An Alaskan Proposal

She’d surprised him yesterday, too, when she’d accepted her role as training dummy with good grace. In fact, the melodramatic way she’d acted out the injuries really helped keep the kids focused. The other day at the office, when she’d declared herself a hard worker, he’d had doubts. In his experience, hard workers didn’t talk about it; they just did it. But he was starting to think she might be the exception to that rule. He hoped so, anyway, because if he was going to get through all the lessons he had planned for today, she was going to have to put in some effort.

It still bothered him that she was hiding her lack of experience from her employer. He’d been lied to and taken advantage of, and it stank. But she was trying to acquire the skills she’d claimed to have. And was her deception any worse than what he was doing, having Sabrina pretend to be his date to the wedding?

Dinner at his sister’s had gone just about the way he’d expected. Volta, with all the subtlety of a locomotive, had seated him next to the new nurse at the table and kept throwing out random pieces of information designed to force them to bond. “Leith, Marley’s blood type is B negative, just like yours and mine. That’s only two percent of the population. Interesting coincidence, huh?”

What did you say to something like that? Marley had seemed like a perfectly nice person, but after going through a divorce three years ago, Leith had decided the safest route was to avoid getting involved with women, period. So, when Volta made a point of asking him if he had a date for the wedding in front of Marley so that he’d almost be forced to invite her, it had given him great satisfaction to assure her that, yes, he did have a date. He’d almost laughed out loud at the expression on his sister’s face when her plot failed. Fortunately, Marley didn’t look all that brokenhearted. She was probably glad to have gotten out of Volta’s trap unscathed as well.

Leith couldn’t understand why his sister was so fired up to find him a girlfriend. As far as he knew, Volta had been on less than a dozen dates since her daughter, Emma, had been born seven years ago, seven months after Volta’s husband had died in an avalanche. Leith worried about his sister sometimes, but he didn’t push her. So why did she feel entitled to push him?

Anyway, this nondate with Sabrina would take care of that problem for the time being, and all he had to do was teach her a few basic camping skills. How hard could that be?

He found her apartment building, a weathered fourplex split-level. Her door was down a half flight of steps. He knocked. A minute later, she opened the door a few inches, pulling a restraining chain tight. “Oh, hi. You didn’t have to come get me. I thought you’d just call my cell.”

“No, I...” He’d been lectured by his mother that a gentleman always walked a lady to and from her doorway. Of course, she’d meant on a date, and this wasn’t a date. “Never mind. Are you ready to go?”

“I think so. Let me grab some yogurt for lunch.”

“No need. I brought food to cook. That’s part of the lesson.”

“Oh, thank you. In that case, I’m ready.” She closed the door to unhook the chain and slipped out before he could see into her apartment. Today Sabrina wore tight jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and an Orson-brand fleece vest. She carried a small leather backpack that was obviously more for looks than practicality, since it wouldn’t last a day in the rain. At least she was wearing enough layers this time, and the sky was clear today. The jeans weren’t the most practical, although he had to admit, they fit her well. She carefully locked the door and turned to him with a smile. “I appreciate you doing this for me.”

It was a disarming smile, but three years ago, he’d developed immunity. “No problem, as long as you keep up your end of the bargain. Remember, you still have to do that wedding next week.”

“Yeah, but weddings are fun.”

“Maybe from your perspective. From mine, camping is fun. Weddings are a pain. But one of my best friends is getting married, so I got stuck as a groomsman. I even have to wear a suit.”

Sabrina laughed. “You’re a true friend to sacrifice so much. Where are we going?”

“I thought we might head over to Ekulna Lake, do a little hiking and set up a mock camp. Sound okay?”

“You’re in charge.”

Sabrina approached his ancient Land Cruiser without the usual comments about what a dinosaur it was. One point in her favor. Whatever she drove probably required premium fuel.

As they approached, Tal jumped up from her spot on the back seat and stuck her nose out the window he’d left open a few inches, madly wagging her tail.

“Oh, you’ve got a dog! Hi, sweetie,” Sabrina crooned. “What’s your name?”

“Talkeetna.” Leith reached past Sabrina to wrench open the stubborn passenger-side door. “Tal for short.”

“Hello, Tal.” Sabrina climbed into the seat and twisted around to reach for the dog. “Oh, my goodness, your ears are so soft. You’re just a big love bug, aren’t you?” All the while, she was rubbing Tal’s head, and Tal was eating it up, thumping her tail against the seat back. A long thread of drool dangled from her lip, but if Sabrina saw it, it didn’t faze her. “Is Tal a boy or a girl?”

“Girl.” Leith slammed Sabrina’s door closed and went around to the driver’s seat. “Better buckle up.”

Sabrina fastened her seat belt. “She’s so soft and fluffy. How long have you had her?”

“Almost six years. I got her as a puppy.” Not long before Nicole decided she needed a graduate degree from an out-of-state college and moved in with a guy in Seattle who she’d insisted was only a roommate. Leith couldn’t believe he’d fallen for that story. He patted Tal’s head. Happily, this female in his life had remained loyal.

“I love dogs, but I’ve never had one,” Sabrina said.

“You didn’t have a dog when you were a kid?”

“No.” Sabrina’s effervescence lost some bubbles. “We couldn’t af— Have pets.”

Her mother probably didn’t want dog hair on her nice furniture. Everything about Sabrina—the trendy clothes, shiny hair and flashy fingernails, which, he noticed, were pale green today to match her shirt—shouted upscale. Any outdoor activities she’d experienced growing up probably took place at the country club. Some people would envy her. He wasn’t one of them. His brief experience in high school with country-club life only made him more appreciative of what Alaska had to offer.

Leith drove out of the neighborhood and merged onto the Glenn Highway. He glanced toward Sabrina. Should he mention her clothes? He was supposed to be training her in woodcraft. “I see you’re wearing a fleece vest today.”

“Yes. I bought it yesterday.”

“Good. The vest will be useful, but jeans may not be the best hiking pants, especially up here.”

She tilted her head at him. “You mean because cotton is hydrophilic?”

Huh. She must have been reading the company catalogs. “Yes. If they get wet, jeans take forever to dry. But also because they’re tight on your thighs, and when you’re lifting your feet to climb uphill, that extra effort tends to tire you out.”

“Okay, but these jeans have Lycra, so they stretch.” She paused. “What did people wear outdoors before synthetic fabrics? Wool?”

“Mostly.”

“I know wool is warm when wet, which is one reason they use it for tweed hunting jackets in Britain.”

Leith didn’t know anything about British hunting jackets, but it made sense. “It’s not supposed to rain today, so your jeans should be fine. And I just have a short hike planned.”

“I looked at some nylon hiking pants at the store, but they’re going to have to wait until the next payday.”

He glanced at her before returning his eyes to the road. “I guess they don’t pay trainees a lot, huh?”

She shrugged. “They pay reasonably well. But, you know—student loans, moving expenses, security deposits. And I need to replenish my emergency fund.”

“Emergency fund?” He grinned. “What? For fashion emergencies, like shoe sales?”

She didn’t look amused. “Emergency fund so I can pay the rent if I don’t make the cut in September and I’m unemployed again.”

This didn’t quite jibe with the lifestyle he’d imagined, but it was hard to feel too sorry for her. Even he could tell those jeans she was wearing didn’t come from a discount store, and her manicure probably cost as much as the hiking pants. But there was no use getting into an argument about how she spent her money. “I hope you’ll learn enough today that you will make the cut to management.”

“Here’s hoping.”

Sabrina was quiet during most of the drive to the lake. Leith got the uncomfortable feeling she was annoyed at him. She stared out the window at the birch trees, with their yellow buds just starting to turn to green. In the distance, snow still covered the top half of the Chugach Mountains. He tried to think of something to say to improve her mood, but nothing came to mind.

Finally, just before they reached the exit, Sabrina spoke. “It is beautiful. I was starting to wonder what all the fuss about Alaska was about, but now that the sun has come out and I can see the mountains, I’m starting to understand.”

“It’s been a wet spring, and breakup is never the prettiest season,” Leith acknowledged, relieved that she seemed to have forgotten his stupid joke. “Give it another two weeks, and you’ll be amazed at how green everything is.”

They reached the trailhead parking lot. Sabrina pulled on the handle, but the door jammed. Before Leith could get around to help her, she slammed her shoulder into the door and knocked it open. Without comment, she slid out. “What a pretty lake. I love that color. Somewhere between azure and lapis.”

“Looks blue to me.” Leith opened the tailgate to grab Tal’s leash and went around to let her out.

Sabrina turned, and her eyes widened as she looked at something over Leith’s shoulder. “Oh, a dog.” She trotted past him.

Leith looked up. Oh, nuts. “Sabrina, wait.” He pushed Tal back into the car before she could see what was going on and escalate the problem.

“I’m just going to check out that dog,” she called back to him. “There’s nobody else here. It must be a stray.”

“Don’t go any closer.” Leith slammed the door and hurried around the car after her. The dark gray animal at the edge of the woods startled and ran for a few steps before pausing to look toward Sabrina.

Sabrina slowed to a walk, creeping forward while gently crooning. “Here, pup. You’re a big guy. Are you lost? I think you’re wearing a collar. Do you have a microchip? I’ll bet your family is missing you.”

“Stop!” Leith finally yelled loud enough to get through to her. She turned. The creature at the corner of the parking lot looked toward him as well.

Sabrina scowled at him. “What? I just want to help that dog. He seems shy. I wonder if someone abandoned him.”

“The reason he’s shy around people is because he’s not a dog.” Leith grabbed her elbow and dragged her back toward the safety of the Land Cruiser. “He’s a wolf.”

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