An Alaskan Proposal

by Beth Carpenter

  “What kind?”

  “Um, apple-cinnamon or blueberry.”

  “Blueberry!”

  “Great.” Sabrina handed Boomer’s leash to Emma. “Why don’t you take Boomer, while I cook?”

  “Okay. We’ll go for a walk.”

  “Only around the campground where I can see you, okay?”

  Emma gave a little eye roll but agreed. “Come on, Boomer.”

  Sabrina carefully followed the steps Leith had taught her to light the camp stove, surprised to find it worked on the first try. She found a folding silicone-sided pan like the ones from the team-builder, snapped it into shape and used it to bring water to a boil. While she was waiting, she found a French press and a package of coffee.

  The water boiled. Sabrina had just finished stirring it into the instant oatmeal and making coffee when the flap of the tent opened and Leith stepped out, unshaven and with the worst case of bedhead Sabrina had ever seen. He was adorable. She smiled at him. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” He yawned. “Can’t believe I slept so late. Is that coffee I smell?”

  “It is.”

  He accepted a mug from her and noticed the camp stove. “You did all this?”

  “Well, if by ‘all this’ you mean I boiled water, then yes.” She waved to Emma. “Breakfast is ready.”

  He took a sip of coffee. “This is good. You’re a quick study.”

  “Thank you. I’ve discovered a new side to my personality. Wilderness woman.”

  “Oh, yeah? And what do you think of her?”

  “I like her. She takes me places I’d never have thought to go.”

  Emma and Boomer came dashing into camp. Sabrina handed her a bowl of oatmeal and a spoon, and poured Boomer a bowl of kibble. They both dug in. Sabrina turned to Leith. “Oatmeal? I still have some hot water left.”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  She stirred up a packet for him and sat in the chair beside his to eat her own breakfast. Instant oatmeal had never tasted so good.

  “Uncle Leith, are you almost ready? The others are already fishing, and I haven’t caught a big one like Ryan did yet.”

  “Give me a few minutes to finish my breakfast, shortcake. I’m running a little behind this morning.”

  “Hey! A ptarmigan.” Emma dropped her bowl and ran after a plump little bird that sounded like a chicken on fast-forward as it scurried along the ground. Boomer bounded beside her. The bird burst into flight and disappeared into the woods.

  “Stay where I can see you,” Leith called.

  Emma skidded to a stop at the edge of the forest. She waved to let him know she’d heard and turned to patrol the perimeter of the campground, eyes peeled for more wildlife.

  Leith smiled and turned to Sabrina. “And how about you? Are you up for more fishing?”

  Sabrina turned to him. “Sure.”

  “Even though you didn’t catch anything yesterday?”

  “Even though. In fact, maybe I liked it better that way. I just enjoyed practicing my casting and being beside the water. Although it was exciting when Ryan’s fish almost got away and Chris had to tackle it.”

  “Yeah.” Leith laughed. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a man wrestle a king out of the river with his bare hands. If Chris wasn’t already Ryan’s hero, he would be after that.”

  Sabrina finished her oatmeal and carried her bowl and Emma’s to wash in the leftover hot water. “Marissa told me that once the salmon get all the way up the river to where they were hatched, they lay their eggs and die. It seems kind of sad.”

  “It’s just their natural life cycle.”

  “I suppose. Marissa said that returning to spawn was a salmon’s purpose.”

  “I never really thought about it, but I suppose she’s right. Their instinct drives them to complete their purpose.”

  “Do you believe that’s true of people, too? That we’re driven to complete our purpose?”

  “Maybe. I know I’m happier when I feel like I’m accomplishing something.”

  “It seems like you like your job.”

  “I do. I didn’t start out doing this. When I got out of high school, I trained as an emergency medical technician. I worked up at Prudhoe Bay.”

  “That sounds rewarding.”

  “It was and it wasn’t. I was helping people, which I liked. I even used the paddles once to jump-start a guy’s heart. That was a little more excitement than he’d expected.”

  “Wow. That’s way up in the Arctic Circle, right?”

  “Right. I mainly handled minor injuries and illnesses. If anyone was very sick or hurt, I stabilized them until they could be airlifted back to Anchorage. That’s what Volta does. She transports patients by plane or helicopter.”

  “Did you work together?”

  “No. When she was certified, I was back in college for my degree in outdoor recreation.”

  “What made you choose that? I mean, I know you like the outdoors, but you’d already started a different career.”

  “That’s why Learn & Live is such a great fit for me. As an EMT, I would come into the situation when everything had already gone wrong and I tried to keep it from getting worse. At Learn & Live, I can train people how to take care of themselves so that hopefully they’ll never need to be rescued.”

  “Not as much glory, though.”

  “I don’t need glory. Most days, when I wake up in the morning and think about the coming day at work, I can’t wait to get started. That’s how I know it’s right.”

  “You’re lucky. Not everyone gets that kind of satisfaction from their job.”

  “You’re right. I am lucky. Most people work because they need to put food on the table, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You mentioned a purpose before. I think for most people, their purpose is to take care of and provide for their families, and their job is a way to do that. I’m just one of the fortunate people whose job provides a lot of satisfaction as well as a paycheck.”

  Sabrina thought about that. She’d been lucky as well. She’d enjoyed her job as a buyer. She loved keeping up with fashion, searching out the clothes that her store’s customers would enjoy. She’d once dreamed of designing those clothes, but discovering wonderful designs was rewarding, too, and it brought a steady paycheck. Until that paycheck disappeared.

  A sudden squeal and barking drew their attention to Emma. Something brown shot past her. A rabbit, heading directly toward their campsite. In her excitement, Emma dropped the leash and Boomer took off after the rabbit. Tal jumped up.

  “Sit,” Leith commanded.

  Tal sat, but she quivered in eagerness. The rabbit ran through the campsite with Boomer right behind it. His leash caught on the leg of Emma’s folding chair and knocked it over, sending Tal scurrying out of the way.

  Leith stepped on the end of the leash and brought the terrier to a halt. “Boomer, that hare is bigger than you. What would you do if you caught it?” Boomer barked, as if annoyed he’d been caught, and Sabrina laughed.

  Emma ran up and scooped up Boomer’s leash. “That was a snowshoe hare, right, Uncle Leith?”

  “That’s right, kiddo.” He picked up his cup and swallowed the last of his coffee. “Let’s clean up camp so you can fish.” It wasn’t long before they joined the others at the river. Ryan waved, but didn’t leave the spot where he was casting into the water.

  “How come Ryan still gets to fish?” Emma asked. “He already got his king.”

  “I’m sure they’ve rigged him up with a six-weight line and spinner for trout or grayling. You just worry about catching your own king, okay?”

  “I caught the first fish, anyway. And today I’m gonna get one even bigger than Ryan’s.”

  “It’s a matter of luck what fish decides to take your lure. Fishing isn’t a competition. Right, Sabrina?”


  “You’re the expert.”

  “Exactly.” He winked at her. “Now, ladies, let’s see you catch some fish.”

  “We will.” Emma cast her lure into the river. Judging by the look on her face, she didn’t intend to leave the river without one.

  Sabrina was happy just to be out in the sunshine, enjoying the day, but since Leith had gone to all the trouble to buy her a fishing license and rig up a rod for her, she moved downstream a little ways and tossed out her line.

  Since Leith had already caught his king, he took charge of Boomer while they fished. Tal tagged along, never letting the terrier out of her sight. She’d apparently appointed herself Boomer’s bodyguard. Having enjoyed one rabbit chase that morning, Boomer was intent on checking the area for wildlife.

  “Uncle Leith! I got one. Hurry!” Emma struggled, but she must have hooked something big because the line was feeding out rapidly.

  “Set the brake,” Leith called.

  Sabrina dropped her pole and hurried over to help. Emma pushed on the brake. The sudden force jerked the pole from her hands. Sabrina lunged into the river and managed to grab it, but ended up on her knees, up to her waist in the cold water, struggling to hang on to the rod with both hands. Leith ran toward them, but must have hit a slick spot because he disappeared below the surface of the river and popped up several feet downstream, laughing.

  Everyone came running. Chris took the pole from Sabrina and moved over while Marissa held out a hand to assist her out of the river. Leith shook the water from his hair and waded onto the bank. Meanwhile, Dana quickly got Emma into position to put her hands on the rod and help Chris play her fish. Ryan shouted encouragement. It took a good twenty minutes, but eventually Chris and Emma worked the fish to the shoreline, where Leith could net it.

  “Emma, I think you may have the record,” he told her.

  Sam brought the scale. “Thirty-six pounds. Biggest one yet.”

  “Yay!” Emma jumped up and down in excitement. “Take my picture.”

  The king was practically as big as Emma, so wet but proud Uncle Leith stood beside her supporting the fish’s weight while Emma beamed toward the camera. Sabrina snapped several shots, glad she’d invested in a waterproof phone case. “Great photos. They should put these on tourism websites.”

  “Let’s take a picture with everybody.” Emma beamed.

  “Great idea,” Marissa said. “I’ll get my tripod.”

  Sabrina shivered as a breeze cut through her wet jeans. Leith noticed. “Give us a minute to change first, okay?”

  “Sure. You and Sabrina get into dry clothes while I get the camera set up.”

  Leith took Sabrina’s hand and led her toward the tent. “Thanks for grabbing Emma’s pole for her. Sorry you had to get wet.”

  “I’m not sorry.” Sabrina laughed. “It was an adventure, and Emma is thrilled with her fish.”

  “You still have time to catch yours before we have to break camp.”

  Sabrina shook her head. “This may sound silly, but I don’t really want to catch one. I kind of like the idea of my king going on and laying eggs. You know, fulfilling its purpose.”

  He squeezed her hand. “There’s nothing silly about it.”

  “I hope you don’t mind that I wasted the fishing license.”

  “Did you enjoy your time on the river?”

  “I really did.”

  He smiled. “Then it wasn’t wasted.” They reached the tent, and Leith gestured for her to go in and change first.

  “I had a great time.” Sabrina slipped inside, peeled off her wet jeans and tugged on a pair of yoga pants. She stepped out and spread her jeans over a chair to dry. “Especially watching Emma. She has so much determination.”

  “She’s determined, all right. Good thing you saved her fish, or she’d probably insist we stay here until she caught one, even if it took all summer.” Leith took his turn to change.

  Once he was dressed, they returned to the shoreline, where Marissa had set up a camera on her tripod.

  They all moved in close, with Ryan and Emma in the center front with the dogs and everyone clustered behind and around them. Marissa set the timer and hurried to join the group. The camera flashed and clicked off a series of photos.

  Marissa went to flick through the shots. “Aw, these are great. Come look.”

  Sabrina peered at the camera screen. The last picture caught her facing toward the river and Leith looking over at her with an odd expression on his face. Sort of warm and soft and... Sabrina was probably imagining it. “These are great. Will you send me copies?” she asked Marissa.

  “Sure.”

  Everyone crowded around to look. Leith slipped an arm around Sabrina’s shoulders. She looked up at him, and he smiled. And there on the shoreline, amid the chatter and laughter, Sabrina felt something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. A sense of belonging.

  CHAPTER TEN

  LEITH TOOK EMMA home first. When they arrived, Volta was kneeling in the front yard, digging dandelions out from the lawn. Emma jumped out and ran to tell her mom all about fishing. “I got two. The first one was a little one. Uncle Leith said it was a jack. Ryan got a big king, and Chris had to jump in the river because it almost got away, but I caught a king the next day and mine was even bigger. Sabrina and Uncle Leith got wet and we brought lots of fish home and can we have my fish for supper tonight? Please?” Emma finally stopped to breathe.

  Volta hugged her daughter. “That’s great. Yes, we can cook your fish for supper.” She turned to Leith and Sabrina, who were digging Emma’s things from the back of the car. “You guys want to stay for dinner?”

  “I wish I could,” Sabrina said, “but I have to do laundry and a few other chores before I head in to work tomorrow. But thanks for the offer.”

  “Maybe another day.” Leith opened the ice chest and pulled out several gallon bags of fish. “Here’s Emma’s haul.”

  “Wow, Emma. Look at all that fish. We have a lot of vacuum-packing to do this evening.”

  “Can I press the buttons?”

  “Sure. Did you thank Leith and Sabrina for letting you tag along on this fishing trip?”

  “Thanks, Uncle Leith. Thanks, Sabrina,” Emma obediently sang out, and gave them both hugs. “I had fun.”

  “Me, too. I’m glad you convinced me to fish,” Sabrina told her.

  “See you later, shortcake.” Leith waved and climbed into the Land Cruiser.

  Sabrina waved, too, as they drove away. She pulled the elastic from her hair and shook it loose, running her fingers through it. “That was so much fun.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” Leith glanced over. He wasn’t ready for his time with her to end. “Do you really have to do laundry?”

  “I really do. Otherwise I would have stayed. I like your sister.”

  “Yeah, I like her, too, but I was kind of wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me this evening. But if you’re too busy...”

  Sabrina twisted her mouth to one side as she thought. “I really do need to go to the Laundromat, but—” She paused for a few seconds. “This is the part where you try to convince me no one will notice if I dig my work polo out of the hamper and wear it to work.”

  Leith laughed at the idea of Sabrina wearing a crumpled shirt anywhere. “I have a solution if you like Thai?”

  “I love Thai.”

  “There’s a great restaurant not far from my house. Let’s call ahead for takeout, and you can bring your laundry to my house to wash while we eat.”

  “You’re brilliant.”

  “What can I say?” He handed her his phone. “Here, go ahead and order. There’s a menu in the glove compartment.”

  She opened the door to reveal a stack of take-out menus. “Wow. I gather if it’s not over a campfire, you don’t cook.”

  “Not often,” he a
dmitted. “It seems kind of pointless to cook for one. Easier just to get takeout.”

  “Hmm.” Sabrina found the menu and studied it. “The red pineapple curry sounds good.”

  “It’s hot,” Leith warned.

  “That’s how I like it. What are you having?”

  “Pad thai, spicy.”

  “Excellent choice.” She called in the order, hanging up just before they pulled into the parking lot of her apartment. “They said twenty minutes. Come on in while I grab a quick shower and change.”

  “You look fine.” In fact, she looked much better than fine, with the fitted green vest and cloud of dark hair waving over her shoulders. With or without makeup, she was gorgeous. But he shouldn’t be thinking about things like that. Kissing her last night had been a mistake. They needed to stay in the friend zone.

  “I need a shower. I must smell like river and mosquito repellent.”

  “That’s my favorite perfume.”

  She laughed. “Still...”

  “All right.” Leith got her backpack from the back while she unloaded the dog’s things. He followed her into her apartment.

  Sabrina unsnapped Boomer’s leash and headed toward the back. “Make yourself at home. Water and sodas in the refrigerator. I’ll only be five minutes.”

  He’d heard that one before, usually about half an hour before Nicole declared herself ready to go. Resigned, he opened the refrigerator door. A jug of water and a carton of milk rested on the top shelf. He took out the water and opened a cabinet door, looking for a glass. The one nearest the sink held four glasses: one tall and thin, one short and round, a stemmed wineglass and a faceted juice glass. Obviously, Sabrina didn’t plan on much company. He poured water into the tallest glass and sat in the wooden chair in the living room.

  A sketch pad rested on the table beside him. Curious, he flipped up the cover to find a sketch of the vest Sabrina was wearing. On the second page was a jacket, black with thin red lines running along the seams and lining the collar. A fishing shirt, not too different from the one he wore but colored a soft purple and curved like a woman’s body, was next.

  Sabrina came into the living room carrying a laundry basket. “I’m ready.”