by Marisa Logan
Occasionally, she would remind herself of her vow to avoid men and push away these idle thoughts, but they were always sneaking back into her mind when she wasn’t looking. She decided it was time to find a new hobby and turned her attention to making new versions of goat cheese and soap. This was one area where there was an abundance of milk and lots of room for innovation. Soon she managed to build up quite a stock of both for trade. Now all she needed was someone to trade with and that was a problem the internet was especially suited to solve. The rest would be up to Carson and his delivery service.
***
Late one evening, the two women found themselves out on the deck with big bowls of goat milk ice cream and a hunger to catch up on the missing years between them. Amber went first and shared her wandering journey that ended up as far from her home on the east coast as she could get.
They had to laugh as they both remembered a little factoid from a tour guide that showed how Alaska is actually the easternmost AND the westernmost state in the U.S.
The details of any romantic entanglements she shared were sketchy at best and Lauren gathered there hadn’t been anyone really special. She decided it wouldn’t hurt to ask so she brought up Carson, but Amber brushed him aside as if she didn’t want to talk about him. Lauren let it go.
Amber chose that moment to bring up Dylan as she was aware of their long term relationship, but wasn’t privy to the messy end. Lauren gave her the condensed version of her broken ‘engagement’ to the man of her dreams. She was tempted to expound on her humiliation, but it all seemed like ancient history from her new perspective.
“I have to confess,” Amber began, “I was dreading the invitation to your wedding. I knew you’d want me to be your maid of honor and I also remembered that turquoise was your favorite color. I just couldn’t see myself in a fancy turquoise dress, not even for you!”
Lauren burst into laughter at the thought of her cousin in a frilly dress, startling Maggie awake and nearly falling off her chair. She’d forgotten about their play weddings when they were little. The two of them had so many shared memories from their past.
“Do you remember the time we went to the county fair when we were twelve,” Lauren asked.
“Oh, yeah! We spent all our money getting our fortunes told by that hokey gypsy lady with the bad teeth. I was so mad at you! We didn’t have anything left over to go on the Ferris wheel!”
“Do you remember what she told me…who I would marry?”
Amber paused for a moment searching her memory and the light suddenly dawned on her face.
“I do! She told you, you were going to marry a man named Dylan!” she cackled.
Then, realizing the magnitude of what she’d just said, she frowned and turned to look at Lauren.
“Oh, no…oh, no! That’s not why you stayed with him for five years, is it,” Amber’s voice trailed off into silence. “I told you it was a stupid idea to get our fortunes told,” she finally muttered.
They both sat there quietly letting their surroundings soak into them as they finished their ice cream. As they watched, a bear slipped along the far edge of the trees and disappeared from sight. Its appearance was so brief that Maggie didn’t even notice, and they were left to wonder if they’d just imagined it.
***
The summer passed quickly and, by the end of August, a bit of chill was in the air in the mornings and late at night. One morning, they’d woken up to a light dusting of snow, but it was gone before the coffee was ready. It was a reminder that winter was coming and they needed to get themselves ready. The woodstove in the kitchen was only used for cooking and the firewood for that was already stacked along the back wall of the kitchen. Their main heating only needed to be turned on and they’d be plenty warm enough to endure what was coming.
Sergei finished prepping the solar and wind arrays for the long winter. They would lose the solar for a couple of months in the middle of winter, but the wind turbine was designed to pick up the slack. He often came by to check on things, but Lauren rarely caught his visits as she mainly stayed close to the house. Amber would casually mention that he’d come over to do this or take care of that and Lauren was always surprised. She was left to wonder if she’d misread his half smile and the sparkle in his eye.
Maybe he’d only been laughing at her stupidity, she thought, and besides, no men, remember?
***
Grady and Riley passed through a few times as they continued their study. Each time they’d stay a couple of days and the women looked forward to their visits. Riley was often seen following Amber around the barn as she completed her care of the animals while Grady spent his free time entertaining Lauren with their adventures out in the bush with wild animals and raging rivers.
He wasn’t a sourdough, a term used for Alaskans with a long string of winters under their belt, but he’d taken to the land with a passion for its pristine beauty. He did confess that this just might be his last winter as he was ready for a change, maybe even time to settle down, he’d added with a little grin at her. She carefully ignored his little hint as idle talk.
“So, just how do you explain to your boss the number of days you and Riley spend hanging out here at the homestead,” Lauren asked him with a wry grin.
“What do you mean?” Grady asked with a grin of his own. “There’s nothing to explain. This is basically ‘our field office’. Most of the technology here including the satellite access for the internet and your cell phone was installed by the university. The Dorman’s have a working agreement with them.”
“Oh, so you’re telling me that you’re just here to work,” Lauren said.
“Well, of course. There’s no reason for my boss to care that the station is currently being ‘manned’ by two beautiful women. This just makes the ‘field office’ a lot more interesting for us,” Grady concluded. “Besides, investigating the local population falls under the universities purview. We have to know who’s out here if there’s ever a need to evacuate this area.”
This last part was said with a mischievous look that brought an answering grin to Lauren’s face. She felt the underlying current of interest that was growing between them with each of Grady’s visits. If her imaginings weren’t so dominated by a certain tall, dark mystery, she knew that Grady would have garnered far more of her attention. He was pleasant company and the two of them had far more in common.
No matter, she reminded herself sternly, you’re still under a ‘no men’ vow here. Don’t forget that!
***
One morning, Lauren was laying out breakfast when her cousin stumbled into the kitchen in her pajamas. She took one look at Amber’s swollen face and gasped in horror. The entire right side of her jaw was swollen to nearly twice its normal size and was burning red with fever.
“What happened to you,” Lauren asked with fear in her voice.
“I think it’s an abscessed tooth,” Amber moaned, “and it hurts real bad…took some aspirin…ooohh,” she groaned as she sank into her chair.
Lauren grabbed an ice pack and wrapped it in a towel for her cousin as she tried to think of what to do next.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“See if you can get Carson on the radio,” Amber mumbled as she laid her head down on the table. “If that doesn’t work, try to send him a text. He’s our only hope for getting me a dentist.”
Lauren hurried to try the radio first. As she checked the settings, it crackled with empty static and, after several attempts, it was clear no one was within range. She grabbed her phone to send him a text message. He responded back within the hour and told her it would take him at least two days to make his way out to them. He recommended that they try to get to Nasnan TwoRivers as she would have some home remedies that would be far more effective than aspirin.
The very idea of trying to get to the TwoRivers homestead gave Lauren the shivers. Neither of them had ever been that far on their own and she wasn’t sure of the path. Amber knew the surrounding pa
ths that led to their neighbors, but she’d never gone the entire way down any of them alone. In her condition, this wasn’t the time to go out on an expedition into the wilderness.
As they considered this predicament, both women realized that Lauren would have to go and try to find the way by herself. The path they used to the airstrip on their ATV was fairly well-used and should be easy enough to follow on horseback. They had a rough map of the area the Dorman’s had made for them and besides, what other option did they have at this point.
She groaned as she realized that Daisy and Petunia were out in the bush with Grady and she’d have to ride Trace. This was just getting more and more complicated by the minute. Sucking up her courage, Lauren resolved to rise to the challenge and get some help for her cousin. Amber would have taken the shotgun, but she still felt uneasy handling a firearm so she grabbed a can of bear spray and their ‘map’. Heading out to the barn, she called for Trace and to her surprise he came running over right away.
She managed to get him saddled up and headed down the path to the airstrip. Stopping at the edge of the trees, she took a moment to sight Wolf Mountain and determine the direction of the TwoRivers’ homestead in relation to where she was currently positioned.
The ATV trail was rough, but she was confident that she could follow wherever it led. Steeling herself, she moved forward into the trees. This wasn’t the best time of the year to be wandering about in the woods. The bears were busy getting ready for winter and eating everything they could get their paws on. Lauren didn’t want to be a part of their winter’s hoard.
She followed the rough path for about half an hour before she started to see signs of human activity. She came to a clearing where wide strips of bark had been cut from the birch trees and small piles of wood chips and sawdust marked firewood cuttings. A bit further along she heard the distant sound of a chainsaw or maybe it was a boat motor.
She knew the TwoRivers homestead was near the Melozitna River. The Athabascan’s used the river as their main trade route and a major source of food. Nasnan usually brought dried fish to trade for eggs or goat milk soap.
As the path widened out, she caught sight of a snug little cabin nestled in a stand of trees. A couple of dogs stood up and began to bark fiercely at her sudden appearance and Lauren was relieved to see Kuzih come around the corner of a shed. He looked surprised to see his neighbor riding up and hurried over to help her dismount.
“Kuzih, Amber’s sick. Carson told us that Nasnan might be able to help her until he can come and take her to a doctor,” Lauren blurted out.
Kuzih nodded and called out for his wife. She appeared from behind the drying racks for the fish with a bloodied knife in her hand. Lauren was glad this wasn’t the first sight she’d been greeted with on her approach. Nasnan’s eyes widened with surprise as she took in the sight of Lauren in her front yard. She quickly stripped off her bloodied apron and wrapped it around the knife before hurrying over to see what precipitated this surprise visit.
Lauren explained about Amber’s swollen face and extreme pain. Before she was finished, Kuzih pulled the tarp off the ATV and started to make preparations to head back to the Dorman’s place. Nasnan listened carefully and then disappeared into their cabin. She reappeared within a few minutes with a small pack and a rifle.
Jumping onto the ATV, she motioned for Lauren to get on behind her. They would be able to travel together faster in the thick underbrush and low-hanging limbs that threatened to dislodge a rider on a tall horse. Kuzih would follow behind on Trace at a slower pace.
The two of them made good time as Nasnan pushed the ATV over the rough places and went even faster through the clearer areas. It was apparent that her driving skills were equal to her husband’s as she wrestled the tough little machine over the broken trail. Lauren was left to hang on as best she could, torn between her fears and concern for her cousin.
When they reached sight of the homestead, Lauren was surprised to see Afon munching grass at the edge of the yard with his reins trailing in the dirt. She barely had time to consider the matter before Nasnan had parked the ATV and was headed into the lodgehouse.
Even more shocking was the sight of Sergei kneeling next to the couch where he was holding an icepack to Amber’s cheek. The look of concern on his face was apparent and Lauren was left to wonder about her presumptions. This was her first time to see him inside the house, but it was clear that he knew his way around.
He looked relieved to see Nasnan and stepped back to give her room to assess the ‘patient’. She picked up a mug sitting on the coffee table and gave it a quick sniff. Giving Sergei a nod, she talked to Amber to try and determine the level of her pain. It was clear to Lauren that Amber was clearly feeling some relief.
“The birch tea is good. It helps the pain and the infection,” Nasnan affirmed. “The tooth will have to come out, but it’s better for you to have one of your dentists for that. The tea and some herbs I brought will help you until Carson can come.”
Sergei nodded in agreement with her assessment and turned his attention to Lauren.
“Amber was very concerned about you. She couldn’t decide if she wanted me to help her or go after you. I told her to give you the chance to prove to yourself what you can do. You did well.”
Sergei’s words were followed with a sincere smile that warmed Lauren’s heart all the way to her toes. He turned and left the room without saying anything else as she stood there basking in his admiration. For that kind of attention, she’d ride to the moon and back, she swooned inside.
When she finally came down off her cloud, she realized that he’d gone out to the barn and done the milking and collected the eggs. She’d managed to make some coffee and a pan of sweet rolls by the time he reappeared with Kuzih. Amber was safely tucked into her own bed and was sleeping soundly, thanks to the herbs Nasnan prepared for her. The four of them sat down at the table to consider what would happen next.
“Carson will have to fly Amber back to the city,” Sergei began. “She’s going to be away for at least two weeks before she can be treated and he can bring her back. You understand…” he said looking at Lauren pointedly.
Lauren nodded, but for once her nod was sure as she basked in the glow of her success. For the first time, she was confident that she could handle everything on her own, at least for a short time.
“We won’t be able to help much,” Kuzih began to explain. “It’s the time for the ‘gathering’ and our people will join together for the celebration of the harvest before winter begins. We must travel two days journey away.”
Lauren hurried to assure the couple that she would be able to handle things until Amber came back. Sergei added his commitment to check on her as often as he could and the matter was settled.
Lauren divided the rest of the sweet rolls, the eggs Sergei had brought in and several bars of goat milk soap into two packs. She was proud to be able to give something back to her neighbors for their kindness. She showed Nasnan some of the different soaps she’d made and asked if there would be anyone interested in trading for them at their gathering.
“There’s always an interest in trading for soap,” Nasnan said. “Especially fine soap like this. I’m sure I can make some good trades for you. Is there anything in particular you’d like to trade for?”
Lauren had the presence of mind to look embarrassed before she whispered, “I’d really like some chocolate…”
Nasnan burst out laughing, which caught the attention of the two men. Her husband asked what was so funny and she answered in their native language. Sergei looked confused until Kuzih explained the joke, then he too started to laugh.
“Chocolate’s a pretty rare commodity out here in the bush,” he stated. “You’re going to come up short on that end of the deal.”
Noting Lauren’s discomfort, Nasnan patted her arm.
“Don’t worry. Some of our clan are coming upriver from Galena. I’ll put the word out and see what I can do. We’ll try and find you som
e chocolate.”
With that said, the TwoRivers couple gathered their things and headed outside. After a quick peek into Amber’s room, Sergei followed them and Lauren was left to consider the events of the morning. She’d learned a lot of new things in a very short time and her mind was struggling to process all of it. The one thing that surprised her most of all was the fact that she really wasn’t afraid to handle things on her own for the next couple of weeks. Besides, what could go wrong…?
Chapter 9
Amber’s ‘mini-vacation’, if one could call it that went smoothly on both sides and Lauren surprised everyone by handling the homestead like an old pro.
Sergei was true to his word and stopped by every couple of days to check on things. She suspected that he came by a little more often than that, but just took a quick look around without alerting her to his presence. She’d never caught him at spying on her, but little things were picked up and put away, like hay forks and such that she remembered leaving here or there. He never came into the house and usually appeared when she was milking the goats or bringing in the eggs. She’d hoped for some quiet time together over a cup of coffee and baked several kinds of goodies hoping to tempt him inside, but he always made his exit before she could invite him.
Amber was fully recovered from her ordeal and welcomed Lauren’s newfound interest in helping to care for the animals. They finished up the final harvest from the outside garden and picked all of the lingonberries they could stand to pick. The area was full of raspberries and blueberries and the two women ate their fill of them. Frost was on the ground every morning and Sergei had activated the heating system for the long winter run.