by Carol Ross
“He’s great—supersmart, like Reagan. He’s very easygoing and laid-back—not like me. He’s a scientist, a botanist.”
“And you said he lives in Oregon?”
“Well, when he’s not traveling he’s usually there. He goes all over the world to study plants. He’s passionate about endangered plant species.”
“Wow, that’s really cool.”
“It is,” she said with a proud smile. “I’d love for you to meet him.”
“What about your parents?”
“What about them?” she asked soberly.
“Why don’t you want to talk about them?”
It felt strange hearing that spoken aloud. Why didn’t she like to talk about them or her relationship with them? “Um...”
He reached over and picked up her hand. He began to gently rub the palm. The contact was incredibly soothing and for some reason she decided to tell him. He was so easy to talk to. She inhaled and then blew out a long breath. “We’re not close. I love my mom, but we’re very different. She has these really specific ideas about what being a woman means—staying home and taking care of her husband. She’s very dependent on my stepfather for everything and I don’t like it. I don’t understand it. She doesn’t think my career is going to find me a husband. She doesn’t understand my choices. It’s a source of tension between us.”
“So what does she do with her time?”
“She gets lots of facials, laser procedures and plastic surgeries. She shops and gets her nails done. She does do some charity work but honestly I think she does it more to socialize than anything else. We don’t have anything in common and we don’t have much to talk about.”
Bering pressed a kiss to her temple. “What about your stepdad?”
Emily thought for a minute about how to describe someone she had such complicated feelings for. “My stepfather is a good man. He’s a great provider and a good husband to my mom. But he’s also a difficult-to-please workaholic. Now that I’m an adult things are better—or they were until recently—because we have this driving work ethic in common. But we don’t talk about anything personal. We aren’t a family unit in the traditional sense—nothing at all like your family.”
* * *
BERING LIFTED HER HAND and kissed her fingertips. He felt bad because although she relayed the information impassively, he could tell she was feeling anything but. What Emily described was the polar opposite of his family. He couldn’t imagine functioning without the cohesive love and support of his family. He wanted Emily to have that; he wanted her to be a part of a real family—a family like his.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
She shrugged. “It is what it is. I do have Aidan, and his mom is really great to me, too. I think of her like an aunt. She always made sure that Aidan and I had as much of a brother/sister relationship as we could. It’s because of her that I saw so much of him growing up.”
Bering decided to ask her the question that had been nagging at him since he’d met her, and especially since his conversation with Tag. “Why are you here, Emily?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you come to Rankins? I mean, I can deduce that you are obviously pretty high up in the ranks of Cam-Field, so you must have some discretion about the jobs you work on, so why here? I know for a fact Cam-Field is working on projects in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and North Dakota right now—to name a few.”
“Someone has done his homework, I see.”
Bering smiled and squeezed her hand.
“I requested it,” she confessed.
“Really?” That was not what he expected her to say.
“Yep,” she said. “I, um, I sort of had an issue at work a few months ago.”
“An issue?” he prodded.
“I was passed over for a promotion,” she said. “I had broken up with this guy.” She shook her head as if to convey his unimportance. “He got the promotion instead of me—undeservedly so, but that’s another story. I was more upset about the promotion than the guy. And, as this is Cam-Field’s first attempt to establish business up here in Alaska, I impulsively jumped at the opportunity to take it on.”
He nodded. “Because you thought it would serve the double purpose of showing your boss what you’ve got that he missed out on and getting away at the same time?”
“Exactly, but unlike you, I did not thoroughly do my homework. I was unprepared for both the hostile environment and the hostile community.”
Bering leaned over and kissed her. “I’d be willing to bet it’s probably the only time in your entire life that you have neglected to do your homework.”
“That’s probably true.”
“I’m so glad you chose this particular time to become a slacker.”
“Me, too,” she answered with a grin. She reached out and threaded a hand around the back of his neck, pulling his face close to hers. “Bering?”
“Hmm,” he said.
“My turn.”
“Oh? Okay. I thought you were going to kiss me.”
“I may, but first, thank you, Bering. Thank you very much. Now tell me all about it.”
“What?”
“The scarf—I thanked Janie for it tonight, but she let me know that I should really be thanking you. So tell me.”
He grinned and sat back, but entwined his fingers with hers. “Oh...well, I kept watching you at all these events—freezing like crazy—and I kept wondering why you didn’t dress appropriately. So, I had my sister knit you the scarf. You probably aren’t even aware of it, but you go like this a lot.” He pulled at the collar of his shirt, bunching it up beneath his chin.
“Bering, that is so sweet. But what about the wolf button? It’s absolutely gorgeous—a little work of art.”
“That’s a piece of whalebone that Kella Jakobs scrimshawed for me. I used to wear it to bring me luck. I love it and I, um, I wanted you to have some small bit of Alaska with you when you went home.” He smiled slowly and hoped the feeling in his heart was showing in his eyes. He admitted, “And I liked the idea of you wearing something that had been mine. So I asked Janie to sew it on. I hope you don’t mind that I gave you a used button....”
Emily opened her mouth but no sound emerged. She closed it, stared at him for a minute and then leaned toward him again. “Bering?” she whispered.
“Yes?”
“I am going to kiss you now....”
* * *
EMILY WAS DEFINITELY warming up to the place, she decided as she stepped out into the frozen morning air. Now that she was dressed for it, she hardly seemed to notice the cold anymore. Even the frigid wind that used to blow down the collar of her jacket had been waylaid by her scarf. She gazed around in wonder; Bering was right, there was a rugged kind of beauty about the place that she was beginning to appreciate, especially when she was out at Bering’s cabin watching the wildlife or, even better, out at Bering’s cabin watching Bering.
And he’d definitely made it his business to show her the finer points that Rankins had to offer. In addition to sightseeing around his cabin, they’d done more snowshoeing and gone sledding with his nephews. They also went on a double date with Tag and Amanda to the Cozy Caribou for the house sirloin dinner he had promised her. They’d spent more time with his family and she’d met some of his friends.
She had to admit to herself that he had a good life. But she certainly wasn’t going to confess these thoughts aloud. She’d already conceded enough to him as it was. Of course, just about anyone’s life would be easier if they were as popular in this town as he was. Even the people that she knew were on her side still loved Bering. Laurel had been right about that; it appeared as if the whole James family shared that beloved status, and there had to be close to a hundred of them if you counted up the entire extended family.
And even though she and Bering were clearly waging a battle professionally, they had all treated her with nothing but kindness and respect. So far, Bering had been right—business appeared to
be just business where the Jameses were concerned. But Emily still believed that that would all change if—when—Cam-Field won the right to destroy their little town.
Destroy? When exactly she had started to think of this assignment in Bering’s terms she wasn’t sure, but as the days had passed, she acknowledged that was what she had begun to do. Though she didn’t believe it necessarily, she assured herself, she was just getting caught up in the passion and community pride that blazed in the town. It didn’t do any good to remind herself that in all her years with Cam-Field, she’d never gotten quite so caught up in it before.
For the most part, she and Bering had managed to avoid discussing the issue beyond a lighthearted teasing about who was winning the public favor. But underlying the new level they had reached in their relationship, the topic still simmered. Emily tried to tell herself that it didn’t matter, but the persistent ache in her heart reminded her otherwise.
Laurel had been more than fair in presenting Cam-Field’s side in the Rankins Press. She was going to be publishing her editorial in favor of Cam-Field’s development at the end of the week. Laurel had become a friend and Emily was sure that she was also a big part of the reason that they hadn’t been run out of town.
And that was why she had agreed to sit for an interview. Laurel thought it would help her case if people knew more about her as a person. But for some reason Emily was nervous. There wasn’t that much to know about her. She was afraid that people would see how uninteresting she really was, because compared to life in Rankins, hers seemed so mundane. Her plan was to try to stick to the issues surrounding Cam-Field’s presence in Rankins as much as possible.
“So, now that you have been here for a month or so, how do you like it in Rankins?” Laurel asked as she pushed a button on her recorder and set it on the desk.
“I do like it,” Emily said without hesitation. And she realized with a start that she really meant it. “And in spite of what some people may have you believe, Laurel, I want to preserve all the core aspects that make Rankins such a unique and special place. But let’s be honest here. Rankins hasn’t seen much growth in recent years. We’d like to change that—to help ensure that Rankins can continue to exist, and not just exist like it has been doing. We’d like to see it grow and thrive.”
“That’s a pretty strong assertion and the implication within that statement is that Rankins needs Cam-Field. But as I’m sure you’re aware, Rankins has existed since the gold-rush days.”
“Unfortunately, the gold is gone now, Laurel. But what is here is a wealth of oil deposits,” Emily pointed out. “And Rankins only stands to benefit from that. But without utilizing that resource, the projections for the future economic growth of Rankins for the next decade show little to no growth. But with Cam-Field’s help, those numbers head in the exact opposite direction.”
“The citizens of Rankins will have a chance to voice for themselves what kind of growth they’d like to see next Sunday at the town-hall meeting, correct?”
“That is absolutely true, and if the community involvement that I’ve seen since I’ve been here is any indication, we’re going to have a packed house.”
“You can count on that. But why is Cam-Field so concerned with what the community thinks? It’s really only the town council who votes on the permit approval.”
“That’s a really great question, Laurel. We, at Cam-Field, believe that what we do is more than just provide jobs and dollars for a community. Our goal is always to collectively improve a way of life. Economic growth doesn’t mean much in a town if the people aren’t benefiting from it. If Cam-Field intended to come in here and rob Rankins of its valuable resources, as some members of this community have been suggesting, then that would only be benefiting Cam-Field. We believe that business of this kind should be a give-and-take. That’s why we’ve pledged the millions of dollars that we have to improve this community—for the hospital, the school and in the construction of the community center.”
“Okay, that is all very important information, but it’s also information that’s already out there. You have done a great job of letting this community know what Cam-Field can do for it. What I’d like to do now is find out more about the face of Cam-Field, so to speak. You have been here for about a month now and you’ve met a lot of people and participated in numerous community events. And I’ve been out there, too, and I have talked to a lot people, and what I’ve discovered is that the citizens of Rankins are curious about you, as well as Cam-Field. Where does Emily Hollings call home?”
“Well, I travel an awful lot, but when I’m not on location like this, I live in San Diego.”
“What do you do with your spare time?”
“What spare time?” Emily joked. “I work pretty much all the time, although I have picked up a new hobby since I’ve been here in Rankins....”
“Oh, really? What’s that?”
“Halibut.”
“Fishing?”
“No, eating.” She laughed and added, “I’ve also discovered that I enjoy snowshoeing and...”
It continued on in this manner for another ten minutes, and Emily found that it was easy for her to talk about the things she liked about Rankins. She knew that Bering and others would probably think she was only saying them in an attempt to earn their favor, but she hoped she came across as sincere, because she was.
Emily could sense the interview was wrapping up. Soon Laurel thanked Emily for her time and snapped off the recorder.
“So, how’d I do?” Emily asked.
“Great. It’s obvious that you’ve done this before.”
“Is that your way of telling me that I lack a certain amount of candidness? Is that a word? Candidness?”
“No. Well, I suppose it is. And yes, it’s a word, but I didn’t mean to imply anything negative about you. I just meant that you are very polished.”
“Thank you, I think.”
“Can we talk off the record for a minute?”
“Of course.”
“How’s it going with you and Bering?”
Emily decided it couldn’t hurt to answer the question—off the record. “We’re good, I think. At least from my side, we are. Why? What have you heard? Or maybe I should ask what Piper has heard.”
“No, it’s nothing like that, and I know this is none of my business. It’s just that you guys seem like you’re getting rather, um...close and so...how are you guys going to reconcile everything? It’s no secret that one of you is going to win this thing and one of you is going to lose.”
Emily had no idea how to respond to that concern. She already couldn’t imagine her life without Bering. He had taught her so much about how to live. Sure, she’d seen the world and had some adventures, but she knew now that she’d just been going through the motions. She’d eaten the halibut, metaphorically speaking, but she hadn’t really savored it. There had always been a motive behind her actions, a means to an end, a job to do.
But Bering seemed to savor everything about life, he was incredibly generous in sharing it with her, and she was loving every minute of it. He didn’t have an ulterior motive like she usually did, and she couldn’t believe that someone could be so giving of himself without asking or wanting anything in return. Anything beyond her time, that was, which Emily was more than happy to give.
She had no idea how to define their relationship. Although her experience with relationships was dismal, albeit much of that was her fault. She’d never invested the time before—had never wanted to—but the time she spent with Bering was exactly how she’d dreamed things should be, better than she’d dreamed.
Her dreams before had centered almost exclusively on her career. And now, when she thought about it, it seemed crazy that she’d made such a drastic change to her thought processes so quickly. But it had happened without even trying. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t still working hard at her job. She was and she wanted to be successful; it was just that she thought about other things at the same time. Like people�
�Bering, Janie and her boys, his mom, his cousins, Tag and Shay, and even the friends she’d made....
She worried about Laurel, and Piper, and the other community members who were solidly in her camp. What would people think of them if they knew how hard they’d been working on Cam-Field’s behalf?
Bering had somehow taught her this—this genuine concern for other people. She loved that about him and she was realizing how satisfying it was to allow that kind of empathy to flourish in herself. Bering had done that, too—he was making her a better person.
“I don’t know, Laurel. But I do want you to know how sorry I am in advance if any of this makes your life more difficult.”
Laurel grinned. “I’m not worried about my life, Emily. I’m a reporter. I thrive on conflict. I am worried about you, though. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I consider you a friend. And Bering is my friend, too—you know that, but...”
“But what?”
“This is all off the record, and honestly, I really don’t know anything concrete, but I can feel it in the air—something’s brewing. Haven’t you noticed it? This town is essentially in the midst of a civil war and yet things have been so calm the last week or so. Remember what it was like when you first arrived? People were half-crazed and everyone had an opinion. And now it’s like, I don’t know... People are still worked up, but it’s different. And Bering—he seems so blasé about it all lately. I mean he’s going through the motions, but I don’t see the fire that I did at first. And maybe it’s because of your, um, relationship but I don’t know...”
Emily felt a gathering of fear in the pit of her stomach. Laurel was right. And she hadn’t seen it. She’d believed that people were more at ease and respectful because of her relationship with Bering and other members of the James family. And she’d thought that things had mellowed between her and Bering for the same reason. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if they knew something she didn’t? But on the other hand, wasn’t it also possible that she’d managed to sway the majority to Cam-Field’s side and people were accepting—even embracing—the inevitable? But no, not Bering—he would never accept it. She wouldn’t if she were in his place. She needed to think.