After my time in the Air Force, I’d needed a place where I could land and do what I did best, and Alaska turned out to be exactly what I needed. Some of my best friends in life, close enough to call family in my heart, were here, and I got to live and work with them. Diamond Creek was a small town, but it catered to tourists, so there was good food and decent shopping, if that was your thing. I didn’t care so much for the shopping, but I sure as hell cared for the food and the people.
I made it to the hangar just in time. While I rounded up the family I was taking for a scenic jaunt, I made a mental note to check the schedule and text Gemma when I had a free day. I wouldn’t mind more than a free day with Gemma.
Grant tossed a five-dollar bill toward his older brother, Flynn, and rolled his eyes. “There you go. You win.”
Flynn swiped the money from the table with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, you know you’ll win it back.”
I grinned at Grant. “You absolutely will. Flynn’s lost his touch at cards ever since he and Daphne got together.”
Flynn cuffed me lightly on the shoulder where he sat beside me on the couch. “I’m not that bad.”
Tucker, who sat across from me on the other side of the sectional, cast Flynn a knowing look. “Hell, yeah, you are. It’s all right. We’re all happy for you. Plus, I’ve been winning more lately.”
“It’s not like we play for much money, guys,” I offered as Flynn gathered the cards and began to shuffle them.
I’d been working here going on four years now. Flynn owned Walker Adventures with his younger brother, Grant, the very one who was giving him a little hell, and his younger sister Nora. I supposed Cat counted too, but she was only seventeen. Their mother had started the resort with Flynn’s stepfather, although it had never really gotten off the ground. After they’d both passed away within a few years of each other, Flynn had left the Air Force to come home and take care of his siblings. Flynn was the oldest of the four, the only one who didn’t share the same father. He’d been in the Air Force with me, Tucker, and Elias, who didn’t happen to be here with us tonight. He was all but officially shacked up with his girlfriend, Cammi.
“I think I’m past the honeymoon stage with Daphne,” Flynn commented as he began to deal out the cards. “I’m not nearly as bad as Elias.”
“True,” Grant said with a solemn nod. “Both of you are definitely more cheerful.”
“Speaking of cheerful, where the hell is Gabriel?” I asked.
“Since when was Gabriel cheerful?” Tucker chimed in with a slow grin.
“He had the last flight on the schedule today and said he was going to do some quick repairs on that plane that’s been acting up,” Flynn replied.
Tucker caught my eyes, but I held my silence. I didn’t doubt Gabriel was actually doing those repairs. Like all of us, during our time in the military as pilots we’d also been trained as plane mechanics. But I suspected he was doing more than repairs. Considering that Nora hadn’t been at dinner at the resort tonight either, my suspicion was she was helping Gabriel. Those two were either at each other’s throats… Or, trying to hide the fact that they were tangled up in the sheets on occasion. Whatever their arrangement was, it ran in fits and starts. Flynn had to suspect, but then maybe he had a blind spot because he was so focused on Daphne lately.
Our game carried on. We’d picked up the habit of doing this at least once a week. It was something we’d done when we were in the military together. Although Elias was mostly staying with Cammi these days, even he made a point to come out every other week or so.
After one more round, Flynn was getting up to leave when he glanced around. “Who’s coming to yoga tomorrow?”
Flynn stayed in a private area at the main resort with Daphne and his sister, Cat. Grant, Tucker, Gabriel, and I shared this house that we’d built together only two summers ago. Elias still officially had a bedroom, but he didn’t use it anymore.
Tucker snorted a laugh. “Dude, not me.”
Grant let out a sigh. “I’ll go. Last time I didn’t go, Daphne asked me about it.”
All of us had a hard time telling Daphne “no” to anything she asked. She fed us so well ever since she’d become the chef at the resort that we all kind of felt like we had to do something for her.
“I’ll be there,” I offered. I wanted to see Gemma again. Although, yoga did actually feel good.
Tucker chuckled. “I guess I’m not as susceptible to guilt. I love Daphne’s food, and I thank her effusively every meal. Plus, you pay her, right?” Tucker asked, looking genuinely horrified at the prospect that Flynn might not be paying her to do her job.
“Of course, I pay her.” Flynn looked affronted at the mere implication he might not be.
“Dude, you have one job. Keep Daphne happy, all right?” Tucker teased. “Now that you two are in love, we have to worry about drama shit.”
“No need to worry about that,” Flynn said firmly. “Now, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“When’s Aubrey moving up here?” I asked Tucker after the door closed behind Flynn.
“She says sometime next year. She’s got her pilot’s license and everything. Not sure how I feel about having my sister here, but Flynn says we can always use another pilot.”
“Dude, I have to deal with two sisters and my older brother as a boss,” Grant said. “You can deal with one sister.”
Tucker chuckled. “Fair enough.”
His eyes caught mine. “How are your sisters?”
I was the oldest of five with four younger sisters. I was up to my eyeballs in dealing with women. My family was tight, real tight. It’s just none of us were in the same place. My dad had been in the Air Force, and we were all military kids, used to bouncing all over the place. My dad had since passed on, and so had my mom. We missed them both like crazy, and I talked to my sisters without fail several times a week.
“They’re all good. Every week, there’s something to deal with. None of them are pilots, so I don’t need to worry about them coming up here to work with us. You know everybody will be up for a visit at some point, maybe not all at the same time though.”
“It’s a good thing you all get along,” Grant offered.
“Define ‘get along,’” I said dryly.
We loved each other, but we were known to argue. To a fault, no one in our family held back when it came to expressing feelings.
“Remind me where you’re from?” Grant prompted.
While Grant was a pilot, he hadn’t been in the Air Force with us. He was seven years younger than Flynn.
“All over the place. I was born in Texas, but my dad signed up for the military and we bounced around. We made it back to Texas later when my dad was stationed there. That’s where I finished high school. Because both my parents were fluent in Spanish, along with the rest of us, he got a good job as a translator after he retired from the military. After that, he started his own construction business. It worked out really well for him.”
“How do you like Alaska then? It’s a far cry from Texas.”
I shrugged. “It is, but when you’re a military brat, you get used to being in different places. I might’ve been born in Texas, but we left by the time I hit first grade. I suppose I know the state well because we made it back there later on, but home is more of a feeling than a place for me. I love Alaska. It’s beautiful, and I’ve got you guys. Y’all are family just as much as my sisters are.”