An Alaskan Proposal

by Beth Carpenter

  Sabrina blinked. “Sure.” She gathered the plates and utensils and took a set to Emma.

  Marissa dished up glazed salmon and grilled asparagus. “There’s salad and rolls on the picnic table.”

  They all gathered around the campfire, sitting in folding chairs or on ice chests. Sabrina took a bite of salmon. “Oh, this is good. This is really good. Can I get the recipe?”

  “It’s just olive oil, salt and dill. The reason it tastes so good is because the salmon is so fresh. It will never be as good again as it is the first day out of the river.”

  Conversation died while the hungry fishermen enjoyed their dinner. Most of them went back for second helpings until everything was gone. Sabrina’s phone chirped. “Oops. That’s the cobbler.”

  “Perfect timing,” Chris said.

  The cobbler was a little dark around the edges, but it looked done. Sabrina dished it out to everyone before trying some herself. It wasn’t Abuelita’s famous apple empanadas, but the blueberries were bursting with flavor and the rich, sweet crust was almost scone-like.

  Once everyone had pitched in to clean up, Sabrina and Emma brushed their teeth and change into sweats for bed. One of the guys threw more logs on the fire, and everyone gathered in a circle around it. The sun hadn’t set, but it was far in the northwest, casting long shadows across the camp. Sabrina settled into a big folding chair, with Boomer on her lap. Emma wandered over beside Sabrina’s chair and yawned.

  “Sleepy?”

  “No,” Emma insisted, stifling another yawn as she stroked the dog.

  Sabrina scooted to one side. “Here, sit with us and keep me warm.”

  Emma snuggled into the big folding chair with Sabrina. Boomer laid his head on her leg. Tal walked over, gave Boomer a sniff and lay down on the ground with her head on Sabrina’s foot.

  Leith settled on an ice chest next to them with his guitar. He strummed a few chords, adjusted a couple of tuning pegs and riffed a short section of “Classical Gas.” Sabrina watched in wonder as his fingers flew over the strings, but no one else seemed surprised.

  After a moment he looked up. “Requests?”

  Emma immediately shouted, “‘The Lady Who Swallowed the Fly.’”

  Leith chuckled. “You always want that one.”

  “It’s funny.”

  “Okay.” He strummed an intro and began singing in a strong, clear baritone. Emma jumped in, as did the rest of the group. Sabrina wasn’t familiar with the song, but she soon caught on enough to sing along on the chorus. Ryan could hardly sing for laughing at the silly lyrics.

  Leith played a few songs the kids knew, which led to “Yellow Submarine” and some other Beatles tunes. The sky grew darker and Emma was soon too sleepy to sing, but she still cuddled with the dog and listened. Leith smiled as he sang and played. Then Marissa suggested “And I Love Her,” and Leith’s expression went flat. Chris and Sam exchanged a look Sabrina couldn’t quite decipher.

  Marissa didn’t seem to understand the undercurrent, either. She leaned forward. “If you don’t know that one—”

  “I do.” Leith strummed a chord, sang a few words and paused. He put his hand over the strings to still them. “Actually, maybe I don’t remember. How about this?” He launched into “American Pie,” and Sabrina hurried to join in, hoping to smooth over whatever was bothering him. After a moment the others sang, too.

  At the end of the song, Leith looked over at Emma, who had all but fallen asleep on Sabrina’s lap. “Bedtime, I think.” He set his guitar on the ground and reached for the case.

  Sabrina watched him pack his guitar away. He’d been having such a good time until Marissa had suggested that song. Sabrina wished she knew how to help, how to banish whatever memory the song had summoned and bring back his good mood, but she and Leith really weren’t on those terms. Sadly.

  CHAPTER NINE

  EVERYONE STARTED GATHERING up their things and dispersing to their tents. Sam doused the fire. Leith felt a little guilty, breaking up the group when everyone had been having a good time, but he couldn’t get into the music anymore tonight. Not after Marissa had suggested that song. Not that it was her fault. She didn’t have any way of knowing what the song represented. It was Leith’s fault for letting memories of the past get to him. And he hated that they still had the power to do that.

  Emma was curled half in Sabrina’s lap, with her hand resting on that little dog. Leith normally wasn’t a fan of lapdogs, but he rather liked Boomer. Sabrina smoothed Emma’s hair back from her forehead. It had to be crowded with all three of them in the same chair, but they looked quite comfortable, cuddled up together.

  He lifted Emma from Sabrina’s lap and carried her to the tent. Sabrina and the dogs followed. He tucked Emma inside her bag. “Where’s Rufus?” she murmured.

  “I’ll get him.” Leith pulled the stuffed toy from her duffel. When he folded down the side of the sleeping bag to hand Emma the dog, Boomer jumped in beside her.

  “Boomer, come here,” Sabrina said, in her soft voice. Of course, the dog paid no attention. Instead he turned in three circles and curled up against Emma’s ribs.

  Emma hugged him. “I want Boomer to sleep with me, too.”

  Leith looked at Sabrina. “Okay with you?”

  “Sure, if Emma doesn’t mind.”

  Emma snuggled farther into the bag. “Good night, Uncle Leith. Good night, Sabrina.”

  “Good night, sweetie.” Sabrina dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Sleep tight.” Boomer looked up at Sabrina and Leith could have sworn he winked before he gave a happy sigh and closed his eyes. Tal stretched out on the floor under Emma’s cot. Leith tucked the sleeping bag up under Emma’s chin, gave Tal a pat and followed Sabrina outside.

  He zipped the netting shut and picked up his guitar case to stash in the car. It was just a song. He shouldn’t let it ruin the evening. He slammed the liftgate closed and leaned against the car, looking up at the dusky sky that passed for night this time of year. A few filmy clouds floated around a milky almost-full moon. The blinking light of an airplane passed in front of it.

  A few moments later, Sabrina walked over and leaned against the car beside him. “Whatcha looking at?”

  “Nothing really. Just taking a moment, you know?”

  “Yeah.” She closed her eyes and breathed in. “It smells so good here. Woody and natural and clean.”

  “In another few weeks, it will smell like old fish.”

  She laughed. “I guess we came at the right time, then. Say, when I was bartering for your survival-expert services, you didn’t tell me you’re also a guitar hero. Where did you learn to play like that?”

  He shrugged. “I took a few lessons early on. During the time I was stuck in Arizona, I spent a lot of time in my room. Practice makes perfect, I guess.”

  “Well, count me impressed.”

  He chuckled. “Must not take much to impress you.”

  “You’d be surprised.” She leaned a little closer and laid a hand on his arm. “What was the deal with that one song?”

  Her hand was warm against the skin of his forearm. Should he tell her? “It’s just not a favorite of mine...anymore.”

  “Anymore?”

  It had been a favorite. That was why, when Nicole was deep into picking out bridesmaid dresses and flower arrangements, he’d suggested it. The surprising part was that she’d taken his suggestion, but maybe that was because she didn’t really care about music. “I... That is, someone sang that song at my wedding.”

  “Oh.” Sabrina was probably sorry she’d asked. “How long were you married?”

  “Five years. It didn’t end well.”

  “What went wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” Well, he did but he wasn’t sure how deeply he wanted to get into it with Sabrina. “We were probably too young, but she wanted to get married and I wanted
to keep her happy. At first, it seemed like we had a lot in common. We did a lot of camping and hiking while we were dating, but she sort of lost interest later. In that stuff.” Leith thought of that guy he’d caught her cheating with. “And in me.”

  Sabrina gave his arm a little squeeze. A few moments passed and she said, “You know, I sometimes think having things in common is overrated.”

  Overrated? Leith looked to see if Sabrina was joking, but she seemed serious. “What do you mean?”

  “Superficial things, at least. My parents seemed to have a lot in common. He was focused on his business. She worked for him. After they married and I was born, she stopped working but she devoted her time to supporting him, like giving dinner parties for his business associates. She even chose her exercise classes based on who was in them so she could network for him.” Sabrina paused and licked her lip. “And then, when his business went bankrupt, my father took off and left both of us behind. I guess we were just part of the old life he was leaving.”

  “What a...” Leith bit back the word he’d been about to say. He’d assumed, when Sabrina had talked about her sister earlier, that her parents’ animosity toward one another was what kept Sabrina from her father, but this was far worse. He could understand the man wanting to start over in a new place after his business failed, but how could he just abandon his wife and daughter? Leith hated that Emma’s dad had died before she was born, but it must have been so much worse for Sabrina, knowing her father had chosen to leave her. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  “Thanks.” A loose strand of hair blew across her face. She slid the elastic from her ponytail and gathered her hair to redo it. “But I didn’t bring it up so you’d feel sorry for me. I’m just using them as an example of a couple who seemed to have things in common. Now, my grandparents, my mother’s parents, weren’t at all alike.”

  The strand escaped again. Sabrina gave up and removed the hair tie, letting her hair fall loose onto her shoulders. “Grandy was a retired salesman—one of those people who knew everybody. He was on every committee and organization, and never missed an opportunity to socialize. Abuelita was a homebody who filled her days cooking and reading books. But they adored each other.”

  Leith was still steaming, thinking about how it must have hurt Sabrina when her father disappeared from her life, but if she didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t push. “Abuelita?” he asked.

  Sabrina smiled. “‘Little Grandmother.’ She said that’s what she called her grandmother, and that’s what I should call her.”

  “So you’re saying opposites attract?”

  “I’m saying the things they had in common went deeper than favorite foods or taste in music. They both valued home and family. They were faithful to each other, and they respected each other. She admired his way with people, and he admired her ability to hold them together to weather any storm.”

  Leith considered her words. “You may be right. Maybe the problem with my marriage was that we went into it with different expectations. I thought it was forever. I’ve come to believe she hadn’t thought much past the wedding.”

  Sabrina didn’t say anything, but she moved a little closer. After a moment, Leith continued. “She wants an annulment. A do-over. As if those five years of marriage never happened.” As if all the time and effort he’d put into trying to make her happy counted for nothing.

  “An annulment? Why?”

  “She’s engaged again. Apparently, her fiancé’s brother is a priest, and they want to marry in a big ceremony in his church. And they can’t do that if she’s divorced.”

  “You don’t seem too enthralled with the idea.”

  “Nope.”

  Sabrina paused. “Do you still love her?”

  He scoffed. “No. She took care of that when she used me and threw me away.”

  “What do you mean ‘used you’?”

  “She enrolled in an MBA program in Seattle because it allowed her to spend time with some guy she’d met through her job, while I stayed here and worked to pay her tuition. I’m convinced she had no intention of ever coming back to Alaska. Or to me.”

  “Wow.”

  “It’s bad enough that she cheated on me, but now she wants to pretend we were never married. That I never existed in her life. I took those vows seriously, even if she didn’t.” He puffed out a breath. “I guess that’s why I’m not in a big hurry to make things easier for her by granting her that annulment.”

  “Hmm, I can’t say I would be, either.” She shook her head. “Marriage is like rolling dice. You just never know what’s going to turn up.”

  “So it’s all a matter of luck?”

  “I don’t know. Chris and Marissa seem really happy. And so do Sam and Dana. But so did my parents. At least I thought so. But I was a kid. What did I know?” She tilted back her head and stared up at the moon. “When it comes down to it, the only person you can depend on is yourself.”

  Ten minutes ago, Leith would have agreed with her, but seeing the pensive expression on her face changed his mind. “What about those grandparents you mentioned? Can’t you count on them?”

  “They’re gone. My mom’s still alive.” She smiled. “I love her, but she’s never exactly been a rock in my life.”

  You can count on me. Leith almost said it aloud, before he realized it was untrue. Once her assignment ended, she’d either be moving to Seattle as part of the management team, or looking for another job somewhere else. Either way she was out of Alaska, and out of his life. But he wanted to be able to say it, because someone as strong and smart and giving as Sabrina deserved to have someone she could count on to be there when she needed a friend. And maybe he could be that, at least for now.

  “While you’re here, in Alaska, you can count on me.”

  “On you?”

  “As a friend.”

  “A friend?” She sounded as though she wasn’t familiar with the term.

  “Yeah, a friend. You know. People you like, who you enjoy spending time with. Who will pick you up when you have to leave your car at the shop or take care of your dog while you’re out of town or tell you when you’re about to marry the wrong person.” He probably shouldn’t have said that last part, but Sabrina just smiled.

  “Did your friends do that?”

  “A couple of them did. Wish I’d listened.”

  “And you want to be my friend.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “All right, then. Friends it is.” She smiled up at him, her dark eyes shining, and he was suddenly overcome with an unfriendlike urge. He touched her face, stroking his finger over the wondrously smooth skin of her cheek. Her eyes grew wider.

  His eyes traveled to lips that were no longer smiling, but soft and waiting. He bent to kiss her, stopping just an inch away, where he could feel her breath on his mouth, giving her time to pull away if that was what she wanted. Instead, she reached up to slide her arms around his neck and pull him closer.

  He’d thought the kisses at the wedding were amazing, but they were nothing compared to kissing Sabrina under the moon. He slid his fingers into that dark cloud of hair, which smelled of ripe fruit and sunlight, with a smoky overtone from the campfire. His new favorite scent.

  She drew back just far enough to look up at him, a half smile on those luscious lips. “Is this how you greet all your friends?”

  “No. Just the ones whose hair smells like strawberries.” And he kissed her once again, bringing her close against him as he explored those soft lips.

  The sound of log hitting log, as someone stacked their remaining firewood, reminded Leith that they weren’t alone in the campground. They were in the shadow of the car, but it wasn’t dark enough to hide them from anyone passing by on the way to the campground facilities, and he didn’t want this kiss to become a topic of conversation among his friends. Reluctantly, he released Sabrina a
nd took a step back.

  Odd, because when they were pretend-dating, he’d had no compunction about kissing her in public, but this was different. This meant something—he wasn’t sure exactly what—but until he was sure, he didn’t want anyone else butting in.

  “Leith?” She’d tilted her head to watch him as if she couldn’t quite figure him out. Well, that made two of them.

  He touched her cheek once more before turning toward the tent. “We’d better get some sleep if you’re going to catch that king tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  Emma was sleeping soundly when they slipped inside the tent. Boomer raised his head, but seemed content to stay where he was on Emma’s pillow. Sabrina crawled into her sleeping bag, and whispered, “Good night, Leith.”

  “Good night.” His cot was maybe four feet away from hers on the other side of Emma’s, but after holding Sabrina in his arms, it felt like a canyon between them. Judging by her even breathing, Sabrina dropped off almost instantly, but it was a long time before Leith got any sleep that night.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, Sabrina woke to the sound of a couple of birds squabbling. She peeked through the screen window on her side of the tent to see a raven with what looked like a piece of bacon in his mouth, and another trying to grab it. Sunlight turned some of their feathers from black to iridescent blue. The first bird turned his head and flew away, with the second in hot pursuit.

  Boomer’s dog tags jingled, and Emma sat up, yawning. “I’m hungry.”

  To Sabrina’s surprise, Leith seemed to have slept through the whole thing. He lay on his side, bundled in his sleeping bag. She whispered to Emma, “Let’s go find breakfast.”

  They tiptoed out of the tent, along with the dogs. The other tents were quiet, but through the trees, Sabrina could see people at the river. They must have already eaten and gone to fish. Sabrina dug through the food chest for something quick and easy. Paper packets caught her eye. “How about oatmeal?”