Sky High (Alaskan Frontier Romance Book 2)

by Jennifer McArdle

  The words hung in the air.

  Dead? She hadn’t expected that. Dalton was only a year younger than her.

  Lily didn’t know what to say. She wanted to ask how it had happened. When?

  “I… I’m sorry,” she said, for lack of a better response. “I didn’t know.”

  Mason didn’t say anything. He glanced up at a knob on the ceiling and turned it slightly clockwise.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Lily asked cautiously, even though she had a feeling it was the last thing Mason wanted to do. He’d always been the type to keep things to himself, bottled up inside.

  “There’s nothing to talk about. He’s gone. Talking isn’t going to bring him back.”

  She wouldn’t push him, Lily decided. Mason needed time, and she would give it to him.

  “Mason, I’m so sorry,” she said again, hoping he knew how much she meant it.

  “It’s okay.” He was facing forward again. His face held a serious expression, tense. “You should face forward. We’re starting our approach.”

  Lily obliged him, turning in her seat and tightening her seatbelt. She tried to look out the window, watching the buildings of Hoonah get larger as they approached the town. But her attention kept wandering back to Mason. She saw how he gripped the controls, how he stared straight ahead. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about Dalton. But maybe talking about him was what Mason needed most.

  Chapter 6

  “So how long is all of this going to take?” Mason asked as they headed toward Hoonah High School. He walked alongside Lily, carrying her tote bag of acting props. She’d said she could carry it just fine, but he insisted on it.

  “It’s a four-hour workshop. If everything goes well, I should be able to wrap it up around 4 o’clock. I’ll meet you back at the plane and we ought to be home before dinner time.”

  The town of Hoonah was about five times the size of Heron, but it was still a small town with fewer than 900 full-time residents. It was also home to a couple small lodges, a scattering of churches, and a restaurant with a bar. There was even a small movie theater that played new releases an average of three months after they were released everywhere else. And then there were a handful of businesses that catered to tourists, everything from fishing charters to a zip-line. But none of those things interested Mason.

  Besides, ever since Lily had mentioned Dalton’s name, Mason hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his brother. He needed something to distract him, to get the image of Dalton’s dead body off his mind.

  “Actually, I was thinking of sticking around and watching, if you don’t mind.” He glanced over at her as they walked. He couldn’t tell by her reaction, or lack of a reaction, whether she wanted him to sit in on the class. “There’s not much else to do while I wait.”

  Lily looked at him and smiled, then.

  “That’s fine, but you’ll probably be bored. You were never really interested in the drama club.”

  “That’s not true,” he said. Hadn’t he spent an entire month building the set for the production their junior year?

  Lily stopped walking and turned to face him. She raised her eyebrows at him. “I believe you attended exactly one play the entire time you lived in Heron. And that was only after we started seeing each other. You were there because you had to be.”

  “I never had to be. I wanted to be,” he corrected her. “I wanted to spend time with you, as much as I possibly could.”

  “So what’s your excuse now? You don’t have to stick around and watch a bunch of teenagers stumble over their lines.” She hoped he wanted to watch the class for the same reason he’d built that set all those years ago, to be near her. But she wasn’t going to hold her breath.

  “Like I said, there’s not much else to do while I wait.”

  Lily hid her disappointment behind a cheerful smile and turned back toward the school. “You’ll probably fall asleep watching us.”

  “Well, then at least I’ll be rested up for the return flight,” he said, falling back into step beside her.

  “If you want to watch, I’m not going to stop you.” She said it nonchalantly, but secretly she was glad he’d be there. Even after all the years that had passed, and all the heartache she’d felt when he’d broken it off, she still liked being near him. She craved it in a way she couldn’t even begin to understand.

  The school, which housed middle school and high school students, was unlocked. Even though it was a Saturday, the building was full of activity. A support group meeting was being held in one of the classrooms. They passed by the gymnasium, where the basketball team was running drills. Down the hall, a group of cheerleaders practiced their cheers in the wide hallway.

  “This way,” Lily said, leading Mason to a room down a side corridor. She opened the door and flicked a switch. The large room lit up with the glow of florescent lighting. “You can set the bag down over there.” She gestured toward a desk at the front of the room.

  Mason did as she asked.

  When he turned back to her, there was a frown on her face.

  “This isn’t going to work at all,” she said, looking around. “Can you help me move some of these desks off to the side of the room?”

  Mason picked up a desk and carried it to the side of the room while Lily grabbed the edge of another desk and dragged it across the floor. He was about to move another desk when he noticed someone standing in the doorway watching them. Or, more specifically, watching Lily.

  Mason immediately stopped what he was doing and eyed up the man suspiciously. He was nicely dressed, in a pair of brown slacks and a white, button-up shirt. He had dark hair, neatly combed, and two deep dimples in his cheeks when he smiled.

  He stood there, exuding the confidence of a man whose body was perfectly chiseled under those neat, tailored clothes. He’d probably be just as comfortable posing for an underwear ad as he would be standing in front of a classroom.

  He looked like the kind of man Mason assumed most women swooned over.

  And there was something else, too. Something that made Mason instantly dislike him. It was the way he looked at Lily.

  “You must be Lily.” The voice was deep and very, very masculine.

  Lily looked up to find a friendly-looking man standing in the doorway. She assumed he was the head of the Hoonah Drama Club.

  “Mr. Stanton, right?”

  “Actually, Stanton is my first name. Stanton Waters,” he said, stepping forward and holding his hand out in greeting.

  Mason noticed his gaze lingered on Lily for a second longer than was necessary. And even worse, he realized, Lily didn’t seem to mind.

  “I’m glad you were able to make it. I think it’s so important to get a fresh perspective on things every once in a while. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to show us some acting techniques we’re not familiar with.”

  Lily smiled and shook his hand. “I hope so. I’m also looking forward to your workshop next week in Heron. If this co-op program works out, maybe we could do it every year.”

  “I’d like that,” Stanton said, still holding Lily’s hand in his own, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against his.

  I’m sure you would, Mason thought. He stepped in between the two of them and offered a handshake.

  “I’m Mason,” he said brusquely. “You can sit back there with me.” He gestured toward the rear of the room, where Stanton would be as far away from Lily as possible.

  Stanton smiled uneasily at Mason and nodded his head. He got the picture.

  He glanced back at Lily and watched as she grabbed a couple chairs and began stacking them off to the side, out of the way. She left 15 chairs in the center of the room, positioned to form a semi-circle. “Good luck,” he said. “I’m sure I can learn a lot from you. I’ll be taking notes.”

  “Thanks,” Lily said, not noticing the tension between the two men. She was too focused on preparing for the workshop.

  Once the chairs were positioned the way she wanted
them, she placed a script on the seat of each of the chairs, along with pencils and notepads. Then she dug through her tote bag and pulled out some props, setting them on the chairs in a random pattern.

  Gradually, students began streaming into the classroom one by one. They were all ages – teenagers from the high school’s drama club, adults who volunteered to help with the community’s fall and spring productions, even a few younger children who just thought it would be fun to do some play acting. Some of them had no acting experience at all, just a desire to perform. Others had been involved in the drama club for years and wanted to refine their skills.

  Almost all of them had brought snacks of some kind to share with the rest of the group, and before long, a table at the edge of the room was covered with cookies, cupcakes, sandwiches, and juice.

  When the clock struck noon, Lily rounded everyone up and introduced herself. Mason found a chair at the back of the room right next to Stanton.

  For the next two hours, he watched intently as Lily walked the students through the basic methods of acting. She looked so blissful there, completely in her element.

  As he watched her, animatedly acting out a scene for the students, Mason saw the enthusiasm pouring out of her and the impact she had on the students. They were mesmerized by her, much the same as Mason was.

  She looked happy, full of life. Mason wished he could feel that way, too. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt as happy as she looked. He hadn’t felt anything close to that since he’d left Heron, since he’d left Lily.

  Around 2 o’clock, Lily announced they would be taking a short break. While the drama students either flocked toward the refreshments table or scattered to talk among themselves, Lily collected the props and pulled out a fresh stack of scripts to pass out.

  Mason stood up and stretched his legs. He wandered over to the refreshments table, keeping an eye on Stanton the entire time.

  Stanton thought about getting up to speak with Lily about some of the techniques she’d discussed, but he saw the look in Mason’s eyes and decided it would be better to stay put. He knew Mason was watching him and it made him feel uncomfortable. He’d dealt with Mason’s kind before. Men like him tended to be protective of their women. As appealing as Lily was, Stanton wasn’t interested in getting involved, not if Mason was around to complicate things.

  Satisfied that Stanton wouldn’t go near Lily, Mason turned and poured himself a cup of juice. Then he leaned against the wall and settled his attention on Lily.

  “I knew a woman like her once.” The words came from an older man. He leaned against the wall alongside Mason and took a bite of a chocolate chip cookie. His eyes, though, were on Lily. Apparently she’d caught the attention of more than one man in the room, but Mason wasn’t worried about this old guy trying to run off with her.

  They both watched as Lily talked to a few of the students individually. A small group of them was clamoring for her attention, ready to ask questions.

  “Full of spirit, she was,” the man continued. “Always smiling. Had the ability to bring out the best in everyone. She was a giver. Never asked for anything in return.”

  “How do you know Lily?” asked Mason. The man’s description of Lily was spot on, and Mason wondered how well the older man knew her. He was too old to be interested in her romantically. But he’d summed her up pretty well.

  “Hmm?” he looked up at Mason, chewing on the cookie. The wrinkles in his face knit together and he shook his head. “Never met her. Just a feeling I got about her.”

  “You’re not part of the drama club.” It was a statement, not a question. Mason had been watching the entire time, and the old man was not part of the workshop.

  “No. Saw the table of goodies and decided to step in for a snack. But I’ve been watching for a bit from the doorway. And that woman, there,” he pointed at Lily, “reminds me of my Laurie.”

  “Was Laurie your wife?” Mason asked.

  “Nah. We never married.” He grew silent, then, lost in thought. He stood there for a few more minutes, finished his cookie, and grabbed a handful more. He turned to leave, but then stopped and looked at Mason. “I don’t know if she’s yours, but if she is, hang on to her,” he said before walking out the door. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

  Mason wondered about the man as he walked back to his seat at the rear of the classroom. He sat down as Lily resumed the workshop.

  The last two hours flew by. For the second segment of the class, Lily had the students practice different acting exercises. They all had scripts in front of them and they took turns reading the same script in a variety of different contexts. Some of them were so absurd, the group couldn’t help but laugh. And that was the point, Lily told them.

  As he watched her, the old man’s words echoed in Mason’s head. Lily really was the most amazing woman he’d ever known, and he wasn’t the only one who recognized it. Stanton, sitting rigidly next to Mason, knew Lily was special. She had the unique ability to light up a room. Like the old man had said, she was the kind of woman you don’t let go of. Mason could see that now.

  When the drama workshop came to a close, Stanton started to stand up. Mason, standing stoutly by his side, put a hand on Stanton’s shoulder and firmly pushed him back down into his chair.

  “She did good, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Normally, Stanton would have been a little more eloquent, but with Mason standing over him, he found himself at a loss for words. “She has a gift.”

  “So, next week, huh?”

  “What?”

  “You’ll be doing a drama workshop next week for the Heron kids.”

  “Oh.” Stanton realized what Mason was hinting at. “Yeah. I’ll be there,” he said, though he was beginning to have second thoughts about it. If Mason was going to be there, it might turn out to be more trouble than it was worth.

  “I guess I’ll see you then.” Mason patted his shoulder and walked away, leaving Stanton alone at the back of the room.

  Mason waited patiently for Lily to finish speaking with a small group of students that had stuck around afterwards to ask her more questions. When they finally cleared out, he went to her.

  “That was amazing.” Lily was grinning from ear to ear, excited at how well the workshop had gone. “I never expected them to be so engaged. They seemed to really enjoy it. And did you see how much they improved over the course of just a few hours?”

  She was beaming and her good mood was infectious.

  “Where’s Stanton?” she asked, looking around. “I want to talk to him about the workshop he’ll be giving next week.”

  Mason glanced back to the spot where he’d left the Hoonah drama teacher. The seat was empty.

  “I think he had to leave,” he said. “But he said you ‘had a gift’ and he’ll see us next week.”

  “Oh, well,” Lily said, unaffected by the fact that he’d left without saying anything. She was still on an emotional high from how well her first teaching experience had gone.

  She packed the scripts back into her bag and looked up at Mason. Her eyes shined bright with excitement.

  “So, what did you think? You didn’t fall asleep, did you?”

  Mason smiled back at her.

  “Are you kidding? You were absolutely captivating. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

  It was the truth. Watching Lily in front of those students, Mason realized how much he’d missed her. She was charismatic, so energizing to watch. For someone whose life had been filled with pain for so long, it was like a breath of fresh air. It lifted him out of the cloud he’d been under, brought him back to life for a moment.

  Automatically, Mason took the tote bag from Lily and slug it over his shoulder. “Shall we?” he asked, offering her his arm.

  Lily looked at him for a second, scrutinizing him.

  “There’s something different about you,” she said. She noticed a change in him.

  “Oh, yeah? What?”

&nb
sp; She narrowed her eyes at him, contemplating. “I’m not sure.” He seemed lighter – maybe even happier – than before.

  “Well, I can assure you that I’m the same old Mason.”

  Lily smiled. Maybe that’s what she noticed. He looked more like the 17-year-old kid she’d known. More relaxed. More at ease.

  “How about dinner?” he asked.

  “Here or back at the pub?”

  “I’m in no hurry to get back.” In fact, he was hoping to spend a little more time with Lily before they went back to Heron.

  “Neither am I,” she said, grinning as she looped her arm around his.

  Outside the school, they walked along the shoulder of the road toward the shoreline. A few vehicles drove past, the drivers slowing to wave as they passed by. Island life, Mason thought pensively. No one was ever in a hurry to get anywhere. After all, there really was nowhere to go.

  Even though Hoonah was considerably larger than Heron, the town still only consisted of a few square miles of homes and businesses scattered along the coast. Where the town ended, there were several trails that snaked their way further inland with no real destination. One of those trails, nothing more than a two-track, spanned half of the island. There had been talk of eventually building a road to connect the two towns, but for now the communities remained separated by miles of wilderness, mountains, and inlets. The largely Native Alaskan community thrived because of its close proximity to Juneau and its twice-weekly ferry schedule, while Heron remained isolated from almost everything. But that wasn’t a bad thing. Heron’s isolation was part of its lure. Still, it was nice to get out once in a while, to spend some time in a town where there were actually cars and roads.

  They walked side by side down Front Street, toward the restaurant that sat along the shore. It was only a short walk from the school, and they eased into a silent stroll. For the first time since Mason’s return, they felt completely at ease with one another.

  The restaurant was an old hangar that had been converted several years earlier into a retail shop. When that business venture failed, the owner converted it again, into an eatery. Being the only restaurant in town helped keep the business afloat, and the food served up by Rosie attracted people from miles away. It wasn’t uncommon for fishing vessels to make a special stop in Hoonah for Rosie’s chicken pot pie or her secret-recipe chili on their way out to the Gulf of Alaska.