“Ever after” wasn’t the plan…
Until now!
Rowan O'Shea's intention was just to visit her family in the small Alaskan town she calls home. Now she's not sure she wants to leave, given the romantic mess she's left behind. A temporary fake marriage to gorgeous veterinarian Zack Vogel might be the perfect solution, if she can convince Zack. But Rowan's marriage of convenience has a seriously inconvenient snag—she's falling for her new fake husband!
A Northern Lights Novel
Book 1: The Alaskan Catch
Book 2: A Gift for Santa
Book 3: Alaskan Hideaway
Book 4: An Alaskan Proposal
Book 5: Sweet Home Alaska
Book 6: Alaskan Dreams
Book 7: An Alaskan Family Christmas
Book 8: An Alaskan Homecoming
Gran was about to turn the television off when Rowan heard a familiar name mentioned.
“Wait. Let me watch that.”
Gran backed up to the beginning of the segment, about a wildlife rehabilitation center not far away. It started out with a shot of a tawny moose calf cavorting around his mother inside a pen while the voiceover introduced the director, veterinarian Zack Vogel. Could it be the same boy Rowan remembered from years ago? After a moment, they cut to an interview, with the reporter standing next to a tall man with dark blond hair staring at the camera as though it might bite. The shot zoomed in.
Yes, she knew those eyes, hazel but with such a dark brown center it was hard to tell where the iris ended and the pupil began, that serious-looking mouth that occasionally would break into a devastating smile. But now Zack’s face had more character, the angles sharper, the lines in his forehead deeper.
“You know Zack?” Gran asked.
Rowan nodded, listening to the interview.
“Don’t moose usually give birth to twins?” the reporter asked.
“One is more common, but this moose had been spotted several times with two. We assume the other calf was taken by the same bear that injured the mother. Fortunately, this calf wasn’t injured.” Zack looked off to the side as though someone was giving him direction off camera. A forced smile crossed his face briefly.
“What will ultimately happen with the moose family?”
“We’ll, uh, release them as soon as the cow’s leg is healed enough for her to forage on her own.” Zack’s expression relaxed a little, but he still looked stiff. “Our goal is to keep wild animals wild. That’s why we don’t allow visitors.”
The screen cut to a close-up of a porcupine, grunting happily while it chewed on a carrot. “What about this happy fellow?”
“This is Puddin. She came to WildER as a baby and never learned to forage in the wild, and so she’ll be a permanent resident.” Zack’s voice was steadier now that the camera was focused on something else.
“So, if people would like to help support Puddin and the other wildlife here, they can donate at the web address on the screen?”
“Yes. Maggie Ziegler, one of our volunteers, is here to tell you about that,” Zack hurried to say, obviously relieved to be done with his part of the interview.
“Maggie was head teller at the credit union until she retired,” Gran commented.
In contrast to Zack, Maggie was born to be on camera. The white hair and smile lines around her eyes and mouth would put her in her sixties at least, although her energy level made her seem much younger. “You can see more photos and wildlife stories on our website, and you can enter a ‘name the baby moose’ contest there. The winner will receive a coupon for a large pizza courtesy of Patty’s Pizzeria in Palmer.”
“Thank you, Maggie.” The screen cut to the website once again, and then to commercial.
“Poor man, looked like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers.” Gran clicked off the television. “You can tell he cares a lot about that wildlife rehab center. Dr. Zack’s a good vet—brave, too. He clipped Wilson’s toenails for me last week.”
“Brave?” Rowan laughed as she looked at the little dachshund snuggled in Gran’s lap. “What does Wilson weigh, like ten pounds?”
“Thirteen. But he still has all his teeth and he does not like getting his nails cut.”
One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and Alaskan Dreams, An Alaskan Proposal and Sweet Home Alaska (paperbacks if winner is in the US, ebooks otherwise)
