Mine Until Moonrise

by Jennifer Bernard

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Sex—not just any sex, but mind-altering, universe-expanding sex—broke some kind of dam between her and Lucas. All of a sudden they couldn’t stop talking to each other. They talked on the phone during free moments on the water. When they couldn’t talk, they texted.

  They talked while Ruby was in her art class or immersed in her math books or playing cards with Hunter. They talked while Lucas was cleaning out his father’s accumulated piles of tools and cars and junk.

  Lucas told her about his father—the rough and the good.

  “Sure, he nearly drowned me—”

  “Just a minor detail—”

  “I think maybe he meant well. He wanted to teach me, and he taught me a lot. He always stood up for the underdog. He would get into fights over shit people would say about the Natives. He used to live in the bush and always said it was the happiest time of his life. Mom didn’t like that much.”

  “She’s pretty tough herself.”

  “Oh yeah. Tough as beef jerky. Refuses to leave the homestead even though she could make a fortune if she sold it.”

  “Hang on. Got a phone call.” She hung up without saying goodbye. This had become their habit. Every conversation was really just a continuation of the one before, so there was no need for hello or goodbye.

  She dealt quickly with the call—a booking for a tour the next day. She was in her tiny back-office space designing new brochures that might attract more business. The new version featured a banner that read, “As seen on Trekking.” Maybe that would do the trick.

  “I’m back,” she told Lucas. “Got a customer, yay!”

  “Good job. Hey, I just found a 1940s era set of binoculars in my dad’s stash of crap. Are you interested? Vintage bird-watching?”

  “Sure. Why not? They’re probably not much older than my boat. Oh, speaking of your dad, I keep forgetting to tell you that I talked to Boris.”

  “Yeah?”

  The cautious hope in his voice tugged at her heart. Lucas might act the tough guy, but she knew how much the weirdness of his father’s death bothered him.

  “I think he saw more than he let on that night. But he’s afraid to talk about it.”

  “What did he say, exactly?”

  “It’s not so much what he said.” She screwed up her face, trying to piece together her memory of the conversation. “It’s the way he talks about it. It’s the way traumatized people talk about things they’d rather forget.” Refusing to meet her eyes, deflecting, scratching at invisible bug bites—he’d been jumping out of his skin when she’d mentioned Jack Holt.

  She couldn’t exactly criticize him for that, since she rarely talked about that trauma that she’d experienced. She still hadn’t even told Lucas about it.

  Not even on the 4th of July, when she’d spent the entire day and night inside her cabin to avoid the sound of firecrackers.

  Why hadn’t she? She didn’t know exactly. But this thing with Lucas was so new and fun and fascinating. She didn’t want to weigh it down with something from her past. She was moving on. That was why she’d come to Alaska—to start fresh.

  “Sounds like you’ve seen that before?” The question in his voice offered the perfect opportunity to share her story.

  But not like this. Not over the phone. And not yet.

  She returned her focus to the brochure, moving a photo of a Tufted Puffin closer to the top of the page and shifting the background photo of Lost Harbor. She’d come to this rugged faraway harbor to escape, not dig up the past.

  Moving on. Moving on.

  “Well, Boris has lots of other issues too. But I think I’m making progress with him.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Be nice to him. Earn his trust. He’s scared of you.”

  “I’m always nice to him.” The irritated edge in Lucas’ voice kind of proved her point.

  “Be nicer. Bring him muffins from the bakery. Nothing with nuts, though. He’s scared of nuts.”

  “I’m a little scared of nuts too,” he muttered.

  “Very funny. He’s not a nut. He’s a lost soul like the rest of us. Oh—gifts for his chicken go a long way.”

  “What gift can you get for a fucking chicken?” His outrage made her laugh.

  “I told you already. Mealworms always go over well. Once I brought him an old coconut husk.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll study up on it. Maybe the feed store has some ideas.”

  “Perfect!” She sat back to admire the design she’d created. “My new brochure rocks.”

  “Yeah? Can I have a look?”

  “Let me take a screenshot.” She aimed her phone at the screen just as Lucas’ real world voice sounded behind her.

  “Love it.” A kiss landed on her head. He twirled her around to face him and braced his hands on the arms of her chair. Instantly her heart went into a wild pitter-patter of excitement. “But you know what it’s missing?”

  “Lucas…” She peered behind him into the Jack Hammer side of the office, where his receptionist and a customer were studying the big chart of Lost Souls Wilderness mounted on the wall. “You’re living on the edge here.”

  “We’re all living on the edge here. Might as well enjoy it.” He claimed her mouth in a lingering, luscious kiss that raised goose bumps on her skin. Then he spun the chair back around so they were both looking at her computer screen. “I like it, but it could use a photo of the gorgeous tour guide. You should get rid of that bird and replace it with the stunning Megan Miller.”

  “You’re ridiculous.”

  “Just calling it like I see it.”

  “What are you doing here? I thought you had a Harbor Commission meeting today.” This was a bit of a sore point. The head of the Harbor Commission had asked her to stop attending the meetings because she kept creating too much controversy. To keep the peace, she’d said yes. But she didn’t like it.

  “I skipped it. Been busy with something else.”

  A text message flashed on her screen.

  From: ExCel Studios

  Hi Megan, just checking in to see if you have any more questions about our offer.

  Leaning over her shoulder, Lucas frowned at the screen. “Offer? What offer?”

  “Are you spying on me?” she teased.

  She felt his body go tense behind her.

  “I’m hardly spying. It popped up right in front of me.”

  “I was teasing, relax. It’s just some crazy movie studio offer. They saw my boat on the Trekking show and they want to buy it.”

  “Buy it? For what?”

  She laughed at his astonishment. “Thanks for the vote of confidence that the Forget Me Not is worth anything. But, in fact, you are correct. It is worth something to them, but only because they want to blow it up.”

  He frowned down at her, just as confused as she had been at first.

  “They’re filming an action movie about an alien invasion in Alaska,” she explained. “My boat would be collateral damage between warring planets or something. They said they want a boat with a humble and nostalgic kind of look. It’s more poignant that way.”

  “So they want to buy your boat and blow it up?”

  “Yup. I thought the Trekking show might be my big break, but this isn’t exactly what I had in mind. On the plus side, it’s a big chunk of cash. On the minus side, that would be the end of Forget Me Not Nature Tours.”

  Lucas was studying her face, probably trying to gauge his reaction to hers. “What did you tell them?”

  “That I’d think about it.” She tugged her lower lip between her teeth. Maybe it was childish, but the thought of her boat getting blown up—on purpose—made her want to cry. “I’m barely making a living right now, so I have to consider it. What do you think?”

  He cupped her face in his hand and brushed his thumb across the curve of her cheek. His touch was always so perfectly attuned to the moment. Gentle when she needed comfort, rough when they were going wild in bed.
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  “Are things really so bad?” he asked cautiously.

  “Well…” She hated to admit it, but… “Yes. They’re pretty bad. I’m a very optimistic person but even I am having doubts. And I have to think of Ruby first. She loves it here, she loves the harbor, but if I can’t make a living I can’t justify staying here.”

  His expression went shuttered. In all their conversations, they never talked about a future together. She knew that he missed his life in Colorado and that he intended to go back as soon as he wrapped things up related to his father.

  And he knew that her life here was just as tenuous. If the lack of customers didn’t drive her away, the hostile fishermen might.

  “The Harbor Commission might throw a party if I left,” she said with a weak laugh.

  “I don’t know about that.” He straightened up and held out his hand to her. “There’s something you should see.”

  “Did they finally rescue that baby otter?”

  He laughed. “You sound like Ruby. That’s the first thing she asks me whenever she sees me.”

  “I know. She’s obsessed. I can’t blame her, that little guy is awfully cute.” She took his hand, but then dropped it quickly as they walked through the door to his side of the office. She wasn’t ready for the tsunami of gossip that would explode if people know about her and Lucas.

  Carla clapped her hands together when she saw them. “Oh good! Finally. Hang on. Stay right where you are, Megan. Don’t move.”

  Megan stopped where she was and shot a confused glance at Lucas. With a smug look, he folded his arms—no help there. Carla made a quick phone call, and a few seconds later people began filtering into the office. Yanni the fisherman, Ralphie the deckhand, Zoe, Trixie from the ice cream shop, the lady who sold sweaters, the Inupiat man who sold furs and carved narwhal tooth earrings.

  “What’s going on? Is it someone’s birthday?” she asked Zoe, whose wild dark curls were piled on her head and tied with a bright orange scarf.

  “I’m sure it’s someone’s birthday.”

  “Ha ha.”

  Zoe just laughed at her confusion. “Patience, child. Patience.”

  When the office was packed full of “harbor rats,” Zoe raised her hand for attention. “Since I have the loudest voice, I got the lucky job of speaking for the group.”

  “What group? What’s going on?” Megan asked.

  “Remember that part about patience?” She pulled a manila folder from behind her back and held it in front of her. “After the Trekking show, a discussion was held. It was loud. It was unpleasant. But the end result is that Lost Harbor has realized that you, Megan Miller, with your constant and admittedly irritating ecological pestering, are making some good points. And that we need to step up and show a little more support.”

  Megan’s mouth literally fell open. There was so much to process here, beginning with the fact that discussions had taken place about her—behind her back.

  Zoe continued as she tapped the folder. “Contained herein is our collective effort to help Forget Me Not Nature Tours. These are coupons from each of our businesses. Every one of your customers is welcome to select two coupons. They’re all pretty valuable, but I’d say my seventy-five percent off the pizza of your choice comes out on top.”

  The sweater lady waved her hand. “Two-for-one hats ain’t bad. Most of your customers come in pairs, I’ve noticed. Everyone needs extra hats.”

  Megan opened her mouth to say what an amazing deal that was, but got preempted by Tremaine, who ran the best fish and chips restaurant on the boardwalk. “Everyone just gonna ignore my free fish burger offer to anyone who sees an eagle on one of Megan’s tours?”

  “Everyone sees eagles,” Megan said faintly. “They’re about as common as crows here.”

  Tremaine offered her a high-five. “God bless America.”

  “You guys…this is…really incredible.” She felt like crying. She’d tried so hard, for months now, to find her place in Lost Harbor. But she kept messing it up. And now…either dust had blown into her eyes or she was about to sob like a baby. “You didn’t have to—”

  “Hey. Yes, we did.” Zoe’s voice rose above the others. “You’ve been out here fighting the good fight for the rest of us. We’ve been slacking and letting you take the heat. It’s our harbor too. We need you here. These coupons aren’t much, but it’s a helping hand. People love coupons.”

  “Oh, I know my clients will go crazy for these.” She clutched the folder to her heart. “This is so amazing, I can barely believe it. A week ago I thought you all might kick me out of the harbor.”

  “Some people wanted to.” Yanni piped up from the back of the crowd. “Lucas told them to eat shit.”

  Laugher rippled through the group. She glanced up at Lucas. His dark face wore its usual stern, all-business expression. “Lost Harbor doesn’t kick people out for being annoying.”

  She let out a spurt of laughter—better than crying. “Thanks for that, Lucas.”

  He shot her a wink.

  “And thank you all for this incredible gesture. It means a great deal to me. I know I can be a little too pushy and that I don’t always have the bigger picture when it comes to Lost Harbor history and so forth. I’m working on that.”

  “You picked the right teacher,” a fisherman said—she couldn’t make out who.

  Her face flamed. Did he mean Lucas? She became aware of how close Lucas was standing to her. Were people starting to catch on or was it an innocent comment? Change the subject.

  “I’d like to offer something to you as well. You’re all welcome on a Forget Me Not Nature Tour any time you like, for free. If you aren’t interested in birds, I always have cupcakes. Actually, hang on.” She skipped to her side of the office and set down the manila folder next to her computer. Another message had flashed on the screen while she was away.

  The producers had just added twenty thousand dollars to their offer—and a deadline. She had a week to decide.

  Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she grabbed the batch of cupcakes she’d made that morning. Ruby had decorated them with rose petals.

  Ruby—if only Ruby was here to see this amazing show of support.

  But Ruby was playing with Hunter, as she often was lately. Megan often caught them whispering together as if they were hatching a plot.

  Whatever it was, Megan hadn’t had a chance to pry it out of her yet. She’d been so distracted by a certain tall, broad-shouldered fisherman.

  And who could blame her? she thought as she reentered the office with her stash of cupcakes.

  Lucas was so mouthwatering, even in his current outfit of paint-flecked Carhartts and a t-shirt with a stylized print of a bear. With his thick pelt of dark hair and his powerful build, he could be a bear himself, especially if “bear” meant gruff on the outside, mushy on the inside.

  She handed out cupcakes and smiles to all the “harbor rats.” But she couldn’t stop thinking about that comment—“you picked the right teacher.” How much of this sudden support did she owe to Lucas? He was so respected and influential in this little community. If he spoke up on her behalf, people would listen.

  That made her a teensy bit uncomfortable.

  Since it was the middle of summer and everyone had work to do, the crowd dispersed quickly after that. Even Carla disappeared for her break.

  She and Lucas were left alone in the Jack Hammer office. Hauling in a deep breath, she faced him.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way.”

  “Uh oh.”

  “This is all really sweet. But I don’t want you thinking you have to ride to my rescue just because we’re sleeping together.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Excuse me?” Lucas could barely believe what had just come out of Megan’s mouth. “What are you talking about?”

  She lifted her chin. “People follow your lead. Was all of this thanks to you?” She gestured at the folder of coupons.

  “No. It wasn’t even my ide
a. It was Zoe’s.”

  “Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “But you supported it.”

  “Sure, why not? It’s a great idea. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing. I just want to make sure that nothing changes because of our personal relationship.”

  He had no idea what she was going on about. Didn’t sex always change things? “I thought you didn’t want a relationship. That’s what you said in Ninlik Cove.”

  A quick expression of confusion crossed her face. “You don’t think we’re having a relationship?”

  He felt quicksand under his feet. “Hey, don’t put words in my mouth. We have something, obviously. Sex, when we can. Lots of phone calls. What would you call it?”

  She tugged at her lower lip. “I’m not sure. I have to be careful because of Ruby. I don’t want to confuse her.”

  “Good. Neither do I.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “But now I’m confused. What exactly are you looking for here?”

  “Respect. That’s all. I want respect. I don’t need a rescuer.”

  Should he point out that he had, literally, rescued her? Or would that piss her off? “Okay. Noted. Where is all this coming from? Why are you so…”

  “Annoying?” she supplied.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Irritating?”

  “That’s kind of the same thing, and I didn’t say that either.”

  A quick flash of a smile, which she bit her lip to hide. “All right. Bring out the dictionary, there’s got to be something in there that fits.”

  “Infuriating?” he suggested.

  “Good one. Wow, am I really infuriating?”

  “Sometimes, yes.” He put his hands on her shoulders and steered her into the far corner of the office, away from potential prying eyes. The privacy itself, the fact that he had her alone, made his cock twitch. With Ruby around, their opportunities for sex were few and far between. “But it’s a turn-on, so there’s that.”

  “I doubt that.”

  To prove it, he put her hand on his crotch. The swell was hard to miss. “Can’t argue with this.”