The Alaska Sunrise Romances: A 9-Book Sweet Romance Collection

by Melissa Storm

  Chapter 10

  Had her mother actually given her blessing? Heidi still couldn’t believe it. But then there was Sam opening the car door for her as they drove off toward their first Judith Gold–approved date. There he was pulling out her chair and asking if she wanted to split a goat cheese bruschetta appetizer. Here he was clinking his wine glass to hers and toasting the evening, promising to accept each day for the gift Brady had reminded them it was.

  “How are you more beautiful every single time I look at you?” he asked, reaching out to hold her hand across the table. “And how did I get so lucky to have you here with me?”

  “Stop that,” she teased, but secretly she loved being made to feel like some feminine treasure. “This Merlot’s already gone straight to my head. There’s no room for anything else up there tonight—least of all hot air.”

  They laughed together. Sam also had enjoyed a glass of wine and seemed lighter than usual. Although that could just as easily have come from having cleared the final obstacle to their relationship in receiving her mother’s blessing.

  “Like I said before, this is all relatively new to me. What happens next?”

  She thought back to their impromptu date at the soup kitchen, the one her mother—with old Alma Schwartz’s help—had ended before it could really begin. Sam had admitted he didn’t go out on many dates, and she had confessed that she had been on dozens. The truth was, though, she had never been on a date quite like this one. “This is completely new to me, too. Being out with someone I really, really like, and knowing I’ll want to go out with him again.”

  He clinked his glass to hers again. “I like that. We can figure things out together.”

  She nodded and took a bite of her eggplant parmigiana.

  “Tell me about how you first knew you were called to be a Rabbi.”

  “Well, I first suspected I would be a rabbi when my mother told me that’s what she expected of me, but I first knew it was the right path for me when I started working with a handful of women’s groups through the temple. I was a teen then, and so many of the women I met were barely any older than me. But they’d already become young mothers to children they didn’t want, or had found themselves trapped in abusive relationships, or escaped any number of horrible situations. They were out of those circumstances but not yet free from them. It was like their minds were still trapped, even if their bodies weren’t. And I realized something. Part of the problem is this society and how it limits little girls from the moment they’re born. I wanted to prove to them and others like them that anything is possible, and I thought that the best way to do that would be to listen to my mother’s advice and become a leader in my community, a strong woman who helps others and shows them what’s possible through God’s love and a strong sense of self-worth. And, well, I haven’t looked back since.”

  “That’s incredible. And your strength is one of the things I admire most about you. You’ve known for a long time, then. Did working with those women ever make you question the existence of God? As in how he could allow such terrible things to happen to them?”

  “Never, not once. Even in the tragedies, I can see how much God loves each of his daughters. After all, he provided each with a way out and a way to turn their lives around to save countless others.” Heidi dunked a piece of bread in her marinara sauce and took a bite. After she finished chewing, she asked, “How about you? What’s your origin story?”

  “Oh, I haven’t always walked in the light. I didn’t even believe in God until I found myself puking my guts out after yet another night of partying hard with my frat brothers in college. I don’t know why it was on that particular day I’d finally decided I’d had enough, that I was sick of simply living for one party after the next, but I realized I needed more. That life had to actually mean something, too. My friend Dan brought me to church later that week, and I’ve been a firm believer ever since. So I finished my degree in psychology and then went to seminary after the fact. It’s why I spend so much of my time counseling for the Church. It combines both of my passions, and I honestly can’t picture my life any other way.”

  “Another difference. I’ve never really strayed from the straight and narrow,” Heidi pointed out, shocked to discover that polite, shy Sam had once been a party animal.

  “Hey, our differences are what make things interesting. Although I’m not proud of my past, it’s helped to make me who I am today. Just as yours has made you this wonderful woman that I’m falling head over heels in love with.”

  Heidi had to take a sip of water to stop herself from blurting out a sappy declaration of her love for Sam. Because forget falling—she’d already fallen all the way for Sam. Now she just had to decide whether she should wait for him to voice those three little words or if she should buck tradition as she’d always done and be the one to say them first.

  Either way, she had an idea, one that excited her very much. “You showed me a place that was special to you. Can I take you to one of my favorites after dinner?”

  “Take me wherever you want. I’m all yours, Heidi. Tonight, tomorrow, forever.”

  She took another sip of water to cool the heat that had risen to her cheeks. Sam was definitely feeling the same way she did, and that night she intended to tell him exactly what was in her heart.

  After dinner, Heidi guided them to a stretch of beach about half an hour outside of the city. “I grew up just a couple miles from here,” she confided. “Before my father died, we used to come here every weekend to go swimming, collect shells, and relax in the sun. Then after he died, we moved into the city to be closer to the rest of our family. I didn’t come back for a really long time, but when I finally did it felt as if no time had passed at all, as if my father were still there, waiting to show me a particularly interesting clamshell or a pearl he’d found in the sand.”

  She shivered and hugged her arms around herself as they walked along the shore. “I try to come out every few weeks. I like it best at night when the stars are out. You can’t see them this bright in the city, and I miss that.”

  Sam pulled Heidi into his side to help warm her up, and they strolled slowly across the wet sand, studying the stars in silence.

  “Thank you for sharing it with me,” Sam said.

  “Well, since you got my mother’s approval, it’s only fair you get my dad’s, too.” And, just like that, she was laughing again, happy.

  Sam watched as Heidi ran ahead, jogging along the beach, the endless sky above her and the depthless ocean at her side. His heart swelled with love as he observed not just the beauty of the scenery but of his companion as well.

  “Hey, wait up!”

  She turned around and jogged backward, taunting him, daring him to catch her. But what she didn’t know is that Sam had set his high school’s record for the one-hundred-meter dash. It only took him seconds to catch her, and when he did, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into the night sky.

  “Okay, okay, you win!”

  She laughed, and he laughed as they spun around together.

  Slowly, he lowered her back to her feet, staring deep into her eyes as his angel descended from the sky and came to rest back on the beach. The moment had come he needed to reveal all that was in his heart…

  “I…” he began.

  “I love you,” she blurted out.

  “Love you,” he finished just a heartbeat after her. They stood in silence for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes, letting the revelation of their shared words sink in, and then…

  “Jinx!” she shouted and ran back up the beach.

  “Hey, you’re not getting away that easily!” he called after her, breaking into a sprint.

  When he caught her the second time, they both toppled back into the soft sand. “I love you, Rabbi Heidi Gold,” he said, then leaned down to touch his lips to hers. Her mouth still tasted sweetly of the wine, and her eyes twinkled like the night sky.

  “And I love you, Pastor Sam,” she whispe
red, pulling apart from him only long enough to speak those words.

  It was hard to say how much time exactly they spent on that beach, kissing, cuddling, sharing their pasts, discussing their dreams, and fully enjoying the gift of that day, but before the sun could rise again, Sam made sure to escort Heidi back to her home so they could both get a good night’s rest.

  There would be other dates, other kisses, other days spent together—of this, Sam knew for sure. And sure as the stars above, Sam knew that one day soon he would ask this woman to marry him. He also had a sneaking suspicion her answer would be yes.

  Chapter 11

  Two months later…

  By some miracle, Heidi had no plans for the day. No charity work, no community events, just a simple dinner with Sam for later that evening. To celebrate this rare occurrence, she’d allowed herself to sleep in late, eat breakfast in front of the TV, and take a long shower. Now that late afternoon had arrived, she sat in front of her bureau, dabbing powder onto her freckles and wondering how she would pass the next hour or so until Sam picked her up.

  That was when her mother called.

  “Heidi, Heidi! Come quick!” Judith shouted the moment her daughter picked up.

  “Ma, what’s wrong? Is Alma Schwartz spreading rumors about me again?” She switched the phone to speaker and put her powder foundation away, then took out a glimmering gold eye shadow.

  “No, this is serious. Urgent! I… I have a big problem, and I need my daughter’s help.”

  “Did you try turning it off and then back on again?” Heidi asked as she dragged the applicator across an eyelid.

  “Heidi, I’m serious! It’s not the i–thingy. I have an actual problem here.”

  Of course, Heidi would take her mother more seriously if she didn’t constantly come up with new problems ranging in severity from an iPad that wouldn’t load her favorite game to the only slightly more serious issue of having run out of a key ingredient for one of her recipes. She rarely seemed to have “actual problems” as she was insisting she had now, and she never revealed what said problems were on the phone for fear Heidi would put her off.

  But tonight Heidi had plans.

  “Can I swing by in the morning? I’m going out with Sam tonight.”

  Judith huffed. “No, it really can’t wait. Please, Heidi, it will be quick. I promise. You won’t miss your date with Sam, but you also wouldn’t leave your mother in the lurch.” She waited a few beats to let that sink in. “Would you?”

  Heidi sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll be right over.”

  She threw on a pair of jeans and her favorite top, said goodbye to Mr. Golly G. Whiskers, and headed over to see what all her mother’s fuss was about. When she arrived, she found Judith in the kitchen, standing before a bubbling pan of oil.

  “Well, it took you long enough,” Judith said, plopping a pair of little fried balls onto a plate, then shoving that plate into Heidi’s hands.

  “I came as quickly as I could. What’s wrong? How can I help?”

  “Who said anything’s wrong? Here, sit, eat.” She ushered her daughter back toward the dining room and pulled out a chair.

  “Mom! I have dinner plans with Sam, so I shouldn’t—”

  Judith clicked her tongue in protest. “A little extra won’t hurt. You’re too thin anyway. Besides, I’m trying out a new recipe and need your opinion.”

  Heidi placed her elbows on the table and rubbed at both of her temples to counteract the stress migraine she felt building just beneath the surface.

  “Please tell me that this wasn’t the emergency.”

  Judith shrugged. “Well, since you’re here anyway, try them and tell me what you think.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Heidi moaned. She glanced down at the food for the first time. On a pretty white plate with an intricate blue design around the border sat a pile of thick, fat falafels next to a heaping dollop of yogurt.

  “When did you get new plates? And since when do you like falafels?”

  Her mother shrugged again. “See, you don’t visit me enough. I’ve had these plates for ages, and Sam told me all about falafels. I need you to try them to make sure they’re good enough to serve to our guests.” She put odd emphasis on the word falafels as if she was hinting at some underlying meaning that Heidi could only guess at, but the even stranger revelation had been that they were now awaiting guests.

  Judith rarely had people over, instead preferring to go somewhere she could see and be seen, and let someone else do the cooking for change.

  Right on cue, the doorbell rang and Judith rushed to answer it. A moment after that, she reappeared with Louise and Brady. Louise held on to an old memory box that Heidi had seen many times before, but never outside of Louise’s kitchen.

  “Hi, Hei!” Louise called merrily, accepting a plate from Judith before taking a seat at the table.

  “What’s going on? Are you two in on something together?” Heidi asked this question to Louise, the more likely person to actually provide a satisfying explanation.

  But it was Judith who answered. “What? Can’t I have a little company? Can’t I have friends?”

  Heidi brushed off her mother and fixed her friend with a glare that demanded some kind of explanation.

  “When I heard your mom would be making falafels I knew I couldn’t miss it for the world,” Louise said, then exchanged an excited look with her husband.

  “Louise’s always been such a big fan of… falafels,” Brady added. This whole situation was getting more bizarre with every turn of the conversation.

  Heidi gathered her purse and stood back up to leave. “Well, since you now have a professional here to tell you her opinion on your cooking, I think I’ll get going. Remember, I have a date with Sam?”

  “Oh, I remember that,” Judith insisted. “But surely a few more minutes won’t kill you, would it? Please?”

  Heidi sighed but sank back into her seat. “I guess not.”

  “Wow, Mrs. Gold, these falafels are amazing!” Brady said between chews. “Have you tried them yet, Heidi?”

  Judith beamed at the compliment. Time for a speech. “I’ve always had fond memories of falafels even though it’s been years since I had any for myself. I was hoping Heidi would enjoy my falafels, too.”

  “If I try one, will you guys stop all this crazy falafel talk? I swear I’ve never heard that word used more times in my life.”

  “Yes, yes, of course.”

  So Heidi popped one of the tiny fried balls in her mouth and was greeted by a flavorful burst of both new and familiar flavors. It was as if her mother taken the best parts of both falafels and matzo balls and blended the two together in one unique dish. The resulting morsel was actually quite yummy.

  “Well?” Judith asked with a huge smile stretched across her face. “Are they any good?”

  “Ma, they’re amazing. Since when do you cook fusion?”

  Now it was Louise who answered out of turn. Yes, they were definitely in on something together. Did Heidi want to stick around long enough to try to figure out what it was, or would it be better to get while the getting was good?

  “It’s one of my new recipes. Speaking of which…” Beaming, Louise pushed the memory box across the table toward her friend. “Recognize this?”

  “Of course. It’s your mother’s box of recipes. I remember that from when we were kids.”

  Louise nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, it’s been with me a long time. I’ve basically already memorized everything inside, and it’s started gathering a bit of dust in my kitchen. I thought maybe you could borrow it for a while so that at least someone’s getting some use out of it.”

  “Oh, Louise, that’s so nice, but—”

  “Consider it a loan. Besides, you need to learn to make something other than that bread pudding you love so much. Like these matzo-falafels for instance. Isn’t great how the flavors of the two cuisines heighten and complement each other? Wouldn’t you say that they’re better together than eit
her is apart?”

  “Yeah, I guess but—”

  Judith had been quiet for almost an entire minute, which was apparently far too long for her tastes. “Now eat, eat before they get cold,” she demanded. “Go on!”

  Heidi took another bite and noticed that there was some kind of pattern on the bottom of the plate, one she hadn’t noticed earlier. They weren’t her mother’s usual style, but these new plates of hers were certainly pretty. Heidi began to push her food around to try to see the rest of the art, but her mother grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to her feet before she could get the chance.

  “Oh, is that the doorbell?” Judith asked in a sing-song voice.

  “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “That was definitely the doorbell,” Brady answered, and he and Judith bobbed their heads in agreement.

  “Could you get that, Heidi?”

  Seriously, why was everyone acting so bizarre? Heidi rolled her eyes, but went to answer the door anyway. And despite the fact that the bell definitely hadn’t rung, there was a visitor waiting on the other side anyway. A very handsome and most welcome visitor.

  “Sam! Boy, am I glad to see you.” She wrapped her arms around him and began to lean in for a kiss but then noticed he hadn’t come alone.

  “Hi, baby. I brought some of the kids with me to help out.”

  Heidi quirked an eyebrow. “To help with what?”

  That was when Judith joined them at the door. “Hi, kids!” she called. “Thank you so much for bringing them over, Sam. It’s a huge help.”

  “No problem at all.” He winked, and Heidi wondered again why everyone—even perfect, dependable Sam—was acting so out of character that afternoon.

  “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” She placed her hands on her hips, growing very tired of being the only one outside of whatever joke they were attempting to play on her.