by Noelle Fox
Grace had gotten to know him well enough that she immediately recognized his back-off signal and respected it, though she was crazy-curious. Who would Derek Wakefield fall for that hard?
Liz. The way she talked about him when she visited Grace after the accident…
“Thing is, Derek. I grew up with a mother who changed men like she changed underwear. Each time I’d hear, ‘Oh, Grace, this time it’s absolutely right. How could I have thought that last time? No, wait, it’s this time for sure. No, wait…’ I swore I’d never be ruled by those early infatuation feelings.”
“Come this way.” He led them off the trail down a barely visible path that led eventually to a narrow inlet with a tiny sand beach. Ferns and moss grew on the cliff walls, and a lazy freshwater fall trickled down one side.
Derek walked to the middle of the beach and faced the water. Grace followed and stood next to him, realizing that she was actually going to miss this cranky, stubborn man. “Grace, I have something else to say.”
“Oh God.” The exclamation burst out of her before she could stop it. She put a hand on Derek’s arm. “Sorry, I’m just on overload right now.”
“You’ve had a hell of a time.”
She made herself calm down, helped by the feel of his strong arm under her hand. “I’m okay. Go on.”
“It seems to me that you are doing exactly what you swore you’d never do.”
Grace turned incredulously. “What do you mean?”
“From where I sit, you’re being ruled by avoiding your feelings for a man.” He turned and touched her cheek, the first affectionate gesture he’d given her, making her swallow hard. “If you ask me, that’s just the other side of the very same coin.”
Chapter 14
Connor reached the top of Eagle Mountain, breathing heavily. Grace’s ferry wasn’t scheduled to leave for another half hour, but he didn’t want to miss it. He still wasn’t sure why he was torturing himself like this, but there he was.
In less than an hour he’d get an unadulterated view of the love of his life sailing away from Polaris Island, and from him. It was all he could do not to howl at the sky and beat his chest in frustration. He’d been unable to convince her to change her mind. All he could do was stay behind to wait, hope and drive himself crazy. He felt sorry for whoever he took on the next hike up here. He’d be in such a foul mood, flooded with so many incredible memories of his and Grace’s night here together, missing her so intensely, that they’d probably make him go back down on his own.
Whatever. No point. The entire island was contaminated with her now. He would no more be able to escape her than escape himself.
The idea came to him immediately, part of his old restless self. Maybe this was a sign he should cut his losses, find a place to go where he could start over.
For the first time in his life, the concept held next to no appeal. He didn’t want to start over. He’d started over too many times in his life. He was staying put.
Moving at a punishing pace, he climbed the observation tower and swung his pack off his shoulder. On his last hike he’d noticed a board coming loose. Not a bad idea to check the structure in general.
He found the board and tightened the screw, using a hex wrench to keep the nut in place on the other side, then started checking the other boards, glancing at his watch every few minutes so he wouldn’t lose track of time.
Two minutes before the one o’clock ferry was scheduled to leave, he threw down the screwdriver and wrench and climbed back up, steps slower and heavier than his previous sprint to the top.
Right on time the ship slipped out of the harbor, sunlight catching its smooth sides.
Was Grace on the deck looking back toward him, or facing forward toward her future?
Was she happy and confident in her decision to leave, and did she feel only faintly wistful when she thought of him?
Or was she miserable, missing him, wondering if she’d made the right decision?
Did it make him a bad person to hope the woman he loved was in anguish?
He watched until he couldn’t stand watching anymore, and then he went back down to find his tools, finish the job, move on with his life, wondering if he’d ever get rid of this bowling ball size pain lodged in his chest and in his gut.
The sun was warm, the breeze light. He should be enjoying his time up here. Maybe he would again someday.
Footsteps sounded coming up the path, making Connor groan. He was barely keeping it together right now. The last thing he needed was to have to make polite conversation with some resort guest.
He turned his back to the path and squatted down to examine another board. Maybe he could pretend he was deaf.
And blind.
And mute.
“Connor?”
No. It couldn’t be. He’d just seen her boat leave!
He whirled around so hard he bumped his head on a railing and nearly fell back on his ass.
It was her.
“Hi.” She was breathing hard, hand to her chest. “You sure make it hard for a woman to find you.”
“Grace.” He was down so fast he wasn’t sure his feet touched any of the steps. “Grace.”
Then she was in his arms and he was kissing her, unable to believe that she was real.
She certainly felt real…
“I saw the ferry leave.”
“Yes. It left. I stayed.”
“On purpose?”
She laughed. “Yes!”
“For how long?”
“Not long right now.”
His gut twisted. “No?”
“I have to settle my affairs as they say.”
Connor barely dared to hope.
“Which means…” He had to hear it. “Spell it out. Very slowly. I’m still trying to take this in.”
“Oh-kay.” She put her forehead against his. “I am stay-ing here on Po-lar-is be-cause I love you.”
His heart stopped beating, he swore it did, for about two seconds while he held his breath, while he waited for the words to sink in.
Then joy exploded in him, fireworks, tweety-birds, butterflies, the whole damn show, and he picked Grace up and whirled her around and kissed her and kissed her, and then, because he couldn’t think of a single reason not to, took her into the cabin and made love to her until they could both finally calm down and just gaze blissfully at each other.
“Tell me I’m not dreaming.” He lifted her palm to his mouth and kissed it.
“I’m so sorry I put you through all that, Connor. If it’s any consolation, I was a wreck, too.”
“Yeah, I was up here hoping like mad that you were in agony.” He loved it when she laughed. He wanted to keep her doing that. “What changed your mind?
“Dad.” She looked startled. “I think that’s the first time I’ve called him anything but Derek.”
“I like that.”
“I like that too. More and more.” She traced the line of his cheek, gazing at him adoringly. He was fine with that. “He made me realize that I was running away from you instead of toward something better.”
Deep breath. “Wow. I owe that man a Ferrari.”
“Huh. No cars on the island.”
“Oh right.” He stroked a line from her collarbone, past her beautiful breasts, down to her naval, and back up. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of touching her. “You were telling me about leaving and, more importantly, coming back?”
“Yes. Derek needs to give Jacques time to get his retirement together. I’ll have to give notice at my apartment, tell my mother…” She gave a deathly groan and let her head drop to one side, tongue hanging out as if she’d just expired.
He cracked up. “You can do it.”
“Yes.” She came back to life. “I’ll be back in a couple of weeks, probably.”
“You promise?” He didn’t want her out of his sight for a second, even though that sounded stalkerish.
“I promise.”
“I love you, Grace,” he wh
ispered. “You have made my world a better place. Twice now.”
“I love you, too.” She kissed him and nestled closer. “I admit, I’m scared, but this feels right. The second I decided to stay, it was like the weight of the world had been lifted off of me.”
“It is scary, but we’ll get through whatever needs to be gotten through together. And I promise you, my love…” He kissed her, kissed her again, thinking of how much joy he took not only in right now, but in thoughts of tomorrow. And the next day, and the one after that. A whole lifetime of them, settled here with this woman, and one day their children. “I will learn how to make you a decent chocolate cake.”
Dear Reader,
Thanks for all the kind notes and reviews of my North Pole, Alaska series, I’m thrilled to hear how many of you enjoyed those books especially since I had a great time writing them.
I hope you’ve also enjoyed Written in the Stars the first book of my Northern Lights Romance trilogy. I wanted to stay in Alaska, but with a different spin. The next book is Hannah’s story Guided by the Stars which will be available August 1st, followed a month later by Shooting for the Stars.
Again, reviews are important for authors, so if you enjoyed this story please take a moment to go back to the retailer where you purchased the book to provide a review. I would be very grateful!
I also love hearing from my readers, you can find me on Facebook Noelle Fox Author, or through my website www.noellefox.com. Also let me know if you’d like to be on my newsletter mailing list where I announce new releases and the occasional contest.
Thanks again, until next month,
Noelle Fox
Excerpt for
Guided by the Stars
by Noelle Fox
Prologue
Derek Wakefield leaned over his attorney’s shoulder and jabbed his finger on the computer screen. “Get typing!”
James Whittaker sighed, took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. The guy had been doing that a lot lately, but that was his problem, not Derek’s. He paid the lawyer to do what he wanted, so he’d better damn well get it done. There wasn’t a moment to lose.
“Derek, listen, just because things worked out reasonably well with Grace…”
“Grace.” His face creased in a wide smile, and a rare feeling of happiness washed over him. His middle child had come out to visit, and while it had been rocky at first, now they were actually getting along better. Who would have thought? One daughter here to stay and two more to meet. “Yes, it did. And this will work out, too. Write the letter!”
James replaced his glasses and tried again. “But it’s not fair to make these girls think you’re already dead and gone…”
“I told you before, I was dying when I created this plan. And it’s worked.” So far…
James gave up fighting against him, finally, and began to type. “Dear Ms. Hannah Shaw. As your father’s attorney I am writing to share an offer I hope you find intriguing…”
“Dr. Hannah Shaw,” Derek corrected. He was incredibly proud that his eldest daughter, a mistake on prom night—when else?—when he was barely eighteen, was a physician. Not a Phd doctor, but an actual medical doctor. A real doctor. If only he’d thought about finding his three daughters earlier, he might have been able to use some of Hannah’s expertise when he’d gotten sick with leukemia. Then again, maybe not. He hadn’t wanted to see anyone during those God-awful days of chemo, retching, chemo and more retching intermixed with sleeping for hours on end.
Even his dog Clancy, named of course after the greatest author on the planet, Tom Clancy, couldn’t stand being with him during that horrific time. Can’t say that he blamed the poor thing.
James didn’t balk, but simply backspaced and fixed the letter to add Doctor to the title. Maybe Derek’s stick-up-the-butt lawyer was learning to let it go.
“My client, Derek Wakefield…”
“No! No! No!” He jumped up and stalked over to the window. “I want to do it just like last time. I want her to think I’m dead, just long enough for me to get to know her. Soften her up, make her see how great the resort is.”
“How do you know her mother hasn’t already told her your name?” James asked with infuriating logic.
“Because when she called to tell me she was pregnant I told her I couldn’t possibly be the father.” The memory of that panicked day made his stomach churn. “We were just kids, I told her I wanted nothing to do with the baby, and she told me she’d take care of it.”
James stared at him from behind his thick frames. “By take care of it, you mean—”
He hunched his shoulders, not proud of the way he’d acted. But he’d barely graduated high school. At eighteen he couldn’t handle life in general, no way in hell could he manage a baby. “I don’t know what I thought, but trust me, Caryn Shaw wasn’t happy with me. I don’t think she ever told Hannah who I was. And if she did? Then I’ll deal with it.”
He turned his back on James, looking out over the resort he’d inherited from his father in the late 1990’s. The place he’d dumped all of his hopes, dreams, blood, sweat and tears into. He’d taken the place from the brink of bankruptcy and built it up to an impressive business. The resort was beautiful if he said so himself, all natural wood and glass gleaming in the sun. His property extended well beyond the main building, he had ten smaller separate cottages he rented out on a regular basis, in addition to the indoor amenities offered at the resort. The property afforded him an incredible view of the rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing into the shore at high tide.
This was his legacy. An accomplishment to be proud of.
Too bad he’d sucked at being a father. Three times over, and he’d botched it every single time. Starting with getting Caryn Shaw pregnant on prom night.
But hovering at death’s door had given him the impetus to make up for his past mistakes. A brilliant plan, offering each of his three daughters a free trip to the island. Grace Cooper had come first, now Hannah. He was still working on a plan for West Alden.
Why anyone would name a girl West was completely beyond him.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll keep it vague.” James backspaced again and corrected the letter. When he finished, he printed a copy and held it out for Derek’s approval.
Derek skimmed the document. “You forgot to add that her daughter, Brianna, is also invited.”
James narrowed his gaze, harrumphed, and turned back to the computer.
The private investigator Derek and James hired had discovered Hannah had a daughter but that there was no husband or father figure in the picture.
Derek had never once considered he might be a grandfather. Now he couldn’t get the image of the adorable little blondie with pigtails and impish grin out of his mind.
“Here.” James printed the letter and handed it over. This time, Derek nodded and smiled. James looked relieved. “I’ll make sure it gets out in the morning mail.”
“Perfect.” Derek turned back to watch the ocean. The plan had been set in motion. Now all he could do was to wait and hope for the best.
Chapter 1
Dear Dr. Hannah Shaw and Brianna,
As your father’s attorney I am writing about an offer I hope you will find intriguing. Given that your father wasn’t a presence in your life, his dying wish was to share with you a part of the world he loved most. You and your daughter are therefore entitled to a two-week, all expenses paid vacation to the Northern Lights Retreat on Polaris Island, Alaska. It’s a small island located west of Prince of Wales Island on the Inside Passage.
The resort offers a variety of amenities I’m sure you and your daughter will enjoy. Enclosed you will find the directions for how to make your travel arrangements, again, at no cost to you. I sincerely hope to see you soon. If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kind Regards,
James Whittaker, Esquire
Hannah read the letter twice, certain it had to be a trick. Likely a c
ondo/timeshare sales pitch. Come for free and we’ll spend the entire time selling you our fabulous timeshare plan. There’s a package suitable for everyone’s budget!
Then again, why was the letter sent by a lawyer? And why bother mentioning her father? She knew all about her mother’s disastrous prom night and resulting pregnancy. According to her mother, her father hadn’t wanted anything to do with raising a child, so Mom had turned her back on him, never contacted him again. With help from her parents, her mother had raised Hannah alone.
They’d been happy enough, although Hannah had always sensed her mother’s resentment and her grandparents’ disappointment while growing up. Had to be difficult giving birth at eighteen. Once Hannah was in college on a full ride pre-med scholarship, her mother had married a wealthy man. Once Hannah was on her own, her mother seemed determined to make up for lost time. From the moment they’d married, her mother and Edward had been spending their time traveling the globe.
Should she contact her mother, pressuring for more details about her birth father? Not that there was much point since the man was dead. Disappointing to realize she’d never get to know the guy, not that she’d ever tried to find him.
She glanced at her watch, estimating the time difference between Paris and St. Louis. No doubt her mother and Edward were already heading out for dinner. Maybe she’d try them later.
Or maybe not at all.
She read the letter again. In some respects, the offer couldn’t have come at a better time. Her four-year-old daughter, Bree had recently recovered from her bout with pneumonia, and Hannah had just graduated from her family medicine residency, a month late due to Bree’s stint at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. It was the perfect time for a vacation, since her new job didn’t start for another month.
Wait a minute, was she crazy? Was she actually thinking of flying all the way to some remote island off the southern coast of Alaska? Because of some man claiming to be her father? He might not really be her father. How would she know?
