Page 36 of Mountain Man Summer

"But?" I prompted, hearing the hesitation in her voice.

She turned to me, those green eyes searching mine. "But I'm not ready to leave here. To leave you."

Hope rose in my chest, sharp and bright. "Long-distance relationships aren't easy."

"So are stalkers and nosy small-town detectives," she replied with a half-smile. "I seem to have experience with both now."

I set my coffee down and took her hands in mine. "Didi, I know this has happened fast. But I've truthfully never felt this way before. I don't want this to end."

"You haven't even heard my show," she pointed out, her thumb tracing circles on my palm. "What if you hate it?"

"Impossible," I said with absolute certainty. "Besides, I've heard you talk. I've heard how you listen. I've seen how you connect with people. Your show must be amazing."

She smiled, the first real smile since Barrett's appearance. "What if we tried something? I could broadcast remotely part of the time. Split my weeks between here and Chicago."

The idea landed like a revelation. "You could do that?"

"The technology's all portable," she confirmed. "I've been doing it here already. My producer would need to coordinate some things on her end, but it's doable."

"And I could visit Chicago," I added, the possibilities unfurling. "I have vacation time saved up. Lots of it, actually."

"You in Chicago?" Didi laughed. "Mountain Man meets the Windy City?"

"I can adapt," I assured her. "I might even own a tie somewhere."

Her laughter faded into something more serious. "It won't be easy. There would be a lot of goodbyes, a lot of travel."

"But a lot of hellos too," I pointed out. "And I'm willing to try if you are."

The moonlight caught in her hair as she nodded. "I am."

I pulled her close, her body fitting against mine in a way that felt both new and familiar. "Then we'll figure it out." I pressed my lips to her temple. "One day at a time."

"One lake at a time," she corrected, arms sliding around my neck. "One mountain, one city block, one sunset..."

"One kiss," I murmured against her mouth.

Under the starlit sky, I held the woman who'd crashed into my life and somehow changed everything. I didn't know exactly what the future would bring, but for the first time in years, I had hope.

Epilogue

“On Air and in Love”

Didi

One month later

"And that's it for tonight's advice hour, night owls. Remember, sometimes the bravest thing you can do is let someone see exactly who you are. This is Didi, signing off until tomorrow."

I yanked off my headphones and shut down my equipment, still riding the post-show high. One month after Preston's arrest, and my ratings had never been better. A radio host who actually followed her own relationship advice made for good radio—who knew?

Outside the window of Noah's cabin—which I'd started thinking of as ours—the lake mirrored the night sky. I stepped onto the deck where the evening air still held the day's heat. The scent of pine and water had become as familiar to me now as exhaust fumes and hot dogs in Chicago.

The arrangement wasn't perfect. Three days in Montana, four in Chicago meant living out of suitcases and racing through airports. Noah had visited twice, sticking out like a lumberjack at a fashion show, but attacking deep-dish pizza and architecture tours with the same focus he brought to detective work.

Jamie was thrilled with the "Mountain Man Wisdom" segment we'd added to the show, featuring Noah's perspective on listener dilemmas. His straightforward, no-nonsense approach balanced my more empathetic style perfectly. The station manager who'd once suggested my "provocative" persona had invited unwanted attention now couldn't stop talking about our "dynamic chemistry."

I heard the door open behind me, then Noah's familiar footsteps crossing the deck.

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