Love Finds You in North Pole, Alaska (23 page)

“Great. Yours?” Their conversation made her feel increasingly uncomfortable, but two wrongs didn’t make a right, and she simply couldn’t bring herself to be cruel.

“Lost my grandmother last month.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” And she was, too. Sam had always liked the Michaels family matriarch. “She was such a lovely lady. I’m sure she’ll be missed.” But she’d had enough of his small talk and prayed for the strength to end the call gently and quickly. “Well, I’m not getting any work done standing here chatting,” she said, “so you take care, Joe.” And with that, she hung up.

It surprised her, as the hours passed, that no negative emotions surfaced following Joey’s call. As she prepared supper for herself and Bill, Sam wondered why the sound of his voice hadn’t inspired feelings of regret or sadness. Would it have been so easy to get on with her life if her love for him had been genuine? Sam didn’t think so.

“Where’s Bryce?” Bill asked when she called him to the table.

“Still puttering in his shop, I expect. He’s pretty concerned about his aunt, and I don’t think he’ll really calm down until he can see with his own eyes that she’s all right.”

“His own
eye
, you mean.” Bill smiled at his own cleverness. “I take it Olive raised Bryce?”

“Pretty much. From what I gather, his mom and dad were hippy types who did a lot of traipsing around the country, picketing against this and marching for that.”

“And he enlisted in the marines?” Bill laughed. “Guess
that
showed ’em!”

Though Sam had never given that a thought, she supposed it made sense. “Olive said they were so opposed to his decision that they refused to write to him after he was deployed, so it fell to her to send care packages and letters.” She heaved a sigh.

“Bummer.” Then, “I stopped by his shop today, and he shared his lunch with me.” Bill winked. “That was nice of you, considering…”

Considering? Considering
what
? But wait…was that a smirk on Bill’s face? “All right, out with it,” she said, narrowing one eye.

“Out with what?”

“Oh, come on, don’t play the innocent with me. I grew up looking at your ‘I’ve got a secret’ expression, and it’s written all over your face right now.”

Shoulders up and hands extended in supplication, he said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Ri-i-i-ght,” she replied. “Just remember what Granddad said about fibs…”

“…‘Each one leaves a stain on your soul,’ ” they said in unison.

After a moment of warm sibling laughter, Sam said, “You’ll never guess who called me today.”

“Santa?”

“Always the comedian,” she teased. “No…this guy doesn’t deliver anything good.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Not Joey…”

She nodded. “One and the same.”

“What did
that
good-for-nothing lowlife cheating hunk of trash want?”

She laughed. “To tell me that he’s in Anchorage on business. Thought he could talk me into having dinner with him, so he could apologize.”

“The guy’s got gall, all right. How’d he find out where you were?”

“Marsha.”

“Ack. I should have known. I told you that big mouth of hers would bring you heartache some day.”

“She’s a jabberjaw, I’ll give you that much, but I’m not upset with her about it. Because oddly enough, talking with Joey today confirmed what I knew in my heart long before he dumped me…and long before I saw Baltimore in my rearview mirror.”

“That he’s a good-for-nothing lowlife cheating hunk of trash?”

“No, silly,” she said, giggling, “that I’m better off without him. That if he hadn’t cheated when he did, I’d have gone ahead with the wedding plans. And then I’d have been his
wife
when he finally decided to cheat. And he would have. You know it as well as I do.”

“Reminds me what Grandmom used to say…”

“ ‘Once a cheat, always a cheat’?”

“You got it.” He shoved back from the table. “Supper was great. What was that stuff, anyway?”

“Chicken and rice in cream sauce. I hate to admit it, but you were my guinea pig. I’m supposed to bring something to a covered-dish supper at church in a few weeks.”

“It’ll be a hit for sure.” He smirked. “What’s for dessert?”

“I’m afraid all I have is vanilla ice cream.” She jumped up to poke around in the fridge. “There’s some chocolate syrup in here, though, and a can of whipped cream.” Straightening, Sam asked if he’d like a sundae.

“When have you ever known me to turn down anything sweet?”

“The day that happens,” she said, “is the day I’ll pop a thermometer in your mouth to see how high your fever is.”

After their sundaes, Bill cleared the table as she filled the dishwasher.

“So what are you doing this evening, sister dear?”

“Same thing I do most nights…I’m heading back downstairs,” Sam answered, “to try and get the last of today’s deliveries put away. If I make some headway tonight, I can probably start redistributing merchandise tomorrow. I figure it’ll take a few more days before I have everything just so for Olive’s homecoming.”

“What’s Bryce say about the magic you’re working at the store?”

“Why would I ask
him
? He hired me to manage the place, so I’m managing.”

Chuckling, Bill shared the story Bryce had told him, about his dream of selling Rudolph’s so he could invest the proceeds in his carpentry shop. He ran down the short list of materials and machines Bryce thought he’d need, should the good Lord bless him with a sale. “I asked him what
you
were supposed to do if he managed to get rid of the place, and he said having you close was the only good thing about keeping it.”

Sam’s heartbeat quickened. “He said that?”

“He said that.”

“How sweet,” she cooed, laying a hand over her heart. “Makes me wish I
had
made dessert, so I could leave some out to surprise him when he finally finishes up for the day.”

“Well, I won’t be awake when he gets home. I’m hitting the hay early, ’cause I have a hot date tomorrow.”

“With Cora?”

“Yep.”

“Where’s she taking you?”

“Panning for gold. Out to see the pipeline.” He shrugged. “She rattled off so many things, I can’t remember them all. And to be honest, it doesn’t matter where we go or what we do. I’m just looking forward to finding out what she’s like
without
a coffee pot in her hand.” Pocketing both hands, he leaned his backside against the counter while Sam wiped the table. “What do you know about her?”

“Not much, I’m afraid. In fact, you’ve probably accumulated ten times more information, hanging out at Dalman’s, than I could tell you.”

“She makes me laugh till my sides ache, so as long as she isn’t hiding an ex who’s a big ugly lumberjack, that’s all I need to know.”

“Just don’t go fallin’ in love, bro.”

“Said the pot to the kettle.”

Sam widened her eyes and pretended his comment had offended her. “May I point out that it took me
months
to go ga-ga? You, on the other hand, have only been in North Pole a week!”

“Down, girl,” he teased. “It’s a date, not a lifetime commitment.”

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

Bill hugged her. “I have no desire to
be
hurt.” He popped a brotherly kiss to her forehead. “And by the way? Ditto, sissy, ditto.”

Sam had no way of knowing why, but she felt certain that her heart was safe in Bryce’s hands.

“See you in the morning, sis,” he said, heading for the bedroom. “If I’m not up by six, shake my cage, will ya?”

“Will do,” she promised.

Bill hadn’t even rounded the corner before Sam started pulling together the ingredients for sticky buns, for no reason other than that they were Bryce’s all-time favorite treat.

The delectable aroma of fresh-baked pastry still filled the air when deep, quiet voices woke Sam. She recognized them instantly as belonging to Bill and Bryce. The soft blue green glow of her wristwatch told her it was shortly after midnight. She’d learned by living across the hall from him that Bryce often stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, but hadn’t Bill said he wanted to be up early for his date with Cora?

“They melt in your mouth,” she heard her brother say.

“Is there anything that sister of yours
can’t
do?” A pause, and then Bryce added, “I’ve seen her sketchbooks and I’ve heard her sing. Every day, she puts a little more military precision into the chaos at Rudolph’s.” She could almost picture him licking sweet white glaze from his fingertips. “And man-oh-man, the girl can cook.”

Grinning into her pillow, Sam wished she could see through the wall. How much better would the compliments sound if she could see his expression, too?

“She’s awful at sports,” Bill said. “And all she has to do is walk past a plant to kill it.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“And here’s something weirdly ironic: she’s terrified of snakes but doesn’t give a second thought to squashing a spider with her bare hands.”

“Hey, even I get the heebie-jeebies at the sight of a snake.”

“Same here. Even a garter snake can send me screaming indoors like a little girl!”

More quiet laughter preceded Bryce’s “You still haven’t told me something she
can’t
do.”

“Well…”

Don’t try
too
hard, Billy
, she thought, smiling.

“…she can’t take a compliment.”

“Man, are you ever right about
that
. She turns four shades of red every time I tell her she looks gorgeous.”

Was playing possum on the living room couch akin to eavesdropping? But even if it was, what choice did she have? She’d given her room to Bill for the duration of his visit. To change her mind now just to have a place to go so she couldn’t hear them talking would only invite Bill’s all-too-familiar childhood taunt, “Indian giver!”

The memory required her to stifle a giggle.

“So did you get hold of that real estate agent?”

Groaning, Bryce said, “Yeah, for all it was worth. She said the market is sluggish and probably will be for years.”

“That’s rough, man.” He paused, and then added, “But maybe that’s a good thing, since Rudolph’s is your only tie to your folks.”

Sam could almost picture Bryce nodding his agreement.

“How’d you lose them, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Every time Olive had started telling Sam the story, Bryce appeared from out of nowhere, forcing her to stop talking. Sam knew only the bare facts, so now she tensed, wondering if she’d finally hear the whole story.

“My parents were avid ice fishermen, and one year, they just up and disappeared.”

Sam cringed, waiting for her brother to crack some sort of inappropriate joke. Much to her relief, he said nothing. Nothing at all. Obviously, the facts had stunned him, too.

“People said they saw their hut out there on the ice one minute, and it was gone the next.”

The ensuing quiet was unbearable, and Sam said a quick prayer that the Lord would provide Bill with comforting words as the story unfolded.

Bryce’s voice was low and gravelly when he said, “Some speculate they built the fire too hot in their pot-bellied stove, and that while they were sleeping, it melted the ice and…”

His voice trailed off, and Sam’s heart ached for him. Faking slumber as he talked openly about this painful chapter in his past meant she couldn’t comfort him. But if she’d been in the kitchen, Bryce probably wouldn’t have discussed the subject at all. Talk about frustrating.

“Now, that just doesn’t sound logical,” Bill said. “I mean…isn’t the ice, like, two feet thick on every body of water around here?”

“Yeah, that’s true some winters, anyway.”

“How long do you suppose it would take a fire, even one that was good and hot, to melt ice that thick?”

More silence.

“That’s rough, man. Really rough.” Then, “How long ago did it happen?”

“Long, long time.”

Sam couldn’t decide if Bryce’s answer sounded sad…or disgusted.

“Well, for what it’s worth,” Bill said, “I’m sorry, man, truly sorry.”

A heavy sigh permeated the air. “Thanks.”

“And they never found ’em?”

“Nope.”

“Whew, that’s rough,” Bill said again. “As the shrinks would say, ‘no closure.’ ”

“Yep.”

“Any idea what happened to—”

“The search teams found stuff that had been in their hut—like the wood stove and coffeepot, a frying pan, a cot—downstream. Near as anybody can tell, their bodies floated under the ice, and before they could be identi—”

“Holy moley, Bryce,” Bill interrupted, “that’s…that’s just…. I don’t know
what
to call it, except awful!”

“The Alaskan version of ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust.’ ” Another brittle pause, and then, “Things went full circle, as I see it, so at least their deaths weren’t totally useless….”

For the first time in her life, Sam understood the term “dead silence.” The utter stillness seemed oppressive, burdensome, and Sam wanted to hug both men…Bill, for having to listen to the heartrending story, and Bryce for having to tell it.

“Don’t know how you survived it.”

“Same way anybody survives a thing like that…”