Alaskan Reunion. Belle Calhoune

she headed to her bedroom to turn in for the night, she couldn’t help but peek in on her baby girl. She soundlessly entered the room, praying the floorboards wouldn’t creak as she tiptoed toward the bed. Emma was curled up on her side, sleeping soundly. Her little thumb was rooted in her mouth. Paige’s chest tightened with raw emotion. What she felt could never be expressed with mere words. It was the purest form of love. Instinctual. Maternal. And more than anything in the world, she wanted to give Cameron the opportunity to bond with Emma so that he too could feel this way about his daughter. Emma deserved two loving parents.

      Tomorrow she would seek him out again. This time, though, she was bringing Emma to town with her. There was no way she was going to hide her daughter away like a dirty little secret.

      * * *

      Cameron fidgeted with the coffee machine, his nerves teetering on the edge as he made the first batch of the day. On a normal morning the scent of coffee wafting in the air served as a shot of adrenaline to his senses. But after last night he was going to need a mega shot of espresso to get him going. He couldn’t seem to focus on the day-to-day tasks that he usually performed like clockwork. It had started with him fumbling over the keys to the Moose Café. It had taken him several tries to find the right one to fit the lock. And judging by the taste of this coffee, he’d messed up his usual process. His mind was somewhere else.