Dodging Cupid's Arrow

by Kate Hoffmann

  She slowly strolled around the main room of the cabin, making a mental inventory of her surroundings. A few descriptive phrases to set the scene added color to human interest stories. The cabin was much larger than hers, boasting separate bedrooms and a variety of modern conveniences. She nearly moaned out loud when she pushed open the bathroom door and came upon a shower and a toilet.

  "My name is Linda Sorenson," the woman said. "I must say, I was startled to find a woman at the door. All our guests have been men."

  "I can imagine," Perrie murmured, recalling the scene at Doyle's. "I'm here to write a follow-up to the original story published in our paper." She stopped to stand in front of the fire. When her hands were warmed sufficiently, she turned and faced her subject. "This is a very nice cabin. There are three of you living here?"

  Linda smiled, then rearranged the magazines on a scarred coffee table. "The others are out back. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

  Perrie couldn't help but put aside her professional demeanor. Linda seemed so friendly, and right now she could use all the allies she could find, since Brennan had most of Muleshoe watching her every move. Maybe the three brides could offer some help in her escape plans. "Sure," she said with a smile, pulling her notepad from her pocket before she slipped out of her jacket. "I'm having trouble adjusting to the cold so anything warm would do." She made a few notes and waited until Linda returned from the kitchen with the coffee, then sat down across from her on the sofa.

  Linda smoothed her palms along her legs. "What would you like to know?"

  "Why don't you tell me why you decided to come to Alaska?" Perrie asked after taking a sip of her coffee.

  Linda took a deep breath then let it out slowly. "It's hard to explain without sounding a little silly. Do you believe in destiny, Miss Kincaid?"

  Perrie glanced over the rim of her mug. "Destiny?"

  "One day, I was looking through the newspaper. I rarely have time to read the paper. I'm a nurse and my schedule is rather hectic. But I had time that day and I saw the ad for brides. I knew that I had to come to Alaska. I just felt as if something-or someone-was waiting for me here."

  Perrie sighed inwardly. It did sound a little silly. "Actually, I'm not a big proponent of destiny. I think a person determines their own future. Fate doesn't have anything to do with it."

  "Have you ever been in love, Miss Kincaid?"

  Perrie paused, not sure how-or whether-to answer the question. What did her love life have to do with the story she was writing? She was the one asking the questions. Besides, she wasn't sure she wanted a complete stranger to know that Perrie Kincaid, a highly intelligent thirty-three-year-old woman, wasn't even sure what love was.

  "Why don't we stick to your story?" she said lightly. "Why are you so sure you want to get married?"

  "Because I know I'd be really good at it. I want someone to share my life with, I want to fall in love and have children and grow old with a good man."

  "And you expect to find that man here in Alaska?"

  "Why not? He could be here. The odds are good."

  Perrie smiled. "But the goods are kind of odd, don't you think? Besides, how do you know your destiny isn't waiting for you in Newfoundland?"

  Linda smiled. "Well, if I don't find him here, I'll just have to keep looking."

  "There are other things in life besides marriage, aren't there?"

  "Sure there are. And I'm not necessarily set on marriage. But I'm never going to give up on finding love."

  Perrie considered her words for a long moment. Was she missing something here? She'd never considered love very important at all. In fact, she considered men more trouble than they were worth. Was that because she could put such a crazy emotion in perspective? Or was it because she'd never come close to feeling that emotion?

  "So you hope to find love here in Muleshoe? And what will you do if that happens? Are you going to give up your career in Seattle and move up here?"

  Linda smiled. "I don't know. That's what's so exciting about this whole thing. I'm not really sure what's going to happen until it does. I'm enjoying the journey as much as the destination."

  Perrie stared down at her notepad. All of this sappy stuff was not going to make a story, unless she was writing it for one of those romance magazines. She glanced around the room, then back at Linda. A long silence grew between them, broken suddenly by the sound of the front door opening.

  The other two brides stumbled inside, laughing, their jackets covered with snow. Perrie stood and watched as they tugged off hats and mittens. They both turned to her and regarded her with curiosity until Linda stood and made the introductions.

  The tiny brunette, Allison Keifer, spoke first. "I didn't know we were going to be interviewed again. We would have been here earlier but we've been practicing."

  "You have to practice finding a husband?" Perrie asked, leaning forward. Maybe there was something to this story.

  "No," Mary Ellen Davenport replied, giggling. She was a prettily plump woman with pale brown hair and a sparkling smile. "We're practicing for the Muleshoe Games. They're having a brides' competition next weekend, on Valentine's Day. We compete in all sorts of things-snowshoeing, dogsledding, wood chopping."

  "I suppose it's so these men can see what kind of wives we'll make," Allison said. "But we're just going to have fun. And there's a nice prize for the winner. A weekend up at the resort at Cooper Hot Springs. Everything's included, the room, the flight, the-"

  "The flight?" Perrie asked. "Someone's going to fly the winner out of Muleshoe?"

  Linda nodded. "And after the games, there's a dance at Doyle's. Are you interested? The brides' competition is open to any single woman."

  Another plan began to form in Perrie's mind. She could train with the brides and win the event and at the same time get a nice angle on the story. And once she escaped Muleshoe, she'd be able to find her way back to Seattle and finish a story that really mattered. "Sure," Perrie said. "I think I'd like to enter the games. Tell me more."

  "You'll need to practice if you want to win," Mary Ellen said. "There are a few single women from town who are entering. Ringers, I say. They'll be tough to beat You can practice with us."

  "Or you can get one of those dishy bachelors from Bachelor Creek Lodge to help you," Allison teased. "You're staying there, aren't you?"

  Perrie nodded.

  "Lucky girl."

  Perrie arched her eyebrow. "Lucky?"

  "That's bachelor central. Three of the dreamiest guys in Alaska and they live up there."

  "If you're counting Burdy as a bachelor dreamboat, you've definitely been in the wilderness too long."

  "Oh, no. Not that Burdy fellow. I'm talking about Joe Brennan and Kyle Hawkins. And there's another one, but he just got married-Tanner is his name, I think. Linda had a date with Joe Brennan the night we arrived here."

  Perrie tried to look indifferent but her interest was piqued. Leaning forward, she asked, "He didn't waste much time, did he?"

  "He took Allison out the night after that," Linda countered.

  "He asked me out, too," Mary Ellen admitted, "but I had a previous engagement."

  "He was really charming, but not the marrying type," Linda commented.

  "Charming," Perrie repeated.

  "He's just so sweet and attentive," Linda continued. "And funny. And cute, too. He has this way about him. It's hard to explain, but it makes you want to tear off his clothes and drag him into bed."

  "Mel Gibson eyes," Mary Ellen observed.

  "A little boy in the body of a man," Allison added.

  "But definitely scared of commitment. A one-date wonder."

  "Then you both went to…" Perrie couldn't finish the question, a strange surge of jealousy stopping her words.

  "Of course not!" Linda cried.

  "Though I was tempted," Allison added. "Those eyes of his could melt a girl's panties."

  Perrie scolded herself silently. What right did she have to be jealous? Or envious? She
'd pegged Joe Brennan as a ladies' man from the moment she'd met him. A confirmed bachelor who used his charm and good looks to make women weak in the knees and breathless with adoration. Even she hadn't been immune.

  At least she was smart enough to see Brennan for what he was. And clever enough to keep her distance. Though it hadn't been too hard, considering she hadn't seen much of him lately.

  Linda laughed. "It took Allison about three days to evaluate every bachelor within a twenty-mile radius. She's got this down to a science."

  "I believe in being thorough," Allison said. "After all, I'm the one who has to look at him across the dinner table. I only want the best."

  "The only one she can't figure out is Hawk," Linda teased.

  Perrie glanced up from her notes. "Kyle Hawkins? Brennan's partner?"

  "They call him Hawk. And he's the only man who hasn't said a single word to her," Mary Ellen said. "He reminds me of Gregory Peck in that old movie… I can't remember the name."

  "Mary Ellen never remembers the names of movies. And if you ask me, that Hawk is a little too quiet," Linda said. "Maybe he's hiding a tortured soul."

  "I haven't met him yet," Perrie admitted. "I'm not sure I want to. Brennan is enough to deal with."

  "You're a reporter," Allison said. "Find out all about him and then tell us."

  Perrie slowly closed her notepad. "I'll make you a deal," she said with a conspiratorial grin. "You teach me how to chop wood and walk on snowshoes and drive a dogsled, and I'll report back on the mysterious Mr. Hawk."

  Mary Ellen giggled. "This is going to be so much fun! Just like that old movie where the three girls go to Rome and find love. The one with the fountain? Only this is Alaska and there are four of us… and no fountain."

  "I'm not in this to find a husband," Perrie quickly explained. "All I'm interested in is the trip out of Muleshoe."

  Joe pulled the front door of the lodge closed and dropped his sunglasses over his eyes against the sundrenched snow. The days were getting longer and the bitter cold that had marked all of January was beginning to release its grip. It would be months until the river broke up and spring came, but they were halfway through winter now and there was an end in sight.

  A curse split the silent air and he turned and glanced up at Perrie's cabin. He'd spent the past five days flying supplies into the bush and hadn't had time to check on how she was doing. She and Burdy had become friends and the old guy had taken her into town for meals, but beyond that, Perrie Kincaid had been keeping herself busy with her own activities.

  To tell the truth, she wasn't nearly as much trouble as he first thought she'd be. She'd obviously come to the conclusion that there was no way she'd be able to get out of Muleshoe and had decided to make the best of her free time. He casually strolled up the path toward the cabins, a satisfied smile curling his lips. He had won this little battle between the two of them and he couldn't wait to gloat.

  As the cabin came into view, he caught sight of Perrie, lying in the snow, her feet up in the air. A stab of concern pierced his mind and he wondered if she'd really injured herself this time. But then he noticed she was wearing snowshoes.

  "Hey!" he called. "Are you all right?"

  Perrie turned over on her side and regarded him with thinly veiled hostility. Her hair was caked in snow and her face was wet. She looked as if she had taken a header into a snowbank. "Go away!" she cried. "Leave me alone!"

  Joe stood over her and couldn't help but laugh. She looked so darn cute, all covered with snow and ready to explode with anger. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, holding out his hand to yank her to her feet. He turned her around and brushed the snow off her backside. It wasn't until he'd pulled his hand away that he realized how intimate the contact actually had been.

  "I'm practicing," Perrie said, twisting away from him and finishing the job herself.

  "Falling into the snow?"

  "No, Mr. Smarty Britches, snowshoeing. It's just that these things are so big, and I'm supposed to try to move as fast as I can, but my feet get all tangled up. It's like running in swim flippers."

  "Why do you have to move fast?" He paused, then held up his hand to stop her reply. "Let me guess. I assume you aren't planning to run a footrace with a stampeding moose, so I'm going to have to surmise that you've decided to walk to Fairbanks?"

  She tried to move away from him, but one of her snowshoes caught the edge of the other and she began to lose her balance again. He reached out and grabbed her elbow, but as soon as she righted herself, she pushed him away. "I'm going to enter the Muleshoe Games next weekend. And I'm going to win that trip to Cooper Hot Springs. And once I do, I'll be out of Muleshoe for good."

  Joe laughed, the sound echoing through the silent woods. "You're going to win the brides' competition? You're not even a bride-to-be."

  Perrie bristled. "I'm a single woman. And I'm a reasonably fit individual. I work out… sometimes. You don't think I can win?"

  "Not a chance, Kincaid."

  Perrie bent down and fumbled with the leather straps on the snowshoes. She lost her balance again and tumbled back into the snow, but this time he didn't help her up. She wrestled with the snowshoes until she'd managed to pull both of them off, then scrambled to her feet. "You just watch me," she said, her chin tipped up defiantly. "I've been practicing splitting wood and I'm getting pretty damn good at it. I've actually hit the log twice with the ax and I've only been practicing for an hour."

  She stalked around the side of the cabin and returned with an ax and a log as if to prove her point. He watched her push the log into a snowdrift before she hefted the ax up on her shoulder.

  "Be careful with that," he warned. "Should you be doing that with your sore arm?"

  "My arm is fine. Besides, I know what I'm doing."

  "You should set that up on top of a harder surface before you-"

  "I don't need any advice from you!" Perrie snapped, raising the ax.

  Joe watched as she brought the ax over her head. But he could see that her aim was seriously off. Instead, she swung to the right of the wood and buried the ax in the snowdrift, continuing down until the blade hit rock beneath the snow.

  "Eeeoow!" she cried, snatching her hands back, stung by the impact. She jumped up and down and rubbed her palms together, her eyes watering with the pain. Finally, unable to handle the ache, she sat down in the snow.

  "I told you-"

  "Oh, zip it!"

  Joe grinned and sat down across from her, then reached out and pulled off her mittens, then his gloves. Slowly, he rubbed her fingers between his hands, working his way up through her palms to her wrists. "There's a rock border all around this porch."

  "Thanks for warning me."

  "It feels worse in the cold."

  Her fingers were warm against his, tiny and delicate. Her nails were trimmed short and unpolished. He wouldn't have expected a perfect manicure from a woman as practical as Perrie, especially since she didn't wear a lot of makeup, either.

  She had a natural beauty all her own. Her ivory skin, now touched with pink from the cold, was perfectly smooth. Impossibly long lashes framed her clear green eyes. And her mouth, that wide mouth with those lush lips. He'd found his attention drawn to her mouth again and again, remembering the kiss they'd shared.

  His gaze lingered on her mouth for a long moment. "Is that better?" he murmured.

  She didn't answer and he looked up into her eyes to catch her staring at him. He wasn't sure what came over him, but the next thing he knew, he bent forward and covered her lips with his. She fell back into the snow and Joe stretched his body over hers, groaning at the feel of her soft form beneath his.

  He rolled her over in the snow, pulling her on top of him and holding her face between his palms, afraid that she might break their kiss before he was ready. But she seemed to have no intention of pulling away.

  Gently, he explored her mouth with his tongue, tasting and teasing. For an instant, rational thought returned and he wondered just
what he was doing rolling around in the snow with a woman who wanted nothing more than to make him look like a fool.

  But the truth be told, Joe liked the way she kissed. She didn't go all soft and breathless in his arms, but instead she kissed him as if she were truly enjoying the experience. He'd never known a woman who had tempted him so sorely, yet managed to drive him crazy at the same time. She was a challenge, and Joe never walked away from a challenge.

  He pulled her beneath him once more, his lips never leaving hers, an intimate contact that he didn't want to break. His mind swam with images of her and he couldn't help but draw back and look down at her.

  Her eyes were closed and her lips moist, parted slightly. The cold had turned her cheeks pink and snow-flakes still dusted her auburn hair. Her lashes fluttered, but before she could look at him, he brought his mouth down on hers again. A soft sigh escaped her lips and she wriggled beneath him, arching up against him.

  In all of his life, he'd never met a woman he couldn't charm-until Perrie Kincaid. Clever compliments and boyish grins just didn't work on her. She preferred the direct approach, like a spontaneous kiss in the snow-a kiss that was growing more passionate as time passed.

  He tried to refocus on the feel of her mouth against his, but strange thoughts pressed at his mind. Why was he so attracted to her? He'd always preferred women who were sweet and biddable, not sharp-tongued and prickly. More likely, the challenge was in simply trying to get the upper hand with Perrie in their ongoing battle of wills. She was the last woman he should involve himself with… the last woman he should want.

  Perrie must have read his mind, for at that moment, she pulled back and looked up into his eyes, her brow furrowed in confusion. Slowly she regained her sense of reality and her gaze cleared. She cursed softly, then pushed him off her. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

  Joe braced his hands behind him. "The same thing you were doing."

  "Well, stop it!" Perrie brushed the snow off her jeans and jacket, then jumped to her feet.

  "Are you sure you want me to stop?" Joe asked.

  "I certainly don't want you kissing me anymore!"