An Alaskan Wedding

by Belle Calhoune

  She got up and began to dig through her purse. She found the papers she was looking for and handed them to Jasper. Boone and Grace watched as Jasper began reading the document about the steamship tragedy and the men who’d been on their way to the adventure of a lifetime in Juneau. There was also a copy of Bodine’s death record. Jasper let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t say a word.

  Tears filled her eyes. Even though they were doing the right thing by connecting the dots for Jasper, they were snatching away his dream, one he’d been chasing since he was a little boy.

  Not able to stand the silence anymore, Grace spoke. “I’m really sorry about the treasure. I want you to know, I really hoped you’d find it.”

  He patted her hand. “I know you did, sweetheart. And there’s no need to be sorry. Sometimes life throws us curveballs. It’s been a diversion, an opportunity to dream for a little while and escape my troubles.”

  Jasper’s response surprised her. “But aren’t you disappointed? You’ve spent most of your life believing in it and looking for it.”

  “True. But when it comes down to it, I’ve gained more than I lost. I was chasing something elusive. The love of my family, your friendship, Hazel, the fellowship of the residents of this town...that’s real. I can reach out and touch those things. My relationship with God is real.”

  “You’re handling this really well, Grandpa. Is there anything we can do to help?” Boone asked.

  “Aww. I love it when you call me Grandpa.” Jasper looked at his grandson, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Well, if you really want to help me, you’ll get married and make me a great-grandfather again so little Aidan can have a playmate.”

  “Jasper!” Boone growled.

  Grace looked back and forth between the two men. A giggle rose up inside her and burst forth, emerging as a hybrid of a snort and a chuckle. She covered her mouth with her hand and despite her best efforts, couldn’t contain her laughter. Jasper had been dealt a blow tonight, and he’d handled it with grace and aplomb. Rather than wallowing in self-pity, Jasper was being his usual playful self and teasing Boone. Jasper met her gaze and winked at her.

  This was home, she thought. A place where you felt comfortable in your own skin no matter what was being laid on the table. Being able to turn sorrow into laughter and emerge all the stronger for the hardships that came your way. After a lifetime of wanting to be accepted, Grace knew she was firmly rooted in her nesting place. She loved New York City and all its wonders, but she chose Love, Alaska, and the sheriff who’d made a believer out of her. This was the home she’d always wanted. Right here with the man she’d fallen in love with. This was where she wanted her future to unfold, right here in Love. But with all the lies that were standing between her and Boone, she had no idea how she was going to find the courage to tell him the truth. Would he turn away from her if he knew?

  Chapter Twelve

  In the weeks and days after Grace’s discovery about the legend of Bodine Prescott, Boone grew a new measure of respect for his grandfather. Jasper didn’t wallow in the news or try to bury his head in the sand about the facts Grace had presented. He dealt with it with grace, charm and a good measure of humor. Watching the way he handled himself showed Boone a lot about humility and wisdom.

  Rather than dwelling on anything he’d lost, Jasper had decided to focus on Grace’s idea about Hazel’s boots. Tonight’s town council meeting would be held at the Moose Café in order for the townsfolk to weigh in on the proposed plans to start mass-producing the boots and creating a corporation to oversee it. There was a lot of buzz surrounding the meeting and a sense of excitement and anticipation pulsed in the air.

  By the time Boone arrived at the meeting, it was standing room only. Grace, wearing a fuzzy pink sweater and a matching skirt, stood up from across the room and waved at him. She pointed to the seat next to hers and motioned him over. Curious eyes swung in their direction, but he shrugged off the attention. Pretty soon the whole town would be buzzing about Sheriff Prescott and the beautiful barista.

  “I saved it for you,” she said as soon as he reached her side, removing the coat resting on the seat.

  “Thanks. This place is packed,” he said, feeling a sense of contentment about Grace saving a spot for him. It was little things like this that warmed his heart almost to the point of overflowing. It was a new feeling for him. And sometimes he just wanted to shout it out from the rooftops.

  “I’m not sure I know what to say,” Grace whispered. A nervous tremor danced alongside her jaw. She fiddled with her fingers.

  Boone put his arm around her. “Say exactly what you said at the last town council meeting. With the same amount of passion and conviction. You’ll have them eating out of your hands.”

  Grace smiled at him. She began to relax right before his eyes. “Thanks for the pep talk. I just want everyone in town to realize that the boots are a great investment with wonderful potential for growth,” Grace said in a determined voice.

  Boone chuckled. “Sounds like you have your presentation all figured out.”

  Within minutes Jasper called the meeting to order. Boone quickly scanned the room. He nodded in the direction of a few people who made eye contact. Cameron waved at him and shook his head at the large crowd. Hank Jeffries was seated front and center, no doubt in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Grace. Gunther and Wanda held hands at a table. It seemed everyone’s curiosity had been piqued by the topic of tonight’s meeting.

  “Welcome, everyone. This meeting has been called tonight to put forth an idea presented by Grace Corbett, a wonderful young woman who has recently moved to Love. She came to us with this terrific idea about mass-producing Hazel’s boots. It has the potential to create a solid economy in Love. Why don’t I call her up here so she can explain it to you? She’s much nicer to look at than I am,” he said with a chuckle.

  Laughter rose up in the room. Grace ran her hands over her skirt and smoothed it down. After darting a quick look in Boone’s direction, she rose from her seat and took center stage next to Jasper.

  Boone didn’t know why, but his palms began to moisten with nervousness. He so wanted Grace to do well. And he was fully prepared to intervene if anyone gave her a hard time.

  “Good evening, everyone. I’m Grace. Grace Corbett,” she said with a slight nod of her head. A loud chorus of good evenings rang out in the café. “Even though I’m a newcomer to Love, I’ve found myself caring very deeply about this town. I want it to thrive. Ever since I arrived in town I’ve heard about some financial setbacks the town has been experiencing. That’s happening to a lot of communities around this country. But what this town has, in my humble opinion, is something that a lot of towns don’t have. Heart. Pluck. Resilience. Fellowship. And because of all those things, I think if this entire town stands behind Hazel’s boots and chips in to make them a red-hot commodity, they could really help this town make it through this downturn. There are so many ways to help. Promotion. Man power. Seed money. Let’s stand together and give it our all.”

  People stood up and cheered as soon as Grace stopped talking. Boone was among them. Jasper beamed with pride. Hazel put two fingers together and let out a loud whistle. Grace’s face lit up with joy.

  The door to the café burst open with a bang. A disheveled-looking Dwight stood in the doorway, a fierce expression etched on his face. He clutched a folder to his chest.

  “Quiet, Dwight. Grace is in the middle of a presentation,” someone called out to him.

  Dwight squeezed his way through the crowd and made his way to the front. “Grace Corbett is not who you think she is,” he announced in a loud voice. He paused for a moment to adjust his glasses. “She is masquerading as a participant in Operation Love when in reality she is a journalist. Frankly, she’s nothing more than a fraud.”

  A shocked silence filled the room, right before a buzz
began to thrum among the townsfolk.

  “That’s ridiculous, Dwight,” Boone said, moving toward the front so he could stand next to Grace.

  “Actually it’s not,” Dwight said. “Read it and weep.” Dwight shoved a piece of paper at Boone.

  Grace felt paralyzed. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. And she had no idea what Dwight was showing Boone. All she knew was that her world was on the verge of collapse.

  “What is this?” Boone asked, his brows knitted together.

  Dwight turned toward her and asked, “Would you like to do the honors, Miss Corbett? Or should I?”

  Although Grace wanted to do something about the smug expression on Dwight’s face, she felt a desperate need to know what Boone held in his hands. How could she explain when she had no clue what was going on?

  “It’s an article written by Grace Corbett for the New York Tribune. It just went viral, and it’s about us...and this town,” Dwight explained. He shot her a scornful look. “Tsk. Tsk. You said some very mean-spirited things about us.”

  Article? What article? Mean-spirited? Tony had promised her that he wouldn’t be posting any of the articles until she was back home in New York City. How could this be happening?

  Panic grabbed her by the throat. She needed to talk to Boone in private. Grace tugged at Boone’s sleeve. “I need to talk to you. In private.”

  Boone was reading the piece of paper. His eyes were scanning it with single-minded focus. He swung his gaze toward her. All the light had been extinguished from his eyes. His expression was shuttered.

  “Gracie, say something. Tell him it’s a big misunderstanding.” His tone was flat, as if he didn’t even believe what he was saying.

  A huge lump had formed in her throat. “I can’t Boone. I wish I could, but I can’t.”

  The look of puzzlement etched on his face was replaced by one of comprehension. “You wrote this...hatchet piece?” He ran a hand over his face. “Neanderthals masquerading as modern-day men. Is that your handiwork?”

  Grace felt all the color drain from her face. Wait a minute. How in the world had her snarky article been printed for all the world to see? She’d withdrawn it. Tony had agreed that it would never see the light of day. It was a moot point now. The wild bucking bronco had been let out of the stable, and she had to deal with the fallout.

  She chewed on her thumbnail. “I know it looks bad, Boone—”

  “Bad?” Boone scoffed. “This is so far past bad I can’t see straight.”

  People were talking loudly in the background, but at the moment all she cared about was Boone. She needed him to understand. “I’m sorry for not being honest with you.”

  “So you came here as a journalist looking for a story?” Boone asked, his tone incredulous.

  “Yes, Boone. I did. I’m a journalist for a newspaper in New York. And the reason I came here was to write a story about the town and Operation Love. The only way I can explain it is to tell you that for a very long time my job has been the only constant thing in my life.”

  Gasps rang out in the café. Loud whispers reached her ears. Her gaze never strayed from Boone.

  “So, you didn’t come here looking for love?” Boone’s voice cracked with emotion.

  Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to cry. She’d done this. Every bit of it. And if nothing else, she needed to own it. “No, Boone. I didn’t come to Alaska looking for love.” But I found it anyway. With you. The words stuck in her throat.

  Upon making her stark confession, Grace felt as if the ground underneath her was shifting. Suddenly, her world was tilting wildly on its axis. She needed fresh air, because at the moment she couldn’t seem to catch a breath. The pain she felt was a thousand times worse than anything she’d ever known. Boone grasped her by the arm and pulled her to the front door of the Moose Café, moving past the throng of townsfolk. Once they were outside he released her arm and moved a few steps away from her, as if he didn’t even want to be near her.

  He shoved his hand through his hair. With eyes flashing fire, he locked gazes with her. “One question. Did you write those words?” he asked.

  Grace nodded. For a person who’d always had an ability with words, right now she had none at her disposal. She looked down, unable to meet Boone’s unforgiving stare.

  “There’s nothing real about you. You’re a sham. An absolute and utter fake.” He ground the words out as if they were poison.

  “The way I feel about you is one-hundred percent real,” she said in a quiet voice.

  Boone scoffed. “If you think I believe that, Grace Corbett, I have a cannery to sell you.”

  “Can we sit down somewhere quiet and talk this over? Maybe if we—” she said.

  “There is no we. Not after what I just read. Not after what you just admitted. To tell you the honest truth, I never want to see you again.” With one last, scathing look, Boone turned on his heel and began walking away from her.

  Grace watched Boone walk away from her without making a single attempt at convincing him to stay. There had been something in his tone and the look in his eyes that spoke volumes. It was over. All her hopes and dreams for building something lasting with Boone had crashed and burned. Just when she’d had everything she’d ever wanted in the palm of her hand, it had all blown up in her face. And she couldn’t help but think she deserved every ounce of Boone’s scorn.

  * * *

  Walking back into the Moose Café was one of the most difficult things she’d ever done in her life. Strangely enough, it was way worse than explaining to a church full of guests that her wedding had been called off. Shame coursed through her as she pushed the door open and crossed the threshold. A roomful of people stared at her with censure in their eyes. She scanned the room looking for Jasper. Kind, sweet Jasper, who’d taught her so much about pluck and grit in the past few weeks. He was standing with Hazel at the sit-down counter. He shook his head at her in disbelief, his eyes filled with pain. Hazel simply stared at her, her expression shuttered. Cameron crossed his arms across his chest and studied her from across the room. Sophie sent her an encouraging smile.

  She walked toward the front of the room and stood in the same spot she’d been standing when she’d addressed the crowd earlier about Hazel’s boots. This time there was no question about her trembling limbs. She felt as if she was facing a firing squad. Nervously, she cleared her throat. “I’m not here to make excuses. Frankly, there aren’t any. I came to Love under false pretenses. I came here to write about Operation Love and the people in this town.” Tears were streaming down her face now and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. Her heart had shattered into a million pieces. She had nothing left to lose. “I wrote a bunch of articles. Only one of them was nasty. I wrote it because I was upset with Boone and I lashed out in the only way I knew how. Right afterward I withdrew it, and my editor promised not to publish it. That’s the truth.

  “For a long time now my job as a journalist has been everything to me. It was my identity. So when the opportunity came up to write a series about Love, I jumped at it. I never imagined that I would fall for this town. I had no idea I’d be torn between going back to New York City and staying here. By lying to everyone in town, I abused the trust you placed in me. You let me into your lives...and your hearts. I betrayed your belief in me. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about that. Because I love this town. You’ve shown me more grace and acceptance than my own family ever has. And I’ll never forget any of you. Truly, I won’t.”

  She swung her gaze toward Jasper and Hazel. “Jasper. Please forgive me. Your loyalty to this town is a thing of beauty. You’ve inspired me in every way possible. And Hazel, you’ve opened up your home to me and been my friend. Please don’t let my actions take away from the town’s plans for your boots. They are brilliant.” She turned toward Cameron. “Thanks for hiring me, Cameron. Working at the
Moose Café made me feel like I belonged in this town. I’ve never felt that sense of belonging before. Because of all of you I’d made the decision to stay here in Love, even though I know now I can’t.”

  And it hurt so badly to know she no longer had a place here, because she’d never had a home before. Not even in New York City or at the Tribune. Of course that knowledge would sweep over her just as she was being run out of town on a rail. Before she completely broke down she looked over at Sophie, who was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “Thanks for your friendship, Sophie. It breaks my heart that I let you down.”

  “What about the sheriff?” someone called out.

  “He hates me,” she choked out. “And I don’t blame him one single bit.”

  Grace stumbled through the crowd in a haze of tears until she wound up outside in the bitter cold. She deeply inhaled the Alaskan air, savoring the crisp, pristine feel of it as it seared her lungs. This time tomorrow Alaska would be nothing more than a memory. She would try with all her might to remember every little detail of this charming town. She pressed her eyes closed in an attempt to capture all of Love’s unique aspects in her mind’s eye. However, all she could see was Boone’s ruggedly handsome face and the look of utter devastation on it when he’d discovered the truth.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The following morning, Boone dragged himself over to the Moose Café for breakfast. There were about a dozen customers already sitting at tables. Some studiously avoided his gaze while others went out of their way to come over to his table to greet him. Cameron had called him late the night before to tell him that Grace had quit her barista job, so he knew he wasn’t going to be running into her at the Moose Café. Although every instinct had urged him to stay at home today and wallow in his misery, he was determined to prove a point. Grace’s betrayal hadn’t broken him. He was still standing. And he wanted everyone in the café to see it and pass it on to whomever they came across in their travels. No doubt everyone in town would be comparing this incident to the day he’d found out about Diana’s betrayal with another man.