“Kate?” Leah shook her arm gently, pulling her back to the present. “You seem to have gotten lost in your thoughts.”
Kate smiled. “I was just wondering how Anya and Willem could have been here in the exact place we are now, holding each other, in love and…”
“Making love?” Leah teased. She laughed, followed by Olivia and Grandma Connie. “You are such a romantic, Kate. It’s sweet.”
Kate reddened.
Olivia brushed her arms fondly. “She’s in love with my son. I can understand how she feels.”
She sliced into the coffee cake and served her with a piece. “Dig in honey,” she said.
“So you have Russian ancestry,” Kate said, hoping to divert her awkward romantic sentiments from the table.
“And Polish,” Olivia replied in short. “Both Grandma Connie and I are of Polish descent. That’s a Polish recipe you have in your hands.”
“Was that a coincidence?” Kate asked.
“Grandpa Thomas found Grandma in California. They fell in love and married and she moved all the way here to Sitka,” Olivia replied. “I was a distant cousin who had come to visit Aunt Connie during one fortunate Thanksgiving. Frank saw me and he wouldn’t let me leave. Been stuck here since.” She grinned.
“Oh, is that what you call it these days?” asked Frank, slumping into a chair next to his wife. “Living with me?”
Olivia gave him a teasing smile. “Or would you rather have me say stranded?”
“Stranded?” Frank asked amusedly. “Now in what way is that justified? You have all the means to leave the island whenever you want to.”
“Yes, I suppose,” Olivia sighed. “We’ll leave it to Stockholm’s Syndrome then. I’m in love with my abductor.”
Frank laughed. “Darling, we’ve been married almost forty years now and you’re still under the impression I kidnapped you. In actual fact, you wouldn’t leave.”
He turned to Kate cheekily. “I begged her for my freedom. Instead she stayed put and frightened away any chance I would have had with a pretty girl.”
Olivia slugged him in the arm. “If there was any girl at all! You didn’t even have the nerve to speak to me.”
Frank picked up his coffee, dismissing her claim with a tired shake of his head.
Leah giggled. “But according to legend, the true matchmaker in Mom and Dad’s affair was Grandma. Isn’t it true, Grandma?”
Grandma Connie pretended to be busy with the bubbling baby in the pram beside her. “What? What did you say, dear?”
“Although, she will never admit it,” Leah whispered to Kate. “By the way, how did you and Clayton meet?”
Kate swallowed nervously. “I…,” she tried to think quickly.
“Through work,” said Clayton, as he leant forward to lay a kiss on Kate’s forehead.
Kate froze. She hadn’t seen him come in. And when his lips pressed against her skin, her body tingled, her heart thumping crazily inside her. She dropped her eyes in embarrassment, hoping he had not read how she was feeling about him. She did not want him to be burdened by her emotions.
It’s an act, she reminded herself. It wasn’t real.
But no matter how much she tried convincing herself, her body rebelled against them. Her mouth ran dry, her senses heightened from his musk on his freshly bathed skin.
When he pulled up a chair beside her, she went lucid from the warmth spreading into her core. She wanted to flee from him, in the fear that she would succumb to her emotions and fall helplessly onto his shoulders like the lovelorn woman she was.
“That can’t be all it, is it Kate?” Leah said, interrupting her thoughts.
“I’m sorry,” Kate returned shakily towards Clayton’s sister.
Grandma Connie’s eyes brushed over her face worriedly. “Kate, dear, you look awfully pale. You really do need some rest.”
Clayton frowned, taking her hand in his. “Are you okay?”
Kate tried pulling her hand away but he tightened his clasp. “I will be, only if you let go of me once in a while,” she whispered harshly into his ear.
He gave her a side smile and picked up his cup of coffee with his other hand. He was determined to have her suffer as she had made him suffer all morning.
*****
He had woken up early in the morning with her buttocks tucked into him. He hadn’t realized that his arm had protectively reached over her. Even as he slept, he seemed to have an annoying urge to keep her close to him, always in the fear she would disappear if he wasn’t looking.
His unconscious actions surprised him because he was never really the possessive sort. Exasperated by his lack of power over his emotions, he rose out of bed and changed into his running gear.
The sun was still rising in the horizon, the sky glowing from its golden amber light. He sprinted out into the cold morning of Sitka and headed towards Scrawny’s Hill. He passed by the cliff that overlooked Smuggler’s Cove. Even in such early hours, the ocean didn’t ebb in its race to meet the white sandy beaches. He estimated it would take another thirty minutes before he would reach Scrawny’s Hill. But only fifteen minutes into his run, he was already missing Kate’s warm length against him.
He pushed on despite his longing for her, enduring another ten minutes of heated desire coursing through him as he imagined her splayed on his bed, just as he had last seen her. Her night dress had ridden up to her hips, her legs tucked into her chest and her long brunette hair spread over his pillows. She had uttered a small groan when he released her from his arms and immediately he had grown hard, despairing in the need to take her again.
Succumbing to his unexplainable frenzy for her, he halted tiredly, his hands on his hips as he tugged in large gulps of breaths. His chest hurt from the clamping in his heart at the mere thought of her. His head swarmed from his faltering decisions. Finally in an effort to rid himself of any emotional dependency on her, he roared out loudly, beating his chest like an ape man.
Nothing moved in the wild about him except for the wind that rustled the leaves and the chirping of birds, probably tweeting out a warning to the others of the crazed man’s presence.
Bereft of any more energy to shout out his frustration, he heaved as he gazed upon the morning sea. He no longer had the urge to run up to Scrawny’s Hill as he always did every morning when he stayed on the island. Kate had certainly interrupted that one routine in his life. Could he afford any further disruptions? He didn’t like the effect she was having on him.
He spent the next hour kicking the dirt under his feet or twiddling a grass stalk in his fingers. He needed to get back, he decided. He needed to get Kate out of his system. He sprinted back home, a renewed energy powering his limbs.
He had heard their little giggles drift into their air through the kitchen window. He skipped eagerly onto the steps leading to the back door. He stalled momentarily at it, watching Kate, mesmerized by how well she blended into the family. She was sitting patiently, letting Leah tease her as his mother and grandmother hovered protectively over her.
But when he saw the little attempt she made at dispensing the seriousness of their fake engagement, he stiffened. His jaw had tensed, anger rising in the pits of his stomach. He had dragged her out of the kitchen, fearing she would disclose the truth of their relationship. Even in his anger, he had wanted to take her. Drive into her with all his pent-up heat.
With much effort and strength, he had to pull himself away from her, choosing to calm his raging hunger under a cold shower. However, his efforts to assuage his frustrating desires was short-lived when he emerged from his shivering and self-inflicting torturous shower to discover she wasn’t in the room as he had expected.
A muscle throbbed in his temple in annoyance. Why couldn’t she ever follow instructions? He dressed as quickly as he could, praying she wasn’t going to blow their cover of a happy couple.
Promising himself that if she even as let out the slightest hint, he would make certain she would pay heavily for it. And it
didn’t matter how addicted he was becoming of her.
That didn’t matter as far as he was concerned. He would make sure of that.
*****
“How are you feeling now, dear?” asked Grandma Connie, worriedly as she peered at the pale color enveloping Kate’s face.
Kate managed a small smile. Not wanting to gain any further attention, she replied, “A little better.”
Under the table, she struggled to writhe her right hand out of Clayton’s powerful clench.
Clayton calmly sipped his coffee with his free hand. Since it was his right that was free, he even managed to eat Grandma’s delicious coffee cake.
“This is nice, Grandma,” he said through a mouthful. “It’s been a while since you’ve made them.”
She scowled. “If you visited me a little more often, you’d get it a little more too.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’ve been busy.”
“Busy buying off businesses?” his father raised an eyebrow disapprovingly.
Kate felt Clayton tense.
“There is nothing wrong in buying businesses that don’t work.” Clayton released Kate’s hand.
“No,” his father answered grimly. “But there is certainly something wrong with the way you do it.”
Clayton wiped his mouth with napkin. “I really don’t need to talk about this. It’s my business, Dad. How I conduct it is not your concern.”
“But you are,” Frank Reid persisted. “How your affairs reflect on this family is important. Nothing you’ve done has shone a positive light on our family. Your ruthless undertakings, your women… Frankly, I’m surprised that you even brought a fiancée home.”
Clayton’s jaw clenched
“Frank,” Olivia begged. “Do we need to do this now?”
“I’ve had enough,” Clayton said, grating his chair back as he stood up, pulling Kate with him.
“No, sit,” Olivia ordered him. “I said sit down.” She glared angrily at both her husband and her son. “What differences either of you have with your businesses is your problem. But I will not allow you both to bring it to this table, into this family.”
“He’s already brought it into it! And they’re splashed all over the papers and the media too! How he conducts his affairs reflects us. Perhaps you could talk some sense into your son about that,” Frank growled.
“I have done nothing that’s illegal,” Clayton growled back.
“Not illegal but certainly unethical.”
“Unethical?! What’s unethical about what I do?”
“Oh come on,” Frank said tiredly. “Walking out on negotiations. I heard you even turned soviet on the last one. Employed Cyrus Maine to turn the deals dirty. And Cyrus Maine is as bad as you can get.”
“They are business tactics. Not that you will understand. You’re satisfied with the little you got. Growing slowly maybe your idea of business, but it is not mine. In the fifty years or so Dad, how much growths have you added to your business?”
“And what are you racing towards with the way you do it? Not forgetting the trail of unreasonable layoffs. We’re talking about people’s lives!”
“None of it was unreasonable! We made cuts whenever we needed to. Those who could not stay were those who couldn’t offer anything profitable to the business.”
“That’s because you decided that your objectives were different!”
“The companies I buy are failing ones. Their objectives were not viable anyway! Does that even occur to you?”
“Enough!!” Olivia shouted. “Not one more word. Both of you!”
The two men clamped, their eyes averted as they tried to calm their tempers.
Kate watched them uncomfortably. She had some problems at home but the altercation she just witnessed between Clayton and his father was more than just a problem. It didn’t take much to guess that Clayton and Frank had more disagreements than business. In fact, Clayton’s business only seemed to scrape the surface of their dissensions.
Leah nibbled nervously at her nails. Grandma Connie continued to play with Leah’s baby.
“It’s not always that we get to sit together as a family and have breakfast on a wonderful morning as this,” Olivia started. “On an island. People pay to get what we have for free. Shouldn’t we be grateful that we have this opportunity? We’re here, all of us. Alive and well and god bless, with additions to our family. And all you men can think about is your businesses. Not one more word of it! You hear me?” She dabbed at her forehead in irritation. “To think I even gave the maids the day off,” she muttered crisply under her breath.
The two men bowed their heads in silence. But Kate sensed it was far from over.
“What have you planned for yourself, today Kate?” Olivia asked, a strained calmness prevalent in her voice.
“Not much,” Kate coughed. “In fact, I don’t really have any.”
“Well, if you are feeling any better, we’re going into town to get some supplies for the party. Would you like to come with us?” Olivia asked. “And with all that’s happened this morning, I think we need to treat ourselves a bit. Show the men we can do a better job at working together.”
“I’d love that,” said Kate. “Thanks Olivia.”
Clayton scowled. “Kate can’t go. I’ve got plans with her.”
“Oh stop it, Clayton,” Olivia scolded. “You’re turning out to be more like your father than you’d like to admit. Let the woman make up her own mind. The way you drag her around makes me wonder why her hand hasn’t fallen off already. She’s not a rag doll, you know?”
Clayton gawked, on the verge of making a comment but shut up immediately when his mother gave him a warning look.
Olivia gave Kate a small smile. “Frank was just the same when we first started dating. He was possessive and wouldn’t let me out of his sight in case I fled back to California. He calmed down after we married. It’d be the same for you. Don’t let it scare you. They mean well.”
“You’re talking about me in the third person again, Olivia,” Frank grumbled.
“Well, you deserve it,” his wife shot back. “With the way you conducted yourself this morning, you deserve to sit in the corner and sulk.”
“Ma,” Frank pled. “Aren’t you gonna say something?”
Grandma Connie lifted her head. “What dear? I really think I need a pair of hearing aids. I can barely hear what you’re saying anymore.” She scrambled out of her chair. “I think I will go make an appointment with that otologist in Sitka while we’re there. What’s his name?”
“Dr. Harper?” Leah offered with a giggle.
“That’s right,” Grandma Connie nodded. “Better now than never.” And she wandered off into the house.
Leah laughed. “She’s been trying to get that appointment with Dr. Harper for more than ten years. The problem is though Doctor Gilbert Harper’s been dead two years now. But still Grandma uses him as an excuse to stay out of their squabbles.” She raised her eyes at Frank and Clayton.
Olivia giggled and despite their efforts of forced solemnity, Frank and Clayton couldn’t suppress a smile.
Chapter 13
The powerboat jetted across the Gulf Sea, heading towards the town of Sitka. Kate sat in the luxury of the cabin, savoring the ride.
“Rudy would have loved this,” she thought.
Only ten minutes after they had left the island, Wayne, their bodyguard, brought the boat to a slow halt, docking it neatly into Crescent Harbor.
Kate marveled at the domineering presence of the giant Mount Edgecumbe flanking the background of the small town. It was hard to ignore its beauty and its snow-capped peak in the fog that blistered about it as if trying to hide it and envelope its majesty.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Leah whispered beside her. “It’s a dormant volcano, did you know?”
Kate nodded. “I’ve seen pictures of it. But it’s even better in real life.”
“Have you heard of Porky Bickar?”
/> Kate shook her head.
Leah chuckled. “Well, his name’s almost synonymous with the mountain. When you talk about Edgecumbe, you can’t help mention Porky Bickar as well. I’ll let Grandma tell the story. She actually witnessed the darned thing.”
Grandma Connie laughed. “Oh yes, I did. And even after all these years, you don’t get over something like that. Porky Bickar, god bless the poor bastard, threw in at least seventy old tires into the dormant crater of the volcano and blew it up. When the town folks saw the rising smoke, they panicked, fearing it had become active and was going to erupt. Someone called the coast guard up who flew above it to search the cause of all that smoke. And there he saw the evidence of the prank and a message for him in fifty foot letters. ‘April Fool’. You can’t do a prank any better than that.”
As Wayne stepped out to tie the boat, Kate gazed amazedly at the numerous boats bobbing in the harbor.
“Come on, Kate,” said Leah. “It looks as if it’s gonna be busy today.”
They moved quickly through the dock and into Lincoln Street.
“As you go further into town, you will also be able to see the equally beautiful Three Sisters Peaks on the right of the town. It’s not all just about Mount Edgecumbe, you know. ” Leah jibed. “And that by the way is the family store.”
Leah pointed at a building with a large sign that read Reid’s Sitka Fishery and Hunting Supplies.
Kate admired at the sheer size of the elegant store, feeling that Leah humbled the business drastically by calling it a mere family store.
“The locals of Sitka love fishing,” she explained. “We are known for the quality and the quantity of the best seafood you’ll ever find,” she stated proudly.
Kate smiled. “Even after all these years you’ve been abroad, you still love your town.”
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