A Match Made in Alaska

by Belle Calhoune

  The sight of an older, silver-haired gentleman entering the library caused her to sit up straight in her chair. There were two other men walking behind him at a much slower pace. Within seconds she had identified the man in front as Mayor Prescott. He was striding toward her with a look of purpose etched on his handsome face.

  Jasper Prescott! Just being in proximity to him made her pulse race with exhilaration. This man could be her grandfather. He was distinguished and stately and, by all accounts, a barrel of fun. And he had an extensive family and enough relatives to give her a plethora of familial connections right here in Love. She knew that she was getting ahead of herself, but she was hoping and wishing and praying that he was her long-lost kin.

  “Good morning, Annie. I brought some pals along with me. These boys have been lifelong friends of mine. We were as thick as thieves growing up,” he said with a wink. “This is Eli Courtland, and this is Zachariah Cummings.”

  “It’s great to see you again, Mayor Prescott,” she gushed. There was something about the man that was infectious. It didn’t take a genius to see why Hazel was so enamored of him.

  “Nice to meet you, Annie,” Eli said as he reached for her hand and shook it. “Thanks for bringing all your knowledge about books to our little town.”

  Annie turned toward Zachariah, who studied her with a wary expression. He barely grunted a hello.

  “Don’t mind him,” Jasper said in a loud whisper as he leaned in to her. “He got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

  “Just this morning?” Eli asked with a guffaw.

  “I’ve been itching to show off our new library, since they both missed the ribbon-cutting ceremony,” Jasper explained.

  “Cilla was home with a bad cold,” Eli said. “I didn’t have the heart to leave her alone.”

  Cilla. The name immediately drew Annie’s attention. Gram had written about her. She had been one of her closest friends.

  Jasper clapped Eli on the back. “Can’t say as I blame you. That’s what makes you such a great husband, Eli. You’re as devoted as they come.”

  Annie thought she heard a snort from Zachariah.

  “Welcome to the Free Library of Love, gentlemen. Is there anything I can help you find in our catalog? Or are you just getting the grand tour?” Annie asked. It was incredibly sweet that Jasper had brought his two dearest friends to get a glimpse of Love’s new and improved library. It was wonderful that the town mayor was as proud of it as she was.

  “Let’s start with a tour of the place,” Jasper suggested. “Then I’d love to find a few of my favorite authors in the catalog.”

  “I wish that I was a more proficient reader like Jasper here,” Eli said mournfully as he looked all around him. There was a wistful expression in his eyes. “I would love to take some books out and get a library card with my name on it.”

  “Me, too,” Zachariah said with a frown.

  “Both of you are eligible for a library card,” Annie informed them. “Even if you’re not strong readers, you can still fill out the form and get your own card.”

  “Oh, Annie, that’s great. I’d love to bring some books home for my wife,” Eli said, his face lit up with happiness. “Cilla loves to read.”

  Zachariah still seemed caught up in the past. “Back in our day, if you fell behind, the teacher didn’t have the time or the resources to help you catch up.”

  “That’s true,” Eli asserted. “So we just limped along.”

  “And ended up being pitiful readers,” Zachariah said with a rueful shake of his head.

  “But not for lack of trying,” Eli said with a little sigh. “We really wanted to excel at it.”

  Annie turned toward Jasper and discreetly pulled him aside while the other two men continued their discussion. “Maybe we can have some literacy programs for adults at the library. It could help strengthen skills and foster a love of books. And it might provide some incentive to add some more hours to the schedule.”

  “It’s a good idea,” Jasper said. “I just wonder if folks in town would be too proud to come seeking help.”

  “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Plenty of adults struggle with reading and don’t become fully functional readers till later on in life.”

  Jasper reached for her hand. “I like the way you think, Annie. Let’s make it happen. If you can do a little research and draft a proposal, I’ll have the town council discuss it. We do have a special fund for education that we might be able to tap into.”

  “Excellent. I’ll get right on it. Shall we tour the library?” Annie asked.

  Jasper held out his arm and waited for Annie to loop her arm through his. “Lead the way, milady,” he said with a nod of his head. “We can’t wait to see all the progress you and your team have made.”

  “We’re still getting things settled, but during the days the library is closed—Fridays and weekends—we’ll be putting on the finishing touches,” Annie said.

  As Annie walked arm in arm with Jasper, trailed by Eli and Zachariah, she felt a burst of pride in this wonderful, charming place. A library was a treasured building, filled with books and educational materials that could transform lives. If she lived to be one hundred, she didn’t think she would ever forget the look of awe on Eli’s and Zachariah’s faces as they went from room to room. She couldn’t help but wonder if their own lives might have been different if there had been a fully functioning library in this town when they were growing up. By her calculations, they had been adults when the first library had opened in town. Sadly the library had closed its doors after only a few short years due to financial issues and lack of interest from the townsfolk.

  The enormity of it washed over her. In traveling all the way to Love, she had been determined to see this library make a difference in the residents’ lives. And little by little, she was discovering that her presence here in town really could make an impact.

  Yes, indeed. She was exactly where she needed to be.

  Chapter Nine

  It was a perfect night for a toboggan ride, Declan thought. A crisp chill permeated the air. A full moon hung in the sky. There was ample snow on the ground to make the toboggans glide like lightning down the hill. A few delicate snowflakes gently fell from the heavens. As he looked out over Deer Run Lake, he inhaled deeply. The fresh Alaskan air felt invigorating. The frozen-solid lake appeared as smooth as glass. He let out a chuckle as he flashed back to all the memorable times he’d spent in this very place with Finn and the Prescott brothers.

  Declan was floating on air. A few hours ago, he had received a phone call from the FAA informing him that the accident had occurred due to a bird strike. In his specific case, birds had been sucked into an engine, striking an engine fan blade. As a result, Lucy had gone down.

  He felt vindicated! Even though no one had blamed him for the plane crash, he’d placed the responsibility on his own shoulders as the pilot. Now, for the first time in weeks, he could rid himself of the albatross he’d been carrying around his neck.

  A bird strike! Of all the things to force him to make a crash landing. He could hardly believe it. He hadn’t seen any birds that morning when they’d left Anchorage, although there had been a light fog in the area. Perhaps that explained why he hadn’t noticed any flying near the plane.

  It was neither here nor there. He was celebrating his good news and feeling hopeful that this nightmare was coming to an end.

  All he wanted to do was find Annie and grab her by the hand so he could tell her the good news. It was a pretty novel feeling for him—this desire to share life-changing news with a woman. He’d never had that relationship with anyone before. Declan hadn’t wanted that type of closeness. If he was being honest with himself, he’d resisted it at every turn. And of all the women to inspire this feeling inside him, Annie was the one woman who wanted the thing
s he couldn’t provide.

  The smell of apple cider hovered in the air. He could almost taste it going down his throat, warm and spicy. Declan found himself wishing he had hustled up a date for this evening. Everywhere he looked, couples were huddled together or standing in line at the concession stand, holding hands. Almost as if he had made her appear by thinking about her, Annie came into view. She was standing by the concession stand, too, her pretty face framed by a dark pair of earmuffs. As soon as she spotted him, Annie waved at him enthusiastically.

  He wasn’t the jealous type, but the sight of Dwight with Annie by his side threatened to drive him crazy. His insides twisted painfully. Not that he had any claim on her or anything! But seeing her with Dwight, of all people, was grating on his nerves. Dwight! He was the most humorless, negative person on the planet, while Annie was cheery and good-hearted.

  This feeling brewing inside him felt like torture.

  Humph! It served him right. He should have been quicker about asking her to the event himself, even though he had no intention of dating Annie. But they could have gone as friends. Surely there was no harm in that.

  Who was he kidding? What he felt for Annie wasn’t strictly friendship. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, and his feelings were becoming more complicated each and every day. All he knew was that it scared him all the way down to his toes.

  “Hey, Declan,” Cameron called out, motioning him over to the roasting fire. He was sitting with his beautiful wife, Paige, and their baby daughter, Emma, roasting marshmallows. Declan moved toward them, thankful for a distraction from the sight of Annie coupled up with Dwight. There was only so much of it he could stand before he exploded.

  “How are you?” Paige asked, standing up to give him a hug. “I haven’t seen you since the accident. It goes without saying that we were mighty happy to know you made it through the ordeal unscathed.”

  All of a sudden, Boone’s voice intruded on the conversation, and he felt a strong pat on his back. “It would take more than a plane crash to take this guy down,” Boone drawled. “He’s as solid as they come.”

  “You got that right,” Declan said, enjoying being in the bosom of the Prescott family. “Where’s your better half?” Declan teased, looking past Boone for any signs of Grace.

  “Gracie sends her regards,” Boone said, his expression downcast. “She’s beat. This little one is really wearing her mother out. Between exhaustion and battling morning sickness, Gracie is having a tough time of it.” Boone’s expression exuded concern.

  “Poor thing. I know it’s tough, but she’ll be all right. She doesn’t have too much longer to go,” Paige said. “Trust me. It’ll all be worth it in the end.” She sat back down and pressed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. Cameron gazed at his family, his face practically glowing with contentment. Declan was happy for him. He and Paige had gone through the fire before emerging stronger and more committed to one another than ever.

  Emma stood up and pointed to a spot in the distance. “Dan. Dan.” She was jumping up and down with excitement. Within seconds her cousin Aidan came into view, accompanied by Liam and Honor, youngest of the Prescott children and sister of Boone, Liam and Cameron.

  “She can’t say Aidan yet,” Cameron explained with a chuckle. “She’s been calling him Dan for weeks.”

  Everyone laughed and enjoyed the sight of Aidan greeting his baby cousin with a sweet hug and a kiss on the cheek. The two children represented the future of the Prescott clan.

  “Seems like we have another charmer in our midst,” Honor joked. “He’s going to give Declan a run for his money.”

  Declan chuckled along with everyone else, but he felt a niggling sensation at the idea of being viewed as a ladies’ man. More and more he was pushing against the very idea of it. He wasn’t sure it was who he wanted to be. Frankly it was getting old.

  And the truth of it was, the only woman he wanted to spend time with was Annie. Sweet, beautiful Annie. She was intelligent and caring and interesting beyond belief. He could talk to her for hours without being bored. And if he had to be stranded alone with anyone on a desert island, he’d pick her.

  “Now, this is a sight for sore eyes!” a raspy voice rang out. Jasper, bundled up in a fur-trimmed parka, walked up with Hazel at his side. Declan couldn’t help but smile at the rapturous look on Hazel’s face. She really did love the old coot. He hoped Jasper appreciated Hazel’s devotion. “I love seeing this family as one big, tight unit.” He swung his gaze around the circle. “We’ve weathered some rough times, but from this point forward it’s smooth sailing.”

  Declan knew with a deep certainty that Jasper was referencing his own health issues, the loss of Liam’s beloved wife, Ruby, and the town of Love’s recession. Not to mention Boone’s estrangement with his sister, Honor, and Cameron having missed the first fourteen months of his daughter’s life. The Prescott family had been through the ringer over the past few years.

  “Amen!” Hazel said in a loud voice. She raised her hand in the air. “Let the blessings continue for this family.”

  His family. Declan cast a glance around at all the people who couldn’t have been more dear to him if they had been blood relations. His mind suddenly veered toward Finn. At some point, he needed to patch things up with his brother. Although things always tended to be hit or miss with them, he loved Finn. Life was too short not to bridge the gap between them.

  “Who wants to ice-skate?” Declan asked, holding his skates up in the air.

  Boone let out a groan while Aidan started hollering with excitement. Liam sent Declan a helpless look. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was bothering Liam. He’d seen this all play out before during the last skating party.

  “Will you skate with me, Aidan? I came here without a date tonight, so you’d be doing me a big favor.”

  Aidan turned toward his father. He looked up at him with solemn brown eyes. “Daddy. Do you mind if I skate with Declan?”

  Liam lovingly tousled his son’s cap of brown curls. “Not at all, buddy. It sounds like fun. Have a great time!”

  Liam mouthed the words thank you to Declan when his son wasn’t looking. It was a well-known fact that none of the three Prescott brothers could skate a lick, which was pretty hilarious considering that learning to ice-skate in Alaska was a rite of passage. Declan didn’t mind one bit filling in for Liam. Spending time with Aidan was priceless. With his dark hair, olive skin and expressive eyes, he almost made Declan yearn for a kid of his own.

  “Come on A-man,” Declan said, using the nickname Boone had given his nephew. Aidan quickly left his father’s side and joined Declan. He sat Aidan down and began to lace up his brown ice skates. As soon as he placed his own skates on his feet, he began to lead Aidan onto the ice. Aidan’s movements were tentative. Although he knew how to skate a little bit, Declan realized he had a way to go before he could skate around the lake by himself.

  A glint of pink whipping around the lake suddenly caught his eye. It was Annie, spectacularly decked out in a pink parka jacket, black leggings and a pair of winter-white ice skates. She came to a stop right next to them, gifting him with a dazzling smile.

  He looked around the skating area. “Where’s Dwight?” Declan asked with a scowl.

  “He can’t skate,” Annie said with a shrug. “I was so excited about skating here tonight, so he insisted I head out to the ice without him.”

  “How considerate of him,” Declan said, trying to keep his tone neutral. As if he wasn’t annoyed enough by Dwight being Annie’s date, now he’d just discovered that he didn’t even know how to skate. Count to ten, he reminded himself. It wasn’t fair to take out all his frustrations on Dwight.

  “Mind if I join you?” Annie asked. “I can help with Aidan if you like.”

  Declan nodded. He couldn’t think of anything he would like better than to glide around the
lake with Annie. It would restore his good mood. From the looks of it, she was a really good skater. Growing up in Maine had probably helped her hone those skills.

  “Hey! I don’t need help!” Aidan protested. “I’m a big boy.”

  Annie and Declan shared an amused glance. Declan bent down so that he was on eye level with Aidan. “You really are a big boy, Aidan. I can’t believe you’re going to be five on your next birthday. But here’s the thing.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Annie isn’t the best skater in the world. So we’re going to hold hands with her so she doesn’t fall.”

  “Are we going to be heroes?” Aidan asked.

  “Yes, we are,” Declan said with a nod.

  “Daddy says my mommy was a hero. She saved lots of lives,” Aidan said. “And now she’s in heaven.”

  Declan placed his arms around Aidan. “She was a true-blue hero, buddy. She was one of the bravest people I’ve ever known.” He placed his hand over his chest as a sharp pain stabbed him. All of sudden, he was catapulted back to his own loss of his beloved mother. The ache never really faded.

  It didn’t escape his notice that Annie brushed a tear away from her cheek, clearly moved by Aidan’s poignant words about his mother.

  Aidan nodded solemnly, then glanced over at Annie. He stuck out his hand. “Grab ahold of me. You won’t fall. It’s not scary at all.” Annie took his hand and hung on tightly. Declan skated to the other side of Aidan and grabbed his hand. As a threesome, they began to glide across the lake. The sound of Aidan’s carefree laughter carried with the wintry breeze. He glanced over at Annie and locked gazes with her. She smiled at him—a beatific, dazzling smile that caused his pulse to race at ten times its normal pace.

  For a man who hadn’t had a lot of perfect in his life, Declan relished this carefree, lighthearted moment. It was sheer perfection. All of his troubles seemed to have been swept away by the gusty Alaskan wind. Declan wished this interlude could last forever. Gliding around Deer Run Lake with Annie and Aidan gave him the feeling of soaring, and it was almost as if he had his wings back.