An Alaskan Proposal
Beth Carpenter
Can he teach her survival skills— without endangering his heart?When Sabrina Bell taps Leith Jordan for a crash course in conquering the great Alaskan outdoors, he figures he’s on safe ground.They’re polar opposites and his spectacular home state’s just a pit stop for the hot-shot fashionista. So no one’s more surprised than Leith when he starts falling. Now he’s a man with a plan: Get Sabrina to fall in love with Alaska . . . and hopefully with him.
Can he teach her survival skills—
without endangering his heart?
When Sabrina Bell taps Leith Jordan for a crash course in conquering the great Alaskan outdoors, he figures he’s on safe ground. They’re polar opposites and his spectacular home state’s just a pit stop for the hotshot fashionista. So no one’s more surprised than Leith when he starts falling for her. Now he’s a man with a plan: get Sabrina to fall in love with Alaska...and, hopefully, with him.
BETH CARPENTER is thankful for good books, a good dog, a good man and a dream job creating happily-ever-afters. She and her husband now split their time between Alaska and Arizona, where she occasionally encounters a moose in the yard or a scorpion in the basement. She prefers the moose.
Also by Beth Carpenter (#u3e9eca27-5fa7-5449-bd18-534f34e604b3)
Harlequin Heartwarming
The Alaskan Catch
A Gift for Santa
Alaskan Hideaway
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
An Alaskan Proposal
Beth Carpenter
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-09470-2
AN ALASKAN PROPOSAL
© 2018 Lisa Deckert
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“While you’re here, in Alaska, you can count on me as a friend.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah, a friend, Sabrina. You know. People you like, who you enjoy spending time with. Who will pick you up when you have to leave your car at the shop or take care of your dog while you’re out of town or tell you when you’re about to marry the wrong person.” Leith probably shouldn’t have said that last part, but Sabrina just smiled.
“And you want to be my friend.”
“Yes, I do.”
“All right, then. Friends it is.” She smiled up at him, her dark eyes shining, and he was suddenly overcome with a more than friend-like urge. He touched her face, stroking his finger over the wondrously smooth skin of her cheek. Her eyes grew wider.
He bent to kiss her, stopping just an inch away. Suddenly, he wondered if maybe he’d assumed too much. But then she reached up to slide her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
Dear Reader (#u3e9eca27-5fa7-5449-bd18-534f34e604b3),
How far would you go to feel secure? When Sabrina was a girl, her father’s business failed. Rather than stay to deal with it, he left Sabrina and her mother to start a new life with another woman. Overnight Sabrina lost her father, her home and her way of life, and her mother was in no shape to help her adapt. Sabrina learned that the only person she could trust to take care of her was herself. For Sabrina, everything was different.
It’s never easy to start over. I’ve always been an avid reader, but it wasn’t until much later in my life that I started writing. I had much to learn and it took time and effort, but eventually I was published. This is my fourth book for Harlequin, but I still feel a little giddy when I tell someone I’m an author.
So if you’re ever frustrated because it seems like you’re starting from scratch, remember that’s how dreams come true.
I hope you’ll stop by to say hello at bethcarpenterbooks.blogspot.com (http://bethcarpenterbooks.blogspot.com), where you can find my links to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BethCarpenterBooks/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/4BethCarpenter) and email. While you’re there, you can subscribe to the newsletter to keep up with all the book news, plus recipes and fun giveaways.
May your fondest dreams come true.
Beth Carpenter
To Drew and Kelsey, with love.
Contents
Cover (#ubd1af229-9caa-5909-ad5c-3487e1c62e02)
Back Cover Text (#ue94b9b2c-ac74-510b-bebd-1d4cbfba912a)
About the Author (#u16ee9c40-3cff-50f6-ac30-15b825da95db)
Booklist (#u4749ce17-dfc6-5b5e-a891-7bc0500842f6)
Title Page (#ufe88d572-1802-5c4d-ade2-29e0b238184b)
Copyright (#u56a8b0f5-5c75-50f6-afc2-280ceedd1e92)
Introduction (#u971b8d48-ea8f-59a5-ab75-c63dde074a89)
Dear Reader (#u2e40d7d9-154b-5309-ba40-6c99decfb9b3)
Dedication (#u5ff4cd82-1184-5b85-ba26-a4ea77c7d235)
CHAPTER ONE (#u46bdc4c1-e2fa-59ba-9eff-1ad1e46173e6)
CHAPTER TWO (#u333cc40f-14af-593a-9fcc-4ad48ef9b0a6)
CHAPTER THREE (#u1095e61a-e629-573d-98e7-b60dd16b7434)
CHAPTER FOUR (#uc113c5fe-a108-5e9b-b3f5-dd85861025ce)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u3e9eca27-5fa7-5449-bd18-534f34e604b3)
HARD TO BELIEVE people did this for fun. Sabrina climbed over a sodden log and hurried around a boulder to catch up with the rest of the group. A sudden gust whipped the hood of her borrowed plastic poncho across her face, momentarily blinding her. In that instant, she stepped on a wet root and slipped, falling to her knee. A flash of pain shot up her leg.
“Are you okay?” Clara, Sabrina’s temporary supervisor, offered a hand up.
“I’m fine.” Sabrina managed to puff the words out between gasps for air. She accepted Clara’s hand and got to her feet. “Thanks.” She rubbed her knee. There would be a bruise tomorrow, but it wasn’t bad.
“It’s not far now,” Clara said. “And I think we’re winning.”
“Great.” Sabrina forced a smile, but she needn’t have bothered. Clara had already turned and hurried up the trail, which left Sabrina to bring up the rear.
What was she doing here, climbing a mountain, in Alaska, in the rain? Sabrina didn’t hike. She didn’t wear ugly boots and plastic ponchos. At least the old Sabrina didn’t. The new Sabrina—the one she’d pretty much created out of thin air—loved spending time outdoors. At least that was the story she’d sold Orson Outfitters’ management during her job interview, and that was the story she intended to live up to. Today’s team-builder outing was her first test.
You’d think all those hours at the gym would have prepared her for this, but it turned out running on a treadmill and hiking rough trails weren’t quite the same. Her muscles complained, forcefully. Still, she couldn’t quit, or everyone would know she was an impostor. Somehow, Sabrina continued to put one brand-new hiking boot in front of the other. Twenty minutes later, they were still trudging uphill, the rain was still coming down and everyone around her was still acting happy about it. What was with these people? Every place she’d ever worked had a resident whiner—someone who made a federal case out of running out of staples or complained about the quality of the coffee—but she hadn’t heard a peep of dissension from this crowd.
Then Clara, who was at least fifteen years older and probably thirty pounds heavier than Sabrina, broke out into a song, but she still didn’t slow down. Several others joined in. How did they have enough breath for singing and climbing? Maybe all of Sabrina’s new coworkers were animatronic robots. That would explain a lot.
Just about the time her legs were seriously considering a mutiny, they crested the top of a rise and saw the company van and another truck parked beside a canopy emblazoned with the Orson Outfitters name. “We’re first!” Clara called out. Everyone cheered. Sabrina cheered along with them, just happy she didn’t have to climb anymore.
The van’s driver was relaxing in a folding chair beneath the canopy. Sabrina would have tried to snag that job, but the woman who’d volunteered to drive all the supplies to the rendezvous point looked to be about eleven months pregnant.
Two guys dressed in matching navy rain jackets were unloading something from the back of a pickup with a Learn & Live logo on the door. What were they doing here? Maybe they were part of the special surprise Walter had promised the group.
Sabrina collapsed onto a big rock and swallowed the last of the water from her bottle. Clara plopped down beside her. Sabrina was lucky to be training under Clara in her first assignment. Clara was one of those people who always assumed the best about everyone, which meant she tended to attribute Sabrina’s lapses to rookie jitters rather than ignorance. “Great climb, huh?”
Sabrina nodded. “Challenging.”
“Oh, yeah. We were determined to get here first this year. Walter’s group usually beats us up. Oh, look. Here they come.” Clara bounced up and hurried over to the other trail to deliver some good-natured razzing.
Sabrina watched from where she was. A brief expression of disappointment crossed Walter’s face when he saw their group had already arrived, but he grinned when Clara teased him. Their store manager was quite a character, about five-four with a walrus mustache and an oversize personality.
He’d insisted that Sabrina call him Walter when they met on her first day and pumped her hand with such enthusiasm he’d all but sprained her elbow. “Great to have you here, Sabrina. I have high hopes for this new management-trainee program. We’ve been telling Corporate for years the managers need to understand how the stores work before they can make good decisions at the corporate level, and they finally listened.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m glad to be here.”
“Trust me, you drew the best assignment.” He straightened the chunk of turquoise that secured a bolo tie around the collar of his plaid shirt. “I know you’re on probation and that only the top half of the trainees will move on to the next level of management, but you don’t need to worry. You’ll learn everything you need to know from this crew. Anchorage has been number one in sales for the past three years running, and we’re not planning to surrender that title anytime soon. The secret to our success is passion. The people who work here love the outdoors, and they enjoy sharing that enthusiasm with our customers. That’s my main criteria when I choose employees.”
Sabrina could certainly see Walter’s passion for his job. She just hoped she could convince him she shared his excitement. “I can’t wait to get started.”
“Good. I think first, we’ll put you on the register with Clara, so you can get an overview of the store before we move you to one of the departments. How does that sound?”
“Great idea.” Sabrina had worked retail all through high school and college, so running a cash register would be a piece of cake, and would give her time to study up on the rest of the store.
“Welcome aboard.”
It turned out she’d arrived just in time for the big annual team-builder. Today only involved half the store employees. The other half, who were working at the store today, would be doing their team-builder tomorrow. Sabrina would lay odds that tomorrow Walter’s group would be the first to the top of the hill. He clearly didn’t like to lose.
Walter and some of the others were shedding their raincoats. The rain seemed to have stopped. Good—Sabrina could get out of this plastic wrap. Everyone else seemed to have jackets made from the latest high-tech waterproof fabric. She’d sold a couple of them in the store this week. Sabrina didn’t even own rainwear. Well, technically there was that vintage Laura Wilkes umbrella she’d gotten at an estate sale, but Sabrina considered that more art than protection. Dealing with rain hadn’t been a big part of her life as a fashion buyer in Scottsdale. But that was then.
Now Sabrina was doing the nature thing in Alaska, and she wasn’t equipped for it. Fortunately, Clara, being the experienced mom she was, carried extra folding ponchos in her glove compartment and had loaned Sabrina one at the beginning of the hike. It had done the job, but Sabrina was glad the rain had finally stopped and she could peel it off.
She stretched, and then turned to see one of the guys from Learn & Live looking toward her. Even from this distance she could see the intense blue of his eyes, and those eyes were sweeping over her from head to toe. He frowned. Sabrina did a casual scan to see if she’d spilled something on her clothes, but her leggings seemed fine. So did the French blue pima cotton cardigan, her favorite sweater. It could have been a little thicker, though, she realized as a sudden breeze cut through the knit. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms to warm them. When she looked up again, the guy had turned away and was talking with Walter.
Now that everyone was removing their raincoats, Sabrina realized most of them had on gray or blue cargo pants and some sort of fleece vest in a primary color. Nobody else wore anything close to leggings. Oops. Sabrina prided herself on always dressing appropriately, and it seemed the appropriate things to wear on company hikes were clothes from the company store. It looked like boxy vests and ugly pants were in her future.
Walter called for everyone’s attention, congratulating Sabrina’s group for being first up the mountain. Judging from the applause and cheering, it was a big deal. He called them all forward and hung medals around their necks. When it was Sabrina’s turn, he patted her shoulder. “Nice job for someone who’s only been here four days. Congratulations, Sabrina.”
“Thanks.” All she’d done was follow the rest of her team along the trail, but it was still nice to be recognized. And it was nice that he remembered her name. It had taken her old boss three weeks to quit calling her Semolina, and she was never quite sure if it was deliberate. The medals were just novelty items—a plastic disk painted gold with the word winner stamped on it—but it was all good fun.
Once Walter had given out the medals, he gestured to the two men from the Learn & Live truck to come over. They’d both removed their raincoats and were wearing long-sleeved zip-necks under fleece vests, with the same logo as the truck embroidered on the chest. The first guy towered a foot over Walter. With his wavy blond hair and relaxed grin, he looked like he’d just put away his surfboard. The other guy, the one who’d been frowning at Sabrina before, seemed more serious. He was a couple of inches shorter than his coworker, which would put him around six feet, with brown hair and those incredible blue eyes. Walter’s cheeks plumped over his mustache. “Everyone, I want you to meet Leith Jordan and Erik Peterman, from Learn & Live. They’re going to be giving us a demonstration on survival skills.”
Survival skills? Wasn’t that like making huts from tree branches and eating bugs? No, thanks. Surfer-dude Erik talked for a few minutes about a course they’d set up a little farther along the trail, where they were going to be giving the lessons in orienteering. Sabrina didn’t know what that was and wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. When Walter asked for volunteers to stay behind and cook lunch, Sabrina’s hand was the first one up.
“Great. Thanks, Sabrina, Will and Amy. The rest of you follow Erik and Leith.”
Will was one of the few people in the store whose name Sabrina remembered, other than Clara. He looked like a high-school student, but when he’d sold Sabrina the hiking boots yesterday, he seemed to know all about them. He’d steered her toward this slightly more expensive pair. It pained her to drain her anemic checking account for ugly footwear, but she had to admit, the boots he’d recommended kept her feet dry and comfortable despite the rain and rough trail.
Will introduced Sabrina to Amy, the pregnant lady, who seemed to be his supervisor. “You’re the management trainee, right?” Amy asked.
“That’s right.”
“So, you’ll be working in Seattle once you finish up here?”
“Yes, assuming I make the cut. They only plan to move the top half of trainees to the next level, based on evaluation scores.”
“Walter will take care of you,” Will said.
“He’s right,” Amy said. “I’ve been with the store for seven years. Once you’re part of his team, Walter treats you like family. Although, I don’t know why you’d want to live in Seattle. I was there last year, and I couldn’t believe the traffic. There are some nice hikes in the area, though.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.” The other management trainees wouldn’t shut up about the trails during breaks in the orientation meetings. Sabrina had just smiled and nodded. “I hope I get the chance to try them out.”
Amy gestured toward the van. “We’d better get started if we’re going to have everything ready by the time they get back. Will, can you get the cooking crate out, please?”
Will carried a yellow-and-black plastic case from the back of the van. He opened it to reveal various pieces of equipment that looked as though they might belong in a science lab. Huh. Maybe Sabrina should have gone to the survival demo after all.
Amy pulled out a rolled bundle and, through some feat of origami, turned it into a table. “I’ll cut up the veggies and make the dip. Can you two build the fire, heat the beans and handle the grill?”
“Sure,” Will volunteered before Sabrina could say anything. “Where do you want the table?”
Sabrina had to admit, Will was a nice kid—he moved Amy’s table and equipment under the canopy and arranged everything for her so she could sit while she worked on the vegetables. Meanwhile, at Amy’s suggestion, Sabrina unloaded a bunch of logs from the van and stacked them near a circle of stones in a clear area not too far away. A few minutes later, Will returned, shaking his head. “I wish she’d have that baby. I keep thinking one of these days it’s going to pop out in the middle of the shoe department.”
“When is she due?” Sabrina asked.
“Yesterday. Walter told her she didn’t need to do the team-builder this year, but she didn’t want to miss it. You want to build the fire, while I get the rest of the wood?”
“Why don’t you build the fire, and I’ll haul the firewood? You shouldn’t be stuck with all the heavy lifting.”
Will gave her an odd look, but he didn’t argue. Of course, as a management trainee, she technically outranked him. Probably.
She tried to watch how he built the fire, but since she had to make a couple of trips for firewood, she missed a few steps. She was pulling the last of the wood from the van when her finger got pinched between two logs. “Ouch.” She shook her hand. “Cielos!”
“What’s wrong? You break a nail?”
Sabrina spun around to find the survivor guy with the blue eyes pulling something from the back of his truck. Leith Jordan, according to Walter. She looked down at her hand, where a big scratch ran across her polish and the ragged edge of a fingernail hung by a thread. She grimaced. That was going to take some time to repair tonight. “As a matter of fact, I did. Don’t you have anything better to do than sneak up behind people?”
“Sorry.” He looked more amused than apologetic. “You’re new with Orson, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Why? Do you know all the people from the store?”
“No, but I’m in there a lot and I haven’t seen you before.” He looked down at her boots and shook his head. “I’d remember you.”
What did that mean? There was nothing wrong with her boots. They were exactly like the ones Clara was wearing. Besides, he wasn’t with Orson, so his opinion didn’t matter.
“I’d better get these logs to the fire.” Sabrina gathered up the wood she’d dropped and returned to the fire ring without looking back.
Whatever Will had done in her absence must have worked, because flames were licking at the wood. He stepped back. “I’ll light the grill and handle all the meat and veggie burgers and stuff. Okay?”
“Sure. What should I do?”
“Uh, well, I guess you just need to watch the fire and heat up the beans.”
“Sounds good.” Surely she could manage that. “Thanks, Will.”
He set up the grill close enough that he could talk with Amy while he cooked. Bushes and boulders partially blocked the view between Sabrina and the other two. That worked out well for her, because it allowed her to paw through the chest Will had brought and try to figure out what everything was without him watching.
The fire seemed to be burning nicely, so she threw a couple more logs on. The flames died down. Oops. Using a stick, Sabrina raked one of the logs toward her and the fire jumped up between the two logs. Okay, that looked good. Digging through the crate, she found a metal box labeled camp stove. Better and better. But when she opened the box, the contents held no resemblance to any stove she’d ever seen. She put it aside for the moment.
The crate held a dozen big cans of baked beans. Probably half of them were for the group tomorrow. Sabrina dug a little more and found some sort of metal circles surrounded by rings of silicone—trivets maybe—and something that looked like a manual can opener, except it didn’t have any handles. How was she supposed to heat beans without a pan? Eventually, she found some tongs but still no cooking containers.
She peeked around the rock. Will was whistling as he unpacked a bunch of stuff from an ice chest. She could ask him how the stove worked, but then he’d know she was a fraud. And if one person in the store knew, soon the whole store would, including Walter.
She picked up one of the cans. It was a metal cylinder, right? Just like a small pan. Why not just put the cans into the fire and let them heat? Once they were hot, she could take them out of the fire with the tongs. Yeah, that would work. And she wouldn’t have to deal with the camp stove. Problem solved.
She added more wood to the fire, careful to leave spaces between the logs for the flames. Then she set the cans of beans onto the coals near the heart of the flames. The labels caught and burned away, but the cans seemed stable. Now all she had to do was wait.
It wasn’t long before the main group returned, laughing and joking. Clara trotted over to Sabrina. “Sorry you missed out on the fun. Those Learn & Live guys are great. I’ll tend the fire and you can go do the equipment tryouts.”
“The what?”
“You know, where we try out all that shiny new equipment we’re going to be selling this season. Walter said to send you over. You’ll be working in one of the departments, so you need hands-on experience more than I do.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, the beans—”
“Sabrina,” Walter called, waving his arms. “Over here.”
“Don’t keep the boss waiting,” Clara said. “I’ll take care of the beans. Go.”
Sabrina went. Her coworkers crowded around the van, where Walter was handing out packages to everyone. The breeze kicked up again, and without the fire to warm her, Sabrina felt goose bumps rising along her arms while she waited her turn. Walter passed an orange backpack to a guy with a gray ponytail and picked up a long, thin nylon sack that appeared to contain something heavy. “Sabrina. This one’s for you.” She stepped closer and Walter leaned in so only she could hear. “Thanks for volunteering to help with the food. That shows leadership. But now it’s your turn for some fun. Here, this new tent design is supposed to make for a faster, more intuitive setup without compromising structural integrity. Give it a try and let me know what you think.”
“All right.” Sabrina accepted the nylon bundle and looked around. Where did this testing take place?
“There’s a flat spot over there,” Walter suggested, waving his hand toward a spot a little past the fire.
“Perfect. Thanks.” Sabrina smiled at him and carried the tent over. She waved at Clara as she walked by. Okay. A tent. Let’s see what she had to work with. Sabrina opened the drawstring at the top of the bag and dumped everything out. Hmm. A bunch of nylon, two short bundles of colored sticks, small metal sticks with hooks on the ends and...oh, instructions. Good. She grabbed the paper and looked at the picture. Step one: spread tent on the ground.
Clear enough. She unrolled the nylon and spread it in a neat rectangle. Presumably the heavier side was the bottom, and the net side went up. So far, so good.
Step two: assemble shock-corded tent poles. Was that stick in the picture the big one or one of the little ones? Another gust sent a shiver up her arms. She stamped her feet. It was hard to concentrate when she was so cold.
“Problems?”
Sabrina jumped and turned. Those blue eyes, watching her again. This was starting to get weird. “No, I’m just reading the instructions.”
He looked over the pieces she’d set on the ground. “Looks like it sets up just like the old design except they color-coded the poles, shortened the sleeves and used minicarabiners to make setup faster.”
Minicarabiners. Uh-huh. “Yeah, well, I’m approaching it like a customer who hasn’t ever set up one of these tents,” Sabrina said. “I want to make sure the instructions are clear, even to a novice.”
“I see.” His lips twitched into a small smile.
Sabrina couldn’t be sure whether it was a friendly smile or if he was laughing at her, but she suspected the latter. She made a point of turning her back to him while she read, shivering as she did. Maybe he would go away. “Shock cord? What the heck is a shock cord?” she muttered to herself. “Cielos, these pictures are confusing.”
“What did you say?” He was still there. “Cielos? What does that mean?”
“Nothing.” Just something her grandmother used to say when she got flustered. Heavens. But he didn’t need Sabrina’s life story.
“Where’s your jacket?”
She gave up and turned to look at him. “I’m wearing it.”
“That’s all you brought?” He shook his head. “Where are you from, anyway?”
“Arizona. And I’m fine.”
“Scottsdale?”
“As a matter of fact, I used to work in Scottsdale.”
“I figured.” He unzipped his fleece vest and removed it. “Here, wear this.”
“What? No. I’m okay.”
“I don’t think you are. Shivering, mumbling, confusion. All symptoms of hypothermia.”
I’m not mumbling because I’m hypothermic. I’m mumbling because I’m annoyed. She thought the words but managed not to say them. Instead she repeated, “I’m okay.”
“Are you wet?”
“No. I was wearing a rain poncho.”
“Then you’re probably not hypothermic, but you’re obviously cold. Take the vest.”
It was tempting, but she hated to be in anyone’s debt. Especially someone who seemed to disapprove of her. “Then you’ll be cold.”
“I have a fleece jacket in the truck.”
Of course he did. The survival expert would always be prepared. Another cold gust convinced her. “Fine.” She pulled the vest over her sweater and zipped it closed. Still warm from his body heat, it covered her from her shoulders to her thighs. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He continued to stand there. She pretended to be studying the instructions, hoping he’d walk away, but he remained where he was. “I’m Leith Jordan.”
“Sabrina Bell.”
He nodded. “So, Sabrina. Why are you here?”
“For the team-builder, obviously.”
“No, I mean why are you in Alaska? Why didn’t you stay in Arizona?”
“I came for the job.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You came all the way to Alaska to work at the Orson Outfitters store?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m training. Headquarters hired me as a management trainee, and the first part of that is to work in different positions in one of the local stores.”
“Oh, so Alaska is just a temporary stop for you.”
“Yes.”
“That makes more sense. Why are you pretending you know anything about camping?”
She looked around sharply to see if any of the other employees were within earshot, but it was just the two of them. She picked up one of the metal sticks and examined it as though she intended to do something with it. “I told you. We’re supposed to be testing the products, and part of that testing is to see if the instructions are clear.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” She rattled the paper and tried to concentrate on the instructions. She felt warmer already. Now, if she could just figure out step two.
He handed her the blue bundle of sticks. “The shock cord is the bungee cord running through the tent poles. It holds the short poles in line while you fit them together to create a long pole, which fits through the sleeve at the crown of the tent.”
“Well, yeah. That’s what the instructions should have said. I’m going to have to let them know these wouldn’t be clear to a beginner.” Sabrina studied the sticks, and sure enough, they were all threaded onto a stretchy rope. As she unfolded them, they snapped together. Ingenious. Now, if she could just get rid of Mr. Know-It-All, she might have a shot at figuring out this tent. But he showed no signs of leaving.
Without another word, he lifted the top of the tent and held a blue fabric sleeve that matched the pole so that all she had to do was slip the pole through the sleeve. Okay, that made sense. Once it was in place, Leith arched his end of the pole and secured it through a grommet at the base. Sabrina followed suit with her end of the pole. Suddenly, the tent was standing. She assembled the red sticks and threaded the pole through the red sleeve, again with Leith’s assistance. He began securing the hooks on one side of the tent to the poles. She did the same on her side.
Leith unrolled the final piece of nylon. She took two corners and helped him center it over the poles. Leith handed her the thin metal pieces. “Now you just need to stake out the corners.”
“Right. Let me just see if the instructions say that.”
Leith grinned. “For testing purposes.” Now she was sure he was making fun of her, but she didn’t care.
“Exactly.” She picked up the instructions and turned the page. “Stake corners.” She pointed at the diagram. “Right here.” She set down the paper and pushed one of the stakes through a grommet into the soft ground, anchoring the corner. Leith did one of the other corners. He wasn’t so bad after all.
Bang! Sabrina whirled toward the sound of an explosion. Something came whizzing out of the fire and flew several feet before crashing into a rock. Something about the size of a can.
“Oh, cielos! The beans.” Sabrina rushed toward the fire.
“I don’t know what happened.” Clara stared wide-eyed at the fire. A silicone-sided pan of beans simmered nearby on the camp stove Sabrina hadn’t been able to figure out.
“It’s my fault.” Sabrina looked around for the tongs. Before she could grab them, another can exploded and sailed off to the right, knocking over the stove and spilling the beans onto the ground.
“Get back.” Leith pulled Clara away from the fire. “Sabrina, you, too.”
“I just have to get the rest out before they go off.” Sabrina grabbed the tongs and reached into the fire, extracting a blackened can.
“What is it?”
“A can of beans.” She dropped the can in the dirt and tried to locate the next one.
Leith grabbed a shovel and pushed the logs apart. “How many are in here?”
“Six.” She spotted another can and pulled it out. “Two more.”
Leith pushed in his shovel, scooped out another can and dropped it on the ground, away from the fire. Sabrina spotted the last one, but before she could get to it, it went off, zooming out of the fire like a missile and spraying a trail of beans all over the tent she had just erected before it landed in a bush. Sticky sauce dripped down the sides of the tent.
“You’re sure that’s all?” Leith asked.
“That’s it.” Sabrina turned to see Clara and all the other employees gathered behind her staring at the tent and at her. Super. Walter pushed through the crowd.
“What happened here?”
Sabrina swallowed. “It was my fault. I thought it would save some mess and equipment if I heated the beans in the fire.”
Walter narrowed his eyes. “You put the cans in the fire without opening them?”
Sabrina nodded.
“Any casualties?”
“Only the tent.”
Walter marched over to the tent. He examined the beans oozing down the fabric, then unzipped the tent and crawled inside. A moment later, he popped out, smiling. “Not a drop inside, and the rain fly wasn’t even completely staked. I think we have a winning design here. Sabrina, please clean that tent before you return it to the store. Everyone else, looks like we’ll have to do without beans today, but Will says the burgers are ready. Let’s eat.”
With a few headshakes and some laughter, the rest of the employees drifted away. Sabrina picked up a spatula and went to scrape baked beans off the fabric.
Only Leith followed her. “You have to be careful. When the contents of a can are overheated and the steam can’t escape, pressure can build up past the tolerance of the can.”
“Thanks, Admiral Hindsight.” She “accidentally” flicked the spatula so that beans flew in his direction, but she missed. “Any other words of wisdom?”
He flashed a snarky grin. “Well, I could tell you the best way to wash a tent, but I’m sure an experienced camper such as yourself already has a preferred method.” And with that helpful comment, he turned and went to join the others crowding around the grill, leaving her to clean up her mess.
CHAPTER TWO (#u3e9eca27-5fa7-5449-bd18-534f34e604b3)
LEITH PULLED THE truck into its assigned parking spot near the back door at Learn & Live. Erik jumped out and opened the tailgate.
Leith grabbed the checklist and followed. “Do we need more maps for tomorrow’s demo?” he asked, his pen hovering over the clipboard.
Erik pawed through the supplies in the crate. “No, looks like we have plenty.”
Leith checked off the item and locked the truck. They headed inside the office. As soon as they stepped into the lobby, a black-and-tan dog dashed out of Carson’s office. Leith knelt to give her an ear rub. “Hey, Tal. There’s my girl.”
Their boss, Carson, followed her out. “Good. You’re back. Did the Orson Outfitters demo go okay? Anything you need to change before doing it again tomorrow?”
“No problems.” Leith stood but continued to stroke Tal’s head. “I think they all got something out of it.”
Erik laughed. “Except for Explosion Girl.”
“Explosion?” Carson narrowed his eyes. “You were teaching orienteering. How can that explode? Was anyone hurt?”
“No,” Leith assured him. “It wasn’t at our demo. For some reason, this management trainee Orson Outfitters hired decided she should put cans of beans directly into the fire.”
“Oh, yeah?” Carson grinned. “I thought that was an urban myth. Did they really explode?”
“Launched a couple of cans like rockets. One of them splattered a tent that was a good twenty feet away. We managed to get the rest out of the fire before they turned into grenades.” Leith shook his head. “She was clueless. Brand-new hiking boots, no jacket. She’d obviously never been camping a day in her life.”
“She was cute, though,” Erik pointed out.
“The cute ones are the most dangerous.” And Leith should know. His ex-wife used her looks like a precision tool. “They’re so used to everyone falling over backward to make them happy, they don’t realize nature can kill you no matter how pretty you are.”
“Uh-huh.” Erik nudged Carson. “That must be why our white knight over here gave her his vest.”
“Nuts. I forgot to get it back from her.” Now Leith was going to have to decide whether chasing her down or paying for a new company vest was the lesser of two evils. That was what he got for being a nice guy. He probably should have stayed far away from Sabrina, but it was painful to witness her struggle to set up a simple tent. Then when he’d noticed she was shivering, he couldn’t just stand there and watch.
When Carson raised his eyebrows, Leith shrugged. “It would look bad for the company if someone went hypothermic on our watch.”
Carson snorted. “I’m happy to hear the company’s reputation is so important to you.”
The break-room door opened and Zack walked out, his phone to his ear. “It’s too bad you couldn’t get the ones you wanted, but I think daisies sound fine. No, really, they’ll look great. Okay, babe, I’ve got to get back to work. Love you, too. Bye.”
Zack pocketed his phone and rolled his eyes. “If any of you guys decide to get married, my advice is run off to Vegas. Weddings are killers.”
“No worries here,” Leith said. He’d been through a wedding and a marriage, and after that experience he planned to stay as far away from both as humanly possible. If he could get away with it, he’d skip Zack’s wedding, but he was one of the groomsmen.
“So, who’s the plus-one you’re bringing?” Zack asked Leith.
“Plus-one? What are you talking about?”
“The wedding. Caitlyn says you RSVPed that you’re bringing a guest. Who is she?”
Oh, great. Leith’s sister had volunteered to send in his RSVP card when she did her own. He should have guessed Volta was up to something. She probably had someone all picked out she was planning to fix him up with. “That was a mistake. You can tell Caitlyn I’m not bringing anyone.”
“No way, dude. If you said plus-one, you’re bringing someone to fill that chair. I don’t care if it’s your grandma. Caitlyn has been going nuts trying to figure out how to arrange the tables. She has all these relatives who she can’t put too close together or she says there will be blood. She’s finally managed to find the perfect seating plan. If one little thing changes, it’ll mess it all up. I’m not going to be the one to make her head explode.”
“Speaking of explosions,” Erik said with a sly smile. “You ought to ask Explosion Girl. She’s probably great at weddings.”
“Who’s Explosion Girl?” Zack asked.
Leith just shook his head, so Erik explained about the beans. Zack laughed. “Sure, bring her. She should liven things up.”
“I’ll take it under advisement.” Leith stepped away to drop the keys to the company truck into a drawer. “Who are you bringing?” he asked Erik.
“I invited this woman I met from the parks department. She’s just here for a month, on some government project. No strings. The most important quality in a relationship.”
“That’s what I used to think, until I met Caitlyn,” Zack said. “Someday you’re going to want some strings.”
“No way. Leith will back me up, right?”
“I’m not getting in the middle of this.” After his own marital disaster, Leith was inclined to agree with Erik, but he didn’t want to upset Zack. He had to admit, Zack had been a lot happier since Caitlyn had come into his life, even if she was a little obsessive about the wedding plans. He just hoped their marriage was more successful than his had been. Not a high bar.
Carson cleared his throat. “Well, if we’re about done with advice for the lovelorn, maybe we can get a little work done around here?”
They all scattered. Leith went to his desk to fill out his time sheet and a summary of the day’s events. While his computer booted up, he thought about his options.
Weddings made his skin itch, but since he’d been drafted as a groomsman, he couldn’t miss this one. Now, thanks to Volta, he was going to have to find a date. And it better be soon, before his sister coerced him into taking out whatever new friend she had in mind for him. The last woman she’d set him up with, six months ago, had been a walking disaster. That two-hour date had to have consumed at least ten years of his life. No, if he had to have a date, he was choosing her himself. Volta didn’t get a vote.
That decided, he opened a spreadsheet and went to work. Work, he understood. He could worry about this other stuff later.
SABRINA RANG UP a sleeping bag the color of a roadwork sign and a snap-together salt-and-pepper shaker for a woman with a long braid hanging down her back. The customer checked the tag. “This says it’s comfortable down to forty-five degrees. Do you think that’s accurate?”
Sabrina had spent most of her off time during the last two days since the great bean incident reading product descriptions on the company’s website, but that didn’t help with questions like this. “Honestly, I haven’t tried out this particular sleeping bag, so I’m not sure.” Sabrina called to Clara, “Do you think this bag would keep you warm at forty-five?”
“Sure, if you’re wearing sweats or thermals to sleep in. It’s a great bag.”
“Oh, good. Thanks.” The customer waved at Clara and left the store. Clara finished ringing up her customer and handed him the sack of merchandise. For once, no one was waiting in line to check out.
Clara wandered over to Sabrina’s register. “That’s our most popular summer bag. You’re probably used to a lighter one where you come from, huh?”
“Mmm. Does it come in any colors besides orange?” Sabrina had found the best way to deflect Clara was to ask a question. Clara loved to talk, and Sabrina had already picked up a few nuggets of wisdom she could pass on to customers and sound as if she might know what she was talking about. Besides, she was curious. Surely not everyone wanted a sleeping bag in a color that could be seen from space.
But before Clara could answer, Walter hustled over to the registers. Today his bolo tie slide was a silver horseshoe. He hadn’t said anything since the team-builder, but Sabrina kept expecting him to call her in and expose her as the fraud she was. Her stomach tightened in anticipation, but he just smiled. “Say, Clara, do you mind if we borrow Sabrina for a little while? Tim needs some help with a display in camping.”
“That’s fine. Randy will be back from lunch in fifteen minutes. If I get backed up in the meantime, I’ll call for help.”
“Great.” Walter motioned for Sabrina to walk with him. “I saw on your résumé that you’ve worked in fashion, so I thought you might have some experience with display.”
“Yes, I have.” Sabrina used to enjoy creating displays when she was working retail in high school and college. Even after she’d gotten the buyer job, she’d often sent out tips and ideas to the local stores. But she wasn’t sure her flair for fashion accessories was going to be a big help with a camping display. Still, the basics of form and balance she’d learned in her design classes should apply across the board.
Walter introduced her to Tim, a tall, skinny guy with thick glasses. Tim looked more like a chemistry professor than a camping enthusiast, but he was setting up the tent Sabrina had almost destroyed in less time than it had taken her to shake it out of the bag. Fortunately, she’d found tent-washing tips on the internet and managed to get the bean stain off the rain fly, no thanks to survival expert Leith Jordan.
Now, that guy made her nervous. Everyone at the store seemed to take her at face value, but Leith wasn’t buying her act. His disdain for her inexperience had been pretty clear at the team-builder. In fact, she’d just about reached the conclusion he was going to expose her to all her coworkers, when he’d suddenly started being nice and loaned her his vest. Which she’d washed and now had to figure out how to return without asking anyone in the store where to find him. She didn’t want to call attention to the fact that she’d been unprepared for the weather. Among other things.
“Hi, Sabrina,” Tim said. “Would you mind grabbing me a couple of ’biners? I want to hang this canoe from the ceiling.”
Beaners? She wondered if this was some sort of joke aimed at her, but he didn’t look as though he was joking. “Sure.” Beaners. Whatever those were. Sabrina scanned the area for anything that looked likely.
“Aisle ten,” Walter prompted, before walking away.
“Thanks.” Sabrina hurried over to the aisle. It seemed to contain miscellaneous camping gadgets. She found cooking utensils, lanterns, some sort of special toilet paper and a bunch of C-shaped hooks with levered latches.
Will, the guy who’d built the fire at the team-builder, walked past, presumably on his way to the shoe department. “Hi, Sabrina. What are you looking for?”
“Beaners.”
He gave her a puzzled frown and gestured at the hooks. “Right there.”
“Oh, duh.” Sabrina gave a little laugh. “Right in front of me. Good thing it wasn’t a snake.” Quick, change the subject. “So, has Amy had her baby yet?”
“Soon. She called in while her husband drove her to the hospital this morning. Asked me to finish the inventory without her.” He grinned. “She says she’s going to name the baby after me. Course, her husband, Bill, is really named William, too.”
“That’s convenient. Well, I’d better get these to Tim. See you later, Will.” Sabrina grabbed a few medium-sized hooks, which she now realized were labeled as carabiners. Ah, like the clips on the tent. Carabiners equals ’biners. As if she didn’t have enough trouble with camping terms, they were using nicknames for tools. Hopefully, Will would just assume she was blind, rather than ignorant.
She brought the carabiners to where Tim was now on a ladder, threading ropes over beams. “There you are. I thought you’d deserted me.”
“Sorry. I ran into Will and he said Amy is having her baby.”
“I heard. Maybe she’ll take some time off now. She was over there stocking shoes last week even though she could hardly bend over. Did Will say she’s doing okay?”
“I don’t think he had any updates yet.”
“I’m sure we’ll hear something soon. Can you give me one of those?”
Sabrina handed him the carabiner. The employees here all talked to and about each other like they were all part of one big family. At least that was how Sabrina assumed families functioned. She really didn’t have a lot of experience. It had been just her and her mom since she was twelve, when her dad left.
That was when Sabrina discovered security was an illusion. That counting on someone else for love and support was a gamble. Sabrina didn’t believe in gambling. The only person she could absolutely depend on was herself. And that was why she had to keep this job.
She thought she’d done all the right things. In college, she’d been tempted to go into fashion design, but chose the safe route of fashion merchandising. Only it turned out not to be so safe. The department store where she’d been working as a buyer went bankrupt. With her experience and references, Sabrina had assumed she’d be able to find a similar position, but in-store sales were down all over, and everyone was cutting back.
There was a rumor circulating that one of the senior buyers at McCormick and Sons was about to retire. McCormick’s had always been Sabrina’s dream job. A family-owned chain of upscale department stores based in Scottsdale, they had the reputation of hiring the best and keeping them forever. Once you were a part of McCormick’s, you were set.
Sabrina had tried to wait it out, but the buyer stubbornly refused to retire. Time went by and Sabrina’s carefully accrued savings dwindled. A friend of her mother’s mentioned this management trainee program with Orson Outfitters in Seattle. Sabrina applied there along with several dozen other places, but Orson’s was the only company that showed interest.
At the time she applied, she’d assumed they were a casual clothing company. It wasn’t until they’d contacted her requesting an interview that she’d researched the company and discovered they made and distributed outdoor equipment, with clothing making up only a small portion of their product line. But after five months of unemployment, and her cash reserve almost gone, Sabrina was determined she was going to get the job with Orson Outfitters, even if it meant she had to fudge a little about her outdoor experience.
“Sabrina? Another one?”
“Oh, sorry.” She handed Tim the second carabiner.
“Attention, everyone.” Walter’s voice came over the speaker. “We have a new member of the Orson family. It’s a boy, nine pounds, eleven ounces.”
Everyone cheered. Tim grinned. “Wow. Almost ten pounds. And my wife thought an eight-pounder was big. We’ll have to go by and see Amy and the baby after work.” He tied the ends of the ropes into loops and passed them to Sabrina. “Can you use a couple more carabiners to clip these onto the gunwales of the canoe, so we can hoist it up?”
Okay, Sabrina didn’t know what a gunwale was, but the only reasonable place she could fasten a carabiner onto a canoe had to be the posts across the top. She clipped the ropes to the canoe, front and back. “How’s that?”
“Good. Pull on those lines to raise it?”
She tugged on the lines, lifting the canoe off the ground, while Tim guided it into place from the ladder. Once they had it in position, he tied it off. “Great. I just need to set out a chair in front of the tent, and I’ll be all done.”
She thought about offering to create the display. She had an idea about arranging two chairs in front of the tent with a few stones suggesting a fire ring, like the one at the team-builder. She could set a bird-watching book and some binoculars on one of the chairs, and hang one of those cute lanterns she’d spotted in aisle ten somewhere. Maybe lean a paddle in place to draw the eye toward the canoe. But the more she was around other employees, the more likely it was that her secret would come out. She’d better not risk it. “I should get back on the register.”
“Okay. Thanks for your help, Sabrina.”
“No problem. See you later.” Sabrina returned to her post next to Clara. This was ridiculous. She was supposed to be gaining practical experience as a preliminary to moving into management, but instead she spent most of her energy avoiding any conversation that would expose her ignorance.
Only the top half of the candidates working in the stores would be chosen to move to the next round of the training program. If Walter didn’t give her a high rating in a little over three months, she would once again be searching for a job. And so far, the only impressive thing she’d managed to accomplish was to blow up a few cans of beans.
If she was going to keep this job, she needed a crash course. And obviously she couldn’t get it from any of her coworkers. There was only one person in Anchorage she could think of who might be able to help her without giving away the whole thing. After all, he was already suspicious, and training people to survive outdoors was what he did for a living. So be it. She’d contact him. Because, obnoxious though he might be, Leith Jordan was her best bet if she wanted to keep her job.
TIRED AND A little damp, Leith rolled into the office after a long day of watercraft survival training in the swimming pool at one of the local high schools. He unloaded the kayaks and headed to his desk to fill out his reports. Everyone else had gone home for the day. Before he could even sit down, his phone rang. Volta.
“Hi, sis.”
“Hi. Want to come for dinner? I made a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs.”
Leith’s stomach growled at the mention of food. He loved Volta’s spaghetti. She usually only made it when she was having a bunch of people... Wait. “Who else is coming?”
“Just some people from work. You know most of them.”
Nicely evasive. But he knew her. “And who don’t I know?”
“Oh, well, there’s a new nurse. She just came from the military. She has some great stories. So funny. You’ll like her.”
“Uh-huh.” As good as a homemade spaghetti dinner sounded, he was too tired to fend off his sister when she was in matchmaker mode. “Yeah, well, I’m pretty wiped out. I think I’ll just head on home.”
“Oh, but you have to come. I already told—” She stopped talking.
“You already told who what?”
“I, uh, already told Emma you were coming. She’d be so disappointed if her uncle Leith didn’t show up.”
They both knew it wasn’t Emma she’d been about to mention, but he let that pass. He did want to see Emma. He’d helped her put together something for show-and-tell last week, and he wanted to see how it went. “Okay, I’ll be there, but I do not want a setup. Are we clear?”
“Who said anything about a setup?”
“I did. I mean it, Volta. I’m not going out with your friend. Remember Mina?”
“That was a fluke. How was I supposed to know she had a dog phobia?”
“What about what’s-her-name with the purple hair?”
“Jaci was sweet.”
“Jaci wanted to plan our wedding before we’d even ordered appetizers.”
“She was joking.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Okay, whatever. Just come for dinner in an hour.”
“All right. You want me to bring anything?”
“A better attitude. See you then.” She ended the call.
Leith set his phone on the desk and started on the report. If he could finish in the next fifteen minutes, he’d have time to swing by his house for a quick shower and to collect the dog before heading to Volta’s. But he was only halfway through when he heard the chime signaling the front door opening. “Hello? Anyone here?”
Nuts, he’d forgotten to lock the door behind him. “We’re closed. Sorry.” He strode into the reception area. Explosion Girl herself was standing there, a striped tote bag tightly gripped in hands tipped with shiny pink nails. What was Sabrina doing here?
She looked a little different than she had on the mountain. Her dark hair was down, waving across her shoulders. She wore a multicolored scarf, which looked like a watercolor painting, draped around her neck over a bluish dress that stopped just above her knees. Cute was an understatement. His eyes followed the curve of her calf down to highly impractical pink shoes, before his gaze quickly returned to her face. Big eyes the color of milk chocolate stared back at him, as though she was as surprised to see him as he was to see her. But she was the one who’d come to him.
“Can I help you?”
“Oh, uh, I hope so.” She reached into her bag. “I wanted to return your vest. Thanks for loaning it to me last week.”
“You’re welcome.” Good—now he didn’t have to chase it down. He took the vest, but she wasn’t making any move to go. Now what? “Was there something else?”
“Yes. It’s just, um, you teach classes, right? On outdoorsy stuff?”
He chuckled. “That’s not exactly the term we use, but yes, we do.”
“So, if I were to want to learn about camping and whatever, you know, just the basics, do you have classes on that?”
“Actually, most of our classes are a little more advanced than that. We teach survival techniques, first aid, river rescue, that sort of thing.”
“Oh.”
“Besides—” he couldn’t help a little teasing “—you implied that you already have camping skills.”
“But not necessarily Alaska camping skills. I’d like to learn... Oh, what the heck—I’ve never been camping in my life, and if my manager finds out, I’ll probably lose my job.” Her lip trembled, and her eyes opened wide. He got the uncomfortable feeling she wasn’t that far from tears. He hated tears.
“Okay, so let me get this straight. You told Walter you were an experienced camper when he hired you?”
“You’re on a first-name basis with my boss?” she squeaked. He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but her eyes opened even wider.
“Everyone is on a first-name basis with Walter. Orson Outfitters sponsors practically all the outdoor events in the state, and Walter’s always out there greeting people. Why did you lie to him?”
“I didn’t lie to Walter. My camping skills just never came up. Headquarters hired me as part of their management training program. The first part of the program assigns all the trainees to different stores so we can understand the business at the retail level. In the interview, they asked if I enjoyed the outdoors.” She raised her chin. “I do. I like sunshine and flowers and...all that stuff. If they chose to interpret that to mean I like to camp...” She shrugged.
“I don’t get it. Why would you want to work for a company in a business you don’t even like?”
“I might like it once I learn about it. You never know. But whether I do or not, I need this job. I was a buyer for Cutterbee’s department store, but they went bankrupt, and nobody’s hiring right now. I’m a hard worker. Whether you help me or not, I intend to give this job my all. I just need a little help getting up to speed.”
He remembered hearing about Cutterbee’s going under. He’d never understood why anyone would shop at overpriced department stores full of impractical items, but he could see that clothes with fancy labels would be right up Sabrina’s alley.
Why should he help her? Whether it was a direct lie or only implied, she got the job with Orson Outfitters under false pretenses, and Leith had more reason than most to despise liars. On the other hand, when the cans exploded at the team-builder, Sabrina didn’t try to deflect the blame or make excuses. He respected that. Besides, he could see the desperation in her eyes. For some reason, the thought of losing her job terrified her.
“Look, like I said, we don’t really teach basic woodcraft. Maybe you could register for a course from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, this fall.”
“Fall is too late. My assignment here ends September first, when the store managers send in their evaluations. Only the top half move on to the next level of training. Besides...” She paused, taking a sudden interest in the worn vinyl floor.
“Besides, what?”
She took a breath and looked up. “After putting down deposits on my apartment and utilities, I’m a little short on cash right now. I thought maybe we could work out some sort of barter arrangement?”
This should be good. What possible skills could she have that he would find useful? It wasn’t as though he needed his hair braided. “What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. What do you need done? I’m pretty good at interior house painting.”
His kitchen could use a coat of paint, but that would mean having her in his house and that sounded like a bad idea. Besides, considering her perfectly groomed appearance, he had trouble picturing her doing manual labor. He suspected her biggest talent was looking good. Which, now that he thought about it, might just solve his problem.
“Suppose I offered to spend a day teaching you to be ‘outdoorsy.’ Would you be willing to accompany me to a wedding Saturday after next?”
She took a half step backward, like she was afraid she might be walking into a trap. “You’re asking me on a date?”
“Nope. Strictly a business arrangement. For all appearances, we would be on a date, but actually I just need a plus-one for the wedding to keep my sister off my back. One and done.”
“Why would your sister care whether you had a date for a wedding?”
“It’s a long, boring story. The point is, I need a fake date. Are you game?”
She tilted her head to one side and pressed her lips together while she considered. Pink lips to match her fingernails and shoes, of course. “That doesn’t seem fair. A couple of hours at a wedding versus a whole day of instruction. Is there something horrible about this wedding I should know about?”
“Horrible?” He laughed. “No, it should be very nice. Dinner and dancing afterward. It’s outdoors, so bring a jacket. But I’ll tell you what—if you want to trade hours one for one, I’m teaching a class on Wednesday afternoon, and I could use an assistant. Are you free?”
She checked her phone. “I work Wednesday morning and then I’m off until Friday, when we’re starting the big Memorial Day weekend sale. But I don’t see how I could be of much assistance since I don’t know anything yet.”
“You’ll see. Here, give me your phone number and I’ll text you the address for the class Wednesday. On Thursday, we’ll do a day’s instruction in woodcraft, and a week from Saturday is the wedding. After that we’re square. Agreed?”
“Um, yes. Agreed.” She offered her hand, and he noticed that her fingernails were not only pink, but each one also had a paler pink flower painted on it. She wasn’t going to fare well away from running water and electricity. But that was her problem. He took her soft hand in his and shook it. This should be entertaining, if nothing else.
CHAPTER THREE (#u3e9eca27-5fa7-5449-bd18-534f34e604b3)
SABRINA FOLLOWED THE directions to the address Leith had given her, which appeared to be a middle school. As she turned in, a line of yellow buses pulled out. She found an empty parking spot and got out of her car, wondering how she was going to find Leith somewhere in the building.
She still wasn’t sure why he seemed to think she would be any help as an assistant, unless he just intended for her to fill water glasses and erase whiteboards. Maybe he’d come up with this assignment as a boondoggle, to make her feel she was earning her lessons tomorrow. She hoped not. There were few things Sabrina hated more than feeling useless.
She started toward the main entrance, but as she reached the edge of the parking lot, she heard someone call her name. “Sabrina. Over here.” Leith waved from beside a pockmarked white Land Cruiser two rows over. He walked over to join her, carrying a large duffel. His eyes skimmed over her and he pulled his eyebrows together. “I should have told you to wear pants, but we’ll manage. Ready for the class?”
“Um, sure.” She walked with him, trying to match his long strides. She’d chosen this outfit deliberately: an A-line navy skirt, a silk T-shirt in a subtle tone-on-tone paisley, and an Anne Li raspberry blazer she’d scored after a trunk show. She’d had to alter it, of course, since she wasn’t as tall as the model, but sometimes being a size four paid off. Sabrina had given many a presentation in this outfit, and it always made her feel competent and in charge. “Why should I have worn pants?”
“You may need to get down on the floor, but as I said, we’ll manage.”
The floor? “What is this class?”
“Babysitting.”
“What?” She hurried to catch up, wishing she hadn’t worn heels. “Why are you teaching babysitting?” She’d thought Learn & Live was about outdoor survival stuff.
“I’m not teaching the whole course. I’m just today’s guest instructor.” They had reached the main office. Leith signed them in and led her down the hall to a classroom. Inside, a dozen or so young teenagers, mostly girls but a couple of boys, sat in chairs at the front of the room and chatted with a happy-faced woman with brown curls. When Leith walked into the room, the teacher jumped up and beamed at him.
“Welcome back. Students, this is Leith Jordan. Oh, and you brought someone this time.”
“Yes. Hi, everybody.” Leith waved. “As Mrs. Livingstone said, I’m Leith and this is Sabrina.”
“Hi, Leith. Hi, Sabrina,” the kids chanted, more or less in unison.
“Let’s jump right in. Does everyone have their dummies?” Leith asked as he unzipped the duffel bag. He pulled out a first-aid kit and a life-size baby doll.
All the kids reached under their chairs and pulled out dolls. Leith handed his to Sabrina. She took it, and after a quick glance at the kids, she cradled the doll in her arms like most of them were. Sabrina had never spent much time around babies.
Leith had her sit in a chair. “Okay. Now suppose Sabrina here is taking care of this baby. Maybe she’s been feeding him, or the baby has been crawling around on the floor. All of a sudden, she notices the baby is distressed but can’t seem to make much noise. His skin looks a little blue. Who knows what’s wrong with the baby?”
Sabrina hoped she wasn’t supposed to come up with an answer because she had no idea. The kids whispered among themselves. After a minute, one of the girls raised her hand. “It’s having a heart attack?”
“Probably not, but good guess. Think about it. What would make your skin turn blue?”
“He can’t breathe,” someone said.
“Exactly. And what is the most common reason someone suddenly can’t breathe?”
There was a moment’s silence. “Choking!” another of the girls blurted out.
“Yes!” Leith flashed the girl a smile, and Sabrina almost dropped the doll. Wow. When he smiled a genuine smile, not just the snarky smirks he’d thrown at her before, everything changed. His rugged face grew animated and the cobalt blue eyes, framed by thick dark lashes, seemed to be creating a magnetic force field. Sabrina wasn’t the only one who felt it, either, judging by the way all the girls suddenly leaned forward.
“So what do you do when someone’s choking?” Leith asked.
“The Heimlich,” the first girl said.
“Right. Have any of you seen the posters in the cafeteria about how to administer the Heimlich maneuver?” Several hands rose. “Good. We’ll practice that in a few minutes but right now we have a baby choking. Babies are fragile. We can’t give them the same treatment we’d give an adult or teenager. Here’s how to treat a choking baby.”
Leith took the doll from her and demonstrated how to position the baby, supporting it with one hand while slapping it on the back five times with the heel of his other hand. “Not too hard. We don’t want to break any ribs, but hard enough to dislodge whatever is blocking the airway.” He had all the students practice, going from one to the other to check their positioning and technique. Then he explained the next step to take if that didn’t work and had them practice that. Sabrina was impressed. He really seemed to know his stuff, and he had the kids’ full attention. By the time they’d finished the lesson, she felt like even she would be able to treat a choking baby.
When Leith was satisfied everyone had it down, he moved on. “Now, what if you’re not babysitting a baby. What if it’s an older child? Sabrina, can you stand up, please?” She did, and he moved beside her. “Okay, so little Sabrina is agitated. She isn’t saying anything. Maybe she’s bringing her hands to her throat.” Now Sabrina understood what Leith meant by being his assistant. Her job wasn’t to help him teach; it was to play the victim. That, she could do. Sabrina wrapped her fingers around her neck and pretended to gasp as if there was something stuck in her throat.
“Hands on the neck are a classic sign, but even if a person isn’t doing that, suspect choking if someone who was eating suddenly seems panicky. But unlike the baby, Sabrina can talk. Let’s ask her. Sabrina, are you choking?”
“Yes,” Sabrina answered in a stage whisper, tilting to one side and giving a couple of fake coughs. “Please save me.”
Leith grinned. “Remember, if she can answer you, her airway isn’t completely blocked. Let her try to cough it up herself. But if she can’t, that’s when the Heimlich comes in. Let’s try it again. Sabrina, are you choking?”
Still holding her hands on her neck, Sabrina nodded. Leith moved behind her and put his arms around her, explaining to the class how he was positioning his hands just below her ribs. “And then I’d push in hard to drive the air from her lungs and dislodge whatever is blocking her airway. We won’t do that today, because I could injure her that way. A cracked rib is a small price to pay for saving a life, but let’s not risk it today.”
“Excellent decision,” Sabrina croaked. The kids laughed.
“However, I do have a training vest in my bag. First, I want you to pair up and see where to position your hands, and then we’ll get out the vest and practice.”
The kids broke into twos and practiced. Once he was satisfied everyone had the basic idea, Leith had Sabrina wear the vest. “See, this foam plug is the food that’s obstructing the airway.” He stepped behind her and positioned his hands over the air bladder in the vest. “Now let’s see if I can do it properly.” He tightened his arms around her and gave a hard thrust to the vest. The foam plug popped out. The kids cheered.
All the kids in the class took turns using the Heimlich maneuver on Sabrina. It took some of them several tries, but Leith coached them patiently until they had all succeeded. Sabrina was glad when they moved on to the next lesson, until she discovered it involved head wounds.
“You have lots of blood circulation in your head, and so heads tend to bleed heavily. Suppose Sabrina fell against a piece of furniture and cut her head right here.” He pulled a red sticker from a sheet and stuck it to her forehead. “Who can tell me how to stop the bleeding?”
“Put a tourniquet around her neck?” one of the boys suggested, grinning.
“That would do the trick, all right, but it would also stop the blood from getting to Sabrina’s brain, and remember, you’re getting paid to keep Sabrina’s brain safe. Let’s try direct pressure instead.” He pulled up a chair. “Sabrina, can you sit down, please?” Leith took a gauze pad from his kit and pressed it to her forehead. “Here, push here.”
Leith turned toward the kids. “Position. Examine. Elevate. Pressure.” He ticked off the words on his fingers. “If you’re a chicken about blood, remember to PEEP.”
Sabrina groaned. “That pun is more painful than my head wound.” Everyone laughed, including Leith.
Before the day was done, Sabrina had been bandaged and splinted, and had her arm put into a sling. Also, while Leith was busy with some of the kids practicing CPR on a dummy, she’d explained to three girls who asked how she’d created the ombré effect on her fingernails and told them where to find an instructional video on the internet.
At the end of class, Leith held up some papers. “Great job, everybody. For me to certify you in first aid, you’ll need to pass this test. So, before we start, let’s review. What’s the first thing to do if you think an older child is choking? Kara?”
“Ask them.”
“Good.” Leith moved on through all the lessons. Between Leith’s goofy memory aids and the practice sessions, these kids had it down. Leith really was a good teacher. Sabrina only hoped she would be able to learn as much about the outdoors tomorrow as he’d taught these kids today. Because if she could, it was just possible that this unusual plan of hers might work.
LEITH SWALLOWED THE last of the coffee in his travel mug while he waited for the light to turn green. He’d been a little surprised to find that Sabrina was living in this part of town. Not that there was anything wrong with this particular neighborhood, but most of the houses here were old and small. Based on the way she dressed and the amount of money she must spend on manicures, he would have thought she’d have chosen a shiny new apartment in a trendy part of town.
She’d surprised him yesterday, too, when she’d accepted her role as training dummy with good grace. In fact, the melodramatic way she’d acted out the injuries really helped keep the kids focused. The other day at the office, when she’d declared herself a hard worker, he’d had doubts. In his experience, hard workers didn’t talk about it; they just did it. But he was starting to think she might be the exception to that rule. He hoped so, anyway, because if he was going to get through all the lessons he had planned for today, she was going to have to put in some effort.
It still bothered him that she was hiding her lack of experience from her employer. He’d been lied to and taken advantage of, and it stank. But she was trying to acquire the skills she’d claimed to have. And was her deception any worse than what he was doing, having Sabrina pretend to be his date to the wedding?
Dinner at his sister’s had gone just about the way he’d expected. Volta, with all the subtlety of a locomotive, had seated him next to the new nurse at the table and kept throwing out random pieces of information designed to force them to bond. “Leith, Marley’s blood type is B negative, just like yours and mine. That’s only two percent of the population. Interesting coincidence, huh?”
What did you say to something like that? Marley had seemed like a perfectly nice person, but after going through a divorce three years ago, Leith had decided the safest route was to avoid getting involved with women, period. So, when Volta made a point of asking him if he had a date for the wedding in front of Marley so that he’d almost be forced to invite her, it had given him great satisfaction to assure her that, yes, he did have a date. He’d almost laughed out loud at the expression on his sister’s face when her plot failed. Fortunately, Marley didn’t look all that brokenhearted. She was probably glad to have gotten out of Volta’s trap unscathed as well.
Leith couldn’t understand why his sister was so fired up to find him a girlfriend. As far as he knew, Volta had been on less than a dozen dates since her daughter, Emma, had been born seven years ago, seven months after Volta’s husband had died in an avalanche. Leith worried about his sister sometimes, but he didn’t push her. So why did she feel entitled to push him?
Anyway, this nondate with Sabrina would take care of that problem for the time being, and all he had to do was teach her a few basic camping skills. How hard could that be?
He found her apartment building, a weathered fourplex split-level. Her door was down a half flight of steps. He knocked. A minute later, she opened the door a few inches, pulling a restraining chain tight. “Oh, hi. You didn’t have to come get me. I thought you’d just call my cell.”
“No, I...” He’d been lectured by his mother that a gentleman always walked a lady to and from her doorway. Of course, she’d meant on a date, and this wasn’t a date. “Never mind. Are you ready to go?”
“I think so. Let me grab some yogurt for lunch.”
“No need. I brought food to cook. That’s part of the lesson.”
“Oh, thank you. In that case, I’m ready.” She closed the door to unhook the chain and slipped out before he could see into her apartment. Today Sabrina wore tight jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and an Orson-brand fleece vest. She carried a small leather backpack that was obviously more for looks than practicality, since it wouldn’t last a day in the rain. At least she was wearing enough layers this time, and the sky was clear today. The jeans weren’t the most practical, although he had to admit, they fit her well. She carefully locked the door and turned to him with a smile. “I appreciate you doing this for me.”
It was a disarming smile, but three years ago, he’d developed immunity. “No problem, as long as you keep up your end of the bargain. Remember, you still have to do that wedding next week.”
“Yeah, but weddings are fun.”
“Maybe from your perspective. From mine, camping is fun. Weddings are a pain. But one of my best friends is getting married, so I got stuck as a groomsman. I even have to wear a suit.”
Sabrina laughed. “You’re a true friend to sacrifice so much. Where are we going?”
“I thought we might head over to Ekulna Lake, do a little hiking and set up a mock camp. Sound okay?”
“You’re in charge.”
Sabrina approached his ancient Land Cruiser without the usual comments about what a dinosaur it was. One point in her favor. Whatever she drove probably required premium fuel.
As they approached, Tal jumped up from her spot on the back seat and stuck her nose out the window he’d left open a few inches, madly wagging her tail.
“Oh, you’ve got a dog! Hi, sweetie,” Sabrina crooned. “What’s your name?”
“Talkeetna.” Leith reached past Sabrina to wrench open the stubborn passenger-side door. “Tal for short.”
“Hello, Tal.” Sabrina climbed into the seat and twisted around to reach for the dog. “Oh, my goodness, your ears are so soft. You’re just a big love bug, aren’t you?” All the while, she was rubbing Tal’s head, and Tal was eating it up, thumping her tail against the seat back. A long thread of drool dangled from her lip, but if Sabrina saw it, it didn’t faze her. “Is Tal a boy or a girl?”
“Girl.” Leith slammed Sabrina’s door closed and went around to the driver’s seat. “Better buckle up.”
Sabrina fastened her seat belt. “She’s so soft and fluffy. How long have you had her?”
“Almost six years. I got her as a puppy.” Not long before Nicole decided she needed a graduate degree from an out-of-state college and moved in with a guy in Seattle who she’d insisted was only a roommate. Leith couldn’t believe he’d fallen for that story. He patted Tal’s head. Happily, this female in his life had remained loyal.
“I love dogs, but I’ve never had one,” Sabrina said.
“You didn’t have a dog when you were a kid?”
“No.” Sabrina’s effervescence lost some bubbles. “We couldn’t af— Have pets.”
Her mother probably didn’t want dog hair on her nice furniture. Everything about Sabrina—the trendy clothes, shiny hair and flashy fingernails, which, he noticed, were pale green today to match her shirt—shouted upscale. Any outdoor activities she’d experienced growing up probably took place at the country club. Some people would envy her. He wasn’t one of them. His brief experience in high school with country-club life only made him more appreciative of what Alaska had to offer.
Leith drove out of the neighborhood and merged onto the Glenn Highway. He glanced toward Sabrina. Should he mention her clothes? He was supposed to be training her in woodcraft. “I see you’re wearing a fleece vest today.”
“Yes. I bought it yesterday.”
“Good. The vest will be useful, but jeans may not be the best hiking pants, especially up here.”
She tilted her head at him. “You mean because cotton is hydrophilic?”
Huh. She must have been reading the company catalogs. “Yes. If they get wet, jeans take forever to dry. But also because they’re tight on your thighs, and when you’re lifting your feet to climb uphill, that extra effort tends to tire you out.”
“Okay, but these jeans have Lycra, so they stretch.” She paused. “What did people wear outdoors before synthetic fabrics? Wool?”
“Mostly.”
“I know wool is warm when wet, which is one reason they use it for tweed hunting jackets in Britain.”
Leith didn’t know anything about British hunting jackets, but it made sense. “It’s not supposed to rain today, so your jeans should be fine. And I just have a short hike planned.”
“I looked at some nylon hiking pants at the store, but they’re going to have to wait until the next payday.”
He glanced at her before returning his eyes to the road. “I guess they don’t pay trainees a lot, huh?”
She shrugged. “They pay reasonably well. But, you know—student loans, moving expenses, security deposits. And I need to replenish my emergency fund.”
“Emergency fund?” He grinned. “What? For fashion emergencies, like shoe sales?”
She didn’t look amused. “Emergency fund so I can pay the rent if I don’t make the cut in September and I’m unemployed again.”
This didn’t quite jibe with the lifestyle he’d imagined, but it was hard to feel too sorry for her. Even he could tell those jeans she was wearing didn’t come from a discount store, and her manicure probably cost as much as the hiking pants. But there was no use getting into an argument about how she spent her money. “I hope you’ll learn enough today that you will make the cut to management.”
“Here’s hoping.”
Sabrina was quiet during most of the drive to the lake. Leith got the uncomfortable feeling she was annoyed at him. She stared out the window at the birch trees, with their yellow buds just starting to turn to green. In the distance, snow still covered the top half of the Chugach Mountains. He tried to think of something to say to improve her mood, but nothing came to mind.
Finally, just before they reached the exit, Sabrina spoke. “It is beautiful. I was starting to wonder what all the fuss about Alaska was about, but now that the sun has come out and I can see the mountains, I’m starting to understand.”
“It’s been a wet spring, and breakup is never the prettiest season,” Leith acknowledged, relieved that she seemed to have forgotten his stupid joke. “Give it another two weeks, and you’ll be amazed at how green everything is.”
They reached the trailhead parking lot. Sabrina pulled on the handle, but the door jammed. Before Leith could get around to help her, she slammed her shoulder into the door and knocked it open. Without comment, she slid out. “What a pretty lake. I love that color. Somewhere between azure and lapis.”
“Looks blue to me.” Leith opened the tailgate to grab Tal’s leash and went around to let her out.
Sabrina turned, and her eyes widened as she looked at something over Leith’s shoulder. “Oh, a dog.” She trotted past him.
Leith looked up. Oh, nuts. “Sabrina, wait.” He pushed Tal back into the car before she could see what was going on and escalate the problem.
“I’m just going to check out that dog,” she called back to him. “There’s nobody else here. It must be a stray.”
“Don’t go any closer.” Leith slammed the door and hurried around the car after her. The dark gray animal at the edge of the woods startled and ran for a few steps before pausing to look toward Sabrina.
Sabrina slowed to a walk, creeping forward while gently crooning. “Here, pup. You’re a big guy. Are you lost? I think you’re wearing a collar. Do you have a microchip? I’ll bet your family is missing you.”
“Stop!” Leith finally yelled loud enough to get through to her. She turned. The creature at the corner of the parking lot looked toward him as well.
Sabrina scowled at him. “What? I just want to help that dog. He seems shy. I wonder if someone abandoned him.”
“The reason he’s shy around people is because he’s not a dog.” Leith grabbed her elbow and dragged her back toward the safety of the Land Cruiser. “He’s a wolf.”
CHAPTER FOUR (#u3e9eca27-5fa7-5449-bd18-534f34e604b3)
“NO WAY.” Sabrina looked up at Leith’s face, expecting to find that he was teasing her, but he wasn’t smiling.
“I’m serious. We need to stay back.” He nudged her closer to the car.
Sabrina squinted at the animal, who was now hovering at the very edge of the woods, holding his head low as though ready to run. “Are you sure? I think he’s wearing a collar.”
“He is,” Leith agreed. “A radio collar.” He opened the car door and reached under the seat, pulling out a pair of binoculars. After focusing, he handed them to Sabrina. “Take a look.”
She put the binoculars to her eyes, and the animal jumped into focus. A black collar with a boxlike attachment under his chin almost disappeared in the dark gray fur. Now that she could see him more clearly, he looked a little rangier than most dogs. He lifted his head to stare straight at her with amber eyes, and then he was gone.
“A real wolf.” Sabrina returned the binoculars to Leith. “That’s incredible.”
“Yeah. You don’t see wolves often, especially this time of day. They’re generally too skittish.”
“Were we actually in danger?”
“Probably not. They had a little trouble with a pack north of Anchorage several years ago following people and attacking their dogs, but I haven’t heard much about them lately.”
“Do wolves ever attack people?”
“Almost never. Every case I’ve heard of is a lone runner attacked by a pack, and in the middle of winter when food is scarce. This wolf seemed to be alone. I suspect he got separated from his pack and that’s why he’s wandering around this morning, trying to find them.”
She nodded. “Does this mean we can’t stay here?”
“I’d suggest we give him a fifteen-minute head start while we make as much noise as possible unloading the equipment, and then carry on with our plans. We’ll keep Tal on a leash today, just in case.”
“Good.” Sabrina walked to the back of the Land Cruiser. “Because this lake is lovely.”
Leith eyed her, his eyebrows raised.
“What?”
“Honestly, I thought you’d be scared.”
“Why should I be? From what you said, a wolf fifty yards away is not much of a threat. Now, scorpions in your bed. That’s scary.”
“You found scorpions in your bed?”
“Once. I didn’t sleep much that night.” Scorpions weren’t the only scary things around the apartment building they’d moved to after Sabrina’s dad declared bankruptcy and disappeared from their lives. She’d seen a cockroach in the hallway that looked like it could take on a Chihuahua in a fair fight. And some of the people living in the building were even scarier than the roaches. But she didn’t like to think about those days. She smiled at Leith. “So, what’s my first lesson today?”
“Eager to get started?”
“Got to get that management position.”
“Right. Well, I figure since your goal is to impress with your product knowledge, we should experience as many different activities as possible today. I thought we’d start with how to load a backpack and take a short hike first. Then we can set up in one of the campground spots.”
“Sounds good.”
He pulled out a red backpack. Sabrina wasn’t surprised to see the Orson Outfitters logo on the flap. “First, I’ll show you how to adjust the straps so that the pack fits you. Then we’ll load it up.”
Once he had all the buckles and belts adjusted, the pack felt quite comfortable on her back. At least when it was empty. He had her take it off and load it up with a tent, a sleeping bag and other equipment, then put it back on. It didn’t feel too bad. “How much does this thing weigh?”
“About twenty-five pounds. Rule of thumb is not to carry more than twenty-five percent of your body weight.”
“I think sometimes my purse weighs this much.” Sabrina buckled the waist strap and followed Leith and Tal along the flat trail that circled the lake. Maybe the climb during the team-builder had toughened her up, because she wasn’t having any trouble keeping up with them.
They reached a Y in the path. Leith looked back at her. “Doing okay with that pack?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good. Then we’ll go a little farther.” He took the path off to the right.
Sabrina followed. The pack grew heavier, but he’d said it was a short hike, so she didn’t want to wimp out. This path seemed harder than before. Eventually she realized they were climbing steadily uphill. Leith glanced back a few times, but he never slowed down. Sabrina was sucking wind when he finally stopped.
She stopped, too, resting her hands on her knees and drawing in vast lungfuls of air. Tal came to stand in front of her, staring. The dog had probably never seen a human panting so hard. After a few minutes, Sabrina had recovered enough to speak. “Sorry. I can’t climb any farther without a rest.”
“That’s okay.” Leith handed her a bottle of water. “We’re here.”
She gratefully accepted the water and gulped down half the bottle. “Where’s here?”
He offered his hand. “Come see.”
She took his hand and he led her a few steps out of the forest, toward the edge of a bluff overlooking the lake. She dug in her heels several feet from the edge. “This is close enough.”
“What’s wrong?” He studied her face. “Oh. Not a fan of heights?”
“No.” She hated this. It was embarrassing to be the one who couldn’t do something simple, like cross a bridge. The one whose fear inconvenienced everyone in the group. She knew the danger was in her head, but her pounding heart never listened. She tried to shrug it off. “Not from ledges.”
He nodded. “No problem. Here. If we stand on this rock away from the edge, you can still see.”
He climbed onto a boulder and Tal scrambled up beside him. Leith reached down for her. The boulder was at least ten feet back from the edge. Sabrina took his hand and climbed onto the rock. He was right. It did give a magnificent view without that sense that the earth was falling away. And he’d done it without making her feel small.
Sabrina shaded her eyes with her hand and looked outward. The lake stretched out below them, a few puffy white clouds reflected on the deep blue surface. Furry dark spruce lined one edge of the lake. On the other side, cerise buds scattered like confetti across the branches of white-barked trees. “It’s gorgeous here.”
“I thought you’d like it.”
She looked up at him and that amazing smile was back. The blue eyes were watching her again, but now they seemed friendly. It was obvious that Leith was in his element. Sabrina realized she was still holding his hand, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to let go. After a pause, Tal pushed between them and the spell was broken. Sabrina dropped his hand, rubbing along Tal’s head to cover her sudden awkwardness.
“It’s almost worth the climb.”
Leith raised an eyebrow. “Almost?”
Sabrina sucked in another deep breath. “Totally worth the climb. Just maybe not while carrying another fourth of a person.”
He laughed. “You did well.” He jumped down from the rock and she followed. “It will be easier going downhill. We’d better get started if we’re going to cook in camp today. By the way, I brought supplies to make chili. Is that okay with you? I should have asked if you eat meat.”
“I love chili.”
“With kidney beans?”
She grinned. “You trust me with a can of beans?”
“Absolutely. I figure that lesson is one you’ll never forget.”
“You’re right about that. I just wish it hadn’t been such a public lesson. I’m afraid Walter and the others will never forget it, either.”
“Don’t worry about it. Someday, it will be one of those funny stories they tell each other about how they knew you before you were a big shot.”
“You really think so?”
“Why not? You say you’re willing to do the work. You’ve lined me up to teach you the skills you need, which shows excellent judgment. How can you lose?”
“Too bad Walter can never know about my excellent choice of instructors.”
“You can impress him in other ways. Maybe volunteer to staff the Orson Outfitters’ sponsor table at one of the events this summer.”
“Great idea. Thanks for the suggestion.”
“No extra charge. Let’s go.” He set a brisk pace on the return trip, but as he’d said, it was easier going downhill.
Once they reached the parking lot, they dumped their backpacks into his car and Leith drove to the campground. “Since we’re not staying overnight, I could take us to a picnic area for the practice camp, but I want to show you how to build a fire, and they’re only allowed in designated campsites.”
Only four of the campsites were occupied, three with giant RVs parked and one with a tent. Leith drove away from the others and stopped at an isolated spot near the lake. He got out of the car, so Sabrina followed him. His gaze swept the campsite and then he turned toward her. “What do you think of this spot?”
Sabrina looked around. A metal picnic table was chained to concrete sunk into the ground. Beside a gurgling creek was a flat place under some trees where she assumed the tent would go. A round metal firepit sat in the clearing, with an unobstructed view of the lake. “It’s beautiful. But I can tell by that little crinkle in the corner of your eye there’s something I’m supposed to notice.”
He laughed. “You’re good.”
“Not good enough to figure out the problem with this campsite.”
He nodded toward the creek. “Today, there’s no problem. But if this warm weather keeps up, the water coming off the glacier will cause the creek to rise, and you might wake up in the middle of the night with the creek running through your tent. In a public campground like this, the host will probably put up a sign not to camp here, but it’s something to keep in mind for wilderness camping.”
“Wilderness camping? Is that out in the open without designated campsites?”
“Exactly. But today, this will work just fine. I’ll go back to the gate to check us in, and we can get started.”
Sabrina insisted on paying the ten-dollar camping fee. Leith protested, but they were using Leith’s gas and Leith’s food even though this was all for her benefit. She filled out an envelope, enclosed two fives and dropped it in a slot in a post beside the campground sign. A handwritten note on the bulletin board warned that someone had spotted a wolf in the area and to keep your dogs and children close, so the wolf must have tracked through the campground after leaving the parking lot.
She returned to the campsite, where Leith had stacked an armload of wood beside the fire ring. Tal wagged her tail and whined at Sabrina, clearly upset to be tied to a tree. Sabrina hurried over to stroke her head. “Does she have to be tied up?”
“I’m afraid so.” Leith gave the dog a pat. “She’s pretty good about staying close, but in case she spots a squirrel or something, I don’t want her wandering off with that wolf around. Come on. Our first lesson is fire building.” He handed her a bucket. “Go fill this with water from the creek.”
Was he kidding? “Water. To make a fire.”
“Never start a fire unless you have the equipment ready to put it out. Safety first.”
“Oh, I get it.” She filled the bucket and wrestled it back to camp, while he watched. He could have helped. On the other hand, she was supposed to be learning to camp independently, and lifting buckets of water was probably good arm-toning.
When she got to the edge of the fire ring, he did take it from her and set it against a log. “Ready to learn how to build a fire?”
“One second.” Sabrina closed her eyes and took in an exaggerated breath. “I’m unleashing my inner pyromaniac.” She opened her eyes. “I’m ready.”
Leith didn’t laugh but his mouth twitched. “Good thing I brought a fire extinguisher and first-aid supplies.” He nodded toward a large canvas case with a red cross on the front.
“I’ll try to keep it under control. Okay, how does this work?”
Leith took a knife from his pocket and showed her how to create kindling from a branch. She was surprised to discover that fires were literally built; she’d always assumed it was a figure of speech. But Leith showed her how to create an intricate arrangement of tinder, kindling, twigs, sticks and then logs with spaces in between for air circulation. “Now you just need to strike a match.”
“Where do you keep the matches?”
“You didn’t bring matches?” Leith raised his eyebrows as though it was a serious question, but the laughter in his eyes gave him away.
“I guess I missed it on the invisible supply list you gave me. Do you have any matches, survival guy?”
“Why, as a matter of fact, I do.” Leith reached into his pocket. “In fact, I have two matchboxes, so one must be yours.” He handed her an orange plastic cylinder. “Don’t go into the wilderness without it.”
The Learn & Live logo stamped on the side of the box identified it as a promotional goodie. Sabrina clutched it to her heart. “Thank you. I’ll treasure it always.” She unscrewed the top and removed a match.
“Striker’s on the bottom.”
“I suspected as much. I once lit a candle, all by myself.”
“Impressive.” He smirked.
Sabrina tossed a twig at him before she knelt in front of the fire. “So, just hold the match to the dry grass, right?” At his nod, she struck a match. A slight breeze she hadn’t noticed before blew it out. She sneaked a look at Leith, but he didn’t seem to be laughing at her. Yet. She struck another match, this time cupping her hand around it until she could touch the flame to the tinder.
The flame caught for a second, and then sputtered out. Sabrina blew out a breath of frustration. She moved so that the wind was at her back and struck a third match. This time, the grass caught fire and burned, lapping at the kindling she’d shaved from a branch. As she watched, the kindling started burning and began to ignite the twigs.
“It’s going!” She turned to Leith, grinning. “I mean, I realize it took me three matches, but I lit a fire!”
“Three matches isn’t bad. You get a gold star for fire building. Now, while we let the logs burn to coals for cooking, I’ll unload the food, and you can pitch the tent. This is last year’s version of the one you, uh—”
“Almost destroyed?”
“You said it, not me.” He handed her the tent bag, which she dumped out.
“It’s green.” She rolled her eyes. “What a surprise.”
“What have you got against green? It matches your vest.”
“I know. And it matches the camp chairs in the store, and the midweight sleeping bags, and most of the rain jackets. It’s like whoever designs the products for Orson only has eight crayons to choose from. I can’t figure it out. I’ve been looking online at our competition. There are beautiful designs in outdoor gear. Why do ours have to be so...plain?”
“Did you see the prices on those brands? Orson Outfitters is known for producing high quality at reasonable prices. That’s why people like it. They don’t spend a lot on stuff that doesn’t matter.”
“It is good quality.” Sabrina unzipped her vest to show him the lining. “The workmanship on this vest is excellent. The seams are straight and well finished, they used a heavy-duty zipper, and the stitching on the windproof lining is perfect. But it’s boxy. It’s like they just made a smaller version of a man’s vest without changing the shape.”
“They probably did.”
“It shouldn’t cost any more to curve the seams and use more interesting colors.”
“I don’t see what’s wrong with green.”
“Nothing. I love green. But why couldn’t it be forest green, or sage green, or emerald? Or they could use the nap of the fleece to create some textural interest.” He was looking at her as though she was speaking a foreign language. She laughed. “Sorry. Back to the tent. I can handle this. Now that I know what a shock cord is.”
This tent was just like the other one except that the fabric and the poles were solid green. She followed the same steps and threaded the first pole through the sleeve, as she had on the other tent, but when she was finished, it was too long to fit into the grommets.
Sabrina let out a groan of frustration. “Why doesn’t it work?”
Leith set down a Dutch oven and came to see. “Oh, I should have mentioned. The poles aren’t the same length. That’s why they color-coded them on the new design. I’ve made the same mistake before. I should mark those poles somehow.”
“I’ll do it.” Sabrina set down the poles and trotted to the car for her leather backpack. She burrowed around inside until she located a bottle of nail polish. “Ta-da. I’ll mark them for you. L for long and S for short?”
Leith was shaking his head. “You bring nail supplies on a camping trip?”
“Hey, you brought that enormous first-aid kit.” She pulled out the brush and painted an L on the end of the longer pole. “I’m a whole lot more likely to break a nail than a bone.”
“Maybe so, but if you do break a bone, you’ll be glad to have the first-aid supplies to splint it.”
“Good point.” She carefully painted an S on the other pole. “But you must admit, the nail polish came in handy.”
“I admit nothing.” He looked over her shoulder. “Be sure to mark the other ends of the poles, too.”
Sabrina snorted and looked up to see him grinning at her. “I’ll do that. With my useless nail polish. To make setting up your tent easier next time.”
Once the polish dried, she successfully set up the tent. Leith showed her how to make chili over the fire in a cast-iron Dutch oven, but while that was cooking he had her practice lighting a camp stove and boiling water. It turned out that those metal trivets with silicone rings she’d seen at the team-builder expanded to turn into pans.
He demonstrated inflatable sleeping pads and folding cots, mentioned the importance of using biodegradable products when camping and debated the pros and cons of mummy-style sleeping bags versus conventional bags. She’d never remember all of it, but at least some of those terms she’d read on the company website were starting to make sense.
“Chili should be ready. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Sabrina admitted.
“These are the latest silicone camping bowls from Orson.” Leith handed her an orange disk. “They’re heat-resistant and foldable, just like the pans.”
Sabrina pushed on the center and it popped open into a bowl. “Cool.”
“And they’re not green.”
“You’re right. Orange is a favorite, too, I’ve noticed. For some reason our summer bag is only in orange.”
“I know. I have three.” Leith used a thick mitt to grab the Dutch oven by the bale and lift it off the fire. When he opened the lid, the aroma of cumin and chilis filled the air. Tal whimpered.
Sabrina almost whimpered as well. “That smells so good.”
Leith tossed Tal a dog biscuit and handed Sabrina a big spoon. “Help yourself.”
She ladled the rich red chili into her bowl and carried it over to one of the folding chairs. Leith settled into the other chair. He scooped up a spoonful and held it up like a toast. “To outdoor adventures.”
“Outdoor adventures. And successful careers.” Sabrina blew on her spoon and then took her first bite. It was as good as it smelled. “Yum. I’m a good campfire cook. Who knew?”
“Not bad,” Leith agreed. “A little heavier on the jalapeños than usual.”
“Oh? Can’t take the heat?”
“Oh, I can take it,” he said, taking another spoonful of chili. A minute later, Sabrina noticed he took a big gulp from his water bottle, and she smiled to herself. Next time she’d dial down the jalapeños a little. And then she remembered that, unless they served chili at the wedding, there wouldn’t be a next time. This was a business arrangement, not a friendship. Too bad because she’d enjoyed her time today with Leith more than she ever expected to.
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