Alaskan Sweethearts. Janet Tronstad

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      They’d almost died—would have done so with a less determined guide—but she had pulled them back to Nome through sheer will power. At that time in her life, she hadn’t been afraid of anything. Nurturing a bit of dry ranch land in Montana would be child’s play next to that.

      Suddenly, Hunter reached down, picked up the gray Stetson sitting on the edge of the table and set it on his head. Then he looked at her. “You and I need to talk.”

      He stepped around the table and motioned toward the door. “Joey will be fine in here with my grandfather—at least until he’s old enough to crack open his piggy bank. We’ll have some privacy on the porch.”

      His voice was deep. The voice of a man in command of a situation. Hunter didn’t even look around as he walked toward the door. His back was ramrod-straight, his shoulders square and determined. Her grandmother had said the Jacobson men were all thieves, scoundrels and reprobates, without a conscience to guide any of them. She’d said it with a secret smile that Scarlett was just beginning to understand, though.

      The Jacobson men were used to being able to enthrall women. Hunter probably thought he could give her some compliments and a couple of smiles and she would leave without the property she’d come to claim. Well, she wasn’t going to let this man stop her—even though she hadn’t exactly been subject to the compliment part so far.

      She followed him anyway.

      He opened the door for her and shut it after he stepped out. She frowned when she looked at the sky from the porch of the café. She knew storms and one was coming.

      “How much money will it take to make you go away?” Hunter asked when they had both turned to each other. His gray eyes were cold as metal.

      “Are you trying to pay me off?” she asked incredulously. He apparently didn’t feel he needed to waste any charm on her when cold hard cash would do. “Even more than my travel expenses?”

      “If that’s what it takes. Yes.”

      “I’m staying.”

      A flash of lightning ripped across the sky and the crash of thunder followed close behind.

      Hunter looked startled, but she figured he had his answer with celestial backup.

      “And I don’t appreciate someone thinking I’m that flighty,” she added. “I know my own mind and it’s not for sale.”

      “Flighty?” he asked with a smile that was almost charming. “I don’t think—”

      She wasn’t ready to listen to any insincere apology.

      “I need to return to Alaska on Monday, but I’ll be back with a loaded truck before you know it,” Scarlett promised. She resisted the urge to poke her finger at him even though she felt her breath catch at the thought. She had to admit he did have an appealing chest, one worthy of a king.

      She reminded herself that she needed to make a decision about moving soon, but he didn’t need to know she was pressed for time. It wouldn’t be long before the Bering Sea would start to freeze over and she wouldn’t be able to send her belongings by ship down to Seattle. There were no roads that led to Nome, so driving out was not possible. Everything entered the small town by either ship or plane. The freight cost for even a portion of her household things would be several thousand dollars so she’d have to sell or give away most of what she had.

      She decided he didn’t need to know any of that; he’d just try to argue her out of coming. She’d waited her whole life for a chance like this and she wasn’t going to back down now.

      The porch had only a short overhang for a roof. She leaned back and looked up at the storm that seemed to have applauded her decision. Her triumph was cut short. Her breath felt short. And she was dizzy. She reached around for something to hold on to and found nothing but Hunter’s hand.

      She almost didn’t take it and then she started to fall.

      She wondered if he would catch her since he didn’t want her here in the first place.

       Chapter Two

      Scarlett stood on the porch, although not under her own power, and took a deep breath. Hunter had moved a step closer and now had his arm loosely around her, holding her in place. And if that wasn’t disconcerting enough, she wanted to walk away but couldn’t. She feared that she might sway and fall if she tried.

      She was silent, concentrating on standing and watching the sky turn darker around them. She was going to ask Hunter about the coming storm, but she needed all of her breath still.

      They remained quiet. Hunter was staring down the street as though he was gathering his thoughts, too. If he didn’t look so foreboding, she would wonder if he was shy. The asphalt beside the café sent up waves of heat, even in this breaking humidity. It was the only street in town although a few dirt roads branched off it.

      “I didn’t have breakfast,” she finally admitted by way of explanation.

      “Or dinner last night, I’d guess,” the man added as he turned her to face him. She could finally see his eyes and there was no threat in them. Mostly he just looked weary. Her ex-husband would be accusing her by now of being deliberately foolish in a bid for attention.

      “I got something for Joey to eat.” She defended herself against the words he hadn’t spoken. “But we were running late and I wasn’t hungry.”

      “Nervous most likely,” he said, a wry twist to his mouth. “And I expect I didn’t help when I gave you a hard time and demanded you leave.”

      She felt his arm tighten briefly around her shoulders, almost as though he was giving her a hug in apology. She wished she could relax and sink into his arms to accept it, but she couldn’t. Most likely it was a trap.

      “I survived,” Scarlett said quietly. She finally felt strong enough to take a step away and did so. There was a place in her life for softness, but it wasn’t in business and certainly was not in negotiations with a Jacobson.

      She looked up and noticed something had shut down in Hunter’s eyes, but she couldn’t worry about that now.

      “It’s the only option, you know,” he said finally. “My grandfather isn’t serious. You need to leave.”

      “I don’t think I will.”

      She needed a minute to steady herself and she’d prefer he didn’t know she was still weak. So she glanced at the street and looked at the dozen wooden-framed houses in various muted colors scattered up and down the road. Each one had a clothesline behind it and a few were in use with sheets hanging down. Her grandmother would like that, she thought. It was too cold most months in Nome to dry anything outside because wet clothes would freeze. She wondered when someone inside the house was going to notice that it was starting to rain and the sheets needed to be taken inside, but she supposed there was time yet. At the end of the street was the church she’d noticed earlier. СКАЧАТЬ