“Actually, that’s a good question. I’ve heard so many different things. What’s the story you heard growing up?”
He swallowed his tea and tossed the plastic mug in the sink. “I heard a few different things. Some Russian missionaries came here around the turn of the century and tried to convert the villagers. It was a mix of natives and trappers and fishermen at that point, and none of them wanted anything to do with orthodox religion. They left in disgust and announced that we were nothing but a bunch of lost souls.”
She screwed up her face. “That sounds like a made-up story.”
“Could be. Some people end up here like birds lost in a storm.” He rubbed his knee lightly against the side of her thigh. The touch sent fire along her skin. “Maybe that’s where the name comes from.”
“A bird reference! You just made my day.”
He grinned at her, white teeth flashing through his scruff. “So how do you feel about this place after your first big storm?”
She looked out the back of the boat, over the big twin engines, across the rippled surface of the cove to the wild chop that still churned outside the shelter of the bluff. “I survived, didn’t I? I could have been lost at sea.”
“Maybe. I told you about plan B and C, though. We would have been okay.”
“I’m just saying, the ocean let me live, so why would I leave now?”
Glancing back at him, she caught him staring at her with a look of surprise on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t remember telling you that part.”
“What part?” He looked spooked, as if he’d seen a ghost. What had she said to cause such a reaction?
“That phrase—‘the ocean let me live’—that’s exactly what I kept thinking after the current pushed me up. You know, after my father tossed me overboard. But I didn’t mention that, did I?”
“I don’t think so. But maybe you did.” She couldn’t remember word for word what he’d related to her. “Or maybe it’s just a funny coincidence.”
“Right. Of course.” He shook himself and his normal unshakeable expression reappeared. “Here’s the thing, Megan Miller, as you’ve probably heard. Strange things happen around Lost Souls Wilderness. Things that can’t necessarily be explained by logic or rationality or common sense. Or science,” he added pointedly.
“That’s what they say, but I think it’s just a marketing angle. I haven’t seen anything that strange.”
“It’s just a matter of time,” he said ominously. “Fair warning. It will start with an odd coincidence and you won’t think anything of it. Then it will escalate to a mystery you can’t explain. Why did that current rise to the surface just when I needed it to?”
Goose bumps were rising on her arms. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good scientific explanation.”
“Maybe. Why did Carmen leave town right after you arrived?”
“Probably because she knew a sucker when she saw one.”
“Let me ask you this. How did you even find out about the Forget Me Not?”
This conversation was giving her chills, and not the good, panty-melting kind.
“Stop it. You’re trying to scare me away so you can get the office to yourself.”
He laughed, then his tone shifted from ghost-story ominous to merely curious. “Seriously, how did you first hear about Lost Harbor?”
“It’s kind of a funny story,” she admitted. A tote of food stored under the bench caught her eye. “Mind if I grab a cracker?”
He pulled out the tote and tossed her the package of rice crackers. “Crackers in exchange for a funny story. Shoot.”
“Well, I was with Ruby and we had just come from visiting Dev at his office in Palo Alto. It’s in one of those giant high-rises with fifty floors, and he works on the fiftieth, so it’s a long elevator ride down. Two executive types were talking about their vacation plans, and one said he was going to Alaska. My ears perked up because I’ve always been fascinated by Alaska. He said he was going with his wife, and that he’d booked a fishing charter but she had no interest in that so she was doing a bird-watching cruise at the same time. And Ruby piped up with, ‘my mom is a bird scientist.’”
“Has Ruby ever been shy at any point in her life?”
“Not yet, but she’s only eight. The teenage years could change everything.” As always when she thought about Ruby being a teenager, she muttered a little prayer under her breath.
“Okay, so Ruby started talking to the corporate dudes.”
“Yup. She kept pestering them for details. By the time we got to the ground floor, we knew they were going to Lost Harbor, that the nature cruise was on something called the Forget Me Not, and that those two gentlemen were not especially patient with genius-level eight-year-olds.”
Lucas gave a crooked smile. “Let me guess. She went straight to a map of Alaska and found Lost Harbor.”
“And looked up airplane tickets. And googled the Forget Me Not. We found out that the owner was looking for a tour guide and the rest is pretty much history. Her heart was set on coming up here. And I—” She stopped herself. She wasn’t ready to share more about her state of mind at that time.
He waited for her to finish.
“Agreed,” she said lamely.
A flash of disappointment crossed his face. “So looking back, do you think it was just random chance that put you in that elevator with those guys?”
“Of course.” No way was she buying into this crap. “Random chance and Ruby’s refusal to let anything go. That’s why we’re here. Not some weird woo-woo Lost Souls magic.”
He laughed and rubbed his hands down his fleece pants. “I’m sure you’re right. I’m just a humble fisherman, what do I know? Hey, do you want to take a quick trip up the bluff since we’re stuck here for a while longer? It’s either that or get naked again.” His wicked grin sent a pleasant thrill through her system.
But if she got into that bed with him again, she wouldn’t ever want to go back. She had to draw a firm line before it was too late for her heart.
“The bluff. I want to see what the storm looks like when I’m not in the middle of it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Once they’d thrown on their rain clothes, he rowed them to the shore. They carried the Zodiac above the high tide line and beached it face down do it didn’t fill up with rain. He led her to a winding path that switchbacked up a steep incline. The fresh mossy scent of rain-soaked woodlands went to her head like fine wine. The twisted trunks of ancient spruce soared overhead. How long had these trees been standing guard here on this quiet spot of coastline?
The wind had felled some of the giants and transformed them into fallen logs thick with emerald moss and gray lichens. Giant ferns, ornate as lace, grew as tall as Ruby.
The canopy was thick enough to stop much of the rain, but nonetheless a steady drip-drip sounded all around them. A raven perched on a high branch and watched them curiously. A gray jay—the locals called them “camp robbers”—swooped overhead, then flapped away with a disappointed caw-caw when he saw they had no food.
“This whole area is protected, but you probably know that.” Lucas spoke in a hushed voice. With his long legs, he took the incline easily, barely losing a breath. For her it was more of a struggle, especially because she still wore her rubber boots—not the most comfortable for walking longer distances. “Lost Souls Wilderness State Park. I used to come out here in the spring and help with trail maintenance. I ran into a bear once, right up ahead.”
“Good to know.” She glanced around nervously.
“Oh they’re all upriver now hunting salmon. Very doubtful we’ll see a bear today, especially with this storm. They take shelter just like everyone else.”
“I’ve only seen bears from afar,” she admitted. “Even through binoculars it felt a little too close.”
“Rule of thumb, talk loudly and make a lot of noise. Sound like you’re a crowd. When I was a kid we used to bang pot lids and
yell crazy shit.”
“Should we do that now? I know all the words to every one of Abba’s greatest hits.”
Quickly, he put a stop to that. “I was up here before when I was looking for you and I didn’t see any bear sign. No need to torture the wildlife with Abba.”
“Dancing queen,” she murmured under her breath. “Young and sweet…”
“Actually they say bears are drawn to the sound of Abba. Just saying.”
Oh, that smile, aimed over his shoulder at her as he strode up the switchback… it really did something to her insides. Her pulse picked up a notch and her breath fluttered.
Then again, that could have been because of the ridiculously steep slope they were climbing. If she laughed, it would be even harder to keep up with Lucas. He was so fit, so made for striding up mountains and braving storms to rescue someone he didn’t even like.
Well, hopefully that part wasn’t true anymore. He wasn’t acting as if he hated her. He’d not only rescued her, he’d been nothing but sweet to her since then. Not to mention the time they’d spent naked.
Her opinion of him was definitely taking some rollercoaster twists and turns, so maybe the same was true for him.
Lucas came to a stop as they rounded the last curve in the path and came out on a promontory that jutted into the ocean. She’d seen this point from the water—it was shaped almost like the prow of a ship. The view from up here was even more spectacular than she’d imagined. It literally snatched her breath away—or maybe that was the wind, still howling across the bay.
As soon as she stepped out of the shelter of the forest, rain slashed against her cheeks and the entire side of her body. Lucas shifted his body so he took the brunt of it, but even so she had to brace herself against the buffeting of the wind. Down below, so much foam swirled across the ocean’s surface that she saw more white than gray. One after another, waves flung themselves against the base of the cliffs, then hissed back to sea so the next one could take its place.
“It’s calmed down a bit.” Lucas squinted against the cold rain pelting his face.
“You mean, it was worse when I was out there?”
“Oh yeah. The Forget Me Not was rocking and rolling like a rodeo bull. The scary part was when it disappeared between waves. Scared the crap out of me. Nothing I could do from here, obviously.”
She watched the wild waves with fascination. Even from here, several hundred feet up, she could hear the din of ocean and rock and wind. “You did plenty from up here. You have no idea how comforting it was to hear your voice. Until then I was all alone. Even the voice of my nemesis was better than that.”
She hugged herself, wrapping her arms around her body to fend off the chill. Lucas added his arm for another layer of protection. Sheltered from the storm by the powerful arms of a handsome fisherman—things could be worse.
“Your nemesis?” His laughter vibrated through her. “Didn’t know I had that status.”
“I’m sorry to say that you’re slipping on that front.” She leaned against him; he was just too warm to resist. “All that life-saving and body-heat sharing, you know.”
“You didn’t even mention the orgasm-inducing.”
“Right. I forgot about that.”
“Forgot?” He looked so offended that she had to laugh.
“I guess you’ll just have to remind me. Show, don’t tell.” She smiled mischievously up at him, nearly forgetting that it was supposed to be a one-time event. They’d helped each other feel alive and shared the sheer joy of survival with the only nearby human being—that was it.
Or was she fooling herself?
His solid body held her close, so warm and vital, and for the life of her she couldn’t think of a good reason why they couldn’t go to bed together again.
Ruby? She didn’t have to know for now.
Lost Harbor gossip? People always gossiped.
Her vulnerable heart? She was a grown woman and could handle the fallout.
Or was she fooling herself about that?
She watched the churning surf and remembered how it felt to be battling the storm with her boat as her only ally.
“You know, I think the Forget Me Not and I really bonded out there. The old girl was there for me.”
“She sure was. She’s a good tub.”
“It’s funny—I was more interested in the ‘nature tours’ than the actual boat. I wanted to do something scientific that didn’t involve school. I never thought I’d fall in love with my boat.”
Fall in love —interesting choice of words, fortunately snatched away by a sudden gust.
“Think we should head back down?” She braced herself against another howling blast of wind.
“Yeah, and we should check in with Bob because it looks to me like it’s picking up again. We might want to shelter in the cove overnight.” Still shielding her with his body, he walked the two of them back into the forest. As soon as they stepped into the shelter of the tall trees she could breathe freely again.
“Overnight? Is that safe?” She pushed her hood back from her face as they made their way among the towering spruce.
“We’d have to stick together,” he said solemnly. “Bears, you know.”
“Bears are a threat on a boat?”
“It’s Lost Souls Wilderness, you never know. Strange—”
“—things happen around here.” She finished the phrase with him.
In the storm-dark woods, with no one around for miles and the wind still keening in the treetops, she actually believed it, and shivered.
“If you’re trying to invite me to a slumber party on your boat, you don’t have to scare me into it. You could just say so.”
“You’re invited to a slumber party on my boat,” he said promptly.
“Will there be ghost stories? Because I’m spooked enough just walking through these woods.”
“I’m not surprised. They say these woods are haunted by the ghosts of all the hikers who—”
She swatted his arm to make him stop. He laughed and hugged his arm around her again. “Sorry. I’ll stop now. I’m an idiot.”
“No, it’s funny. I’m just easily spooked. Is it getting darker? I feel like it’s getting darker.” She shuddered as a raven cawed and flapped to a higher branch as they passed.
“Ravens are well known to be harbingers of doom,” he intoned, back to his ghost story voice.
But now he’d gone too far. As an ornithologist, no way was she going to stand by while he slandered one of her favorite species.
“Okay, now you’re way off base because ravens are highly intelligent birds who have demonstrated logic and empathy and playfulness. Did you know they make toys out of sticks and—” She cut herself off. “Oh. Wow. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Looks like your bird nerd side is a lot more powerful than your easily spooked side.” He waved at the raven perched in the branches overhead. “Hi, guy. We’ll take a pass on the harbinging of doom. Is that a word? Harbinging?”
“I have no clue, but I accept and appreciate your efforts to distract me. I’m actually impressed that you found the one thing that would get my undivided attention.”
“Oh, there are plenty of things like that. Birds are just one.”
“You think you know me that well? What other things?”
“I know you well enough.” His deep-set eyes gleamed down at her. “We could talk about how climate change is making storms more intense. That would definitely get you talking. We could discuss whether Ruby is actually named after a Rubik’s Cube.”
“She isn’t. That’s absurd. Well, Dev might have been thinking that but he’s completely wrong.” She laughed, and realized that he’d managed to un-spook her with just a few words.
“Then there’s your obsession with pistachio ice cream. Is it the color or the flavor? Because either way, I’m not getting it.”
“I wouldn’t call it an obsession, more of a long-standing love affair between a consenting adult and an
iconic dessert.” Her mouth watered as she pictured the double-scoop cone she was going to treat herself to as soon as she reached the harbor.
When her mouth was watering, she couldn’t be scared. Amazing how that worked.
“We could also talk about your hopeless crush on me,” he added, almost casually.
“What?” She swung around, filled with indignation, to find him laughing down at her. “Where’d you get that ridiculous idea? Oh. I see. You did it again. When I’m mad at you I can’t be spooked.”
“I have your number, Bird Nerd.”
“You really do. I have to hand it to you. Which makes me wonder.” She tapped a finger against her chin. “To know that much about me, maybe the shoe is on the other foot. Maybe you’re the one with the crush on me.”
“I guess we’ll never know.” He gave her a cryptic smile as he helped her over a log that blocked the path.
With her hand gripped, her foot sliding across the mossy log, she thought how very strange that would be. All this time, a crush? On both sides?
Talk about strange things happening in Lost Souls … she shivered and picked up the pace.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The unpredictable Misty Bay weather played more tricks on them. By the time they made it back to the cove, the wind had petered out to nothing more than a steady breeze. The rain, so fierce just an hour earlier, had decreased from a torrent to a slow drizzle.
The wind had shifted, said Bob over the radio, and was now knocking down the waves. He gave them the go-ahead to leave the cove and wished them a safe trip.
Probably for the best, Lucas knew. One hot encounter was one thing; repeating it would lead to complications. He had enough of those in his life and didn’t need any more.
They headed back around nine in the evening. The receding clouds crowded dark and sullen on the horizon to the west, with the low sun breaking through in jagged bursts of copper.
So dramatic, like a toddler stomping away after a tantrum.
The bay was still pretty choppy, so Lucas insisted on sticking close to the Forget Me Not as they convoyed across the strait. He stayed behind Megan so he could keep a close eye on her boat. Checking for leaks and all.
Mine Until Moonrise (Lost Harbor, Alaska Book 1) Page 14