“Well, I’ll take a look in the kitchen and see what I can find,” I replied as I stood up. “I don’t have a lot in the way of portable foods. I don’t have a lot of anything, to be honest, considering I get so few visitors up here. I might have some canned goods in the back, though.”
“That would be really awesome,” Juniper beamed. I made my way into the kitchen and back toward the pantry located in the rear. I had a small menu of items that I offered to passing travelers, but it mostly consisted of precooked and frozen fare. Most of the time, I was the only one working in the motel, and without a chef, it didn’t make sense to buy a lot of fresh ingredients, especially considering the hassle of getting it all shipped here.
It worried me I wouldn’t have anything to offer them when I stumbled upon some cans of soup and ravioli I’d bought when Amber had come up to visit with her kids the previous New Year. The twins were picky eaters, and I’d gone into town to buy some things I knew they’d eat while they were up here. They probably wouldn’t be back any time soon, and the food might expire before they did, so I didn’t have any reservations about offering the cans to the young couple.
I gathered the cans into a plastic bag before heading back out into the dining room. Mark was leaning close to Juniper while he whispered something into her ear. Juniper gasped in mock outrage and pretended to hit him. I smiled at the pair, thinking that they reminded me a little of Junior and Fiona. I’d never really settled down, and as a young man, I had moved quickly from one fling to the next, but Junior and Fiona had always been a nauseatingly cute couple, even after they finally got married.
“Oh, hi,” Juniper smiled up at me as she elbowed Mark away from her. Her face was red, and she seemed embarrassed that I’d caught them flirting. “Did you find something?”
“I did,” I responded. “It’s just a few cans of soup, but I imagine it’ll be better than nothing after a long hike.”
“That’s actually perfect,” Mark smiled. “What do we owe you?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I waved my hand dismissively. “I’m not gonna eat them. If you don’t take them, they’ll just go to waste.”
“Are you sure?” Juniper asked, looking conflicted. “We took up your whole day and used your electricity to charge our stuff. We couldn’t possibly just take them.”
“I insist,” I replied. “Go on and enjoy your adventure. Just make sure and stop by on your way back, alright? I want to hear about your trip up the mountain.”
“Alright,” Juniper nodded as she gathered up her things and placed them carefully back into her bag. “We should head out, Mark. I’d like to get a feel of where we’re going before the sun sets completely.”
“Okay,” he responded. “Thank you for everything, Mr. Hills.”
I paused for a moment at the title. It still felt odd not to be called “agent” or “director.”
“No problem,” I huffed. “You kids get going then. And be careful on the mountain. There’s snow on the peak even during the summer.”
“Don’t worry,” Juniper grinned. “We got our heavy coats and crampons and everything in our packs. I think we’ll actually be more comfortable once we can put more of our stuff on and stop hauling it around on our backs.”
“I hope so,” Mark stated as he pulled a paper map out of his bag. “Come on, babe, let’s go. If we cut through this little wooded area, we can reach the next down by midnight.”
I accompanied them to the door and watched as the pair of them took off. It was crazy to me that they were walking all the way from Seattle to the peak of the highest mountain in North America, but then again, I’d done my share of crazy stuff as a young man as well. I was glad to see a couple of young people going on their own adventure. I watched until they rounded the corner out of sight before closing the motel doors and locking up for the night. I highly doubted I’d have any more visitors tonight, anyway.
I walked back to the rocking chair on the porch I’d been sitting in this morning and let myself fall back onto it. It wasn’t as warm and pleasant as it had been this morning, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the evening sky, anyway. One benefit of living up in Alaska was how clearly I could see the Aurora Borealis from here. On clear nights like tonight, the inky black sky lit up with shades of green and pink, so bright that even the stars were concealed behind the glowing whorls. As I took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of grass and crisp mountain air, I wondered what kind of visitor I might meet next.
Author’s Note
Hey, if you got here, I just want you to know that you’re awesome! I wrote this book just for someone like you, and if you want another one, it is super important that you leave a review.
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