Alaskan Holiday
Page 26
CHAPTER 14
Palmer
Seeing Josie again was everything I’d hoped it would be. My doubts, which had plagued me ever since Thanksgiving, were somewhat quieted. I felt reassured, although not completely. Her immediate reaction when she saw me couldn’t be faked. When she’d walked into the dining room from the kitchen dressed in her white double-breasted chef’s jacket, it had taken every ounce of restraint I possessed not to pull her into my arms. I desperately needed to kiss her, with a longing so deep my body ached.
Our eyes had locked on each other like magnets. An atomic bomb could have gone off and I wouldn’t have been able to look away. I had it bad, worse than I’d been willing to admit. I’d felt a void after she’d left Ponder, and even with our conversations and texting, it wasn’t the same.
Josie wanted me to remain in Seattle over Christmas. She hadn’t needed to ask me twice. I hadn’t allowed her to see how pleased I was at her invitation. As soon as I was back at the hotel before I met her following her shift, I’d called the airlines and changed my return flight to Alaska. I’d been foolish to think one abbreviated evening in Seattle would be enough time to see her. I’d let my ego get in the way of common sense.
The entire time I was in Pennsylvania she was on my mind. I found it interesting that in the short hours we’d spent together she hadn’t mentioned Chef Anton once. I hadn’t brought him into the conversation, either, preferring to concentrate on Josie and being with her. What worried me was how proud she was of Seattle and how happily she’d pointed out the sights as we walked along the waterfront.
Once I arrived on the East Coast, I conducted my business as quickly as possible and headed back to Seattle with an eagerness I couldn’t hide.
The long flight back seemed interminable. The Boeing 737 bounced against the runway as I finally landed in Seattle. I was anxious to see her again, but it would need to wait until after she finished her shift at the restaurant. I’d been patient this long—another few hours shouldn’t matter.
Once I was off the plane, I grabbed a taxi and headed back to the hotel that Jack and I had booked in the heart of downtown Seattle. I hadn’t talked to my friend while I’d been in Pennsylvania. Jack rarely had his phone handy, which drove me nuts. I was dying to hear what he’d learned from Josie.
As soon as I checked in to the hotel and got my room, I dialed Jack. He answered on the first ring, almost as if he was sitting on the bed, awaiting my call.
“It’s Palmer.”
“How’d it go?” Jack asked.
“Fine. Have you seen Josie?”
“Sure. Been with her every day since you left for Pennsylvania. She took me to that big farmers’ market they got here. It was something. Never seen so much fruit, vegetables, and flowers all in one place. They do tricks with fish, tossing salmon back and forth like it’s a seafood ping pong game.” He barely paused to take a breath. “Then she took me on the monorail. That was fun, riding up above the streets. She wanted me to go up the Space Needle, but we ran out of time.”
That Josie had time to play tour guide surprised me. I had the impression she worked a lot of hours. I vaguely remembered the server mentioning Josie was the first to arrive at the restaurant and the last to leave.
“Guess what else?” Jack asked, breaking into my thoughts.
“Jack, please, don’t play these games with me. If you have information, just give it to me, will you?” I was impatient, and more than a little jealous that it was Jack, not me, who had been able to spend what sounded like an unlimited amount of time with Josie.
“Josie quit her job. Walked out in the middle of the shift the very night we were there.” Jack chuckled, obviously finding the entire situation amusing. “She told Chef Anton she could no longer work for him. Between you, me, and the totem pole, I think he was putting all kinds of pressure on her, and some of it didn’t have to do with her work in the kitchen.”
Funny she hadn’t mentioned that to me later that same night, which left me to wonder if there was a reason she’d omitted the news. I guessed it was because she feared what I’d do if I found out that he’d harassed her. For Josie to quit in the middle of a shift spoke volumes. A dozen scenarios flashed through my mind, none of them good. I hadn’t liked the look of Anton the minute I’d read his bio. I’d had a bad feeling from the start but feared my judgment had been clouded by my jealousy.
“Do you know what happened?” I asked between clenched teeth. “Did that chef try anything with her? Because if he did…I swear, Jack, I don’t know that I can let that go.”
“Don’t go ballistic on me. All Josie would say about the chef was that he was a major jerk. I asked, but she didn’t give me details. I could tell that she didn’t want to talk about it.”
I needed to find out why, and if Josie wouldn’t tell me, then I’d pay the chef a visit myself and the two of us would talk, man to man.
All at once I realized what it might mean for us if Josie was no longer working at the restaurant. Hope swelled inside my chest like a water-soaked sponge. Perhaps she’d changed her mind and was reconsidering my proposal. It became impossible to remain sitting, and I sprang to my feet. I needed to see her, talk to her, convince her that we could make our lives together work.
“Her mom invited us to dinner tomorrow night,” Jack continued, unaware of my excitement. “I’m looking forward to meeting her. She’s been at work and I haven’t had a chance yet. You’re coming, aren’t you?”
“Sure, I’d like that.” I was impatient to get a read on Josie, to make sure she was okay, and to find out what quitting her job would mean for her, for us.
Whatever had happened, I needed to play by the book, remembering my talk with Drew and his advice. He’d suggested that I not propose again until I could be sure Josie would accept. The signs were good, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.
“You ready to eat?” Jack asked.
I looked at the time. It was no surprise that Jack was thinking about his stomach. “It’s not even five o’clock yet.” Because I was on East Coast time, I was willing to consider an early dinner—early for the West Coast, that is.
“I found this great fish-and-chips place on the waterfront. Lots of tourists there, but the food is worth the wait.”
“You know how I feel about crowds,” I reminded him.
“Not fond of them myself.”
“Do you know what Josie’s doing tonight?” I wanted to see her. She knew I was due back today, but not when I was supposed to land in Seattle. I’d held this vision in my mind of her waiting at the hotel for me.
“She’s got a previous engagement.”
“What?” I burst out. “She’s going out on a date?”
“Not a date—evening plans with some gal pals. That’s what she called them. Some silly-sounding Christmas sock exchange she does every year. She didn’t think she’d be able to do it, but now that she isn’t working, she’s able to go. You didn’t answer my question,” Jack reminded me. “You ready for dinner or not? It’s been hours since I last ate. I was hoping the line for the fish-and-chips place wouldn’t be long this time of the day.”
I lost my appetite with the news I wouldn’t get to see Josie. Sitting alone in the hotel room didn’t appeal to me, either.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby,” I said, riding a roller coaster of emotions.
Hanging up the phone, I made sure I had my key card and headed down the long hallway toward the elevator.
Once in the lobby I paced restlessly, waiting for Jack.
Then, from the other side of the lobby, I heard someone call my name.
I turned toward the voice and saw Josie. Right away she sprinted across the open space toward me and all but launched herself into my arms. I was caught off guard, and she nearly knocked me off my feet. Anyone watching might suspect it’d been months since I’d last seen her instead of only a few days. I held her against me, closed my eyes, and breathed in the scent of vanilla and strawberries in her hair.
“That was the longest day and a half of my life,” she whispered, almost as if she hadn’t wanted me to hear her admit it.
Palmer
Seeing Josie again was everything I’d hoped it would be. My doubts, which had plagued me ever since Thanksgiving, were somewhat quieted. I felt reassured, although not completely. Her immediate reaction when she saw me couldn’t be faked. When she’d walked into the dining room from the kitchen dressed in her white double-breasted chef’s jacket, it had taken every ounce of restraint I possessed not to pull her into my arms. I desperately needed to kiss her, with a longing so deep my body ached.
Our eyes had locked on each other like magnets. An atomic bomb could have gone off and I wouldn’t have been able to look away. I had it bad, worse than I’d been willing to admit. I’d felt a void after she’d left Ponder, and even with our conversations and texting, it wasn’t the same.
Josie wanted me to remain in Seattle over Christmas. She hadn’t needed to ask me twice. I hadn’t allowed her to see how pleased I was at her invitation. As soon as I was back at the hotel before I met her following her shift, I’d called the airlines and changed my return flight to Alaska. I’d been foolish to think one abbreviated evening in Seattle would be enough time to see her. I’d let my ego get in the way of common sense.
The entire time I was in Pennsylvania she was on my mind. I found it interesting that in the short hours we’d spent together she hadn’t mentioned Chef Anton once. I hadn’t brought him into the conversation, either, preferring to concentrate on Josie and being with her. What worried me was how proud she was of Seattle and how happily she’d pointed out the sights as we walked along the waterfront.
Once I arrived on the East Coast, I conducted my business as quickly as possible and headed back to Seattle with an eagerness I couldn’t hide.
The long flight back seemed interminable. The Boeing 737 bounced against the runway as I finally landed in Seattle. I was anxious to see her again, but it would need to wait until after she finished her shift at the restaurant. I’d been patient this long—another few hours shouldn’t matter.
Once I was off the plane, I grabbed a taxi and headed back to the hotel that Jack and I had booked in the heart of downtown Seattle. I hadn’t talked to my friend while I’d been in Pennsylvania. Jack rarely had his phone handy, which drove me nuts. I was dying to hear what he’d learned from Josie.
As soon as I checked in to the hotel and got my room, I dialed Jack. He answered on the first ring, almost as if he was sitting on the bed, awaiting my call.
“It’s Palmer.”
“How’d it go?” Jack asked.
“Fine. Have you seen Josie?”
“Sure. Been with her every day since you left for Pennsylvania. She took me to that big farmers’ market they got here. It was something. Never seen so much fruit, vegetables, and flowers all in one place. They do tricks with fish, tossing salmon back and forth like it’s a seafood ping pong game.” He barely paused to take a breath. “Then she took me on the monorail. That was fun, riding up above the streets. She wanted me to go up the Space Needle, but we ran out of time.”
That Josie had time to play tour guide surprised me. I had the impression she worked a lot of hours. I vaguely remembered the server mentioning Josie was the first to arrive at the restaurant and the last to leave.
“Guess what else?” Jack asked, breaking into my thoughts.
“Jack, please, don’t play these games with me. If you have information, just give it to me, will you?” I was impatient, and more than a little jealous that it was Jack, not me, who had been able to spend what sounded like an unlimited amount of time with Josie.
“Josie quit her job. Walked out in the middle of the shift the very night we were there.” Jack chuckled, obviously finding the entire situation amusing. “She told Chef Anton she could no longer work for him. Between you, me, and the totem pole, I think he was putting all kinds of pressure on her, and some of it didn’t have to do with her work in the kitchen.”
Funny she hadn’t mentioned that to me later that same night, which left me to wonder if there was a reason she’d omitted the news. I guessed it was because she feared what I’d do if I found out that he’d harassed her. For Josie to quit in the middle of a shift spoke volumes. A dozen scenarios flashed through my mind, none of them good. I hadn’t liked the look of Anton the minute I’d read his bio. I’d had a bad feeling from the start but feared my judgment had been clouded by my jealousy.
“Do you know what happened?” I asked between clenched teeth. “Did that chef try anything with her? Because if he did…I swear, Jack, I don’t know that I can let that go.”
“Don’t go ballistic on me. All Josie would say about the chef was that he was a major jerk. I asked, but she didn’t give me details. I could tell that she didn’t want to talk about it.”
I needed to find out why, and if Josie wouldn’t tell me, then I’d pay the chef a visit myself and the two of us would talk, man to man.
All at once I realized what it might mean for us if Josie was no longer working at the restaurant. Hope swelled inside my chest like a water-soaked sponge. Perhaps she’d changed her mind and was reconsidering my proposal. It became impossible to remain sitting, and I sprang to my feet. I needed to see her, talk to her, convince her that we could make our lives together work.
“Her mom invited us to dinner tomorrow night,” Jack continued, unaware of my excitement. “I’m looking forward to meeting her. She’s been at work and I haven’t had a chance yet. You’re coming, aren’t you?”
“Sure, I’d like that.” I was impatient to get a read on Josie, to make sure she was okay, and to find out what quitting her job would mean for her, for us.
Whatever had happened, I needed to play by the book, remembering my talk with Drew and his advice. He’d suggested that I not propose again until I could be sure Josie would accept. The signs were good, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.
“You ready to eat?” Jack asked.
I looked at the time. It was no surprise that Jack was thinking about his stomach. “It’s not even five o’clock yet.” Because I was on East Coast time, I was willing to consider an early dinner—early for the West Coast, that is.
“I found this great fish-and-chips place on the waterfront. Lots of tourists there, but the food is worth the wait.”
“You know how I feel about crowds,” I reminded him.
“Not fond of them myself.”
“Do you know what Josie’s doing tonight?” I wanted to see her. She knew I was due back today, but not when I was supposed to land in Seattle. I’d held this vision in my mind of her waiting at the hotel for me.
“She’s got a previous engagement.”
“What?” I burst out. “She’s going out on a date?”
“Not a date—evening plans with some gal pals. That’s what she called them. Some silly-sounding Christmas sock exchange she does every year. She didn’t think she’d be able to do it, but now that she isn’t working, she’s able to go. You didn’t answer my question,” Jack reminded me. “You ready for dinner or not? It’s been hours since I last ate. I was hoping the line for the fish-and-chips place wouldn’t be long this time of the day.”
I lost my appetite with the news I wouldn’t get to see Josie. Sitting alone in the hotel room didn’t appeal to me, either.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby,” I said, riding a roller coaster of emotions.
Hanging up the phone, I made sure I had my key card and headed down the long hallway toward the elevator.
Once in the lobby I paced restlessly, waiting for Jack.
Then, from the other side of the lobby, I heard someone call my name.
I turned toward the voice and saw Josie. Right away she sprinted across the open space toward me and all but launched herself into my arms. I was caught off guard, and she nearly knocked me off my feet. Anyone watching might suspect it’d been months since I’d last seen her instead of only a few days. I held her against me, closed my eyes, and breathed in the scent of vanilla and strawberries in her hair.
“That was the longest day and a half of my life,” she whispered, almost as if she hadn’t wanted me to hear her admit it.
