On a Snowy Night: The Christmas Basket\The Snow Bride (19 page)

Her mother stepped aside as Jenna pulled her large suitcase from the back seat.

They hugged, and Jenna entered the airport. Unable to resist, she turned back for one last look and noticed an airport security guard speaking to her mother. The two ap
peared to be arguing and the man withdrew a book from his hip pocket and started to write a ticket.

Jenna's first inclination was to race outside and rescue her mother as she had countless times. Instead, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to turn away. Her mother would have to cope without her.

Their lives were about to change. Jenna realized these adjustments were long overdue. For much of her life—except for brief periods during Chloe's marriages—she'd been the one taking care of her mother. She'd provided emotional support, handled practical details and kept track of their lives. No wonder she was so good at organizing her boss, she often thought.

The first part of her journey was uneventful and relaxing. She had a plane change in Seattle, where she boarded the flight for Fairbanks. She was assigned the window seat. The man sitting beside her had a beard similar to Dalton's. He was also dressed in a similar manner.

“Hello,” she said, hoping to make polite conversation as a prelude to asking him a few questions.

He muttered something and stuffed his bag into the overhead compartment, then settled in the seat, taking more than his share of the arm space. She glanced around, hoping she could get another seat, but unfortunately the flight was full.

“Do you live in Alaska?”

He scowled at her and leaned back. Within seconds he was snoring. How rude!

Midway through the flight, she had to get up to use the rest room. He grumbled when he was forced to straighten so she could pass.

“Excuse me,” she said as she exited the row.

He complained again when she returned, only louder.

Jenna frowned. Dalton had told her about men like this. They flew down to the lower forty-eight, squandered their
money on women and booze, and then returned to Alaska hungover and broke.

Jenna tried to read but her eyes grew heavy; she closed her magazine and felt herself drift off. She'd been up late, too excited to go to bed, carefully selecting what she'd take with her. Dalton had been wonderful, offering suggestions and assuring her he'd be at the gate when she landed.

The next thing she knew, Jenna was jarred awake. Her head rested on something hard and unyielding, and the man's voice in her ear was—Man's voice? She jerked upright and to her dismay discovered that she'd pressed her head against her companion's shoulder.

“Sorry…” she whispered, too embarrassed to look at him.

“I wasn't complaining.”

She stared out the window rather than face him.

“What's the matter? Did your own snoring wake you up?”

Jenna clenched her jaw. “I don't snore.”
He
was the one with the problem, not her.

“Believe what you want, but you're right up there with my lumberjack friends.”

She did look at him then, giving him a blistering stare. “Are you always so rude or is this strictly for my benefit?”

He grinned, apparently enjoying himself.

“For your information I do not snore.”

“Whatever you say.” Not bothering to hide his amusement, he crossed his arms.

Just her luck to sit next to this Neanderthal. This
large
Neanderthal.

Then, to Jenna's relief, the pilot announced that the flight was about to land. She reached for her purse and freshened her makeup, all the while conscious of her companion closely studying her. She ignored him as best she could, until the plane landed at the terminal.

As she left the plane, her heart racing with excitement, Jenna reflected that this was the moment she'd been wait
ing for all these months. At last she'd be meeting Dalton Gray. Dalton—strong and responsible yet sensitive, a rugged man of the outdoors who'd won her heart.

The cold air that blasted her as soon as she stepped into the jetway came as a shock. Dalton had warned her that the temperature often dipped below freezing in November. The cold actually brought tears to her eyes.

The airport's warmth was more than welcome. Walking inside, she looked around, a smile on her lips. Two feet past the secure area, she stopped, and then slowly, guardedly, moved forward. She surveyed the room, searching for Dalton. He'd said he'd be there to meet her. Promised he would. Nothing would keep him away, he'd told her. Gold could be found on his property, oil could spurt from the ground, but he'd be at the airport waiting for her.

Only he wasn't.

R
eid Jamison followed the blonde out of the airplane, wryly shaking his head. God save him from uppity women, and that one was about as uppity as a woman got. Uppity and a real Miss Priss.

She stood in the middle of the waiting area, obviously looking for someone. Reid strolled past her, headed for the baggage claim. He had another flight to go before he got home, and he hoped to fly out of Fairbanks before dark. First, however, he needed to collect his luggage and grab something to eat. With the airlines cutting back, one of the first casualties was the meals, not that they'd ever been that spectacular.

Unfortunately, his bag was one of the last to appear and he had to stand around and wait while all the passengers retrieved their suitcases and made a fast escape. His seatmate hung around, too, he noticed, although her bag had been one of the first to arrive. She looked anxiously about,
then after a few minutes walked over to the phone. Whoever she called didn't have a lot to say, because she hung up shortly afterward.

The minute he had his bag, Reid hurried over to the cafeteria. The food wasn't great, and it was damned expensive, but he had few options. A couple of sandwiches from the airport restaurant would fill his stomach until he got home.

“How you doin', Reid?” Billy asked when he'd placed the pre-made, pre-wrapped sandwiches on his tray as well as a cup of coffee.

Reid spent enough time at the airport to be on a first-name basis with a number of people. Billy was a good guy, retired from construction, who worked part-time at the airport to make entertainment money. Mostly he blew his wages on poker. Reid had played with him a time or two, and had suggested Billy keep his day job. “Good to be home.” Almost home, he amended silently.

“Where you comin' back from this time?” Billy asked.

“Seattle.” Reid sipped his coffee. It was hot enough to burn his mouth, but he didn't care. “You wouldn't believe what those Seattle folks are doing to ruin a good cup of coffee.”

Billy chuckled and gave Reid his change. “You flyin' out tonight?”

Reid nodded, took his tray and sat down at the table by the window. His Cessna 182 was parked below. It was comforting to think he'd be sleeping in his own bed tonight and not some too-soft mattress in an anonymous hotel room.

He ate the first turkey sandwich without stopping, then started on the second.

His seatmate from the flight came into the cafeteria and scanned the almost empty room. She seemed even more forlorn than she had before. He watched as she took a tray, walking past all the food on display. Then, as if she hadn't found a single thing to tempt her appetite, she simply poured
herself a cup of coffee. She began talking to Billy, and they were engaged in conversation for at least ten minutes.

“Reid, you're flyin' right over Beesley, aren't you?” Billy called across the cafeteria. The two other customers, a pilot and a lumberjack, both grinned.

“Yeah.”

“Do you mind givin' the little lady here a lift?”

Now this was downright interesting.

Miss Priss peered over her shoulder. When she saw him, she jerked back and started talking animatedly to Billy. Billy shook his head repeatedly but apparently couldn't get a word in edgewise. It was enough to arouse Reid's curiosity. He couldn't imagine what he'd done that took five minutes to describe, complete with agitated gestures. He couldn't help it; he
had
to find out. He stood and walked over to the cashier just in time to hear Billy tell Miss Priss that Reid worked on the Alaska Pipeline and was a fine, upstanding citizen.

“You going to Beesley?” Reid asked the woman.

She raised her chin an extra notch. “How much will it cost for you to fly me there?”

“He's one of the best bush pilots around, miss,” Billy rushed to assure her.

“Cost?” Reid shrugged. “I'm flying that way myself. It's no trouble to land and let you off.”

She blinked as if she wasn't sure she should believe him. “You'd do that?”

“Folks in Alaska are neighborly,” he said. “We lend a hand when we can.”

She offered him a tentative smile, which transformed her features, made her seem softer, somehow. He was struck by what an attractive woman she was. All he'd noticed earlier had been the disapproving look in her eyes every time she happened to glance in his direction.

“You ready to leave now?”

She nodded. “That would be great. I have no idea what happened…. My friend was supposed to be here. I phoned his place, but apparently he's already left.”

“Not to worry, I'll get you to Beesley.”

“I can't thank you enough.” She was all sweetness now, he thought wryly. Women were like that. Sweet as honey when they needed a man, and sour as lemons when they didn't. He'd dated but not much. There weren't any women in Snowbound. No single women, anyway. In fact, Snowbound was a one-woman town, and that one woman happened to be his younger sister. She'd tried to set him up with friends of hers from Fairbanks a few times, but nothing ever came of it.

“Thank you,” she said to Billy as she began to follow Reid to his four-seater plane, which was tied down outside.

She half ran behind him. “My name is Jenna Campbell,” she said.

“Reid Jamison.”

“Thank you so much,” she said, hurrying to keep pace with him.

“You aren't in Beesley yet,” he said. “You can thank me then.”

While he did the preflight check, she prepared to climb inside the plane, but obviously had a problem figuring out how to do it.

He stared at her. “I take it you've never been in one of these before?”

She seemed a bit abashed to admit it. “No, I can't say I have.”

“Use the wing,” he said. “Climb on that and just scoot on in.”

“Oh.” She eyed it as though it was impossibly far off the ground, but she did as he suggested. He smiled at the inept way she maneuvered herself into the second seat. He had to give her credit, though, for not complaining.

As soon as he was inside, he put on the headphones and started talking to the tower. He handed her the second pair while he waited for clearance. She placed them over her head and clung to the door, closing her eyes as he roared down the runway for takeoff.

Once they were airborne, he circled the airport and headed north. “You can open your eyes now,” he said, speaking into the small microphone.

Her eyes flew open. “Wow, that was incredible.”

“It's even prettier when you're actually looking at it.”

She smiled, and once again he was impressed by her beauty. He forced himself to turn away.

“How long before we reach Beesley?” she asked.

“About an hour.”

“Oh.” She couldn't quite conceal her disappointment. “I didn't realize it was that far from civilization. The distance between Fairbanks and Beesley was pretty small on the map.”

He laughed. “What's in Beesley?” he asked. “Or should I say
who?
”

“I have a friend there—a man. The one I tried to call. He was supposed to meet me in Fairbanks but something must've happened. I'm actually kind of worried.”

“How well do you know your…friend?”

She frowned. “Well…we've never met—technically, that is—but I feel I know him.”

Reid didn't like the sound of this. Dalton Gray lived in Beesley and the man was lower than a swamp-crawling snake. “How long do you intend to stay?” he asked next.

“I…I'm not sure. I hope to find work in Beesley. I can support myself if that's what you're thinking.”

“In Beesley?” Reid echoed. “Doing what?”

“I'm an executive assistant, or I was until recently.”

He turned to look at her again, and wondered how much she really knew about the tiny Arctic community. “There's no one in Beesley who needs an executive anything.”

“I heard otherwise.” The prissy expression was back. “My friend assured me I wouldn't have any problem finding employment should I choose to do so.”

The bad feeling he'd experienced earlier intensified. “And just who is your friend?”

“His name is Dalton Gray.”

“Dalton Gray!” Reid shouted and cursed loudly. He should've suspected something like this. Damn fool that he was, he should've asked her before they departed.

Jenna yanked the headphones off and glared at him. “There is no need to use that kind of language and furthermore, shouting hurts my ears.”

Reid muttered an apology, but there was nothing he could do now except fly her back to Fairbanks.

As the Cessna banked sharply to one side, Jenna let out a small cry and grabbed the bar across the top of the door.

“What are you
doing?
” she demanded, replacing the earphones.

“I'm taking you back to Fairbanks.”

“You most certainly are not. You said you'd fly me into Beesley and I insist you follow through on your promise.”

“By your own admission, you've never even met Dalton,” he said. “One day you'll thank me.”

“I'm fully capable of making my own decision about a person. Now I must ask you to fly me to Beesley per our agreement.”

He couldn't help grinning at her business-speak. Did she think he was a CEO or something? Nonetheless he had his answer ready. “No way, lady.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Who appointed
you
my guardian?”

Reid ignored her outrage. “You say you met him online?” This was becoming as interesting as it was scary. So Mr. Sleazebag was expanding his horizons, finding new prey through the miracle of modern technology.

She drew herself upright and folded her arms across her chest.

Reid's jaw tightened. This woman couldn't possibly understand what kind of man Dalton Gray was, and he knew he owed her an explanation. “Dalton isn't a man you can trust.” That was putting it mildly.

“It seems to me you're the untrustworthy one.”

“You don't believe me?”

“Damn straight I don't. Furthermore, I'm flying into Beesley whether you take me there or not. I'll find someone else.”

This woman was starting to rile him. What was it about Dalton that turned sane, sensible women into gibbering idiots?

“If that's what you want, fine. Good luck finding another pilot, though, especially at this time of day.” For enough money she could, despite the growing darkness, but most folks felt the same way about Dalton as he did. It was men like Dalton who gave Alaska a bad name.

“Tell me what's wrong with Dalton,” she said after a while. “I'm not an unreasonable person, but you can't expect me to take the word of a stranger. Especially a stranger who happens to have a personal vendetta against the man I know in my heart to be decent and honorable.”

“Decent and honorable? Dalton? We can't be talking about the same man.”

“Yes, Dalton,” she snapped. “Dalton Gray.”

Chances were there might be another man named Dalton Gray somewhere in the world, but it was considerably less likely that this second man lived in Beesley, Alaska.

“If you won't tell me exactly what you mean, then all I can say is you're a coward.”

“A what?” Reid exploded.

“A coward,” she said without the least hesitation.

“And you're about to make the biggest mistake of your life.”

“It's my life,” she reminded him.

Reid shook his head. “I'm telling you here and now that Dalton Gray is bad news. He'll use you and when he's finished he'll discard you like yesterday's newspaper.”

She raised her chin. “That's your opinion.”

“No,” he corrected. “It's my sister's. And it's the opinion of half a dozen other women I know. Gray is about as slimy as they come. He's a selfish, arrogant creep who takes advantage of women and—”

“I refuse to believe you.”

“Would you believe someone else?”

Her certainty seemed to waver. “Possibly.”

“So it's just me you don't trust?”

She didn't answer. This woman, this stubborn, idiotic woman, was about to make a first-class fool of herself. Worse, she'd be putting herself in danger. He could prove everything he'd said. Or he could take her to Fairbanks and let her discover this on her own.

Reid made his decision and banked steeply a second time.

“You're turning back?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Her eyes revealed her astonishment. “Thank you for seeing this my way.”

He didn't comment.

She held herself primly in the seat next to him and ceased conversation, which suited Reid just fine. He'd said everything he intended to.