her eyes on Cody in the audience, his strong, rugged face wearing an expression of pride in her, and of faith in her strength.

“I talked to the judge,” Bruce said. “The sentencing hearing’s set for next week, and with that unanimous guilty verdict and Grossman’s priors, it wouldn’t surprise me if he goes for the maximum sentence. And prison is no picnic.” He frowned a little and looked at a crack in the wooden table.

“Good,” Cody said heartily. “I hope he rots in there.”

“I’m just glad it’s over,” Cassie said, squeezing Cody’s hand under the table. “Now we can focus on the future.”

“Speaking of which,” Cody said. “Josh, isn’t your big sled dog race coming up?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Cassie said. “Josh, I’d love to do an in-depth interview. You’re the sled dog race guy.”

Cody elbowed her. “You know he was the last-place finisher in the Iditarod last year, right?”

Josh grinned, well used to the teasing. “Nowhere to go but up.”

“How are preparations going?” Cassie asked.

“Pretty well,” Josh said. “I have a good team this year, a few new dogs I’m training. I’ve put a lot into it.”

“That’s the truth,” Bruce said, and took a long sip of beer. “A lot of time and a lot of money. It’s an expensive hobby.”

“It’s not just a hobby, Dad,” Josh said. “It’s …”

“It’s what?” Cassie asked.

“It’s just more than that to me.”

“No room for a woman in all this, huh?” Cassie said with a smile.

Josh laughed. “Oh, no! No set-ups, please. I don’t do long-term. Don’t get me wrong—I think it’s great for you guys, I’m really happy for you. But my focus is on the dogs right now.”

Cassie regarded Josh. He was good-looking, athletic, the right age to be thinking about a serious relationship … and more than that, he was an honorable man. Being one of Cody’s close friends, she’d gotten to know him pretty well, and she suspected he had the capacity for real passion and commitment to a woman. So what’s the holdup? she wondered.

“I think you just haven’t met the right one, Josh,” Cassie said.

“Here’s to finding the right one,” Bruce said, holding up his glass for a toast. “And soon.”

Josh raised a reluctant glass. “How about instead, here’s to my good friends Cody and Cassie.”

Everyone clinked glasses.

The Barnes father and son finished their beers and left Cody and Cassie to their meal.

“I found out what Eskimo ice cream is really made of,” she said to Cody during dessert.

He paused, a spoonful of the Akutaq halfway to his mouth.

“It’s a blend of fish and caribou fat.”

“I thought if I told you, you wouldn’t try it,” Cody said.

She beamed, took her own spoonful, and ate it.

Cody watched her, smiling. “See,” he said, “you are turning into a real Alaskan.” He put his hand on her knee beneath the table, then moved it up her thigh.

Cassie shifted in her seat, already looking forward to that night. She tilted her face to him, just the right angle for a kiss. “I think maybe I am.”

* * *