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A few days later, Lila and Bear drove Nancy to her friend’s fairytale house in the forest, and indeed it did feel like a fairytale ending. Nancy’s reunion with Paulina was so heartwarming that Lila shed tears as she watched.

“I couldn’t tell you I was here,” Nancy told her old friend. “I couldn’t take the chance. But I did sneak out here and peek in the window just to put my eyes on you.”

Paulina gasped. “I saw you! That’s when I fainted.” She turned to Lila and Bear. “I fainted because of her. I just remembered. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.” She turned back to Nancy. “But why did you come back after all this time?”

“Oof, it’s such a long story. Forty years is a lot of time. When I left Firelight Ridge, I planned to contact the police. I left my journal behind with Allison in case the Hardwells caught up with me. She was supposed to hide it in the hardware store until I got back. I did go to the police like I planned, but they acted really strange as soon as I started talking about the Snow River men’s retreat. I went back to my hotel and lay low. I was really sick because I was pregnant.”

“Did you have the baby?” Paulina asked, a hand covering her friend’s.

“No, in fact I had a miscarriage there in the hotel room. The stress was too much, I think. A couple days later, when I went back to the police, I heard about Paul opening fire at the airstrip and poor Allison…”

She broke off, and the two shared a moment of silence for their lost friend. Lila wished she could say something to them about dream-Allison, but decided not to interrupt their moment.

“You left Alaska after that?” Bear asked, bringing mugs to the table. The kettle was on the woodstove, tea water heating.

“Yes, I was afraid they were going to come after me. You see, I didn’t understand why Paul would do such a thing. I decided that the Hardwells must have paid him to kill Allison because they knew she had the journal. That meant that even after Paul was arrested, they could just pay someone else to come after me. I wasn’t safe anywhere near here. I left and went to California. I had to move a few times because I thought someone had tracked me down. After things calmed down, I tried to forget about Firelight Ridge.”

“Did you?” Paulina murmured the question.

“Of course not. You can’t forget Alaska. I followed all the news I could find. I read about Mark Hardwell holding a fundraiser, thinking about running for governor. I read about Rita Casey’s death. I thought there was a connection because of where she was killed, and I decided to come back and see if I could find my old journal, if it even still existed.”

“I guess you never made it to that shithole in the shed,” Bear said dryly. He was standing next to the table, arms folded over his chest, looking scrumptious as always.

“No, I did not, but I looked a lot of places. I finally gave up and decided it was too much for an old lady, so I had to pass the baton.” She turned back to Paulina and stage-whispered, “Do you know how hard it was to get these two to do something? They were so busy falling in love. I had to get dramatic to get their attention. I had to get creative.”

The kettle whistled, and for the next few moments Lila and Bear busied themselves getting the tea ready and slicing the banana bread they’d brought.

As they set everything on the table, Lila said, “Just wondering, Nancy, why you didn’t just talk to us? You were at The Fang a couple of times, right?”

“I couldn’t take the chance. If anyone in the Hardwell family or anyone working for them knew I was here, they’d find me and off me. I knew that for certain. That’s what happened to Rita Casey. She and Grant Cruz, that journalist, were poking around the Snow River cabins. I didn’t trust Grant, but I invited him to stay at the Community with us so I could keep an eye on him. In the meantime, I chose you two.” She waved at Lila. “You were living in the old hardware store. I knew how to get in there. I used to sneak in and play pranks on Allison. And you,” she jerked her head at Bear, “you know how to take care of things.”

He tilted his head to accept the praise. In Lila’s opinion, it was completely accurate and yet still not enough. He deserved so much more.

“I needed my journal because it’s what they call ‘contemporaneous notes.’ That was all I wanted. I had no idea you’d face off with Billy Hardwell himself. I’m so sorry that I put you in danger and I thank the angels you’re both okay.” She leaned toward Bear. “Is my journal going to help nail the Hardwells? The truth needs to come out.”

Bear pulled up a footstool and sat down. He dwarfed the three of them, like Papa Bear in the gingerbread house. “We’ll have to see. His goons will most likely testify against him to save themselves. The FBI is tracking down some of the women who were flown through Snow River. They’ve got all the flight logs and the pilots are being interrogated.”

“They’ll all go down,” Lila said confidently. This, she knew, and she didn’t mind saying so. “Everyone who had anything to do with trafficking women in and out of Snow River will pay, in some way. And that’s thanks to you, Nancy. You were really brave, coming back here.”

“I stayed away too long,” she said mournfully. “I got married, had a baby. I thought they’d shut the operation down after the shootings.”

Bear balanced a plate of banana bread on his knee. “They did, for a while. Then they started it up again a few years ago. Billy Hardwell needed funds to launch his son’s political career.”

They all shuddered in revulsion. At least that political career was now over. Some lines simply couldn’t be crossed.

“I just knew you’d come back someday,” Paulina told Nancy. “Every time I thought about leaving, I couldn’t. I didn’t know what had happened with Allison and Gwen, but I knew something wasn’t right.”

“Oh Paulina. When I saw your painting at The Fang, I just about cried. You really did it. Your art is beautiful. Gwen would be so proud.” Nancy and Paulina fell into another tearful hug.

After that emotional reunion, Nancy decided to spend the night with her old friend. Lila and Bear offered to come back the next day to pick her up.

“Oh no, just leave my skis by the salmon sculpture. That’s how I’ve been getting around to make my mischief. I’ll be fine.”