Northern Escape (13 page)

Gus smirked. “Dalton and Clint tried to warn you. But no…”

“You have absolutely no idea how relieved I was when they told me all the little girls would be named Little Miss Chrismoose princesses. The idea of having to just pick one and disappoint all the others…”

Gus nodded. “I know. This is the first year we've had
the Little Miss Chrismoose part. They were all so cute up there.”

“Yeah, they were, weren't they?” He could just see her getting her own little dark-haired daughter ready for the pageant one day. It gave him a funny feeling inside. “You like kids?”

“I do, although I've never spent a lot of time around them. I was an only child so I've never had any nieces or nephews like you do.”

“There's plenty there, if you wanted to borrow one or two.”

She laughed. “I'd say ship them on over but I think their parents might protest. Come to think of it, the kids would probably protest, too.”

“Are you kidding? They'd be fighting over who got to come. They would think you were totally cool.”

“Really? You think they would?”

“My nieces would all want to be just like you and my nephews would all be moonstruck just like their uncle.”

“Moonstruck? And here I was thinking it was lust-struck.”

He grinned. “Well, that too. So, do you want children?”

She toyed with the pleat in her pants. “Sure. One day. I always wanted several. I guess it's that only-child syndrome.”

“Um, how many is several?”

“Well, three or more. But if you say a couple then that means two so I always opt for saying several.”

“What about your career?”

“I'd manage,” she said. “Well, we'd manage, me and the dad. People do all the time. Your parents did.”

“True enough.”

“What about you? Or have all those nieces and nephews given you cold feet?”

“No, I'm all for wading into the gene pool when I find the right woman to swim with.” And he wasn't so damn certain he wasn't looking at her now. He certainly had never felt this way about anyone else.

She laughed. “That's one way to put it.”

“I've been told I have a way with words.”

Nick wasn't sure how deliberate it was when Gus changed the subject. “I'm glad Skye won. Apparently Dalton harassed her into participating. She didn't think she stood a chance in the first place, but especially considering her red eyes from working such long hours.”

Skye's mouth had dropped open when her name was called. But the best part was when the town doctor gave a whoop. The whole room had erupted in cheering and laughter. “She seemed pretty excited. There were more people there than I expected.”

“It's not as if there's an abundance of entertainment in Good Riddance,” Gus pointed out on a dry note.

He found her comment both interesting and telling. Did she know how much she'd just revealed? “I had noticed.”

“Up until this year we had the pageant at the airstrip center because the participants could change upstairs, but people were crammed in like sardines. Wait until the Mr. Chrismoose contest tomorrow and the parade the next day. Everyone will turn out for those, too. The
fishing derby and races are pretty well attended but no one misses the contests and parade.”

“Do you close the restaurant for both of those events?” He hoped she'd be there and not working.

“I do for the parade. The whole town shuts down and turns out so it's pretty pointless to be open.”

“Pretty nice to have some time off of work, isn't it?”

“Tonight was my break. Lucky gets the parade break since it falls during lunch. I love having the restaurant but the odd days off are certainly welcome.”

“That's what I always saw with my parents. They love cooking and they loved being in the restaurant business but they were pretty much married to it. They never took a vacation together.”

“Really? I think if you have the right staff in place it's doable. I could leave Lucky in charge and it'd be fine for a couple of days, probably even a week.”

“I never thought about it that way. I just thought they couldn't but you know, both Mom and Dad have this attitude that no one else can do things quite as well as them. It's not arrogance, I think it's just a control issue.”

“How long did they have the restaurant?”

“Thirty-five years. They sold it last year.”

“Do they miss it?”

It had been a hard decision for them and at first they'd thought they'd made a mistake but it had worked out in the end. “I think they did at first but they help out with my nieces and nephews, and since my sisters and brother live on the same street but they all work, Mom and Pop
cook a big dinner almost every night and everyone eats at their house.”

“Sounds like fun.” There was a wistful note in her voice and Nick realized what he'd taken for granted—both parents and a big extended family. He had no doubt they'd love her and she'd love them.

“Chaos,” he said, thinking of everyone talking at once at the big table that could seat a small army. “It's pure, utter chaos…but yeah, it's a good time.”

“I'm sure Christmas is fun there, as well. I bet you're looking forward to it.”

An idea had been playing in the back of his mind all day. He wanted more time with her. He wanted the opportunity to see if what he was feeling was real. He figured the worst she could do was say no to his proposal, so he tossed it out there. “How would you feel about me changing my ticket and staying through Christmas?”

She looked away from him, to the small tree standing in the corner of her living room, and he was all but certain she was about to tell him no.

“I think I'd like that.” She turned back to face him, her expression not revealing what she was thinking. “How will your family feel about it?”

Was she looking for an out? If so, he wasn't going to give it to her. If she didn't want him to stay, she'd have to point-blank tell him. “There have been a couple of Christmases I didn't make it home. They'll miss me but it'll be okay. My sisters and brother will be there, along with their crews.”

A slow, sweet smile bloomed on her face and lit her
eyes. “Then I'd love to have you here for another couple of days.”

Relief swept through him. He'd really wanted her to say yes. “Good, 'cause I'd like to stick around. I'll see if I can change my ticket to the twenty-seventh. Does that work for you or will I have worn out my welcome by then?”

“I think it'll be fine. Where's your next assignment?”

“Greece. I leave the second week in January.”

“There are worse places to be than the sunny Mediterranean in January while the rest of us are freezing our tushes off.”

He laughed and nodded. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

“Teddy will be thrilled you're sticking around. She's been lamenting being sick the entire time you've been here.”

“What about you? Are you thrilled I'm sticking around?”

She slid onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I'm okay with it.”

T
HE NEXT AFTERNOON
G
US WAS IN
the kitchen menu-planning and putting together a supply order when Merrilee dropped in. “Thought I'd stop over while it was quiet and your hip attachment was out at the dogsled races.”

“Very funny. He's excited about the Mr. Chrismoose competition and the cook-off.” Gus always gave the cook-off a wide berth after she'd figured out she made the contestants nervous.

“I like Nick's enthusiasm. He's interesting but better yet, I think he's a good guy and those come in short supply.”

“What? Are you actually coming around, Merrilee?” Gus asked, teasing her. Then she sobered. “He is a good guy.”

“He seems crazy about you. I thought it was pretty telling when he decided to stay for Christmas.”

“It'll be nice to have him here.”

“Gus, you're not being cooperative at all. I'm trying to find out how you feel about Nick.”

Gus laughed. She knew exactly what Merrilee was up to and was just teasing her. “Obviously I like him.”

“Honey, how are you going to handle it when he leaves? Because the longer he stays, the harder it's going to be when he leaves.”

She didn't even want to think about it. How she felt about Nick had been all tangled up from the beginning but the more she got to know him, the more intense she felt about him. Last night with all their talk about kids and families and then when he'd asked to spend Christmas with her, she'd thought she was in real danger of being in love with him. However, in the cold light of day, she'd realized you couldn't possibly love someone you'd only spent five days with. Quite simply, she was infatuated with him. Who wouldn't be?

“I'm not looking forward to him leaving,” she said, “but that's been a given from the very beginning—a ship passing through.”

Merrilee, a frown creasing her forehead, was about to say something when Jenna walked in the restaurant's front door. The blonde fairly skipped across the floor. “Guess who's coming to dinner. Guess who's coming to dinner,” she said in a singsong voice.

“Dwight and Jeb,” Gus said. The two old-timers who hung out over at the airstrip office blushed every time Jenna said hello to them. It was pretty cute.

“No, silly. Nelson. He said yes. Hey, Merrilee.” She gave Merrilee a quick hug. “You look pretty today.”

Gus had noticed Jenna always had a nice word for everyone.

Merrilee glanced from Jenna to Gus and back to Jenna. “Nelson's coming to your house for dinner?”

“I know. Can you believe it? Thanks so much for telling me to ask him, Gus. Now, can you make dinner for me? If you tell me what pans you need I'll bring them over.”

Merrilee shot Gus a surprised look. “You told her to ask him to dinner?”

“Long story. Later.” Gus turned back to Jenna. “How about a lasagna with salad and bread?”

“That sounds perfect.”

“But you have to make dessert. You can't fake the entire thing.”

Jenna looked positively panicked. “But I told you I can't cook.”

Merrilee looked more confused than ever.

“I'm Cyrano de Bergerac-ing the meal for Jenna,” Gus explained to Merrilee.

Now it was Jenna who appeared confused.

“What are you going to do to the lasagna?”

“Never mind. It will be fine and you'll be fine on dessert because you can follow directions. Go by the store and pick up a brownie mix. It's super easy. Grab some ice cream and chocolate sauce and you can make brownie sundaes for dessert. If you want to go fancy, sprinkle some nuts on top.”

“You're the best, Gus.”

“I don't know about that, but I'm glad you think so. Now when is this dinner taking place?”

“Tonight. He's coming over at seven.”

Tonight? And Jenna was just telling her
now?
If it had
been anyone else… However, Gus knew it was a matter of Jenna being spacey rather than thoughtless. It'd be tight but she'd swing it. “No problem but I'm going to need a pan from your place.”

“Which one?”

“You know what, honey,” Merrilee spoke up, “don't worry about it. I'll run next door and grab one from my kitchen. I'm not going to need it for the next couple of days.”

“For real? You're the best, too, Merrilee.”

“Thanks. I'll go get it. You got any appointments this afternoon?”

“No. Everyone wanted morning appointments. No one wants to miss the Mr. Chrismoose.”

“Tell you what. It's a slow day for me, too, so why don't I walk down to Leo and Nancy's with you for that mix and then keep you company while you're cooking.”

“That would be great!”

Gus knew exactly what Merrilee was up to. It was anything but a slow day for her since she was always swamped during the festival, but she was going to make sure Jenna's brownies turned out well. Merrilee really was the best.

 

T
HAT EVENING
, G
US LOOKED
around in satisfaction. The bar was humming and she was getting a break. The evening of the Mr. Chrismoose competition, where the men competed in a series of events such as ax throwing and sled pulling, was always a much bigger alcohol than food night. The men were still pumped up from
the games and were much more interested in drinking as they ribbed one another and inflated their own performances. One year a fight had broken out but for the most part it was all in good fun.

Nick, working behind the bar, was taking his fair share of ribbing. He'd been a good sport and jumped right in there with the others. She suspected he'd hammed up his ineptitude just to provide comic relief.

It would be far, far too easy to get used to having him in her life. She reminded herself once again to enjoy the moment because the day was coming soon enough when he'd be gone. He looked up and caught her watching him. His grin got even bigger and he boldly winked at her across the way. Gus laughed and shook her head.

She couldn't remember when she'd laughed as much as she had since he'd arrived. He'd turned to pull another beer when her woolgathering was interrupted.

“Gus? Can I talk to you?” Jenna's red-rimmed eyes told the tale.

Poor Jenna needed some privacy, not to be standing in the middle of Gus's place. “Come on,” Gus said, “let's step into the stockroom. It's back here.”

As soon as the door closed behind them Jenna began to cry.

“Oh, honey, I'm sorry,” Gus said, putting one arm around Jenna's shoulders.

“You were right,” Jenna said, swiping ineffectually at her tears. “I could be marked up one side and down the other and it wouldn't matter.”

Gus pulled a couple of napkins off the shelf and
passed them to Jenna. “I was afraid that was the case.”

“Thanks.” She blotted at her face. “And I came clean on the dinner. I confessed that I can't cook. And do you know what he said?” Tears began to leak from her eyes again.

“What?”

“He said whether I could cook or not wouldn't matter when I found the right guy.” She hiccupped. “Why does he have to be so sweet when I can't have him?”

“That was very sweet…and true. Oh, honey, you'll meet someone else.” The minute the words left her mouth, Gus realized it wasn't likely anytime soon. Look how long it had taken her to find Nick and he was on a temporary basis.

“But I don't want anyone else. Why did we have to be star-crossed lovers?”

Gus didn't have any ready, pat answer for that. “I don't know, Jenna. Sometimes people just can't work things out past their circumstances.” As was the case with her and Nick. She couldn't leave Good Riddance and he couldn't live here. So, where did that leave them?

It left them going their separate ways in a few days.

Jenna nodded in resignation and gave her nose a final blow. “But you know what? I'm glad I did this tonight. Even though this isn't the way I wanted things to work out, you were right. It is better to decide something for yourself than have it decided for you. I'm gonna go home now and go to bed.”

“I promise you, it'll be better in the morning after a good night's sleep.”

“Thank you for everything. You're a good friend and you give good advice.”

After Jenna was gone, Gus realized maybe it was time she started taking the advice she'd dispensed so freely. She was going to take her power and wield it. It wasn't enough to not run from Troy. She needed to stop him. Tonight she'd tell Nick Troy's name and she hoped like hell he could bring the Wenhams down or at least Troy. The idea of having to face him again nauseated her, but she would do what she had to do. Troy would no longer control her.

 

N
ICK'S GUT TOLD HIM SOMETHING
was up with Gus as they climbed the stairs to her apartment. He'd just been getting this vibe from her all during the cleanup routine. “Is everything okay, Gus? I'm just getting this feeling…”

She opened the door at the top of the stairs and he followed her into her apartment. When she turned to him, there was a tinge of sadness to her smile. “You know me too well,” she said.

Closing the door, he said, “Talk to me.”

“That's what I want to do. I have something to tell you.”

O-kay. “You want to sit down? You want us to go to the bedroom?”

“The couch is fine.” They sat next to one another and he waited. When she was ready, she'd say what she had to say. She knit her fingers together and squared her shoulders. “Nick, my real name is Lauren Augustina Matthews.” She took a deep breath. “I know you
would've figured it out on your own before long but it's important to me that I'm the one who tells you. His name is Troy Wenham.”

Nick instinctively whistled under his breath. “Wenham?
The
Wenhams?”

“Yes. The Wenhams.”

He reached over and placed his hand over hers. “Thank you for telling me. I think I know how much that took for you to do that.” Something niggled at the back of his mind. He was pretty sure…but he wasn't about to tell her that without verifying his facts first.

“I want you to do whatever you can with the information, Nick. I want to make it clear I'm not asking you to sit on this. If you think there's a story and you can bring them down, blow the lid off.”

“You are one hell of a woman, Lauren Augustina.”

“I'm glad you think so.”

He was already reaching for his laptop. “Look, I need to check something on this guy.”

“I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine. Do you want one?”

He was pretty damn sure that while she might've told him Wenham's name, she wasn't ready yet to watch while Nick looked him up. “Sure. I'll have a glass.”

Gus moved into the kitchen and within seconds he was online. Another few seconds and bingo, information confirmed. He picked up the laptop and sprinted into the kitchen. “Put the wineglass down—” he didn't want her to drop it when she saw the screen “—and take a look at this.”

She shook her head, “Nick, I don't—”

“Oh, yes, you do.” He put the laptop on the counter and turned her to face it.

“Oh, my God,” she breathed.

The headline screamed Wenham Declared Lost at Sea.

“He's dead, Gus. He was honeymooning on a cruise when he went missing. No foul play was ever proved but it had been suspected he'd had some help over the rail. I thought I remembered it from when it happened but I wanted to verify it before I told you.”

“He's dead,” Gus said in an almost-monotone voice.

“Almost two years,” Nick said, unsure of what to say or do. He couldn't gauge how she felt. She just looked blank. True the guy had sent her into hiding, but she'd also cared enough about him at one point to be engaged to him. Nick was a little out of his emotional depth here.

Gus began to shake. “He's dead. I never have to be afraid of him again.”

Nick wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, offering whatever comfort and strength he could. “No. He's permanently gone.”

“I never looked. I tried not to even think about his name so I never looked,” she said against his chest. He smoothed his hand over her hair.

“You okay?”

“I'm so relieved I could cry and that's just wrong to feel good about someone being dead.”

“No. No, it's not wrong at all to feel that way when you consider what he took from you and put you through.
You had to give up a life you loved and start all over. Don't waste even a second feeling guilty.”

“I know it's late but I need to tell Merrilee and Bull. They've been through this with me and I want them to know. You don't have to, but I'd like for you to be there when I tell them. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know. I might have never known.”

“I'd be honored to go with you.”

Gus glanced at his laptop. “Would you mind bringing that, too? I want her to actually
see
it and
read
it.”

“I understand.” And he did. There was an inherent confirmation in the written word. He scooped up his computer. “Let's go.”

 

G
US DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO FEEL.
Troy was no longer a threat. She'd lived in his shadow for so long, she hadn't even realized how heavy the weight had been.

“You okay?” Nick asked yet again.

How had a man as thoughtful and great as him stumbled into her life?

“I'm better than okay. I'm just still trying to absorb it all,” she said. Gus opened the door and they crossed into the airstrip office. Upstairs Merrilee and Bull were obviously moving around. She'd called Merrilee. Luckily Bull was over spending the night and Gus had asked them to meet her and Nick downstairs.

“Why don't you set your laptop up on Merrilee's desk?” Gus said.

Nick had just finished when the older couple came downstairs—Merrilee with a lace-trimmed flannel robe
knotted at her waist and Bull in jeans and a flannel shirt but barefooted.