Mason smiled, discreetly slipping the paper into his pocket. Since he was going to be making the mail runs from now on, he knew it wouldn’t hurt to keep Barbara happy.
He grabbed the bag of mail and turned to leave. But then he stopped short. Standing at the counter was Lily, smiling and talking to Nate. For a second, he was frozen. She looked unbelievable, her blonde hair flowing down over her shoulders, ending with a slight curl at the tips. The knee-length skirt she wore ended just a few inches above the tall, black boots that hugged her calves, giving him only the slightest glimpse of her shapely legs. And her face, lit up with excitement, showed no trace of the anguish he wanted her to be feeling. He was certainly in pain. It would have been nice to know she was suffering as much as him. But judging by the looks of her, Lily was having no problem moving on.
He thought about approaching her, telling her how much he missed her. But then he remembered the last thing Lily had said to him. She didn’t want to see him again. Not ever. As much as it pained him, he would honor her wishes. He could give her at least that much.
Discreetly, Mason slipped into one of the short grocery aisles. With Lily standing by the cash register, there was no way out without her noticing him. He would have to wait.
He noticed Barbara watching him curiously, so he grabbed a box of toaster pastries off a shelf to make it look like he was shopping. Then he picked up a can of coffee and pretended to read the label. Barbara wasn’t buying it. Her gaze went from Mason to Lily and back again, connecting the dots.
“She’s coming,” Barbara whispered loudly a few seconds later.
Cursing under his breath, both at the fact that Lily was heading toward him and Barbara knew he was avoiding her, Mason put the coffee and the toaster pastries back on the shelf and snuck over to the next aisle. Lily hadn’t seen him, Mason realized as he moved toward the freezer along the outer wall and then ducked into another aisle. When he was certain Lily wouldn’t see him, he darted toward the door.
“You haven’t paid for that,” Nate called after him.
“Put it on my tab,” Mason said as he slipped out.
At the sound of Nate’s voice, Lily turned. Just in time to see Mason hurrying out the door. He looked like he was in a mad rush to get out of there.
Good, she thought. Maybe he’d get the picture, figure out he wasn’t wanted there, and leave Heron altogether. But even as the thought popped into Lily’s head, she knew she didn’t really feel that way.
Barbara was grinning as Lily approached the mail counter.
“What was that all about?” she eagerly asked, interested to find out more about the scene that had just played out in front of her. Other than the occasional argument between Nate and his dock workers, not much action happened at The General Store. The really interesting things always took place at the pub, when people had just enough liquor in them not to care about an audience.
Lily shook her head and waved off the question.
“Nothing,” she said. “Nothing at all.”
“Didn’t look like nothing to me.”
Lily ignored the remark and changed the subject. She slid an envelope across the counter.
“I need to mail this.”
“Won’t go out until Monday.” Barbara picked it up. She looked it over, stamped it, and tossed it into a basket behind her.
“That’s fine.”
“Mail’s already on its way to Juneau,” she prattled on needlessly, “unless you hurry up. You might be able to catch Mason before he leaves.”
Mason. After the way he’d avoided Lily only a few minutes earlier, it was a bit peculiar that Barbara would suggest Lily chase after him.
“Well, would you look at the time,” Barbara went on. “Eleven o’clock. Time to close up. That’s what I love about Saturdays. Only have to work for a couple hours.” She turned and grabbed the envelope. “Maybe we can catch up with him together.”
So that’s what it came down to. Barbara was bored and was looking for some entertainment. She hadn’t had a good, juicy story to tell anyone in a while and she saw an opportunity to witness a gossip-worthy story first-hand. Well, that wasn’t going to happen, Lily decided.
“It’s not that important.”
* * *
With the mail bag in hand, Mason hurried back to the dock. The only way he was going to get Lily off his mind was to get out of town, even if it was only for a few hours. He’d already checked the weather that day and it was good enough for a flight. The winds over the straits were relatively calm. There was no rain in the forecast. All in all, it was the perfect fall day for a relaxing flight into Juneau.
Takeoff was smooth. The water in the inlet was unusually tranquil. The weak current created small ripples on the surface, but they were nothing compared to the choppy waves he sometimes had to take off in.
Mason gripped the yoke as the plane ascended. When he realized how tight his grip was on the handholds, he made a conscious effort to relax his arms. It only lasted for a few seconds before his muscles instinctively tensed up again. You need to loosen up. That’s what Lily had told him on their flight to Hoonah. She was right. But no matter how hard he tried, it wasn’t in his nature.
When the plane leveled off, Mason set his heading in an easterly direction. It wouldn’t be a long flight, not with the tailwinds at this altitude. And that was a good thing, because lately, Mason couldn’t fly without thinking about Lily. Every time he climbed into the cockpit, he pictured Lily in the seat next to him, eagerly taking the controls, her face lighting up when she got her hands on the yoke. He’d never seen her as happy as she was in the air.
Except maybe that morning they’d spent together curled up on the couch, still reveling in the aftermath of their lovemaking. He held her for an hour after she fell asleep in his arms, enjoying the scent of her hair, the feel of her soft skin. He didn’t want to ever let go of her.
Mason didn’t realize it, but the memory brought a smile to his face.
Gently, ever so carefully, he had squeezed out from underneath her, trying not to wake her. He wanted to surprise her with breakfast. That hadn’t worked out so well, he recalled. But after Lily awoke and took over at the stove, they’d shared a nice meal together.
And then he went and screwed everything up. Lily told him she loved him, and he didn’t say it back. Even now, Mason didn’t know why the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. He felt it. There was no doubt about it. He loved her. So why couldn’t he say it?
When Mason landed in Juneau shortly before noon, he still didn’t have an answer to that question.
Mooring his plane at a public dock, Mason walked half-a-mile to the post office and dropped off the sack of mail. Another bag and a few packages were waiting for him. He took them back to the plane and loaded them into the cargo hold.
Then he hailed a cab. It was only a five minute drive to the hardware store, where he picked out two different paint colors for the office, one for the interior and one for the exterior. In the lumber department, he ordered the supplies he’d need to repair the boardwalk and directed them to deliver the wood and paint to the public dock. He left with a bag of paintbrushes and a new drill.
The cabbie took him to the grocery store next and waited at the curb while he took his time shopping the produce section, picking out the freshest items he could find for Barbara. At the checkout counter, he had the cashier put everything in cardboard boxes, rather than grocery bags, for ease of transport.
Then he made one more stop, to find airplane parts, before heading back to the Beaver.
Back at the plane, Mason loaded two boxes of groceries into the cargo hold, one for him and one with the things Barbara had asked for. The plane was already loaded with a few pre-cut pieces of lumber, a set of new tools, and two five-gallon buckets of paint. Three more boxes held parts he’d need for improvements he wanted to make on the airplanes, some new gauges and hardware. And in his pocket were the phone numbers of two A&P mechanics who were both willing to fly ou
t and perform the major overhauls on the planes whenever he was ready.
Even though Mason had planned to stretch the trip out for the entire day, he was back in the air a lot sooner than he’d expected. The mid-afternoon sun set the mountains aglow. A high-altitude snowfall had draped the mountain peaks with a light covering of snow a few days earlier. Now, the pearly white flakes sparkled in the sun as it began its descent into the west.
Lily would have enjoyed the view, Mason thought as he flew over the straits, approaching the eastern shores of Chichagof Island. There, nestled in along the northeastern shore, was the town of Hoonah. The sight of the community, made up primarily of Native Alaskans, stirred something inside of him.
Damn. Mason couldn’t go anywhere without something reminding him of Lily.
He’d been planning to fly right on by, but spontaneously Mason decided to land. Maybe get a bite to eat. His subconscious led him to the waterfront restaurant, the same one where he and Lily had dined together after the drama workshop. Even though lasagna wasn’t Mason’s favorite, he ordered it. It’s what Lily had ordered.
Why was he doing this to himself? He needed to get her off his mind. Instead, he kept doing things that reminded him even more of her. There was a simple enough reason for it. The fact was, he didn’t want to forget about her. The best memories of his life always had her in them.
Sure, she’d told him to stay away, but for the life of him Mason didn’t know how he was going to manage it. If he couldn’t get Lily off his mind when he was in a completely different town, then what was he going to do when he had to see her every day?
He couldn’t keep avoiding her forever. It was a small town with nothing but a boardwalk connecting everything. There was no way around it. He could try to stay on his end of town, keep his walks short. But eventually, they would run into each other. It would be impossible to avoid it.
Look at the past week. Mason managed to keep away from her for seven days, only because he spent all of his time at home or at the air-taxi dock. On his first trip to the store, he’d run into her.
It couldn’t go on like this, not anymore. Whether she wanted to be with him or not, Mason needed to clear the air between them. He couldn’t keep hiding out. He had a life to live, too. And he had just as much right to walk freely through town as she did.
By the time the plate of lasagna came, Mason made up his mind. He asked the waitress to box it up. He didn’t even bother to take a bite. When the waitress returned a few minutes later with the food in a take-out container, he paid the bill and left. He had to get back to Heron.
* * *
The town was quiet when he landed in the harbor and drifted toward the dock. He didn’t notice it right away, but by the time he secured the plane and unloaded his supplies into the office, Mason realized how still it was. The town was empty.
That was odd. Even for a small town, there was always activity going on at the docks or some kind of noise coming from the pub. But as Mason wandered down the boardwalk, past the pub, he noticed the “closed” sign on the door.
Of course! He should have remembered, the fall production was that night. It was only the most important thing in Lily’s life.
Everyone was probably already gathering at the school for the play. That’s why the houses were all dark and the businesses were all closed up.
He glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was 6:54 p.m. The play would be starting in just a few minutes.
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, Mason headed down the boardwalk toward the school. Sure, Lily had told him to stay away, but maybe for once Mason wouldn’t do what he was told. Maybe this time, he would do what he actually wanted, instead of what everyone else wanted.
Chapter 17
Chairs lined one half of the round room in the center of the school, forming a semi-circle divided down the center by a narrow walkway. In order to squeeze everyone in, the chairs were packed closely together. So close, people bumped elbows and knees pressed into the backs of chairs. But no one seemed to mind the close quarters.
It was unusual for the building, which normally accommodated no more than 50 people at any given time, to be so packed. Even town council meetings never garnered more than a couple dozen attendees. But the fall production was a major event for the town. Most of the school children were involved in one way or another and half the adult residents of the town had contributed to the production, either by helping out on the set or making goodies for the after-party. Aside from the annual Summer Solstice Festival, the fall production was the most anticipated event of the year. And so the building was stuffed with nearly three times as many people as it had been built to hold.
Two of the classrooms were being used as dressing rooms. Colored paper had been taped over the glass walls that separated the classrooms from the open area in the middle of the building, giving the performers privacy to change costumes and apply stage make-up. The low bookshelves that normally encircled the room had been pushed back against the walls to create more space for seating.
Amid the buzz of activity, Mason slipped in unnoticed. He hadn’t been to one of these plays since his junior year in high school, but it looked to him like things hadn’t changed much.
Almost every seat was filled and the hum of voices speaking over each other echoed throughout the room. Excitement filled the air backstage. Among the audience, the ambiance was more of curiosity. Families were seated, skimming through the program to read the names of the actors. Others chatted with their neighbors, catching up on the day’s events.
A few stray children chased after each other along the outer edge of the room. Their laughter stood out from the buzzing of voices, whose myriad conversations blended together into indistinguishable chatter. There was no mistaking the happy sound of a young girl squealing as a boy chased after her. And nearby, a group of kids huddled together, making plans to do something they knew they shouldn’t.
Mason remembered being one of those kids when he was really young. Too mischievous to sit down and wait for the performance, he and Dalton found other ways to entertain themselves while their parents mingled with the old folks.
One particular memory of Dalton convincing him to sneak a pack of cigarettes from old man Taylor’s coat pocket came to mind. It seemed easy enough. The coat was just hanging on the back of the man’s chair, and since old man Taylor was a chain smoker, the boys knew there would be a spare pack or two in his pocket. So, when no one was looking, at Dalton’s urging Mason slipped his hand into the side pocket of the well-worn wool coat and grabbed a pack. With the loot in hand, they scurried into one of the vacant classrooms and hid under the teacher’s desk while Dalton tried lighting one up. Of course, Dalton was the first to take a puff. He was the first to try everything. Mason wasn’t even going to try it, but he couldn’t let his little brother be more of a man than him. So, when Dalton handed it to him, Mason took a long drag off the cigarette… and instantly regretted it. The coughing came first. Then the belly ache. Then he threw up into the waste paper basket. Dalton hadn’t fared much better, but like a man, he at least kept the contents of his stomach where they belonged.
Mason smiled at the memory, realizing that for the first time since Dalton’s death, it didn’t hurt to think about his brother. Sure, he still missed Dalton. But now he could look back on the times they spent together without feeling like he had a dagger in his heart. The memories, he realized, were something to be cherished. They were all he had left of Dalton and it was high time he stopped resisting them.
Stepping out of the way as two young children careened past, one in pursuit of the other, Mason went to a table along the outer wall and picked up a printed program. Then he found an empty seat in the back row, probably the only seat in the entire room that hadn’t already been claimed.
Almost immediately after he sat down, the lights flickered three times, letting everyone know the play was about to begin. Parents hurriedly gathered their playing children, herding them into their seats
. The chatter died down in a matter of seconds as people turned their attention toward the stage.
That’s when Mason saw Lily.
She stood to the right of the stage, peeking out from behind a red curtain. Mason’s breath instantly caught in his throat. She looked amazing. A little frazzled from last minute crises, maybe. But amazing, nonetheless. Her long blonde hair was tousled, resting on shoulders left bare by the simple, strapless dress she wore. And she was wearing make-up, applied subtly and completely unnecessary in his opinion. It brought out the sparkle in her eyes and accented her cheekbones perfectly. In a word, she looked radiant.
Lily signaled the pianist, who played a few notes, and then walked out onto the stage. Her heart felt like it was beating a million times per minute and there was a huge lump in her throat as she stopped center stage. Lily had never been nervous on stage before, but then again, she’d never written and produced a play. This was an altogether different experience. Everything she’d poured onto those pages was about to be performed in front of the entire town. What if they didn’t like it?
“Thank you for coming out tonight,” Lily spoke into the mic. Glad her voice hadn’t failed her, she continued. “The performers have worked extremely hard over the past few weeks in preparation for the first – and what I’m guessing will be the only one ever – production of Pelicans Dream Too, a play written by yours truly.” Lily kicked one foot back and bowed dramatically for the crowd, which brought on a round of applause. “So, with no further ado, let the show begin.”
Smiling broadly at the crowd one more time, Lily hurried off the stage.
It wasn’t a proper auditorium – there was no side curtain for Lily to hide behind, no place “back stage” where she could discreetly manage the production and keep an eye on what was happening in front of the audience. So, she went to her position on the edge of the stage, where she’d be able to see the production and cue the performers waiting behind the set.
Sky High (Alaskan Frontier Romance Book 2) Page 17
