Crystal Caress

by Zuri Day

  “What’s that?”

  “We’ve been as close physically as two people can be yet I still know very little about you.”

  “That’s probably best.” She placed a hand on his arm. “Even though it was out of character, I really don’t regret what happened last night. I instigated it. Wanted it. Enjoyed it very much. But I also know that there’s zero chance of anything coming out of our remaining in contact. You’re not going to move to Northern California, and I’m definitely not relocating to your state.”

  “At least by keeping in contact we keep open the chance for another encounter. While not relocating to California I do have business there. In fact, I’ve got a trip there coming up where it may be possible to—”

  “Our meeting when you’re there would be possible but unlikely.”

  “Why?”

  “Let’s just say I live life very differently when I’m close to home. Even if we managed to meet, then what? Dinner, dancing, one last round in a hotel? I’ll always remember you, Atka. You’re special, without a doubt the best thing that happened on this trip to Alaska. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”

  Atka did what he said he would do. An hour after dropping her off at the bed-and-breakfast, his doctor friend had confirmed Atka’s assessment, she had a severely strained ankle but there was no break. That was the good news. The bad news was that he prescribed rest and little activity over the next week. So, after arranging for someone to pick up the scooter she’d left by the tree, she canceled both the glacier and the day-trip tour of Anchorage and its surrounding areas, rescheduled her flight and was home by Friday night.

  By the time she arrived back in Paradise Cove, exhausted and nursing a throbbing foot, Alaska seemed like a surreal memory and Atka...like a dream.

  Chapter 8

  It was a boisterous bunch of twelve Drakes who gathered around the dining room table to enjoy Sunday brunch, the first time they’d all been together since the previous Thanksgiving. Everyone except the youngest, London, who’d been contracted to walk the runway in a prestigious fashion show, and couldn’t make it. Even Reginald, the lone brother who lived in and preferred New Orleans to Paradise Cove, had made the trip with his wife and kids. They were all home to be on hand for the Drake Lake dedication, followed by a formal dance and fund-raiser at the Paradise Cove Country Club. The man-made lake stocked with bass, trout and northern pike, fish that had been raised organically, was a project inspired by a conversation between Niko Drake, the third-oldest brother and mayor of Paradise Cove, and his grandfather, Walter, and overseen by middle brother Warren, the self-proclaimed family cowboy. The project’s goal was not only to provide a healthy alternative for families, but also to encourage a love for nature and a knowledge of farm-to-table, or in this case lake-to-table, cuisine. Also on the Drake property that was surrounded by a copse of tall redwoods were cattle, pigs, chicken, goats and other animals, and a community garden. The parents, Ike Sr. and Jennifer, were very proud of their children’s accomplishments. The joy showed on their faces.

  “Teresa,” her twin, Terrell, began after everyone was seated. “Tell us about Alaska.”

  “Cold.” Teresa finished a bite of a fluffy and light seafood omelet. “Vast.”

  “And beautiful,” Jennifer offered. “Don’t forget that.”

  “Yes, I must admit that the scenery is postcard perfect, even for this city pri—Even for this city person.”

  “Mom, have you and Dad ever been there?” Julian, the youngest of the brothers and also the most studious, serious and quiet, enjoyed a bite of hash browns as he awaited their answer.

  “No,” Jennifer replied. “But as I told Teresa before her trip, it is a place Ike and I plan to visit.”

  “How’d you break your foot, sis?” Ike Jr. had just returned to town late last night and had missed the fireplace play-by-play that had happened Friday night.

  “I went to dinner alone and a guy came on to me. Wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I employed one of my jujitsu moves and took him down. My ankle is sprained, not broken, and swollen. But you should see his head.”

  Delivered as Teresa kept a totally straight face.

  “Let me translate that for you, brother.” Terrell paused to take a sip of orange juice. “Your sister with her clumsy butt slipped and ended up in a hole.”

  Various reactions from around the table, mostly laughter.

  “I liked my version better.” Teresa pouted.

  “The truth will set you free,” Ike Sr. added, his eyes shining with glee.

  Jennifer sat back, holding her teacup with two hands. “I’m just thankful someone came along as fast as they did. Who knows what might have happened had you not been found.”

  Warren’s wife Charlie, a romantic at heart, leaned forward. “Who was the knight in shining armor?”

  Teresa shrugged and, with effort, held on to a nonchalant expression. “Some guy who lives in Dillingham. With the pain and the snow and my trying to just not freak out too much, everything was a blur.”

  “Well,” Jennifer finished, “we thank whoever saved you. He was your guardian angel who even on the last frontier was right by your side.”

  Teresa’s head shot up. “Why’d you say that?”

  “What?”

  “Why’d you call my rescuer a guardian angel?”

  “Well, dear, isn’t that what he was?”

  Teresa nodded, and forced a smile. “Of course.”

  After brunch, the family scattered to various rooms—board games in one of the sitting rooms, cigars and brandy in Ike Sr.’s library. Teresa and Terrell sat side by side in the home theater watching a football game.

  “So tell me about the dude.”

  “What dude?” Teresa picked up the remote and used the commercial break to check the channel guide.

  “Don’t even try it, Tee. I felt it when Charlie asked you about the guy who found you. And how you reacted when Mom called him your guardian angel. It was a pretty good poker face, except for your twin.”

  Teresa got up and closed the door. “Okay, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise that it will stay just between us.”

  “Okay.”

  With the game back on, she placed down the remote and settled against the back of the couch. “I had a one-night stand.”

  Terrell almost spewed the beer he’d just swigged. “Damn, Tee!”

  “Well, you asked!”

  “That doesn’t mean you had to be truthful in your answer!”

  “Why are you making me feel bad, Tee? I’d never lie to you. I tell you everything.”

  “Well, don’t tell me that kind of everything again.”

  Teresa reached for a throw pillow, crossed her arms and rested them on it.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty. But you do, right? I mean, you’re just not that type of woman.”

  “Honestly, no, I don’t feel guilty. I know I should given I’d just met him and all. But there was something about him, Tee. Something strangely familiar about the whole situation. The only awkward moments were caused by how crazy attracted we were to each other. Otherwise, it felt as though I’d known him for much longer than twenty-four hours. I felt more comfortable in one day with him than I ever did with George, and I dated him for a whole year!”

  Terrell didn’t respond, his attention, it seemed, focused on the game. She watched too, and pouted. The last person she’d expected to judge her was her twin, arguably the most popular with the ladies of the northern California Drakes. “Why is it that men can sow seeds all over the country and it’s par for the course, but if a woman exhibits anything close to that kind of behavior it’s a problem?”

  Terrell looked at her. “It’s only a problem when the woman is my sister. But I’m not going to dog you out about it. That wouldn’t be f
air. It would be like the pot calling out the kettle. Know what I’m saying?”

  “Being the one who’s at one time or another covered, lied or made up excuses for you—let alone both heard and been a witness to stories I’ll have to take to the grave—I know exactly what you’re saying.”

  Terrell nodded. He looked at his sister and smiled. Of all the siblings, these two were closest to each other. Long ago they’d discovered there really was something special about being twins. Each was like a half to the other twin’s whole.

  “It was the guy who found me.”

  “What’d he do? Fall into the hole on top of you?”

  “Ha!” She hit him with the pillow. “You’re silly.” He continued to wait for an answer. “You know how I’ve been since the disaster with George, paranoid that anyone who wants to date me is just out for what he can get.”

  “Tee, that’s something you’ll have to watch out for as long as you’re a Drake.”

  “I know, but it still doesn’t feel good. I loved George, and believed he loved me.”

  “I think he did...in his way.”

  “In a way that made me feel as though the status afforded me because of my name is the reason that he loved me. Had I been a common girl, not only would he never have looked at me twice, but his family would have forbidden the relationship outright. That breakup is one of the reasons I pushed so hard to get a leave from the business. That fool had me questioning who I was, who I’d be without my name. I needed to find myself and be myself. A major part of that self is a journalist, a writer. Creating with words isn’t just a job but my passion. So even in the aftermath of his betrayal, I guess I can thank him for that.”

  “George doesn’t deserve thanks for anything. But what does all of what you just said have to do with the sprained foot and one-night stand?”

  “Because that journey of self-discovery is how I ended up working at the Chronicle and on assignment in Alaska.”

  “Girl, you’re just like Grandpa Walter. Going over the river and through the woods to get to Bill’s house when he lives right across the street. Cut to the chase and tell me what happened!”

  She did. Without going into the most intimate of details, she told of riding the scooter around to get pictures, falling into the cavern while getting a shot, being found by Atka and taken to his cabin that wasn’t far away.

  “It began snowing, hard. He said that was very unusual for this time of year. He couldn’t remember it ever happening before. It was beautiful. Cold outside, blazing fire inside. Conversation flowed easy. He’s a native Alaskan with a big family like ours. He shared this awesome story about his great-grandparents and their lives together spanning almost seventy years. His great-grandmother is still alive and in her late nineties. His description of her reminded me of Papa Dee. The gold rush brought Papa Dee’s father to California. Gold is also what brought his ancestors to Alaska. He’s very close to his grandparents. I can’t really explain it. Maybe it was being so far from home, seemingly trapped in a winter wonderland. Maybe it’s because he’s so different from anyone I’ve ever met or dated, yet we share so many familial similarities. It felt so natural and easy to talk with him, as though we’d known each other forever even though we’d just met. One thing led to another and...it just happened.”

  Terrell looked at her. “And you’re okay with that? I mean, did y’all talk about it, make plans to stay in touch or see each other again? I know how women are, Tee, and I know you. Casual sex and your name are awkward in the same sentence.”

  “A part of me considered trying to make something out of what happened. He seems to be a really good man, plus he’s attractive in a rough, frontiersman kind of way. He had this scruffy beard, which really gives credence to his seducer skills, because you know I like my men polished and clean-shaven. But in the end, Tee? It was actually kind of exciting and liberating. Here in PC, I have to watch everything I do and say because it all reflects back on the family—especially Niko since he became mayor. Having either grown up or gone to school with them or having our families associate with each other so much that they feel like family, the pool of dating prospects is basically dry. Every time I’ve been set up with a friend’s brother or a college bud’s best friend, it hasn’t worked out. So even though nothing will come of it, just being able to be free and uninhibited without feeling the weight of the Drake mantle around my neck made the experience worthwhile.”

  “So you didn’t tell him your last name.”

  She shook her head. “I hardly told him anything.”

  “What’s his last name?”

  She looked at him with baleful eyes before answering him with a quick shrug.

  “Damn, Tee!”

  “Well, you asked!”

  “Look, I know you look like me, but that doesn’t mean you have to act like me.”

  “Whatever, twin.”

  “Yeah, whatever, Tee. I understand why you did it, and believe that part of it was you getting over what happened with George. I’ll even agree that it’s not fair that the Drake men can get away with things that you can’t.”

  “Not just the men. What about London? She has an affair with a teacher, gets sent away to Europe as punishment and what happens? She falls headfirst into a modeling contract, making millions, and headlines, with her scandalous life! Maybe I’m tired of being the good girl.”

  “London gets a pass because she’s the baby of the family. Besides, she’s always been wild. You’ve always been the good girl, the good twin. That’s just how it is.” He tousled her hair. “Plus, taking chances like that is dangerous. That guy could have been a murderer. Anything could have happened.”

  “Anything didn’t.”

  “No, everything did.” They shared a smile before he once again turned serious. “Don’t do anything crazy like that again, okay, Tee?”

  A pause and then, “Okay.”

  Chapter 9

  Atka walked into the manager’s office of his Dillingham fishery. There’d been no relaxing since Teresa left. Instead, thoughts of her had consumed him.

  “Hello, Curtis.” Atka moved several items from a chair and sat down. “I’m heading back to Anchorage in a little bit and wanted to touch base before leaving. I also wanted to let you know that you’re doing a great job here, man. This surge in growth is in no small part due to your dedication to this company, and this industry.”

  Curtis remained focused on his laptop screen. “Yeah, an industry that will die a slow death if Campbell has anything to do with it.”

  Atka frowned. “What’s he up to now?”

  “Trying to make himself look good and appeal to native Alaskans by having it be believed that his money-hungry agenda was formed with the preservation of their families and traditions in mind. I’m reading an article on him that came out today. The spin they’re putting on the whole mining proposition turns my stomach. Listen to this.

  “‘Campbell’s heart for Paradise Cove’s Golden Gates community, where his parents still live, continues in the last frontier as a love for what he refers to as the state’s golden inhabitants. “The people here are like none other—helpful, hardworking and fiercely patriotic. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been such a staunch proponent of the Rock Mines and similar operations. Mining for copper, gold and other minerals will not only provide jobs for thousands of citizens and bring tax revenue into the state, but it will also reduce our country’s dependence on foreign raw materials. Being independent and not reliant on foreign entities to sustain us is the American way.”’”

  Curtis rocked back in his large office chair. “If he wins his bid to be Anchorage’s mayor, he’ll vie for governor within five years. Every speech makes it clear that his interest isn’t only to run a city, but the state and eventually the country. I don’t know who this—” Curtis scrolled up on the computer screen “—T
eresa Drake is, but obviously she didn’t do her research, at least not with those outside of Campbell’s wide realm of supporters.”

  Hearing the name of the woman that in the past seventy-two-plus hours had dominated his thoughts further grabbed Atka’s attention. “Teresa, you said?”

  “Yes. Teresa Drake. Here she’s listed as the travel and lifestyle editor for the Paradise Cove Chronicle in Paradise Cove, California.”

  “Really.”

  Atka moved on to another subject, but the minute he got time alone, he placed the name Teresa Drake into a search engine. Was there any chance that she was related to Niko Drake, the mayor of Paradise Cove and part of the team he was meeting with to discuss business opportunities? Of course not. That coincidence would be too convenient, would make even the timing of their dinner meeting suspect. The Drakes were a very prominent family in the western region of the United States.

  I’ve been on the other side, and know what it’s like to be hounded. That’s what she’d said. Is being a member of the powerful Drake family what she meant?

  He clicked on the images link. The face that had haunted him nightly smiled at him from his phone. His papoota princess in a ball gown on the arm of a smug-looking man. And others, connected with charity events, the country club in Paradise Cove, her sorority and her position at the Paradise Cove Chronicle. His eyes narrowed. One thought after another came into his mind, each bringing a different possibility. It put their time together in a whole new light. He felt it unlikely that she’d sprain her ankle to orchestrate their meeting, but now understood her position as an avid listener, learning quite a bit about Atka while sharing little of herself. He sat back and replayed her endless questions about Alaska, the salmon industry, even his family. Was it because she was genuinely interested? Was it because she was a journalist, looking for news? Or was she a part of her brother Niko Drake’s information-gathering advance team? The more questions that came to him the worse about her he felt. She was the type of woman who could get any man she wanted. So what had she been doing spending time with him, who she supposedly thought of as a mere fisherman?