“You know, people tend to visit Alaska in the summer, when everything is warm and beautiful, but the best time to be here is in the winter, when there’s not much to do but settle in and wait for spring. It’s so much more relaxed. If you stick around, you’ll see what I mean.”
“If I stick around,” Nora repeated absentmindedly. That was the question, wasn’t it? Even though she’d placed the ad, she still hadn’t decided whether she really wanted to sell the property. So far, living in the cabin wasn’t nearly bad as she had originally thought. Sure, the place needed some work, but it was cozy and it was starting to feel like a home. The more she thought about it, the more Nora realized she might not want to sell it, after all. So, she didn’t have a job or any source of income. Did she really need it? She had a place to live and absolutely no debt. She didn’t have to worry about electric bills or heating bills, or even property taxes, for that matter. Her only real expense was groceries and gasoline for the skiff. Oh, and more suitable clothing. Her small savings would cover those expenses for months, maybe even years. All she needed to do was learn to live off the land and she’d be fine.
Of course, there was the isolation to deal with, but she might learn to live with that, especially if she had someone like Jake to cuddle up next to at night. Nora caught herself smiling at the thought, in spite of the fact she considered Jake an overbearing, control freak. If only he were more like the man on the radio. Then he would be perfect.
She returned her attention to the fisherman on the radio, imagining she was talking to Jake instead of some old brawny fisherman. “Tell me what I can look forward to,” she said eagerly.
“Well,” Jake thought about it for a moment. “For one thing, almost everyone around here is musical, in one way or another. There’ll be impromptu jam sessions where people get together to play or just listen to the music. There’s really a sense of community here. Everyone helps everyone else out and they don’t really expect anything in return. People get together for the holidays and birthdays and sometimes just for the heck of it. When there’s a party, everyone is invited, and I mean everyone. There’s a real closeness you can’t find on the mainland.”
“Mmm. That’s sounds nice. Tell me more.”
Jake smiled, happy to tell Nora why he loved living in Heron and why he’d never, ever leave. It was the only place in the world he ever wanted to live. He hoped she’d come to love it as much as he did.
“I’m really glad you answered my call,” Nora said nearly an hour later.
“Me, too. Remember, if you need anything, call for the Lil Pelican. My radio is always on.”
By the time Nora turned the radio off, all thoughts of selling the property had slipped away, replaced by a sense of gladness that Pete had left her his cabin and she had taken the huge leap of moving to Alaska. Now more than ever, Nora felt like she could actually build a life there.
Nora stood up and placed the radio on the shelf behind the table. She had a feeling she was going to use it quite a bit, now that she had someone on the other end to talk to.
She turned and glanced out the window. The waters of the inlet had grown dark, a reflection of the gathering clouds overhead. A drop of rain splashed down on the windowsill. Then another.
For nearly a week straight after that, it rained constantly. The rain started out as a light sprinkle on the first day. The wind picked up the second day and it turned to a downpour. That’s when Willie’s visits ceased, since the trail connecting them was becoming too treacherous. By the third day, the path from the cabin to the woodpile was nothing but slippery mud. The rainwater coming down from the mountainside dug deep trenches into the earth as the water made its way toward the inlet.
Nora stayed indoors the entire time, venturing out only for firewood once a day. She paced the floors, cleaned everything twice, and nearly drove herself mad with boredom. With the heavy rains outside, Nora felt trapped. She couldn’t go into town. She couldn’t do much outside. She was stuck in the tiny cabin, whose walls seemed to be closing in more and more each day.
The radio, and the fisherman’s voice on the other end, was the only thing that helped her keep her sanity through what was becoming the longest period of isolation in her life.
Chapter 8
After being cooped up for more than a week in the cabin, Nora was glad when the rain let up a little. It didn’t quit raining completely, but it had diminished to a fine mist and the waters were calm enough for Nora to venture a trip into town.
Just as clumsily as before, Nora maneuvered the skiff through the inlet toward Heron. She absolutely had to buy more supplies. She couldn’t get by with the impractical clothes she’d brought with her and she was tired of eating food out of cans. She needed something fresh, something real. Not to mention, she needed to get out of the cabin and be around other people.
Motoring past the harbor, Nora surveyed the boats moored at the docks, curious to see if the Lil Pelican was there. She hoped to catch a glimpse of the man whose soothing voice had brought comfort to her during the past week. It had been the only thing keeping Nora from pulling her hair out and going crazy. She wasn’t accustomed to being alone and she wanted to thank him for keeping her company on those rainy days when she’d been shut in. And she wanted a face to put with the voice. As she eased past the harbor, Nora spotted the Lil Pelican moored to the dock. It looked empty. There was no sign of anyone around. Oh, well, she thought. Maybe next time she’d get to meet the fisherman.
A minute later, Nora pulled up to the dock at the store and tied the boat off. She recognized the man working there. It was the same man she’d met on the dock her first day in town. As she awkwardly climbed out of the boat and onto the dock, he grinned his toothless grin at her and Nora couldn’t help but smile back.
“You heading back south?” he asked.
Nora looked at him curiously. “No,” she answered. “Why do you ask?”
“Just figured. You showing up here and the ferry coming today. Thought you’d be getting on it.”
“Nope,” she said politely. “Not this time.”
“Humph,” was the man’s only reply. Picking up another crate, he turned and loaded it onto a boat.
Nora walked up the plank toward The General Store, wondering about that brief conversation. She didn’t know what to think of it as she headed toward the store.
Opening the door to walk in, Nora stepped into a long hallway that ran the length of the store. It wasn’t one large store, as she had expected, but rather a series of small, separate rooms for each type of merchandise. On the left was a tiny room that served as the liquor store, followed by another larger room that served as the hardware store. Nora walked past the hardware section, noticing it was filled mostly with boots. There were two long shelves of the ugly, brown Xtra-Tuf boots she now realized everyone wore, followed by a couple aisles of fishing gear and another aisle of tools, nuts, and bolts. The next door opened up into a Laundromat.
At the end of the hall, on the right, there was a door to the grocery section of the store. It was a small space, lined with refrigerated foods along one wall and three short aisles of dry goods. Nora’s bedroom back home had been bigger than the grocery store, she mused, as she grabbed some coffee, a couple boxes of dried pasta, a bag of rice, and a basket full of canned goods. She also picked up a dozen eggs, a pound of butter, and a pound of hamburger. Since she didn’t have electricity, she had to be careful not to buy too much food that could spoil. One of the many hazards of living in the bush, she was learning.
There weren’t any other customers in the store, so Nora left her groceries at the check-out counter and then wandered up to the second level, where she found a small clothing section. There were a few items that were obviously for tourists, mostly sweaters and t-shirts that read, “Heron, Alaska,” on them. Nora picked out three sweat shirts that looked like they would keep her fairly warm, as well as a couple t-shirts. Then she found a raincoat, and in spite of the hefty price tag, decided she nee
ded to buy it. As it was, Nora’s clothes were already damp from the misty weather and if the rain kept up, she was going to need that raincoat.
When she got back downstairs, Nate was waiting for her at the check-out counter. He was loading the food into a small cardboard box when she approached the counter.
“You know you can’t cook on the ferry,” said Nate as he tallied up the price of her purchase. Even though this was Nora’s first time in The General Store and they hadn’t met yet, he knew who she was. “You might be able to heat up these canned goods in the dining room’s microwave, but the rest of this is going to spoil by the time you get back south.”
“I… I’m not getting on the ferry,” stammered Nora.
“Sticking around for a while, then?” he asked, looking up at her. He didn’t even try to conceal the surprise in his voice.
“Yeah,” Nora said, handing him the money. That was the second person who had assumed she’d be getting on the ferry and leaving… and she’d only seen two people in town so far.
She put the raincoat on, picked up the box, and left. Outside, she walked down the plank, loaded the box into her skiff, and covered it with a canvas tarp to keep the food dry. But she wasn’t ready to head back home yet. Instead, she found herself walking down the boardwalk in the direction of the ferry dock. She watched as the ferry made its way to port. The deckhands scurried around, docking the vessel and preparing the gangplank for walk-on travelers to exit the ship. She realized there were no vehicles exiting the ship this time. Nora had to chuckle a little at the absurdity of her own arrival in Heron two weeks earlier. If only she had known. She never would have brought her car. She could have saved herself a lot of embarrassment, not to mention a fair amount of expense. But it was too late now.
As the few passengers began to disembark the vessel, Nora turned and walked back up the boardwalk. On a whim, she stopped at the Pub & Grub. Instead of sitting at the busy bar, Nora found a table next to the window, where she could watch the ferry. It would remain in port for two hours, she knew. That was the schedule.
A young man she’d never seen before came over and handed her a menu. Nora ordered a soda and handed the menu back. She sat there, sipping her drink, and watched the others in the restaurant for a while. But her attention kept wandering back to the ferry. It was the only way out of town for most people, and Nora almost wished she could jump on the ferry and ride away. But where would she go? She was definitely better off there in Heron than she would be back in Los Angeles. No, Nora wasn’t going to leave. At least not yet. She’d decided to give Heron a chance and that’s exactly what she was going to do.
For a long time after her drink was gone, Nora sat there thinking. Everyone thought she was going to fail, that she was going to go running back to wherever she’d come from. That’s why the man on the dock had assumed she’d be leaving on the ferry. Nate had asked the same thing. Heck, everyone in the pub probably thought she’d be leaving. Well, they were wrong. The more she thought about it, the more determined she became to prove she could make it out there on her own.
“You heading out soon?”
It was Lily. Nora hadn’t even noticed her approach. That simple question was the last straw. “Why does everyone keep asking me that? Yes, the ferry is in town. No, I’m not going anywhere,” she said, not even trying to hide her frustration. “I’m staying right here.”
“I know you’re not leaving town,” said Lily gently, pointing toward the window that overlooked the inlet. “Ferry’s already pulled away from the dock. I was asking if you were heading back to your place anytime soon.”
“Oh,” said Nora, feeling a little foolish then. “Sorry. It’s just that every single person I’ve met today has assumed I’d be on that boat… and honestly, I almost wish I was.”
Lily smiled genuinely. “I, for one, am glad you aren’t,” she said softly. “If you’re not in a hurry to get back home, I thought maybe you’d like the grand tour of town.” Lily looked at her expectantly and Nora decided she didn’t want to turn down this invitation. It would be her first real chance to get to know the town and its residents.
Nora smiled back. “Sure,” she said.
Turned out, the grand tour didn’t take long. Nora had already seen most of Heron simply by walking from the ferry dock to the store, but Lily pointed out each of the buildings and told Nora who lived where. She showed Nora the post office, a small area tucked into the rear of The General Store, and introduced her to Barbara, who sorted the mail when it came in off the float plane each day. And Lily formally introduced her to Lars, the toothless man who worked the dock, along with half-a-dozen other people they met along the way. Halfway through the tour, the light mist turned to a steady rain and Nora zipped up her new raincoat.
“When do you think the rain is going to let up?”
Lily laughed. “Probably around August,” she said. “It rains almost constantly this time of year. Those few days of sun we had a while back were just a fluke.” The look on Nora’s face was priceless and Lily laughed some more. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to the rain. It’s what makes everything here so lush and beautiful. Whenever I start to feel the gloom of the cloudy days, I just think about all the life this rain brings. I think it’s worth it.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“You’ll see,” Lily said. “Come on. Let’s get out of the rain. We’re not far from home. You can meet my dad.” Lily led Nora away from town, down a narrower wooden walkway branching off the main boardwalk, jutting inland as far as the mountain would permit. Along the way, they passed several houses tucked into the forest and Lily pointed out a community garden planted near the school, a small round building also used for public events. Just past the school, they stepped off the boardwalk and followed a worn footpath down a gradual slope until a pretty white two-story house appeared. It sat near the shore of a small cove, tucked into the hillside. The tall pines of the forest enveloped it, wrapping around the yard so tightly it was completely hidden from the rest of town.
“You live here with your dad?”
“Yeah. We all do. Me, Jake, and Dad,” Lily explained.
“It’s beautiful, but it looks so out of place here.” Unlike most of the houses in town that had taken on a dingy hue from years of moist weather and the ongoing battle against mold, the house looked like it had been painstakingly maintained over the years.
“I know. Dad insists on repainting it every year so it always looks fresh. He’s just as meticulous about the inside, too. Not a loose nail or broken hinge. He keeps it that way for Mom.” Then she added, almost as an afterthought, “Mom lives in Juneau.”
“Oh, so they’re divorced?” asked Nora, confused.
Lily shook her head. “No. They never got divorced. I used to wish they would so Dad could move on with his life. But he loves her. He won’t give up on her.” It had been 12 years since Madeline had left town, but she’d never really left Samuel. As much as she loved her husband and her children, she’d never been happy living so far removed from everything and eventually she had reached her breaking point. One day, she packed a bag and boarded the ferry. She couldn’t handle living in the bush for another minute.
“That had to be hard,” Nora said sympathetically.
“It was. I was 14 when she left. Jake was 16. Mom wanted us to come with her, but neither one of us wanted to leave Heron.” Samuel had thought about selling the fishing boat and following Madeline, but he had the kids to think about. Heron was their home. So, Samuel had stayed put, waiting for the day when Madeline might change her mind and return to them... and to him. “Come on,” said Lily, changing the subject. “Smells like dinner’s cooking.”
Nora followed Lily in through the back door, which led directly into the kitchen. Sure enough, a pot of clam chowder sat on the stove, steaming hot and filling the room with a delicious aroma that made Nora’s mouth water instantly. The kitchen looked well used. Heavy stainless steel pots hung from hooks on the
walls and the sink was half-full with dirty dishes. A round wooden table sat in the center of the room, already set for dinner.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing company home, Lil.” The voice was deep and friendly, a perfect match to the tall, well-built man walking into the kitchen. His hair was gray, the only thing betraying his age. His eyes were lively and cheerful. His muscles still strong in spite of the fact that he’d just celebrated his 51st birthday.
“Hey, Dad. This is Nora. Nora, this is my dad, Samuel.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Nora politely.
Nora stretched out her hand and Samuel took it in his own. “The pleasure’s all mine. It’s not too often I get to entertain a beautiful young woman like yourself.”
“Thank you,” Nora blushed. She liked Samuel immediately. He had a cheerful demeanor and a good-humored way about him that made her feel instantly at ease.
“You’re staying for dinner, right?” asked Samuel.
“If that’s an invitation, then I accept.”
“Good,” he said. “The chowder’s ready and since Jake won’t be back until later, we might as well eat. You hungry?”
“Starving,” Nora grinned.
As they sat down to eat, Nora turned to Lily. “Oh, yeah. I forgot to bring back your casserole dish, Lily. It was delicious, by the way.”
“What casserole dish?” She took a sip of the hot soup and looked curiously at Nora.
“The chicken casserole. From my second day here. Jake brought it along with the box of goodies you sent.”
Lily grinned, amused. “That wasn’t from me. The casserole, I mean,” she said. “You might want to thank Jake for that one.”
Nora didn’t know what to say. “Oh,” she said. “I assumed…”
Water's Edge (Alaskan Frontier Romance Book 1) Page 10
