Midnight Sons Volume 1 (15 page)

Sawyer nodded.

“You didn’t ask for my advice, but I’ll give it to you, anyway. If I were you I’d propose again, and this time I’d use a few of those fancy words you frown on.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Sawyer said sadly.

“Can you live with the alternative?” Charles asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just don’t know.”

After dropping his brother off, Sawyer returned to his own place. He checked on Eagle Catcher, talking to the dog for a few minutes, then walked into the house. It felt empty and silent. He fixed a drink and took it into his bedroom, where he spent some time studying the photographs of his parents that stood on the dresser.

Tugging his shirttail free, he undressed and readied for bed. It was going to be a long night. Lying on his back, hands behind his head, he stared at the ceiling and tried to work out his options.

What he’d told his brother was true. When Abbey left Hard Luck she’d be taking part of him with her. He had to prove that to her. He just didn’t know how.

He wasn’t a man of words. He’d demonstrated that repeatedly; he’d made a mess of things whenever he opened his mouth. But there
had
to be a way to show Abbey he loved her.

He hardly slept at all.

By six he was up and dressed again. He sat at the kitchen table, nursing his coffee, devising a plan.

He waited until eight, then gathered together what he needed. He walked purposefully across the street to Abbey’s.

He hadn’t even reached the front door when she opened it. She wore a pretty pink sweater and jeans, and she’d never looked more beautiful.

“Good morning,” she said. He noticed how pale she was. Pale and miserable. As miserable as he felt.

“Morning.”

“I know you’re busy getting ready to leave, so I won’t take any more of your time than necessary. I brought something over for Scott and Susan,” he said. “And you.”

“The children are still sleeping.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll give everything to you, and you can see that they get it later.”

“Sawyer, I’ve been thinking and really there isn’t any need—”

“Would it be all right if we sat down?” He motioned toward the swing.

Abbey sighed and perched on the swing’s edge. Sawyer had the impression she’d rather avoid this last encounter. He didn’t blame her.

They sat on opposite sides, as if they were uncomfortable strangers. He handed her an envelope. “These are Eagle Catcher’s registration papers. I’m giving him to Scott—it’ll make the transition easier. Once you’re settled, let me know and I’ll have him delivered.”

“But he’s
your
dog.”

Sawyer’s smile was sad. He wouldn’t tell her that relinquishing the husky was more difficult than she’d ever know. “Those two belong together.”

“But Sawyer—”

“Please, Abbey, let me do this one thing.”

She looked as though she wanted to argue, then bit her lower lip and nodded.

“Susan is a wonderful little girl,” Sawyer said. “I thought long and hard about what I could give her.” He reached inside his shirt pocket and withdrew a gold, heart-shaped pendant. “This is a locket that belonged to my grandmother.” He opened the tiny clasp with difficulty. “The picture inside is of Emily, the daughter she lost. She gave it to me shortly before she died. I’d like you to keep it until Susan’s old enough to wear it.”

Tears welled in Abbey’s eyes as he placed the locket and its delicate chain in the palm of her hand. “Sawyer, I…I don’t know what to say.”

Sawyer’s heart was heavy. “I have no other way of showing you how much I love you and Scott and Susan.” He stood and took out an envelope from his pants pocket. It contained two marbles, a bobby pin and several folded sheets of paper. He sat down, then retrieved a second envelope from his shirt pocket.

“The last things I have are for you.” He gave her the bobby pin first. “This saved my life when I was sixteen. It’s a long, complicated story that I won’t go into, but I was flying alone in the dead of winter and I had engine trouble. Had to make an emergency landing. This bobby pin was on the floor of the plane, and it helped me fix the problem so I could get back in the air and home. Otherwise I would’ve frozen to death. I saved the pin.” He set it carefully aside.

Abbey smiled.

“The marbles were my two favorites as a kid. I was better than
anyone, and these were the prize of my collection. Mom ordered them for me from a Sears catalog.”

Abbey held the two marbles in her free hand.

He passed her the folded sheets of paper. “These are old and a bit yellowed, but you should still be able to read them. The first is an essay I wrote when I was in junior high. I won a writing contest with it and got a letter of commendation from the governor. His letter’s with the story.”

Abbey used the back of her hand to wipe the tears from her face.

Sawyer withdrew a plain gold band from the second envelope. “This is my father’s wedding ring.” Sawyer held it up between two fingers. His heart seized with pride and pain at the sight of it. “Since I was the one with Dad when he died, Charles and Christian thought I should have it. It’s probably not worth much, but I treasure it.” He leaned forward to place the ring in Abbey’s hand and closed her fingers over it. Afraid he might have said more than he should, he stood up and awkwardly shoved his hands in his pockets. “Goodbye, Abbey.”

As he turned to leave, she called to him. “Sawyer.”

He faced her.

“Why are you giving me these things?”

“The bobby pin and marbles and the essay and Dad’s ring—they represent what I am. I can’t go with you and I can’t make you stay, so I’m giving you part of me to take when you leave.”

He was halfway down the steps when he heard her whisper. “You might have said you loved me earlier.”

He kept his back to her and answered. “I want to marry you. A man doesn’t propose to a woman unless he loves her.”

“He does if he’s afraid some other man might beat him to the punch. He does if he’s confused about what he really wants.”

“I know what I want,” Sawyer said, turning, and his eyes met hers.

“Do you, Sawyer?”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, right here in Hard Luck. I want to raise Scott and Susan as my own children, and if you and God are willing, I’d like another child or two.”

They stood staring at each other, the depth of their emotion visible. Abbey’s beautiful brown eyes glistened with tears. It demanded every bit of self-control Sawyer possessed not to bridge the distance between them and take her in his arms.

“But I can’t have that,” he said, “so I’m giving you the most valuable things I own to do with as you please.” Having said that, he hurried down the remaining steps.

“If you walk away from me now, Sawyer O’Halloran, I swear I’ll never forgive you.”

He turned around again to find her standing on the top step, her arms open. The sweetest smile he’d ever seen lit her eyes, curved her mouth.

His heart came to a sudden standstill. Then he rushed back, throwing his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him. He trembled with the shock of it. He kissed her gently at first, for fear of frightening her with the power of his need.

Abbey slipped her arms around his neck and moaned. A stronger, more disciplined man might have been able to resist her, but not Sawyer. Not when he feared he’d never hold her
and kiss her again. Not when he’d laid his heart and his life at her feet.

They kissed once more, too hungry for each other to attempt restraint. It was as if all the barriers had disappeared.

When he could, Sawyer pulled his mouth from hers, inhaled deeply and buried his face in her neck. He prayed for the strength to stop; otherwise, he was afraid he’d end up making love to her right then and there. But Abbey drew his face to hers, and the kissing began all over again.

“I think you should marry me,” he breathed between kisses.

“A woman prefers to be asked, Sawyer O’Halloran.”

“Please, Abbey, if you have any feelings for me whatsoever, put me out of this misery and marry me.”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“Begging.”

He felt the rush of air from Abbey’s laugh before she kissed him. A kiss that was deep, passionate, thorough.

“Is that your answer?” he panted when she’d finished.

“Yes. But first you need to understand something. I’m not very good at this wife thing. I’ve got one failure behind me, and…Oh, Sawyer, I’m scared.”

“Of what? Making another mistake?”

“No, not that. Not with you. I’m afraid…of so many things. Dick had several affairs, and when we divorced, he said…he said I’d never make a man happy.”

“You make me happy. Did I ever tell you how much I love it when you smile?”

Abbey blushed. “I don’t mean it like that. I don’t know if I’ll…satisfy you.”

Sawyer threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, Abbey, just holding you gives me so much pleasure I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s going to be like in bed.”

Sawyer could see that she was about to argue with him, so he guided her mouth to his and kissed her with all the love in his heart. He tasted her hesitation and her anxiety, then felt her yield to his kiss.

For the first time Sawyer understood the root of Abbey’s fears. “You satisfy me,” he whispered. “And tantalize me and torment me.”

“Mom?”

Sawyer looked past Abbey to see Scott and Susan in the doorway. They were both still in their pajamas, their faces eager and wide-awake.

“Good morning,” Sawyer said. “I’ve got some great news for you.”

“You do?” Susan asked.

“Your mother’s agreed to marry me.”

Scott seemed mildly puzzled. “Already? Mom, I thought you said it would take a while to work everything out. The problems between you and Sawyer, I mean.”

“Work out our problems?” Sawyer was the one wearing the perplexed frown this time.

“The children and I talked after you found them last night,” Abbey explained. “We decided it would be a mistake to leave Hard Luck. Furthermore, we decided we’re in love with you.”

“You mean you weren’t going to leave this morning?”

Abbey’s arms tightened around him. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”

“I’m not. It’s just that…” He stiffened. “You might have told me.”

“I tried, but you wouldn’t let me. Are you sorry about…what you said? The things you gave me?”

“No,” he said fervently. “Not in the least.”

“Are you really going to marry us?” Susan wanted to know.

“Yup.”

“When?” This was from Scott, who continued to look unsure.

Sawyer and Abbey exchanged a glance. “Two weeks,” Sawyer said, making the decision for them.

“Two weeks!” Abbey cried.

“I’ve been waiting thirty-three years for you, Abbey Sutherland, and I refuse to wait a minute longer than I have to. We’ll do this as plain or as fancy as you want. Ben can cater the wedding, and we’ll open up the school gym for the reception.”

A truck pulled up in front of the house and the driver honked. “Looks like you two have everything settled,” Charles called, leaning his elbow out the window.

“Sure do.”

“Guess you won’t be needing me, then.”

“Sawyer’s going to marry Mom and us,” Susan informed him with her wide, delightful grin.

“In two weeks,” Scott added.

“So you’re not letting any grass grow under your feet,” Charles commented.

“Nope,” Sawyer said.

“Is this a secret or can I spread the word?” Charles asked.

Abbey and Sawyer looked at each other and smiled. “Feel free,” Sawyer told him.

Charles pounded the horn and stuck his head out the window as he drove down the street, shouting, “There’s going to be a wedding in Hard Luck!”

“You can’t change your mind now, Sawyer.”

“No chance of that,” he whispered. “No chance at all.”

July 1995

So this was Hard Luck.

Lanni Caldwell slung her backpack over her shoulders, picked up her suitcase and crossed the gravel road that ran past the mobile office for Midnight Sons. The small airline—which served the Alaskan interior—had been mentioned in the news several times during the past month. Her curiosity piqued, Lanni had read the Anchorage paper eagerly and watched the television reporters tell their tale. And what a tale it was. Midnight Sons had apparently spearheaded a campaign to attract women to Hard Luck with offers of jobs and housing.

Leave it to a bunch of lonely bush pilots to come up with such a crazy scheme! A number of single women had already arrived, and more would soon be joining them. TV reporters
from down south were calling them “mail-order brides”—they weren’t—and referring to Hard Luck as “the frozen north.” It wasn’t, at least not in July.

The sun shone bright and golden in a clear blue sky. The weather was in the comfortable seventies, with wildflowers blooming in a lively array of colors that stretched from one end of the tundra to the other.

Lanni, who’d grown up in Anchorage, had only been north of the Arctic Circle once before on a childhood visit to Hard Luck. But this all seemed familiar because her grandmother, Catherine Fletcher, had often spoken of the town and her life here. Lanni could remember sitting on Grammy’s knee as a child and listening to wondrous descriptions and exciting adventures, but those times with her grandmother had been few. Catherine’s visits had come less and less often as the years went on.

With Catherine’s failing health, this might well be Lanni’s last chance to learn about her grandmother’s early life. It was the reason she’d agreed to spend her summer in Hard Luck. Beginning in September, she would become an intern at the Anchorage daily paper. After four years in college, her dream of working as a journalist was about to be realized. Lanni knew how fortunate she was to be chosen for the coveted position, and she was thrilled with the opportunity.

Her visit to Hard Luck had been prompted by a call from Sawyer O’Halloran to her mother, Kate, the month before. Kate had been surprised to hear from one of the O’Hallorans, and even a bit annoyed. Lanni only vaguely understood why. She was aware of bad blood between her grandmother and the
O’Hallorans, but she’d never really heard the reasons. It was something the family simply didn’t talk about.

Sawyer O’Halloran had politely explained that with so many women moving into town, Hard Luck was in desperate need of housing. Catherine’s home sat vacant, and Sawyer had asked if Kate would talk to her about renting it out.

Lanni wasn’t sure her mother had discussed the situation with Grammy. But Catherine Fletcher’s health had worsened since her move to the nursing home in Anchorage, so perhaps it was best that she hadn’t been consulted.

“Hi.” A young, freckle-faced boy smiled at her from his bicycle. A large, blue-eyed husky trotted along at his side. They both came to a halt and the dog’s gaze quickly assessed Lanni as a friend. He sat on his haunches, panting.

“Are you here for the wedding?” the boy asked.

“The wedding?” Lanni echoed.

“Yeah, my mom’s marrying Sawyer O’Halloran. Lots of people are coming to Hard Luck for the wedding. Ben’s making his special sweet-and-sour meatballs and everything. He said he’d let me and Susan roll some, too.”

“Ben?”

“Yeah, he owns the Hard Luck Café. You’re not a reporter or anything, are you?”

“No.”

“It’s a good thing, ’cause Sawyer said he wanted to kick their butts.”

Lanni laughed. This obviously wasn’t the time to announce that she was a journalism graduate. “I’m Lanni Caldwell.”

“Scott Sutherland,” he said, and grinned broadly, revealing
front teeth too big for his mouth. “I bet you’re the woman Sawyer’s waiting for. He’s been kind of frazzled lately.”

No one had told Lanni she needed to check in with the O’Hallorans, but it couldn’t hurt to introduce herself. After all, they were responsible for her being in town. She had reason to thank them, too. This summer was her one chance to explore some of the questions left unanswered by her family’s official version of the past. There was so much she didn’t know about Grammy, so many secrets, so many memories too painful to share. In many ways Lanni felt cheated out of part of her heritage, and it was because of this grandmother she barely knew.

“You want me to take you to meet Sawyer?” Scott asked.

“Sure.” Lanni shifted her backpack and followed the boy to the mobile structure with
Midnight Sons
scrawled in bold red paint across the side.

“Sawyer,” Scott called as he threw open the door. The dog followed him inside. “Lanni Caldwell’s here.”

The man behind the desk looked up with a sigh of relief. “Thank heaven. Christian didn’t think you’d get here until after the wedding. You couldn’t have picked a better time to show up.”

It was clear to Lanni, if to no one else, that Sawyer O’Halloran had her confused with another person. Maybe he hadn’t heard her surname.

“Listen,” he went on, “I have to get to a school-board meeting. I know it’s a bit of a rush asking you to take over like this, but I can’t very well sit here answering the phones when I’m supposed to chair a meeting at the school.”

“Uh…” Lanni hedged, wondering what she should do. Sawyer seemed to think she was a secretary.

“If you have any questions, just write them down. I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

She opened her mouth to explain the mix-up when Sawyer bolted out the door. “I really appreciate this,” he said as he flew past her.

“See what I mean?” Scott commented, flopping down in the chair Sawyer had vacated. “You’d think he was gonna have a baby or something. Mom says she’s never seen anything like it.”

Lanni slipped the backpack from her shoulders and put it next to her suitcase. “Unfortunately he didn’t give me a chance to tell him I’m not a secretary.”

“You’re not?”

Lanni shook her head.

“You sure you don’t have anything to do with those newspapers that’ve been bugging him?”

“I’m sure.”

Scott relaxed visibly. “Why are you here then? Did Christian send you?”

“No. I’m here to clean out my grandmother’s home so one or two of the women will have someplace to live.”

“Christian didn’t hire you?” This information obviously surprised the boy and he sat up straight. “I bet Charles didn’t, either. He doesn’t seem to think much of Sawyer and Christian’s idea. He even offered to pay for my mom, my sister and me to fly back to Seattle. We almost did it, too, but Susan and I didn’t want to go. Now,” he said, and his face brightened, “Mom and Sawyer are getting married.”

“You sound pleased about that.”

“You bet. Sawyer’s neat. I never said anything to Mom, but I sorta missed having a dad. Sawyer’s going to adopt me and Susan, and we’re gonna be a real family.”

“That’s wonderful.”

The phone rang then. Lanni stared at it.

“Just answer ‘Midnight Sons,’” Scott told her, “and take a message.”

Lanni reached for the receiver and did as Scott suggested.

“Sawyer won’t be gone long,” Scott said confidently when she’d finished writing down the caller’s information. “He’ll probably end the meeting early.” Scott clasped his hands behind his head, his thin elbows jutting out awkwardly. “He’s real nervous about the wedding. Maybe he’ll faint right in front of the whole town before he can say
I do.
” The image appeared to amuse Scott.

Lanni sat down at the desk across from the boy. “How many women have come to Hard Luck so far?” she asked.

“Not sure. A bunch, I guess. My mom was the first, though. Then there was this real pretty lady, but she didn’t stay long. Everyone said she wouldn’t, and they were right. Christian was really sad when he found out she left. That was when he went through all the applications again and hired another secretary. We thought you were her.”

“That’s an easy mistake.”

“Dotty got here last week. She’s living with Mrs. Inman right now and learning all about running the health clinic. She’s not young and pretty like my mom and you, but everyone’s happy she moved here. Mrs. Inman wants to go live with her daughter.
She couldn’t before because the town needed her to run the clinic.”

“Well, I’m glad she can go to her daughter’s now.”

“If you want, I’ll show you around later,” Scott volunteered.

“Thanks.” It would help to have someone escort her about town. Lanni had been too young to remember that visit to Hard Luck more than twenty years ago. It was much easier for Grammy to fly into Anchorage than for everyone else to make the long trek to Hard Luck. Besides, Kate Caldwell had never been close to her mother, and the years had only served to widen that gap.

“Oh, this is Eagle Catcher,” Scott said, petting the husky’s neck. “He was Sawyer’s dog, but then Sawyer gave him to me. I’ve got the papers and everything.”

“He’s a beautiful dog.”

“He likes you, too, and he doesn’t like just anyone.”

“I’m honored.” Lanni ran her hand along the dog’s thick coat. Before she could say anything further, the phone rang again. From that point on, her conversation with Scott was intermittent as she dealt with a variety of calls.

True to his word, Sawyer returned to the office an hour later. “I’m sorry to leave you like that,” he muttered, reading through his messages.

“Oh, it wasn’t any problem,” Lanni said breezily.

“Lanni isn’t the new secretary,” Scott announced, leaping out of Sawyer’s chair.

Sawyer’s expression went blank. “You’re not?”

Lanni grinned, extending her hand. “I’m Lanni Caldwell. Catherine Fletcher’s my grandmother.” It might have been her
imagination, but it seemed to Lanni that Sawyer’s eyes hardened for an instant.

“I see.”

“I’ve come to clean out the house.”

“You mean Catherine’s actually agreed to let us rent the place?”

“To be honest, I don’t think my mother discussed it with her. My grandmother’s in very poor health.”

“I’m…sorry to hear it.”

Lanni wondered if that was true. The bad feelings between the two families clearly existed on both sides. Lanni wished she understood what had happened, and why. “I’d be willing to help out until your new secretary arrives,” she offered, surprising herself. Someone needed to build a bridge of friendship, and she supposed it might as well be her.

“You’d do that?” Sawyer eyed her speculatively, as if he wasn’t sure he should trust her.

“I’d be happy to help out in any way I can,” Lanni said with certainty. She had the impression that she’d learn more about her grandmother working with the O’Halloran brothers than she ever would sorting through Grammy’s things.

“It’d only be now and then,” Sawyer said hesitantly. “Until things settle down.”

“Mom and Sawyer will be married in ten days,” Scott piped in. “Not that I’m counting or anything.”

“Then it’s a deal.” People said Lanni could charm a snake when she smiled, and she’d always considered her mouth her most attractive feature. It was full and classically shaped and expressive. Her teeth were even and white.

“You’re sure you won’t mind?” Sawyer asked, raking his fingers through his hair. “With Christian away, I’m shorthanded, and then the wedding…To top everything off, the school board needs to hire a new teacher.”

“I’m happy to lend a hand,” Lanni assured him again. “Really.”

“It won’t be for long. Christian’ll be back soon. He’s still in Seattle, but he’ll be heading for British Columbia to visit our mother.”

“If he isn’t back soon,” Scott added, “Sawyer said he was gonna throttle his scrawny neck.”

Lanni laughed.

“Do you want me to carry your suitcase?” the boy asked.

“It’s pretty heavy,” Lanni cautioned.

“I may be skinny,” Scott said with mock defiance, “but I’m strong.”

“Uh, Lanni, would it be possible for you to come in tomorrow?” Sawyer’s voice was casual, but she heard the eagerness behind it.

“What time would you like me?” she asked as she slid her arms into the backpack straps.

“Is eight too early?”

“Not at all. See you then.”

“Thanks,” he said, and he still seemed astonished by her willingness to assist him. “I mean that.”

Charles O’Halloran stepped into the Midnight Sons office and glared at his brother. Not that it did any good. Sawyer had been in a world of his own from the moment Abbey Sutherland agreed to marry him.

Sawyer getting married.

Charles still had difficulty believing that his levelheaded brother was leaping into the abyss.

Charles had long accepted that Christian would probably marry someday, but not Sawyer.
Definitely
not Sawyer. Charles and Sawyer had both seen what could happen to two decent people when a marriage soured. They knew firsthand how the heartache spilled over into the lives of every family member. Charles wanted no part of that. He’d assumed Sawyer felt the same way.

From the moment he was old enough to leave home, Charles had struck out on his own. Following his high school graduation, he’d enlisted in the marines. Afterward he’d gone on to college, obtaining a degree in geology. Now he was a surveyor for Alaska Oil—the perfect job for him. He was often gone for weeks at a time, searching for natural gas deposits in the Alaskan interior.

“I talked with two reporters this afternoon,” Charles muttered, making no effort to conceal his disgust. Not that he expected Sawyer to pay him any heed. His brother’s head was so high in the clouds these days Charles suspected he was suffering from oxygen deprivation. That must be what had affected his thinking lately.

Sawyer stared at him blankly.

“They wanted to know about the women.”

“There’re only a few here,” Sawyer said flatly, “and one of them is in her fifties.”

“Yes, but the first one’s getting married—practically before she had time to unpack her suitcase.” It wasn’t that Charles be
grudged Sawyer his happiness. What bothered him was, first, his distrust of the institution of marriage and, second, the fact that the town his grandparents had built was being turned into a national laughingstock.