Under Northern Lights (The Six Series Book 6)

by Sonya Loveday

  “Not like this. Nova, she’s really confused today.”

  “As opposed to any other day?” The state of her mind swung from one day to the next, but she eventually snapped out of it… for the most part.

  “Has she ever had times where it seems like she’s living in the past?” he asked.

  The strained question hit me like an avalanche.

  “The past?” I dropped my purse on the table and pulled out the nearest chair, sitting as if the act alone would brace me for his explanation.

  “Do you remember that time the pipe burst in the wall and you and Noni came to stay with me until the repairs were done?” he asked.

  “Yeah… that happened when I was like thirteen,” I said, feeling my stomach bottom out. “Are you telling me that she—” I couldn’t even finish my sentence.

  He sighed. “Well, she’s talking about it like the pipe burst just last night. I think, to keep her from getting even more confused, you should wait to come over.”

  “But…”

  “It’ll be all right, Nova. Besides, how long have you been doing this all on your own? I promise, Noni’s in good hands.”

  “Are you sure? I—”

  “Noni and I will get on just fine. Besides, if she gets feisty, I’ll just feed her. She won’t be able to talk back if her mouth is busy chewing.”

  I sighed.

  “It’ll be all right, Nova. Take some time for yourself. Lord knows you need it,” he said.

  “Thanks, Stanley. I’ll call you later and check in. But if you need anything—”

  “I’ll call you right away,” he finished.

  Eli toed his boots off before hanging his jacket back up on the peg beside the door. “How about breakfast? I haven’t had French toast in a while. Sound good?”

  “Sure.”

  It felt weird sitting idle while Eli moved around the small kitchen. Odder still was the fact he didn’t once ask me to explain what was going on with Noni.

  He turned from the stove, eyes searching my face. “You’re not sure what to do with yourself.”

  I pushed up from the chair, grabbed the loaf of bread from the counter, and untwisted the tie. “Is it that obvious?”

  He gave me a smile and then popped the egg carton open. “Some advice?”

  “Sure,” I said, giving him my full attention.

  “When all else fails, eat.”

  “And then?”

  “Not sure, but we’ll figure it out,” he said, leaning his hip against the counter, eggs forgotten.

  How had Eli come into my life when I’d needed him most?

  I cleared my throat, nervous but not nervous enough to keep from asking him the questions stacking one on top of another. “So, are you going to tell me the whole reason why you’ve come to Nome?”

  He regarded me for a minute. Straightening from the counter, he said, “Other than you?”

  I snorted.

  “You don’t believe me?” He chuckled, and then with the natural skill of someone born to be in the kitchen, he’d commenced to cracking eggs.

  “I didn’t say that, but I also believe there’s more you haven’t told me.”

  He shifted, giving me a knowing smile. “There is, but there hasn’t been a right time to talk about it… until now.”

  “I’m listening,” I said, prodding him along.

  Eli didn’t mince words as he explained the reasons why he’d come to Nome.

  “A job?” I’d crossed my arms and leaned against the counter while listening to him, but found I could no longer sit still.

  “Not just any job,” he reminded me.

  No, it wasn’t just any job. It was a dream job. A real career. Something I couldn’t have, even in my wildest imagination, dreamed up. And yet, it sounded too good to be true. How could someone enter into the medical field the way he’d described it? It took years of schooling, not to mention the time involved in doing a residency.

  It was a lot to wrap my mind around. What he offered would be life changing, but I couldn’t do life changing. Noni needed me.

  “It’s a great offer, but…”

  “Noni. I know, Nova. That’s why I wasn’t planning on saying anything to you right now. Asking you to think about a job like this in the middle of what you have going on is more than unfair. I get it, believe me,” he said, turning to the stove.

  “What I don’t understand is… why me? There had to be hundreds of applicants—”

  “That’s not how it works with Cole Enterprise,” Eli interrupted.

  “You said this company, Cole Enterprise, is a private sector company funded by the government, but not claimed, so why wouldn’t they hire from within the service branches and pick qualified people? People who are already trained and can jump right into the job?”

  Eli flipped the French toast, spatula in the air as if I’d caught him off guard, or maybe he was thinking about something. A second later, he answered. “Oh, they do, trust me.”

  “You know I’m not going to let that comment go by without asking you to explain,” I warned.

  I thought it would be a simple explanation. There was nothing simple about it. Nothing. He talked all the way through making breakfast, continued on as we ate, then while we washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.

  I interrupted only a few times to clarify what he said, but for the most part… I listened.

  When he was done, I stared at him from across the table. He shifted uncomfortably and said, “Everything I’ve told you is, as cheesy as it sounds, top secret. Not many people know what Cole Enterprise really is. In fact, if you looked them up, you’d see the company listed as an engineering facility for cutting-edge prototypes.”

  “And you and your friends all work there. How did you all manage to be selected?” I asked.

  He smiled at me. “Jared. This is all Jared’s fault, or, well, sort of his fault.”

  “The guy who left home to join a rock band?” I asked to clarify.

  He nodded. “Jared didn’t have any idea about his parents. And they tried for a long time to keep that part of their lives separate from him, but the reality is there was just no way to continue keeping it from him. Or anyone else in his life.”

  “Does it bother you?” It would have bothered me having my choices taken from me the way Eli and his friends had.

  “No. I’m doing what I love, and a whole lot sooner than I could have had I gone about it the traditional way.”

  “But?”

  He sat back in his seat with a sigh, one hand resting on the table, the other clutching the back of his neck. “But there are days that I wonder what it would have been like had Ace’s helicopter not crashed in Haiti.”

  “Would you have stayed on with the Red Cross?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I missed home like you wouldn’t believe. Missed my friends even more. We’re close, ya know? But all of that changed the day I met you.”

  Chapter 9

  Eli

  She blushed, eyes lowering. “I was homesick, too.”

  I’d laid it all out, and she hadn’t freaked and run out the door. Then again, I hadn’t expected her to. At least, the Nova I’d known in Haiti wouldn’t have. She never seemed to run from any challenge, or problem. But those were different times, and totally different circumstances.

  “I thought about you a lot after I left Haiti. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” I admitted.

  She laughed. “Hard to forget the girl who threw up on your shoes? You know, most guys would have been completely repulsed by that.”

  I shrugged. “I’m not most guys.”

  Her eyes met mine, sparks seeming to dance in them. “No, you’re not.”

  I watched her until she squirmed and then said, “You’re not like any other girl I’ve met before. There’s something about you that drives me crazy and I want to make some sort of idiotic claim on you.”

  She smirked. “You say that, and all I can think about is how a dog pees on something t
o mark it. I hope you don’t have something like that in mind.”

  I busted out laughing. “I’ll try to contain myself.”

  The conversation had to have become too heavy for her, since her fall back resorted to humor. I left it alone for the moment because the last thing I wanted was for her to be uncomfortable around me. “So, how about a movie?”

  She shook her head. “How about we make sure you’ve got this place stocked for an Alaskan winter? I mean, you are a newbie here, and we can’t take any chances that you don’t have what we might need.”

  I moved forward, laced my fingers together, and leaned in on my elbows as I scrutinized her. “I did my homework and made sure I was ready. But how about this… we’ll go through your winter checklist, and if I missed anything—”

  “Then we’ll make a list and head to the store. The last thing you want to be is out of something like coffee and you can’t get any for months. And you definitely don’t want to live with me if I’m caffeine deprived.”

  “Deal. And then we’ll check on Noni, and see how she’s doing,” I added.

  Her face softened. “Okay.”

  I wanted to tip her face back and kiss her lips until both of us forgot who we were and where we were. Wanted it so badly that I had to put some distance between us before I did just that.

  “How about we start with a list?” I said, popping up from my seat to grab a pen and notepad.

  She snorted. “Good idea. You can write down everything you forgot while I check your supplies.”

  She cursed under her breath. “Here I am giving you a hard time about having all your supplies, and genius that I am, I packed all my stuff and even helped you load it into the truck to be put in storage.”

  “We can go through the boxes and pull your stuff out once we check on Noni,” I told her.

  “We’ll have to. There’s no way I can afford replacing all of that right now,” she said, groaning.

  “So, I passed inspection?” I picked at her, knowing I’d done my homework.

  She turned to face me. “You’re definitely more prepared than some are when they first get here. They catch on real fast the first time they run out of something important and have to wait for it. Even if it’s just a few days because of bad weather. Although, speaking of that, or well, not of that, but you should make sure you have cash on hand. If the power goes out, you’ll need it in case you have to buy something.”

  “I have cash tucked away in the small safe in my room. I should probably show you where and give you the combination,” I said, watching as she shook her head.

  “You don’t need to do that. As long as you have it, that’s what matters. I’ll need to go to the bank tomorrow so I can do the same. I’d planned on doing it sometime this week anyway,” she replied.

  Not wanting to argue over something silly like the cash stashed in my room, I changed the subject.

  An hour later, we left the store carrying a handful of bags each. Adding additional supplies was Nova’s idea since there were two of us. “You probably should have asked Mr. Lewis if he needed anything when you called to see if Noni was up for company.”

  “He would have said no, but while we’re there, I’ll make him look at what he has and make a list of what he needs. You up for another store run tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Sure. Why not? I love shopping,” I said, grimacing dramatically as I rolled my eyes.

  Before she could say something witty back, my cell phone rang. I answered it as we pulled into Mr. Lewis’s driveway. “Hey, hang on a second, Jared.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and hit mute as I turned to Nova. “Do you mind if I take this out here?”

  “Leave the truck running or you’ll freeze,” she said. “Take your time.”

  Jared’s laugh rattled the speaker of the phone. When I flipped it over, I realized I hadn’t put the phone on mute at all. “What’s up, Jared?”

  “She has a nice voice. Talk to her about the job yet?” he asked.

  “I did today.”

  Jared hadn’t called to chat. I could hear it in his voice. He confirmed it when he said, “Well, in that case, Murphy and I will be there in a few days.”

  “Why?”

  “Ivanov. We’ve been watching the intel reports pick up on a lot of chatter over the past week, and last night, Licks was able to crack the code. Dude is amazing at that shit, who’d of thought… anyway,” I could almost see him waving his hand as he continued, “Flint gave the order for Ace and Aiden to head out to mother f’ing Siberia.”

  Murphy said something to Jared. I could hear her voice, but wasn’t able to make out what she said. The tone, however, was clear enough. It said get to the point.

  Jared chuckled. “Hang on, Eli, Murph’s giving me hell.”

  My head hit the headrest and I closed my eyes, hoping he wasn’t going to tell me that a med team would be pulled and put on standby.

  He was back on the line a second later. “Where was I? Oh, yeah, Paige is on standby with the med team.”

  “What about Mark, Airen, and Riley?” I asked.

  “Training. Oliver’s been putting them through some really intense training. Every time I’ve clapped eyes on them, they look like they’ve been through hell and back again.”

  “And the med team? Who’s going with Paige?” I asked, prodding.

  “Paging Dr. Benton,” Jared said, snorting at his own joke.

  “Funny.” Only it wasn’t funny, because he wasn’t joking. Damn.

  “Flint’s not looking to move y’all out for at least another week, unless something happens beforehand. I can’t say any more than that, but I promise to fill you in once we get there,” Jared said, sighing. “Anything special we should bring with us?”

  “A good sense of humor and your guitar,” I replied.

  “I’ll be sure both are packed and ready for the Polar Express,” Jared replied.

  After we hung up, I sat in the truck for a few more minutes. It didn’t do any good to get angry over the way things were. I’d signed on for all that Cole Enterprise stood for, but it didn’t make it any easier reminding myself of that when all I wanted to do was hide out in Nome with Nova.

  Nothing would ever be simple. I’d be called to wherever I was needed to do the job I was trained to do. Even if it meant leaving Nova behind… again.

  I shut the truck off, pocketed the keys, and squared my shoulders. Nova met me at the door, and I slipped inside, shutting the cold out.

  “Everything okay?” she asked, moving closer.

  I unzipped my jacket, wondering how to tell her about my conversation with Jared.

  She held out her hand for my jacket. “I’m sorry, that was completely rude. It’s none of my business.”

  I reached past her and hung it up, then toed my shoes off, leaving them by the door. Putting my hand on her shoulder as she turned away, I said, “Actually, it sort of is your business, but I can’t really get into it right now.”

  She nodded. “It’s okay, Eli. You don’t owe me any explanations.”

  “You’re a part of this now. The moment I told you about Cole Enterprise, you became a part of it,” I said, wishing like hell I’d kept my mouth shut.

  “I can’t be a part of something I haven’t even said yes to,” Nova scoffed.

  She had no idea how wrong she was.

  “Nova, what are you doing standing over there by that drafty door? Oh? You have a visitor, how nice,” Noni said, looking between us.

  “Well, get in here, you two, Stanley’s just made a batch of cinnamon rolls, and there’s a hot toddy to go along with it,” she said, leaving us to follow.

  I chuckled. “I could go for a hot toddy, with an extra shot of toddy.”

  Nova snorted. “She keeps this up and I’ll have to buy a case of brandy just to get us through the winter.”

  I relaxed in my seat, enjoying the back and forth banter between Nova and her grandmother. Mr. Lewis chimed in with stories that made Noni eithe
r laugh along, or argue the details. Between the two of them, they had Nova and me in stitches.

  It was odd sitting there while knowing I was on borrowed time with Nova. Once Jared and Murphy arrived, things would change. I wouldn’t have Nova to myself, or sort of to myself. Reality would bust the door down. It would drag happiness and contentment to the corner and leave them there to waste away.

  No matter how it played out, the ending would be the same. Nova wouldn’t turn her back on the responsibility of taking care of her grandmother. And Cole Enterprise wouldn’t let her go. To have Nova was to wish away Noni. And that just didn’t sit right with me.

  “…I’m telling you, she came out of that cabin, gun straight up in the air, shouting and carrying on. Well, that bear, he wasn’t too impressed with all the commotion, so he reared up on his back legs and let out a roar the likes of which still sends cold chills down my back.”

  “Didn’t do him much good though, did it?” Noni smirked, quirking her eyebrow over the cup she held clasped in her hands.

  “Shot it right in the backside. Never saw a bear run so fast in my life,” Stanley said as his shoulders shook while he laughed.

  Nova looked confused. “If he was charging at you, how in the world did you manage to shoot him in the backside?”

  “I wasn’t the best aim back then, and those .44’s are heavy. So I always tended to sight a little higher to make up for it—”

  “Ricocheted off the bear crossing sign and hit it right in the ass.”

  “Stanley!”

  “What? That’s what happened,” he said, winking at Noni.

  She shook her head. “After that, I traded the .44 for the .357 I have now.”

  “And you turned out to be one of the best shots I know. Passed it on down to Nova once she was big enough to fire the gun,” Mr. Lewis added.

  “What about you, Eli? Do any hunting in Alabama?” Nova asked.

  “No, but I did plenty of fishing,” I answered.

  The conversation spun off about fly fishing versus deep-sea fishing. And then from fishing to crabbing, and did I know about that one show on TV? We talked until Noni started to get sleepy.