Running Wild(Wild #3)(23)

I falter. “Stray raccoons? Well, no. There really aren’t any in Alaska.” There’s the odd rumor that they lurk in the southwest and on the islands, but the rest of the state is inhospitable.

“What do you mean?” she says slowly, genuine confusion furrowing her brow. “What about Bandit?”

It dawns on me then. I look to Jonah’s broad back, incredulity in my voice when I ask, “You never told her?”

“It never came up.”

“What never came up?” Calla looks from Jonah to me.

I shake my head at my friend. “We flew down to Port Angeles for the weekend to pick up some equipment I needed for the clinic, and you know how Jonah never closes his duffel bag all the way? He always leaves it open, like, six inches?”

“Yeah …” I can see the wheels turning in Calla’s mind. Maybe she hasn’t ever noticed that little habit of his.

“Well, Bandit crawled in when we were loading the plane to come home.” He didn’t make a sound the entire trip, not once during any of the fuel pit stops. He must’ve slept the whole way. I chuckle as I recall the moment we discovered him. “We were back at my place, and Jonah was dumping his clothes onto the floor. You should have heard him scream when the little black-and-gray furball tumbled out.”

Calla still looks confused. “But my dad said you found him under your porch …” She scowls as her voice trails off.

“’Cause that’s what I told him,” Jonah says.

I laugh. “Wren knew you were lying!”

His eyes shine with amusement. “He told you that?”

“Yes! He let you stick to that story so Max and the other pilots wouldn’t tease you, and because he knew you were terrified that you’d be the guy who brought a plague of raccoons to the state.” People have tried to import the creatures here, but they’ve never flourished. Jonah was convinced that this time, they’d succeed in becoming a regular nuisance. As if Bandit would somehow multiply like a gremlin when wet.

“He always was good at coverin’ my ass for me.” A wistful smile touches Jonah’s lips, as it always does when we reminisce about his old boss. His would-be father-in-law now.

“You should’ve seen him, though, Calla. Jonah was so afraid Bandit wouldn’t survive, and he didn’t want to leave him, so he spent an entire week at my place, feeding him with this tiny little baby bottle.” I hold my hand out in front of me in a cup, mimicking how Jonah held him. “And he’d wake me five times a night so I could check on Bandit—”

“All right, all right, story time’s over.” Jonah smirks.

“I wanted to murder him, I lost so much sleep that week.” The truth is, being shaken awake at three a.m. by a panicked Jonah was not enjoyable, but I didn’t want to murder him. Quite the opposite. Watching him fawn over a tiny, helpless animal like that? The whole experience only made me love him more.

And the moment I take in Calla’s face, I realize my mistake.

“Anything else I should know about that hasn’t ‘come up’? You know, seeing as I’m your wife.” There’s a distinctive annoyed edge to her tone as she levels Jonah with a steely look.

Maybe I’m just overly sensitive, but I hear the unspoken words that go along with that question. Is there anything else Marie knows that I don’t?

And here I was, trying my best not to stoke any territorial fires.

“Ready to go?” Jonah slams Archie’s back door shut, sparing a second to shoot me a wide-eyed “thanks a lot” stare.

I offer Calla an awkward smile and then dart to my side of the plane to climb into my seat, silently cursing my best friend. As much as I love him, he has many flaws.

Calla’s irritation is splayed across her features as Jonah closes the distance. I can’t hear their conversation, but I can imagine it. Both of them are headstrong, unwilling to back down in an argument. It can be entertaining, watching them banter back and forth like opposing players on a volleyball team. Most of the time, Jonah will say something highly inappropriate and obnoxious, and it either defuses the situation or detonates a nuclear bomb.

But their fights can also be tense. I only hope my name isn’t in the mix. So far, neither have glanced this way, which is a good sign.

The corners of Calla’s mouth twitch before curling upward. She shakes her head at him. She may still be annoyed, but he’s melting her anger quickly, enough that he must feel comfortable leaving. He checks his watch and then pulls her into his arms.

I turn away as they kiss, letting my gaze settle on the frozen lake, the tree line, and the mountain range that I know is in the distance, obscured by the clouds.

And I breathe.

Will I ever have what they have?

I can’t picture it anymore.

It’s a few minutes before Jonah hauls his big body into his seat and sets to flipping switches on the cockpit panel. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” His mood hasn’t soured, so I assume all is well in the world of Calla and Jonah.

I fit the headset over my ears. “For the record, you’re an idiot.”

“It never came up!” he exclaims in defense, but then adds in a mutter, “Yeah, I know.”





CHAPTER FIVE





It’s almost seven p.m. when Keenan hollers, “I see a head lamp!”