“You aren’t bothering me.” But if she called to talk about his brother as he suspected, then, by God, she was going to have to ask. He wasn’t going to offer up his brother on a silver platter.
“Well, you said you could get me an interview with your brother….so I’m asking.”
Ethan knew how the phone call would go, so why did a part of him wish she’d called to talk to him instead of his famous brother? He knew better than to let any kind of foolish fantasy enter his thoughts. “I’m actually packing up to head to the airport. You’re welcome to join us. I’ll see that Dane gives you an interview. And when you’re done, Travis can fly you back to Anchorage.”
“You’d do that for me?” she asked in a disbelieving tone.
“I said that I would make things right.”
“So you did,” she said quietly.
“Can you meet me at Merrill Field in half an hour?”
“Um, yeah, I think so. That’s pushing it, but yes.”
“Do you skate?”
“As in hockey skate?” she asked. “Yes.”
Ethan was surprised, but since she was a sports journalist, maybe he shouldn’t be. “Then bring your skates because we’ll play hockey on the lake.”
“Sounds great. See you soon. And…Ethan?”
Another long pause sounded on the phone. “Yes?”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Ethan hung up the phone and reminded himself this was strictly business. Carly’s trip to the lodge wasn’t to spend time with him, only to get an interview with his brother. The faster he got this over with, the better off he’d be.
He called Zak back. “Let Travis know he’s got two passengers to pick up and make sure you have another room ready for Carly Hughes.”
“So you’re bringing a guest?” Ethan heard the implication in his voice.
“It’s not like that. Trust me. She’ll probably stay one night and fly back to Anchorage.” He hung up and didn’t care what random thoughts cooked in Zak’s head. Ethan would set him straight soon enough. Carly would arrive at the lodge for her interview with Dane, then she’d leave. Simple as that.
CHAPTER 8
Carly packed her bag, which included her hockey skates. Ethan may have been telling her to bring her skates in jest, but he probably didn’t know she grew up with two brothers on a lake in Massachusetts, so she knew quite a lot about hockey. From the time she could remember, she’d tried to keep up with her brothers, but when she inevitably couldn’t, she resorted to reporting on their antics instead.
Her brothers and their friends would humor her by pretending to hoist the Stanley Cup over their heads and give her an interview about their come-from-behind win. Those early years had given Carly the inspiration to write about sports.
She waited inside the small airport terminal wondering what to make of Ethan Forrester. No matter how hard she fought to forget their night together, Ethan kept intruding into her dreams. His full mouth, his gentle hands, his playful demeanor. She didn’t regret what happened. She couldn’t.
While waiting for Ethan, she watched small planes land and take-off. She felt a bit anxious about flying in a propeller-operated plane instead of a jet. All she knew about Gold Creek, Alaska, was that it was a very small town in the interior of the state. Therefore, she assumed it had a very small runway, too.
When she saw Ethan approach her, her anxiousness soared to new heights but it had nothing to do with airplanes. Like so many Alaskans, he wore jeans and a fur-ruffed parka, along with a ball cap with the Forrester Lodge logo on the front.
“I wasn’t sure where to buy my ticket,” she said. “What airline are we flying on?”
“We’re on Tundra Air, but no need for a ticket. My brother is picking us up.”
“Your brother is a pilot. Travis, right? But you all own the lodge?”
Ethan raised a brow over the unscarred eye. He should know a journalist remembered details like that, at least a journalist like her. “Yes, Travis, and yes, we’re all part-owners of the lodge.”
“All three boys are going home. Will your sister be joining us, too?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Is this a family get-together?”
“Dane couldn’t spend Christmas with us because of his schedule. So when he’s free, we get together. But now that we’re into mid-January, Fiona might not be able to attend because of her classes. We do the best we can.”
Guilt pressed heavily on her shoulders. She couldn’t intrude on them. “I’m not sure about imposing on your family like this. Surely there must be another time or place for me to talk to Dane.”
“Nope. I’m afraid not. Besides, Fiona probably won’t be there, so it isn’t the entire family.”
“But—”
“Do you want an interview with Dane or not?”
“Well, yes, but flying across the state to do it seems rather extreme.”
“You’re the reporter.”
“I’m not a reporter, I’m a journalist.” Which wasn’t completely true—she just felt compelled to argue with him for whatever reason.
“Okay, a journalist, but either way, don’t you have to do whatever you need to do to get the interview?” His tone wasn’t friendly; in fact, far from it.
Why did Carly have the sense that his words carried another underlying meaning…like even if sleeping with a guy was necessary to get an interview, she’d do whatever it took? “What exactly are you saying?”
“I’m just saying, sometimes you have to go to extremes to get what you want, right?”
She wanted to argue with him, but clearly she had gone to extremes just by attending the fundraiser to track Dane down. Perhaps he wasn’t completely wrong, but something in his tone didn’t sit right with her; however, she decided to let it go. “Yes, I suppose so. Should I book a flight home at least? For later today or tomorrow?”
“You’ll have to stay the night tonight, but you can probably leave the next day.”
“What time will I be meeting with Dane?”
“I haven’t told him yet.”
“He doesn’t know I’m coming?”
“Nope.”
“But how do you know he’ll speak with me?”
“Because he owes me.”
* * *
FLYING OVER GOLD CREEK, Carly had imagined it bigger. Gold Creek didn’t even have a stoplight. In fact, they only had one road going through the middle. The Forrester Lodge stood a little outside of town next to the frozen lake. They landed at two in the afternoon just before the sun set for the day. Ethan wasn’t talking. He introduced her to Travis on the runway in Anchorage, then stared out the window during their entire flight.
Travis eased her nerves about flying in a small plane and pointed out the sights along the way. They passed over the Chugach Mountains and now had a beautiful view of the Brooks Range. They taxied to a stop and Travis shut down the engine. “The Aurora forecast is good for tonight. And with clear skies, we should be good. We’ll head to the hot springs and watch the Northern Lights from there.”
“Hot springs? I didn’t know you had a hot springs.”
“Didn’t Ethan tell you to bring your swimsuit?” Travis asked.
“No, I’m afraid he didn’t.” Carly glanced at Ethan.
He only shrugged.
Travis said, “I’m sure you can borrow one from my sister-in-law. You’re about the same size as her. Everyone is going to be anxious to meet you. This is the first time Ethan has brought a lady friend to the lodge.”
“Oh, it’s not like that,” Carly answered quickly.
Travis gave her an intense look, not so different from Ethan’s. It was easy to see they were brothers. Travis was about an inch shorter, but had the same blue eyes and the same brown hair, although Travis had his cropped short. They also shared the same confident walk and demeanor. They disembarked from the plane and Travis pulled Carly’s bag from the luggage compartment and asked, “What’s it like then?”
“Um.” Carly looked to Ethan for a sign of how to explain their relationship. “We’re just friends.”
Travis glanced from Carly to Ethan and back again. “I wasn’t making assumptions. I did say lady friend.”
“Ah, yes, yes, you did.” Carly smiled and wanted to kick Ethan in the shin. Since the man rarely spoke, apparently she was supposed to wing it on her own.
The tension thickened between them. Carly wanted to make sure Ethan told his family the reason she was here—to get an interview with Dane. That was it. But why should she be the one to say it? Ethan could damn well do some of the talking.
Instead, he silently walked behind her and Travis as they trekked through the snow from the runway to the lodge. The snow crunched beneath her feet as the sun slipped under the horizon.
To heck with it, if Ethan wasn’t going to explain their relationship, neither was she. “So.” She glanced at Travis, deciding the next phase of her plan was to ignore Ethan. “I’ve had a hard time seeing the Northern Lights from Anchorage.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Too much light pollution. You’ll see them in a whole new way now.”
She certainly understood remote in a whole new way now, too. “Was that a dog mushing team I saw as we were landing?”
Travis glanced to Ethan as though he might answer her, but when he didn’t, Travis said, “Yes, that’s Vince Merritt’s team. Have you heard of him?”
“Actually I have. He was a top ten finisher in the Iditarod last year.”
“Yes, he was.” Travis said, “So you’re a sports journalist?”
“Yep.” They trudged through the snow a few more steps before they approached the Forrester Lodge. Carly glanced up at the enormity of the huge logs and deck that stretched out across one side. “Wow, this place is incredible.”
“What kind of stories do you write about, as a sports journalist?”
“Human interest stories mostly.” If Ethan wasn’t going to join the conversation and explain her presence here, neither would she. “You know, why people choose the sports they love or why the sports choose them.”
“Huh. Sports choose people?”
“Sure. I wanted nothing more than to be part of a team sport, but I lack the hand-eye coordination to make it beyond the recreational level. But I was determined to be in some kind of sport in college, so I ran cross-country. Don’t need as much coordination for that.”
“I was on a full-ride scholarship for hockey in college, until I blew out my knee. Then all my plans changed.”
“See. That’s the kind of human interest story I’m talking about. People want to know how you overcame that, how you persevered.”
“Ah, well, I couldn’t persevere. I had to choose another profession.”
Carly noted an edge to his voice. Bitterness, perhaps? There certainly was a story there. Ethan had mentioned that the whole family played hockey. She wondered at what level Ethan had played.
* * *
ETHAN SPENT the entire flight contemplating how he planned to introduce Carly to everyone. The weekend was supposed to be a gathering for only his family. How was he going to explain this? Then she’d talked to Travis instead of him. It wasn’t like he was interested in chit-chat, anyway.
They stepped inside the lobby of the lodge, and the warmth of the fire in the three-story river rock fireplace radiated over him. The lodge had always felt like his personal cocoon of healing and rejuvenation. After his wife died, he moved away from Anchorage and made his permanent home at the lodge. However, he still fulfilled his firefighter duties in Anchorage, so he traveled back and forth on a regular basis.
The people of Gold Creek were like his extended family, and as much as the tourists annoyed him at times, they kept him distracted from constant thoughts of his wife and their previous life together.
His mother, Molly, emerged from the kitchen. She had been a pillar of strength for the family after his father had died of a heart attack when Ethan was seventeen years old. Ethan thought nothing could have been worse in his life, but he had been wrong. Things could always be worse. Always.
Ethan had never imagined he’d have to follow in his mother’s footsteps and learn to exist and move on without his spouse by his side, but somehow she had managed to do it much better than he had.
“There you boys are.” His mother smiled as she approached her two middle sons. “I heard the plane. I’m so happy you both arrived safely. And you must be Carly.”
His mother zeroed right in on his guest. “Hello, Mother. This is Carly Hughes.”
“Yes, I know. Zak told me you’d be bringing a guest.” His mother flung her arms around his waist for a quick embrace and then moved to Travis. Then she reached out and clasped Carly’s hand. “The entire family is here, except Fiona. She had classes she couldn’t miss. She’s a student, but Sabrina and I are delighted to have another woman amongst us for the weekend. Welcome to the Forrester Lodge.”
“Thank you,” Carly said. If his mother’s greeting overwhelmed her, she didn’t let on.
“I’ll show you around the lodge, but first let me introduce you to Zak and Sabrina.” His mother wrapped an arm around her and urged her toward the kitchen. “I have them working on a moose rump roast for dinner and since we let Cook off for the weekend, I need to supervise.”
Carly glanced back at him with dismay.
Ethan gave a miniature shrug in hopes of letting her know via body language that he was helpless in the face of his mother and her determination.
Travis turned to him. “You’re just going to let her take Carly like that?”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Mom is going to assume she’s your girlfriend, you know.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“You didn’t speak to her the entire flight. I think I got the no girlfriend part, but you’ve never brought a woman to the lodge before, so Mom might make an assumption.”
“Carly is a reporter. A nosy sports journalist wanting an interview with Dane. She’s nothing more than that.”
“Is that so? With the way she looks at you, I think she’s more interested in writing your story.”
“She doesn’t look at me any way except for a way to get to Dane.”
“So, no hook-up?”
“Shut up.”
“See. Your bad attitude goes to show I’m right.”
“I always have a bad attitude.”
“That’s true, but I have to wonder how this girl convinced you to let her talk to Dane.” His brother’s blue eyes narrowed.
Travis wasn’t stupid. Under normal circumstances, Ethan would never bring a reporter to the lodge. “It wasn’t my choice. I owed her this. Or Dane owed me. Whichever.” He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Anyway, just let it rest. She’ll get her interview with Dane, then she’ll be out of here on the first flight in the morning.”
“Mom is going to assume she’s staying for the entire weekend, but whatever you say.”
“I say.” Ethan grumbled before looking up at Zak, Sabrina, his mother, and Carly returning from the kitchen. Zak gave him a warning look, that silent code that only brothers can understand.
Molly Forrester had a way of manipulating, a way of bending people to her will, that Ethan never fully grasped. He just accepted it. She looked like a border collie rounding up her sheep, steering them into the pen of her choosing. “Ethan, Carly was just telling me she has two brothers who taught her how to skate. So your girlfriend will fit perfectly into our family.”
“Mom, she isn’t my—”
“I told her we haven’t been seeing each other long,” Carly interrupted and gave him a glare. “I was so thrilled to get the invitation to visit your family, and she said you’ve never invited a girlfriend here before.”
That’s because I haven’t had a girlfriend, Ethan thought. “Listen, Mom, it’s not like—”
Before he could say another word, Carly appeared at his side slipping her arm a
round his waist and whispering in his ear. “She’s so happy that you’ve brought a woman to the lodge, just let her think we’re together. What is it going to hurt?”
What’s it going to hurt? It was a lie for one thing. Ethan didn’t lie to people, especially his family. He didn’t dress up in a costume and pretend to be his brother, either, but he’d done that, too. Ever since he’d met Carly, deception seemed to be prevalent in his life and he didn’t like it one bit. It didn’t feel right letting his mother think they were together.
From the look in Zak’s eye, he knew the true story or had guessed. But of course he did, Carly had called the lodge and spoken with him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know Carly and Ethan were nothing more than acquaintances. Well…acquaintances that had slept together under the guise of his brother, but he’d repented of those sins. Or at least, he thought so.
Under his breath, he responded to Carly, “I don’t make a habit of lying to my family, especially my mom.”
“She was so thrilled to know you’d have someone with you for the weekend,” Carly whispered back. “I just couldn’t bring myself to—”
“The weekend? You’re only staying one night,” he grumbled.
“I’m staying until I get my interview, however long that takes.”
Ethan’s mother interrupted their whispered conversation. Her face beamed with sparkly light as she smiled at them. “Why don’t you two take your bags to Ethan’s room while I set the table?”
Fine. Whatever. But she was not staying the entire weekend. He’d get his payback from Dane, then she’d leave. He lifted Carly’s bag in one hand and his in the other. He glanced up at Sabrina; she wore a smile plastered on her sunny, blonde-hair, blue-eyed California face. Was this what they’d all been reduced to? Doing whatever it took to keep their mom happy even if it meant deceiving her? He had a few choice words in his head for Sabrina, too, but he kept them to himself, and instead said to Carly, “This way. Follow me.”
Melting His Alaskan Heart Page 6