“Boo, wait,” said Oaken, but she flashed him a smile.
“We’re good, Oaken. See you tomorrow.”
Then she headed outside.
The sun was still up but falling into the backside of Mt. Talachulitna, gold shining upon the whitened peaks, bronzing the waters of Cook Inlet. She unlocked the Rogue and it beeped.
“Boo, wait up!”
What is with this guy? She opened the back door, threw her pack in, and turned.
He jogged up to her. Stopped. Met her eyes, hands on his hips, and took a breath.
“What?”
“I know.”
She just blinked at him. Swallowed. “What?” Her voice emerged high and silly.
“Boo Hoo.”
Her jaw tightened and she looked away. Back. “Wow.”
He hadn’t moved his gaze from her. A beat, and something in his expression softened. “And I get it,” he said gently.
She had to reach out and brace her hand on the top of her car. “What?”
“I know how it feels to be judged, wrongly, by the media. By the world. To have words you didn’t mean—”
“Oh, I meant them.”
He cocked his head, narrowed his eyes. “I’ll bet you did. At the time. But . . . my guess is that there was a whole lot of hurt behind that post that people never got.”
And now she couldn’t swallow.
“I came out here to say two things.”
She just stood there, her mouth tight.
“Thank you.”
Her mouth opened. Closed.
“You didn’t have to agree to the show. But you did, and I don’t know why, but I can’t imagine that the idea of getting in front of the camera again was easy for you.”
She shook her head, her arms crossed now. And he wore such a stupid, sweet, kind expression she just shrugged. “Air One can use the money.”
“Yep,” he said. “I get that too.”
She exhaled. “Okay, and two?”
“I won’t let it happen again.”
She couldn’t move.
“I won’t let Huxley edit something in, or out, that you didn’t mean to say. Or . . . if you even want to stay completely off-screen, I’ve got your back. I will not let them use . . . well, your past to promote the show, let them drag you back through social media or even in any way betray you.”
Oh. Wow.
And again, she had nothing.
“That’s all. Just . . . we’re in this together, and . . . you promised to do your best to keep me safe . . . and I’m making you the same promise.”
She shoved her hands into her pockets and for the first time found a response. “If I remember right, you said you could take care of yourself.”
He just let a small smile ride up his face. “I did say that.”
Another beat, and maybe she was the most foolish girl on the planet but, “I want to trust you, Oaken. I do. But the fact is, I have a good thing going here, and . . . this is my last shot. This gig goes south, I don’t know where I’ll end up.”
He frowned. Then nodded. “I get that. I really do. But you’re already signed up for the fun and games. It can be torture, or you can give me a chance and trust me a little. Or a lot.” He held out his hand. Raised a stupidly handsome eyebrow. Looked at her with those hypnotic blue eyes.
She could probably claim temporary insanity, but what choice did she have? This could be three weeks of torture or . . . “Okay, Oaken Fox. It’s a deal. I watch your back, you watch mine.”
She took his hand and let it close around hers, warm and solid and real. And tried not to listen to the person shouting in the back of her head.
ONE LAST SHOT. Copyright © 2024 by Susan May Warren
Alaska Air One Rescue
When country music star Oaken Fox joins survivalist Mike Grizz's new adventure show in the Alaskan wilderness, he just wants to boost his fan base. But when tragedy strikes, and Air One Rescue must save them, Oaken just wants to quit. Too bad his producer has other plans—signing him on with Air One Rescue as a recruit and making a reality show...
EMT Boo Kingston did not join Air One Rescue to train a celebrity. But she's a rookie to the team, so yes, she'll train Oaken and keep him alive and not for a minute pay attention to his charm...
And then five women go missing from a resort during a bachelorette weekend gone south. Now, Air One and the rescue team will have to use all their skills--and manpower, including Oaken--to find them before a blizzard settles in. But can they work together before tragedy strikes?
Romance Suspense [SDG Publishing, On Sale: March 5, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780800745479 / eISBN: 9781962036016]
Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 85 novels with more than 1 million books sold, including the Global Search and Rescue and the Montana Rescue series, as well as Sunrise and Sunburst. Winner of a RITA Award and multiple Christy and Carol Awards, as well as the HOLT Medallion and numerous Readers' Choice Awards, Susan makes her home in Minnesota.
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