by Lois Richer
“Jack!” Laurel jumped, then put a hand to her chest. “You always did try to sneak up on me.”
“Not sneaking,” he said. “Just waiting till you’d finished. What secret?”
“If I told you, I’d be breaking my promise and I don’t break promises. Ever.” She gave him a coy smile. “Your suspicious policeman’s mind doesn’t have to worry about Alicia. She’s the salt of the earth. She helped you out, didn’t she?”
“A lot,” he admitted with a nod. For the past week he hadn’t been able to stop thanking Alicia for her decorating assistance. But neither could he stop the niggling feeling that happened when his instincts issued a warning. Like they were doing now. “I know almost nothing about her. What can you tell me?”
“That she’s sincere. That she’s honest.” Laurel shrugged.
“Does she have family?” Jack pressed, trying to satisfy his need to know more about this woman he couldn’t stop thinking about. “I know she said her parents died in a plane crash, but…”
“Jack, what’s wrong?” Laurel frowned. He knew then that he couldn’t evade her questions.
“Ever since that night in Giselle’s room, it seems like she’s avoiding me. It’s odd.” His uneasiness wouldn’t let up, but he didn’t appreciate his sister’s scrutiny. “It’s not for me, it’s for Giselle. You know how I always vet everyone my daughter hangs around with. Giselle’s been spending a lot of time at Alicia’s store. I just want to know more about the woman.”
“Uh-huh.” Laurel gave him her implacable stare.
“Actually I’ve had second thoughts about working with her on that sod house.”
“Oh, why?” she demanded. “Because you don’t know her well enough?”
“Because there’s something odd about her project.” Jack gave vent to his frustration. “Far as I can tell, Alicia has no building plans, in fact, no real information about what this house should look like. Except in her head.”
“So?” Laurel’s blasé expression annoyed him.
“She’s done no prep work.” He tried to explain his concerns. “We’ve a little over a month until she claims to want to start, but what’s the plan? What are we going to do first?”
“Alicia knows what she’s doing, Jack. She always does with these projects.” Laurel laughed. “You’re a perfectionist. You like every i dotted and t crossed ahead of time. Not all of us work that way. Maybe she has some information coming. You could always ask her about it, couldn’t you?” she asked with a hint to her voice.
“I could,” he agreed. “If she’d stop avoiding me.”
“Why would she be avoiding you?” Laurel’s blue eyes narrowed. “Did something happen between you?”
“Not the way I think you mean.” Jack raked a hand through his hair. “That night, when we took Giselle back to see her room, everything seemed fine. Alicia was smiling, enjoying Giselle’s reaction. Then it was like she shut down. Suddenly her face went blank. Before I could ask what happened, she’d left. Since then, every time we meet she’s in a hurry or makes some excuse to leave.”
“So she’s busy.” Laurel held up the coffeepot to ask if he wanted some, put it down when he refused. “Maybe you should take her out for dinner and ask her about it.” She shot him a wink.
He glared at her. “I told you, I’m not going to get involved again.”
“Then shouldn’t you be glad she’s avoiding you?” Laurel smirked.
“Maybe, but I’m worried that this avoidance thing is some kind of game.” His sister might have been widowed years ago, but she believed everyone else needed romance in their lives, especially him.
“Game? Alicia?” His sister shook her head with a vehemence that surprised him. “No way.”
“It could be. Maybe she’s playing hard to get or something.” He felt like an idiot when his sister burst out laughing. “You don’t see that?”
“Not in the least. If anything, Alicia would run the other way. Maybe she is,” Laurel said thoughtfully. “Maybe she thought you asked too much and now she’s trying to distance herself.”
Jack thought about it and discarded the notion while Laurel sipped her coffee.
“Listen, Jack. In all the time I’ve known Alicia, she’s never been involved with anyone. She’s friendly and straightforward, but she’s always been a loner. I think you have this wrong.”
“I hope so,” Jack told her, “because I’m just not interested in Alicia Featherstone.”
“The feeling is entirely mutual.”
Jack whirled around, almost groaning at the sight of Alicia standing in the doorway.
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” he said.
“I did.” Alicia’s hands clenched on the woven bag she held. “I don’t do relationships. I’ll take all the friendships I can get, but I am not romantically interested in you, Jack. So you can relax. And I’d really appreciate it if you’d stop asking everyone in town about me. If you want to know something, ask me.”
Her words should have relieved his worry that she was looking for a more personal relationship with him. Instead Jack was intrigued by the raspy way she spoke, the deep emotion that filled her voice and the way her fingertips whitened as she gripped her handbag. If she wasn’t interested, why was Alicia so defensive?
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Alicia didn’t answer. Instead, she drew in a deep breath, as if she needed fortification.
“You’re usually very busy at Tansi on Saturdays,” Laurel said, breaking the tension in the room. “What brings you all the way out here this late in the day?”
“They told me at the hotel that Jack was here.” She lifted her head and faced him head-on, defiance in her eyes. “I need to speak to you. About Giselle.”
If this was some kind of game, he didn’t get it. He’d worried she might try to initiate something between them, but he hadn’t expected she’d use Giselle to do it. And yet, that didn’t make sense given her body language.
“Excuse me. I’ll leave you two to talk.” Laurel walked out.
“What about Giselle?” he asked.
“She stole something from my store. I want it back. If I have to, I’ll go to the police.”
Jack stared.
If Alicia Featherstone was trying to build a relationship with him, she had the oddest method of going about it.
“Giselle—steal?” He shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”
“I can hardly believe it myself.” Alicia’s dignified tone surprised him. Clearly she’d had her word questioned before. When? he wondered. “Unfortunately, I saw her.”
Incredulous, Jack sank onto a chair, unable to believe what he was hearing. He’d thought, hoped, this move to Churchill would be a new start for Giselle and him. But if Alicia was telling the truth, everything that could go wrong was going wrong.
For the first time in his life Jack had no idea how to fix things. But he had a hunch it was going to involve working with Alicia Featherstone. Oddly enough, he was pretty sure that keeping this lovely woman at arm’s length was going to be much harder than he’d previously thought, especially since his questions about her kept mounting.
*
“I’m so sorry, Giselle.” Alicia stared at the scrap of paper she’d picked up off the register. “I didn’t see your note. I only saw you take the box. When I called, you didn’t answer. In fact, you ran faster. I tried to think of a reason for your actions, but when I didn’t hear from you— I’m terribly sorry.”
A glance at Jack’s face told her that her apology wasn’t enough. He’d been rigid and unsmiling ever since he’d walked into her shop with his daughter.
“I’d never steal from you,” Giselle said in a hurt tone. “I stuck that note on top of the register to explain. How could you miss it?”
“I don’t know.” Alicia stared at the paper in her hand. She recognized the carefully printed letters of her name, but what was written inside the note was a mystery to h
er. But she could hardly say that.
“What did you see?” Giselle asked.
“I was halfway down the stairs when I heard a noise. I saw you grab the box. It took me a minute to regroup but by then you were rushing out the door. As I said, I ran after you and called but you didn’t respond. You just kept running.” She exhaled. “I figured you were running away, that you’d stolen the box.”
She hated saying this, hated the look on Jack’s face and hated that she’d made him so defensive. Best to get the whole story out and hope he’d understand.
“I locked up and went to the hotel to talk to you, but no one knew where you were. They sent me to your father at Laurel’s.”
“I didn’t hear you call me,” Giselle told her. “When I came in here I called you a couple of times. You didn’t answer so I scribbled that note to explain.”
“But why did you take the box?” Alicia asked.
“A guest at our hotel, Mr. Fraser, begged me to pick up a memento for his wife right before the train left,” Giselle explained. “I didn’t have much time. That’s why I was hurrying. I’d seen the box yesterday when I stopped by. I knew it would be perfect to hold her earrings. She has beautiful earrings.”
“I see.” Alicia’s cheeks burned with shame, even more so with Jack’s blue eyes fixed on her.
“I tried to get back in time but you’d gone. He gave me this.” Giselle tugged a wad of cash from her jeans pocket and laid it on the counter as if it burned her hands. “There’s more than enough to pay for the box. He said to keep the extra money for a tip, but I don’t want it now.”
“But you must take it,” Alicia exclaimed. “You went to so much trouble for him.” She stared at the money, nibbling her lip as she wondered how to handle this. She could add, that wasn’t the problem. But with Jack hanging over her, making her nervous, she’d probably fumble and that would be so embarrassing. “I, uh, can’t remember how much we had the box priced at.”
“I kept the tag.” Giselle pulled out the little ticket and smoothed it on the counter. “Go ahead. Count it. It’s all there.”
Alicia was determined not to look as if she didn’t trust the girl.
“I believe you, Giselle.” Alicia smiled at her. “And I’m sorry I misjudged you. I appreciate you selling the box and I insist that you take your tip. I already feel bad enough.”
“Are you sure?” Giselle frowned.
“I’m positive. I’m so sorry, Giselle. It’s just that I’ve lost several valuable pieces this year and…” Alicia stopped, knowing her justification wasn’t helping. Jack’s scowl remained. “I apologize again, Giselle. I’m really sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” Giselle grinned, counted out the sale price, which she pushed toward Alicia, and tucked away her tip money. “If I was in charge of looking after all these lovely things, I guess I’d be protective, too,” she said.
“That’s very kind of you.” Alicia returned her smile. How could she have thought Giselle was spoiled? She was really very sweet.
“This is the most fascinating place, isn’t it, Daddy?” Giselle continued. “Do we have time for me to look around? Alicia’s rearranged that corner. I never noticed those things last time I was here.”
“Please look all you want. Everything there is half price.” She waited until Giselle had wandered off toward the footwear that was left over from last year. Then she scooped the cash into the register, fully conscious that Jack’s glaring gaze never left her.
“I’m so sorry, Jack.”
“I knew my daughter wouldn’t steal,” he said in a stiff tone.
“I didn’t want to believe she would have, either, but look at my side of it. When she didn’t return with the box or pay for it, I couldn’t figure out any other explanation. I truly am sorry, Jack.” Alicia didn’t know what else to say. There was nothing that would make her mistake look better.
“Giselle said she came back here to give you the money as soon as the train was gone, but you were already locked up.” Jack’s narrowed gaze demanded an explanation.
“I went with someone to deliver meals-on-wheels.” Alicia wasn’t going to make any more excuses. She could only apologize again and hope he’d forgive her.
If only she could read properly, this wouldn’t have happened. She had seen the note with her name but assumed it was from a client. She’d been going to ask Eli about it on Monday. But there was nothing to tell her that slip of paper wasn’t like a lot of the others that came through her shop.
It was her own fault, of course. She was too stubborn to go to the school and ask someone to tutor her. She was also afraid. If certain people in town knew she couldn’t read, they might think she wasn’t a good risk at business, maybe even try to cancel her loan. Her business was all she had. Alicia couldn’t, wouldn’t jeopardize it. But it was clear now—she had to learn to read. Somehow.
“I thought you knew Giselle well enough to know she would never take anything without paying,” Jack said quietly.
Alicia fiddled with some things on the counter, busywork to avoid looking at him. He was too silent and she worried he wouldn’t be able to forgive her.
“I know that now,” she said finally.
“But I realize that there could have been a problem.” Jack spoke slowly, thoughtfully. “No business can afford to lose its merchandise. As owners we have to protect our investment.” His tight expression eased. “If it’s any consolation, I did reprimand Giselle for not phoning to leave a message.”
“It wasn’t her fault, Jack. It was mine. But thank you for understanding.” She noticed the time. Her store should be closed by now, but since Jack and Giselle were still there, Alicia opened the box of handmade kites she’d received by post this morning. She needed something to keep her focus off him.
“What are those for?” He bent to look at the one she’d pulled from its package.
“I always get a stock of handmade kites for Canada Day,” she explained. “We have a town-wide kite-flying contest which I sponsor.”
“But this is only May,” Jack said, his face incredulous. “July first is six weeks away.”
“When you live up here, you have to be prepared. Last year I had to pay air freight to get them here on time. That cut my profit to almost nothing.” She threaded tiny poles into the holes, but the effect wasn’t quite right. “Hmm. These aren’t the same as last year’s.”
“If all else fails, read the directions.” Jack grinned at her, spread the sheet out on the counter and waited.
Alicia kept her head down, refusing to show the panic that gripped her.
“You read, I’ll assemble,” she said, then lifted her gaze. “Unless you have to get back to work?”
Half of her wished he had to go. The other half wanted him to stay, which was crazy. Ever since she’d been attacked, being near a man, any man, made her jittery. But it wasn’t exactly nervous jitters she felt around Jack. So what was it?
“Don’t tell me you’ve tucked your glasses away somewhere again,” he teased.
“How’d you guess?” she asked, secretly relieved to have an excuse.
“Laurel does it all the time,” Jack said. His eyes twinkled as if he’d caught her playing a trick. “She thinks I don’t notice, but I do.”
“That’s not—” She stopped, seized the explanation he offered. “You see too much,” she murmured.
“Alicia, there’s no reason to be ashamed of bad eyesight.” The kindness in his voice touched her.
“I’m not ashamed.” But shame was exactly what she was feeling. Shame about deceiving him, among other things. “Okay, I am ashamed. And frustrated with myself if you must know. How I missed seeing that note…” She shook her head.
“It doesn’t matter. People make mistakes.” His hand brushed hers as he corrected the way she was threading the wood through the flaps on the back of the kite. “I shouldn’t have jumped on you like that. Sorry.”
“Please, can we forget it?” His touch did weird things to her s
tomach and made her nerves ripple, so Alicia let him take charge of the kite and backed up a little. “I guess I don’t have to tell you I’m not good at assembling stuff.”
“Lots of people aren’t.” In a few minutes, Jack had the kite put together. “There you go.”
“Thank you.” She admired it for a moment, loving the black eagle shape. “To a Cree, eagles mean strength, wisdom and bravery. I think this one will really soar over the cliffs.” As she arranged the unassembled kites she glanced at him over one shoulder. “By the way, how’s your business doing?”
“Thanks to Teddy, we’re almost fully booked for the polar bear season,” he said in a satisfied tone.
“Told you. Nobody knows more about being a hotelier than Teddy.” She turned to ask if Giselle needed help, but the girl seemed enthralled by the beadwork on a pair of leather slippers and didn’t answer. “Want a cup of coffee?” she asked Jack.
The words slipped out before Alicia realized that offering Jack coffee meant he’d hang around here longer. If she wasn’t careful he might get too close and guess her secret. Still, when the sod house project went ahead, he’d be working with her. She could hardly ignore him.
“I’d love a coffee. I was up early this morning and never got my second cup.” He sat down on the stool Alicia dragged out from the back room and accepted the coffee she offered a few minutes later. “Giselle’s become fascinated with everything in this store. I knew she was curious about Native Canadians when she did that paper for her class, but it’s developed into an obsession since we moved to Churchill. I hope she won’t become a nuisance.”
“I’m happy to have her stop by whenever she likes.” Alicia grinned. “After all, my goal is to educate about my ancestry. Giselle is an apt pupil. And a great saleswoman,” she said, deadpan.
He chuckled.
“She sure has a lot of questions,” Alicia murmured.
“Tell me about it.” He rolled his eyes. “She won’t stop questioning me. Yesterday she asked me to help her make pemmican. I know it’s a Native food but I haven’t a clue what’s in it.” Jack’s face displayed his apprehension.
