She laughed. “You have to be blind to refer to me as beautiful. You’ve caught me looking like a mechanic, and now like some hausfrau in my flannel pajamas. Beautiful isn’t exactly a word I would use to describe me.”
“You can make light of what I’m saying,” Graham said, “but some of the attention you attract might not be the kind you want. Just remember that.”
“Thanks for the warning. I will.”
She slid off the stool and padded around the counter to fill her cup again. When she turned back around, she said, “I have another question for you. How do you think people would react if I decided to host a community get-together every Friday night here at The Wooden Nickel?”
Graham answered with his first thought. “That could get expensive quick.”
“Not if I kept the food simple. And if everyone brought or purchased what they wanted to drink here at the store.”
“What made you think of that idea?”
“Something Gil said about The Hitching Post being the only place around here to go on a Friday night,” she said. “And the fact that everyone had such a great time at your birthday party. I think it could liven things up.”
Graham’s grip had tightened on the handle of his cup the second Courtney said Gil’s name. “Gil was at The Hitching Post last night?”
“He was nice enough to keep me company while the twins were onstage.”
Nice my ass!
Nice wasn’t the bone Gil had in his body where women were concerned. He was trouble. And if Graham hadn’t already made himself look like such an idiot for grilling Courtney about the twins, he would tell her that.
“Gil’s an expert on getting around. If he says there isn’t anywhere else to go on Friday night, he’s the one who would know.”
“So you think it’s a good idea to host something here?”
“I’m not the best person to ask about livening things up around here,” Graham said, irritated that Courtney had missed his meaning completely. “I like things the way they are. I thought I’d made myself clear about that.”
The minute he said it, Graham wished he hadn’t. He hadn’t meant to bark at her like that. But damn, this unexplained need he felt to protect Courtney—especially from guys like Gil—had overwhelmed him.
Now the damage was done.
And the look on her face said she was wide-awake now.
“OH, YOU’VE MADE yourself perfectly clear you like things the way they are,” Courtney said, making sure her tone was as snippy as Graham had been with her. “But I wasn’t thinking about livening things up for you. I was thinking about Rachel. I thought having something fun to do on Friday nights would make her happy.”
“Making Rachel happy isn’t your responsibility, Courtney.”
“Maybe not. But I’m making it my responsibility while I’m here.”
She hadn’t intended to have this conversation with Graham. Not now. Maybe not ever. But his condescending, overbearing and plain damn irritating attitude had pushed her where she hadn’t planned to go.
“Teenage depression can be serious, Graham. I found that out the hard way when I was Rachel’s age. I lost a close friend because everyone, including me, didn’t realize how depressed she was.”
“What are you implying, Courtney? That you think Rachel would hurt herself?”
“No. I don’t think she would. But she made that threat and it wasn’t a chance I was willing to take. That’s another reason I decided to stay. As much as Rachel loves you, there are things a teenage girl can’t talk to her father about. I hoped if we had the summer together, maybe I could—”
“I’ve heard enough,” he said, sliding off the stool.
He dug a five dollar bill out of his pocket and tossed it onto the counter. “Thanks for the coffee,” he said. “And for pointing out that I’m still such a lousy father my daughter is threatening suicide.”
“You know you aren’t a lousy father,” Courtney said, hurrying after him as Graham headed for the door.
He whirled around to face her. Courtney stopped short when Graham pointed a finger at her.
“You should have told me the minute Rachel made such a threat.”
“Do you want to know why I didn’t tell you? I couldn’t bring myself to dump that information on you only hours after you’d told me how guilty you felt about Julia. I knew you would do exactly what you’re doing now. You’d make Rachel’s depression about you instead of facing the real issue.”
“And you don’t think my daughter threatening to harm herself is the real issue?” he shouted.
“No!” Courtney yelled back. “The real issue is that Rachel is going through a phase where she isn’t happy here, Graham. And instead of flexing your father muscles and telling her too bad that you’re the boss and there’s nothing she can do about it, you might want to start thinking about ways to make Rachel happy living here.”
“Isn’t it amazing that it’s always the people who don’t have children who claim to know what’s best for them?”
If he’d meant to hurt her, his comment worked.
Courtney didn’t try to stop him when Graham slammed out of the store. And though she wanted to call Rachel and at least warn her about their discussion, Courtney didn’t.
Graham was right. She should have told him she was concerned about Rachel immediately. Rachel was his child, not hers. And now that the issue was out into the open, she had to back off and let Graham handle it.
But Courtney’s gut told her Graham wouldn’t do anything stupid. Even though Graham was furious with her for not telling him, he was still an excellent father. He was also smart enough to know the worst thing he could do under the circumstances was make Rachel quit her job at the store and break all contact with the one person she trusted enough to tell what was on her mind.
If anything, this discussion strengthened Courtney’s resolve to liven things up by playing hostess on Friday nights. The Barlow twins had already agreed to forgo their gig at The Hitching Post in favor of her hiring them to play at The Wooden Nickel. Unless she got a flat thumbs-down from the rest of the community, people in Port Protection were going to have a weekly social.
She wanted to give something back to the community that had been gracious enough to accept her. And she wasn’t going to worry about the expense of these events. She’d pay out of her own pocket. And so what if Graham probably wouldn’t participate after the big blowup they’d had.
Rachel would be thrilled.
Broadway barked and Courtney opened the door to let him in. She caught the last glimpse of Graham’s skiff disappearing around the cove.
The big dummy.
She hadn’t been trying to make him feel responsible for her staying when she’d told him he knew where to find her. She’d only been trying to point out that she was interested in him, not his past.
She’d arrived on the thirtieth of May, the day before Graham’s birthday. And though she’d never put much stock in astrology, being born under the zodiac sign of the Gemini twins fit Graham to a T. He seemed to be constantly trying to reconcile the two opposite sides of his dual personality.
But she was Aquarian—the water bearer—concerned for the welfare of all. Her concern for all of their futures was why Courtney wouldn’t give up even though today was already the last day of June, and Graham had discouraged her so much a weaker woman would have buckled.
Courtney had two months left and she intended to make the most of them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
BY THE TIME GRAHAM reached the lodge, his anger at Courtney had subsided. He could understand why a tragedy in her past would make Courtney take Rachel’s threat seriously. But his daughter’s dramatics were wearing thin and fast.
This time, Rachel had gone too far. And Graham intended to call her on it.
But he wouldn’t throw Courtney under the bus. At least, not completely. He owed her that much for being honest with him.
Graham found Rachel at the dining room table, a bow
l of her stale cereal in front of her. She sent him a sleepy look when he walked through the door.
“Where have you been?”
“I just had an interesting conversation with Courtney.”
Rachel looked pleased until Graham said, “Courtney’s concerned about your depression. Any idea why she would feel that way?”
He’d expected to see a little shame in her eyes.
When he didn’t, Graham made his decision.
“When you get through with your cereal, Rachel, I want you to spend the rest of the day packing. You’re leaving for New York on Monday.”
She gasped. “But, Dad. I can’t go to New York. Not now. Courtney stayed here for the summer because of me.”
“Why do you care?” Graham demanded. “You invited Courtney as a way to get to New York. You scared her into staying, hoping she would still be your ticket out of here. You’ve proved you’re willing to do anything and say anything to get what you want. So you win, Rachel. And as soon as I make your plane reservations, I’m calling my parents to tell them when to pick you up at the airport.”
Graham walked across the great room and into his office. By the time he sat down at his computer and started an airline search, Rachel was rushing through his office door.
“Please don’t do this, Dad,” she begged. “I didn’t mean to scare Courtney. All I said was that the thought of spending another summer here with nothing to do made me want to kill myself, and she freaked. But I wasn’t serious, Dad. I swear it.”
“I’m not willing to take that chance,” Graham said. “So stop making excuses and start packing.”
Graham didn’t even look at her. He kept his eyes focused on the screen as the Web site for airline reservations popped up. He typed in the information and hit the submit button.
“Dammit, Dad! You aren’t listening to me.”
“You watch your language.”
Her voice trembled when she said, “Don’t you realize I never wanted to live with my grandparents? That I was only trying to get you to move there? And yes, I did invite Courtney hoping she might give you a reason to return, since you wouldn’t do it for me. But the only way I want to live in New York is if you go with me, Dad. And if you aren’t going with me I’m not going, either.”
Graham finally faced her. “Give up this opportunity now and you won’t get another one,” he warned. “You’ll be stuck in this miserable place until you go to college.”
Rachel didn’t answer.
“And if it’s Courtney you’re still worried about, she’ll be back in New York by the end of the summer. Then you’ll have everything you want.”
“Except you,” Rachel said, her lower lip trembling.
“My home is here, Rachel. And so is my business. We’ve had this same discussion a million times. So make your decision. Either go back to New York now, or stay here. I’m tired of arguing about it.”
“But couldn’t we compromise, Dad?” she pleaded. “I’m willing to if you are. We could live here in the summer, since that’s your peak season. But we could live in New York during the school year so I could go to a regular high school. And you’d only have to do that for the next three years, Dad. Then I would go to college, and you could live here full-time again.”
Graham kept staring at her.
Never once had Rachel mentioned a compromise in the past. Their arguments had always been about moving to New York permanently. But it only took a nanosecond for Graham to realize where Rachel got the idea.
“Let me guess,” he said. “Compromising was Courtney’s solution.”
“Yes,” Rachel said. “And when I told her you’d never consider it, Courtney told me I’d never know unless I asked. So now I’ve asked.”
Before Graham could comment, Rachel said, “But it’s obvious Courtney was wrong about you listening to me if I opened up and told you how I really feel about things. You haven’t heard a word I said. You’d rather be mad because it was Courtney’s idea.”
Rachel kicked his ass with that comment.
Because it was true.
His first reaction was to be pissed. “Did I say I wouldn’t consider a compromise?” Graham asked, trying to save face.
Rachel blinked. “You mean you’ll think about us living in New York for the school year?”
“New York, no,” Graham said. “Ketchikan or Anchorage, maybe.”
Rachel’s face fell.
“Both of those places have large high schools you could attend, Rachel. And we’d be close enough to fly home on weekends so I could look after things here. That’s the compromise I’m willing to think about. Take it, or leave it.”
“Whatever,” Rachel said, and walked out of his office.
Graham sighed. There were times when he had no choice but to flex his father muscles as Courtney had accused, and this was one of them. But he also kept thinking about Courtney’s claim that he was a better man than the one he’d been five years ago.
Maybe he was.
Five years ago he wouldn’t have considered a compromise. Hell, he wouldn’t have considered a compromise five weeks ago.
However, five weeks ago he wasn’t aware that his daughter was so desperate to go to a regular high school she was masquerading as him on the Internet. That alone had been a wake-up call. And the scare Rachel had given Courtney only confirmed that, at least for the next three years, he was going to have to make some changes.
Change.
His grandfather always said the only consistent thing in life was change. A more true statement, Graham couldn’t imagine.
A change had been going on inside him from the moment Courtney arrived. And Graham wasn’t sure if he should curse Courtney for it, or thank her for it.
Courtney had definitely gotten under his skin.
Just as Frank had crooned.
HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR HER frequent morning chats with Beth, Courtney’s contact with the outside world would have been nonexistent. Life went on in Port Protection as if it were a tiny planet of its own. And if anyone in Port Protection other than Rachel was concerned that life might be passing them by, no one let on.
That’s why Courtney had Beth on the phone now.
“So? What do you think?”
Beth groaned. “I think you should abandon your Friday night social club and come home where you belong.”
Courtney laughed. “Make fun of me if you want. But you just gave me a great slogan for my marketing campaign: Welcome to the Friday Night Social Club. Your home away from home.”
“And when you’re standing in the unemployment line this fall, I’ll remind you of the marketing campaigns you should have been working on instead of playing social director for some hick town in Alaska.”
“Good try,” Courtney said, “but I’m ignoring your bitchy remark. And since you aren’t giving me the support I need, now I’m hanging up.”
Courtney did just that. And she didn’t give a second thought about it. That was one of the benefits of having a best friend. If you didn’t like what she was saying, you could hang up knowing you’d still be best friends when you called back later.
Courtney replaced the receiver on the wall phone hanger as the bell sounded above the door. When she turned around, Graham’s best friend walked into the store.
“Good morning,” Courtney called out.
Yanoo mumbled the same greeting in her direction as he headed for the section Hal had devoted to hardware, plumbing and hunting supplies. Courtney was waiting for Yanoo at the cash register when he placed a paintbrush and a can of something called Ready Seal on the counter in front of her.
She’d sat at this man’s table, and he was a regular customer in the store. Yet, he’d hardly said more than a few words to her. It was obvious he didn’t think much of her. Courtney didn’t care. Today she was going to force Yanoo to talk to her whether he liked it or not.
Courtney handed over his change before she said, “Can I ask you a question?”
Yanoo looked apprehens
ive at that request.
Courtney said, “Next week is the Fourth of July and I was thinking about hosting a party for the community on Friday night. Do you think people would come?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think people would come if I hosted a party every Friday night for the rest of the summer?”
“Yes.”
Frustrated, Courtney said, “You don’t like me very much, do you, Yanoo? You think I’m some crazy woman from New York trying to get her hooks into your best friend.”
His expression remained passive when he said, “Are you some crazy woman from New York trying to get her hooks into my best friend?”
“Yes, I’m crazy. I’m crazy about Graham. But the feeling isn’t mutual, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
Yanoo picked up the can and the paintbrush before he looked at her and said, “Graham is complicated, but he’s a good man. Don’t give up on him too soon. And if I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t give you that advice.”
Yanoo didn’t wait for a reply. He left Courtney standing at the counter, completely shocked.
But she didn’t get the chance to analyze what Yanoo had said. The minute Yanoo walked out of the store, Rachel stormed through the front door.
Courtney braced herself.
“Thanks a lot for telling Dad why you stayed,” she said, her lips in a surly pout as she stalked in Courtney’s direction.
“I should have told him earlier, Rachel. And I’m not going to apologize for telling him now.”
Rachel boosted herself up onto the counter and sat with her arms crossed. “Well, thanks to you, Dad threatened to send me to New York to live with my grandparents.”
“I’m confused. I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I never wanted to live with my grandparents. I want to live in New York, sure. But I don’t want to live there without Dad.”
Courtney smiled inwardly. The parent-child bond was an amazing thing.
But Courtney’s heart sank a little at that thought. She hadn’t heard from her mother since the morning she’d announced she was staying. Of course, she also hadn’t called her mother.
Dad’s E-mail Order Bride Page 14
