Page 160 of Major Love

“Thanks, Mr Hindsight,” I deadpan, dropping my mitten to my side and rolling my eyes. “But I’m not in the mood to have my time wasted – do you know where he is or not?”

Beckett stares down at me blankly for a long moment. Then he rumbles, “You don’t wanna know.”

“Beckett,” I breathe out warningly.

“I’m serious. You don’t.”

“Where could he possibly go that would be that bad…?” I start to say, but then I slowly trail off as I lift my eyes back up to his.

If he’s left a job mid-gig… there’s only one reason why.

I breathe out a shaky exhale, my eyes searching Beckett’s as he watches me.

“Did he get a search-and-rescue call?” I ask, my voice quieter than I mean for it to be.

But Beckett doesn’t even need to answer the question – he just shoves his tongue in his cheek, breathing hard.

“I want to see him,” I say raspily.

Beckett huffs out a laugh, shaking his head. “No fucking way am I giving you the location if you’re planning on going after him.”

“I’m not going to climb the freaking mountain, Beckett!” I exclaim. “But I would like to be there, waiting at the bottom for him – I want him to know that I’m staying in Phoenix Falls, and I want him to know that the second he gets down.”

Beckett clenches and unclenches his jaw, his eyes all but scorching a hole through my skull.

And after a long fifteen second stand-off, he exhales roughly and looks away from me.

“Bear Pass. That’s where he is. But you didn’t hear that from me,” he rumbles.

And I clutch a hand over my chest, my heart pounding like a jackhammer, knowing how much danger riding up that mountain will be putting Jason in right now.

But being at risk like that in order to save the lives of others… it’s always been who he is and, even though it scares me, I admire him for it. And if there’s one thing that I’ve learned, first with Cash and even now with Casey, it’s that time doesn’t stop for anyone, and you have to embrace every moment – because nothing is guaranteed so who knows what’ll happen next?

I trust Jason and I want him, and I’m going to show him how much I appreciate him by supporting the life he chooses.

And if that means supporting him riding that enormous snowmobile lightning fast to rescue civilians from mountain ridges… so be it.

Because I want every moment that I can get with him.

“Thank you,” I tell Beckett, my voice husky as I try to calm my nerves.

And then I’m pounding the snow back across the lot, my hands shaking as I try to pull open the door – and I’m mentally berating myself because I shouldn’t have tried to go back to Nashville in the first place.

If I hadn’t left, then I could have kissed Jason goodbye before he headed up to Bear Pass.

Karma, I think to myself.She never misses.

I climb up onto the driver’s seat and start closing the door, but then I pause as I realise that I have no idea how to get to Bear Pass.

And, even if I did, knowing my past experience on the upper mountain roads, I might get stuck before I’ve even reached it.

“Shit,” I whisper, blinking at my reflection in the visor mirror.

And in the next second I’m yelping as someone knocks gently against the driver’s window.

I press my mitten over my thundering heart before pushing open the door and looking nervously up at Beckett.

He’s not going to try and stop me from heading to Bear Pass, is he?

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