by Lauren Wood
“I don’t know what to say. I was trying to figure out what in the world you were doing here. I never would have guessed it was for this reason. What’s even out there now?”
“A few houses.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
I didn’t know if she was talking about my half or what. This is where it got a little tricky because I knew how Molly was about keeping everything the way it was. She liked to preserve everything and what I planned to do with the land was not going to help me secure her half that I needed, so it was a question that I could have done without.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure yet.”
She nodded her head and squinted her eyes at me as if there was an answer written on my forehead that I didn’t know about.
“So you have no idea what you are going to do with it?”
“Well I have an idea. You know how I am.”
“Yes I do.”
Molly took a drink of her coffee and I sighed to myself because I knew that she was paying attention now. She always knew when I was up to something and a smile her way wasn’t helping like it used to. I used to have a lot more pull on her.
“I want to sell it. All of it and go back to New York. I don’t think there is anything for me here anymore and I don’t need the extra ties.”
“That’s a shame. You belong here Chris, you always did. No matter how you try to fight it you will always belong right here in Nome. Look at you. You were made for this place. I bet the business world never saw your six foot self-coming.”
I had to laugh because she had a way of saying things that was more than a little cute. She’d always made me laugh; something that I found out was a rarity. I missed all of the talks we had and damn I missed Molly. She was a one of a kind girl. The only one that I’d ever really cared for and I wished more than anything that I was able to take her home with me.
“Maybe not. I do get my way a lot more because of my size. The city slickers don’t know what to think of me sometimes. It’s hilarious.”
“I can only imagine. I haven’t been down to the lower forty-eight in a long time. I don’t know if I want to go back. They are trying to buy up land up here and turn it into another Juneau, but the people around here aren’t going to sell out and let that happen.”
“That will never happen way up here, not completely.”
“They’re trying. I’ve heard talk about a cruise line wanting to stop here once a week. That would be a mess for the town.”
It was clear how she still felt about new comers coming in and I wished that she had changed her mind on that a little bit.
“Think of all of the business that you will get if that happened. You can’t be doing all that great right now.”
I shouldn’t have said that. As soon as it left my mouth, I was sure that I should have just kept my damn mouth shut because that irked Molly to no end.
“I do okay here.”
“I’m not trying to make you defensive. This is what you wanted, here in Nome and you did it. I’m proud of you.”
“You sound condescending.”
I groaned inwardly and sighed to myself. I don’t know how this was going to happen when I first got up here, but I hadn’t thought that I would get into it with Molly. While we had a lot between us, it was so long ago. Now I realized that it was still rather fresh after all of these years, even after all of this time.
“I’m not Molly and I’m not here to fight with you.”
“Then why are you here Chris? You say that you are here about the will, but wouldn’t the lawyer take care of that? It’s his job, isn’t it?”
She was on to me and it was better to just get it out because I knew Molly well.
“I want to make you an offer on the land that my parents gave you.”
“An offer?”
“Yeah, I will give you more than it’s worth. You won’t have to work, ever again Molly.”
“Why does that sound too good to be true? What do you want to do with it?”
“I want to package it with mine and sell it.”
“To who?”
That was where it got tricky and from her comments before, she wasn’t going to want to hear about how the cruise company needs a place to dock and the family land on the coast was perfect for them. It was the only spot in Nome that made sense and they were offering far more than I could imagine. I wouldn’t have to work either and we would both come out ahead. But Molly wasn’t going to see it that way.
“A company in California.”
“You want to sell out?”
The look on her face said it all.
Chapter 6
Molly
“It’s not like that Molly.”
“I used to know you pretty well, but I can’t believe that you would want to sell out with your parent’s property. They would never have wanted that.”
I was starting to think that was why they had given me half of it. They knew that it wouldn’t sell without both sides and they knew that I wouldn’t let it happen. I was one of the only ones that didn’t mind standing up to Chris. He had always been a bit scary to most people, but Chris was just Chris to me.
“They wouldn’t sell, but they didn’t live here either.”
“Your father said once that he bought up Nome so no one else could have it. He wanted it to stay how it was.”
I couldn’t believe him and I had to wonder what it was that he wanted with all of that money. Chris had always wanted more and had never been happy with the way things were. I’d felt that way for a while when I was younger, but as the years past, I realized that there was only so much that a person needed. I wish that he would stay and remember why he loved this place so much. He used to.
“I know, but they are gone and I don’t want to own part of Nome. There is nothing here for me anymore.”
“You’ve got a bunch of old friends here that I bet would like to see you. It’s been a while Chris. I think you’ve forgotten how good it can be here in Nome. Why don’t you stay a while?”
“I’m not staying any longer than I have to.”
“Well you have to stay for the lawyers at least, right?”
He nodded his head that he did and I smiled back at him. I wanted him to stay, I always had and I knew that if I could just get him back up on the mountain, doing what we used to love, I would be able to convince him that this is where he needed to be. I wasn’t going to sell him the land. He knew that before he came.
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m staying with my Aunt because the hotel here is still a dump.”
“We had some good times in that hotel.”
His eyes darkened for a moment and I didn’t regret putting the image in his head. I wanted him to get back to the old Chris, not the one in front of me now.
“Will you help me go check out the land and see what kind of work is needed? No one has been up there for a while.”
“I don’t know if I will have time. I still have to work.”
I sighed to myself and sat back in the booth, rolling the coffee cup around in my hands. I didn’t want to argue with him, so I knew that I was going to have to add some incentive. I needed a way for him to agree to help me, but it was going to be a risk because Chris could not change his mind and then I would be stuck losing out.
“What if I made it worth your while?”
“Like what?”
He was thinking about sex because his face was showing the lust that was always simmering under the surface. I knew that look all too well and I loved it if I was honest with myself. I loved it when he looked at me like that, but I was getting ahead of myself and I had to pull back a little bit.
“Like I will sell you the land if you help me and stay with me for the next week.”
“Are you in need of some good loving?”
I shook my head that I wasn’t. “I gave up on that a long time ago. I need some help fixing a few things that I know you are good at and it would be good to reminisce.”
> He looked like he didn’t trust me, like I had something up my sleeve. I did of course, but he didn’t have to know that at the moment. I didn’t want him to know what my plans were. I had a week to make him fall in love with this place again. I had to assure myself that it was all about him loving Nome, not me. I was going to have to remember that, even when my heart was being a dumb ass, thinking that his being back was going to bring something home for us. It was over. I was doing this… for Ruth’s sake. Yeah, that’s why.
“So I stay the week with you and help out and you will sell me the property at market value?”
I agreed and he smiled this big way that made me wonder then if it was all going to backfire in my face. He was obviously sure that he wasn’t going to be sucked into Nome life again. He was going to stay with me, do a little labor and then he was going to go back to his new life.
I wasn’t going to let that happen, so I smiled back at him just as widely. I was going to make sure that it didn’t happen like that. I needed him to stay and see what his parents had left him. I was doing it for them, but deep down I knew that I was doing it for me too. I missed Chris something fierce. I miss what we used to have and I liked to think that I could make it happen again.
“Yes, you have a deal. Stay a week and help me out. I’m sure that you will remember what it is that you are missing here. Nome has always been your home and will always be your home.”
And I am still here waiting.
Chapter 7
Chris
Molly had that look on her face like she had found a way to get her way. She was convinced that I was going to fall back in love with the place and that I was going to stay, but I wasn’t. I had feelings for her, always had and always will, but I didn’t miss the place where I grew up. It had gotten too small for me a long time ago and that hadn’t changed. Now that I had been to other places, I couldn’t see coming back as an option, no matter how much the locals had their charm.
“So you will sell me the land and that’s that?”
“Yes, if you choose to leave after staying for a while, I will do as you ask. I just want you to give it a chance.”
“Then why do you want me to stay with you? Is there something unrelated that you need from me because I’m more than willing to give a little extra.”
I wanted her to say yes, admit it now and it would make everything easier. I was here for the land and her part of it, but at the end of the day, I had thought about seeing Molly again, touching her, far more than I thought about what I could buy with the money. I’d missed her and seeing her in front of me was kind of messing with my head.
“It’s not about that Chris. I’m sure there are plenty of girls to satisfy that particular itch.”
“Molly, it’s been almost eight years since I left and I assure you now that no one else has been able to scratch that particular itch for me. There is no substitution.”
She blushed a little and looked away. The sun was hitting her hair, making it brighter and I could see the golden highlights shining against it. She was beautiful and all it took was a little light from a window to make it even better.
“I think that you’re mistaken about that itch. Some itches aren’t meant to be scratch, it leads to infection.”
She always had a way with words and I wasn’t going to start a battle of words with her. I always lost.
“Nothing a little antibiotic can’t fix.”
Molly laughed and finally had a look that wasn’t so tense on her face.
“I’m lost on that metaphor, but no funny business. I don’t want you around for that Chris. I want you around for your wood working skills. I need some new trim and you always did the best work.”
It reminded me of the many things I had made for her when we were together. She always loved that I made her things with my bare hands and I always loved her reaction. I had a small part of me that wanted to know if she kept any of the things I made. Had they meant anything to her after all of this time?
“So you want to use me for the skill of my hands?”
She had an exasperated look on her face. “Still just as one-tracked as ever before. How are you not married?”
“Never found anyone that compared to you Molly.”
“You must not have been looking all that hard.”
Molly didn’t get it, she never had. She was the rare beauty that was drop dead gorgeous in everyone’s eyes but her own. I don’t know what she saw when she looked in the mirror, but it wasn’t reality. The reality was that every woman wanted to be her and every man wanted to be with her. And Molly was oblivious to it all.
“So are we really going to do this?”
She stood up and nodded her head that we were. Molly moved towards me when I stood up as well and I thought for a moment she was going to hug me. It had been so long since we had seen each other and she was a hugger. Or maybe it was the fact that I wanted to touch her because when she took a step towards me, I took one towards her and pulled her close.
She felt good in my arms, really good and I took the situation a little differently than I was supposed to. I don’t know if I could have seen it any other way. She was smiling at me and then she was touching me. The smell of her sweetness surrounded me and took over my senses.
The next thing I knew, I was pulling her closer and bending her neck so that I could give her a kiss. Her lips were so enticing and I got ahead of myself for a minute. But she did as well because I could feel Molly responding and settling in my arms. She had been there so many times before. It just felt right.
When I felt her tongue moving in against mine, I was sure that I was right where I needed to be. Molly was the only woman that made me feel anything. She had always been the only one and now that she was back in my arms, I swore that I was never going to lose her again.
Then I felt her hand push against my chest and my lips left hers. They didn’t want to, but there was nothing that I could do about it. She needed a moment to breathe, while I was trying to make her breathless. Molly was always thinking and the only way I had been able to stop that was to turn her on to turn it off.
Her blue eyes were glittery and a little darker. She was breathing a little faster and I could have guessed that her body was revving up for what would be next.
“I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too Chris, but it has been a long time and a surprise that you are even here. I don’t think I can do this. My body just reacted like it always did. Being with you is like human nature.”
It was not a complete refusal and I had learned patience in my time away from her. I had learned that I was able to live without her. I just didn’t want to anymore. I was not going to move too fast and scare her off. I was determined to make it work and I broke a grin. I was going to get Molly back into my life and it was good that she had a little reminder of what it was like when we were together. It felt just as good as it had before. Molly couldn’t ignore that any more than I could.
“I don’t know what came over me. Just feeling you in my arms again and I must have flashbacked a little.”
“It’s okay.”
She touched her lips as if they had been scorched.
“It is getting late. I should be going anyways. I will see you tomorrow?”
It was a question that I was quick to answer. I wanted to see her every day, but for now, tomorrow was going to have to do.
“Good, I’ll call you in the morning and you can come by. Tell your aunt that I said hi.”
Chapter 8
Chris
I didn’t want to wait for her to call, so I did a little packing before going up on the mountain to see an old friend of mine. It had been a while since I was up there and I wasn’t sure that he would be still there, but Bill was there with his new wife. I couldn’t believe he was married, but seeing how happy he was made me realize that somewhere along the lines, my priorities had changed. I don’t know when or where, why, any of that, but I was thinking more and more about se
ttling down. Molly always did do that to me.
“Where the hell have you been man? I haven’t seen you in a long time. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Saw Molly yesterday.”
Bill shook his head knowingly. He knew that I had loved her, but he also knew how it ended all that time ago. I had a lot on my mind. Everyone that was around back then knew what happened. I was thought of as a traitor for leaving home and her. I was in a stage of my life back then where I didn’t think Nome was big enough for me. I had left it all behind.
“She has been real good, but she still has that temper when you get her riled up.”
I smiled because I remembered the temper very well because it was directed at me more than once in the past.
“Yes, I haven’t gotten that side of her yet.”
“Good because I have business with her and she drives a hard bargain when she is mad.”
“Going to go stay with her for the week while I’m here.”
“Getting all domestic huh? Never took you as the domestic type. Hell, you got more ass in a week than most of the rest of Nome did. Before you met Molly and it all changed, every man here in town wanted to be you.”
“Now I hear they want to be you.”
“Hell, Ayla is fine. I am not going to deny that, but she is mine.”
“I also heard.”
“For a guy that just got back, you sure do hear a lot.”
“You’re an interesting kind of guy.”
“Well I’m not near as interesting as you and Moll getting back together. They will all be talking about the two of you again soon enough.”
“It won’t be the first time we gave them something to talk about.” My mind shifted to a particular randy night where we had been caught in our car by several people.
I could see the look in Bill’s eyes. He was one of those people and I still didn’t like that he had seen so much.