She could apply for a position with the state, too, she mused while he was gone. But if she got a government job, it was unlikely she’d be able to continue living in Hard Luck, which made the idea less appealing.
“You sure you’d want to work in a restaurant?” Ben asked when he returned. His look was thoughtful.
“I’m positive.” The way she saw things, she wouldn’t have much of a choice.
“If you don’t want to stay with Midnight Sons anymore, you can have a job right here.”
Chapter
4
THE LUMP IN Mariah’s throat wouldn’t go away. The computer screen blurred as her eyes filled with unshed tears. Swallowing hard, she quickly typed out her letter of resignation. Every word was like the end of a dream, the end of her hopes. The printer spewed out the single sheet, and she took a few minutes to compose herself before signing it.
When Mariah was fairly certain she wouldn’t make a fool of herself by bursting into tears, she brought the letter to Sawyer.
“What’s this?” he asked, glancing up from his computer terminal.
“I’m giving you my notice.”
Sawyer’s gaze shot to hers in disbelief. “You’re quitting?”
She nodded, then said with forced cheerfulness, “It’s been a wonderful experience, but as Christian pointed out, my contract is up. I’d agreed to work for Midnight Sons for a year, and—” she shrugged “—it’s time to move on.”
“Is it the money?” Sawyer asked with a dumbfounded look. “Are you unhappy with the benefits package?”
“No. You’ve always been more than generous.”
“But…” Sawyer didn’t seem to know what to say. She realized she’d taken him by surprise, but that couldn’t be helped. She’d made her decision and felt it was the right one.
“In that case, can I ask why you want to leave?” Sawyer asked. “Especially now?”
“For one thing, I can see the writing on the wall,” she told him, struggling to keep her voice even. “I overheard Christian telling you he wants to bring Allison Reynolds back to Hard Luck. There simply isn’t enough work to occupy two full-time secretaries. Allison was the one he wanted from the first. I…I have what I want—the cabin and the twenty acres of land.”
“Now, listen, there’s no way on earth I’m going to let my brother hire Allison Reynolds,” Sawyer insisted. “Your position here is secure, I promise you.” Fire glowed in his eyes as if battle loomed on the horizon and he was ready to take aim. Brother against brother.
“I appreciate what you’re saying, and I thank you, but you and I both know that Christian—”
“It’s not going to happen, Mariah,” Sawyer said from between clenched teeth. “I won’t let it.”
He was making this more difficult than she’d expected. She’d assumed she would hand in her notice, and he’d put up a token fuss, then release her. What shocked her was the vehemence with which he argued.
“Thank you, Sawyer. I’m grateful for what you’re trying to do, but the last thing I want is to cause dissension between you and Christian. It’s pretty obvious that he’d prefer to work with Allison.”
“Why don’t we wait until Christian’s back?” he suggested. “There’s no need to jump to conclusions. I talked to him last night, and he didn’t mention bringing Allison back with him.” He paused and seemed to reconsider. “But then, I suppose I didn’t give him an opportunity to say much.”
“It’s too late, Sawyer. I already have another job.”
This seemed to shock him even more. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “Who…where?”
“The Hard Luck Café. I’m going to work for Ben.”
“Since when did Ben Hamilton need a secretary?” Sawyer demanded. He made it sound as if Ben had stolen her away from him.
“Not a secretary,” Mariah hurried to explain. “He needs help in the kitchen.”
“You’re qualified to cook?”
“I won’t be responsible for the cooking,” she clarified. “I’ll wait tables and clean up and…and things like that. Ben’s been running the café on his own all these years. It’s time he relaxed and left the small stuff to someone else.”
“Ben!” Sawyer said the name in a tone that implied his longtime friend had turned traitor.
“I asked him about the job,” Mariah pointed out. She didn’t want to cause trouble between Ben and the O’Hallorans any more than she wanted to between the two brothers.
Sawyer reread her letter and frowned anew. “You’re sure this is what you want?”
Was she sure? Mariah didn’t know anymore. From what Christian and the others had said, Allison Reynolds was a real beauty; he was clearly besotted with her. Mariah didn’t stand a chance of winning Christian’s heart. It wasn’t easy to walk away from this job—or from Christian—but she had to, for the sake of her sanity. And for the sake of her pride, she had to convince Sawyer she was perfectly content to give up her duties with Midnight Sons. She had to be certain he’d never know how much it hurt.
“I’m sure,” she said, revealing nothing.
Sawyer pinched the bridge of his nose. “In that case there’s not much I can say.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, Mariah quit?” Christian shouted into the phone.
“She gave me her notice first thing this morning,” Sawyer said, sounding none too pleased.
“She can’t do that!”
“Why can’t she?” Sawyer asked impatiently. “It’s a free country. We can’t force her to work for us if she doesn’t want to.”
Christian stood, forgetting that the receiver was connected to the telephone on the hotel nightstand. He started to pace and the phone fell with a discordant clang. For an instant he was afraid he’d severed the connection.
“You there?” he asked his brother.
“Yes. What happened?”
“Nothing. I dropped the phone.” Christian rammed his fingers into his dark blond hair and winced at the unexpected twinge of pain. “You might’ve tried talking her into staying.”
“I talked until I was blue in the face. I tried everything short of out-and-out bribery. I have to tell you, Christian, I blame you for this. You haven’t done a damn thing to help, you know.”
“How can I help when you’re in Hard Luck and I’m in Seattle?” His irritation was fast turning to anger. This whole business with Mariah didn’t make sense. It should’ve been obvious to Sawyer—to anyone with half a brain—how crucial it was to keep Mariah with Midnight Sons. She knew more about the office than the two brothers combined. True, there’d been a time, not so long ago, when he’d have willingly replaced her. But he’d undergone a change of heart in the week she’d been away. And the week he’d been away…
“It seems to me I’m the one stuck here with all the problems,” Sawyer said, his voice hard. “As I recall, last year you were off in Seattle dating your cover model, and I had to deal with the avalanche of problems you’d created. It’s the same thing all over again.”
“Now just a minute—”
Sawyer didn’t allow him to finish. “You’d better remember exactly whose idea it was to bring women to Hard Luck in the first place.”
“Yeah, but if it wasn’t for me you’d never have met Abbey.” Christian played his trump card before this argument with his brother could deteriorate any further.
Sawyer sighed deeply, and Christian could virtually hear his anger drain away. “True.”
“I’ll talk to Mariah myself,” Christian said, feeling confident he’d succeed where his brother had failed. If she’d listen to anyone, it would be him. He felt they’d come to an understanding in the last while. Mended fences and all that.
“Fine, but you should know that it’s because of you she’s decided to quit.”
“Me?” Sawyer must have misunderstood. His relationship with Mariah had taken a dramatic turn for the better. Or so he’d assumed.
“She seems to think you’re bringing Allison back with you, so she’s ste
pped aside.”
“You’re joking! What made her think that?”
Sawyer’s frustration was palpable. “You did, little brother. You managed all of this single-handedly.”
“Me? How?”
“You told me you planned to talk Allison into giving Hard Luck another shot.”
He’d said that? Christian pressed his hand against his brow. “Well, I didn’t. She’s not coming.”
Christian’s words were followed by a stiff silence. “That wasn’t the impression you gave me,” Sawyer eventually said. “And Mariah overheard the conversation.”
Christian cursed.
“Mariah felt that if Allison returned to Hard Luck, there wouldn’t be enough work for two full-time secretaries.”
“You’d better let me talk to Mariah,” Christian muttered. “I’ll straighten this out.”
“It’s too late,” Sawyer said with a heavy sigh. “She’s already got another job. Apparently she and Ben have come up with this scheme—”
“Mariah and Ben?”
“Right. She’s going to be his assistant, help in the kitchen, wait tables, that sort of thing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“I swear it’s true.”
“Let me talk to her,” Christian demanded again. He could foresee trouble already—for Ben, as well as for Midnight Sons. Obviously Ben hadn’t remembered how clumsy Mariah was. He’d never known a woman more inclined to trip over her own feet.
“She isn’t here,” Sawyer murmured. “I have a feeling we’re going to lose the best secretary we ever had, and frankly, Christian, I hold you responsible.”
This didn’t seem to be the moment to remind Sawyer that Mariah was the first and only secretary Midnight Sons had ever had.
NO ONE RESPONDED to Bethany’s knock at the back door of the Hard Luck Café. She tried again, then turned the knob—the door was open. She let herself inside.
“Ben?” she called.
No answer. A sliver of light peered out from beneath the door that led upstairs to Ben’s private quarters.
Bethany opened the door and peered up the stairway. “Ben!” she called again. Smiling to herself, she climbed the stairs. More than likely he was asleep in his chair.
She was right. He lay stretched out on the recliner, the television guide on his lap. His head was tipped back, and he was snoring lightly.
“Ben.” Bethany pressed her hand over his.
His eyelids fluttered open, and he blinked. “Bethany? What time is it?”
“Nine.”
“Nine,” he repeated. “That’s early yet.”
“Yes, I know.”
He leaned forward, yawning, then reached for the remote control and turned off the TV. “I must’ve fallen asleep. Guess I’m beginning to feel my age. Soon I’ll be an old man.”
Shaking her head, Bethany sat down on the love seat. “Not you. Never you.”
She could see that her words pleased him. “It’s good to see you. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
She slipped off her shoes and tucked her feet beneath her. “Mitch is on patrol and Chrissie’s spending the night with a friend. She’s been beside herself not knowing what to do while Susan O’Halloran’s on vacation. Those two have gotten so tight that Chrissie’s lost without her. I think it’s a good idea for her to make other friends.”
“Are you ready for school?” Ben asked.
“Yes. No,” Bethany quickly amended, and then because she couldn’t hold the news inside any longer, she blurted it out. “I’m pregnant.”
Ben’s feet slid off the recliner and hit the floor. “Pregnant!”
“Mitch and I are just as surprised—almost.” She nearly laughed aloud at his incredulous look.
“But you haven’t been married very long.”
“I know. We didn’t plan to have a baby this soon, that’s for sure. It was just…one of those things.”
Ben’s eyes lit up. “Unplanned pregnancies are sometimes the very best kind,” he said, nodding sagely.
Bethany knew he was referring to her own birth. He’d had an affair with her mother before leaving for Vietnam, and because of a disagreement, he’d never known Marilyn was pregnant. He’d never known of his daughter’s existence. Bethany had learned Peter Ross wasn’t her biological father while she was in college, after her mother had experienced a cancer scare. As the years progressed, Bethany had become increasingly curious about the man who’d fathered her. With a bit of detective work and the help of the American Red Cross, she’d been able to trace Ben to Hard Luck.
Soon afterward, she’d applied for a teaching position in the tiny Arctic community, hoping to meet him.
Bethany had never intended to confront Ben with the truth, but she was relieved—and happy—that she had. In many ways they were very alike, and in others completely dissimilar. No one in town, other than her husband, knew Bethany’s true relationship to Ben, although she wondered why no one had guessed. Ben was fiercely proud of her and staunchly protective; she felt the same about him.
“A baby,” Ben repeated, grinning broadly. “How does Mitch feel about this?”
“When I first told him, he was floored, but it didn’t take him long to adjust. The baby’s due in the spring. We told Chrissie this evening, and she’s thrilled. I can tell she’s going to be a wonderful big sister.”
“Have you told your mother and father?”
“Oh, yes. They’re thrilled.”
“I’m thrilled for you, too, sweetheart.”
“It still takes some getting used to. I’m just becoming accustomed to being a wife and stepmom, and now I’m about to be a mother.”
Ben chuckled. “Try finding out that you’re a father at my age—that’s what I call a bombshell. As for your little one, personally, I think of the baby as a delightful surprise.”
Bethany smiled, relaxing against the cushions. “What’s this wild rumor I’ve been hearing about your taking on an assistant?”
“It’s true,” Ben said. “Mariah Douglas is coming to work with me.”
“But…I thought she was the secretary for the O’Hallorans.”
“She is—was. What I understand, she’s already handed in her notice. Sawyer’s annoyed with me, but it’s not my fault—Mariah approached me. The way I figure it, she already had her heart set on leaving Midnight Sons. I tried to convince her to stay with the O’Hallorans, but she wouldn’t hear of it.”
“You’d think Christian would be pleased. He’s been looking for a way to be rid of her from the moment I met him,” Bethany recalled.
“Apparently he’s had a change of heart.”
“Isn’t that just a like a man?” Bethany muttered, shaking her head. “They don’t know what they want.”
CHRISTIAN HAD never been this eager to get back to Hard Luck. In the past several days he’d talked to Sawyer half-a-dozen times. And every time, he’d hung up frustrated—and confused.
As far as he could grasp, Sawyer had released Mariah from serving out her full two-week notice, and the woman his brother had referred to as “the best secretary they’d ever had” was gone.
Scott and Susan were just as eager to be home. Christian had collected them from his mother’s, and Ralph Ferris flew into Fairbanks to meet their commercial flight. The short hop between Fairbanks and Hard Luck felt longer than the flight from Vancouver to Anchorage.
By the time the plane touched down in Hard Luck, Christian had his conversation with Mariah all figured out.
Sawyer and Abbey were at the airfield waiting for Scott and Susan. The kids leaped out of the plane and raced toward their parents, full of talk about their visit with Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Robert.
Christian waited impatiently for a moment alone with Sawyer. “Where is she?” he asked abruptly.
Sawyer blinked at him, wearing a baffled expression. “Oh, you mean Mariah.”
Who else would he have been referring to? “Yes, I mean Mariah.”
“Ben?
??s, I’d guess. She spends every day there, now that she no longer works for us.” Judging by the edge in Sawyer’s voice, he still seemed to place the blame squarely on Christian’s shoulders. He’d settle the issue with his brother later, Christian decided.
“Who’s minding the office?” Surely Sawyer wasn’t so irresponsible as to leave it unattended. The flight service had grown by thirty percent in the past year, thanks partly to the boom in population. An answering machine no longer met their needs, and Sawyer knew that.
“Lanni’s agreed to step in for now, but she’s got her own work, you know. I told her it wouldn’t take you long to find Mariah’s replacement.”
“Me?” he exploded. He’d left for a few measly days, and meanwhile his brother let all hell break loose, then calmly announced it was his responsibility to set everything right.
“Yeah, you,” Sawyer returned, eyes snapping. “If you’ll recall, you spent the better part of a month interviewing job applicants. I don’t even know where you filed the résumés.”
“I didn’t file them. Mariah did.”
“Ask her, then. All I can say is we need to hire someone and quick. It isn’t fair to Lanni to keep her tied up at the office. She’s got better things to do with her time than answer our phones.”
“You might have discussed it with me first,” he argued.
“I would’ve if you’d been here,” Sawyer said in a disgusted voice.
Christian didn’t deign to respond. It was clear that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with Sawyer when his brother was in this cantankerous frame of mind. Sawyer unfairly blamed him for Mariah’s sudden need to become a waitress. Well, he wasn’t going to accept the blame!
As soon as Christian had dropped off his suitcase at home, he headed over to the Hard Luck Café. First thing he noticed when he walked in the door were the tablecloths—not plastic, either. A vase of wildflowers on each table added a touch of color and warmth. On the chalkboard, where Ben wrote the daily dinner special, someone had drawn yellow daisies.
Ralph Ferris sat at one of the tables, reading the menu, which also looked new. They acknowledged each other with a brief nod.