“How…quaint.”
Pete added two teaspoons of sugar, stirring vigorously. “Chase said you like to cook.”
“I do,” she responded. Since he didn’t show any signs of leaving, she poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the kitchen table.
“There’s plenty of deer meat in the freezer.”
“Deer?”
“You never cooked deer before? What about caribou?”
“Neither one.” Didn’t anyone dine on good old-fashioned beef in Alaska?
“Don’t worry. It cooks up like beef and doesn’t taste all that different. You’ll be fine.”
Lesley appreciated his confidence even if she didn’t share it.
“So,” Pete said, relaxing in his chair, hands encircling the mug, “what do you think of the cabin?”
Lesley wasn’t sure how to answer. It was certainly livable, but nothing like she’d expected. However, as she’d said to herself countless times, she’d adjust. “It’s homey,” she said, trying to be diplomatic about it.
“Chase bought it ’specially for you.”
Lesley lowered her eyes. That couldn’t possibly be true. He hadn’t known her long enough to have chosen this cabin for her.
“He’s only been living here a few months,” Pete went on. “He decided back in March that he wasn’t going through another winter without a wife, so he started getting ready for one. The first thing he did was buy this place and move off the station.”
“Do you live at the station?”
“Nope. I bought myself a cabin, too, year or so ago.
“Chase has lots of plans to remodel, but he wanted to wait until he found the right woman so they could plan the changes together.”
Lesley looked around, the ideas already beginning to form. If they knocked out the wall between the living room and kitchen, they could get rid of the cramped feeling.
“Chase did all right for himself,” Pete said, sounding proud of his friend. “I gotta tell you, I laughed when he told me he was going to Seattle and bringing himself back a wife.”
“Why didn’t he marry someone from around here?” Lesley asked. She already knew the answer but wanted to see what he’d say.
“First off, there aren’t any available women in Twin Creeks. He might’ve met a woman in Fairbanks—used to go out with a couple different ones—but he figured his chances were better in Seattle. And he was right!”
“I’m glad he did go to Seattle.”
“He seems pleased about it. This is the first time I’ve seen Chase smile in a year, ever since his father died. He took it hard, you know.”
Lesley pretended she did. Although she’d told him about her own parents, Chase hadn’t said much about his, just that they were both dead.
“So soon after his mother—that darn near killed him. He’s all alone now, no brothers or sisters, and he needed someone to belong to the way we all do. I don’t know that he’s ever said that, but it’s the reason he was so keen on marryin’.”
“What about you?” Lesley asked. “Why haven’t you married?”
“I did once, about ten years back, but it didn’t work out.” Pain flickered in his eyes. “Pamela didn’t last the winter. I hope for Chase’s sake you’re different. He’s already crazy about you, and if you left him, it’d probably break his heart.”
“I’m not leaving.” It would take a lot more than a harsh winter to change her mind about her commitment to Chase. She’d never taken duty lightly and she’d pledged before her friends and God to stand by Chase as his wife, his lover, his partner.
“Good.” Pete’s twinkling blue eyes were back.
“Chase sent you out to babysit me, didn’t he?”
Pete laughed. “Not exactly. He was a little afraid you were gonna get curious and do some exploring.”
“Not after the conversation we had about the bears.” Lesley shuddered dramatically.
“They aren’t gonna hurt you. You leave ’em alone and they’ll leave you alone. You might want to ask Chase to take you to the dump and that way you’ll get to see ’em firsthand.”
“They hang around the dump?”
“Sure do, sorting through the garbage lookin’ for goodies. We’ve tried plenty of ways to keep ’em away, but nothing seems to work and we finally gave up.”
“I see.” Lesley wasn’t impressed. “Has anyone thought to bury the garbage?” The solution seemed simple to her.
“Obviously you’ve never tried to dig tundra. It’s like cement an inch below the surface.”
“What’s wrong at the station?” Lesley asked, looking at her watch. It was well past noon.
“Can’t rightly say, but whatever it is will have to be fixed before Chase can come home. Trust me, he isn’t any happier about this than you. Chase isn’t normally a swearing man, but he was cursin’ a blue streak this morning. He’ll give you a call the minute he can.”
“I’d like to see the town,” Lesley said. She was eager to meet the other women and become a part of the community. It was too late in the year to apply for a full-time teaching position, but she could make arrangements to get her certificate and sign up as a substitute.
“Chase will take you around himself,” Pete said again. “It wouldn’t be right for me to be introducin’ you.”
“I know.” She sighed. “Tell me about Twin Creeks, would you?”
“Ah…there’s not much to tell.”
“What about stores?”
He shrugged. “We order most everything through the catalog and on the internet.”
“There’s a grocery store.”
“Oh, sure, but it’s small.”
Well, she wasn’t expecting one with a deli and valet parking.
“What’s the population of Twin Creeks?”
Pete wasn’t one who could easily disguise his feelings, and she could see from the way his eyes darted past hers that he’d prefer to avoid answering. “We’ve had, uh, something of a population boom since the last census.”
“What’s the official total?”
“You might want to talk to Chase about that.”
“I’m asking you,” she pressed, growing impatient. “A thousand?”
“Less ’n that,” he said, drinking what remained of his coffee.
“How many less?”
“A, uh, few hundred less.”
“All right, five hundred people, then?”
“No…”
Lesley pinched her lips together. “Just tell me. I hate guessing games.”
“Forty,” Pete mumbled into the empty mug.
“Adults?” Her heart felt as if it’d stopped.
“No, that’s counting everyone, including Mrs. Davis’s cat.”
Eleven
“How many women live in Twin Creeks?” Lesley demanded.
“Including you?” Pete asked, looking decidedly uncomfortable by this time. He clutched his coffee mug with both hands and sat staring into it, as though he expected the answer to appear there.
“Of course I mean including me!”
“That makes a grand total of five then.” He continued to hold on to his mug as if it were the Holy Grail.
“You mean to tell me there’re only five women in the entire town?”
“Five women within five hundred miles, I suspect, when you get right down to it.” If his face got much closer to the mug, his nose would disappear inside it.
“Tell me about the other women,” Lesley insisted. She was pacing in her agitation. Chase had purposely withheld this information about Twin Creeks from her. Fool that she was, she hadn’t even thought to ask, assuming that when he mentioned the town there actually was one!
“There’s Thelma Davis,” Pete said enthusiastically. “She’s married to Milton and they’re both in their sixties. Thelma runs the grocery store and she loves to gossip. You’ll get along with her just fine. Gladys Thornton might be kind of a problem, though. She’s a little crabby and not the sociable sort, so most folks just lea
ve her be.”
“Is there anyone close to my age?”
“Heather’s twelve,” Pete replied, looking up for the first time. “She lives with Thelma Davis. I never did understand the connection. Heather isn’t her granddaughter, but they’re related in some way.”
The woman closest to her in age was a twelve-year-old girl! Lesley’s heart plummeted.
“You’ll like Margaret, though. She’s a real social butterfly. The minute she hears Chase brought himself back a wife, she’ll be by to introduce herself.”
“How old is Margaret?”
“Darned if I know. In her fifties, I guess. She doesn’t like to discuss her age and tries to pretend she’s younger.”
“I…see.”
“I’d best be heading back,” Pete said, obviously eager to leave. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you mind not tellin’ Chase that I was the one who told you? We’ve been friends for a long time and I’d hate for him to take this personally. Me spillin’ the beans to you, I mean.”
“I’m not making any promises.”
Pete left as if he couldn’t get away fast enough.
An hour later, Lesley still hadn’t decided what to do, if anything. Chase had misled her, true enough, but she wasn’t convinced it mattered. She probably would’ve married him anyway.
No wonder he’d been so interested in Seattle’s history and the Mercer brides. Although more than a hundred years had passed since that time, she was doing basically the same thing as those women, moving to a frontier wilderness and marrying a man she barely knew.
Chase arrived shortly after one o’clock, looking discouraged. Lesley met him at the front door and waited, wondering what to say.
Without a word of greeting, Chase pulled her into his arms and his mouth came down on hers. The familiar taste of him offered comfort and reassurance.
“I missed you,” he whispered into her hair, his arms wrapped around her waist.
“I missed you, too.”
“Pete brought the groceries? Did he get enough of everything?”
Lesley nodded. “Plenty.” She broke away from him. “I didn’t know your parents died so recently,” she said. She slipped her arm around him and led him into the kitchen. He had to be hungry so she opened a can of chili and began heating that for him. Keeping her hands occupied helped; she didn’t want him to guess how much Pete’s information had disturbed her.
Chase stood with his back against the counter. “My mom passed away less than two years ago. She died of a heart attack. It was sudden and so much of a shock that my father followed last year. They say people don’t die of broken hearts, but I swear that isn’t true. My dad was lost without Mom, and I believe he willed himself to die.”
“I’m sorry, Chase, I didn’t know.”
“I meant to tell you.”
“It was after their deaths that you decided to marry?”
“Yes,” he admitted, watching her closely. “Does that upset you?”
“No.” Her reasons for accepting his proposal hadn’t been exactly flawless. She’d been escaping her love for Tony, running because she feared she was too weak to withstand her attraction to him. Recently those reasons had blurred in her mind, thanks to her doubts and the unexpected happiness she’d found with Chase. They’d bonded much sooner than she’d anticipated. They belonged together now and if it was Tony’s craziness that had brought them to this point, that didn’t matter. What did was her life with Chase.
“How’s everything at the station?” she asked, placing the steaming bowl of chili on the table and taking out a box of soda crackers.
“Not good. We’re going to need a part.” He wiped his face with one hand, ignoring the lunch she’d prepared for him. “I hate doing this to you so soon, but it looks like I’ll have to go after the motor myself.”
“You’re leaving?” She felt as though she’d been punched by the unexpectedness of it. “How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know yet. A day, possibly two.”
It wasn’t the end of the world, but she felt isolated and alone as it was. Without Chase she might as well be off floating on an iceberg.
“When do you have to go?” she asked.
“Soon. Listen, sweetheart, I don’t want this any more than you do, but it can’t be avoided.”
Sweetheart. He’d never used affectionate terms with her before. He was genuinely worried, as well he should be. He was going to have to introduce her to the people of Twin Creeks sooner or later, and she knew he’d prefer to do that personally, rather than have her discover the truth on her own while he was away. Of course, he had no idea Pete had already “spilled the beans,” as he’d put it.
“I’ll pack an overnight bag for you,” she offered, half waiting for him to stop her right then and explain.
“Lesley.”
She smiled to herself, relieved at the hesitation she heard in his voice. He was going to tell her.
He moved behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and slipped his hand inside her light sweater. “We won’t be able to sleep together tonight.”
“Yes, I know.” Her voice sounded thick even to her own ears.
He caught her earlobe between his teeth. “One night can feel like a very long time,” he said in a whisper.
“It won’t be so bad.”
“It could be, though.”
“Oh.” Brilliant conversation was beyond her when he touched her this way.
His lips nibbled at her ear and hot sensation spread though her. “I was thinking you might want to give me something to send me off.”
“Like what?” Not that she didn’t know exactly what he meant, but she was annoyed with him because he was so casual about letting her learn the truth.
“I was in a foul mood all morning,” Chase continued, “hurrying because I wanted to get home.” He laughed. “Wanting to rush home was a new experience.”
“What was the big hurry?”
“Do you honestly need me to say?” He gave another throaty chuckle. “I can’t get enough of you. We make love and instead of glorying in the satisfaction, I immediately start wondering when I can have you again. Have you put a spell on me?”
“No.” If anything she was the one who’d been enchanted.
He groaned. “Pete will be here in five minutes.”
She nodded, turning her head away.
“You’re crying,” he said with a frown. He held her face gently, brushing the hair from her brow, using his thumbs to wipe away the moisture on her cheeks.
She gazed up at him, blinking hard, hardly able to see him through her tears. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “Go, or you’ll be late.”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.”
“Pete’s coming.” She pushed him away.
“He’ll wait. Lesley, tell me what’s wrong.” He reached for an overnight bag, stuffing it with the essentials he’d need as he waited for her response.
She didn’t, couldn’t, respond.
“You’re upset because I have to leave you so soon,” he said, “but, sweetheart, I told you. It can’t be helped.”
She was so furious by this time that she clenched her fists at her sides. “Pete told me his wife didn’t last the winter. My sympathy was with Pete because of the weak woman he married. I was making all sorts of judgmental statements in my head, automatically blaming her. I blamed her, without the benefit of the doubt. I considered her weak and—”
“What does Pete’s marriage have to do with us?” Chase took her by the arms, studying her intensely. A horn honked outside and he cast an irritated look over his shoulder.
“Go,” she said again, freeing herself from his hold. “Just go.”
“I can’t, Lesley, not with you feeling like this.”
She swiped impatiently at her tears. “It might’ve helped if you’d let me know Twin Creeks is nothing more than…than a hole in the road. There are only five women here. Three of them are years older
than I am, the fourth is a twelve-year-old girl and the other one is…me.”
The honking went on longer and more urgently this time.
“Go on,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “Pete’s waiting.”
Chase wavered, took one step toward the door, but then returned to her. “Will you be here when I get back?”
She had to think about that for a moment, then nodded.
He briefly closed his eyes. “Thank you for that.” He left without kissing her. Without touching her. And without saying goodbye.
Lesley ended up throwing out the chili she’d prepared for Chase. She’d never been fond of it herself, although Chase certainly seemed to be if his cupboard was any indication. There was an entire shelf filled with nothing but cans of chili.
She moved from one room to the next, feeling sorry for herself. She’d let the opportunity to really talk about their situation slip through her fingers.
Her cheeks burned at the memory. They’d kissed—and then fought. But their physical longing for each other hadn’t diminished.
Their relationship hadn’t started out that way. This was a new development. One that had taken them both by storm.
Lesley delighted in how frequently Chase wanted her. Her joy was made complete by the ready response he evoked in her. But their mutual passion meant she not only needed him, she’d become dependent on him. This was the very thing she’d come to fear with Tony—this total giving of herself. Yet it was what she’d done with Chase. He ruled her head and her heart, as thoroughly as Tony once had. No, even more so.
Was this love? She didn’t know. All she knew was that she couldn’t be without her husband, but didn’t want to lose herself in him.
Tucking her arms around her waist, she wondered how she’d ever manage to fill up the time without Chase.
Chase impatiently filled out the registration forms at the Fairbanks hotel. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could call Lesley.
He wanted to kick himself. He’d known from the moment he arrived home that something was bothering her. He’d seen it in her eyes and in the way she preoccupied herself with making him lunch. He should have settled things between them right then.
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