Follow Love (Diamond Creek, Alaska Novels Book 2)

by Croix, J. H.

  Tess looked at her reflection and saw that her mother was right. The less she tried to rein in her curls, the better they looked. Her mother’s mussing had left her honey gold curls in a soft rumple, the light catching on the brighter shades.

  She looked up at her mother. “Thanks, Mom. I should have mentioned it sooner, but it was only yesterday that I agreed to have dinner with Nathan.” She decided not to let her mother in on the few moments of frenzied passion with Nathan last night. Those moments loomed so large that even a second of thinking about them flushed her, just as it did now.

  Celine was still busy with her hair. She made a few more adjustments to Tess’ curls, tugging and tousling until she appeared content. She stepped away. “I wouldn’t be anything other than a good sport about this. I want you to have fun and enjoy yourself. Anytime you want to clue me in, feel free. I’ll keep this quiet no matter what, but if you feel like filling me in tomorrow, that would be just fine,” she said with a wink, her soft Southern drawl peaking at the end.

  Tess threw her head back with a laugh. “Oh Mom, I’ll fill you in. I know you’ll find a way to get answers even if I’m not so sure I want to tell you,” she said. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Okay, Nathan’s supposed to pick me up in about fifteen minutes. You need to get back to your room and keep dad, Simon and Jordan occupied.”

  Celine nodded, all business now. “You got it girl, I’m on my way.” She strode to the door and turned back just before she opened it. “You’re beautiful inside and out. Nathan’s lucky to have even one dinner with you. Don’t forget that,” she said. With an emphatic nod, she swung the door open and stepped out.

  Tess looked in the mirror again, taking in the way her mother had just carelessly undone her efforts to subdue her curls, leaving them wild and free. She stood and smoothed down the pants she was wearing. After obsessing over what to wear, she’d settled on the only pair of pants that she’d packed that weren’t jeans. They were soft and silky, a deep green shade and flared to swing around her ankles. She’d paired them with a cream-colored gauzy cotton blouse. She wore a choker around her throat, a lightweight silver chain with a large round blue lapis stone that sat in the juncture between her collarbones. She’d paired that with a hammered silver cuff on one arm and a set of matched earrings of the blue lapis. Predicting it would be cool, she planned to bring a windproof fleece jacket. Just as she glanced at the clock again, her phone rang.

  “Hello,” she said, bringing the phone to her ear.

  “Tess? It’s Nathan.”

  “Hey there,” she replied, her heart speeding up at the sound of his voice.

  “Just calling to let you know I’m pulling into the parking lot if you want to meet me out front,” Nathan said.

  Tess was on her way to the door when she abruptly stepped into the bathroom. She grabbed the small bottle of perfume oil sitting on the bathroom counter—an amber scented oil she loved to wear but rarely did. She dabbed the oil on the insides of her wrists and elbows and on her neck and refused to think about why it mattered just now.

  ***

  Tess sat in the passenger seat and looked out over a field where Nathan had pulled over. They were on the way to what Nathan described as the best local brewery in Alaska: Diamond Creek Brewery. Nathan assured her that the brewery also had amazing food. He insisted on taking her on a quick tour of Diamond Creek highlights before they had dinner. They were presently looking at an open field filled with fuchsia colored flowers. The field sat atop one of the hills in town. The hillside dropped down behind the field, opening up an expansive view of Kachemak Bay and the mountains beyond. Mount Augustine sat towards the left of the view, tall and regal as it rose out of the water, a cluster of clouds circling its peak. The field was flanked by spruce trees, the deep green a contrast to the bright flowers, which swayed in a breeze that came off the bay. Tess caught her breath at the sight of the flowers with the bay spilling out behind them where the hillside dipped down. The sky was slightly overcast, its slate gray brightening the contrast of the flowers.

  “What are those flowers?” she asked.

  “Fireweed. Prettiest weed I ever saw,” Nathan said. He glanced towards her and smiled. “Beautiful huh?”

  She nodded. “If something could be more than beautiful, this is. The fireweed is amazing. I can’t believe it’s just a weed. And the view,” she said with a sigh.

  “Fireweed is everywhere in Alaska. It blooms towards the last part of summer and usually lasts about a month. The first time we came fishing up here, we stayed here in Diamond Creek just when the fireweed was in bloom. It’s part of why I fell in love with Alaska,” he said. He started the truck. “Thought you might like to see it.”

  Tess finally turned away from the view. “Thank you for bringing me up here. I’ve seen a few patches of the flowers in town, but it’s nothing like seeing a field full of it.”

  Nathan’s dimples joined his smile as he shifted gears and turned on a road that led down the hill to town. Tess took advantage of his attention to the road and took a good long look. His black curls were a tad less unruly than when he was out fishing but not by much. His blue eyes were just that—so blue that it was like diving in for a swim to look at them too long. His mouth was sensual, his lips full and mobile. He had a resting grin expression. She figured he probably had a half smile even in his sleep. His features were strong; sculpted cheekbones, a strong nose that looked as if he’d broken it at some point with a jog in the bridge and dark slashes for eyebrows. She turned away, realizing that looking at Nathan too much made her wonder yet again why a man as gorgeous as him would be interested in her.

  In the few minutes since they’d driven down from the top of the hill, clouds had burgeoned in the already overcast sky. A soft drizzle started to fall. Tess was glad she’d brought her windbreaker. Nathan’s truck, a bright red Toyota, had a jumble of jackets and boots in the small cab behind the front seats. Nathan came around a corner in the road.

  “What the hell?!” Nathan exclaimed.

  Tess saw a blur of brown and heard the squeal of tires. Fear rose in her throat when she realized two vehicles were ahead of them on the road: a small truck on its roof in the middle of the road with a compact car on its side in the ditch. Nathan swore a few more times as he steered the truck to a stop, inches from the overturned truck. When they came to a stop, Tess finally let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, her heart hammering in her chest. They sat in the silence for a moment, the rumble of the truck’s motor the only sound. Tess looked to the side of the road to see the blur of brown was a moose. It disappeared into the trees that flanked the road.

  “You okay?” Nathan asked, his voice slicing through the silence.

  Tess nodded and turned to look at him. She realized she had one hand clenched around his forearm. She’d curled her other hand tight on the edge of her seat. She slowly released her hands and rubbed them together. “I’m fine. You?”

  “Fine,” he said.

  Tess automatically unbuckled her seatbelt and went to see if they could help. Clambering out of the truck, she ran over to the truck in the road. She heard Nathan calling 911. She knelt down to see that there were two people inside. A young woman appeared unconscious, but Tess couldn’t see much else, other than that the woman was jammed to one side of her seat in the upside down vehicle. The other passenger was a man who was conscious, his eyes wide and dark. Blood ran down his cheek in a trickle. Broken glass was scattered all over him. His shoulder pressed against the doorframe. He was bracing himself with his free arm against the ceiling.

  “I know you may be hurting, but can you wait until the ambulance gets here?” Tess asked. “I’m afraid to try to move you too much—we need to be careful,” she explained.

  The man nodded. “I can wait, but I’m worried about Paige. Can you tell if she’s okay?” He tried to turn to see, grimacing as he did.

  “Don’t do that,” Tess said. “I’ll go aroun
d. What your name?” she asked.

  “It’s Finn. Paige is my sister,” he said, his eyes catching hers, dark with fear.

  “I’m Tess,” she said, thinking that she didn’t want to be nameless to him. She stood and glanced to Nathan who’d gone to check on the other vehicle. She could hear him talking to the 911 operator, providing a running commentary.

  “Nathan,” she called, walking around to the other side of the truck.

  He looked up and tilted the phone away from his mouth. “These guys are a little banged up but okay. How about over there?”

  She didn’t want to speculate, but she was worried about the woman. She shrugged instead. “How long until help gets here?”

  Nathan relayed her question and called back. “About three minutes away now according to dispatch.”

  Tess knelt down to see if she could get a better sense of Paige’s injuries. After long look, she still couldn’t tell if Paige was breathing. Tess’s stomach felt hollow and her chest tight. She wanted to tear the truck door open and pull Paige out to make sure she was okay. One look at the doorframe, and she knew that was impossible. It was crushed against the truck’s roof, the metal wrinkled into a tight jam. The window was broken, yet just as with Finn, she worried that if she tried to pull Paige out, she’d hurt her even more.

  She heard Finn’s voice. “Paige? How are you? I can’t turn my head to see you,” he said. “Can you see if she’s okay?” he asked, directing his question to Tess.

  Tess waited a beat before responding. Part of her wanted to reassure him, but she didn’t want to pretend she knew something she didn’t. She chose honesty. “I can’t tell. She’s not conscious, but I think you may have guessed that. She must have hit her head.”

  Finn was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was tinged with fear and desperation, tugging at Tess’s heart. “She’ll be okay. She has to be.”

  Tess waited beside the truck, kneeling by Paige. She reached a hand out and carefully maneuvered it through the broken window, placing it on Paige’s shoulder, this woman she’d never even met. After a moment, she felt the subtle rise and fall of Paige’s breath. It was shallow but she was breathing. Tess said a silent hallelujah. She looked around. The truck’s roof was crumpled. The compact car lay on its side, smashed against the ditch embankment. She could hear Nathan talking with the passengers, asking them both to wait until help came. A raven called nearby, a magpie responding with a burst of chatter, both flying out above the wreckage.

  As Tess looked up at the two birds, she heard the ambulance siren barreling up the hill toward them. She kept her hand on Paige’s shoulder, holding on to the soft rhythm of her breath. The ambulance came to a quick stop just below the accident. In seconds, the crew was in full swing. Tess quickly deduced she would be in the way if she stayed by Paige, so she gave Paige’s shoulder a gentle squeeze and stepped away from the truck. The next few minutes passed in a rapid blur.

  The police arrived on the heels of the ambulance. In questioning Nathan and the two young men from the compact car, who had been pulled out within minutes and aside from a few cuts and bruises looked fine, Tess learned that two moose had run across the road. With both vehicles trying to dodge the moose, they collided. Tess wondered if the moose she and Nathan had seen was one of them. The thought that they had just missed being in an accident elicited a wave of feeling—she was just getting to know Nathan and the thought of him being hurt terrified her. She quickly shook her head, uneasy with how much he mattered to her.

  It wasn’t much longer before the emergency crew had gotten Finn and Paige out of the truck. Finn was shaken and sported a few cuts and bruises. He hovered by the ambulance stretcher, asking questions and constantly checking Paige’s face. While one of the crew as attempting to reassure Finn, Paige’s eyes flicked open. She appeared disoriented but clearly relieved.

  Despite Paige’s protests, Finn and the crew insisted she go to the hospital to be cleared. She appeared to think that since she was conscious, she was fine. Another few minutes and the ambulance headed back down the hill carrying Paige with Finn accompanying her. Tess looked towards Nathan who was standing with the two young guys from the car. The two police officers were conferring by their car, one on the phone with a tow company.

  Tess walked to Nathan’s side. “Well, all’s well that ends well. Seems like everyone will be okay,” she said.

  Nathan started to speak, but was distracted by a loud rustle in the trees. All heads turned towards the trees in unison. In a few seconds, a moose came ambling out of the trees, followed by two more. Tess glanced around, gauging where Nathan’s truck was in relation to the moose—not close enough for comfort. The moose seemed completely unconcerned by the presence of four people right by them and an additional two just down the road. One of the moose stepped close to the compact car on its side, reaching its nose out to sniff at a tire.

  Tess felt Nathan step closer to her, his hand sliding around hers, the vital strength comforting her. Just as one of the moose stepped into the road and nosed the overturned truck, a loud crackling sound came over the cop’s radio. The first moose that had stepped out of the trees swung its head in the direction of the cop car, its attention focused on the sound from the radio. Another second and the moose started moving in the direction of the cops who appeared not to have noticed as one was leaning into the cruiser, talking on the radio, and the other had his back to them.

  Nathan called out in the direction of the cops. “Hey!”

  At this point, the moose stopped in the road and turned back towards Nathan and the rest of them. In slow motion, Tess watched the moose start to jog back to them, seeming to cover an enormous amount of ground in slow motion. The cluster that they had formed broke apart. The two guys clambered on top of their wrecked car, Nathan dashed towards the overturned truck, much closer than his, dragging Tess with him. Next thing Tess knew, she was trying to gain her footing on the undercarriage of the upside down truck. There were two islands of people on wrecked vehicles with three moose staring at them. The cops had wisely climbed back in their car. She burst out laughing.

  One of the cops leaned out the window. “Hey there! No worries, we’re not leaving, just hanging tight ‘til these moose get over their curiosity.”

  Tess only laughed harder. She considered that perhaps she should be afraid, but didn’t think the moose could do much to them where they were.

  Nathan caught her eye, looking bemused. “Well damn if this isn’t silly. Staying put is the smartest thing to do, but we look ridiculous.” He looked toward the cops. “Glad to see you guys are safe and tight there. Any ideas on how to break up this moose party?”

  The two guys across from them were laughing too. One of them leaned down from his perch to grab a stick. He stood and tossed it towards the moose that had led the way out of the woods. The stick landed with a thud. The moose’s only response was to lean down and nose at the stick.

  Tess was laughing so hard at this point, tears rolled down her cheeks. She sat down on one of the tires. Nathan looked over at her. “You seem to be enjoying this.”

  Her shoulders shook with laughter. “This is just so ridiculous! I thought I’d see wildlife when we came to Alaska, but I never could have imagined this.” Giggles kept bursting out.

  She jumped when she heard the police siren come on. They flashed their lights in conjunction with a few more blasts of the siren. The three moose were finally jolted enough to start moving. In another few minutes, the three moose disappeared into the trees across from where they had appeared. They waited a few more minutes before climbing down from the respective vehicles. Just as they did, two tow trucks appeared. The cops finally got back out of their car and stood by while the tow truck drivers started to get the vehicles loaded. Nathan and Tess said their goodbyes to the police and the two guys who hopped in the back of the cop car for a free ride to town.

  Once they were in Nathan’s truck, Tess was overcome with the giggle
s again. Nathan looked at her askance and just shook his head. “Well you definitely have a story after this,” he said with a chuckle.

  Tess took several deep breaths and watched while the crushed truck was slowly levered into place on a tow truck bed. She thought about the moose, standing on the bottom of the truck, the fear in Finn’s eyes and the relief she experienced when she felt Paige’s breathing. She looked at Nathan, a wave of feeling rushing through her. Between the accident, the worry of whether everyone would be okay and then the moose, she was awash in adrenaline.

  “I’m just glad everyone’s okay,” she said, sobering for a moment. “I didn’t say anything, but I was scared for Paige for a few minutes there. It was hard to tell how she was since she was unconscious. I wasn’t sure she was breathing at first. I’m so glad she came out of it okay, at least as far as we can tell.”

  Nathan held her gaze. “You looked worried when you were waiting beside the truck. Damn glad she’s okay. I know her and Finn a little. She’s his younger sister.” He gave her an assessing look. “Are you okay? You didn’t hesitate to jump right in to help. And then, of course, those damn moose,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “I’m okay. Just overwhelmed I guess. And the moose, well that was just funny. I know they can be dangerous, but once we were on the truck and the guys were on the car, we were fine.”

  Nathan nodded, his eyes crinkling with a smile. He glanced up and started the truck. “Looks like we can finally get through.”

  Tess looked away from him to see the rear of the last tow truck rolling forward. Nathan shifted the truck into gear and slowly followed the two tow trucks toward town.

  “Still up for dinner at the brewery?” he asked. “I’d understand if you weren’t. It’s been a pretty eventful drive to dinner.”