Home Sweet Alaska

by Beth Carpenter

  “Getting ready for a photo shoot?” Volta appeared at the top of the stairs, grinning.

  He peeled off the label. “Something was stuck to me.”

  “Sure. Not preening or anything.” She chuckled as she poured a cup of coffee for herself and turned off the machine.

  Scott laughed. “Okay, since you’re here...” He glanced back toward the mirror. “Do you think this suit makes my butt look big?”

  Volta snorted. She opened her mouth, and judging by the little lines around her eyes, she was ready with a zinger. But then she gave a little head shake and deliberately adopted a neutral expression. “No comment. The crew for Seattle is cleared for takeoff. Mike says he’ll be ready in ten. I’ll get changed.”

  “Someone left a sticker on the desk chair,” Scott insisted.

  “I’m not judging.” She opened the mirrored door and disappeared inside. A few minutes later, she returned, dressed in her own flight suit. Which, Scott was obliged to notice, fit her quite nicely.

  Her cell rang. She checked the ID and frowned. “Can you give me a sec?”

  “Sure. I’ll...” He gestured that he’d leave the room if she wanted, but Volta shook her head and answered.

  “Yes, hello.” She listened for a minute. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” There was a long pause. “Okay, but when... Will someone else... But can’t...?” Her expression was growing increasingly frustrated. “No, I understand. Thank you for calling me. Good luck.” She hung up.

  “What’s wrong? Is it about Emma?”

  “Yes. Oh, Emma’s fine,” Volta hastened to add, “but her horseback lesson is canceled. That was Cait, her riding instructor. It seems she’s also a college student and she’s apparently been spending too much time at the stable and not enough with her books. She’s taking time off to complete a semester project and study for finals.”

  “She told you all this?”

  “And more. Like what classes she’s taking and the name of her ‘super-picky’ instructor. As well as her parents’ policy on not paying her tuition if her grade point drops any lower.”

  “Ah. And no one can fill in for her?”

  “Apparently all the other instructors are completely booked, and they’re not doing group lessons right now.” She checked her watch. “Emma should be getting ready for school now. I’ll text my mom to tell her about the canceled lesson, but I’ll have her wait until after school to tell Emma. Otherwise, Emma will call to demand an explanation, and we’ll both be late.”

  “It’s a shame that Emma will miss her lessons. She was so excited at the party.”

  “I know. But Cait says she’ll make the lessons up this summer, so Emma will have to wait.” Volta grabbed a shoulder bag and headed down the stairs. Scott followed her to the plane.

  Mike greeted them when they climbed inside. “We might hit a little bit of turbulence on the way, but weather should be fine for landing.”

  Darn. Scott realized he’d forgotten to bring any seasick patches. Ordinarily he never went anywhere without them, but he’d used his last one on a ferry crossing a couple of weeks ago and forgot to get his prescription refilled.

  Volta opened her bag, pulled out a plastic tube and handed it to Scott along with a bottle of water.

  “What’s this?”

  “Motion sickness pills.”

  “Oh. Thanks.” They’d spent a weekend on Maui once, and decided to drive to Hana. The curving road had left him a little green around the gills. Funny that she would still remember. “Why do you carry these? You don’t get motion sickness.”

  “No, but Emma does sometimes. Better to be prepared.”

  “I see.” Scott capped the water and fastened his seat belt. He shouldn’t be surprised. Volta’s magic purse had always contained everything from aspirin to folding pliers, which had come in quite handy once when he’d stepped on a fishhook. She’d even produced an antiseptic wipe and a Band-Aid. Becoming a mother would only have increased her tendency to prepare for emergencies.

  The little bit of turbulence turned out to be a twenty-minute roller-coaster ride, which Scott didn’t enjoy, but did manage to weather with his stomach contents intact, thanks to Volta’s foresight. Volta hardly seemed to notice the bumps. Eventually they pulled out of it and the rest of the flight was smooth.

  They went over their last mountain pass and started to descend. Scott and Volta looked out the windows at the landscape below. The budding birches cast a yellow-green haze across the forests, contrasting with the dark spruce. Soon a village came into view. It seemed tiny, but perhaps it was mostly hidden in the trees. The plane dropped toward the airstrip beside it.

  Volta’s voice suddenly crackled over the headphones. “Mike, moose at two o’clock.”

  “Roger.”

  The engine gunned and the plane buzzed low over the airstrip before rising into the air on the other side. Startled, the gawky animal galloped across the airstrip and into the woods. Scott followed his progress as best he could until he was assured the moose wasn’t planning on making another pass.

  Mike circled, and this time set the plane down and coasted to a stop. Scott let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Does that happen a lot?”

  “Just enough to keep us honest. More often it’s an ATV with an oblivious driver.”

  Scott nodded. He’d had similar experiences in Africa, except there it was usually a herd of antelope. Or a jeep. Drivers were much the same everywhere.

  They fell into the routine they’d established of meeting up with the community health aide and touring the clinic. Only this particular aide didn’t seem to have much to contribute to the conversation. “Not sure what you want from me. I just patch ’em up.”

  Even Volta couldn’t seem to charm him. By noon, he was mostly answering in grunts, and Scott admitted defeat. They headed to the village store, where they found the owner, a man with an untidy mop of gray hair, playing cribbage with Mike.

  The man laid down a card and looked at them. “You’re the doctor doing the study about pregnant women, right?”

  “That’s me,” Scott said.

  “So what are you doing here? Ted’s wife took off to Juneau last Christmas. The lady schoolteacher up and left, and they replaced her with a man. Jill over at the post office already has five boys and she says she’s fixed it so she’s not having no more. That’s all the women we got.”

  “There are no women of childbearing age in this village?” Scott pulled out his notes.

  “Nope.”

  Scott frowned. “The last census showed approximately fifty women between eighteen and forty-five in Unak.”

  Volta peered at the printout. “That’s Munak. The M is smudged.”

  “Munak is on the other side of the state,” the storekeeper commented helpfully.

  Scott closed his eyes. “Great.” He’d wasted the whole morning on a wild-goose chase. “Okay, then. That explains Ted’s attitude.”

  The old guy laughed. “No. Ted’s wife running off with a bush pilot explains his attitude. You just made a mistake.”

  They returned to the plane to head to the next village, but before they boarded, Volta’s work phone rang. She listened for a minute. “Okay. I’ll let you talk to him. Hang on.”

  She handed Scott the phone. “They’ve canceled the meeting in Alder.”

  Scott put the phone to his ear. The dispatcher at Puffin explained, “Connie sends her apologies. Her kids got into poison sumac and she’s got her hands full. She says if you’ll call tomorrow or the day after, she’ll fill you in.”

  “Understood. Thanks.” He handed the phone back to Volta. “Well, today was a bust. I guess this means we’re returning to Anchorage.”

  “You could still go see the clinic in Alder if you want, but it’s pretty much the same setup as most of the others.”

  “No, let
’s head on back. Sorry to waste the day for both of you. I should have been more careful with my notes.”

  Mike shook his head. “No skin off my nose. Any day I get paid to fly is a good day.”

  “Where and when are we going next?” Volta asked.

  Scott listed the villages he still wanted to visit. “I’ll double-check that I have the correct name from the census data and make sure I don’t mess it up again.”

  “Anyone would have read that as Unak if you didn’t notice the columns don’t line up. When did you plan to go?”

  “I’ll have to contact the community health aides, but I was thinking of scheduling the first batch Wednesday.”

  Volta studied the map. “You know, Porcupine is big enough that they probably have a hotel. We could hit these two villages the first day, spend the night in Porcupine, and the next day visit the clinic there and these two villages within easy flying distance.”

  Mike looked over the map. “That would work.”

  “In fact, Mike could drop us in Fairbanks the second night. Then we could rent a car and drive to the places you’ve flagged on the road system on the way to Anchorage.”

  “That sounds great, but can you be away for three days at a stretch?”

  “It’s not that much different than when I’m on duty for three days in a row at home. It would all be done in one fell swoop so I’d have time off when Emma gets out of school.” She turned to the pilot. “Would it work with your schedule?”

  Mike nodded. “It works.”

  “All right,” Scott said. “I’ll contact the various people and if they agree, we’ll plan on it.”

  Mike made a note on his phone. “Ready to head out?”

  Volta checked her messages. “Oh, Emma texted me. Mike, can you give me a minute to call while we still have cell service?”

  “Sure. Got to kick the tires anyway.” He headed toward the plane.

  Volta dialed without moving away from Scott, so he had no qualms about eavesdropping. “Hi, Emma... I know, I heard. But Cait has other responsibilities she has to take care of.” There was a long pause, with Volta occasionally making “mmm-hmm” noises. Finally, “I don’t know, but I’d assume you might have to skip this first show. I know, sweetie, but Cait said you need certain skills, even in the beginner class, and...” Another long pause. “Didn’t Grammy Hannah mention taking you shopping? Maybe...oh, tomorrow.”

  After another minute or so of soothing, Volta said, “Listen, I have to go now. I’ll be home in a couple of hours. Love you to infinity... Bye.” She ended the call and pocketed the phone. “She’s not happy.”

  “I can tell.” They walked toward the plane.

  “She was all revved up about this show they’re having in three weeks, and now it looks like she’s not going to be able to participate.”

  “I could teach her,” Scott found himself saying.

  A little line formed between Volta’s eyebrows. “You?”

  He nodded. “I rode, you know. I’ve even worked as an instructor at summer horse camps when I was in high school. If the stable will give me access to horses, I could be her trainer.”

  Volta climbed into the plane and waited while he followed her. She shut the door and latched it. “But you have this study to complete.”

  “Yes, but even DEMA doesn’t expect me to spend every waking moment working. I’m allowed a few hours of leisure time. And I happen to enjoy riding. In fact, I rode one day when I was in Houston. I still remember how.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Think about it.”

  Volta nodded as she pulled her headset over her ears and buckled into her seat. Scott followed suit.

  The turbulence they’d hit on the way must have dissipated, because the plane only rocked two or three times on the flight back to Anchorage. Good thing, since Scott had forgotten to take another dose of motion sickness medicine.

  Back at the airport, Scott changed into street clothes. When he came out of the changing room, Volta was already there, standing at the window, looking toward the mountains. She splayed her fingers wide and then folded them, one at a time. He recognized it as a tension-releasing exercise she’d once taught him. He often used it before surgery.

  He shut the door behind him, and she turned. “Were you serious about teaching Emma to ride?”

  “Of course.” It was the least he could do. And besides, he would enjoy it.

  “When?”

  He looked at his watch. They still had a good six hours of daylight left. He wasn’t sure about the stable’s hours, but if they were doing after-school lessons, they probably stayed open. “Now would be good. Why don’t I call the stable and see what kind of arrangements we can make?”

  “You’re sure you have time for this?”

  “I’m sure.”

  In fact, when Volta gave him a grateful smile, he realized he’d never been more sure of anything in his life.

  * * *

  VOLTA WATCHED SCOTT make a slight correction in the way Emma held the reins. She said something, and he chuckled. They seemed to be getting along quite well. Volta wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  Her relationship with Scott was supposed to be strictly professional. It was too dangerous to let Scott into her personal life, especially after that almost kiss the other night. But Emma had been so disappointed about missing her riding lessons, and when Scott offered to fix everything, Volta couldn’t resist. Of course, resisting Scott had always been difficult.

  Trouble was, this time she wasn’t the only one who could get hurt. When he left to pursue his true love, work, he’d be leaving Emma behind, as well. But Emma understood that Scott was simply a visitor, filling in until Cait returned. Volta understood it, as well. At least, intellectually she did. Her heart still fluttered like a rabble of butterflies whenever Scott smiled at her.

  But she could handle it. That flutter was just a habitual response, like looking at your wrist when you weren’t wearing a watch. The occasional heart flutter didn’t prove anything.

  It had all come together easily. He’d called the stable and mentioned a couple of names of people he’d worked with in the past. A few minutes later, presumably after checking his credentials with someone, they called back, eager to let him work with Emma. Volta got the idea the stable manager wasn’t too happy with Cait’s sudden absence, but she couldn’t fault the girl for her priorities.

  “There’s our beautiful girl. Just look at her on that horse.” Hannah and Jim had come up behind Volta without a sound.

  Or maybe they’d been stomping and shouting, and she was just too wrapped up in watching Scott and Emma to notice. Volta gave them each a hug. “She’s doing well, I think. How was your lunch with friends?”

  “We had a great time, as you can see since it’s almost five and we’re only now getting back,” Hannah said.

  “They’re all getting so old, though,” Jim commented with a twinkle in his eye. “Funny how everyone around us ages and we stay the same.”

  Volta laughed. “You must have stumbled across the fountain of youth somewhere in your travels.”

  Hannah waved at Emma, who flashed her a big grin before reining her horse in a circle according to Scott’s instruction. Jim took a picture. “I thought Emma said her instructor was named Cait.”

  “She was, but Cait can’t teach for a little while, so Scott is filling in.”

  “Scott?” Hannah frowned in concentration. “Where have I heard that name mentioned recently?”

  Volta shrugged. Hannah would no doubt figure it out for herself. “Where’s Stacy?”

  “She’s getting together with some friends from high school who are in town visiting. Is it still okay if she and I take Emma shopping tomorrow after school while you go to the dentist?”

  “Sure.”

  “Day after tomorrow, we thou
ght we’d take a run down to Soldotna. I’ve heard rumors of an early sockeye run starting to trickle in.” Jim mimicked casting a line.

  “Nice,” Volta said. “Can I count on some smoked sockeye in my Christmas stocking?”

  “We’ll see. Never count your salmon before you’ve landed them.” Jim smiled.

  “Is Stacy going with you?” Volta asked.

  “As far as I know. She’s always liked to fish,” Jim said.

  Hannah looked a little more doubtful. “Although it might depend on how long her friends are staying in town. We’ll see. Would Emma want to go with us? You know how much she enjoys camping in the RV, and we’d love to spend some time with her.”

  “She’s got another week of school yet.”

  “Maybe we could run back up on Friday and take her down for the weekend.”

  “Are you sure? What if the fish are biting?”

  Jim grinned. “Then I’ll have Hannah drive to Anchorage while I fish.”

  “What if I decide to run off with some good-looking man in Anchorage instead of coming back for you?” Hannah challenged.

  “Then I suppose I’ll just have to keep fishing until you get tired of him and return to your true love,” Jim declared.

  Hannah beamed.

  “Okay, we’ll ask Emma, but I’m sure she’ll want to come. She’s getting to be a good caster. She still wants nothing to do with fish guts, though. Not that she’s ready to handle a fillet knife anyway.”

  “Wish I could get someone to take care of my fish guts.” Stacy stepped up to the fence. “Hi, Emma,” she called, causing Emma to look over and wave instead of concentrating on whatever she was supposed to be doing. Scott didn’t seem to mind, though. He said something, and Emma urged her horse into a trot around the perimeter of the arena.

  Stacy leaned against the fence. “Who’s the hottie?”

  “Volta said the instructor quit or something so this guy took over,” Hannah said.

  “She didn’t quit,” Volta corrected her. “She just needed off a couple of weeks.”

  “Nice.” Stacy ran her eyes over Scott, from the thick brown hair, to the plaid shirt and well-washed jeans, to the soft leather of his favorite cowboy boots. “Wonder if he’s married.”