Page 55

Without saying another word, he spins on his heels and stomps his way outside, snagging the handle behind him. The door slams shut with a loud bang, the floor vibrating under my feet.

“What in the world was that about?” I ask myself with a scoff, my hands lying flat on either side of the table, palms up in a confused gesture.

I stand, grab my coffee, and drag my confused self to the chair sitting next to the coffee table the radio is on top of. What in the world was that with Alaska? Are we always going to be that awkward around one another? I’m not sure I can handle it. Maybe the best thing for both of us is for me to leave.

I sit down, movement from my left capturing my attention. Alaska, Glenn, and Soren are huddled, talking to one another, but Glenn’s arms are waving in the air, clearly annoyed about something.

“Not my cowboy, not my problem,” I sigh, not realizing what I said until I have the radio in my hand.

I clearly believe Alaska is mine.

My cowboy. My problem.

And this situation better have a solution.

I need to talk to my sister. She’ll know what I should do.

Reaching for the broken knob, I turn it to the channel I know she will be listening to.

Picking up the microphone, I press the button on the side that will allow her to hear me.

“This is Flyerboy calling to Base.” I let go of the button and lean my head against the window, emotion webbing in my chest.

Lyra’s called me Flyerboy ever since I got my first toy airplane as a kid. I’ve always wanted to be a pilot.

I can’t imagine how scared Lyra has been over the last few days. I wouldn’t blame anyone if they thought I was dead. Hell, I thought I was too. If Alaska didn’t find me, I would have died falling off that cliff.

“Oh my god.” Her voice comes in between the static. The signal is still weak. “Leo? Leo,” she sobs my name. “Please, tell me that it’s you. Please.”

I smile, holding the receiver against my chin, those damn tears I tried to keep at bay well and threaten to spill over.

My thumb presses against the button, and I bring my mic to my mouth. “It’s me, Lyra. It’s me. I’m safe. I’m okay,” I rush to say, emotion lurching in my throat.

“Where…where are you!” she screams, the pain and the relief evident in how heavily she cries.

I wish I could hold her now to tell her everything is okay, to let her know and feel that I’m here and my heart is beating.

I can’t.

This is the best I can do.

“Leo? Leo, are you there? Please, talk to me. Please.”

I lean forward, placing my elbows on my thighs to get more comfortable. “I’m here. I’m alive. I’m okay, Lyra. Really. I don’t even have a scratch on me. No broken bones. I’m just a little sore. I got lucky. Really. I’m fine.”

She sniffles, not saying a word for what feels like minutes. “I thought I lost you,” Lyra admits. “I swear I felt a part of me die. I just knew you were gone. I knew it.”

Lyra is hard to listen to when she’s crying. Hearing her like this tears me up inside.

“I thought I was too.” I release the button on the side and look out the window, needing a glimpse of the man who changed everything about my life in less than a minute when I saw him for the first time.

Alaska swings an axe down on a piece of wood settled on a large stump, slicing it in half easily. He must sense me lurking because he lifts his head after tossing the pieces to the side.

He rubs his finger across the brim of his hat, then points that same digit at me with a smirk.

I rip my eyes away from him, a lump in my throat, a brush of heat teasing my cheeks at being caught staring at him. That man has no reason to be that good-looking with his stupid, sexy hat, with his stupid sexy smirk, and let’s not forget that stupid sexy finger brush across the edge.

“What happened, Leo? Where are you? I’ll come get you right now. I need to see you. Everyone has been worried. They weren’t going to send search and rescue until tomorrow, and I⁠—”