by J. H. Croix
“Stopped by the post office,” Jared said as he tossed a stack of mail on the counter. “Our box was stuffed. We gotta get by there a little more often. Seems like it gets away from us every summer.”
Luke started sorting through the mail while Jared put away the groceries. “As usual, more than half of this is junk,” he said as he stacked the legitimate mail in a tidy pile and separated the junk mail.
Jared grabbed a coffee mug and filled it. “Damn, I’m tired today. Not sure why.”
“Because you work nonstop?” Luke asked.
Jared took a sip of coffee. “Maybe. Don’t know. Summer’s our busy season. It’s not like I’m the only one around here working my ass off.” Jared eyed Luke, his gaze pensive.
“What?” Luke asked.
“You’re not gonna like it.”
“Well, spit it out then.”
“Talked to Dad the other day. You know they’ll be up next week.”
Luke nodded and gestured for Jared to continue.
“Dad mentioned that Mom ran into your old girlfriend, Cristina. Seems Cristina gave Mom some song and dance about how she misses you and wishes things had worked out.”
“You’re kidding me,” Luke said, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
“Wish I was. You never told them why you two broke up?”
“No. Why would I? They don’t need a breakdown. She’s after any family that she thinks is a ticket for her. My God, was I supposed to tell them about her trying to get Nathan in bed after I wised up and broke it off?”
Jared chuckled, looking sympathetic, which was a rarity. “Well, she must be damn persuasive because I guess Mom’s had lunch with her a few times and has it in her head that you didn’t give Cristina a chance and that you’ve been pining after her.”
Luke gritted his teeth. “This is such bullshit. It’s been almost three years since we were together. Would love to say I can’t believe she convinced Mom, but I’ve seen her in action. She had me hoodwinked right up to the end. I’ll just give it to Mom straight. Only way to get Mom to back off.”
“Mom won’t like it, but that’s the quickest way to end Cristina’s crap,” Jared said.
Nathan was just walking into the room. “Cristina? Are we talking about that Cristina?”
“Unfortunately,” Luke said with a nod.
Jared quickly filled Nathan in. Nathan grabbed a cup of coffee before speaking. “Dude, she’s nuts,” he said. “Wait a minute—let me tell Mom about her. Only wish I could do it in person in front of Cristina.” Nathan’s eyes held a wicked gleam.
“Be my guest,” Luke said. “Just promise me you’ll talk to Mom soon, like today. I want Mom off this topic before she gets up here next week.”
“You got it, man,” Nathan replied. “You know though, you got an ace with Mom.”
Luke raised his eyebrows in question.
“Hannah,” Nathan said simply.
Luke almost choked on his coffee.
“Don’t play dumb on this. Mom just wants to think one of us is going to settle down soon. Hannah’s awesome. All you have to do is introduce them, and Mom will forget about Cristina,” Nathan said. He added, “Hannah really is awesome, by the way. Maybe you should take notice.”
“Gotta admit he’s right. Hannah will throw Mom off this scent in a minute,” Jared said.
Luke bit his lip, shaking his head. “I know he’s right. Just not so sure I wanna introduce Hannah to Mom and Dad. I’m not even sure where we’re headed. And now Cristina’s nosing her way around again. Thought she’d have moved on by now.”
“If she did, it didn’t last. Probably called her bluff, like you did,” Jared added.
Luke rolled his eyes. “Probably so.” He looked over to Nathan. “Cristina won’t back off, so either I talk to Mom or you do. No matter what Mom thinks is happening with Hannah, I do not want to deal with more of this from Cristina.” He shook his head and gritted his teeth. “Damn! Should’ve known she would find a way to worm her way back in.”
Nathan shrugged. “I’ll talk to Mom. Better she hears it from me that your old girlfriend tried to jump into bed with me only one day after you two broke up. Gotta say though—watch your back with Cristina. She was not pleased when I turned her down. Think she’s pretty accustomed to getting her way with men.”
“I know, I know…” Luke replied. “Give me a heads-up when you talk to Mom because you know damn well she’ll be calling me right after.”
Nathan headed out on errands, assuring Luke he’d call. Jared gave Luke a long look.
“What now?” Luke asked.
“So…how are you and Hannah?”
Luke didn’t sense Jared was teasing for the moment. “Not so sure where things are headed. Not so sure I want to think about it too much.” He shifted in place, restless just thinking about what lay between him and Hannah. The distrust that Cristina left behind was running high at the moment. Thinking about Hannah in that context made him wonder if he’d lost his mind letting himself get so comfortable with her.
“Don’t want to think about it, huh? Better be prepared for Mom and Dad. Not sure how you can avoid it with them. They’ll be here for a month. Either you pretend she doesn’t exist, or you get over it and introduce her,” Jared said. He took a swig of coffee. “I’m with Nathan. Hannah’s awesome. Don’t be stupid.” With that, Jared turned on his heel and headed to the office downstairs.
Luke walked to the windows and looked out toward the harbor entrance. Boats were moving out into the bay at a steady pace. He turned away quickly and called to Jared that he was headed to the harbor. He tucked some snacks and his iPad in his backpack. The sun was bright this morning. As he drove through town, he passed the post office and saw Hannah’s truck. He thought about stopping, but hesitated and kept heading toward the harbor. Once he pulled into the parking lot, he made a call to Hannah. Despite his misgivings, he wanted to see her. He left a message about maybe meeting to walk Jessie later in the afternoon before getting together for dinner.
The wind he’d seen from the house was evident as he headed onto the dock toward their boats. Gusts of wind came in bursts with salty spray misting through the air. He tucked his sunglasses away and shook his hair away from his eyes. They kept their two boats docked side by side, so they could access them both easily when they were here. The dock swayed under his feet as he walked. Gulls circled and called above him. He watched an eagle dive low toward the water. He never tired of the wildlife reels that were part of the daily rhythms here. He reached Iris first. She was rocking gently in the water. He grabbed one of the mooring lines and pulled her closer to the dock, so he could reach the ladder on the boat’s side.
Luke spent the next few hours sorting, cleaning, and organizing gear and making notes in his iPad about gear that needed repair or replacement. By the time he finished, it was late afternoon. The wind had eased. He sat on the bench seat in the guide boat and looked out across the harbor. Summers were busy in the harbor. The harbor had been quieter when he arrived, probably due to the wind, but the flow of people had picked up as the wind died down. He heard the distant chatter of conversations floating across the water and looked past the boats toward the mountains across the bay. He thought about taking Hannah over for a weekend to a friend’s cabin in Tutka Bay and then wondered what he was thinking. While he was watching a raft of otters floating close to the shore, he heard someone call his name and turned to look over his shoulder. A friend of theirs, Travis Wilkes, was calling to him from the next dock over as he headed toward Luke.
Luke waved back and called over, “Yeah?”
“Haven’t seen you in a bit. Just wondering how you guys are.”
“Busy. Jared’s trying to decide if we’re gonna make one more commercial run this season. Otherwise, running guide trips. You?” Luke asked as Travis approached their boat.
Travis came to a stop and leaned against one of the dock pilings. Travis was between Jared and Luke in age. He was tall and lanky with wav
y light brown hair. He blended in with most of the men who frequented the harbor, typically attired in well-worn T-shirts, Carhartts, and XtraTufs, the only variations based on the weather and how many layers were added. He’d grown up in Anchorage and moved to Diamond Creek after finishing college. He had a small guiding business and also worked for the state Fish and Game. Luke had met him before they moved up here. Travis used to pick up work doing commercial fishing runs as a crew member. The year before they moved here from Seattle, he worked on their boat for a few weeks. He’d hitched a ride back to Seattle with them, and they’d become fast friends. Travis was quick-witted, down-to-earth, and on the quiet side. He was active with local environmental causes and well read on various political issues. Luke often turned to him for the background on the sticky environmental issues that frequently came up in Alaska, the latest being the controversial Pebble Mine. After talking with Travis and doing his own reading, Luke firmly planted himself in the camp of most Alaskans, with the exception of the business crowd, in opposition to the mine.
He and Travis chatted for a few minutes. While they talked, he caught sight of Hannah walking down the dock toward them, her long legs striding and hair swinging. She came to a stop beside Travis.
“Hope I’m not interrupting.” She looked at Luke. “I got your message and thought I’d just come find you.”
“No worry about interrupting. Travis and I were just catching up.” Luke caught Travis’s eye and nodded toward Hannah. “Travis, this is Hannah. And Hannah…Travis.”
Luke continued, “Travis is a fishing friend. Met the year before we decided to move the business up here.” He caught Travis’s gaze again. “If you haven’t heard of Hannah, she grew up here and moved away for graduate school. Her parents passed away a few years ago.” He wondered if Travis had heard about their plane crash. The news was well known around town, but Travis hadn’t moved here until after it happened.
Hannah spoke up. “My parents were the ones who died in the plane crash on the way to Barrow about two years ago. Alaska may be geographically big, but it’s small in other ways. News like that travels, and it was all over the papers here.”
Travis nodded. “Heard about it. Sorry to hear it was your parents. The Grays, right?”
Hannah nodded in response, her expression neutral.
Travis continued, “I’ve heard about them from plenty of people here. They’re certainly missed. Didn’t put the pieces together until now, but I’ve heard about you too. Susie’s a good friend, right?”
Luke silently thanked Travis for somehow conveying the right tone with his response and gracefully moving on. He watched Hannah’s expression shift from guarded to the inkling of a smile at the mention of Susie’s name.
“Yup. Susie’s a good friend, one of the best. I would have figured you knew her if you knew Luke. Not to mention that she generally keeps tabs on everyone in town,” Hannah said.
They spent the next few minutes talking generally. Luke watched Travis watching Hannah and felt a flicker of possessiveness, but checked it when he didn’t sense anything other than general appreciation. He cringed inside when it occurred to him that he felt possessive—he didn’t want to consider what that might mean about his feelings for Hannah. She was beautiful with her windblown glossy brown hair and blue eyes. In the time he’d known her, she’d started to lose the sense of grief that she’d seemed to carry with her when he’d first met her. She absentmindedly kicked the heel of her running shoe against the dock piling behind her and kept brushing her hair away from her eyes. Luke checked to make sure everything was locked up on the boat before hopping out to join them on the dock. They started walking toward the harbor parking lot.
Hannah glanced his way and asked, “Did you still want to go for that walk? Jessie’s in my truck. I didn’t bring her down here because I wasn’t sure if you were still working.”
Luke saw Travis’s eyebrows rise in question and ignored it. “Would love to. Could use a walk with Jessie.”
He turned to address Travis. “Susie sent me Hannah’s way with Jessie. Remember that dog we found a bit ago?” At Travis’s nod, he continued, “Needed to find her a home, and Susie said Hannah was the one. They both lucked out.”
“Sweet dog. I met her one time when Nathan brought her down here. Glad you found her a home,” Travis said.
They reached the end of the dock where it joined a boardwalk that connected to other branches of the docks in the harbor. Travis said his good-byes and headed back toward where his boat was docked. Before he turned away, he and Luke agreed to meet for coffee over the weekend. Luke moved along with Hannah. He glanced sideways at her and caught her blue eyes looking back at him. He was getting used to it, but the effect she had on him was disconcerting. Just catching her gaze set a small fire ablaze within him.
Hannah had parked close to the path to the beach. His truck was over against the trees. Without thinking, Luke tucked his hand through her elbow and tugged her in the direction of his truck. In seconds, he pulled her close for a kiss behind the shield of his truck cap. Three days had been three too many. She didn’t hesitate and opened her mouth to his. He stroked deeply with his tongue and pulled her flush against his body. He loved that her body aligned with his. Part of his brain reminded him that they were in a parking lot while his body sank into feeling. He slipped his hands under her shirt and felt the soft skin of her abdomen. He kept moving and deftly unhooked her bra so he could hold her breasts. They filled his hands perfectly. His hands couldn’t get enough of her. His breathing was rapid and his erection pressed against his zipper. Her hands were traveling up along his back and shifted downward to press his hips against hers.
He felt her gasp into his mouth. He paused when he heard people walking nearby and gentled his kiss until he could pull his lips away. He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed against her lips. When he spoke, their lips were barely touching. “I don’t want to stop, but it’s busy here. We got lucky last time.”
Luke felt her lips move against his, a tease on their own. “I know,” she responded in a whisper.
Luke carefully released her breasts with a lingering caress and slid his hands around to hook her bra. He brought his hands up to cup her face and lifted his forehead away. He took a long look into her eyes and leaned forward for a brief kiss before stepping back. Her hands fell away from his hips when he stepped back. She leaned against the truck and sighed. She didn’t look away, which was something Luke was growing to love about her. She let herself be in the moment and didn’t turn away. He just watched her while she looked back. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair, twining it into a knot on top of her head and pushing away from the truck.
“So how about that walk with Jessie?” Hannah asked. “She’d let herself out if she could. She loves coming to the beach.”
With Jessie scampering ahead on the beach, Luke reached for Hannah’s hand. They spent an hour walking, interspersed with breaks to throw pieces of driftwood for Jessie to fetch in the ocean. Jessie finally started to tire just about the time the wind kicked up again. They turned back, the wind blowing into their faces. When they reached the parking lot, Hannah laughed ruefully at Jessie.
“I forgot to bring a towel for her. She’ll soak the seat. Oh well,” she said with a shrug. “You mentioned dinner in your phone message…”
“That I did,” Luke said. “You need to get Jessie home. Want me to swing by in a bit? I have to drop some things off at the house first.”
She nodded and brushed her hair away from her eyes. It had slipped out of the knot she’d tied and fallen in wavy disarray, curling against her neck and down past her shoulders in long waves. He looked into her eyes and pushed away the urge to kiss her. It seemed kisses in the harbor lot led to more than he bargained for with her.
“Sounds good,” she said. “That’ll give me time to get Jessie fed. We can eat in or out. I’m game either way.”
“Let’s decide when I get there,” he said.
Luke walked to his truck and paused to look toward the bay. He kicked at a rock on the ground and tucked his hands in his pockets. Boats were rolling into the harbor. It was close to evening and most would be headed in now, especially with the wind picking up again. Soft quiet enveloped him when he closed the door to his truck. The distant sounds from the harbor were muted. He sat for a moment and thought about Hannah. He wondered about introducing her to his parents. He half couldn’t believe it, but he wanted her to meet them. He had no idea what she’d think about it. As he drove out of the lot, he saw Travis entering from the harbor side and slowed to a stop at Travis’s wave.
Luke rolled down his window. “What’s up?” he asked.
Travis walked over to the truck. “Not much. Just confirming I’ll call for coffee this weekend,” Travis said and gave him a speculative look. “Rumor has it you’ve been dating Hannah.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Rumor would be right in that case. What’s it to you?”
“Nothing—just thought I’d point out that she’s beautiful and seems nice. You might want to give something other than casual a shot.”
Luke lifted his eyebrows. “Relationship advice is not your usual gig.”
Travis shrugged. “Maybe not. Just saying…” He winked and walked off. He called over his shoulder, “See ya this weekend.”
Luke put the truck back in gear and headed toward the road. With the fire that just wouldn’t go out between him and Hannah and Travis’s comment, he felt restless and out of sorts. He wanted to feel in control of the situation, and he felt anything but. His focus lost, he had to slam on his brakes to avoid missing the turn for the road.
Just over an hour later, Hannah heard Luke’s knock on the kitchen door.