by J. H. Croix
They made plans to meet for a beach walk by the harbor in late afternoon. Luke thought about his parents as he drove down the hill heading toward the harbor. Just yesterday, they’d flown back to Seattle. His mother had apologized yet again at the airport for getting drawn into Cristina’s games. She’d done her best not to pressure him anymore about Hannah, but the undercurrent was there. His mother’s fervent wish for him and his brothers to settle down had only been intensified by meeting Hannah. He was relieved for the moment that they weren’t there to ask questions about him and Hannah. It was enough to face down his own feelings for her, much less try to juggle how to talk with his parents about it.
He couldn’t believe he was thinking about marriage. He’d pretty much convinced himself that he’d be content to live as a bachelor with casual flings on the side. Seeing Cristina reminded him why he’d come to that conclusion, but Hannah had blown his resolve to pieces. Without a doubt, he knew he wanted to come home to nights like last night every day.
Hannah closed her laptop and looked around the room. Jessie lay by her feet, sound asleep. She sat in her mother’s old office chair and swiveled around to face the stairs. She’d cleaned her mother’s items out of the desk and organized it for work last week. She was finding it easier to rearrange the house as she needed and not cling to the memories of her parents. She’d been busy since Luke left this morning. It felt good to start working on what she wanted. It cemented the feeling that she was here to stay.
The sound of tires on gravel caught her attention. Jessie lifted her head, turning in the direction of the drive. Hannah walked to the edge of the stairs where she could see through the windows on the side. Seeing the front of Susie’s car, she walked downstairs and stepped out to the deck with Jessie following. Susie was rummaging in the backseat of her car.
“Hey there,” Hannah called to Susie. She heard a muffled reply, and then Susie straightened and looked over the top of the car.
“Hey, just came by to bring you some zucchini from my mom’s garden. She’s clearing out what’s left of her vegetable garden before the snow flies.” Susie pulled a tote from the backseat of her car and walked toward the deck. Her brown curls were in wild disarray.
“That looks like a lot of zucchini,” Hannah commented, eyeing the size of the tote.
“You have no idea how much zucchini my mom has. Ever since she retired, gardening is one of her big things in the summer,” Susie said. “I get roped into finding takers when it’s time for her to get the garden cleared out before winter. So here you are…lots of zucchini.” Susie set the tote down and opened it to show Hannah a bag—full of giant zucchini.
Hannah looked to Susie. “What am I going to do with all this?”
“Oh, I have that down pat. I’ll help you get it ready to freeze. Then you’ll start making zucchini bread for every potluck in town and giving it away for the holidays. I have a great recipe,” Susie said with a wink.
Hannah laughed. “Okay then. How long will it take to get it ready to freeze?”
“Not long. You have a food processor, right?” she asked.
Hannah nodded, and Susie picked up the tote, heading for the kitchen door. Susie spoke over her shoulder. “Now, where’s that food processor?”
Hannah realized she was either going to bear witness to the whirlwind that Susie could be, or help her out. Within the hour, the zucchini was tidily packed in freezer bags, and Susie had produced a bottle of wine she’d brought.
Susie held the wine aloft. “Where’s your corkscrew?”
Hannah went to get it and returned to the table with two wineglasses. Susie filled both glasses. She looked to Hannah with a question in her eyes.
“What?” Hannah asked.
“Just wondering when you were going to mention Luke. Ran into Nathan at Misty Mountain this morning. He’s convinced you two are meant for each other. He also mentioned that Luke didn’t make it home last night,” she said slyly.
Hannah shook her head. She wanted to avoid answering, but Susie was waiting expectantly. “Sooo…Luke found me on the beach yesterday. I’m sure you have an opinion on how it should have happened, but the break is over.” She grinned widely just saying it out loud.
Susie looked at her thoughtfully and set down her wineglass. “I’m getting skid marks on my tongue here, but I’ll keep my opinions to myself. I’m just damn glad you didn’t let this slip by.”
“Skid marks, huh? Guess I don’t give you enough credit for trying to keep your mouth shut,” Hannah said.
Susie grinned. “I’m with Nathan on this one. I think you two are good together. Plus—I saw the possibilities for you two. Luke’s good for you, and it’s plain as day he adores you. If there’s anything I want for you, I want someone who does that. At the least. Wouldn’t mind if he got you to loosen up either.”
Hannah took a sip of wine. “I can admit that Luke and I have a good thing going. I’ll try to stay out of my own way.”
“Keep me posted if I have to head you off at the pass before you want another break,” Susie said. “As for other topics, have you heard from Emma?”
Hannah nodded and filled Susie in on their e-mails and calls. The distance of having Emma away was giving her time to come to terms with knowing she had a sister. Emma was busy with work and figuring out what she was going to do as far as whether to stay in North Carolina for now or consider a move to Diamond Creek. Now that the shock of Emma’s existence was past, she was glad Emma had impulsively flown out here. It was the quickest route through an awkward situation.
After Susie left, the house felt quiet and still. Susie tended to do that. She was a whirling dervish of energy. Her absence created a contrast. Hannah looked around the kitchen. The sun was low in the sky; fading rays of light shone across the hardwood floor. Jessie was curled up in a patch of sunlight, her black fur tipped a dusky gold from the sun.
Hannah arrived at the harbor parking lot to find it half-empty. She didn’t see Luke’s truck, so she headed toward the beach, Jessie galloping ahead of her. The wind was coming in lazy gusts off the water. The mountain range across the bay stood tall and quiet against the sky. Snow had fallen last night, the peaks bright white now. The deep green of spruce that lined the mountainside gave way to a line of white with rocky areas jutting out. She checked her watch and wondered where Luke was.
She quickly called him. He answered on the first ring. “Hey there. Forgot to stay at the harbor and wait for you. Can you give me a few minutes? Just finishing up at the boatyard.”
“No problem. I wondered where your truck was when I got here. Figured you were tied up. I’m just walking with Jessie. We’ll stay close to the parking lot.”
She walked along the water with Jessie scampering from scent to scent and back to Hannah. A small flock of cormorants landed in the water nearby. A loon that had been floating in solitary until their landing lifted from the water and resettled farther away. A few gulls called in the distance. She heard the distinct sound of an eagle’s high-pitched screech. Tracking the sound, she caught sight of an eagle landing on a piece of driftwood down the beach.
If she’d tried to say what she’d missed most of Alaska when she’d lived in the East, it probably would have been walks on the beach. The cool air, the earthy scents of saltwater and tide pool life, and the majestic views across the water anchored her. The sun was setting with the moon rising nearby. She looked ahead at Jessie whose pure joy lifted her heart every time they came to the beach.
The sound of footsteps approached. Turning, she saw Luke jogging up to her. His dark curls were in disarray. He was wearing faded jeans, a blue fleece jacket, and boots. Her heart quickened and her breath followed suit. He stopped in front of her. The green of his eyes stood out against his flushed face.
Luke was winded. “Not the best idea to run on the beach in boots. Not too efficient.”
Hannah bit her lip, her heart dancing just at the sight of him and the relief that she wasn’t trying to push him away. “N
o, probably not.” She nodded in Jessie’s direction. “As you can see, Jessie’s walking herself. I’m just following her.” She tucked her hands deeper into the pockets of her red down vest.
Luke gave a whistle in Jessie’s direction. Upon catching sight of him, Jessie raced toward them and circled him with yips and leaps. He knelt down and petted her, his large hands stroking across Jessie’s back. Hannah loved his hands, strong, sure, and gentle all at once. He gave Jessie another stroke and straightened to standing.
“In case you think I forgot—I didn’t. Just wasn’t paying attention to the time,” Luke said, turning to walk alongside her.
Hannah enjoyed the easiness of being with him. She entertained him with her unexpected afternoon of zucchini and heard about his afternoon. Somewhere along the way, her hand found his. She absorbed the warm embrace of his palm cupped around hers. Their strides were close to matching. The wind picked up, and they turned back toward the parking lot. The sun disappeared below the horizon, appearing to slip into the water. Mount Augustine sat alone in the distance, a volcano in the middle of the bay. The sun had left a halo of color around Mount Augustine. The moon was half-full in the early evening sky, sitting low above the mountains.
Hannah turned in the direction of her truck, seeing that Luke had parked beside her. Their hands were still clasped when they reached the trucks. She didn’t want to let go. He didn’t seem any more inclined than she did to let their hands come apart. She looked to the path from the beach to see when Jessie would come through. In seconds, she heard the rustle of grass, and Jesse bounded into the parking lot, making a straight line to them. She finally let go of Luke’s hand and went to open the passenger side door for Jessie.
Her cheeks were red from the cold, and her hands were freezing. As she came around the front of the truck, Luke rubbed his hands up and down her arms.
“You’re cold. Winter’s moving in fast this year. Feels like only a week ago that evenings were still warm.”
He tilted his head, just the slightest bit, and brought his lips to hers. She felt the warm point of contact where their lips joined straight through her body, a piercing jolt. He deepened the kiss for just a moment, his tongue gliding in with a deep stroke. Then he pulled back and looked at her without speaking. Hannah could hear the waves rolling into the shore. Salty air stung her cheeks. A gust of wind caught her hair and blew it in a swirl around her head. Luke brushed her hair back from her face and loosely cupped her cheeks with his hands. The moment hung between them; their gazes held. She felt her throat tighten and wanted to cry, but not for sadness.
A rustle sounded in the trees. They turned in unison. A moose stepped out through the trees, followed by a lone calf. The mother moose lifted her head high and appeared to sniff the air. The calf mimicked the mother. Hannah and Luke stood quietly, along with the moose and her calf. Luke’s hands had slipped from her cheeks when they turned and were resting on her arms. The moose finally snorted, seemed to decide they weren’t a threat, and began to amble through the parking lot, the calf following her at a slow trot. It was late enough into the season that the calf reached her mother’s shoulder, a far cry from the tiny size that moose calves were when they were born in the spring.
There was a good distance between them and the pair, so they remained still until the moose and her calf made it to the far side of the parking lot. Luke turned to look at Hannah again through the gloaming. She saw the white of his teeth flash.
“One question. Just for you to think about.” He paused for a long moment and took a breath. “What if we thought about something more serious?” he asked.
Hannah felt her heart race, and tears again threatened.
“Such as?”
Rare as it was, she saw uncertainty in his eyes. He seemed to gather himself before he spoke.
“Well…to be blunt…what about something more serious like a commitment?”
She wanted to laugh. As skittish as she was, she realized he was as well, in his own way. She didn’t want to push, but she felt like she had to.
“A commitment?”
Luke rolled his eyes. “You’re not making this easy. Maybe we could think about marriage.” He took a quick breath. “There. I said it.”
Her heart unfurled. All the hesitations and doubts with which she was so familiar dissolved in the face of certainty.
“We could think about that,” she said.
She was rewarded with another bright flash of white in the deepening dusk.
“That’s all I wanted, just for us to think about it.”
She started to move closer to him, but Luke held her arms steady. “Give me a minute. All I know is this—when you asked for that break, I missed you like crazy. Won’t pretend I was looking for something like this. But…I’ve never missed anyone the way I did you those few weeks.”
The tears that had been threatening rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her hands and looked through the haze at Luke. She nodded and started to speak, only to find that she didn’t know what to say.
So she said that. “I don’t know what to say. Other than…yes.”
She saw Luke smiling back at her. He gave her arms another brisk rub. “You’re shivering and I’m kinda cold, which tells me it must be freezing. Get in your truck. I’ll follow you home.”
She simply nodded.
An hour or so later, they were at Hannah’s house with a fire in the woodstove, the heat starting to radiate through the house. Jessie had gobbled up her food within minutes of their arrival and promptly curled up on the chair in the living room. Hannah had set aside some zucchini and baked it with a rice, mushroom, and cheese filling. They’d eaten in front of the fire using the coffee table. The television rumbled in the background while they rested on the couch, her legs thrown across his lap.
Luke turned away from the television and looked at her. She quirked an eyebrow in question. He held her gaze for a long moment and leaned over for a kiss, his head resting against the sofa. Their lips met in a leisurely exploration. He lifted a hand and brushed some stray hairs away from her face. She must have dozed off because she woke to find herself being carried upstairs, her legs draped over Luke’s arm while he held her close to his chest.
“You don’t have to do that,” was her automatic comment.
“On no, we’re getting all the way up. No easy feat to get you in my arms without waking you up.”
She smiled against his shoulder. “Okay, you don’t have to put me down.”
He reached the top of the stairs and turned down the hall to the bedroom. The air was much cooler up here away from the heat of the woodstove. Tugging her clothes off, Hannah fell into bed. Luke rolled in beside her, tucking the down comforter around them. The sheets were cool and slick against her skin. His body was a warm furnace. She snuggled close, resting her cheek against his shoulder. A sense of comfort and rightness washed through her. Jessie padded into the bedroom behind them, her claws clicking softly against the floor, and then curled up by the foot of the bed with a deep sigh. That was the last thing Hannah remembered before falling into a deep sleep.
Chapter 28
A few weeks later, Hannah drove up the hill to her house and saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. As she pulled into the drive, she saw Emma step out of the car and laughed aloud. Visit or more, it felt right that Emma decided to just show up again.
Jessie leaped out of the truck, racing to greet Emma with yips and circles. Hannah followed Jessie and opened her arms for a hug. “I can’t quite do Jessie’s greeting justice, but it’s good to see you.”
Emma returned the quick hug. “Good to see you too. I decided a surprise stop at your house was the way to go.” Emma stepped back and took a long look around the yard and out toward the bay. “Wow—nice to see this view again.”
Hannah gave her a questioning look. “Well, what’s with the visit? Not that you needed to, but you didn’t mention you were coming. It’s a bit more than a hop, skip, and jump from North Ca
rolina to here.”
A flash of uncertainty passed through Emma’s eyes. “I wanted a little more time here. Thought another surprise visit would bring good luck. Although I’m not imposing on you this time. I went behind your back and had Faye find me a small rental for a few months. I knew Susie couldn’t keep it from you, so I got ahold of Faye.” She shrugged sheepishly.
“You can stay here!” Hannah exclaimed. “There’s plenty of room. And the surprise is perfect, just how it should be.”
Emma gave her an assessing look. “I figured you’d say I should stay here. But…rumor has it you and Luke are all but officially shacked up. I don’t want to get in the way,” she said with a sly smile.
Hannah rolled her eyes and looked away. She figured it was either Susie or Faye who’d told Emma how often Luke was here. She minded and simultaneously didn’t mind. It was nice to have friends who had their noses in her business because it meant they cared even when they were annoying.
“So, where will you be staying?” Hannah asked.
Emma gestured toward the back of the house. “Faye found me an off-season rental on the road on the back side of the trees—Alpine Lane. I have to go by the realty place to pick up the keys. Thought I’d chance it and see if you were home first.”
Jessie had left to do her usual perimeter run of the yard and returned to Hannah’s side, nosing her hand. She absentmindedly stroked her. “Why don’t I go to town with you? We can catch up. Give me a few minutes to put away some groceries.”
Emma smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’d like the company.”