by Croix, J. H.
“You don’t have to do that,” was her automatic comment.
“On no, we’re getting all the way up. No easy feat to get you in my arms without waking you up.”
She smiled against his shoulder. “Okay, you don’t have to put me down.”
He reached the top of the stairs and turned down the hall to the bedroom. The air was much cooler up here away from the heat of the woodstove. Tugging her clothes off, Hannah fell into bed. Luke rolled in beside her, tucking the down comforter around them. The sheets were cool and slick against her skin. His body was a warm furnace. She snuggled close, resting her cheek against his shoulder. A sense of comfort and rightness washed through her. Jessie padded into the bedroom behind them, her claws clicking softly against the floor, and then curled up by the foot of the bed with a deep sigh. That was the last thing Hannah remembered before falling into a deep sleep.
Chapter 28
A few weeks later, Hannah drove up the hill to her house and saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. As she pulled into the drive, she saw Emma step out of the car and laughed aloud. Visit or more, it felt right that Emma decided to just show up again.
Jessie leaped out of the truck, racing to greet Emma with yips and circles. Hannah followed Jessie and opened her arms for a hug. “I can’t quite do Jessie’s greeting justice, but it’s good to see you.”
Emma returned the quick hug. “Good to see you too. I decided a surprise stop at your house was the way to go.” Emma stepped back and took a long look around the yard and out toward the bay. “Wow—nice to see this view again.”
Hannah gave her a questioning look. “Well, what’s with the visit? Not that you needed to, but you didn’t mention you were coming. It’s a bit more than a hop, skip, and jump from North Carolina to here.”
A flash of uncertainty passed through Emma’s eyes. “I wanted a little more time here. Thought another surprise visit would bring good luck. Although I’m not imposing on you this time. I went behind your back and had Faye find me a small rental for a few months. I knew Susie couldn’t keep it from you, so I got ahold of Faye.” She shrugged sheepishly.
“You can stay here!” Hannah exclaimed. “There’s plenty of room. And the surprise is perfect, just how it should be.”
Emma gave her an assessing look. “I figured you’d say I should stay here. But…rumor has it you and Luke are all but officially shacked up. I don’t want to get in the way,” she said with a sly smile.
Hannah rolled her eyes and looked away. She figured it was either Susie or Faye who’d told Emma how often Luke was here. She minded and simultaneously didn’t mind. It was nice to have friends who had their noses in her business because it meant they cared even when they were annoying.
“So, where will you be staying?” Hannah asked.
Emma gestured toward the back of the house. “Faye found me an off-season rental on the road on the back side of the trees—Alpine Lane. I have to go by the realty place to pick up the keys. Thought I’d chance it and see if you were home first.”
Jessie had left to do her usual perimeter run of the yard and returned to Hannah’s side, nosing her hand. She absentmindedly stroked her. “Why don’t I go to town with you? We can catch up. Give me a few minutes to put away some groceries.”
Emma smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’d like the company.”
The afternoon passed in an idiosyncratic blur. Being with Emma felt oddly comforting and familiar. This feeling existed alongside the still unsettling awareness of the fact that she had a sister and the attendant novelty of their relationship. They took Hannah’s truck to town, Jessie seated between them. Along with picking up the rental keys, they visited Susie at work. Susie had been ecstatic to see Emma and incredulous that her mother had kept the secret about Emma’s planning. Hannah called Luke and left him a message while they were in town. He had left for Anchorage with Jared yesterday and was due to return that evening.
As the afternoon rolled along, Hannah sensed that Emma was still sorting out where she wanted to be and what she wanted to do. There was still much she didn’t know about the path that had led Emma here to begin with, but she avoided pushing. Hannah drove up the hill past fields of faded fireweed. The day was overcast and damp, as fall so often was. The air felt raw. The pavement was slick from the rain that had been spitting off and on throughout the day. Alpine Lane was a tad higher on the hill than her road with the scenery largely the same—clusters of spruce trees giving way to fields of fireweed. Emma directed her to a driveway almost hidden by alder trees. A small cabin sat back from the road. It was a basic A-frame design with a whimsical touch. The roof was deep green metal, the siding stained with a light finish, and the trim a bright purple. A purple star was mounted toward the top of the A-frame, where the sides of the roof met in a point.
“This is cute. What’s the deal with it? Just a winter rental?” Hannah asked.
Emma shrugged. “The realtor said the owners used to live in the area and they moved away about a year ago. I guess they don’t have a firm plan on whether it’s just a winter rental, but they let me sign a three-month lease, which is all I wanted for now. They agreed to let me reconsider if I decide to stay longer.”
“Did the realtor mention who the owner was? I wonder if it’s someone I know.”
Emma shrugged again. “Don’t know, but I’m sure that between you, Susie, and Faye, one of you will find out.”
They walked together to the front door, which was situated in the center on a small porch. The inside of the cabin was open and airy. The downstairs was comprised of an open living room and kitchen area with a bathroom to the back. A spiral staircase led upstairs, which included a loft area that was furnished with a desk, two reading chairs, and built-in bookshelves lining the walls. A door upstairs led to the single bedroom, which had a balcony off the back. It was perfect for one person and came fully furnished.
After a brief exploration, Hannah drove Emma back to the house for her to pick up her rental car. Watching Emma drive away, she stood on the deck as a misty rain fell softly around her. The mountains across the water were shrouded in fog, their outlines blurred. The bay was slate gray. Wind skidded across, stirring up whitecaps. The green of the spruce trees surrounding the field was bright among the shades of gray and faded fireweed. A path had been beaten down by the moose that often wandered through the field.
Calling for Jessie, she waited until she heard her rustling her way through the trees. It occurred to her that she could probably walk to Emma’s cabin if she cut through her backyard to the road behind. After toweling Jessie dry, she took a long look around the house. Her gaze paused on a book of Luke’s left on an end table by the couch. One of his sweatshirts was thrown on the back of the chair that Jessie loved. Jessie jumped onto the same chair and curled up. A wave of emotion rocked Hannah. She had a sister nearby, and her parents would never walk into this house again. To experience that and see the markers of the new life she was shaping drove the point home that she was letting her parents go. The house felt like hers now, not an echo chamber for memories of her parents.
Epilogue
The morning of winter solstice had dawned cold and clear. Snow blanketed the landscape of Diamond Creek. Hannah and Luke were married late that afternoon, almost exactly six months to the day that they’d met on that cool summer morning. The ceremony was simple, and they were married in front of the local judge, who’d been a friend of her father’s. Susie, Emma, Faye, and Luke’s family, parents and all, were witnesses. Hannah had kept her wedding dress simple—a cream colored silk sheath. She paired it with a string of her mother’s pearls and matching earrings. Luke had worn a dark navy suit that brought out the green of his eyes. After a wink and a promise that she’d behave, the judge had allowed them to bring Jessie in the courtroom since Jessie’s wandering had brought Luke to Hannah’s doorstep those many months prior.
Jared and Na
than threw a large party at the Boathouse Café. The café was filled with friends who had watched Hannah grow up and old friends of her parents. During the party, Hannah observed Jared once again trying to hold back his smiles when he was around Susie. She had the effect of alternately irritating and amusing him. Hannah briefly wondered what that might mean and decided to leave well enough alone for now. She had enough to worry about with Luke’s parents, Iris in particular, abandoning any tact about their desire for grandchildren.
Looking out the windows while she sipped wine, she took in the view. The mountains stood tall and silent across the bay. The setting sun gave the snow-coated mountaintops a lavender hue—alpenglow. By the time the party broke up, the sun was long gone and the moon high in the sky. Luke’s hand in hers, she felt a rush of adrenaline—an old, familiar feeling, but this time not tinged with anxiety and fear. Instead of tamping it down, Hannah let go of Luke’s hand and ran ahead to the edge of the dock. The water in Otter Cove was bright from the moon. She tore off her coat and whipped her dress over her head, kicking her shoes off. Her wedding attire lay in a rumpled heap on the dock. Clad only in her underwear, she glanced to Luke who had stopped at the edge of the dock just beside her. His gaze was bemused. She grabbed his hands and pulled him close for a quick kiss. Turning away from Luke, Hannah bounced on her heels and dove into Otter Cove. Plunging into the icy water, her lungs seized for a moment. Breaking the surface, she looked up at Luke, whose head was thrown back in a laugh. Shivering, she swam for the ladder at the end of the dock, exhilaration arcing through her. She climbed the ladder and stepped into Luke’s warm embrace.
Author Biography:
J. H. Croix lives in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Before publishing her first novel, she had a successful career as a clinical social worker, including a stint in Ivy League academia. Her career in social work has been punctuated by sunrise bush plane flights to Alaskan villages and the occasional standoff with curious moose.
A voracious reader, Croix has been writing since college and dreamed of writing professionally. Swept up in her nonwriting career, she continued to write on the side. Now, she is excited to have published her first novel, When Love Comes. This contemporary romance is set among the stark beauty of Alaska, where she lived for over a decade, and her love for wildlife and the outdoors bring the story to life.
