Yukon Cowboy. Debra Clopton

had a woman in his life, it seemed.

      “Why are you back in Treasure Creek?”

      Bethany almost laughed. Everyone in town more than likely knew why she was back by the time her flight landed. They probably even knew that she was walking down the street at this very minute and was now stopped, talking to her old boyfriend.

      “You haven’t heard?” she asked, dismayed, feeling like every moment standing there with him was endless.

      “I heard that you’re opening a wedding-planning service.” His gaze sharpened, pinned her like blue darts. “Why is what I’m asking. You don’t belong here.”

      His harsh statement cut like a sharp wind, sending a chill up her spine. What was his problem? This was the man who’d told her in one breath he loved her, wanted to spend his life with her, and then the next breath took it back. All these years, what had happened between them still made no sense to her, and he had the gall to tell her she didn’t belong here. Fine, maybe she didn’t, but she was here.

      And this time, if she left it would be because she truly wanted to. And if she left, it would be with her chin held high…and her heart intact.

      She sucked in a steadying breath. “I’m not sure why you think that.” She managed to sound unaffected. “But I can tell you that it’s not something you need to spend any time concerning yourself over. My being here won’t affect your life in the least. Nice seeing you, Nate,” she offered the last as she sidestepped him. A lady she didn’t know was coming out of the store and Bethany slipped through the open door. Her knees were rattling against each other as the door closed behind her. It was all she could do not to turn and see if he was watching her. The tingle at the back of her neck told her he was.

      Of all the scenarios that had gone through her mind about what their first meeting would be like, this wasn’t one of them. Awkward and tough was what that had been—but then, she’d been kidding herself, if she expected anything else.

      Nate hadn’t had a good night as he pulled his truck to a stop in front of Alaska’s Treasures, the tour company where he led a few tours a month. Normally, on a day like today, when he was heading in for a briefing before his tour, he was in a great mood, looking forward to the trek out into wilderness he loved.

      Not today.

      Today he was too preoccupied with other things.

      He slammed his truck door just as a gust of October wind bit at him. Jerking the brim of his Stetson low against his forehead, he was unable to stop himself from glancing down the street. Where was she?

      He’d heard yesterday that she was arriving, and he should have stayed out of town. But he’d had to get birthday candy for Sue, his housekeeper. In and out had been the plan, with no expectation of running into Bethany. His legs went weak at the thought of seeing her.

      When he’d looked up and locked gazes with her it was like seeing a mirage. Like she’d always done, she took his breath away. She’d had the greenest eyes—like translucent green glass, they sparkled and captured the light and held it. He’d always gotten lost peering into their depths. And her dark hair, straight and shiny—just like he’d remembered—framed her heart-shaped face…the same sweet face that had haunted his dreams for nearly a decade.

      He closed his eyes and tried to ease the turmoil that rumbled inside of him.

      Why did she come home to Treasure Creek?

      The question had been eating at him ever since word had gotten out that she was returning. He didn’t understand it and hadn’t believed it at first. She’d had big dreams and wanted to leave Treasure Creek and pursue them more than anything when they were in high school. She’d had the grit to make those dreams reality, too…so why was she here now?

      He knew all about the wedding-planning business she was supposed to be opening, but like he’d told her, that didn’t explain why. Why had she given up her dream job in San Francisco to open up a shop here in Treasure Creek? It didn’t make sense. That was for certain.

      He hadn’t handled seeing her very well. Ever since their encounter, he felt like he’d been trampled beneath the hooves of a herd of stampeding cattle.

      He needed this tour. He’d been too busy at the ranch over the last couple of months to take one out, and he was chomping at the bit to get out there on the trails. For more reasons than to get away from Bethany. He needed to do his part in helping find the treasure that the town was searching for.

      Ever since Ben James, owner of the tour company, had died, the town had struggled economically. The tour company brought in most of the revenue for the town, and things had not been the same since Ben had passed.

      Amazingly, an old treasure map that belonged to Amy’s great, great grandfather, Mack Tanner, had been discovered after years of merely being a rumor. The discovery had thrown Nate for a loop, because his grandfather had died almost fifteen years ago searching for the stupid treasure—a fact that had torn Nate up all these years. Realizing that his grandfather actually might have died for more than just a rumor didn’t make him any less fond of the idea of a real treasure, but if there actually was one, and it could help the town, then it was worth something. The town had high hopes of finding it.

      Nate still had his doubts that the treasure existed; however, if it did, he wanted a crack at finding it. And he wanted this tour because of its location.

      Amy was sending the treasure map out with the guides so that they could check different locations, in the hope of finding the right one. He was leading this family tour on a five-day excursion that would go past the place where his grandfather had died. It wasn’t a place he was fond of…Nate had almost died there himself. He’d been on a mission to figure out what his grandfather had seen before he’d fallen from the mountain.

      After his near-fatal slip, and almost following in his grandfather’s footsteps, he’d never gone back…until now. This time things would go better. He was determined to find out what his grandfather had found inside the crevice two hundred feet up the face of that cold, ragged rock.

      He welcomed the trip more today than yesterday. Today he needed something to focus his anger and disillusionment on.

      Glowering, ready for distraction right at that very instant, he stalked up the sidewalk toward the “log cabin” office that housed the tour company. It was nice to see a buzz of activity humming about it, as people came and went out the door. He tipped his hat when a gaggle of women walked past, ogling him like a slab of bacon. He preferred to ignore them, but for the sake of the town he’d play the friendly cowboy role and tip the Stetson and show hospitality. As long as everyone in town understood that tipping his hat was as far as it went with him in letting these bride wannabes try to hook him as a husband. He’d already had a dolled-up redhead named Delilah pull two crazy cons on him. The woman had cornered him in Lizbet’s Diner and asked him if he was alone. Of course he’d said yes, because he was. If he’d known she was going to plunk herself into the booth with him and invite herself to lunch, he’d have said he was leaving.

      He didn’t even want to think about the second time she’d cornered him. It was enough to make a man walk off into the wilderness and never come back.

      “Hey, Nate,” Gage Parker called, falling into step beside him. Gage was a tour guide and also a member of the search and rescue team.

      “Any luck finding Tucker Lawson?” Nate asked, not breaking step. Tucker was a former local. He’d moved away after a rift with his dad but recently his dad had passed away. Tucker had come in for the funeral then disappeared. His best friend Jake Rodgers was funding an ongoing search for him that Gage and police chief Truscott were heading up.

      “Nothing new since I saw you last week. We’ve been out a few more times but we can only hope he’s found refuge somewhere…if he’s alive.”

      “There’s always a chance.” Nate knew as well as Gage that every day that passed was a bad sign. There was no need to state that. “Everyone is still praying for him.”