Damnation. Why had she let Danny talk her into coming to Bemidji for this competition in the first place?
She smiled ruefully at that. She knew why. She even knew exactly how he'd managed it.
Danny's methods of persuasion were simple and direct. He simply went on and on about what he wanted, not whining—she could have dealt with that—but impossibly reasonable, and endless.
Days, weeks, at every opportunity since Christmas, when he'd spied the advertisement for the World of Nature wildlife encyclopedia in the newspaper.
"That's what I want for my birthday," he'd stated.
"They're far too expensive," Karena had said dismissively.
"Not if we win logger sports, Mom. We could afford them easy," he'd insisted.
Last January, and this was July.
Six months full of pleading, reminding, cajoling. She'd agreed more to shut him up than anything, and wouldn't experts in child management have a field day with that?
Danny had all the finesse of an earthmover, she mused, and he was just as hard to stop once he got rolling.
"They're offering big money prizes this year, Mom, and you and I could both win easy. You know we could, Mom. I've got fast feet, you said so yourself, and the other kids my age who compete in logrolling and ax throwing haven't had two champs like you and Gabe on their case all the time. Right?" Big, respectful, admiring blue eyes watching her calculatingly. He was good, no doubt about it.
"Spare me the soft soap, Danny, I don't do competition anymore. It isn't as if we desperately need the money for food or dental bills."
She might as well have saved her breath.
"But we do need the money. I need those books more than ever, now we got Mort. It's only for four days, then we could buy the books and there'd be enough left over for you to get something you want, too," he'd pleaded. "Say we'll go, Ma, okay? I need those books. It isn't as if I can watch nature shows on TV like all the other kids at school, right?"
TV was a luxury they couldn’t afford, along with the cell phones and I pads many of the kids at school had. Libraries were still free, Karena reminded Danny whenever the subject came up. But he didn’t nag for electronic devices. Weird kid that he was, he lusted after the set of encyclopedia.
Morning, noon and night, with a ridiculously expensive set of books luring him like a beacon, and a single parent with guilt complexes he'd learned to push like buttons.
And here they were. Here she was. Danny had won his final competition an hour before and gone off to celebrate with a ride on the Ferris wheel.
Karena heard the announcement for her next heat and shook her head. If she won this phase, and the finals in the ax throwing at the evening show tonight, plus the final heats tomorrow night, Danny would have his books.
She stepped outside, wanting to cringe at the impact of people, noise and odors. Instead, she forced her shoulders back, her head held high, and walked over to the pool, heart pounding all over again as the short, grizzled announcer began his spiel once more.
"Sara Wise, from Newfoundland, Canada, wearing black shorts, here on my left, and on my right, our native Minnesota contender and the winner of the last heat, Karena Carlson, wearing red. Sara will warm up first."
Sara Wise was at least six feet tall, and brawny. She stepped confidently out on the log, almost capsizing it, and gave it a few desultory whirls this way and that with her size eleven cleats before nimbly springing back to dry land. The lackadaisical way she moved and her very size seemed to trumpet the confidence she exuded. She definitely didn't plan on getting wet, and she towered intimidatingly over Karena.
Logan had watched Karena from the instant she exited the tent, and now he stared at her competitor in disbelief.
Shouldn't there be a weight or a height handicap in an event like this, for cripes' sake? That Sara was an amazon.
"Here's your coffee, Uncle Logan. Alexander put two sugars in it. I told him you only took one sugar and one cream, but he wouldn't listen. Uncle Logan?" His niece's fussy voice finally penetrated Logan's preoccupation.
"Oh, hi, Liz. Thanks."
He took the Styrofoam cup without taking his eyes off Karena Carlson's form. He couldn't see her eyes from where he was sitting, and it annoyed him vaguely.
Was she frightened?
What color were her eyes, anyhow? They ought to be cornflower blue, he decided at last, noting her proud carriage, the way her high breasts and narrow waist and hips were perfectly aligned.
And those runner's legs. Long, shapely, powerful. A primeval surge of appreciative desire made him shift uncomfortably. She was deliciously lovely, this Karena Carlson, this... lumberjack. Surely not a lumberjack, he corrected. What would a woman who competed in these events be called, anyhow? A lumberjill? He grinned at his own feeble humor.
"Uncle Logan, you're spilling on me." Liz's aggrieved voice commanded his attention, and he mopped apologetically at her jeans with a Kleenex.
"Gosh, I'm sorry, Lizzie. It didn't burn you, did it?"
"No, but that's only because Alexander took forever in the bathroom, and so your coffee got cold. Is it okay to drink?"
He, who normally abhorred cold coffee, nodded absently and gulped it, his eyes riveted once again on the figure in red shorts now taking her turn on the precarious log in the pool.
Poor kid, Logan thought protectively. She hasn't got a chance against that giant.
"One, two, three, go!"
Two sets of female legs began a cautious, intense and highly skilled exhibition of dexterity. Barely a minute into the competition, however, Karena slipped backward, lost her footing and fell full length into the pool.
Logan jerked up, half standing, sinking back down as he realized how shallow the water was. She was already hoisting herself up the side and out, obviously unhurt but extremely wet.
The crowd roared apd a group of exuberant spectators, obviously supporting the Canadian entry, clapped and shouted their approval of Sara Wise. Logan twisted around and shot the insensitive clods a scowling grimace, turning back to the pond in time to see a soaked Karena clamber out, brief shorts and singlet now clinging intriguingly.
"Best of two heats out of three, first heat to Sara Wise," the announcer blared, and Logan swallowed, stifling an insane impulse to whip off his checked cotton shirt, step over the narrow barrier and wrap it protectively around the blond woman. But she was already stepping back onto that infernal log with her massive opponent, and at the announcer's signal, Karena instantly rolled the log forward as hard and as fast as she could, then gave it an immense spin back, and in an instant, Sara Wise landed in the pool on her back, her bulk sending sheets of water cascading over Logan and the twins.
"Yea, well done," Logan roared, oblivious to the dousing and entirely forgetting the inch of coffee still in his cup when he clapped his hands. The liquid shot up and landed on his own pants this time, and Liz gave him an exasperated, reproachful lecture as she searched for more Kleenex.
Then, not wanting to believe it was happening, Logan distinctly heard a young voice directly behind him holler exuberantly, "Hurray, way to go, Mom. Once more, Mom, you can do it."
For an instant, Logan prayed fervently that the encouragement was directed at someone else, anyone other than Karena. But there was no mistaking the identity of "Mom" as Karena turned toward the stands for the first time and acknowledged the words with a flashing white smile and a wave, and Logan felt disappointment roll over him like sudden, sick fever.
So that was that.
It hadn't even occurred to him to wonder whether she might be married, fool that he was. But she was entirely lovely, and of course some man had recognized it and won her long ago.
A knot of regret squeezed his heart like a fist, and he sighed deeply and turned to the twins. "You guys ready to leave now?" he inquired listlessly.
What was the point of fantasizing over a married woman, regardless of how attractive?
But they stubbornly shook their heads and settled do
wn to watch the next heat, and Logan frowned irritably and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees despondently.
That sun wasn't delightfully warm anymore. It was downright hot. And was that a headache building behind his eyes?
"This is the tiebreaker, ladies and gentlemen. One, two, three, go!"
The action was fast and furious. Despite himself, Logan was drawn again by the flying feet and precarious balance of the women on the log, and he let out a roar of approval when Sara finally wavered and slipped into the water. Karena had won.
The young voice making Logan's eardrums ring was jubilant.
"Way to go, Mom, I knew you'd do it. I knew it, I told you so," he was bellowing, and Alexander twisted around to get a look at him. Lizzie turned as well.
"Is that lady really your mother?" Alex inquired curiously.
Logan heard Lizzie give a groan at what she considered a stupid question, but the raucous voice directly behind Logan said proudly, "Yep, that's my mom, and I bet she's gonna win the grand championship tomorrow, too. She's the best."
Liz waved at the arena where preparations were in full swing to begin the men's team competitions.
"Which one's your dad?" she inquired logically, and Logan found himself waiting tensely for the answer. He wasn't sure he wanted to even see the guy. Paul Bunyan himself wasn't good enough for Karena, that was certain.
There was a tiny pause in the conversation and then the boy's voice announced, elaborately casual, "Oh, my dad died when I was a little baby. There's just Mom and me, and I've got a friend called Gabe. And then there's Grampa." Logan suddenly became intensely interested in this conversation. He twisted around to take a good look at this nice kid who called Karena mom.
Alexander asked, "How old are you?"
"Twelve next Thursday, July ninth. If Mom wins, she's gonna buy me the whole set of World of Nature wildlife encyclopedias. How old are you?"
He was white blond just like his mother, a thin boy with long limbs, ungainly and awkward, his features already too large for his face in the way nature had of marking boys who would grow into huge, handsome men. His expression was animated and friendly, his nose was peeling and he needed a haircut. He met Logan's glance with clear deep-blue eyes and not a trace of shyness.
"We're both eleven," Alexander supplied. "She's Lizzie, and I'm Alex, and we're twins, but she was born first. This here's our Uncle Logan. What's your name?"
"Daniel Eric Carlson," the boy answered, "but everybody just calls me Danny. Unless they're mad at me," he added matter-of-factly, making Logan wonder if it happened often.
Liz pronounced, "How do you do, pleased to meet you," and then the conversation lapsed for several minutes as the children watched the frantic pace of the men's event, which involved much cutting, climbing, running and carrying of blocks of wood.
Logan was oblivious to any of it. He sat perfectly still and methodically considered and rejected ways and means of meeting Karena.
As soon as possible, he put his best scheme into effect and mentally crossed his fingers. Surely it would work. "Anybody want a hamburger?" he asked innocently.
Of course, Liz and Alex did. Logan casually turned to Danny. ''How about you, Danny? Would you like a hamburger with us?"
"Wow, super. But I have to ask my mom first," the boy said, just exactly as Logan had expected.
"We'd better come along and meet her, just so she knows who you're going with," Logan announced, adding innocently, "maybe she'd like to come along, too. Why not invite her?" and Danny enthusiastically led the way over the fence and toward the tent, with Logan and the twins close behind.
What was the penalty for using kids as cupids?
He strode along in the wake of the three chattering youngsters and his heart beat a little faster than usual.
"Mom?" Danny bellowed, sticking his head into the hot tent.
Karena was pulling on fresh pink cotton shorts and a dry bra and T-shirt in the tiny curtained-off area that was the women's dressing room. She ran a wide-toothed comb through her unruly curls. Those few past moments with Sara had been totally draining, calling on her to use every ounce of guile and technique she possessed. But she'd won, and there was satisfaction in that.
"Just a minute, Danny."
"Mom, these people asked us to go for a hamburger with them. Boy, you really did great in the last couple heats. Can we go, please? You know we didn't eat yet, Mom, and I'm starving, so can we go?"
Karena ducked out from behind the curtain and bent to follow Danny out of the tent.
"Danny, slow down, okay?" Nearly every conversation she had with him started with that plea. "I really think—" she stopped abruptly, conscious of a tall, broad-shouldered man in a blue checked shirt, his hands resting gently on the shoulders of a small dark-haired boy with freckles and eager eyes and a prim little girl with long red braids.
All three were staring at her intently, and Karena felt shy yet somehow compelled to glance into the man's face, despite the wave of nervousness that brought heightened color into her cheeks.
Chapter Two
"How do you do?" he said formally, and then his firm mouth tilted into a crooked, one-sided smile and one dark eyebrow rose inquiringly above his horn-rimmed glasses, as if he were as surprised to be there as she was to encounter him.
His eyes looked soft and dark behind the lenses and his hair was sooty, wavy and disarranged, falling over his forehead.
"I'm Logan Baxter, and this is my niece, Liz Gardom, and my nephew, Alex. We'd like to take you and Danny for a hamburger to celebrate your win at logrolling."
His voice was pleasing, deep and gentle and a shade hesitant. He was extremely attractive, somehow sophisticated despite his casual garb, and Karena hesitated the slightest bit before refusing.
"Thanks, but I don't think—"
Immediately, three young voices interceded.
"Aw, Mom, c'mon," from Danny.
"Please do come with us," from Liz.
But it was Alex who tipped the scales. He disengaged Logan's hand and walked over to stand directly in front of her, his triangular freckled face tilted earnestly upward.
"Did it take long to learn how to walk on logs that way? Could anybody learn how?" he asked worshipfully, and Karena glanced down at him, at the innocence and enthusiasm he radiated.
She gave the little boy a smile so potent that Logan was immediately envious.
"I guess I started learning when I was a bit younger than you, and I still have to practice a lot," Karena explained, and Alex took a step closer still, eager to have the rest of his questions answered before his sister Liz could take the conversation over as she always did. He peered up into Karena's face blinking against the sun.
"Did you fall in the water lots before you learned? D'you wear special shoes?"
"The shoes have cleats in the bottom, which helps some, and yes, I was just like a drowned rat for the first year or so. Danny knows, he's been at it since he was five or six, didn't he tell you?"
Both twins turned their admiring gaze on Danny and continued to bombard the boy and his mother with questions.
Under cover of their chattering, Logan cleverly began steering the group out of the area of the timber show and toward the concession stands.
Karena, still explaining details to Alex, was hardly aware that they were moving along together until they reached the benches ringing the stand that advertised Bunyan Burgers.
"Sit here, where there's some shade," Logan suggested, pointing at a bench placed under a tree. A peculiar sense of elation consumed him when Karena hesitated and then sat down.
"Danny and I will take your food orders and then bring them over," Logan announced.
Danny beamed proudly, moving to stand near Logan, and Alex took the opportunity to slip into the seat next to Karena. She smiled fondly down at the boy.
Logan patiently listened to the twins' complex and detailed instructions for what they wanted, and Karena watched him covertly as he furrowed his
brow and pretended to jumble the orders, making the twins giggle at his nonsense, and when he turned his attention to her, the crooked half smile flashed and he winked conspiratorially at her.
What a nice man he was, she thought wistfully.
"Will madam have the pheasant under glass or the trout?" he purred then, gazing seriously down into her eyes.
Karena was suddenly uncomfortable, not used to such teasing.
"That's fine, Danny will get ours," she stammered, fumbling in her wallet for money. A large, warm hand closed over both of hers, a hand with just a sprinkling of dark hairs on the back, and a sensation of tingling pleasure wound slowly up her arms.
Logan shook his head, frowning.
"Please," he said quietly, holding her gaze against her will and not moving his hand from where it restrained her own. "You don't want to spoil my whole day, do you? I invited you and Danny to lunch, so I'm buying. How often do I get a chance to take a champion to lunch?"
"Before you even know how much we can eat? Wow." The awe in Danny's tone made both Logan and Karena laugh, breaking the tension that had sprung up between them for an instant.
It seemed silly to protest any more, so Karena waited with the twins, and a short time later, Logan and Danny unloaded cardboard trays stacked with burgers, fries, milk shakes, sodas and coffee.
Logan slid into a space directly across the table from Karena, and she helped him distribute the food. By the time everyone had what they'd ordered, an easy camaraderie had been established between the adults, and Karena unwrapped her burger and bit hungrily into it, forgetting to be self-conscious.
She was still acutely aware of the man across the table, but it was hard even for her to be nervous in the presence of a man with sauce dribbling down the beguiling cleft in his strong chin.
"Uncle Logan," Liz remonstrated severely, "use your napkin, you got stuff all over your face."
Logan saluted his dictatorial niece and nonchalantly wiped his chin, winking at Karena again.
Follow A Wild Heart (romance,) Page 2
