“Any blondes?” Sawyer asked sarcastically.
“Yeah, one, but she looked too fragile to last. I liked her, though. There’s another one who seemed to really want the job. It makes me wonder why she’d leave a cushy job here in Seattle for Hard Luck. It’s not like we’re offering great benefits.”
“But a house and twenty acres sounds like a lot,” Sawyer said from between clenched teeth.
“You think I should hire her?”
He sighed. “If she’s qualified and she wants the job, then by all means, hire her.”
“Okay. I’ll give her a call as soon as we’re finished and make the arrangements.”
“Just a minute.” Sawyer shoved one hand through his hair. “Is she pretty?” He was quickly losing faith in his brother’s judgment. Christian had already decided on a secretary, and he didn’t know if she could so much as file. Heaven help them all if he hired the rest of the applicants based on their looks rather than their qualifications.
Christian hesitated. “I suppose you could say the librarian’s pretty, but she isn’t going to bowl you over the way Allison will. She’s just sort of regular pretty. Brown hair and eyes, average height. Cute upturned nose.
“Now with Allison, well, there’s no comparison. We’re talking sexy here. Wait until John gets a look at her…front,” Christian said, and chuckled. “She’s swimsuit-issue material.”
“Hire her!” Sawyer snapped.
“Allison? I already have, but she wants twenty-four hours to think it over. I told you that.”
“I meant the librarian.”
“Oh, all right, if you think I should.”
Sawyer propped his elbows on the desk and shook his head. “Anything else you called to tell me about?”
“Not much. I’m not doing any more interviews for now. Allison and the librarian, plus the new teacher, that’s three—enough to start with. Let’s see how things work out. I’ve collected a couple of dozen résumés, and I’ll save them for future reference. Unless I find a cook for Ben or—”
“Don’t hire any more,” Sawyer insisted. He was well aware that he sounded short-tempered, but frankly he was and he didn’t care if his brother knew it.
“Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you. If Allison does take the job, she won’t be able to start right away. Apparently she’s booked a vacation with a friend. I told her that’s okay. We’ve waited this long. Another couple of weeks won’t matter.”
“Why don’t you ask her if next year would be convenient?”
“Very funny. What’s wrong with you? I get the feeling you’re envious—not that I blame you. I wish we’d thought of this a long time ago. Meeting and talking to all these women is a lot of fun. See you.”
The phone went dead in Sawyer’s hand.
Abbey’s spirits were low. Dragging-in-the-gutter low. She hadn’t got the job. O’Halloran would’ve phoned by now if he’d decided to hire her.
Scott and Susan, ever sensitive to her moods, pushed their dinner around their plates. No one seemed to have much of an appetite.
“It doesn’t look like I got the job in Alaska,” she told them. There wasn’t any reason to keep her children’s hopes alive. “Mr. O’Halloran, the man who interviewed me, was supposed to call this afternoon if he’d chosen me.”
“That’s all right, Mom,” Scott said with a brave smile. “You’ll find something else.”
“I wanted to go to Alaska,” Susan said, her lower lip trembling. “I told everyone at school we were moving.”
“We are.” Abbey knew this was of little comfort, but she threw it in, anyway. “It just so happens that we won’t be moving to Alaska.”
“Can we visit there someday?” Scott asked. “I liked what we read in those books you brought home. It seems like a great place.”
“Someday.” Someday, Abbey realized, could be a magical word, filled with the promise of a brighter tomorrow. At the moment, though, it just sounded bleak.
The phone rang, and both Susan and Scott twisted around, looking eagerly at the kitchen wall. Neither of them moved. Abbey didn’t allow the dinner hour to be interrupted by phone calls.
“The machine will pick up the message,” she told them unnecessarily.
After the fourth ring, the answering machine automatically clicked on. Everyone went still, straining to hear who’d phoned.
“This is Christian O’Halloran.”
“Mom!” Scott cried excitedly.
Abbey flew across the kitchen, ripping the phone off the hook. “Mr. O’Halloran,” she said breathlessly, “hello.”
“Hello,” Christian responded. “I’m glad I caught you.”
“I’m glad you caught me, too. Have you made your decision?” She hated to sound so eager, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“You’ve got the job, if you still want it.”
“I do,” Abbey said, giving Scott and Susan a thumbs-up. Her son and daughter stabbed triumphant fists in the air.
“When can you start?”
Abbey was certain the library would let her leave with minimal notice. “Whenever it’s convenient for you.”
“How about next week?” Christian asked. “I won’t return from my business trip until the end of the month, but I’ll arrange for my brother Sawyer to meet you in Fairbanks.”
“Next week?”
“Is that too soon?”
“No, no,” she said quickly, fearing he might change his mind. She could take the kids out of school a week early, and she wouldn’t need much time to pack their belongings. Her mother would help, and whatever they didn’t take with them on the plane—like their furniture—she could have shipped later.
“I’ll see you in Hard Luck, then.”
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how pleased I am,” she said. “Oh, before I hang up…” she began, thinking she should probably mention the fact that she’d be bringing Scott and Susan. Despite the provision of housing, there was nothing on the application asking about children or family.
“I’ll be with you in a minute, Allison,” Christian said.
“Excuse me?”
“My dinner date just arrived,” he told her. “As I explained, my brother will meet you in Fairbanks. I’ll have the travel agency call you to make the arrangements for your ticket.”
“You’re paying my airfare?”
“Of course. And don’t worry about packing for the winter. You can buy what you need once you arrive.”
“But—”
“I wish I had more time to answer your questions,” he said distractedly. “Sawyer’s really the one who can tell you what you need to know.”
“Mr. O’Halloran—”
“Good luck, Abbey.”
“Thank you.” She gave up trying. He’d learn about Scott and Susan when he returned. As far as she was concerned, the town was getting a great librarian—plus a bonus!
“You sure you don’t want me to fly in and meet the new librarian this afternoon?” John Henderson asked, straddling the chair across from Sawyer. His hair had been dampened and combed down, and it looked as if he was wearing a new shirt.
“Be my guest.” You’d think the Queen of England was flying in judging by the way folks in Hard Luck were behaving. Duke had arrived at Ben’s this morning clean-shaven and spiffed up, smelling pungently of aftershave. Sawyer hid a grin. The next woman would follow in a few days, and he wondered how long it would take for everyone to get tired of these welcoming parties.
“You’ll let John pick up the new librarian over my dead body,” Duke barked. “We all know what happened the last time he flew a woman into Hard Luck.”
“I keep telling you that wasn’t my fault.”
“Forget it! I’ll pick her up.” Sawyer looked away from his squabbling pilots in disgust and happened to notice the blackboard where Ben wrote out the daily lunch and dinner specials.
“Beef Wellington?” he asked.
“You got a problem with Beef Wellington?” Ben muttered belligerently. “I
’m just trying to show our new librarian that we’re a civilized bunch.”
In Sawyer’s opinion, this whole project didn’t show a lot of promise. He’d bet none of these women would last the winter. The bad feeling he’d experienced when they first discussed the idea had returned tenfold.
“You talk to that Seattle paper yet?” Ben asked, setting a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of him.
“No.” Sawyer frowned. The press was becoming a problem. It wasn’t surprising that the media had gotten hold of the situation and wanted to do stories on it. They’d been hounding Sawyer for interviews all week—thanks to Christian, who’d given out his name. He was damn near ready to throttle his younger brother. And he was sorely tempted to have the phone disconnected; if it wasn’t vital for business, he swore he would’ve done it already.
Now that the first woman was actually arriving, Sawyer regretted not discussing The Plan with their oldest brother. Although Charles was a full partner in the flight service, he was employed as a surveyor for Alaska Oil and was often away from Hard Luck for weeks on end. Like right now.
When he did get home, Charles would probably think they’d all lost their minds. Sawyer wouldn’t blame him, either.
“Well, the cabin’s ready, anyway,” Duke said with satisfaction.
After they’d scrubbed down the walls and floors, Sawyer and a few of the men had opened up the storeroom in the lodge and dug out some of the old furniture. Sawyer had expressed doubts about sleeping on mattresses that had been tucked away for so many years, but Pearl and various other women—including several who were wives of pipeline maintenance workers—had aired everything out. They’d assured him that aside from some lingering mustiness, there was nothing to worry about. Everything had been well wrapped in plastic.
As much as Sawyer hated to admit it, the cabin looked almost inviting. The black potbellied stove gleamed from repeated scrubbing. The women had sewn floral curtains for the one window and a matching tablecloth for the rough wooden table. The townspeople had stacked the shelves with groceries, and someone had even donated a cooler to keep perishables fresh for a few days. The single bed, made up with sun-dried linens and one thin blanket, did resemble something one might find in a prison, but Sawyer didn’t say so. Pearl and her friends had worked hard to make the cabin as welcoming as possible.
When he’d stopped there on his way to Ben’s for breakfast, he saw that someone had placed a Mason jar of freshly cut wildflowers on the table. Right beside the kerosene lantern and the can opener.
Well, this was as good as it got.
“How are you going to know it’s her when she steps off the plane?” Ben asked, standing directly in front of him and watching him eat.
“I’m wearing my Midnight Sons jacket,” Sawyer answered. “I’ll let her figure it out.”
“What’s her name again?”
“Abbey Sutherland.”
“I bet she’s pretty,” Duke muttered.
His pilots gazed sightlessly into the distance, longing written on their faces. Sawyer wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.
“I’m getting out of here before you three make me lose my breakfast.”
“You sure you don’t want me to ride along with you?” John asked hopefully.
“I’m sure.” Sawyer would also be bringing back the mail and a large order of canned goods for the grocery. He was flying the Baron, and he sincerely hoped Abbey Sutherland had packed light. He didn’t have room for more than two suitcases, and he intended to store those in the nose.
Grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair, Sawyer headed out the door and across Hard Luck’s main street toward the runway.
He could’ve flown into Fairbanks with his eyes closed, he’d made the flight so often. He landed, took care of loading up the mail and other freight, then—with a sense of dread—made his way to the terminal.
After checking the monitor to make sure the flight was coming in on time, Sawyer bought a coffee and ventured out to the assigned gate.
He was surprised by how busy the terminal was. Tourists, he guessed. Not that he was complaining. They brought a lot of money into the state. Not as much as oil did, of course, but they certainly represented a healthy part of the economy.
Even the airport was geared toward impressing tourists, he noted. The first thing many saw when they walked in was a massive mounted polar bear, rearing up on its hind legs. Although he’d seen it a hundred times, Sawyer still felt awed by it.
The plane arrived on schedule. Sipping coffee, Sawyer waited for the passengers to enter the terminal.
He glanced at each one, not knowing what to expect. Christian’s description of Abbey Sutherland sure left something to be desired. From what he remembered, Christian had said she was “regular” pretty.
Every woman he saw seemed to match that description, such as it was. With the exception of one.
She was probably in her early thirties. She had two kids at her side. The little girl, who couldn’t have been more than six or seven, clutched a stuffed bear. The boy, perhaps two or three years older, looked as if he needed a leash to hold him back. The kid was raring to go.
The woman wasn’t pretty, Sawyer decided, she was downright lovely. Her glossy brown hair was short and straight and fell to just below her ears. Her eyes skirted past him. He liked their warm brown color and he liked her calm manner.
He also liked the way she protectively drew her children close as she looked around. She too, it seemed, was seeking someone.
With a determined effort, Sawyer pulled his gaze away from her and scanned the crowd for Christian’s librarian.
Brown hair and cute upturned nose.
He found himself looking back at the woman with the two children. Their eyes met, and her generous mouth formed a smile. It wasn’t a shy smile or a coy one. It was open and friendly, as if she recognized him and expected him to recognize her.
Then she walked right over to him. “Hello,” she said.
“Hello.” Fearing he’d miss the woman he’d come to meet, his eyes slid past her to the people still disembarking from the plane.
“I’m Abbey Sutherland.”
Sawyer’s gaze shot back to her before dropping to the two kids.
“These are my children, Scott and Susan,” she said. “Thank you for meeting us.”
Chapter 3
“Your children?” Sawyer repeated.
“Yes,” Abbey said. It was easy to see the family resemblance between Sawyer and Christian O’Halloran, she thought. Both were tall and lean and rawboned. If he’d lived a hundred years earlier, he could’ve been on horseback, riding across some now-forgotten range in the Old West. Instead, he was flying over a large expanse of wilderness, from one fringe of civilization to another.
Whereas Christian had been clean-shaven, Sawyer had a beard. The dark hair suited his face. His eyes were a pale shade of gray-blue, not unlike those of a husky, Scott’s favorite dog. He wore a red-checked flannel shirt under a jacket marked with the Midnight Sons logo. She suspected he had no idea how attractive he was.
“Hi,” Scott said eagerly, looking up at Sawyer.
The pilot held out his hand and she noticed that his eyes softened as he exchanged handshakes with her son. “Pleased to meet you, Scott.”
“Alaska sure is big.”
“That it is. Hello, Susan,” Sawyer said next, holding out his hand to her daughter. The girl solemnly shook it, then glanced at Abbey and smiled, clearly delighted with this gesture of grown-up respect.
“Could we speak privately, Ms. Sutherland?” Sawyer asked. The warmth and welcome vanished from his eyes as he motioned toward the waiting area. He walked just far enough away so the children couldn’t hear him. Abbey followed, keeping a close eye on Scott and Susan.
“Christian didn’t mention that you have children,” Sawyer said without preamble.
“He didn’t ask. And there was no reference to family on the application
or the agreement Christian sent me. I did think it was a bit odd not to inquire about my circumstances, considering that you’re providing housing.”
“You might’ve said something.” An accusatory look tightened his mouth.
“I didn’t get a chance,” she explained in even tones. His attitude was beginning to irritate her. “I did try, but he was busy, and I really didn’t think it would matter.”
“There’s nothing in the agreement about children.”
“I’m aware of that,” Abbey said, striving to keep the emotion out of her voice. “As I already told you, I filled out the application and answered every question, and there wasn’t a single one about dependants. Frankly, I don’t think they’re anyone’s concern but mine. I was hired as a librarian. And as long as I do my job, I—”
“That’s right, but—”
“I really can’t see that it matters whether or not I have a family to support.”
“What about your husband?”
“I’m divorced. Listen, would you mind if we discussed this another time? The children and I are exhausted. We landed in Anchorage late last night and were up early this morning to catch the connecting flight to Fairbanks. Would it be too much to ask that we wait for a more opportune moment to sort this out?”
He hesitated, then said in crisp tones, “No problem.”
The pulse in his temple throbbed visibly, and Abbey suspected that it was, in fact, very much of a problem.
“I brought the Baron,” he said, directing the three of them toward the luggage carousel. “All I can say is I hope you packed light.”
Abbey wasn’t sure how she was supposed to interpret “packed light.” Everything she and the children owned that would fit was crammed into their suitcases. Everything that hadn’t gone into their luggage had been sold, given away or handed over to a shipping company and would arrive within the month. She hoped.
“Look, Mom,” Scott said, pointing at the wall where a variety of stuffed animals were displayed. Abbey shuddered, but her son’s eyes remained fixed on the head of a huge brown bear. Its teeth were bared threateningly.