Northern Encounter

by Jennifer Labrecque

  She mouthed at the other woman, “Polish change?”

  Baby Doll nodded enthusiastically.

  “Just a polish change.”

  “Polish change? I don’t know about that, Merrilee.”

  “I have total faith in you, Curl.”

  “If you say so.” Curl, however, sounded un convinced.

  “What time?” she pressed.

  “I guess whenever. I’m just finishing up.”

  “Okey, dokey. I’ll send her right over.” She hung up the phone and smiled brightly at Baby Doll. “He says come right on over. It’s just two doors down and across the street. How about I get Teddy next door to take you down?” Teddy, Gus’s second in command, would be more than happy to pop out and deliver the other woman to Curl’s.

  “That’d be great, as long as I’m not putting anyone out,” Baby Doll said. When you got past the fact that she’d been foolish enough to hook up with Tad, the woman seemed decent enough. Sadly, she possessed a touch of naivete that reminded Merrilee of herself back when she, too, had bought into Tad’s bill of goods.

  “Hon, do you happen to have any other shoes with you?” Merrilee glanced at the red stilettos.

  The girl smiled brightly. “Of course, I’ve got these in black and a tiger stripe print.” A sudden frown bisected her forehead. “You don’t think the red goes with what I have on?”

  “It wasn’t so much the color as the heel, hon. There’s ice and snow out there.”

  “Oh.” She looked simultaneously lost and crestfallen. “No, this is all I brought.”

  “What size do you wear?”

  It turned out that while Baby Doll was at least six inches taller and thirty pounds lighter than Merrilee, they wore the same shoe size. By the time Teddy came over, Merrilee had hooked Baby Doll up with a pair of mukluks that tickled her fancy. She turned one way and the other, admiring her feet and legs. “These are even cooler than Uggs.”

  “Glad you like them,” Merrilee said and mouthed a thank-you to Teddy.

  “Wear my red stilettos while I’m gone since we wear the same size. It’s sort of like having a sister you can swap with.” Merrilee could’ve kissed Baby Doll for likening her to her sister rather than her mother. The much younger woman beamed. “I always wanted a sister.” She waved her hand, “Go ahead, put on those red heels and strut, sister.”

  Merrilee couldn’t help but smile and wave the girl on to have fun. As the front door closed behind Baby Doll and Teddy, she got down to business with Tad. Jeb and Dwight were parked over by the chess board arguing with each other, but since they were both stone deaf, they might as well not even be there.

  “Okay, let’s get our business done so you and Baby Doll can get back to Atlanta.”

  “I’m getting the impression you aren’t happy to see me, Merry.”

  “Eat shit and die” wasn’t going to get her very far with Tad. Instead she opted for “Okay, Tad, I’m sure you wanted me to see you’ve managed to find your self a young honey. I’ve seen. Poor thing doesn’t know what she’s in for, but that’s not really my business.”

  “I thought you’d be happy that I’m finally ready to sign those divorce papers.”

  They both knew he could’ve sent them by any number of overnight delivery services but Tad had always been about control and playing games. His refusal to divorce Merrilee all these years because she’d dared to leave him had been nothing more than control and his determination to have the last word.

  As always when dealing with Tad, Merrilee found herself falling back into the same old patterns. “Well, that’s just fine for you, but it doesn’t really matter to me any more whether we’re divorced or not. I’m not so sure I’ll be signing those papers after all.”

  THE WIND WHIPPED PAST Tess’s face, cold yet invigorating as they followed the path the sled cut through the crusted snow. Ahead of her, lashed into his traces, his canine muscles bunching and expanding as he pulled the sled, Kobuk was a beautiful sight to be hold as he broke the trail. She was achingly aware that Clint was beside her, his strong hands guiding both sled and dog.

  Though his hands were gloved now, she’d noticed them last night and then again during the cabin set up.

  Today, in better lighting, she’d seen a scar bisecting the back of his left hand.

  She gave herself over to the experience of the moment—the wind against her face, the brush of the fur trim against her cheek, the sheer exhilaration of passing through stands of spruce.

  All too soon, Clint gave the command and they glided to a stop at the edge of a clearing. It was perfect. Exactly what she’d wanted. Tessa requested a sheltered setting, plus this was the last area he’d spotted the wolves.

  “It’s pristine,” she said, standing and looking around, seriously awed. This would make beautiful, tranquil footage. She turned to Clint without thinking, driven to share the experience with the only other human being there. “It’s as if there’s no one else in the world and this place is totally untouched. And the silence is unreal. You and I could be the only two people in the world.”

  He was standing on the sled’s back runners. Their gazes locked and the Universe seemed to stand still, to distill to the two of them in a world of light and dark. And even in the cold, there was a heat between them, a blanket of attraction and desire that enfolded them.

  She leaned toward him, drawn. He bent his head. The only sound between them was the breaths they drew and exhaled. Tess wondered if Clint could hear the thudding of her heart against her ribs in the deep quiet. His breath, warm, fragrant with coffee, mingled with hers. It was strangely more intimate than sharing a kiss, that gentle coupling of air that warmed her face and teased against her lips. A rush of heat coursed through her in the wake of a longing that wrapped its way around her soul.

  His gloved hand cupped her head, his lips hovered a mere breath from hers. Anticipation was sweet as his lips descended to claim hers. A sudden sharp snap jerked them apart, breaking the spell, ending a kiss that hadn’t quite gotten started.

  Startled, Tessa jumped, nearly losing her footing.

  Clint caught her, his gloved hands on her arms, and steadied her. She took a cautious step back, forcing him to let her go. Tessa absolutely couldn’t continue to react this way to him. She didn’t know what it was about him, but she was intensely, incredibly drawn to him.

  “What was that? It sounded like a gunshot.” And she sounded dismayingly breathless.

  “The tree branches snap and crack from the ice. So does the ice in the rivers and lakes. And because there’s no other noise, it always sounds very loud.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  “Have you ever been to a glacier before?”

  “No. I’m looking forward to going.”

  Dalton was scheduled to fly them the day after tomorrow.

  “In the summer, it calves directly into the river. The ice creaks and groans and it sounds like artillery fire going off. Of course you won’t get that now, but it’s still impressive.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” She looked around. “But this is just amazing.” She busied herself setting up one of the cameras on a tripod. Kobuck had settled down, still in his traces. A wolf howled and the dog’s ears pricked up.

  “That sounds close.”

  “It’s probably farther than you think. Sound travels. However, with the pack in this general area you may get lucky and wind up with some video footage.”

  He moved swiftly and efficiently, setting up the small low-profile tent the three of them would share. Filming in such cold weather meant having to periodically switch cameras off. Waiting in the tent meant keeping themselves and the equipment warm. It was going to be tight, close quarters which was good from a keeping warm standpoint, but not so good for her resolve to keep her distance from him, especially in light of that almost-kiss. She’d just never counted on reacting to him this way.

  Her option however, was to stand around outside like an idiot and freeze her ass off. Nothi
ng for it but to climb into that tent.

  CLINT WATCHED AS Tessa opened the tent flap, his attention caught and held by the curve of her rear visible just below the edge of her parka. He definitely didn’t need to be checking out her ass any more than he’d needed to almost kiss her earlier, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. There was a lot to be said for self-control and he needed to find some if he was going to be sequestered in the tent and then that cabin with her.

  He released Kobuk from the traces and directed the dog to the tent. Sort of a sad state of affairs when a man had to fall back on his dog as a chaperone, although ostensibly Kobuk was another heat source. Ducking, Clint stepped into the tent and pulled his boots off, placing them on the mat near the front. Melting snow was wet and a wet tent didn’t exactly work.

  Tess had pulled her gloves off and was rubbing her hands together to warm them.

  “Give it a few minutes and it’ll heat up in here.”

  There was a flicker in her eyes and that thing that seemed to dance between them flared once again.

  “It’s—” her voice was husky and she paused to swallow before continuing “—it’s already warmer in here than outside.”

  He nodded. He was plenty damn hot as of right now. “You’ll want to pull your coat off and acclimate or you’ll be cold when you go back outside,” he said, shucking his jacket.

  Sitting cross-legged, she pushed the hood back and unzipped her parka. Static left strands of her pale blonde hair standing up. She shrugged out of her jacket, her sweater clinging to the outline of her breasts as she worked her arms free. Clint swallowed hard and pretended to check the zipper on the tent—looking anywhere was better than looking at her breasts with the cold outlining her nipples against her layers of clothes.

  In the close confines of the tent, with the biting cold that numbed his sense of smell no longer a factor, her scent seemed to surround him. No perfume, she didn’t strike him as a perfume wearer and he didn’t smell any, but she was a mix of shampoo, soap and woman. It was a soft, delicate scent that seemed to fit her. She was obviously resilient and capable, but he’d sensed a softness, a vulnerability about her that was grounded more in his intuition than anything she’d said or done.

  She wrapped the camera she’d been carrying inside her parka and placed it in her lap. Kobuk lay curled between them. “Does he like to be patted? Rubbed? Or would he prefer to be left alone?”

  “That dog will take any attention you’re willing to give him. He’s shameless.”

  She scratched Kobuk behind the ears. “He’s not shameless. He’s a good boy. And he was beautiful pulling the sled earlier today. Weren’t you? You did such a nice job,” she said in a crooning, sing-song voice. She buried her hands in his fur, kneading and stroking. There was an inherent sensuality to her movements that tightened Clint’s gut. It was far too easy to imagine the slide of her fingers and palms against his bare skin, stroking, kneading. And there was the erotic contrast of her light skin against his darkness. Damn it to hell. He had to think about something other than her touching him or him touching her or the thrust of her nipples and the curve of her lips.

  He had never been a man driven by his carnal de sires, but it was as if Tessa had awakened a slumbering part of him and damned if he knew what to do about it other than ignore it. He hoped like hell he didn’t do something totally stupid and unprofessional like reaching over and burying his hands in the silky strands of her hair while he sampled the feel of her mouth and the taste of her tongue against his.

  And to compound matters, even though it would be unprofessional and even though he knew better than to get involved with someone like her—look where it had gotten his father and then him in college—he had a dangerous instinct based on the way she’d looked at him earlier that she was attracted to him as well.

  “How’d you get started making ambient videos?” He threw the question out in desperation. And actually, he was curious. It was an unusual choice of profession.

  “It’s sort of embarrassing to admit but I kind of just fell into it. I’d always liked to fool around with cameras and photography and then a friend of a friend told me about this job on the internet and voila. I discovered I’m good at it and it’s very gratifying to be able to bring faraway places to people they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Most people don’t have the luxury of starting their day with a beach-front sunrise but with my videos they can enjoy that every morning.” She slanted him a look. “In a way, it’s similar to what you do. As a guide you take people places and give them an experience they wouldn’t have otherwise. How’d you wind up in the guide business?”

  “I realized as a kid just how much I love the land. I was always out fishing or trekking. I started working as a guide in the summers when I was about ten.” He shrugged. “I knew all the best spots for fishing and hiking, and tourists were a little surprised that I was just a kid but soon word got out that Clint Sisnuket knew his stuff.”

  “And I bet they thought you were cute.” The minute the words left her mouth a blush crawled across her skin.

  “I’ve posed for plenty of pictures over the years. And yeah, there was that whole little native boy aspect. That really worked best here, though. Cute little native boy doesn’t always translate well in other places.” Chiefly his grandparents’ home. They hadn’t cared to cart out the child who was clearly not like them.

  “Do you still pose for pictures now?”

  He laughed. “Not so much now. My cute phase ended several years ago.”

  “Well, maybe that’s a matter of perspective,” she said with a teasing smile.

  God help him, she was not making resisting her easy. “I got my degree in land management and I freelance as a native consultant on land use.” He was damn proud of that. It was a very coveted position and he tried to fill it wisely. “It pays the bills and I feel as if I’m making a difference in preserving Mother Earth.”

  “So, do you have to go into an office for that?”

  “Thank goodness, no. Cities make me feel as if my brain cells are being stamped out. But I do appreciate technology. Every once in a while Dalton flies me to Anchorage or Juneau for a day or two but for the most part I telecommute from home.”

  “And where exactly is home?”

  “About ten miles outside of Good Riddance. You’d hate it.”

  Amusement warred with annoyance in her eyes. “How would you possibly know what I would or wouldn’t hate?”

  “Where do you live?”

  “I told you last night I live in Tucson.”

  “Case in point. You live in a city, not the middle of the wilderness.”

  “I live in a city because it’s easier to travel and I have the supplies I need for my videos.”

  “There you go.”

  “There you go nothing. That doesn’t prove a thing. Well, except that you’re a—”

  “Rational man,” he said, finishing for her.

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “Oddly enough, that’s not quite the term that came to mind.”

  The woman was like a dose of positive energy. “I’m sure it was something equally flattering,” he said, laughing at her quick eye roll. What was it about her that made him feel just a smidgen more alive and tuned into himself and everyone else?

  “I’m beginning to notice a distinct pattern on your part of being wrong.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, grinning like a fool nonetheless. “Is that a fact?”

  “It certainly seems to be. But don’t worry, you have almost a week to redeem yourself.”

  Kobuk sat up abruptly, ears alert, ruff standing up on the back of his neck, and issued a low growl. There was a sudden spattering sound from outside.

  Tessa didn’t exactly look alarmed, more like concerned. “Uh, what was that?”

  In all the years he’d been guiding groups, this had never happened. It was pretty cool and pretty damn funky. Probably one of those once in a lifetime events. A dark stain was spreading d
own the side of the tent behind Tessa. “I’d say the wolf pack is letting us know we’re in their territory. We just got pissed on.” He spoke in a low undertone.

  “Seriously?” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder.

  It was about that time that the unmistakably pungent scent of urine seeped into the confined space. At least the cold mitigated the odor somewhat. “Seriously.”

  “Whew. I smell it.”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t lean back or it’ll be on your clothes.”

  “Okay. Thanks. I’d rather not wear wolf pee.”

  Between them, the malamute tensed even more. “Down, Kobuk.” The dog reluctantly dropped to his haunches. “The last thing we need is a pissing contest between him and the pack.”

  “Yeah. Especially since we’re in here with him and in the direct line of fire. So, what do we do now?”

  He had to give her credit. Not only was she not hysterical, she seemed to appreciate the situation and she had a sense of humor. Damn. He almost wished she’d opted for hysteria. “We wait for them to leave.”

  As if on cue, a piercing howl sounded right outside.

  Tess startled. “Waiting sounds like a good plan to me.”

  “I’m usually right.”

  There was nothing quite like getting in the last word.

  7

  “I FEEL LIKE A HUMAN popsicle,” Tessa said, her fingers numb inside her gloves as they closed the door to the cabin behind them.

  “I’ll have a fire going in just a minute and it’ll knock the chill down.”

  “Chill?” That was an understatement if she’d ever heard it. “My breath is forming smoke rings…inside the cabin.”

  “We should’ve taken extra snacks with us. I was surprised at how long the wolves hung around.” He unscrewed the top off of a thermos and poured something into a cup. He passed it to her, “Here. Tomato soup.”

  She sipped at it. “Nectar of the gods. And it’s surprisingly warm.”

  “A good thermos makes a difference.” He selected wood from a stack in the corner and loaded it into the stove. “A little dry spruce to get it going quickly and then the alder will burn nice and hot.” He struck a match and held it to the kindling, “You’ll be toasty in no time.”