by Croix, J. H.
“Seattle. Like your dad, our dad loves to fish, so we grew up fishing in Washington waters. We decided to start a commercial fishing business down there together and eventually came up here to fish a few times. Liked it so much that we relocated the business and ourselves up here. Can’t imagine living anywhere else now.”
“Diamond Creek is a bit of a change from Seattle,” she said.
“Up here, we live somewhere we love instead of planning to travel here. Kind of like your dad really. Sounds like he spends a lot of time visiting places he might rather live.”
“You can say that,” Tess said, relieved that polite conversation seemed to slow her heart rate. “Where he lives in North Carolina, he’s right on a river, so he gets to fish pretty often. But he likes to try different places. Alaska’s been on his fishing bucket list for years.”
The wind had started to pick up. The boat rode into a large swell, followed by a smaller choppy wave that threw Tess against Nathan’s side. He reflexively put his arm around her waist. Just when Tess thought she’d gotten a hold of herself, her heart was off to the races, her stomach fluttering. His arm was warm and strong against her back. She wanted to lean into him and stay that way. She glanced up at Nathan and found him looking down toward her intently. Her heart gave a quiver and the simmering heat in her center turned up a notch. Nathan’s hand rested just against her hip. He flexed against the soft curve, a subtle caress. She gasped and tore her eyes away, the water a blur of whitecaps in her muddled gaze. Nathan’s loosened his grip and let go, his hand curling the bottom of the bench again. Her body immediately missed his touch, sighing at its absence.
Whether he meant it or not, Tess wondered if he was reacting to her confusion. His gaze had been direct…ardent. Yet she’d looked away…the moment passed. Relief and disappointment tinged with sadness clashed. If she imagined herself to be someone else, someone that could just let go and enjoy this attraction, it would be so much simpler.
Nathan called out to Jared. “Looks like the wind is kicking in. Want me to take over steering for a bit? You’ve been at it all day.”
Jared called back without turning. “No worry. Be to the harbor inside of a half hour.”
Nathan shook his head. “That’s Jared. Can hardly stand it if we offer to help for something he thinks is his job.”
Curiosity rose in Tess. She wanted to know more about his family. While Nathan could have sounded critical, his comment had a loving tone to it.
“So I guess he usually drives?” she asked.
“Almost always. But it’s okay. We may be brothers, but we get along better than most. Luke and I take care of whatever Jared doesn’t,” he said. ‘Speaking of that, nice chatting for a few, but I have to take care of a few things before we get to the harbor.” He stood from the bench and looked down at her, another easy grin gracing his face. “Don’t suppose I could persuade you to go to dinner with me sometime in the few weeks you’re here?”
Tess flushed head to toe, her heart danced and those magnetic eyes of his stoked the smoldering heat in her center. She wanted to jump up and say yes, and that annoyed the hell out of her. Her cautious side was dominant, oh-so-practical. She could recite by heart all the reasons any romantic entanglement wasn’t worth it. Though practical and safe, it was a lonely place to be. A tattered corner of her heart wanted more. Before she knew it, she was answering honestly. “I’m not sure. I don’t know what our plans are for the next few days.”
His grin didn’t waver. “Think about it. Diamond Creek may seem like it’s the middle of nowhere, but we have some good restaurants here. You’ll be seeing me again either way. Your dad booked us for four more trips.”
Tess nodded. “Okay, maybe. I’ll think about it.” As soon as the words slipped out, Tess couldn’t believe she’d said them. The last thing she needed was this way too handsome Alaskan fishing guide to take her on a date.
Nathan winked and turned away, striding to the boat’s small cabin. His back muscles flexed as his arms swung. She could only imagine what kind of shape he was in, given the active life he and his brothers led. He was tall, easily over six feet, with broad, strong shoulders and a rangy build. He seemed far too handsome to consider her worthy of a date. While Tess didn’t consider herself unattractive, her last boyfriend had often made passive comments about her being a little too curvy. Her breasts were prone to spilling out of blouses. She was on the short side and could rarely find tops that fit right as they seemed to be designed for thinner women. She absentmindedly tucked her hair behind her ears, her honey-colored curls getting wild in the wind.
She spent the remainder of the ride watching the shore get closer, trying and failing to keep her mind and eyes off of Nathan. The shoreline here was nothing like the ocean shore in North Carolina, which was bright sand, patches of tall grass and swaths of flat beaches with the occasional sand dune. In Alaska, the ocean splashed against glaciers, mountainsides and rocky beaches. The shore in Diamond Creek included steep cliffs, leveling off into lush green spruce forests, and beaches of gray sand covered in colorful rocks. Otter Cove was the name of the tiny cove in which the boat harbor was tucked, protected somewhat from winds and cold. Jared deftly steered the boat into its slip at the harbor docks. Nathan and Luke were ready the minute they pulled in, tossing lines over the dock pilings. Tess’s eyes were glued to Nathan. He was tall and lanky, his sinewy muscles rippling under his cotton shirt. Jared cut the engine and quickly went into motion, getting the two full coolers ready to pass over to Nathan and Luke on the docks.
After stepping off the boat, Tess, her father, brother and nephew entered a whirl of activity. Within an hour, she was waving goodbye to Nathan and his brothers as Simon drove their car rental way from the Fish Factory, the local business that would be flash freezing and mailing their halibut back to North Carolina on overnight delivery. A friend of her father’s would be picking up the packages and depositing them in the chest freezer in her parents’ garage.
Tess looked out the car window and saw Nathan give a wave. Her hand lifted in return. He flashed a wide grin. She couldn’t believe he had her even considering a date with him. Just as she started to turn away, Nathan turned to look towards Jared and stepped into one of the small boulders lining the parking lot. He stumbled into Luke who was beside him and then onto the ground. Before she looked away, she saw him look in their direction again and couldn’t help but laugh. As handsome as he was, he seemed to have a knack for falling, at least today.
Chapter 2
Tossing her rain jacket onto the hotel bed, Tess headed for the bathroom. She turned on the shower, stepping in when steam filled the room. They had gone out to dinner after fishing, meeting her mother at a local seafood restaurant. The day had gone from sunny and bright to gray, rainy and cool while they were eating. The dash from the car into the hotel had left her dripping wet. Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed a towel and toweled her hair off. With a shake of her hair, she set the towel on the edge of the sink and looked in the mirror, scanning herself. Her dark honey-colored curls were damp, hanging just to the tops of her shoulders. Her eyes just about matched her hair. She never knew what color to call them, although her mother always said she had ginger eyes.
Tess didn’t look for long but wondered what Nathan saw when he looked at her. Self-doubt had burrowed in her heart and held on during and after her relationship with Chad. She often wondered if she’d only ended up with him because she was too trusting. She’d met Chad through work. She ran her own fundraising business and handled contracts almost exclusively for non-profits. Chad handled accounts for various businesses, mostly those in the medical field. They’d met at one of the functions she hosted. He was handsome and charming, if a tad too sleek for her taste.
After the fact, she wished she’d listened to that small voice inside that pointed out that Chad worried a bit too much about appearances. While he’d been nothing but compliments and charm when they first dated, he gradually began to make small comment
s about her curves, that loose clothes made her look dumpy and more fitted clothes made her look like she was trying to get the attention of other men. Instead of realizing that Chad was a jerk, she kept trying to find ways to make herself look different so he wouldn’t comment. About two years into their relationship, Tess found out she was pregnant. It had come as a surprise because she’d been on the pill. The next month was nothing but a blur. Adjusting to the unexpected pregnancy had been…well…unexpected and emotionally disorienting. The loneliness of her relationship became blatant when she balked at telling Chad, not out of a desire to hide something, but because she didn’t trust that he’d be supportive. Cocooned in confusion, unsure of what to do, a miscarriage took any choice out of her hands. She was thrown into facing a loss that echoed through her heart. The tumult of emotions had exhausted her.
The only good that came out of the miscarriage in Tess’s opinion was that she’d finally seen Chad for who he was. While still reeling from the emotional aftermath of her miscarriage, he’d made one of his passing comments about her weight. A voice that had been quiet inside of her came roaring out. She immediately broke up with him and moved out the same day. It was the most sensible thing she’d done in the two years she’d dated him. She learned later that he’d been quite busy with other women during the time they were together, likely why he worried so much that other men noticed her. He’d also offered minimal support during the weeks she tried to adjust to the news of her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. Since the end of their relationship, she spent too much time questioning herself and wondering what had led her to stay in a relationship that she’d known deep down wasn’t good for her.
Tess gave her head a hard shake. She didn’t want to think about Chad. It had been a mistake, but she had found the courage to walk away. That had been a year ago. The hard part was trying to find the woman she wanted to be—strong and smart. She couldn’t believe someone as handsome as Nathan would be interested in her. Her thoughts flicked back to the moment that Nathan’s hand gave her hip the barest squeeze. Her breath caught, her pulse leapt and a flush rose—her body craved that tiny moment. She couldn’t fight the small smile that bloomed inside.
Shoving those thoughts away, Tess stalked out of the bathroom and dug through her suitcase, slipping on a pair of leggings and a tank top. She grabbed the remote, scrolled through the channels and settled on HGTV, one of her favorites. With the rain coming in sheets against the hotel window, she settled in for a few hours of mindless television.
***
A few days later, Tess carried a cooler in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other as she walked down the dock in the harbor. Her nephew, Jordan, walked alongside, carrying his new fishing gear to the Winters brothers’ boat. Tess held her breath in awe when she saw an eagle seated on one of the dock pilings—its size magnificent, its bright, fierce eyes fixed on the water. She’d started to accept that eagles were pretty much everywhere in Alaska, but being this close to them on the docks was startling. The one just ahead of them spread its wings and took off in flight. The wings cast a shadow so broad it encompassed her and Jordan. She’d read their wingspan was as much as seven feet.
“Did you see that eagle, Jordan?” she asked.
“Yeah! I was trying to be quiet. Granddad said it’s better to try not to startle them. They’re so cool!” Jordan said. With the eagle flying off, he commenced to chatter about how many fish they might catch today. Between Simon and her father, he was well on his way to being a third generation fishing addict.
Tess was glad for Jordan’s excitement. It took her mind off the anticipation she felt about seeing Nathan again, which was just short of ridiculous. Her mind careened from visions of his blue eyes and dimples to steamy fantasies, which she kept swatting away. She hadn’t seen him in the two days since their first trip. Not that she’d expected to, but Diamond Creek was small enough that it was definitely possible. They’d spent the last two days checking out the local art galleries. There were far more than Tess would have expected in this tiny seacoast town in Alaska. They’d also taken a drive up to Seward, another coastal town on the Kenai Peninsula. Seward was north of Diamond Creek and sat tucked close into the mountains. While it had been lovely, she found she liked the more open view from Diamond Creek better. Diamond Creek was on the western side of the peninsula and had a wide-open view of the mountains across Kachemak Bay.
Tess looked out from the harbor into Kachemak Bay. The water was a deep navy in the bright sun today.
“Tess!”
She turned and saw Nathan waving to her from a larger boat beside the guide boat they’d taken the other day.
“Hey Nathan!” she called in return, trying to ignore the way her heart leapt at seeing him.
“Nathan, Nathan I got a new fishing pole!” Jordan hollered as he started to run. He promptly tripped and stumbled. Not missing a beat, he surged back up and kept running towards the boat.
“Hey Jordan, slow down buddy,” Nathan called. He stepped over the side of the boat and started to climb down a ladder.
Tess looked ahead at Jordan. “Jordan, listen to Nathan. Take it easy on the dock.”
Jordan stopped running and turned back. “Okay, but only because Nathan asked,” he said with a grin.
“Oh really? Just because Nathan asked, huh? You better watch out.”
Jordan just kept grinning. “I know Aunt Tess, just teasing.” He waited for her to catch up and then politely walked alongside.
Nathan met them on the dock. “Can I help carry some of that?” he asked, glancing at the jumble of fishing pole, windbreaker and tackle bag that Jordan held haphazardly.
Jordan shook his head emphatically, his straight brown hair swinging. “Nope, a guy has to carry his gear.”
Nathan lifted an eyebrow. “I’d say a guy has to have enough sense to accept help when he needs it.”
Jordan appeared to mull this over. With an emphatic nod, he attempted to hand Nathan some of what he was carrying, only to lose his grip on most of it. Nathan moved quickly and caught it all with both arms.
Tess couldn’t hold back her laugh. “Close call, buddy. Maybe, just maybe, we needed some help.”
“Yup, we did. But it’s okay,” he said. He looked toward Nathan who was carefully trying to organize the handful he’d scooped from Jordan. “Aunt Tess already had her hands full. I was doing okay until I started to run.”
Nathan glanced at Tess before turning his gaze to Jordan. “That’s why you shouldn’t run on the docks. Can we make a deal that you won’t try that again?” he asked with a serious tone. “Not joking on that one. The docks aren’t a safe place to run. Even I don’t try that.”
Jordan took his request in and looked serious. “We can make a deal. I just got excited.”
“Of course you did. I’m excited every day I get to go fishing. Just got to remember there are places to walk and places to run. We made our deal, so let’s keep it.”
Jordan nodded, his grin returning in force. “We have a deal! Now can we walk to the boat?”
“Where else would we be going?” Nathan glanced to Tess and winked.
Tess looked away, flushed inside and out. How it was possible, she didn’t know, but Nathan appeared more handsome than he’d been the other day. His hair was only slightly mussed so far, his black curls tumbling across his forehead. She could look into his deep blue eyes all day. He wore heavy brown rubber boots with the label Xtratuf on them. She’d never seen Xtratufs before and so many people wore them here, they could have been confused as part of a uniform. Over his boots, his jeans were worn and frayed and paired with a T-shirt and a bright blue windbreaker. He had a clean, sharp scent to him this morning.
She wondered if Nathan would ask her out to dinner again and chided herself for wrestling with her attraction to him. She needed to either let it go, or get over herself and say yes.
Oblivious to her predicament, Nathan was casually talking with Jordan who had question upon quest
ion about fishing in Alaska. Since their trip the other day, Jordan had persuaded Simon to buy him a book on fishing in Alaska and proceeded to regale the rest of them with facts and photos. He was determined to catch another Alaskan king salmon. Tess was accustomed only to Atlantic salmon and wasn’t sure what could be so different about the types of Pacific salmon, but had quickly noticed that locals made clear distinctions with king salmon considered the most prized.
Nathan patiently answered Jordan’s questions. Despite her misgivings about dinner with him, she had to admit that they were more about herself and not him. His patience with Jordan was a good recommendation for him. They had arrived at the guide boat and stepped onto the dock between it and the larger boat Nathan had been on when he waved.
“Is that another boat of yours?” Tess asked Nathan.
Nathan glanced up at the boat. “Yup. That’s Iris—our commercial fishing boat. Named after our mom. Iris is for the big trips. We used to come up here from Seattle on her to fish. That’s when we fell in love with Alaska and Diamond Creek,” he said with a quick smile, a dimple flashing on one side.
Her return smile came in automatic response. She shook her head at herself.
Nathan tilted his head. “What’s that for?”
She felt caught and blushed.
Jordan looked between them. “Aunt Tess doesn’t have fun much,” he announced. “You should come to dinner with us and make her smile more.”
Tess hadn’t thought she could blush even more. “Jordan, really?! I have fun sometimes. And you have to check with your dad before asking someone else to dinner with everyone.”
Nathan appeared unperturbed with Tess’s discomfort and humored with Jordan’s comments. “No worries. Of course, we’d clear it with the grownups. But Jordan may be right. A little fun doesn’t hurt anyone,” he said.
Tess held her embarrassment in check and hoped her blush was subsiding. “Perhaps he is. That’s why we’re on vacation, to have a little fun. And I’m sure my family will be happy to have you join us for dinner. I just didn’t want you to feel put on the spot.”