“But Ms. Stevens, I’m fine! I just fell on my bum. Mr. Travis is on the play set and I wanna…”
“Danny, you just about got yourself stomped by a moose! You are going right through this door…”
Her voice faded as she firmly brought Danny through the door and it shut behind her. The relief that rushed through Travis was so intense, his knees almost gave way. He hadn’t been able to really think about the danger Janie and Danny were in, but he’d been flat terrified. Moose weren’t predatory creatures, but they protected themselves and most certainly protected their calves. A few strikes of hooves from a moose had the potential to kill, even if that wasn’t what the moose set out to do. He gave himself a mental shake and glanced down. Mama moose had stopped pawing the ground and was looking up at him. He could almost reach out and touch her ears, which were rotating so wildly as she listened in all directions that it was almost comical.
He glanced across the playground to Ben. “So much for that plan,” he called out.
Ben’s laughter carried across the playground with a gust of icy wind blasting behind it. Travis took stock and realized he was in a precarious position and useless to Ben where he was. The door to the school building opened again, and Janie stepped through. She stayed right where she was and gave a wave. “How about I make some noise over here to draw the calves this way?” she called, her voice lilting over the wind.
“Perfect!” Ben replied before Travis had a chance to discourage her plan.
He wasn’t normally one to pull the whole manly routine, but he most definitely did not want to stand by and watch while she put herself at risk. He started to move and realized he was in no position to climb down unless he was plain stupid. Mama moose was still a mere foot away from where he stood above her. Janie, being the true blue Alaskan she was, didn’t bother to wait for his reply. Once Ben shouted his agreement with her idea, she started whistling, clapping and stomping her feet.
With his gut clenching, Travis had to physically hold back from climbing down as he watched Janie run alongside the building until she reached the playground gate where she banged on the aluminum bars. The calves finally began to move in her direction. With one last baleful look at Travis, mama moose ambled away. With Ben bringing up the rear, Travis climbed down and dashed to Janie.
Moments later, mama moose was walking through the gate after a nip on the haunches of one of her calves who was lingering by the alder. She seemed to have decided the snacking wasn’t worth the noise and commotion. Ben was closing the gate when Travis reached Janie. Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms, another intense wave of relief rocking him. He leaned back and looked down into her face. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold and her eyes bright, the layers of green and gold mesmerizing.
She stared up at him, her lips parting. Need raced through him, yet he knew now wasn’t the time or place, especially not when her eyes shifted from startled to snappy. “Good grief! Were you worried I was going to get hurt?”
She took a step back. She eyed him for a long moment. “You almost got run down by the moose on purpose and you were worried about me?” She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid. Once I got Danny out of the way, I figured maybe you guys could use a little extra distraction since you were trapped on top of that.” She gestured dismissively to the play set in question, glancing to Ben when he approached them.
Ben’s brown eyes gleamed as he glanced between Travis and Janie. He didn’t comment, but looked to Janie. “Thanks for the assist. Once Trav got stuck, well, we coulda worked it out, but you were a big help.”
Janie’s smile stretched across her face. “No problem.” Her eyes flicked between them. Travis wasn’t embarrassed about ending up trapped. He hadn’t had any other options at the moment, but he got Janie’s message loud and clear. She was accustomed to taking care of herself and didn’t take kindly to anyone else stepping in the path.
He forced himself to beat back the need to wrap her in his arms again. A few risky moments had sent him stumbling inside. She stood before him, practically glowing with vitality in the cold, winter afternoon. He gulped in the bracing air and cast his eyes between her and Ben. “You know I only ended up there trying to get the moose’s attention off of Danny. Boy, he’s a handful, huh?”
Janie grinned. “I keep telling him if we could only figure out how to channel his energy.” Her grin faded. “Seriously, thanks for that. He moves like lightning and broke free from the line before I even realized it. Anyway, I need to get back to class. I’ll catch you guys later, okay?”
“You got it,” Ben said as he spun around and headed toward their vehicle.
Travis watched Ben walk away, surprised at his rapid retreat. He glanced down at Janie, thoughts tumbling through his mind. Mostly, he just wanted to ask her if he could see her again. Now would be his preference, but that wasn’t an option. “Don’t suppose I could bring dinner over?” he asked abruptly. He figured with Stella hobbling about on crutches and it being a school night, dinner out and about wasn’t an option.
Janie stared up at him, her hazel eyes pulling at him. She finally nodded, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of pink. “Sure.”
Her one word answer pleased him so much, a grin split his face. “What’s Stella’s favorite takeout?”
“Glacier Pizza. She’d eat it all day, every day if I let her.”
“Done.”
Moments later, he caught up to Ben and climbed into the truck beside him. “Ready?” he asked once the engine rumbled.
Ben glanced to him. “Of course.”
Travis started driving back to the station. He was pulling into the parking lot when Ben spoke again. “So, Janie Stevens, huh?”
Travis brought the truck to a stop and glanced to Ben. “What about Janie?” he asked.
Ben threw his head back with a laugh. “Dude, you’re worse off than I thought.” He unbuckled his seat belt and started to climb out. “By the way, Janie’s awesome.” He threw that comment over his shoulder and strolled into the building, leaving Travis to wonder just how ridiculously obvious he was.
Chapter 9
“Mom!” Stella called from the couch.
Janie stepped away from the sink where she’d been cleaning up the dishes left by Stella earlier today. She cornered the bottom of the staircase and glanced to Stella. “Yes?”
Stella pointed to her backpack, which was leaning against the edge of the coffee table and out of her reach. “I forgot to get my biology book out.”
Janie quickly strode to the backpack and set it on the floor where Stella could reach it. Pansy had snuggled into a spot between Stella and the back of the couch. Her tail thumped against the couch when Janie came close. Janie reached over to stroke her head quickly before stepping away. For the most part, Stella had learned to navigate with her crutches, but she was constantly forgetting things like this. Janie had decided it was easier to drive Stella to school than worry about her navigating up the driveway with the winter weather settling in, which Stella just loved. Janie glanced to Stella who’d already reached in and pulled out her massive biology tome. “So, recital practice tomorrow, right?”
Stella looked up with a nod. “Uh huh.”
“How about you do your homework in Mrs. Cooper’s classroom before recital? I won’t have time to get over there to pick you up and bring you home in between.”
Stella shrugged. “Sure. Mrs. Cooper won’t mind.”
Mrs. Cooper was Stella’s music teacher and her absolute favorite teacher. Mrs. Cooper took Stella under her wing early on after Stella came to live with Janie. At the time, Stella’s aptitude for being surly and quiet could’ve won her an award had there been such a thing. Mrs. Cooper saw through it and supported Stella’s natural ability at piano, a much healthier aptitude than her surliness.
“What’s for dinner?” Stella asked as she filled out an answer on her homework.
“Travis is bringing pizza. I’m supposed to text him what kind you want.”
Janie stomach did a little flip when she spoke his name aloud. The effect Travis was having on her was starting to make her feel half-crazy. Although she was still a little annoyed with his manly attitude at the playground today. She was perfectly capable of handling herself with moose. Anyone born and raised in Alaska had encountered them hundreds of times. Her mind wandered to his piercing blue gaze and rugged, muscled body, which sent a wash of heat through her.
“Glacier Pizza? On a school night?” Stella’s questions came out rapid fire as a grin spread across her face.
“He offered, so I told him Glacier Pizza was your favorite.” She glanced at the clock on the wall above the windows. “What kind do you want tonight?”
Stella wiggled gleefully on the couch, her bright pink cast rolling back and forth with her feet. “Pepperoni and…” She paused, tapping her fingertips on her book. “…one with olives and feta.”
Janie couldn’t help but grin. “I’ll see if he’s planning to get one or two pizzas.”