Young Texan falls in love with a young woman who wants to join the ballet. She brings in a friend but before long the poly relationship fails because the young women want to pursue their career dreams. Heartbroken, he takes job as a bush pilot in Alaska. On a flight the plane crashes and he and the passengers have to hike more than 100 miles out. In the process he and a young woman fall in love. They have two children but she dies of breast cancer 7 years later. He moves back to Texas with his kids and those same professional dancers seek him out to rekindle what they left behind.
Obviously I remember the story pretty well, just not the title or author. It's killing me.
