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“Good. We don’t stand on ceremony here. There’s fresh coffee—” she indicated a small table set up as a beverage station “—help yourself. And don’t be shy with the oatmeal cookies, either. Juliette and I need to go over a few things so we can get her back in the air and then I’ll be right with you.”
“Sure. Take your time.”
While Juliette went over paperwork with the older woman, he poured a cup of coffee, snagged a cookie … and then another since he was starving, and studied the room.
Not that he hadn’t expected it but this was vastly different from the office space he worked in every day. Photographs covered one of the chinked-log walls. There was a love seat and two armchairs clustered around a television set in one corner. Flannel curtains hung at the windows and a braided rug covered a large expanse of the wood floor.
He blew on his drink and sipped. Strong and dark, it blazed a warm trail through him. And something smelled damn good.
He concurred with the recommendation put forth in the report. The airstrip and this building would be an asset as the mining operation was set up. It sat far enough on the perimeter to be functional, while the rest of the buildings would, in all probability, be bulldozed down. This, however, would make the perfect headquarters site, especially with the attached restaurant. They couldn’t have asked for anything better.
A pot-bellied stove sat to the right of the room. An old man with a long white beard sat in a rocking chair on one side of a chess set, muttering to himself. The rocker on the opposite side sat empty.
“Enjoy your stay,” Juliette said, sending a friendly smile his way as she headed back out the door.
“Will do. Thanks again.”
When the door closed behind the pilot, Merrilee looked toward the old man and shook her head, a gleam of sadness in her eyes. “That’s Dwight Simmons. He’s harmless, just a little lost. His chess partner Jeb Taylor passed away this summer. Dwight still hasn’t quite figured out what to do without Jeb. The two of them spent their days playing chess and arguing, but they were like family to one another.”
Logan nodded and murmured something noncommittal, unsure what to say in the face of the old man’s loss.
“Now let’s take care of you,” Merrilee said, patting him on the arm. Logan had steadfastly tried to push Jenna to the back of his mind but now he was within proverbial spitting distance of her and it took every ounce of willpower for him not to ask Ms. Swenson—make that Merrilee—where he could find Jenna. That would go a long way in taking care of one of his items on his to-do list. “I understand you’ve had a bit of a rough travel day,” Merrilee said.
She’d been notified of his flight delays so the last leg of his trip could be rescheduled.
Logan nodded. “It’s been a long day. A wreck shut down the expressway this morning. I could see the airport. I was half a mile from the exit, but I couldn’t get there, which meant I missed the direct flight.” As a result, he’d had to fly around his ass to get to Anchorage by way of New York, then Los Angeles, and finally on to Anchorage. Somewhere between Atlanta, New York, LA and Anchorage, his luggage had gone missing.
“Would you rather freshen up in your room first? I’ve left a few toiletries as I understand your luggage didn’t make it here with you. Or do you want to grab some grub next door first?”
Between the innumerable delays that had left him hurrying up and waiting, he hadn’t grabbed breakfast at the airport the way he’d intended to, nor had he had the opportunity to snag any food at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson terminal. He’d had to sprint through the airport to make the flight, which had then spent an hour sitting out on the tarmac waiting for clearance before take off. He’d traveled often enough to know shit happened, but not usually this much shit all in one day.
“I need to wash up a bit, but then I’m ready to eat. Whatever it is smells great.” The scent alone had him salivating. The cookies had helped but he was still hungry. For good measure, his stomach growled in agreement.
“No worries,” Merrilee said with a bright smile. “I’ll show you to your room and then they’ll fix you right up next door.”
She headed toward a stairway on the other side of the office. Logan followed her up to the second floor.
“I understand one of my former schoolmates lives here. Jenna Rathburne,” Logan said as they climbed the stairs.
Merrilee stopped and turned to face him on the stairs, surprise on her face. “You know Jenna? She didn’t tell us you’d be coming.”
“I haven’t contacted her. I thought I’d look her up when I got here.”
“Oh! A surprise! I’m sure she’ll be tickled pink.”
Logan wasn’t so sure at all. In fact, he felt a fairly alien moment of uncertainty as to exactly how Jenna would respond when she saw him. “We went to the same high school.” He knew he sounded guarded.
“We all just love that girl to pieces. She’s one of those rare women who’s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She’s got a heart of gold.”
Logan was saved from responding, which was good because he didn’t know what to say anyway, when Merrilee opened a door at the top of stairs. “Here you are.” He stepped behind her into a room that was charming and inviting, but damn cold.
“We’re having a little problem with the heating upstairs,” Mrs. Swenson said.
“I’ll be fine.” As soon as his luggage containing his thermal underwear and thick socks arrived.
Aside from the cold, he immediately liked the room. As with the downstairs, it had log walls and lace-trimmed flannel curtains. An iron headboard and footboard were painted a light cream color. A homey quilt covered the mattress while a washstand, complete with antique pitcher and bowl, stood in one corner. A crocheted doily, much like those found in his grandmother’s house, topped the nightstand. Light from a bedside lamp pooled across a rag rug and the pegged wooden floor. The welcoming scent of cinnamon and apples hung faint in the room.
“The bathroom is down the hall at the other end of the landing. Just holler if you need anything.”
Food first and then directions to Jenna. See, he wasn’t desperate to see her at all. He’d eat first.
He was, after all, fully in control.
“HE’S CLEANING UP NOW AND then he’s heading over to Gus’s,” Merrilee said.
Jenna’s heart was racing in her chest. “Logan Jeffries?” Her voice came out all squeaky.
“Uh-huh,” Merrilee said. “How many Logan’s do you know from high school, sweetie?” Merrilee’s question held a teasing note.
“Only one.” And he was here. Logan Jeffries was right down the street, here in Good Riddance, Alaska. Dear God.
“What’s he doing here?”
“Well, I have no idea. The only thing he brought up was you.”
For one heart-stopping moment, a crazy thought passed through her mind…. No. Uh-uh. That was ridiculous. Over the top. Wildly romantic.
Jenna really didn’t know what Logan did for a living, so she had no clue what else could’ve brought him here. But it couldn’t be her … could it?
Merrilee continued. “He was going to surprise you. I hate to spoil that but I thought you might want a heads up. Most women do when a good-looking man is going to drop in on them.”
Surprised didn’t begin to describe it. Honestly, Jenna felt kind of weak at the knees. Then again, Logan had always affected her that way. “He still looks good?”
“Well, sugar, I have no idea what he looked like back in the day, but he looks mighty fine now. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair, pretty brown eyes and, never tell Bull I said it but, a mouth a woman could only think of as kissable. A little reserved and formal, but nice nonetheless.”
Butterflies seemed to take flight in Jenna’s stomach releasing a sweet heat she hadn’t felt in a long time. Logan had always had a great mouth. A sensual shiver ran through her. She’d fantasized numerous times about him and his sexy mouth—on her lips, her breasts, the inside of her wrist, the inside of her thighs. She’d imagined what it would feel like, how he would taste … and it had never gotten her anywhere but aroused and frustrated. She might be a virgin but she had all the working parts and certainly the desire.
“Oh, Lord.”
She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until Merrilee chuckled on the other end of the line.
“Well, Ms. Jenna, is there something you’d like to tell me about Logan Jeffries? Because I’m thinking he’s not just another anybody from back home.”
Jenna glanced in the mirror. This sweater and blue jeans had been fine when she’d put it on this morning but not now, not if she was going to be seeing Logan for the first time in forever.
“Jenna?”
Jenna pulled her attention back to the conversation, away from her reflection in the mirror and the knot of anticipation and nervousness lodged in her mid-section.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. What was that?” She stuck the Closed sign on the front of the door and was already shrugging into her jacket. She pulled on her gloves and hat and wound a pink scarf around her neck, her hands slightly unsteady.
There was no option, she needed to hotfoot it home to redo her make-up and hair and change clothes. She’d be double-damned if Logan Jeffries wasn’t going to eat his heart out when he saw her again. She wasn’t holding a grudge exactly but she did have some feminine pride.
Tama met her at the door, ready to go with her. She supposed he was ready for a change of scenery.
“What’s the deal with this guy?” Merrilee said, opening the door of the shop. “Because you’re definitely rattled.”
“Well, it’s not every day that someone from back home shows up,” Jenna hedged as she stepped out into the dancing snow flurries and closed the door behind her.
“Right. Now tell me the rest of the story. Because I know you well enough to know there’s ‘a rest of the story’ somewhere in there.”
There was no hiding anything from Merrilee. Then again, it wasn’t as if her past was a state secret or anything. She came clean. “It’s water under the bridge, really. I asked him to escort me to Homecoming, back in high school. He turned me down. It’s not a big deal.” Well, okay, it had been devastating at the time and it still stung just a little. That was why she was heading home.
“He turned you down?” Merrilee sounded flatteringly shocked.
Jenna dodged a sled dog curled up on the sidewalk in front of the dry goods store, waving at Nancy who was dusting shelves inside. Nancy was a good, regular customer and she had nice nails to work with. Jenna never could remember whether they’d lived in Michigan or Wisconsin before they retired to Good Riddance. “He did, indeed.”
“Then he’s not as smart as he looks.”
“Oh, no. He’s really, really smart, like supersmart.” He’d been the debate team captain and she’d carried the most incredible torch for him even though she knew she wasn’t his type. Translation—she wasn’t brainiac enough for him.
“Honey, if he turned you down, he couldn’t be all that bright.”
Jenna laughed as she let herself into the cabin she rented from the town’s former doctor who’d moved to San Francisco last year. There’d been no need to unlock the door because in Good Riddance, no one bothered. Although Jenna was still enough of a city girl to lock hers before she went to bed at night. “Trust me, he’s brilliant.”
“Well, smart or not,” Merrilee said, “it looks as if he’s temporarily dropped smack dab back into your life. He’s booked the next five days.”
A funny feeling coiled through her, chased by Nelson’s words earlier that she was missing someone in her life.
No, no and no. She didn’t need anyone, and if she did, it sure as heck wouldn’t be Logan. He was only here temporarily and that suited her just fine. Sure, she’d had a tremendous thing for him back in the day and perhaps he’d always been the guy she’d always wondered about, but that part of her life was long gone.
A whole lot of water had passed under that bridge. If she wanted a man in her life, it certainly wouldn’t be Logan Jeffries.
3
LOGAN CHEWED AND SWALLOWED the last bite of his caribou stew. Within seconds the waitress, a pony tailed blonde named Teddy, was at his booth. “The daily special comes with seconds. Would you like some more stew? More rolls? Another glass of water?”
“It was delicious,” he said. And it had been. “But I’m full. I’ll just take the check when you have a minute.”
“Sure thing.”
Gus’s, the restaurant housed in the same building as the bed and breakfast but separated by a wall with a connecting door, was an interesting place for sure. Once again, it reminded him of a scene out of an old western. A bar, complete with the brass footrest, fronted two-thirds of the wall beside the connecting door. He had to smile at the moose head wearing a pair of sunglasses mounted over the bar’s back wall.
The other third was devoted to the kitchen area, open to the rest of the room except for a high counter. Restrooms, pool tables, a dartboard a jukebox, and a small stage occupied the area to the left of the door. The remaining two walls were lined with booths like the one he was occupying near the bar. The room’s center held a number of tables and chairs. Across the room, another door was tucked into the wall.
The place was busy considering it was late in the afternoon but it was already dark outside. He’d gotten several curious glances since he’d wandered in half an hour ago. He’d overheard a smattering of conversations and he should’ve attempted getting to know some of the residents, but now that he was here, he couldn’t seem to get Jenna off of his mind.
There was only one thing to do. He needed to look her up so he could cross her off his list. Drop in, say hello, satisfy his curiosity and then get on with the task at hand. It was a simple and straightforward solution to what shouldn’t have even been a problem to begin with.
The waitress returned with his check. “You sure I can’t get you a piece of pie? Lucky made chocolate cream this morning. It’s yummy.”
He smiled. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”
The sooner he tracked down Jenna, the better. Then he could focus on what really counted, offering everyone in Good Riddance a financial security they’d probably never known before.
Leaving his money on the table, he grabbed the jacket he was very glad he’d worn and headed back to the airstrip. Merrilee Swenson sat at her desk, filling out what looked like an official form. He knew from experience that a boatload of paperwork came with any business, even running a small airstrip like this one.
She looked up as he crossed the room, his shoes echoing on the wooden floor. “How was your meal?”
“Excellent.”
“Glad to hear it. We pride ourselves on the food at Gus’s. It may be the only restaurant in town, but we think it’s one of the best in the state.”
Civic pride had been heavily weighted in the scouting report and factored into the buy-out offer.
“I haven’t had caribou stew before, but it was certainly tasty.”
“Wait until you try the moose pot pie. And you’ll have to check out karaoke night on Thursday. It’s a lot of fun.”
Smiling, Logan shook his head. “I can’t say I’m big on karaoke.”
“You will be by then. There’s not a lot of entertainment to be found in Good Riddance. It’s more fun than you might think.” She shoved her ink pen behind one ear. “By the way, your luggage should arrive tomorrow morning. It’s coming into Anchorage on a red-eye flight. Don’t ask me how but it wound up in Tulsa.”
“I’ve heard of stranger things happening.” He chuckled, aiming for casual. “I thought I’d look Jenna up now that my stomach rumblings won’t embarrass me. Where do you think I’ll find her?”
“Oh, she’ll be at Curl’s. She’s got a nail business going there. Well, actually, she’s building a little day spa on the outskirts of town, but for now she’s operating out of the front of Curl’s place.”
He was aware of Curl’s and Jenna’s nail business. The spa must be a relatively new development, at least within the past six months, since it hadn’t been on the reports he’d seen. But it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle and counter. He didn’t want to come across as too in-the-know. “Curl’s?”
“Curl owns the taxidermy, barber shop and mortuary.”
“I’m guessing Jenna’s business is part of the barber shop instead of the mortuary.”
Merrilee grinned. “They’re all together. But yes, Jenna’s business is in the front where the barber shop and hair salon are. The taxidermy and mortuary are in the back. We’re big on one-stop shopping here,” Merrilee said with a wink. “Go out the front door, hang a left and it’s down on the right. You can’t miss it.”
Logan returned her smile. “I think it’d be hard to miss anything with just one street.” He headed toward the front door.
“True enough. Jenna’s pretty hard to miss,” Merrilee said with an arch look.
His gut was already knotted at the thought. “I’m sure.”
He stepped outside and the cold slammed him. Dammit, he was so disconcerted, he hadn’t thought to put on his jacket. He shrugged into and zipped it, although it was far too thin for this weather. Shoving his hands in the pockets, he started down the sidewalk.
There was a charm about the place that was hard to put his finger on. Despite the cold, the town seemed to radiate warmth—from the patrons at Gus’s to Merrilee, herself. Light spilled out of the storefronts along the single thoroughfare, reflecting off of the snow which kept it from being too dark, even without streetlights.
He stepped around a grey and black dog curled up on the sidewalk, seemingly impervious to the frigid air and snow. The unmistakable aroma of wood smoke mingled with the scent of evergreens. Working here wouldn’t be a hardship for the crew the company would send in to man the operation.
He exchanged hellos with a man he passed on the sidewalk. The guy sported a full beard—right now Logan wouldn’t mind a beard to keep his face warm—and a fur hat which Logan had no doubt was the genuine article.
