“I was watching you just now,” he said, and his voice was almost friendly. Almost, but not quite.
Tracy said nothing. She’d endure one turn around the dance floor and be done with him. She wondered if this was her punishment for asking Mariah to kiss him.
“I’ve finally figured out what you really need,” he went on.
Tracy couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. This should be good. To her surprise, he didn’t seem in a hurry to tell her.
“You’re one of those women who think because you’ve got a couple of college degrees you’re better than a man.”
Tracy opened to her mouth to argue, then hesitated. This time she wasn’t going to be drawn into one of those no-win verbal exchanges. He could say what he wanted, and she’d keep her mouth shut.
“I bet you thought you were clever outsmarting Ted, Ralph and Jim, didn’t you? I suspect you’re used to having men compete for your attention.”
Tracy wasn’t going to correct him, that was for sure.
“It seems to me you’re the kind of woman who needs to be tamed.”
Despite her vow to keep her mouth closed, despite her determination not to become involved in a pointless argument, Tracy burst out, “Tamed? You think a woman needs to be tamed?”
“It won’t be easy,” Duke went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “It’d take a real man, not one of those sensitive males you’re accustomed to dating.”
“I beg your pardon?” Fury poured through her like molten lava.
“I know just the type of man you date, too,” he said smugly. “The ones who’re trying to get in touch with their inner child.”
“I’d like you to tell Gavin that.”
“I take it Gavin’s your boyfriend?”
“If you saw him you wouldn’t call him a boy,” she taunted as he led her around the dance floor.
“Really. Describe him to me.”
She had no intention of doing so, but soon found herself mentally listing Gavin’s virtues—even though she was a long stretch from being in love with her fellow lawyer. Gavin was witty and fun and they’d had a good time together, but it wasn’t a serious relationship.
“A caring, sensitive guy, no doubt,” Duke muttered.
“Gavin’s a man of the nineties,” she said curtly before she realized Duke had done it to her again.
Duke snorted. “A man of the nineties. I can picture him now.”
“You’ve never even met Gavin,” she snapped, quick to come to her friend’s defense.
“I don’t need to,” Duke said. “I can see him already. He’s just your type. Before he knows it, you’ll have a ring through his nose and you’ll be leading him around to show all your fancy friends how powerful you are. But once you’re bored with him, it’ll be bye-bye Gavin.”
The effort it took not to respond sapped Tracy’s energy. “I know what your problem is, Duke Porter,” she announced evenly. “You’re living in the Middle Ages. Talk about me being close to thirty and unmarried. What about you?”
“I don’t have any desire to marry.”
“Me, neither.”
He snorted again as if he didn’t believe her.
“That says a lot, doesn’t it?” She mocked him openly. “It’s perfectly acceptable for you to remain single, but you can’t admit a woman might have those same feelings.”
“Since the beginning of time, women have fought to control men.”
“I see it the other way around,” she argued. “Men seem to think it’s their God-given right to dominate a woman.”
“God created woman to please man.”
“What?” Tracy groaned aloud. Duke Porter belonged not in the Middle Ages but back in the Dark Ages. “You mean pleasure him, don’t you?”
That slow easy smile of his slid into place. “That, too.”
“I don’t believe it.” Although the music hadn’t stopped, Tracy pulled herself out of his embrace and walked off the dance floor.
Duke followed her. “Just a reminder,” he said when they reached the far end of the room. “I still intend to collect my kiss.”
“I didn’t kiss you,” she insisted.
“Yeah, but you wanted to. And you want it now.”
“I’d rather kiss a rattlesnake,” she assured him with her sweetest smile.
“No need,” he returned flippantly. “You can kiss me, instead.”
DUKE STEPPED BACK and watched as his friends buzzed around Tracy like bees around a rose in full bloom. It irritated him to see his fellow pilots, men he trusted and admired, taken in by a pretty face.
Tracy Santiago wasn’t even that pretty. Cute, maybe, but that was about as far as he was willing to go. One thing he knew—he didn’t like her.
Never had and never would.
Duke remembered when he’d first encountered the attorney. He’d known instantly that Tracy wanted to make trouble for Midnight Sons and consequently for all of them. She was after the company, hoping to prove that his employers were exploiting women.
What a lie! Each and every woman who’d moved to Hard Luck had come of her own free will. True, the O’Halloran brothers had gone out of their way to give women incentives to move north, but there’d been no coercion, no sales pitch, no pressure. The women who’d stayed and become part of the community wanted to be here.
It hadn’t taken long for the fancy Seattle attorney to show up, looking for an opportunity to ruin everything. Now, there was a woman with her own agenda!
Duke hadn’t liked Tracy the first time they met. Afterward he should’ve simply forgotten her—yet he hadn’t. Months after her visit, he was still dwelling on their fiery exchanges. No one had ever stood up to him like that, challenged him, and when he questioned her actions—well, to put it mildly, she gave as good as she got.
Their feud didn’t end with her visit, either. Fate had pulled a trick on them both when he answered the office phone one afternoon and heard Tracy on the other end. The incident reminded him of everything he hated about her—and everything he didn’t hate.
Mariah seemed to take pleasure in teasing him about his aversion to a certain female attorney. She tossed Tracy’s name into conversations the way an enemy would toss a grenade.
Then there was the day Mariah had kissed him. Mariah! It hadn’t taken Duke or any of the other pilots long to see the lay of the land when it came to her.
She’d set her sights on Christian the first day she arrived in Hard Luck. So nothing could have shocked Duke more than the time she’d backed him into a corner and laid a lip-lock on him that had sent him spinning.
Then she had to go and ruin it by explaining that the kiss was actually from Tracy Santiago. If ever there was an ego buster, it was having that shrew get the upper hand.
What bothered Duke even more was that he hadn’t been able to forget that kiss. He couldn’t help wondering what it would’ve been like had it really been from Tracy. If they became romantically involved…
The truth was, that scared the living daylights out of him. Any relationship between them would be ludicrous. No man needed that kind of grief. Not that there was much chance of it happening to Duke, with her living in Seattle and him in Hard Luck.
His father had tried making a long-distance relationship work years earlier, and it had destroyed his family. His mother had hated Alaska. She’d stayed for several years, then moved to Texas, where she had family and friends. His father had remained in Alaska, and within a couple of years they’d divorced. Duke had hated Texas and was soon living with his dad. The two of them had gotten along well. John Porter had never remarried, and Duke didn’t blame him.
John had died several years ago, and Duke rarely heard from his mother, who’d remarried and raised a second family. It was just as well, since they had little in common. He suspected he was an unhappy reminder of something she’d prefer to forget.
There was no denying that his own background had made him cautious—no, downright wary—about women and marriage.
S
oon after the kissing incident, though, he’d let a friend in Fairbanks set up a date for him. Generally he didn’t bother with blind dates, but the daily flights to Fairbanks didn’t give him enough time to meet women on his own. His reaction to Tracy had led him to forgo his usual caution.
Pretty soon he had something going with Laurie. She was divorced and had a couple of kids her husband took on weekends. They had a nice arrangement, he and Laurie. She wasn’t interested in marrying again, she said, which suited Duke perfectly because marriage didn’t interest him, either. He’d leave that to his friends.
No, sirree, Duke wasn’t going to let any woman rule his life. He’d seen what could happen. But then again, he wasn’t opposed to the sort of cozy setup he had with Laurie.
Unfortunately it hadn’t lasted. A few weeks into their relationship, Duke realized she bored him. A perfectly good woman was crazy about him, and it was all he could do to feign interest. If he raised his voice, vented a little steam, Laurie cried. Real tears, too. Every now and then, he’d say something outrageous just to get a reaction out of her. She’d smile benignly and astonish him by agreeing.
Before long, Duke found himself making excuses not to see her. He even traded his flights a couple of times to avoid flying to Fairbanks.
When he figured he was being unfair to her, Duke dropped by her house to put a peaceable end to their relationship. He’d expected her to plead with him to stay, to weep and tell him how much she loved him.
Ending relationships had never been easy. Despite what some might say, he hated hurting a woman’s feelings.
On the flight into town, he’d rehearsed a little speech. One in which he took all the blame for their breakup. He hoped she’d accept his apology and agree to let things drop. By the time he’d arrived at Laurie’s, he’d felt ready for just about anything. But Laurie shocked him into realizing how unprepared he actually was.
As he stood outside her door, bearing flowers and looking like a fool, she offered him an embarrassed smile and introduced him to her new husband.
Duke was annoyed—and humiliated—to discover that all the while she was seeing him, she’d been involved with this other guy.
In retrospect, Duke found the situation funny, though at the time he hadn’t been amused. He’d gotten angry, said things he later regretted and quickly left, stuffing his flowers into the nearest trash can.
In the air, on the return trip to Hard Luck, it occurred to Duke that Tracy would never lead a man on the way Laurie had. If she had something she wanted to say, it got said. Nor would she date a man on the sly.
Once he’d landed the plane and taxied into the hangar, Duke knew he’d come full circle. Tracy Santiago once again dominated his thoughts.
Just like she was doing today.
TRACY FELT as if she’d been granted a stay of execution. After the wedding dinner and dance, she escaped Duke and slipped into the back room to help Mariah change out of her wedding dress.
In an hour or less, the wedding couple would be on their way. Sawyer and Abbey would fly them into Fairbanks for their wedding night. The next morning the newlyweds would leave for California to board a ship for a two-week Caribbean cruise.
With tears in her eyes, Tracy hugged the woman who’d become her dearest friend.
“Dreams really do come true,” Mariah whispered. “For so long I thought Christian would never realize he loved me.”
“He’s like all men,” Tracy kidded. “He has no idea what’s good for him.”
“Oh, before I forget, I need to tell you about the flight that’s been scheduled for you and my parents in the morning,” Mariah said as she reached for her wool coat. “You should be down at the field by ten. And dress warmly.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Tracy said, not wanting to delay her friend.
“It might be September in Seattle, but here winter’s setting in. The rivers haven’t frozen yet, but we’ve already had plenty of snow.”
All Tracy needed to do was look out the window to see that. Snow in September was foreign to her.
“Also,” Mariah said, her eyes bright with happiness, “don’t be surprised when I throw the bouquet in your direction. I expect you to catch it, too.”
“What?” Tracy’s eyes widened in mock horror. “Are you nuts?”
“Not at all. I want you to experience this kind of happiness, too.”
Tracy’s smile faded. As an attorney, she all too often witnessed marriages that came to bitter ends. She’d shied away from commitment, for that reason and plenty of others.
“Let one of the other women catch it,” Tracy suggested.
“Not on your life. This one’s for you.”
Tracy wasn’t sure she should thank her.
“One other thing,” Mariah said quickly.
“What?”
“Don’t be angry with me,” Mariah said in a soft voice. “I didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“How could I possibly be angry with you?” Tracy said, and impulsively hugged her again.
Mariah’s answering smile was wan. “Duke’s the pilot who’ll be flying you into Fairbanks tomorrow.”
Chapter
2
“BEN, I THINK it’s time we got you home,” Bethany Harris said, sitting down in the vacant seat beside his. The wedding reception was winding down now that Christian and Mariah had left.
“Already?” Ben Hamilton muttered, frowning. He felt as though he’d just arrived. He wasn’t accustomed to having anyone fuss over him. It took some getting used to, but at least he was back in his own bed, which was a heck of a lot better than the hospital in Fairbanks. A man could die in a place like that. The doctor said he needed plenty of rest; unfortunately he hadn’t bothered to tell the nurses that. Ben swore they woke him up at all hours of the day and night for the most ridiculous reasons.
The open-heart surgery had left him weak. It used to be that he could run the Hard Luck Café from dawn to dusk and still have enough energy at night to play cards or read and watch a little television. Not anymore. Now he slept for much of the day.
The doctors and Bethany had assured him that he was recovering well and would soon be back on his feet. Ben hoped that was true, because he didn’t make a good patient. Ask any of the nurses who’d been assigned to him!
“How are you feeling?” Bethany’s question interrupted his thoughts.
“Fit as a fiddle,” he said, gently patting her arm. He still found it difficult to believe he’d fathered this beautiful young woman. He hadn’t known about her until she’d come to Hard Luck a year earlier. Talk about surprises! Learning he had a child had been the biggest shock of his life. Bethany had tracked him down and taken a job at the community school in order to meet him. She still taught there; she was married now and expecting her first baby—and she loved living in Hard Luck.
Ben was delighted with this opportunity to know his daughter. She was truly a gift, a miracle for a man who’d given up believing in such things a long time ago.
Until Ben’s recent heart attack, only Mitch, Bethany’s husband, had known of the special relationship between them. Ben had figured the O’Halloran brothers suspected something, but they’d never asked and he’d never said. Now, though, everyone knew. And that was fine with Ben.
“Let me walk you back to the café,” Bethany suggested.
It was hard to have someone constantly watching over him. When he got out of the hospital he’d stayed with Bethany and Mitch for a few days. That was about as much tender loving care as he could take.
Over their protests, he’d insisted on returning to his own apartment above the café. Mitch had carried up his bags, and Bethany had prepared the place, vacuuming and changing linens, even arranging a bouquet of late-blooming wildflowers. She worried about the stairs that led up to his apartment, but he’d managed them without difficulty, taking it slow and easy.
True, he didn’t make the trek down to the café very often, but he’d regain his strength in time and g
et back to work. It wouldn’t be soon enough to suit him.
Ben’s jaw tightened every time he thought about the revenue he was losing by keeping the café closed. More importantly, he knew folks around town depended on him for good food at a decent price.
Despite all the weddings taking place, the majority of men in town were unmarried, and many regularly came to the café for their meals. From the day it opened, Ben’s place had been the social center of Hard Luck.
“You ready?” Bethany asked.
Ben would’ve liked to stay a bit longer and enjoy the festivities, but he didn’t have the energy to argue. He stood and Bethany looped her arm through his.
“I’m thinking about opening the café,” he said, and before she could object, he added, “part-time of course.”
“No way.”
He should’ve known a child of his would be stubborn, but he’d counted on her at least hearing him out.
“Just for dinner.”
“Don’t even think about it, Ben.”
He recognized that tone of voice. It was the same one he used himself when he refused to budge. Yup, her stubbornness was definitely an inherited trait—inherited from him!
“What are you smiling about?” she asked.
He’d been found out. “Nothing,” he muttered, toning down his grin.
As they left the reception, Bethany stopped to tell Mitch, her husband, where she was going. Chrissie, Bethany’s stepdaughter, was busy with the other children, and after a brief conversation with the girl, Mitch joined his wife. One on either side of Ben.
Ben hated feeling helpless, but he let Bethany and Mitch support him until they got to the café. The place was empty and cold, a stark contrast to all the times it had been filled with the talk of men and the clatter of dishes. What Ben wouldn’t give to crank up that grill and fry a few burgers!
Because he was drained from the afternoon’s socializing, he took the stairs slowly, one at a time. He didn’t like admitting how weak he felt, but Bethany and Mitch seemed to know without his saying a word.
“Sit down and make yourself at home,” Mitch said, urging him toward his favorite recliner.