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Before taking a step farther, Scarlett glanced down and put a hand on the shoulder of her five-year-old son, Joey. She felt a tremble in his slight body. It sent an answering shudder through her. Her son used to sparkle with mischief. But he had lost all his confidence lately. He’d insisted on bringing his old beat-up brown teddy bear along with him on this trip. His father had given it to him when he was a baby. She’d packed the bear away last summer and Joey had seemed fine without it. But then he had regressed. Now he carried it everywhere with him. Joey was the reason she was anxious to move out of Nome. She’d do battle with a thousand kings to see him happy again.
“There’s a chair beside the restroom,” she told her son. He’d used the side of the road earlier so she knew he didn’t have to go. “Can you sit there quietly for a minute by yourself?”
He thought a minute and nodded.
Joey was timid in new situations now, but a small business like this café did not likely have a separate area to wait inside the restroom. He’d be fine sitting there for a bit. Especially when he had his teddy bear in his hands.
“Come with me, then,” she said and they began to walk across the café.
She hadn’t planned to bring Joey with her for this trip. But last week she’d gotten an anonymous letter telling her that someone was going to kidnap him if she didn’t find the forty thousand dollars her ex-husband, Victor, had stolen from his drug supplier and return it. She couldn’t tell if the letter was a warning or a threat, from a friend or a foe. She didn’t doubt that Victor could have made off with some money. He’d led a double life in the years they’d been married, selling drugs when she’d thought he’d been working on a fishing boat, and she believed he would steal from anyone who was handy. But she didn’t know about any money and certainly not where it was. The police had come to search their house looking for drug money before Victor had left. They hadn’t found anything then and they had searched Victor again before he’d flown out of Nome.
Scarlett arrived at the door to the restroom and settled Joey on the chair. Then she leaned down and adjusted her son’s shirt before kissing the top of his head. He was precious to her. She patted the stuffed bear a little awkwardly. She noticed there was a torn seam along the back of the bear, a safety pin keeping it all together. Her grandmother must have put it there, but Scarlett decided to mend the bear when they got back to Nome. It was important to her son.
“Wait here for me,” she told Joey as she straightened. “I won’t be long.”
She wasn’t sure she’d leave her son outside if they were back in Nome.
She’d taken the letter to the police and they’d tried contacting Victor at the Florida phone number he’d left for her, but it had been disconnected. The police in Florida cruised by his address and said the place looked deserted. She had no contact information for Victor’s new wife. The officer finally said the letter was likely a prank after she admitted some older boys in town had started to knock on the door of their house when Scarlett was at work and taunt Joey, telling him he needed to come outside and face them. They’d even joked about him and his teddy bear, so Scarlett knew they had seen her son outside playing. Joey’s grandmother was always in the house with the boy, though, and when she appeared in the doorway, the boys would scatter. Still, Joey was clearly anxious about them.
They weren’t in Nome, though, Scarlett told herself as she turned the knob and opened the door to the restroom. They were perfectly safe here in Dry Creek.
She wasn’t inside the restroom for long, but when she opened the door to come out she glanced down at where Joey was supposed to be and realized that he was not there.
Scarlett gasped and frantically stepped out into the main part of the café.
“Joey,” she called.
“I’m here, Mommy,” her son said.
She turned and followed the sound of his voice until she was facing the Jacobson men. Joey was sitting on a chair at their table, his legs barely touching the floor and a half-emptied glass of water in front of him. The stuffed bear was lying on its back next to him, seemingly forgotten on the top of the table.
Hunter stood as she walked toward them.
“The boy was thirsty,” Hunter said by way of explanation before she reached them. “We didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I wasn’t scared.” Scarlett denied it without thinking how ridiculous that sounded.
“Any mother would be,” she added defensively.
Hunter nodded. “Of course.”
“Please, join us,” the older man said from where he sat. “I’m Colin Jacobson.”
He was the one she’d come to see, she reminded herself. Her grandmother had whispered to her that Colin was good-looking and Scarlett still saw vestiges of it around his eyes. He didn’t look like what she expected, though. His face seemed soft and almost wistful.
“I’m pleased to meet you,” she said, taking a step closer. She’d talk to him and ignore Hunter. She needed to be brave herself so Joey could see how it was done. The boy had grown more anxious since his father had left them. Scarlett knew life was not always easy. She’d lost both her parents when she was young, her mother to cancer and her father to desertion. That was probably whey she’d hung in with Victor for six long years. But she couldn’t believe there was any purpose in living a life of hesitation and fear. She suspected, though, that her ex-husband had taunted Joey about not being brave enough. Maybe that was the reason for his anxiety. He’d always wanted to please his father.
Scarlett pulled a chair away from the table.
She couldn’t help glancing over at Hunter again. This man certainly didn’t seem to have any fear in him. He still had his hands resting on the back of the wood-spindled chair in front of him and his steel-gray eyes were defiant and unrepentant. His face had a faint red mark on the left side. He wore a rancher’s long-sleeved shirt, open at the neck, and there was another red mark along his collarbone. They looked like burn scars. She could tell by the damp patches on his shirt that he had already done a full day’s work before coming here.
She gave the man a frosty look before she sat at the table.
She had patted a damp paper towel over her face when she was in the restroom, but she still wasn’t comfortable. It was hot in here, too. Her turquoise silk suit jacket felt tight across the shoulders and the humidity was making it worse. The band of her grandmother’s old engagement ring stuck to her skin as it hung around her neck on a chain. She probably looked younger than her thirty-two years of age.
She’d made a mistake in dressing so formally, she realized. Denim jeans and Alaskan-made mukluks on her feet would have made this man look at her with more respect. Her fishing knife strapped to her belt wouldn’t have hurt, either, especially since anyone could tell it had seen plenty of use. At least the ring gave her confidence. Since childhood she had known her grandmother could always pawn that ring if times became too hard. It had been their family’s safety net.
“Can I order you something to drink or eat?” the older man asked as he smiled.
“Thank you,” Scarlett said. “We’ve come a long way. Coffee and maybe some milk for my son would be nice.”
She hadn’t had time to buy breakfast when they’d gotten off the plane in Billings this morning. She’d given Joey a breakfast bar and an apple, but she hadn’t eaten anything.
She finally noticed that Hunter was standing and looking at her son. “You must be hungry. Would you like a muffin with your milk? Taking a trip always makes me want to eat something.”
Joey had always been shy with strangers, but he was so keyed up that he nodded vigorously. “We flew in a plane. It took a long time.”
Hunter stepped around the table and crouched until he was at eye level with the boy. “I know. Nome, Alaska. My grandfather told me. Did you like the plane ride?”
Scarlett stood, ready to demand Hunter stop talking to her son. But she realized she had no good reason. She doubted her son would say anything more in any event. Joey was much more likely to talk to a woman than a man. Still, she stayed by her son’s chair.
Joey shrugged, his eyes cast down at the floor.
Scarlett expected Hunter to move away since it was obvious her son had finished talking.
Then she heard Joey’s voice. “My dad flew away in a plane. We watched him. He’s going to Florida ’cause he’s got himself a new boy. He ain’t ever coming back unless...”
Scarlett was so astonished she barely noticed when Hunter looked up at her with panic in his eyes. At least he didn’t move away. Victor would have.
“He says he’ll come back if I’m a brave boy,” Joey continued, his voice small and his eyes downcast. “But I’ve tried and he doesn’t come.”
Joey had been eager to fly to see his father last month when the man had called and left a message asking him to do that. Joey’s father had even said he should bring his teddy bear, which made Scarlett think he was apologizing for the hard time he’d given Joey before he’d left. It hadn’t made any difference, though; her ex-husband had never returned the call after she’d left him a return message saying they could work out a trip.
Finally she’d realized the invitation had been one more false promise from her ex.
Joey had refused to talk to the grief therapist she’d taken him to. She had no idea why he was telling a stranger all of this, especially a man.
She didn’t know what to do. But finally she nodded encouragingly at Hunter. She’d work with anyone who made Joey talk about his feelings.
“And are you brave?” Hunter asked. “Like your father said?”
Scarlett almost kicked him in the shins to make him stop talking. She was quite sure that’s not what someone should say to Joey. If the man said anything about how Joey needed to be a man and stop being afraid, she’d take her son out to the car and head back to the airport.
“Sometimes I’m afraid,” Joey admitted, his eyes lifting to the man’s face. “I didn’t look out the window of the airplane. We were too high. I didn’t want to fall.”
Hunter nodded.
“My dad says I’ll fall lots if I do stuff and it’ll hurt.”
Joey was watching Hunter intently.
Scarlett wished she had Victor in front of her right now. She’d give him a piece of her mind. On the one hand he’d made her son afraid and then he’d scolded him for not being brave enough.
“Maybe it won’t hurt too badly though,” Hunter said as though weighing the question.
“You won’t ever fall,” Scarlett interrupted with some force. She didn’t want Joey to be any more afraid than he was. She didn’t want him to think he might have to survive a tumble.
“My dad wouldn’t like it if I was afraid,” Joey persisted. “He says I’m a scaredy-cat. Not like the other boy. That one’s brave. The boy in Florida.”
Scarlett held her breath. Victor had told her that he’d had a son with the ex-girlfriend he was planning to marry. She hadn’t known he’d also told Joey.
“Sometimes men say things they shouldn’t,” Hunter said and patted Joey on the shoulder. “That doesn’t mean they don’t...uh—value you.”
“He doesn’t know what value means,” Scarlett said, her voice desperate. Her son had finally opened up to someone and it would be nice if the man’s response made sense to him and was supportive in some measure.
She wasn’t sure she could hope for anything more from a man like Hunter.
“You’re a good boy,” the man said, obviously trying to say the right words. “Things will work out. You’ll see.”
Joey nodded vigorously as though he agreed. “I’m going to get a new house. And a dog, too.”
Maybe a dog would at least make him stop carrying around that old stuffed bear, Scarlett thought. Her son looked at her sideways and Scarlett bent to pull him into a hug. “We’ll have to see about the dog.”
She hadn’t realized that by going down to her son’s level she would be so close to Hunter, who remained at Joey’s side. She could smell pine and wondered if it was from aftershave or if the man had been around trees. She looked up and his eyes were riveted on her face. All she could do was stare back at him. To her surprise, he looked concerned.
“My dog will be a collie, just like Lassie on the TV show,” Joey said as he twisted out of her arms and turned to the man, his father forgotten for the moment. “She was a real nice dog.”
The man took his eyes off Scarlett and focused on her son.
“That she was,” Hunter agreed. Then he grinned.
The look on his face took her breath away. She sensed it was uncommon for him, but quiet delight showed in his eyes and smile.
“She never left her boy.” Joey nodded as he kept talking to the man. “Not when he needed her. She always found him.”
“I have some cats like that,” the man said, his tone solemn. “Very loyal.”
Joey was watching Hunter, and Scarlett wished she knew what to say. Of all the men to pour his heart out to, Joey had picked the wrong one. That man did not want them here. That fact would wound her son when he realized it. No one wanted to be rejected by their hero. She almost promised a dog just to get her son’s attention away from him.
“My dad doesn’t have a dog or a cat,” Joey finally whispered to Hunter as though he had secretly outwitted his father. “He doesn’t have my teddy bear, either.”
Then his smile crumbled and defiance mixed with despair. “My dad’s coming back someday, though. I’ll be his boy again then.”
Scarlett could only rub his back.
“Your father’s a fool,” Hunter murmured, all traces of humor having left his face.
But Joey was looking at her now.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “We’ll do everything we can to get a dog.”
Hunter looked directly at her again. The compassion in his eyes was her undoing. It was as if he knew. It was mostly for her son, but she knew the loss deeply herself. She had trusted her husband—had thought she’d known him—and he’d been someone completely different. When the grief subsided, all that remained was the knowledge that she’d been duped.
The tears in her eyes blurred her vision so she didn’t see Hunter reach out until he brushed a tear off her cheek. She felt the imprint of his thumb long after the tear had dried.
“You don’t need to worry,” she said more sharply than was warranted. “I learned my lesson.”
She didn’t want him to think she was as vulnerable as Joey. She would think twice before she got close to a man again. This one might know more ways to soften up a woman than most, but he was set against her. He had a purpose in what he did.
Hunter rose and offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.
The waitress had already set two more cups of coffee and a glass of milk on the table, along with a plate of warm pumpkin muffins.
Scarlett sat and stirred some cream into her coffee. It steadied her.
At least I’m done with Victor, she thought. When he’d left, he’d said he wanted Joey to come visit him, but that had not happened despite his phone call. She doubted he really wanted visitation rights. He was going back to his real family, he had informed them, as though she and Joey were cheap imposters. The old girlfriend had found him through the internet and he had proposed marriage to her before he’d even mentioned divorce to Scarlett.
“It’s time for Joey and me to look to the future,” she said, putting as much optimism into her voice as she could. “I’m ready to see the contract your grandfather has drawn up.”
“Contract?” Hunter asked.
She nodded. The divorce had wiped out her savings while she supported herself and her son without Victor’s help. The cost of living in Nome was high. A loaf of whole-wheat bread was five dollars. A can of fruit juice, eight. After Victor left, she’d started working the counter in a sandwich shop and taking a business course at the local extension college. She hadn’t been able to go back to guiding wilderness trips since some of them were overnight and she’d had no one to take care of Joey. She usually had to fly to Fairbanks or the base of Mount McKinley to meet up with the groups in the summer. The trips were all several days long. In the winter, only the Bering Sea and a nearby native village served as wilderness destinations.
When Colin Jacobson had written to her grandmother and offered this land, it had seemed perfect for them all. Her grandmother had health issues and could live more comfortably with her and Joey in this house than the one they had now. They could raise chickens and maybe grow vegetables. She knew how to can food and chop wood if necessary. They wouldn’t have to pay rent. She was ready for the challenge of making a living for her son and grandmother on this piece of property with its modest dwelling and distant neighbors. Maybe her sisters would even come and live nearby. It could be paradise.
“You can’t really be thinking of giving them that land?” Hunter’s voice carried and she realized he had stood again and was looking at his grandfather. The two men had been talking together in low voices while she’d let her coffee cool. “You’re going to make things worse when you pull out of the deal.”
Everything was so quiet in the café that the sound of the clock ticking in the far corner was like someone hammering. All of the other diners had stopped talking and were staring at Hunter and then Scarlett.
She should be able to endure any kind of scrutiny. But she could see by this man’s clenched jaw that he’d noticed the interest, too, and was no more comfortable with it than she was.
“What’s the angle?” Hunter demanded as he scowled at his grandfather.
“Well, it’s not just a straight-out gift,” the old man confessed. “I told them they need to farm the land for at least five years or they lose the place. But that only makes sense. And they need to give up claim to that gold mine I took from them. My conscience won’t rest easy until I’ve finally paid for the blasted thing.”
“How are they going to work the land?” Hunter asked as though he’d found the flaw in the whole offer. “If they can’t do it, it all goes back to you. Is that it?”
Scarlett rose. “Don’t worry. I’m going to work the place. I’m not giving it up.”
“You?” The man turned to her, astonishment on his face.
“I can drive a tractor,” she told him. She liked physical work.
Hunter looked at her with pity.
“Have you ever eaten dust all day?” he asked. “It’s not like turning the motor on one of those things at the county fair. Or riding around on a fancy lawn mower. You’ll get your hands dirty. Your shoulders will ache. Your face will blister. Your fingernails will be ragged. You’ll have dust up your nose.”
“My nose has known worse,” she said.
