High Impact Read Free

could ever use, and a sizeable bank account from her savings and the sale of her townhouse, she might need a few extra dollars down the road. Also, she’d made a lot of friends during her three decades there that she wanted to keep in contact with.
    As a pre-emptive strike, she popped two Percocet with the fresh-squeezed OJ the flight attendant had handed her. The endorphin rush from finally setting off had, for the moment, dulled her seemingly ever-present twinges of pain. But even the comfy reclining chairs of first class wouldn’t prevent the discomfort she’d experience from sitting nearly eight hours before they reached Schiphol.
    Her around-the-world adventure would begin abroad, though she most wanted to visit Alaska. However, she needed to build her strength to experience all she wanted to do there. The remote and unforgiving environment would test her both physically and mentally, so she would spend some time in Europe first, where getting around was usually a breeze. Most major cities—like Amsterdam, her jumping-off point—had efficient and comfortable public-transit systems. As she gained more flexibility and strength, she’d walk, bike, and undertake other adrenaline-pumping endeavors so she’d be ready for the challenges her body would face in Alaska. She also needed to rebuild confidence in her physical capabilities.
    Her itinerary in Europe was loose. She planned to work her way south to the Mediterranean, following her whims but with a few must-see sights along the way, including the Louvre, Prague, the canals of Venice, and the Vatican and ancient Rome. She’d stay in each destination until she got a real feel for it and the people who lived here, then move on. If she didn’t hit all the countries she wanted to by the end of May, she’d catch them another time, because Eidson Eco-Tours began their new season of guided Alaskan adventures then, and Emery was going to spend five months experiencing several of them.
    An attractive, waifishly built redhead in her mid-thirties paused in the aisle beside her to stow her bulging carryon in the overhead bin. The flight attendant was preoccupied with another passenger, so Emery got up and hefted the bag next to the slender black cane she hoped to soon be rid of.
    “Thank you.” The stranger flashed Emery a dimpled smile when their eyes met, not in the common elusive glance of strangers, but in a just-a-little-too-long look of mutual interest.
    Emery smiled back. “No problem. Traveling alone?”
    The redhead nodded, and the smile never left her face.
    “Business or pleasure?”
    “A bit of both,” the woman replied. “A three-day conference in Amsterdam, followed by a week’s vacation in Paris. You?”
    “Pleasure. All pleasure.”
    “For how long?”
    “Indefinitely.”
    The redhead laughed softly. “Sounds intriguing. I hear Amsterdam is the place to find pleasure of all varieties.”
    Emery chuckled, thinking of the city’s infamous red-light district, its gay-friendly ambience, and the “coffee houses” that drew pot-smoking tourists from around the world. “Amsterdam is just the start,” she said, “of an around-the-world trip.”
    The redhead’s eyebrows quirked in surprised delight. “Niiice.”
    The flight attendant paused between them to secure the overheads.
    “Is everyone on board?” Emery asked.
    “Yes. We’ll be closing the door shortly. Do you need something?”
    Carpe diem—seize the day—was her new motto. Emery craned her head around the flight attendant so she could see the redhead. “Want to sit over here so we can get to know each other better? Compare itineraries?”
    The woman’s dimples reappeared and a mischievous twinkle flashed in her eyes. “Most certainly.”
     
    *
    Bettles, Alaska
    May 28, Four months later
     
    Pasha hung her coat over the tip of a massive moose antler mounted just inside the main entrance of the Den and paused next to the huge stuffed grizzly bear that greeted patrons with a