How To Visit The Last Frontier In Alaska?

When Samantha Layne's world gets turned upside down and her marriage falls apart, there is only one place she can go. The family home in Wyoming. Alone and heartbroken, Samantha tries to start over in a new state, but when the hot new neighbor decides to start sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, Samantha receives the shock of a lifetime. As the secrets begin to unfold all around her, will Samantha be able to move past them and love again?

The night before our group trip, Raymond Kane tags me in the group chat and tells me to check my flight ticket. When I open the booking, I discover my ticket was refunded three days ago—without anyone telling me. Before I can even type a reply, the messages start pouring in. Madelyn announces, "I bet Ray that you wouldn't check the booking before we left. He got you to look it up yourself. That's cheating!" Raymond shrugs it off. "Doesn't matter. You still lost. She only just found out. Just book another one. We'll just have to sit apart." Their casual banter brings back a familiar ache. It reminds me of the time they bet on how long it would take me to realize my hotel room has been downgraded from a standard double to a shared triple, leaving me to sleep on a folding cot. And before that, they bet on whether I'd notice the art museum on our itinerary had been replaced with an escape room. Whenever I tell them it hurts, they always give the same tired reply. "How were we supposed to know you cared if you never said anything?" But they never ask. I close the booking app and open another one, searching for flights to Isvind. I imagine myself surrounded by the silence of a 5°F night, with the northern lights painting the sky above me. Perhaps a solo trip is exactly what I need.

*Mature Audience* Dallas Parker suffers years of abuse from her boyfriend, Jax, in Los Angeles, California. After being brutally beaten again, Dallas Parker escapes with her young son Lyle. She finds comfort in going back to her hometown, Anaconda, Montana. She was born and raised in this small town by her Aunt Helen. At eighteen years old, Dallas Parker ran off to California to escape the horrible things that happened in Montana. Now that she is back, she will have to face her troubled past head-on. Everyone is stunned by Dallas’s return, especially her ex-best friend River Storm. River and Dallas are forced to deal with their past. Even though it is sweet to be home, there will be consequences. What would you do if it felt like the world was out to destroy you? The romance will leave you breathless. The drama will leave you in shock. The suspense will keep you up all night reading. Take a ride on the country-side with these two rebels. A quote from this story: "I told you this town wouldn't let me forget what I did," River muttered. "I'll never live down what I did. Even if everyone else forgot about what I did, I never will. I’ll take it to the grave, and I know that." River’s eyes filled with shame, sadness, and regret.

By my third year at the Arctic research station, the endless cold had pushed my body to its limit. I went to Carl Tillman, our team captain, to submit my application to return home, but he turned me down. "I've already given the placement to Susan," he said. "Her health's too delicate for weather this harsh." Susan Farrow had only been here three months. I'd been here three years. Three years was the absolute limit any researcher was allowed to stay stationed here. I stared at him, unable to believe what I'd heard. "Carl, my complications are getting worse. I can't feel my legs anymore, and my eyes are going blurry. If I don't go back now, I'll die out here." He looked me over like I was making a scene. "You've always been strong as an ox. Are you really going to make things up just to compete with Susan for my attention?" He wrote Susan's name in the return slot and threw me out of his office. Outside, the wind and snow lashed at a face that had already gone numb. My husband of ten years had taken away my only chance to live—so he could dote on another woman.

After my parents got divorced, my mom settled in Teania for good. Every year, I would receive a [Happy Birthday] text message from overseas. However, she never replied to the messages I sent her. I had always wanted to ask my mom in person if she actually cared about me. So, before my SATs, I worked like crazy to save money. I was even afraid I would not be able to resist spending it, so I gave the money to my boyfriend and asked him to keep it for me. However, just as I was about to buy my plane ticket, my boyfriend sent me a screenshot showing that my balance was zero. He brushed it off casually. “Last time we played Truth or Dare, I lost a wish ticket to your best friend. “She said she wanted to go see the Auroras, and there was a ‘buy two, get one free’ deal on mystery flight tickets. So, I bought two tickets. We’ll just have to visit Teania another time.” I struggled to keep my voice from trembling. “Lennon York, if you go see the auroras, we’re breaking up.” His expression did not change. He just reached up and ruffled my hair. “Don’t be silly. Once I’m in college, I’ll get a part-time job. Then, I’ll definitely take you there during semester break, okay?” I looked downwards and smiled. I messaged my childhood friend, whom I had not spoken to in a year, and typed. [Is that wish slip you promised me still valid?]

I canceled my ticket to Iceland. Even the customer service agent sounded confused. “There are only two seats left on this flight. Are you sure you want to cancel?” “Yes,” I said. “I’m sure.” We had been together for four years. Every February, he flew to Iceland. He always said it was for a photography project. On social media, he only posted glaciers and the northern lights. Whenever I said I wanted to see the aurora too, he would tell me, “It’s too cold there. You wouldn’t be able to handle it.” Then yesterday, I helped him organize an old hard drive. Inside was an encrypted folder named **February**. When I opened it, every photo was of the same girl standing beneath the same northern lights. The light was soft around her. Even the strands of her hair glowed clearly in the frame. The only photo he had ever taken of me was outside our apartment complex. Backlit. Out of focus. My eyes were squinting, and my entire face was blurred. At the time, he had even laughed and said, “As long as you can tell it’s you, it’s fine.” So it wasn’t that he didn’t know how to take good photos. He just never wanted to take them of me. For four years, he chased the northern lights. And every time, the same person stood beside him. The farthest light I had ever seen was nothing more than an Iceland photo he had posted carelessly online. While I was packing my things, he called me. His voice was rushed. “Weren’t you the one who kept saying you wanted to see the northern lights? Why did you cancel the ticket?” I hung up without answering. Iceland was too far. The aurora was too cold. Since he was never willing to come toward me, I would walk toward the light on my own.