by Meris Lee
Chapter Twenty-Four
August came, and it grew cooler in the Wrangell Mountains. Rain sometimes persisted for days, although every once in a while there was a glimpse of sunshine coming down through the lush, thick leaves, shimmering on the surface of quiet springs and gentle creeks that Elias and Sam now explored while hiking when their time-off from work coincided. They took another trip to see Mt. St. Elias, again by Andy’s plane, and spent hours kayaking Icy Bay and exploring the rocky shores of Kageet Point. Sam built a fire using driftwood, and Elias tasted for the first time an assortment of space food, including lasagna that cooked in boiling water and freeze-dried ice cream.
“The space food is not bad, right?” said Sam.
“They would be better if they weren’t called lasagna and ice cream,” said Elias. “These are entirely new species of food.”
Sam laughed, and Elias joined in. Sam was not as stuffy as he used to be, and Elias felt more connected to him as each day went by. The fifteen-minute car ride on a work night always seemed too short, and they ended up chatting outside Katy’s cabin for another half an hour before saying goodbye.
“You’re getting on well with Stuffy Sam,” said Katy one night after she returned from work.
“He’s all right,” Elias replied, feeling blood rise to her cheeks.
“He went above and beyond to help Gina.”
“How is she doing in China? I suspect she has a lot of opinions about everything there?”
“You suspect correctly. That’s all she talks about when she calls, complaining about this and that. I told her to be grateful of what Shuping is doing for her, paying for all her expenses in China.”
“I can’t wait to see Shuping when she comes back for your wedding.”
“It won’t be up to her standard,” said Katy. “Remember the pictures from her wedding?”
Elias was shocked by the speed with which Shuping and Chen Guo’s families pulled a lavish wedding together. It was held at a palace decorated with red lanterns and silver bells. The couple had a tea ceremony in front of golden statues of a dragon and a phoenix. They had a ten-course feast catered by chefs who were considered national treasures in China. The guests wore stunning tuxedoes and gowns. Gina, Shuping’s maid of honor, was lent a diamond bib necklace valued at a quarter of a million US dollars!
“It was crazy, right? The whole drama with Gina. Wolfe cares about your safety.”
“Yes,” Katy chuckled. “He’s probably still investigating you.”
Elias pressed her lips together and looked away. If Officer Paige had reported her, it wouldn’t be long till Wolfe’s connections in Texas found out. Then what? Did Wolfe have the authority to pick her up? She cringed at the idea of going back to prison, and worse, the humiliation she’d face when Sam learned of her past. She just couldn’t bear the idea of Sam thinking that she was the worst of humankind.
»»•««
Elias was picking up a copy of the USA Today from the lobby of the Kennecott Hotel after work one day when she saw Sam talking to the clerk at the front desk. Elias waited until Sam turned away from the clerk to greet him.
“Hi, Sam,” she said, smiling.
“Hi, Elias.” He smiled back.
Usually, he would move first and open the hotel door for her, but now he was standing still, and she could tell there was something on his mind.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Forgive me for arranging it without consulting you first, but I asked Mr. Mason to give you tomorrow night off.”
“Why?”
“I wonder if—if you would join me for dinner.”
Elias’s heart did a somersault. She had imagined this scenario a few times, even practiced different ways to answer the question, but now, all of a sudden, she was tongue-tied.
“Of course, if you don’t care to—”
“I’d love to,” she said, hurriedly.
Sam took a step closer to her. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do if you said no. I do enjoy your company tremendously.”
Elias felt as if she were going to be incinerated by the heat radiating from Sam’s body. She hid her trembling hands in her coat pockets. “So, where are we having dinner?”
“Unfortunately, the restaurant here is the only suitable establishment within two hours’ driving, as you know.”
“I don’t mind having a burger at the saloon or something from the pizza bus.”
“I know you don’t, but my parents are hard to please.”
Elias was dumbfounded. “Parents?”
“Yes, you see, my parents are visiting. They arrive tomorrow. And, I’m rather dreading the idea of dining alone with them. I’d be much more at ease if you’re by my side. They would behave in a more civil manner in your presence.”
“Wait.” She shook her head. “You want to use me as a shield against your parents?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way. I mean, you’ll make a livelier dinner party, too.”
“So, I’ll be the entertainment as well?”
“No, Elias, that’s not what I meant.” Sam was red in the face, flustered.
Elias was disappointed. She had mistaken the dinner request for a date for two, but she found herself unable to refuse Sam. She smiled and said, “Relax, Sam. I’ll have dinner with you and your parents. But how long are they staying? I can’t have dinner with you every night.”
“Would that be so terrible?”
Elias tilted her head and looked into his eyes, which were looking into hers, too. She sensed there was a deeper meaning to his response, and for a moment she thought he was leaning in for a kiss. But the moment passed, and he straightened up. “I’m going to use work as excuse to not have to dine with them.”
“They are your parents, and they are coming a long way.”
“Trust me. They’re not here for reconciliation.”
“Obviously they love and care about you enough to travel here.”
“And I’m repaying them with a nice dinner and the delightful presence of a good friend of mine.”
“I’m a good friend of yours?”
“Undoubtedly,” said Sam, turning to open the door, signaling Elias to exit the hotel.
Undoubtedly, they were good friends. She couldn’t dare ask for more.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Elias stared at her ankle monitor, imagining what it’d be like if it weren’t there. She couldn’t cut it for fear the ink in the band would stain her skin forever. She looked around the bedroom and found a roll of duct tape. She pushed the ankle monitor as high up her leg as it would go and wrapped the silver tape around it several times to secure it mid-calf. She slipped into a dress borrowed from Katy’s wardrobe. It was an ankle-length cotton dress in the color of midnight blue, with elbow sleeves, scoop neck, and a flowing skirt. She then stepped into a pair of Katy’s heels. She tried to relax, telling herself she wasn’t going to dinner as Sam’s girlfriend. But she feared she would still be judged from head to toe by his parents, and she didn’t want to embarrass Sam in front of them.
“I knew this was going to happen,” said Katy when Elias asked her to come into the room to help her with hair and makeup. “I’ve noticed you two becoming close, so much so falling in love is just inevitable.”
“No one fell in love,” said Elias, her ears burning. “Sam asked me to dinner as a friend.”
“A man does not ask a woman to dinner with his parents if he’s not serious about her.”
“He wants to avoid having difficult conversations with his parents and is using me as a shield. If he, in fact, is in love with me, he’d have asked me on a date alone before tonight.”
“Andy said the last time you two spent a whole day together alone on Icy Bay, Sam whistled and grinned like a fool on the entire flight back.”
Yes, Elias noticed it that day. Sam was humming, tapping his feet, and was unusually cheerful. But what did it prove anyway? Maybe he just enjoyed the outdoors.
“And you alway
s blush in front of him,” said Katy. “Tell me you’re not in love with him.”
Elias, embarrassed, pouted and stared at Katy.
“Okay, okay,” said Katy. “I won’t tease you anymore.”
“I just feel bad for Mr. Mason because I’ve already asked for a day off to go to the potlatch for Andy’s grandmother tomorrow, and now I’m going to be absent tonight as well.”
“Summer’s winding down,” said Katy. “It’s not as busy now as it was last month.”
“That’s true, and I’m a little sad about it.”
“Where are you going when the town shuts down next month?”
Elias shook her head. “Mr. Mason mentioned the ski resorts in Wyoming or Colorado where I could try and get a job in.”
“Or maybe you can just stay with me and Andy in Slana. I’m sure he won’t mind.” Katy giggled. “After all, he would want to help out his best buddy Sam in any way he can, including hosting you, the object of Sam’s affection.”
Elias’s ears warmed again. “I told you we’re just friends.’
“You know you want to stay here for him. You don’t want to leave him high and dry, do you?”
“The way you go on talking, it makes me want to leave you high and dry.”
They both laughed. Then there was a knock on the front door.
“Must be Sam. I’ll get it.” Katy dashed out of the bedroom.
Elias took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She looked in the mirror again before she stepped into the living room.
»»•««
Sam had a mysterious grin when he saw Elias in her evening attire, and it made her wonder whether he thought her beautiful. Somewhere in her heart, a voice told her she didn’t need a man to approve of how she looked, but it delighted her to think Sam might adore her appearance as much as he proclaimed to appreciate the person she was inside.
He presented Elias with a bouquet of roses, and it was the first time she’d received flowers from anyone. It overwhelmed her. Katy took the flowers from Elias and shoved the couple out the door.
“Don’t rush to bring her home, Sam,” said Katy, smiling and closing the door behind them.
Elias’s heart was dancing, but she tried to appear calm. She needed to act mature, like a lady who’d been on multiple dinner dates and knew what to do with her suitors—except, of course, Sam was not exactly courting her, or was he?
“Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with my parents tonight,” said Sam as he started driving.
“No problem. Thanks for feeding me.”
“Although of course, I would much prefer dining alone with you.”
Elias pressed her lips together. She wanted to know his intentions, but she dared not ask.
“You look different tonight,” he said.
“Different good or different bad?”
“Good, of course,” he replied quickly. “You’re always good, even when you’re just the same old you.”
“The same old me?”
“I mean…I like how you were—I mean how you are—I mean…” he stammered on. “Not that I don’t like how you are tonight—you look beautiful by the way—but the way you’ve always been—I like that, too.”
Elias chuckled quietly and smiled.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, with a serious look.
“Are you nervous? I’ve never seen you at a loss for words.”
“I am, every time you’re near,” he said softly, his eyes focused on the road ahead, but those words warmed her face again, and her heart, too.
Chapter Twenty-Six
When they drove through town, Elias saw Sergeant Wolfe’s car outside Andy’s store where there was now a sign stating “Foreclosure-For Sale” staked to the ground in front of it.
Sam frowned and pulled over. “Let me see what’s going on.”
“I’ll go with you.” Elias followed Sam out.
Andy was sitting on the porch step with a pen and a piece of paper on his lap, with Wolfe, O’Brien, and two men in suits standing around and staring at him. O’Brien had a satisfied look on his face when he took the paper from Andy’s hand. “You won’t regret this,” said O’Brien, turning his attention to Sam and Elias. “Howdy, ranger? Miss Dodsen?”
Sam didn’t respond. Elias stayed quiet as well.
“You made the right decision, Andy,” said Wolfe. He tipped his hat at Sam and Elias before getting back in his car with O’Brien and the other men and driving off.
Sam walked over to Andy. “You didn’t—”
“I had to,” said Andy, looking up at Sam. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“Your grandmother gave you her land for you to protect it, not to be profited and desecrated by people like O’Brien and the developers.”
“We’ve lived off our land for hundreds of years,” said Andy. “Developing our land is no different. If they can find oil or gas underneath, or if they want to cut down trees or mine coal, or if they want to build a hotel and bring tourists, we profit, too. I profit, too. I mean, the land is there for us to use, for us to survive on, is it not?”
“Are you listening to yourself?” said Sam, his voice tense, a look of exasperation on his face.
“You don’t have the right to lecture me,” said Andy. “You don’t know what it’s like to be broke, to be in debt, to be a disappointment to the woman you love, and to yourself…”
“No, I don’t,” said Sam. “But I know if you didn’t sell out, at least you’d have your pride and integrity.”
“I can’t live on pride and integrity.”
“I hope you can live with your decision then,” said Sam, curling his fingers into fists. “If your grandmother could see you now she’d be disappointed.”
Andy’s eyes dimmed, and his face twisted as if in pain. Elias knew it must hurt him a great deal to give his grandmother’s land over for development, and she knew he did it for Katy’s sake. He wanted Katy to have a comfortable life, and the wedding was near. The land was all he had with the store and business gone.
“Do you want me to get Katy for you?” asked Elias.
Andy shook his head.
Elias looked up at Sam, who still looked angry. She nudged at his arm. “I think we should go.”
Sam sighed, took her hand in his, and led her away from Andy. She didn’t think anything of it until he let go of her hand after he opened the car door for her. She trembled all of a sudden. It was the first time they held hands, and yet it felt like they had held hands many times before because it felt so familiar and natural. She wondered what Sam thought of it if he even noticed the significance of it at all.
“You’re too hard on Andy,” said Elias when Sam started driving toward Kennecott. “He wouldn’t have done it if he could help it. He has to live on something, and he’s got to pay for the potlatch tomorrow, and the wedding…”
“I know,” said Sam. “But it’s my job to protect these lands. I know his grandmother’s land is private and out of my jurisdiction, but I still feel like some scoundrels have taken advantage of Andy when he’s in a vulnerable moment, and they’re going to tear up a piece of paradise. Andy’s going to regret it.”
“Maybe O’Brien’s people will take care of it.”
“Based on my observation of events in recent history, I think not.”
“Have some faith.”
“How can I have faith when I know what’s going to happen?”
“You know what’s going to happen? Am I going to have fish or steak tonight?”
“Come on, Elias. You know what I mean.”
“We all have to make tough decisions sometime in our lives,” Elias said solemnly. “I had to make one in my youth. It was probably not the best or the smartest, but at the time I had a good reason to do it, and I’ve never regretted it, even with all the consequences I had to live through as a result of that decision.”
“Is this something you wish to share with me?”
“Someday, maybe,” she said. Then, trying
to lighten things up, she said, “Will you parents think I’m a pig if I eat both the fish and the steak?”
Sam laughed, which was what Elias hoped to achieve with that question. “I might think you’re a pig myself.”
“Really? Oh well, I don’t care what you think of me.”
“You don’t? I happen to care very much what you think of me. I’m offended to be thought of as stuffy, snobbish, rude, and arrogant.”
“I don’t think that anymore.”
“And what are your new thoughts about me?”
“Do you want compliments? I don’t know you to be vain.”
“No, I just want to know if you think of me—” Sam seemed to be searching for the right word for a moment. “Positively…”
“Would I have dinner with you if I didn’t?”
“Good,” he said, awkwardly. “That’s good to know.”
Elias had reason to believe that he was as fond of her as she was of him, even though at the moment he seemed to want to drag out the suspense for as long as possible. Did he like to torture the object of his affection? Or was he just shy? Or perhaps this was his way of a slow but methodical courtship? Elias found it simply insufferable.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mr. Collins was in black tie, and Mrs. Collins was in a violet, calf-length skirt suit with a matching hat. They had to be the fanciest couple in the Kennecott Hotel. They seemed surprised to see her. After a brief introduction, Mrs. Collins said to her husband, “Would you ask them to change our reservation to a table for five, dear?”
“Certainly,” said Mr. Collins as they headed into the restaurant.
“Table for five?” said Sam. “Who else are we expecting?”
“Victoria,” said Mrs. Collins, with a broad smile.
“Victoria?” Sam exclaimed.
“You two seemed to have such a good time when you came home last month,” said Mrs. Collins. “I thought you might like to see her again, and so I asked her to come with us. You know how busy lawyers are, but she cleared her schedule to come and see you. I asked her on the flight here if she’d mind having a long-distance relationship, and she said she’d be open to it for the right man, and I think she meant you.’