Chapter nineteen

Fairbanks, Alaska

Chaz stared out of the window of her offi ce, in the general direction of Denali. It was a view she never tired of, but her mind was entirely on Megan. It was 3:00 p.m. in Alaska, which meant it was 6:00 p.m. in Chicago, and Megan would likely be headed home about now. Chaz often paused in her daily routine to glance at the clock and imagine what Megan might be doing at that moment. She had also begun to watch the news more often than ever before, because she knew if a major story broke that Megan would be unavailable for a while.

Her last class of the day, Mammology, didn’t start for half an hour, and she was restless. It was as though the only time she felt entirely happy now—completely whole and content—was during those moments she was talking to Megan. Swiveling in her chair to face her desk, Chaz picked up a framed fi ve-by-seven photo of the two of them together that Sally had taken. She had a second copy beside her bed at home.

Unbeknownst to either of them at the time, Sally had captured that moment on the hilltop above the caribou herd when she had very nearly kissed Megan. From looking at the picture—their expressions, their faces close together—it would have been hard to believe they hadn’t kissed a moment after the photo was taken.

Seeing it set off a visceral, involuntary reaction within her body, a warm rush of feeling as it recalled the heat of Megan’s kisses. There was just no way she could wait until Christmas to be with her.

“You’re sure somewhere else,” Gareth Rosenberg said from the doorway. “You have a melancholy look on your face, my friend.

Everything all right?”

Chaz leaned back in her chair and didn’t answer immediately. You

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KIM BALDWIN

have to spend some real time with her. “How upset would you be with me if I asked to take a sabbatical?”

Gareth frowned. “Is something wrong, Chaz? Not sick or anything?”

“No, nothing like that,” she hastened to reassure him. “I’m fi ne.

I just have some personal things that need my attention, and I will probably need some time off to do them.”

“How long are we talking?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe a year.”

“And you’d want to start right away? Next term?” he asked.

“Yes. I think so.” Probably would be wise to get Megan’s inputon this. I certainly hope she’ll be up for me coming to Chicago for awhile.

“Well, of course you can have whatever time you need. I’ll just be anxious to get you back. We need you around here, you know.”

“Thanks, Gareth.” She glanced at the clock. “I’ll have a better idea of my plans in a day or so, I think.” She gathered up some papers on her desk and got to her feet. “Gotta head to class. Going my way?”

“You bet.”

Her last class of the week was her least favorite. Not that she wasn’t enthusiastic about the subject; she loved talking about the wildlife of Alaska, and she had some great new photos from her summer trips to show the class. But this was a required class, so it was held in one of the large impersonal lecture halls, and every time she handed out a test she had 168 papers to grade. Her other classes were all small enough that she could get to know each student somewhat during the course of a term.

The stacked tiers of seats were only half fi lled when she arrived; students were still fi ling in from two sides so she busied herself getting her materials ready.

Today on the big screen that dominated the front of the room, the students would be treated to 400 or so breathtaking photos that Chaz had shot during her countless trips, alone and as a guide. She had close-up shots of all the major mammals that populated the state, including some of the more reclusive: polar bears and grizzly bears, wolves and wolverines, lynx.

“Hi, everybody. If we can settle into seats, please,” she asked to get the stragglers moving. “I’d like to pick up where we left off—chapter

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