Bearing the Midnight Sun (Ice Bear Shifters Book 3) Read Free

tracing little circles in the condensation on his beer mug, “What brings you to Glacier Point for four months? Did you get a contract job here?”
    “No, nothing like that. I’m actually here on vacation.”
    “Vacation? For four months? In Glacier Point?” Tyler was genuinely surprised. Glacier Point was a hot spot for tourists for a short period of time each year, from about Mid-May to the beginning of August. During this time, Glacier Point experienced a midnight sun phenomenon, where the sun didn’t set at all for eighty days. Of course, the flip side of that was that during the winter the town was dark for sixty-seven days straight. But the tourists didn’t care about that. They came during the summer, drinking in the constant sunshine and abundant natural beauty. They wandered the streets and enjoyed the comfortable, above-freezing temperatures, and spent money freely on food, souvenirs, and local tours.
    Glacier Point’s permanent residents all had a love-hate relationship with the summer tourists. They provided a much needed boost to the town’s economy every year, but they were also downright annoying. They were loud, they took pictures of everything, and they complained constantly about the lack of cell service in Glacier Point. Most of them stayed a few days. Some stayed as much as a week. But none stayed for an extended period of time like one month, let alone four. They all wanted to see the sun shining at midnight, post about it on their Facebook pages, and then move on to the less isolated, more cell phone friendly portions of Alaska. So Tyler was curious what made Kat decide to spend four months in this spot. Not to mention, four months was quite a lengthy vacation. Most people Tyler knew got a month of vacation per year, at most. But Kat didn’t seem interested in discussing her reasons. She just shrugged.
    “Eh, I just needed a long break of something different from my everyday life. It’s a long story.”
    “I’ve got time,” Tyler responded, taking a long, slow sip of his beer, as if to demonstrate that he was in no hurry right now.
    Kat sighed. “I took a leave of absence from my job for four months. It was the most they would give me, even though it’s an unpaid leave. I lost my father in March of this year after a long battle with cancer. I’m an only child and my mom died in a car wreck a few years ago, so I pretty much have no family left.” Kat’s voice caught a little, and she paused for a moment to regain control of her emotions. Tyler reached over and squeezed her shoulder.
    “Kat, I’m so sorry for prying. You don’t have to talk about.”
    Kat shook her head. “No, no. It’s okay. It’s nice to talk about it a little bit, actually. I’ve been keeping everything so bottled up inside, and it’s driving me crazy.”
    The bartender came back by, dropping off Kat’s food order and bringing Tyler a fresh drink. Kat took a long sip of her beer and then continued. “I had been dating this guy, Ethan, for several years. We had actually gotten engaged, and were planning to get married this year. But when my father’s battle with cancer took a turn for the worse, the wedding plans got put on the back burner. I spent literally all of my free time taking care of him. This was back in Nebraska, where I worked as an investigative reporter for the small-town local newspaper. I would work all day and take care of my dad all night. I barely slept. I don’t remember eating, though I must have. I certainly didn’t have time or energy for dates with my fiancé. I guess he got tired of dealing with it, because a week after my dad died he called off the wedding and broke up with me. Now he’s dating some skinny, blonde athlete who supposedly makes a living collecting prizes at beauty pageants.”
    “He broke up with you a week after your dad died? And for another woman, from the sound of it? For fuck’s sake! I mean, pardon my French, but what an asshole!” Tyler barely knew Kat,