“I don’t get it. How does a non-baker put you out of …” He stood up a little straighter, but his intense expression didn’t change. “Who put you out of business, Sophie?”
“Seriously, I wouldn’t want anyone to try to retaliate—”
“Yes, I know. No retaliation. Was it a big company, then?”
“Yes, the biggest. PJ’s. Do they even have those up here? PJ’s, those huge warehouse stores where you have to get a membership?”
Jamie didn’t answer right away, and his expression didn’t change. He stepped down a level on Roger and Cathy’s porch.
“Seriously, you’ve never heard of PJ’s?” she asked. “They’re all over the place in the lower forty-eight.”
“PJ’s,” he finally answered. “Sure, I know PJ’s. Big obnoxious stores? Mile-high stacked merchandise, great deals but you have to be a member. That PJ’s?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Do they have them in Alaska?”
“Sure. There’s one in Juneau.”
In the corner of Sophie’s mouth, a tiny hint of bitterness appeared. “See? They’re everywhere. Hopefully Sitka’s too small to attract one, or Cathy’s business would be in danger, too.”
“Because … PJ’s has a bakery.”
“Yep. They get all the business. Little guys don’t stand a chance against a dozen giant blueberry muffins for six dollars.”
“Ginormous muffins.”
“Yes! They are ginormous. You’ve had them.”
“I have.” Jamie cleared his throat and leaned back against the porch railing. “So, PJ’s put you out of business, so now, naturally, you resent PJ’s.”
“Well …” She tucked a loose dark strand of hair behind her ear. “Maybe not resent. That’s a pretty strong word.”
“But you blame them.”
She looked in those hazel eyes to see if he didn’t agree or if he was making fun of her. She wasn’t sure how to read what she saw there, but she thought maybe Jamie was just trying to understand her. It gave her goose bumps.
“Do I blame them?” she asked, her voice soft. “Wouldn’t you?”
Jamie nodded his head, and, to her astonishment, took Sophie’s hand. She glanced up at the house to make sure none of the Platskys were looking out the windows.
“You’ve been through a lot,” he said. “That’s a lot to lose in a short amount of time. Especially for a … twenty- … five-year-old.”
Her brow crinkled. “Twenty-five?”
“Twenty-four?”
“You’re trying to guess how old I am?”
“What am I supposed to do? Ask straight out? My mama taught me that was bad manners.”
“And it is,” she said. “Especially if you keep guessing wrong.”
“Twenty-three?”
Sophie laughed. “At least you’re guessing in a flattering direction. I’m twenty-nine. You?”
He was still holding her hand, much to the delight of the butterflies in her chest. With his other hand he reached up and stroked his beard. “I suppose the beard makes me look older.”
“Let’s just say, if you’re actually under seventy, the beard makes you look older.”
“No, it can’t be that bad.”
She cocked her head. “Well …”
“Surely somewhere under fifty.”
“Maybe …”
“How about thirty-five. Anywhere in that area possible? Somewhere in the wilder side of your imagination?”
“Seriously?” She let go of his hand and shifted her weight so she moved away from him. “You’re thirty-five?”
“I am. Does that bother you?”
“No,” she said, a bit too lightly and too quick. She’d been thinking he was closer to Roger’s age, which would have been one more reason to not date him. “Thirty-five’s a nice age. I look forward to being thirty-five at some time in my future.”
“In your distant future?”
“No. Thirty-five and twenty-nine are … not that far apart.”
His eyes twinkled wickedly. “So I’m of an acceptable age?”
Sophie made her way closer to the front door so she didn’t have to look him in the eyes. “I don’t know whatever you could mean.”
“You do,” he said, jumping up to her step and putting his hand on the opposite rail so she had to stop. He looked down at her. “I mean, I’m of an age that it wouldn’t be unheard of for you to go on an actual date with me.”
“Who said I wanted to go on a date with you?” Sophie knew her eyes were saying yes already, so she looked away.
“Sophie Platsky, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?”
She had to work to keep her breath even. Hadn’t she seen Jamie only three times? Today was their first real conversation. So why did he make her feel all wobbly inside? “It’s Sophie Molina. My mom was a Platsky. By date, do you mean bowling?”
“Why? Don’t you like bowling?”
“I love it. I’m just trying to guess what kind of date you’re suggesting.”
“Would that make a difference in whether or not you answered?”
She finally looked him in the eye again. “I guess not,” she said.
He grinned, and the excitement she saw in his eyes reached all the way to her toes. “How about Friday?”
7
When Cathy said they were going to Juneau for some shopping, Sophie imagined they’d head to the airport and catch a commercial flight. Or, possibly Roger would catch them a ride on that private jet again, though she didn’t think that was likely.
Turned out the Platskys had another connection in town.
“A seaplane?” Sophie asked. “We’re going to take off from the water? And land again on water?”
“Yes. You’re going to love it.” Cathy steered her catering van around a bend, allowing the harbor to come into their view.
“Sweet. I’ve seen some since I arrived. They’re pretty small, right?”
“It varies. This one seats five.”
“How do you know so many people with planes, Cathy?” Sophie was impressed.
“Seaplanes aren’t uncommon in Sitka, actually. This one belongs to Roger’s boss, the same one who owns the jet you flew in on.”
“Gosh, lucky guy. What’s his connection to Sitka? I mean, he owns the fishing charter, but why here? It’s a small town.”
“Sitka’s a pretty special small town, we like to think. Besides, he has a home here, too.”
“In Sitka?” Sophie had seen a lot of houses, but they didn’t look like the kind of homes someone would own if he also had a seaplane and private jet. “Is there a wealthy part of town I missed?”
Cathy pointed out across the water. “Roger’s boss owns one of the islands.”
“People own islands? Cool.” Just from the road, Sophie could see at least a dozen islands of varying sizes. She knew from maps that there were dozens more than that.
“Some of them. You’ll get to see it in a few weeks. The island and his house.”
“Awesome. Who is this guy?”
“He’s a good guy. He lets us go out there with the whole family and play. The far end of the island is … well, you’ll see it soon.”
“Nice when your boss is a friendly old millionaire,” Sophie said.
Cathy was busy navigating the truck, but glanced up at Sophie. “Try billionaire. And yes, it can be nice.”
“Billionaire? Yikes. What would that be like?”
The Sitka Marina was a hopping place. While Sophie had grown up in San Francisco, she and her family weren’t boating people. Marinas were places with locked gates, and only the few who could afford the lifestyle were allowed in.
In Sitka, it seemed everyone owned a boat of some kind. Motorboats, sailboats, and what looked like hundreds of fishing boats were lined up in the slips. Cathy drove beyond that area and parked in a more remote lot with fewer cars.
“Where is it?” Sophie wasn’t sure if she was more nervous or excited.
Cathy led the way d
own a wide ramp, and around a building toward the water. Two things immediately came into Sophie’s view that made her catch her breath. One was the sight of the seaplane she was about to trust with her life, and the other was a certain bright-eyed angler who stepped out of the plane’s open door.
“Jamie?” Cathy, looking up to see, paused before resuming her cumbersome walk to the plane. “Jamie? What are you doing here? I expected Ethan.”
Jamie’s long limbs carried him quickly up the walkway to take Cathy’s arm. “Allow me,” he said. “It’s a little slippery here.” He winked at Sophie. “Hey there, beautiful.”
It was embarrassing that a cheesy attempt at flirting gave her such a reaction, but oh, it did. “Hey there, yourself,” she said, trying not to let her eyes give her away.
“Fancy a ride to Juneau?”
“Are you … a pilot?” Sophie asked.
“You didn’t answer me,” Cathy interrupted as they reached the plane. “Why are you here?”
Jamie’s eyebrow arched. “Is there some reason I shouldn’t fly this plane?”
Cathy actually blushed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I just wondered why …”
“Ethan had some other work to attend to, so I volunteered.” Jamie beamed at Sophie. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not if you actually have a pilot’s license.” He still hadn’t answered the question. Sophie wasn’t sure how she felt about riding in the small bush plane, much less with scruffy Jamie piloting. At least he’d be interesting to have around, if they survived.
“I do have a pilot’s license,” he assured her, “and I am a pilot. I even have an impressive number of hours logged in.” After helping Cathy into the plane, he turned to Sophie. Taking her hand, mischief brightening his eyes, he said, “There’re some good stories behind those flight hours, too. There was this one time … I’ll have to tell you about it when I don’t have to focus on keeping a plane in the air. It’s a great story. I’d just knocked off the Anchorage Heritage Credit Union with my old partner in crime, Face Monnahan.”
Her heart skipped. Had Cathy told him she’d wondered if he was a criminal? “Face?”
“Yes, Face. Face Monnahan. I’d thank you not to make fun of my friends. Face and I, we hotwired this plane we came across, you see, and we flew all the way from Ketchikan to Seattle.”
Sophie rolled her eyes so it didn’t look like she believed him—although she kind of did. “Ketchikan? If the bank was in Anchorage, why did you—”
“That’s another story.”
Behind him, Cathy shook her head.
As it turned out, Jamie was indeed a capable pilot. Sophie spent most of the flight taking in the view and the experience, but her thoughts and gaze kept wandering back to Jamie. She couldn’t figure him out. Just when she thought she was starting to understand him, he surprised her again. Were all Alaskans this way? Hidden talents, mysterious pasts, rough exteriors? If she found out next that Jamie was an old gold panner who had somehow traveled forward in time, she wasn’t sure she’d be surprised.
The flight was incredible. Sitka weather had steadily improved, and today was finally clear blue skies and sunshine. The sea was a deep cerulean blue, and islands popped with rugged green. Sophie, stunned silent by the beauty—and trying to solve the Jamie puzzle—gripped her seat as the plane circled Sitka once and then flew north over the mountains and waterways to Juneau.
“It really is an island,” she called over the plane noise.
“Did you doubt it?” Jamie asked.
“I didn’t know. My mom probably told me when I was a kid, but I was too busy thinking about what fun I was going to have with cousins. When I was preparing to come up this time, I did some research. Baranoff Island?”
“Yes, Sitka mostly sits on Baranoff Island, but there are others, too. No roads to connect it to the mainland.”
“It’s just incredible. You’d think, being so isolated, that it would have ended up abandoned, like the Alaskan mining towns you hear about.”
“You forget, before there were many roads in Alaska, the water is how people got around. Sitka was and still is an important port. And as far as seafood harvest, we’re sixth in the nation.”
“Impressive.”
“The coast guard is big here, too,” Cathy said. “Your cousin Jerry joined, Sophie. Do you remember Jerry?”
“Sure, I remember Jerry. He’s a couple of years younger than me, right? Once, we had this epic pogo stick battle up at Uncle Wade’s house.”
“I’ve met Uncle Wade.” Jamie nodded.
“Jerry and I told the younger kids they could use the pogo sticks when we were done, but then we didn’t stop bouncing for hours. Neither of us wanted to be the first to stop, so it turned into this competition. I can’t remember who won.”
“Must have been Jerry,” Cathy and Jamie said at the same time, and they all laughed.
When Juneau came into view, Sophie could immediately see how much more built up the city was compared to Sitka. More buildings, and larger buildings, dotted the skyline that spread out from Juneau’s harbor.
As they circled in closer, the markings on one large, boxy building looked familiar.
“Oh no.” Sophie twisted in her seat to get a better view as they circled around. “Is that a PJ’s?”
“Did you say ‘oh no’?” Cathy leaned forward from the second row of seats. “What’s wrong with PJ’s?”
“Don’t you just hate those big warehouse stores?” Sophie asked. She glanced at Jamie. He had to have remembered what she’d told him about disliking PJ’s, but she couldn’t read it on his face.
“No. I don’t mind them,” he said, pulling the plane around and preparing to land.
“They’re everywhere. I forgot you said they’d infiltrated Alaska, too. We have three in San Francisco now. And they’re all the same.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Cathy asked.
“Lack of inventory choices, for one thing. Everyone who shops at PJ’s ends up buying the same things because, even though these huge stores have a ton of items, they only have a certain selection. You go to a potluck, and three people brought multipacks of PJ’s giant cookies and two brought PJ’s potato salad and somebody brought the veggie tray, which you can tell is from PJ’s because it’s so huge. And they probably also have a giant stack of PJ’s brand paper plates.”
Jamie and Cathy were silent during Sophie’s rant. “Must be good quality then, if everyone’s buying them,” Cathy observed.
“Or they manage to sell it cheaper because they’re buying so many,” Sophie said, folding her arms, “and then they put everyone else in the area out of business. I read this article. Producers know if they get PJ’s on board with their products, they’re going to be a success. If not …”
“And you don’t like success,” Jamie stated.
“I think the world is better when the success is spread around a little.”
She’d been so busy talking about the store she hadn’t realized how close they were to landing until Jamie dropped the plane down onto the water. It wasn’t a soft landing, and from behind her, Sophie heard Cathy groan. She looked back to see her cousin-in-law grimacing.
“Sorry,” Jamie said. “Should have done that more gently. You okay?”
“Sure.” Cathy hands cradled her belly. “Don’t worry about the pregnant lady. You go ahead and have fun. I’d rather not have to swim my way to shore, though, if that’s alright with you.”
“I’ll be more careful,” Jamie promised.
“And I’m going to say this just once,” Cathy added. “Sophie, we do have some errands to run at PJ’s, because they have the best deals on baking staples. Sorry if they aren’t your favorite, but that’s the way it is.”
A hollow feeling settled in Sophie’s stomach. She hadn’t been trying to make things harder for Cathy by complaining. “I’m sorry,” she said. “No more bad attitude. I promise.”
No matter how very much I hate PJ’s Wholesale Wa
rehouse.
The day was productive, but long. Jamie disappeared right away, while Sophie and Cathy stopped at a kitchen specialty store, a home improvement shop, and a drugstore. They also spent a good deal of time at a department store, where they found sheer pink curtains for the bakery and new linens for the baby’s bassinet. Over lunch at a Juneau sandwich shop, Sophie asked if Cathy needed many more things before the baby arrived.
“I think this is about it,” she said. “I don’t have much, but how much do you need? Babies grow out of their clothes so fast, there’s no point in having a lot.”
“Yes, but aren’t you excited to finally have a little girl to dress?”
Cathy shrugged. “I haven’t really thought about it. By the time I got used to the idea that I was even pregnant, I was into bakery plans. I wouldn’t even have the bassinet if Cousin Sarah hadn’t brought this one over. Turns out it’s one of the two bassinets I had with the twins. When we were done, we just passed them on to someone else, and I guess they’ve been floating around from house to house ever since.”
“Lots of Platsky babies.” Sophie took a sip of her soda. “I haven’t been around a lot of babies. No cousins on my dad’s side, and I was never here enough to really hang around any babies.”
“I guess not. Well, I promise to let you change a few diapers when this one comes. How does that sound?”
“Oh, you’re too kind.” Sophie wrinkled her nose.
“Come on.” Cathy stood up, slowly wincing. “Time to face your nemesis store.”
“It’s not my … okay, maybe it is my nemesis store. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I think Jamie’s landing may have jiggled me a bit. Plus, it’s getting time for my nap, and I don’t think that’s going to happen today.”
They were halfway through their shopping at PJ’s Wholesale Warehouse when Jamie appeared, happily munching a sample. “You have to try these pot stickers.” He grinned, his crazy beard shooting out in all directions. “They’re amazing, especially with the sauce. Here, I’ll get you some.”
He pivoted and disappeared around the corner to the next aisle. Cathy shrugged at Sophie and pointed out the bags of sugar she wanted. Sophie had just finished loading the third bag when Jamie reappeared, balancing three more samples.
The Angler, the Baker, and the Billionaire (Destination Billionaire Romance) Page 6