Alaskan Holiday
Page 10
I’d accepted early on that a long-term relationship with him would be problematic. Repeatedly I’d told myself that once I was back in Seattle, I’d be able to forget him. Now I wasn’t so sure I could make that happen. When it came to his marriage proposal, I’d been reluctant and foolish. In retrospect, I wondered what would have happened if I had caught the last boat out of Ponder. I was afraid once I had returned home he’d be in my heart even more than he was already, and I wasn’t prepared to deal with those emotions.
“You’re thinking about Palmer, aren’t you?” Jack questioned, breaking into my thoughts as I stood in front of the stove, working on dinner.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that,” I said, embarrassed to get caught.
Jack’s telling eyes sparked with glee. “Palmer. He’s on your mind, isn’t he?”
“No,” I denied. “Maybe.”
Jack chuckled. “Just as I thought. Out of sight, out of mind. How’s that working for you?”
I hated that he could read me that easily. I had the feeling that if my father was alive, he’d be saying the same thing to me.
“I see you don’t have an answer. You know what I think?” Jack said, growing serious.
Leaving the stove area, I tried to look busy around the kitchen, cleaning out the sink. “I bet I can guess.”
“I think,” he said, rubbing his beard in that thoughtful way of his, “that subconsciously you wanted to miss that boat.”
“What?” I flared, outraged at the suggestion. “That’s ridiculous.” I refused to even consider that that was the case. It wasn’t even worthy of a discussion.
Jack smiled as though he held a winning lottery ticket in his hand. “Admit it, you’re in love with Palmer.”
Whirling around, I stared at Jack, ready to deny it, when I realized I couldn’t. My shoulders sagged in defeat. While I wasn’t willing to openly admit how I felt, I decided not to say anything.
“You’re confused, Josie,” Jack said kindly, gently. “Can’t say I blame you. Life this close to the tundra isn’t easy. It can get lonely here, especially for a woman. Heard it said once that women need one another for emotional support and that kind of thing.”
“Oh, so when did you become an expert on women?” I asked, grateful to turn the subject away from my feelings for Palmer.
“I don’t know much about what women need,” he openly admitted. “It was Angie who told me that.”
“Angie Wilkerson?” I’d met her while working at the lodge. Angie and Steve—they had a cabin in Ponder. We’d exchanged greetings a few times after she won the chili cook-off, so I knew who she was. “Angie’s here for the winter? In Ponder?”
“Sure is. She stays each winter, along with Steve and their two boys.”
This was news to me.
“Like Palmer, Steve isn’t much for city life. He works for one of those big oil companies: troubleshoots any problems that might come up with the oil line.”
A sudden thought raced through my mind at the speed of light. If there were problems with the pipeline, that meant Steve might need to get out of Ponder. If he had to leave anytime soon, I might be able to catch a ride with him. Hope sprang eternal. I now had a plan B.
“Jack, if there’s trouble with the pipeline, Steve has to fly out, right? I mean, he has to go to the site for repairs, doesn’t he?” My mind was in a whirl, not that I wished trouble on the pipeline, but this could well develop into the escape plan I was desperately looking for.
“Nope.”
“What do you mean by ‘nope’?” I asked. “You just said—”
“Everything is done by computer these days, Josie. Steve can manage everything he needs to do from the comfort of his own home.”
My hopes did a nosedive. “Oh.”
“Angie was surprised to hear you’d missed the boat. She said she’d love to visit with you, if you’d like.”
I washed my hands and dried them on the towel that was attached to my white apron. I’d call her and make a point of stopping by. I needed a friend, especially now.
“Think about what I said. I really believe your subconscious was at work, Josie. Given the chance, you could learn to love married life here in Ponder,” Jack insisted, smiling as though he had some deeply held secret I wasn’t allowed to know yet.
“Jack, please. Despite what you might think, my being stuck here wasn’t intentional.”
He grinned with a certain confidence that declared he was right. “So you say.”
“So I know,” I returned.
His smug look stayed firmly in place, and while it perturbed me, I wasn’t going to waste the energy to argue further. Jack was stubborn to a fault, and I could tell it was a losing battle. Jack would never admit to being wrong.
* * *
—
I’d finished the dinner dishes and Jack left to return to his own cabin. I stared at the foil-covered bowl by the stove. If I was going to deliver this to Palmer, I needed to do it soon.
The one thing that shocked me about Alaska was how early it grew dark in the fall and winter. It was late in October and it was completely dark by five-thirty that afternoon. With a flashlight in hand, I dressed warmly and headed out of the lodge to Palmer’s cabin. I’d traveled this path dozens of times and had no trouble finding my way.
Although it was well past the dinner hour, I noticed the lights were on in Palmer’s workshop. I stood in front of the door and hesitated, gathering my nerve, unsure of my welcome. With my heart in my throat, I knocked and waited for a response.
No more than a few seconds later, the door opened. Palmer’s eyes widened, as he was apparently shocked to see me.
“I brought you dinner,” I said, holding out the bowl. He didn’t invite me in, and with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I handed it to him and turned away.
“I heard from Sawyer,” he said, stopping me in my tracks. That was the friend he’d mentioned, the bush pilot who owned the ski-plane.
“You did?” I couldn’t hide my excitement.
“Come inside,” he said, opening the door wider. “I was just about to call it a night.” He led the way from the workshop to the house, turning off the lights and heading into the kitchen with Hobo tagging behind him.
Palmer set the bowl down on the counter and washed up before turning around to face me. “I intended to have Jack give you the news earlier, but I wanted to do it myself.”
He smiled, and it was as if all was forgiven and forgotten. I released a silent sigh of relief.
“Is Sawyer coming this way anytime soon?” I asked, trying not to reveal my enthusiasm. He frowned, and I knew my reaction had disappointed him.
“I figured you’d be eager to leave. Sawyer said he’d be in the area in another ten days. You can last that long, right?”
“Of course.” Not that I had a choice. “Did he say anything about what he’d charge me for the flight?” This was a major concern.
“He did.”
Nervous now, I moved to the opposite end of the counter, across from Palmer. He had two stools there, and I pulled one out and sat down, fearing the cost would be far beyond what I could afford and that my knees would buckle under me. The other quote I’d been given had shocked me speechless.
Palmer opened a drawer and removed a spoon before he mentioned the fee.
I gasped. I couldn’t help it.
Palmer’s head shot up. “Is that too much?”
“No…It’s far less than what I expected.” I was grateful and resisted the urge to leap up and hug Palmer. In only a matter of days I would be able to return to Seattle, to my mom, and to the start of my new career.
To the life I wanted, I reminded myself.
Instead of eating, Palmer placed his hands in his back pockets so that his elbows jutted out from his sides. “What did you find out about your job with Chef Allen?”
“Chef Anton,” I corrected.
“Right. Chef Anton.”
“He will keep the position for me as long as I get back within the next two weeks.” That was the one bright spot in my predicament.
“You’re thinking about Palmer, aren’t you?” Jack questioned, breaking into my thoughts as I stood in front of the stove, working on dinner.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that,” I said, embarrassed to get caught.
Jack’s telling eyes sparked with glee. “Palmer. He’s on your mind, isn’t he?”
“No,” I denied. “Maybe.”
Jack chuckled. “Just as I thought. Out of sight, out of mind. How’s that working for you?”
I hated that he could read me that easily. I had the feeling that if my father was alive, he’d be saying the same thing to me.
“I see you don’t have an answer. You know what I think?” Jack said, growing serious.
Leaving the stove area, I tried to look busy around the kitchen, cleaning out the sink. “I bet I can guess.”
“I think,” he said, rubbing his beard in that thoughtful way of his, “that subconsciously you wanted to miss that boat.”
“What?” I flared, outraged at the suggestion. “That’s ridiculous.” I refused to even consider that that was the case. It wasn’t even worthy of a discussion.
Jack smiled as though he held a winning lottery ticket in his hand. “Admit it, you’re in love with Palmer.”
Whirling around, I stared at Jack, ready to deny it, when I realized I couldn’t. My shoulders sagged in defeat. While I wasn’t willing to openly admit how I felt, I decided not to say anything.
“You’re confused, Josie,” Jack said kindly, gently. “Can’t say I blame you. Life this close to the tundra isn’t easy. It can get lonely here, especially for a woman. Heard it said once that women need one another for emotional support and that kind of thing.”
“Oh, so when did you become an expert on women?” I asked, grateful to turn the subject away from my feelings for Palmer.
“I don’t know much about what women need,” he openly admitted. “It was Angie who told me that.”
“Angie Wilkerson?” I’d met her while working at the lodge. Angie and Steve—they had a cabin in Ponder. We’d exchanged greetings a few times after she won the chili cook-off, so I knew who she was. “Angie’s here for the winter? In Ponder?”
“Sure is. She stays each winter, along with Steve and their two boys.”
This was news to me.
“Like Palmer, Steve isn’t much for city life. He works for one of those big oil companies: troubleshoots any problems that might come up with the oil line.”
A sudden thought raced through my mind at the speed of light. If there were problems with the pipeline, that meant Steve might need to get out of Ponder. If he had to leave anytime soon, I might be able to catch a ride with him. Hope sprang eternal. I now had a plan B.
“Jack, if there’s trouble with the pipeline, Steve has to fly out, right? I mean, he has to go to the site for repairs, doesn’t he?” My mind was in a whirl, not that I wished trouble on the pipeline, but this could well develop into the escape plan I was desperately looking for.
“Nope.”
“What do you mean by ‘nope’?” I asked. “You just said—”
“Everything is done by computer these days, Josie. Steve can manage everything he needs to do from the comfort of his own home.”
My hopes did a nosedive. “Oh.”
“Angie was surprised to hear you’d missed the boat. She said she’d love to visit with you, if you’d like.”
I washed my hands and dried them on the towel that was attached to my white apron. I’d call her and make a point of stopping by. I needed a friend, especially now.
“Think about what I said. I really believe your subconscious was at work, Josie. Given the chance, you could learn to love married life here in Ponder,” Jack insisted, smiling as though he had some deeply held secret I wasn’t allowed to know yet.
“Jack, please. Despite what you might think, my being stuck here wasn’t intentional.”
He grinned with a certain confidence that declared he was right. “So you say.”
“So I know,” I returned.
His smug look stayed firmly in place, and while it perturbed me, I wasn’t going to waste the energy to argue further. Jack was stubborn to a fault, and I could tell it was a losing battle. Jack would never admit to being wrong.
* * *
—
I’d finished the dinner dishes and Jack left to return to his own cabin. I stared at the foil-covered bowl by the stove. If I was going to deliver this to Palmer, I needed to do it soon.
The one thing that shocked me about Alaska was how early it grew dark in the fall and winter. It was late in October and it was completely dark by five-thirty that afternoon. With a flashlight in hand, I dressed warmly and headed out of the lodge to Palmer’s cabin. I’d traveled this path dozens of times and had no trouble finding my way.
Although it was well past the dinner hour, I noticed the lights were on in Palmer’s workshop. I stood in front of the door and hesitated, gathering my nerve, unsure of my welcome. With my heart in my throat, I knocked and waited for a response.
No more than a few seconds later, the door opened. Palmer’s eyes widened, as he was apparently shocked to see me.
“I brought you dinner,” I said, holding out the bowl. He didn’t invite me in, and with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I handed it to him and turned away.
“I heard from Sawyer,” he said, stopping me in my tracks. That was the friend he’d mentioned, the bush pilot who owned the ski-plane.
“You did?” I couldn’t hide my excitement.
“Come inside,” he said, opening the door wider. “I was just about to call it a night.” He led the way from the workshop to the house, turning off the lights and heading into the kitchen with Hobo tagging behind him.
Palmer set the bowl down on the counter and washed up before turning around to face me. “I intended to have Jack give you the news earlier, but I wanted to do it myself.”
He smiled, and it was as if all was forgiven and forgotten. I released a silent sigh of relief.
“Is Sawyer coming this way anytime soon?” I asked, trying not to reveal my enthusiasm. He frowned, and I knew my reaction had disappointed him.
“I figured you’d be eager to leave. Sawyer said he’d be in the area in another ten days. You can last that long, right?”
“Of course.” Not that I had a choice. “Did he say anything about what he’d charge me for the flight?” This was a major concern.
“He did.”
Nervous now, I moved to the opposite end of the counter, across from Palmer. He had two stools there, and I pulled one out and sat down, fearing the cost would be far beyond what I could afford and that my knees would buckle under me. The other quote I’d been given had shocked me speechless.
Palmer opened a drawer and removed a spoon before he mentioned the fee.
I gasped. I couldn’t help it.
Palmer’s head shot up. “Is that too much?”
“No…It’s far less than what I expected.” I was grateful and resisted the urge to leap up and hug Palmer. In only a matter of days I would be able to return to Seattle, to my mom, and to the start of my new career.
To the life I wanted, I reminded myself.
Instead of eating, Palmer placed his hands in his back pockets so that his elbows jutted out from his sides. “What did you find out about your job with Chef Allen?”
“Chef Anton,” I corrected.
“Right. Chef Anton.”
“He will keep the position for me as long as I get back within the next two weeks.” That was the one bright spot in my predicament.
