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.”
Two
“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 get 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.
“I am at home,” Ben snapped, then immediately regretted the outburst. “It feels good to have my own things around me. I—I appreciate your concern.”
Mitch accepted the apology by giving him a pat on the shoulder.
There was a certain solace in being home, among his familiar comforts. The recliner. The television with its antenna, one spoke wrapped in aluminum foil. He’d gotten a satellite dish a few years back, but hadn’t bothered to remove the antenna. You never knew when it might come in handy. His glance fell on the American flag framed and mounted on the wall. A small memento of more than twenty years in the navy.
It wasn’t much, but this was home and the place he loved.
“Help yourself to a drink,” he told Mitch, gesturing toward the refrigerator in the compact kitchen. To his surprise Mitch took him up on the offer.
These days the couple generally stayed only long enough to make sure he was comfortable and then were on their way. Ben didn’t blame them; their lives were busy. He didn’t need anyone to tell him he wasn’t good company.
Bethany claimed the chair across from him, and Mitch sat on the thick padded arm, his hand resting on his wife’s shoulder. Come spring, Ben reminded himself, there’d be a brand-new baby at their house.
The thought of their child, his own grandchild, was one of the things that had helped him through the worst part of his recovery. He wanted to live to see Bethany’s children. He’d missed out on the chance to be a father, and he looked forward to being a grandpa.
“Mitch and I wanted to talk to you about the café,” Bethany said, glancing at her husband.
Ben tensed. He should’ve realized there was something coming. If these two thought they were going to convince him to retire and sell the café, they’d better think again.
“I’m not selling,” he said, unwilling to let them even broach the subject.
“Sell the café?” Bethany repeated. “Ben, no, we’d never suggest that!”
His shoulders relaxed as relief flowed through him.
“We only want to encourage you to hire some help.”
“I planned on doing that myself as soon as—”
“You got around to it,” Bethany finished for him. “You’ve been saying that for months. Here you are, recuperating from open-heart surgery, and you’re still just talking about it.”
“Yes, well...”
“Look at you. You’re barely out of the hospital and already you want to open the café.”
“Part-time,” he said under his breath, knowing they weren’t really prepared to listen. They’d already made up their minds, just like he had.
“Just how long would that part-time business last?” Bethany asked in a knowing voice. Ben suspected she was right. He’d open up the café for dinner, and soon people would start wandering in around lunchtime, and before he knew it, he’d be back on the same old treadmill. But it was what he loved, what he did best. Fact was, he longed for his friends. People used to come in every day for coffee and conversation, and he missed that more than anything. Heck, he was downright lonely.
“People count on me,” he said.
“We know that.” At least Mitch agreed with him. “That’s why we want you to hire someone to come and help now. Someone with plenty of experience you won’t need to train.”
“Just where do you suppose you’ll find someone like that?” Ben asked. He wanted it known right then and there that he didn’t think much of their idea. “Especially with the kind of wages I can afford.” His thoughts went into overdrive. Another cook, especially one with plenty of seasoning, would run the place his way. Pretty soon Ben wouldn’t belong in his own kitchen anymore!
“I’ve talked to Matt and Karen about taking in a boarder and—”
It hit him then. Strange how long it had taken him to catch on. Bethany and Mitch already had someone in mind.
“Who is it?” he asked outright, interrupting Mitch.
Once more the couple exchanged glances. “Mrs. McMurphy,” Mitch said.
“A woman?”
“Do you have something against a woman, Ben?” Bethany asked, challenge in her tone.
He opened his mouth to detail exactly why he did object to a woman working in his kitchen, then realized he couldn’t say one word without offending Bethany.
“Where’d you find her?” he asked instead.
“In Fairbanks. She cooked at the Sourdough Café for years. Christian and Sawyer go there a lot, so they met her. She told them she’s looking for a change of scene.”
Ben knew the Sourdough Café had a reputation for good food. His objections started to dwindle. “She won’t want to work here in Hard Luck,” he muttered. The kids meant well, he knew.
“Why don’t you meet her and ask her yourself?” Bethany suggested. “I talked to Sawyer, and he said Mrs. McMurphy could fly in with the mail run one day next week. If you don’t like her, then no harm done.”
He wasn’t going to like her, but Ben didn’t have the heart to burst the kids’ bubble. Just because the woman could cook didn’t mean he was comfortable letting a stranger into his kitchen.
“You’ll at least meet her, won’t you?” Bethany pressed.
“Okay, okay,” Ben answered reluctantly. “But I’m not making any promises.”
* * *
Tracy was out at the airfield by nine-thirty the next morning. Fat snowflakes drifted down from a leaden sky, and she wondered if the flight would be canceled because of the weather.
She lugged her suitcase into the mobile office for Midnight Sons, and the first person she saw was Duke. He appeared to be reading something on a clipboard; he didn’t look up or acknowledge her. Not that she expected he would.
Sawyer O’Halloran was there, as well, talking into the radio; he was apparently collecting the latest weather data.
When he’d finished, he turned off the switch and swiveled around to greet Tracy. “Looks like it’ll just be you and Duke.”
This was not promising. “What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Douglas? We’re supposed to be leaving together.”
“They’ve decided to stay on another day,” Sawyer explained. “Mrs. Douglas doesn’t want to fly in the snow.”
“Will the storm be a problem?” Tracy asked.
“Not as far as we can tell, and Duke’s the best pilot in our fleet. You don’t have anything to worry about,” he said, then casually mentioned that the plane had recently been serviced. This, she suspected, was done to reassure her that everything was in good shape.
Duke’s gaze met hers. “You want to
wait with the Douglases?” he asked. Although there was nothing in his voice, a glint of challenge flashed from his cool gray eyes.
“No, I’ll go,” she said. Really she had no choice. Her court schedule was packed and she couldn’t afford to miss any more work.
“What time’s your flight out of Fairbanks?” Duke asked.
She told him, and he glanced at his watch. “Then let’s leave now. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to avoid the worst of the storm.”
She reached for her suitcase. Duke paused, his eyes holding hers. “You aren’t afraid of a little snow, are you?”
“Of course not.” Somehow, it seemed important not to let him know she didn’t entirely trust him or the weather. But the truth was, she’d prefer to fly when the weather was clear.
He nodded in approval. “You ready?” he asked, setting aside the clipboard.
“Sure,” she said brightly, forcing some enthusiasm into her voice.
Duke headed out the door, and she guessed she was expected to follow him. But she didn’t, not right away.
“Sawyer,” she said, gripping her suitcase with both hands.
The middle O’Halloran brother looked up from his desk.
“I just wanted you to know that...that I think you’ve been completely fair with the women you’ve hired.” This was more awkward than she’d thought. For some time now, she’d wanted to apologize, set the record straight, and this was the first real opportunity she’d had. “I realize we started off on the wrong foot, what with me arriving here the way I did. I couldn’t be happier for Mariah and Christian, and the others.”
He cracked a smile and dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it. You were only doing your job. The Douglases are decent people, and they had every right to be concerned about Mariah.”
Tracy felt better for having shared her regrets. They’d weighed on her mind all weekend. She’d meant the O’Hallorans no harm. Over the past year she’d come to respect the three brothers, and she didn’t want there to be any hard feelings.