Water's Edge (Alaskan Frontier Romance Book 1)

by Jennifer McArdle

  But Nora wasn’t going to the store. She was headed to a small beach a few hundred yards past Heron Bay, to the site of the Summer Solstice Festival. She intentionally timed her arrival in town with the low tide, when the beach would be exposed and she could easily unload her boat.

  She was early. It was a little past 8 o’clock in the morning and the festival wasn’t set to officially begin for another hour.

  Because of the low tide, she made her way up the inlet cautiously. She made sure to keep the boat in the deepest part of the water, where she knew there were no rocks under the surface waiting to tear a gash into the aging aluminum of the tiny boat. Right around the halfway mark on her way into town, the waterway made a sharp twist to the right. As she maneuvered the boat, keeping it along the center of the channel, she looked back at the wake she had created behind her and turned the throttle slightly. She knew this area of the inlet better, and had no worries about underwater obstacles. As she turned her attention back toward the stern, though, she caught a glimpse of black skimming the surface. A massive rock, she thought, and only a couple feet away from the boat. Nora had been certain this area was deep and clear, but as she quickly turned the boat away from its collision course with the rock, it disappeared. Not a rock, she realized, but a whale. She’d seen a few in the inlet, but always from the shore. Never had she been that close to one. The sight left her in awe, but also unnerved her. She nervously secured the clips on her life jacket and increased the throttle, anxious to reach town and get out of the water.

  A few short minutes later, the town came into view. Nora motored past the harbor and turned into a small cove on the north side of the community. She cut the engine and let the boat drift up to the shore.

  When the bottom of the skiff scraped the sandy ground, Nora jumped out. She quickly grabbed her supplies out of the skiff, placing them on the damp rocky beach that would be covered in several feet of water in a few hours. She hadn’t brought much into town with her, only a tote bag filled with a throw blanket and extra clothes, a folding chair, and a small cooler.

  There wasn’t a dock on the beach, but there was something she’d heard other people call an “out-haul.” Two other small boats were already hooked up to the out-haul system, which consisted of a long rope connected to two pulleys, one on land and one further out in the water. Picking up the heavy rope off the ground, Nora pulled the two other skiffs toward land. Then she tied her boat to the rope next to one of the other skiffs. Gripping the rope of the out-haul, she used the pulley system to tow the skiff and the other two boats back out into deeper waters.

  It was a simple system. It kept the boats in deep water so they never ended up stranded on the beach. And no matter how high or low the tide was, the boats were always within reach, by pulling the rope and hauling them in.

  With that task complete, Nora stood up and stretched her back muscles. They ached after the half-hour skiff ride. But she completely forgot about her minor aches and pains as she watched the boats bob up and down on the waves. The clouds had started to scatter and rays of sunlight shot down onto the water. On the other side of the inlet, the sun was starting to illuminate the mountains, some of which still sparkled white at the peaks with mounds of winter snow that had yet to melt. Nora smiled at the pure beauty that always surrounded her, thankful to be there.

  The water lapping at her feet reminded Nora the tide was starting to come in and she needed to get her stuff to solid ground. She turned around and slung the tote bag over her shoulder. Then she tucked the folding chair under one arm and carried the cooler in her other hand toward the festival grounds, which were already buzzing with activity.

  Not far from where she moored her boat, Nora saw a stone stage, freshly built. She sat her folding chair up a few feet from the stage, tossed her tote bag in the chair, and left her cooler sitting on the ground next to it. Only a few days before, the area had been overrun with blueberry bushes and forest undergrowth. Up close, she couldn’t help but appreciate the skill and effort that went into building the stage. Those stones weren’t brought in by boat. Those stones were hewn on the island. It absolutely amazed Nora that volunteers had not only cut and hauled those rocks a few days before, but they also did such an expert job of fitting them together. But when a few determined people got together in the bush, they could accomplish almost anything, Nora had come to realize.

  Distracted by the beautiful stone platform, she barely even noticed the guitarist sitting on the edge, tuning up his guitar and getting ready to perform. So it startled her when he started playing an original piece a few seconds later. Lily had said this festival was a big deal, but Nora hadn’t expected things to get underway quite so soon. She thought she’d gotten there early, but she quickly realized the town had already been celebrating for a couple hours. A chalkboard next to the stage listed the schedule of events – the young guitarist was actually the third performer of the morning.

  She looked around for a familiar face and it didn’t take her long to realize they were all familiar. Even though she still couldn’t remember all of their names, Nora recognized every single person there and they all greeted her with smiles and waves.

  Already, she got the feeling festivals in the bush played a much more important role than the ones she had attended back home. Those ones from the past were always crammed with thousands of people, complete strangers. All those people, nameless faces, wandering around from one booth to the next, eating cotton candy from vendors and leaving trash everywhere. Those festivals held a certain feeling of anonymity. Nora had always been just a face in the crowd and everyone had seemed to be having a better time than her. But in Heron, a festival really was an occasion. And it looked like almost everyone turned out for the Summer Solstice festivities.

  As the young musician wrapped up his performance, Nora walked around the stage, toward a long table set up alongside a grill. The table was quickly being filled with food. It looked like everyone brought a dish to pass – actually most brought several dishes to pass – and Nora realized she’d completely forgotten to bring something to share. The buffet table held platters of smoked salmon, fresh salmon, shrimp, Dungeness crab, crab cakes, and clams. It was all fresh out of the inlet. So fresh that a couple buckets of live crabs sat near the table, right next to a pot of boiling water, ready to be cooked up on demand. Another table overflowed with side dishes and desserts of all kinds.

  These people know how to eat, and eat well, Nora thought, surveying everything as she walked past the buffet table. Given that it was still quite early in the day, only a handful of people had started eating off the buffet.

  She spotted Lars, the dockworker, a few feet away digging a trench. When he saw Nora, he stopped digging and stuck the end of his shovel into the ground so it stood upright. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm sleeve as he walked toward her with a smile.

  “So, you found the place, eh?”

  “Not hard to find, really,” Nora responded with a smile. “I just followed the smell of all this food. I’m not even hungry, but I’m thinking about digging in right now. It all looks and smells so good.”

  As Nora talked with Lars, she realized she couldn’t stop smiling. It wasn’t Lars that made her smile, but everything going on around her. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the constant activity, warmed her inside. The smile on her face came without any effort. She was genuinely happy there, among the people of Heron.

  “Hey, Lars, we need some help with this,” someone called from the other side of the trench, interrupting their conversation.

  “Well, I gotta get this hole dug. Tug-o’-war is the most popular event,” Lars said, gesturing toward what was to become a mud pit.

  Barbara from the post office approached as Lars walked away. She introduced Nora to her daughter, Aspen, who had flown in that morning on the float plane with the mail. Before she knew it, Barbara left the two of them alone and went off to visit with someone else nearby. Nora stood there awkwardly for a moment, l
ooking around and wondering what to do or say. Aspen, it turned out, had plenty to say. After only a moment’s hesitation she started jabbering about how much she loved visiting the little town.

  “I’m so glad to be back here. It’s like I haven’t even been gone.” Within a matter of minutes, Nora found out her political views, which tended toward Republican, and her religious views, which she described as Mother Earth-oriented. Even though Aspen monopolized the conversation, Nora didn’t really mind. She liked her, right from the beginning.

  “I was born here, if you can believe that. No hospital or anything. Born in my parents’ bed, probably on the same mattress they still use. God, I hope they’ve replaced that old mattress by now, but knowing them…” she trailed off. “Anyway, I moved away not too long after high school. Couldn’t stand to stay here for one more minute. Now, it’s hard to believe I ever wanted to leave this place. Just look at it.”

  Looking around at everyone, Nora had to agree with her. This was really a tight-knit community, the first she’d ever actually witnessed.

  “Look,” she said, pointing through a small clearing of trees at a small, old shack. “Do you see the little brown building that’s falling apart? That’s where we lived until I was five. Can you believe both of my parents, my two older brothers, and I all lived in that little thing?”

  “But it’s not any bigger than my cabin, and I feel like I’m squeezed into a sardine can most of the time.”

  “Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know how we did it. Probably helped that us kids were all little. But still, my mom must have been tripping over us constantly.” A light filled her eyes as she spoke. “You know, I think those were some of the best times of my life, living in that little shack.”

  She barely stopped talking long enough to breathe.

  “You see the house next to it? The one with the porch? My dad built that house while we were living in the cabin. As soon as he had the floor laid down in the living room we moved into the new house. My mom was so happy to have the extra space, she didn’t even care the house wasn’t finished. She was thrilled to be getting separate bedrooms.

  “I think we lived there for a full two years before my dad actually finished it. For the first few months, there weren’t even any walls separating the bedrooms. He had the studs in place, but no actual walls.

  “Oh, and it was cold in there, too. The first winter, the house still wasn’t insulated so we all wore about three layers of clothes and spent most of the time curled up under blankets. It was terrible. All I wanted was to be back in our old house. Silly, huh?”

  Nora smiled at her, thinking about her own little cabin and how much more comfortable it was than the big, sterile-feeling home she’d shared with Conner. She understood exactly what Aspen was talking about. Sometimes smaller was better.

  “It sure is good to be back here, though. This town is my absolute favorite place in the world.”

  “So, why did you leave, if you love it so much here?” Nora asked.

  “Oh, you know. The usual stuff. I was young and thought I was smarter than everyone else. Mostly, I wanted to get away and experience new things. Anyway, I got pregnant and didn’t want to follow in my parents footsteps, so I left.”

  Aspen told Nora about her son, who she had left in Juneau with her husband. Apparently the seven-year-old preferred to spend his time with his friends back in “civilization” and had no interest in going out to the bush. She hoped that would change as he got older. And of course, her husband had to work so he couldn’t come out for the festival even if he wanted to.

  “You know, I don’t really regret leaving, but I kind of wish Aaron could grow up here. Can’t have it both ways, I guess.”

  As Aspen jabbered on, Nora let her gaze wander. It stopped on the image of Jake making his way through the crowd. He was smiling. Nora noticed the dimple in his cheek, one of the things she liked most about his smile, as he strode toward them.

  “There you are,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you.” Aspen assumed he was talking to her and immediately flung herself into his arms.

  “Jake,” she squealed happily as she gave him a long hug. “I haven’t seen you in years. It’s been way too long.”

  Nora stood there, awkwardly watching them. When they pulled apart, she saw the smile on Jake’s face as Aspen gave him a peck on the cheek. The two had a history together, she could tell. Truth be told, watching them together made her a little jealous.

  “Oh, Jake, I’ve been showing Nora around, since this is her first Summer Solstice Festival. But I’m sure you two have met before, right?”

  Jake answered Aspen by moving to Nora’s side and wrapping his arm around her waist, letting everybody know Nora was there with him.

  “You could say we’ve been introduced,” Jake said, gazing down at her.

  “Oh, I see how it is,” Aspen said, looking pleased. Maybe Nora’s jealousy had been unwarranted. Aspen, it was clear, had no romantic interest in Jake. “You’ve been holding back, Nora. We’ve spent the entire morning together and you never thought to mention Jake?” Aspen winked at her and Nora felt her cheeks warming. She hoped no one noticed her blushing.

  Someone else drew Aspen’s attention, then. She waved to an older man across the way, hollered, “Hey, Sandman!” and hurried away, leaving the two of them alone.

  “And she’s off,” Jake said, smiling after her. Then he turned toward Nora, still grinning. “She always was like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “On to bigger and better things, I guess. Now, shall we get this date started?” he asked, taking her hand. He smiled that make-your-knees-go-weak smile and Nora nodded her head, forgetting about the jealousy she’d felt when Aspen hugged him. “Good. Let’s get some lunch. I’m starving.”

  * * *

  Her plate loaded up with shrimp and crab, Nora followed Jake to a wooden picnic table near the edge of the festival grounds. Lily was already there, sitting across the table from Samuel and a woman Nora hadn’t met yet. She had the most beautiful white hair Nora had ever seen. The sides were pulled up in barrettes and the rest flowed down her back in long, loose curls. In spite of the white hair, she looked like a woman in her prime, her skin still remarkably smooth and her eyes bright.

  “I thought you said you wouldn’t be coming this year.” The words sounded unusually abrasive coming out of Jake’s mouth.

  The woman turned and smiled at Jake in spite of his harsh greeting. “Well, I changed my mind. A woman can do that, can’t she?”

  Then she looked at Nora.

  “Ah, this must be Nora,” she said, standing up and taking Nora’s hand in hers. She held on, clasping both hands around Nora’s in a welcoming gesture. “I’ve heard so much about you... from Lily and from Jake. I’m Madeline,” she explained. “Jacob’s mom.”

  Jake’s mom. The woman who had left her family.

  “Oh,” Nora murmured, a little caught off guard at unexpectedly meeting Jake’s mother. “It’s nice to meet you,” she added politely, unsure of the situation.

  Madeline returned to her seat beside Samuel. He took her hand in his, lifted it to his mouth, and lightly kissed the back of her hand. Lily had said they weren’t divorced, but Nora had a hard time understanding how Samuel could be so loving toward a woman who had left him years ago, a woman who still refused to come back to him.

  Nora sat down next to Jake, whose eyes were cast downward, unwilling to look up at his mother. That’s when Nora noticed the chatter around them had died down to nearly complete quiet. Some of the people nearby stared uneasily at them. Nora saw one woman nudge another and point, whispering something inaudible. Samuel and Madeline acted as though they didn’t notice the whispers or the stares, though they both picked up on the sudden shift in everyone’s attention, as well.

  Madeline chuckled quietly. “Well, this is a little uncomfortable, now isn’t it?” she whispered to Samuel. “Some things never change, I guess.”

  Samuel s
miled at her, a smile that seemed to be more consoling than anything.

  Nora didn’t even try to hide the confusion she felt and she couldn’t help but ask. “Why is everybody staring?”

  Madeline tried to laugh it off, but the uneasiness in her voice betrayed her. “They haven’t seen us together in a very long time. Don’t worry about it, dear.”

  The meal passed in an awkward silence, everyone acutely aware they were the center of attention. Nora ate a few bites, noticing Jake seemed to be in a hurry to finish. He didn’t look comfortable there, sitting across from his parents, as he quietly shoveled the food into his mouth and swallowed without hardly chewing.

  When they were finished, Jake picked up her empty plate and stacked it with the others.

  “Come on,” Jake said, eager to get away from the spectacle his parents had become. “Let’s dance.”

  He took her hand and led her toward a clearing near the stage.

  “Are you going to tell me what that was all about back there?” Nora asked as Jake wrapped his arms around her waist and began leading her in a slow dance. A few others were dancing to the slow melody of a two-man band, letting the soft chords move them. “I thought you got along with your mom. That’s why you went to Juneau, right? To spend time with her.”

  Jake looked away, back in the direction of the picnic table where his parents still sat eating.

  “I do,” he said. “It’s complicated.”

  “Complicated?” Nora looked him squarely in the eyes, reached up and gently turned his face so he had to look at her, too. “That’s not an answer.”

  He sighed and shook his head. Nora wasn’t going to let him off the hook.

  “I do get along with her. She’s my mom. I love her.” He hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain it. “It’s just that when she comes back around, I feel like she’s leading him on. She has no intention of staying here. But every time she comes back, he falls into her trap again. It’s better if they stay apart.”