Alaskan Sweethearts (9 page)

The beef Wellington was as delicious as his grandfather had promised. The candlelight made the kitchen look like an European café. Joey wrote everyone’s name on their white flamingos and used them for place markers as well as napkins.

Hunter couldn’t remember when they’d ever had such a sparkling dinner at their home. Birthday dinners were as festive as they’d ever gotten growing up and he had done the cooking for those. There had been a lot of meat loaf and boxed cake mixes with canned frosting.

After they’d eaten, his grandfather took Joey out to show him the kittens in the barn and Hunter invited Scarlett into the living room. Maybe his grandfather had been right about the candles and music because neither one of them turned the lights on. Instead they stood, watching the sun set through the picture window. Copper streaked the red sky as the day ended.

“It’s almost as good as the aurora borealis,” Scarlett commented a little smugly as she turned to him.

“The northern lights?”

She nodded. “I wish you could see them. The sky dances. You have to go out away from the cities to really see them so there’s no light.”

“It must be something.”

“Alaska is beautiful,” she said. “I’ve often thought God made it like that to make up for life there being harsh in so many ways.”

The golden glow from the sunset gave a tiny bit of color to the shadow framing Scarlett’s face. Strands of her hair shone with copper. Her eyes were hidden, but he could see the smile teasing the corners of her mouth.

“I used to love being out in the wilderness,” she said. “The untouched places.”

“Used to?” he echoed her words without saying more.

“Being a mother changed things for me,” she said. “When someone depends on you, it’s just different. You can’t take as many risks.”

“Almost everybody has someone who depends on them,” he said.

She looked at him then, her eyes dark and mysterious. Her lips tipped up slightly in a knowing smile. “Your grandfather? Does he keep you here on the ranch?”

Her eyes were mesmerizing now.

He knew she had asked a reasonable question even if he was unable to think well enough to answer it. He had never realized before how much gold there was in hazel eyes. Tiny little flecks of it showed in the dim light.

“No one keeps me here,” he finally managed to say. “It’s where I belong.”

Hunter knew it was a dream—an impossible fantasy. Still, he opened his arms and she stepped into them.

Then he dipped his head and kissed her. He felt her surprise the moment their lips touched. He felt the jolt, too. She responded with a sweetness he hadn’t expected.

She pulled her head back and frowned. “This doesn’t mean...”

“No, of course not,” he said, soothing her.

He couldn’t seem to stop looking at her. The last thing he wanted to think about was that piece of land his grandfather had promised her.

Then they heard the outside door to the kitchen open and they pulled apart. His grandfather and Joey were back. He wanted to stay with Scarlett, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Hunter sensed that she didn’t want Joey to see them together so he took a step away from her. He wished things were different.

In seconds, Scarlett was walking toward the door and Joey rushed into the room.

“Time for bed,” she said as she gathered the boy to her so fast he didn’t have time to protest.

She didn’t even look at Hunter as she hustled her son out of the room. They were both on their way up the stairs before Hunter realized he hadn’t said good night to either of them. She’d left Joey’s teddy bear on the kitchen table, too.

His grandfather stood beside him in the darkness.

“These aren’t the kind of people who you should trick,” Hunter said, his voice low. “Scarlett and Joey.”

“I wouldn’t—” his grandfather protested.

“It’s happened before,” Hunter said. “Too many times to count.”

“I never mean—” the old man started.

“I’m not going to let you do it anymore,” Hunter interrupted as he turned to face the older man. “The attorney will tell me what’s wrong with your contract and we’ll fix it. The Murphy family deserves that land you’ve promised them. I know you don’t intend for them to have it, but they will.”

His grandfather looked at him, but he didn’t say anything more. Hunter felt the cold from all of the past abuses rise up inside him as he stood there.

“I’m going to stop this right now,” Hunter repeated.

“People always forgive me,” his grandfather said softly. “In the end, they always do. No one is really hurt.”

“I was hurt.” Hunter turned his back then. He wasn’t going to live his life being ashamed of his family. “Cash and Kurt were hurt. They don’t even want to live here with us because of the things you do.”

“I—” The old man gasped the word. “They never said anything.”

Hunter didn’t have any patience left. “Would it have done any good?”

His grandfather didn’t answer.

Hunter left the room. Not even the cat dared to come near him as he walked up the stairs to his bedroom. Things had to change. For all of them. He only wondered if it was already too late. Scarlett might never trust him. The thought of that made him lonely in ways he’d never been before.

Chapter Four

S
carlett woke the next morning with her head resting on the softest pillow she’d ever known. Last night she’d noticed it, but she hadn’t stayed awake long enough to puzzle out what it was doing in her bed. Turning her head slightly, she could see the satin pillowcase had tiny pink hearts and green vines embroidered along the edge. Its white shape had shifted as she’d moved so it must be filled with feathers. She shook her head to clear her mind. Even with the lovely pillow, she’d had the oddest dream.

She had been sitting on a cliff atop a mountain when Hunter leaned out of the sky and kissed her. Really kissed her. As he’d done last night. There were clouds all around him, but she’d known she’d fall off if she didn’t push him away. She’d had to push the clouds away first, though, and that had proved to be extremely difficult. She just hadn’t seemed able to summon up enough energy to do it, not when Hunter had kept kissing her that way.

She didn’t need to be Freud to know she’d gone over the edge into the arms of the enemy. She’d been careless, but she would fix that today. She needed to make it extra clear that the kiss last night meant nothing. A woman didn’t give away her family’s future because some man made her pulse race. The pillow had no doubt inspired all those clouds. She looked at those pink-embroidered hearts again. She couldn’t imagine any one of the Jacobson men ever sleeping on this. It smelled faintly of lilacs and cedar.

She told herself that last night she had just been affected by that earlier dizzy spell. But then she admitted she knew better. She’d had a full meal so she hadn’t been hungry and the day had cooled off with the darkness so she hadn’t been overheated. There was no excuse for her behavior.

Of course, she told herself as she moved to the edge of the bed, she had been influenced by a master manipulator. Hunter might accuse his grandfather of being less than truthful, but he was the one she needed to be most careful around. He clearly wanted her to give up on getting that land for her family. What better way to do that than to sweet-talk her? Although, she frowned again, he hadn’t said much now that she thought about it. No, it hadn’t been the talking. It was those kisses.

And, she told herself as she swung her legs off the edge of the bed and sat there, it was the other stuff, too. Hunter had treated Joey with such kindness she almost couldn’t believe it. He had melted her heart right then. It was amazing what men would do when eighty acres of prime farmland hung in the balance.

In the cold light of morning, though, she was a Murphy and he was a Jacobson. She looked around. Sunlight shone in through the side window. Faded brown-and-yellow wallpaper with miniature cowboys lined the walls. Old track trophies were perched on a shelf above the dresser. Her grandmother had been convinced that the Jacobson family had lived in an elegant home somewhere after Colin had stolen that gold mine. Scarlett could see that wasn’t true. Except for the pillow, there were no signs of anything but plain living. Still, her grandmother had suffered from losing that gold mine. It hadn’t been fair and Scarlett wasn’t going to give in—not with her grandmother expecting justice.

When she went downstairs this morning, she’d have to be firm with Hunter and let him know that last night wasn’t the start of any era of peace between them. She imagined he would protest, but she’d appeal to his good sense. Regardless of his motives, there could be nothing between them.

Besides, it was going to be a busy day and tomorrow she and Joey would fly back to Nome. There was no time. She had promised her son last night that she would take him to church this morning. Doing so was less difficult than agreeing to get him a dog, which he had asked for first. He had mumbled something last night about already picking out his kitten. Joey might be timid about some things, Scarlett told herself as she stood, but he was a clever negotiator. He’d also made it clear that he wanted time to learn how to swing this afternoon, as well.

The fact that her son was learning to speak his mind delighted her, but she did wish the transformation had taken place in Nome and not here in Montana. Of course, she realized as soon as the thought crossed her mind, Joey was free down here. He had no older boys watching him from the shadows. And she had no strange letters coming that threatened him, so she might be calmer, as well. She knew he took his cues from her.

She quickly washed up and put on a sleeveless green cotton dress before following the smell of coffee downstairs to the kitchen. She was looking at the kitchen for the first time in the morning light and realized what a cheerful room it was. A big window over the sink stood open, a screen in place to keep any flies out. There was no particular color scheme to the room, but there were lots of brightly colored containers standing on the gray counters. Some red, others blue and one green. Joey and Hunter were sitting around the table with plates of pancakes in front of them.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured as she stepped into the room. “I should have set an alarm.”

She’d brought her briefcase down with her and she leaned it against the corner of the kitchen cabinets. Then she turned back.

“No need to worry,” Hunter said. He was talking to her but not looking at her. “I’m always up with the dawn, especially this time of year. And Joey helped me make breakfast.”

Scarlett studied the man closely. His dark hair was neatly combed, he was clean-shaved and his eyes were clear. She saw nothing on his face that was flirtatious or even made her think he remembered their kiss. In fact, he didn’t even bother to look at her, which was only common courtesy when seeing someone for the first time in the morning. He certainly didn’t seem like the kind of man who would worry about what type of pillow she had on her bed.

Instead he was looking down at her son. She felt a prick of annoyance. She had been prepared to be mildly regretful as she delicately put Hunter in his place. That was one thing. It was altogether another if he’d forgotten they had even kissed.

“You did a good job, too,” the man was saying to Joey. “I can’t get my pancakes as nice and round as you did.”

Joey beamed at the praise and looked up at her to say, “They’re called dollar pancakes ’cause that’s what they look like. They’d probably only sell for a quarter, though.”

“Goodness, you’re not asking my son to sell pancakes,” she protested mildly.

“Of course not,” Hunter said. “Doesn’t hurt to learn the value of something, though.”

Joey nodded in happy agreement.

Her son had a pancake turner lying beside his plate and a square white dish towel wrapped around his neck, presumably to use as an apron. Pancake batter spotted both the towel and his face. She noticed he even had some in his hair.

“Sounds like you had fun,” Scarlett said as she noticed four places had been set at the table. Three of them had been used.

Hunter still hadn’t looked her in the eyes. If he wasn’t going to make a big deal about last night, then neither was she. “I’ll do cleanup detail.”

The man in question gestured for her to sit as he rose from his chair. “Don’t worry about dishes. You’re all dressed up for church. I’ll bring you some coffee. We kept a stack of Joey’s pancakes warm in the oven. He wanted you to try some of the best ones.”

Scarlett remained standing. “I don’t need you to wait on me.”

“It’s no trouble,” Hunter said, grabbing the coffeepot. “You can thank Joey for putting the pancakes aside for you.”

Scarlett took her seat. He really hadn’t gone to any trouble for her. Which, she told herself, was exactly as it should be. They were not on the same side of anything right now. Still... She frowned. Then she reached over and gave her son a hug. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Hunter said they’re the best pancakes he’s ever eaten.”

“I’m sure they’re delicious,” Scarlett said as she bent to kiss her boy on the forehead.

She suspected that her son had a quarter in his fist, but she decided not to press the issue. She was relieved to see he had been so engaged with Hunter that he had left the stuffed bear lying on the bench by the kitchen door. Maybe he’d be ready to give the thing up soon.

Hunter put a plate in front of her and it had a dozen golden-brown dollar pancakes, all the same size. Then he sat the coffeepot next to her on the table. A cup stood next to her plate.

“I’m impressed,” Scarlett said to her son before pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Joey grinned as Scarlett started to eat.

Hunter sat back down.

“Where’s your grandfather?” she asked after a couple of minutes.

A look of regret came over Hunter’s face, but he didn’t have time to answer before the man himself opened the door.

“I was out milking the cow,” the older man said.

Hunter walked over and put his hand out to take the large pail his grandfather was carrying. “Let me help.”

His grandfather didn’t give him the bucket, though, stepping around him and setting it carefully on the counter. “Some of us still know how to get on. I can carry in the milk. I’ve been doing it since before any of you were born. And it ain’t hurting nobody.”

The two men stared at each other for a moment.

Then the old man walked over to the table and looked at Scarlett.

“How’d you sleep last night?” he asked, most courteously.

“Good,” she said. He smiled at that so she asked, “Did you leave the pillow for me?”

“What pillow?” Hunter demanded to know as he stepped closer to the table. His forehead puckered as he looked at his grandfather.

“Don’t get yourself all in a lather,” the older man said to Hunter. “I thought she might enjoy Grandma’s pillow—that’s all. What’s the harm in that?”

“The pillow you keep locked away in your gun cabinet?” Hunter asked, clearly surprised. “The one you would only let Cash use when his back was in so much pain he had tears in his eyes?”

“Well, I thought Scarlett should know we have a few niceties,” the old man said to defend himself. “Cash already knows that. We might live in the middle of nowhere, but we don’t do without the things ladies like from the city—like fancy soaps and pillows.”

“Well, I’m impressed,” Scarlett said.

“No helicopters, though,” Hunter muttered. “Please don’t tell her we have a helicopter.”

“We could have one if we wanted,” the older man stated as he glanced over at his grandson. “And a house in Vail. We’re not poor. The woman should know we have things—”

“But—” Hunter started to protest.

“I live in Nome.” Scarlett interrupted the two men who were now glaring at each other. “It’s not like I spend my days in luxury, either.”

“Well, you should,” Hunter said with more force than he likely intended from the surprised look on his face.

“I mean, you should enjoy your life,” he said in a more temperate voice.

She nodded her head. “I suppose.”

Luxury had never been important to her.

“Your grandmother liked nice things,” the old man said to Scarlett, remembering something that made his whole face turned sour. “Not that I could give her anything much back then. That’s one reason I left. Murphy was the one with the money. Even before we started mining for gold, he had plenty. He bought your grandmother that big diamond engagement ring. Five carats, it was. My heart sank when he first showed it to me. I couldn’t compete. She still have it?”

Scarlett nodded as she pulled the chain out of her dress. “This is it.”

The ring sparkled at its best as Scarlett turned it in the sunlight.

“You go around with a five-carat diamond around your neck?” Hunter asked in disbelief. “Don’t you know people would beat you up for a stone half that size.”

“Well, I don’t go showing it to anyone on the street,” she protested. “Granny gave it to me to bring on the trip as a reminder that we have some security in life. I don’t ordinarily wear it. Just special for this.”

Her grandmother kept the ring hidden away and only brought it out once in a while. She wouldn’t even tell anyone where she kept it.

“I could never compete with that,” the elder Jacobson repeated. “I finally figured Murphy took some of our gold to buy it, but by then it was too late.”

“I—” Scarlett didn’t know what to say to comfort the man. “I’m sure she appreciated your friendship.”

The old man grunted. “That’s what she said in that letter she sent.”

“Well, see...” Scarlett said with as much of an encouraging tone in her voice as she could manage. “Friendship is good.”

“Not when you’ve been in love with someone,” the elder Jacobson protested. “No one wants some lukewarm friendship after that. There should be more. If she wasn’t so far away, I’d tell her that, too.”

Everything was silent for a minute. Hunter was looking at his grandfather quizzically and the old man was ignoring him.

Scarlett decided someone needed to say something. “I don’t know why she wrapped all that tape around the envelope if all she felt was friendship.”

The old man’s eyes brightened at that. “She did go out of her way to make it private, didn’t she? Just between the two of us.”

“I know she wouldn’t want you to feel bad about the past,” Scarlett added. She was fairly certain that was true, although she never quite knew how her grandmother felt about Colin.

“I thought they would be fine without that gold mine,” the older man said, looking at Scarlett as though he was asking for forgiveness. “Murphy was always talking about how much money he had. And then he bought that ring.”

“I don’t think he had anything but the ring. I expect it took all he had.”

“I’m right sorry about that,” Colin said.

“It wasn’t the money so much that my grandmother missed. It was the security.”

“That’s the same thing. Your grandmother should have sold the blasted ring,” the older man said. “It would have fed all of you for years.”

“I know she was tempted many times,” Scarlett said. “But she could never bring herself to do it.”

The kitchen was silent for another minute.

“She loved him that much,” the older man finally muttered, his face sad, “that she’d let her little ones go hungry so she could keep his ring.”

“We never really went hungry,” Scarlett said. “We ate a lot of peanut butter and rice pudding, but we were fed.”