His Harbor Girl Read online

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because neither of us meant it, and you know it.” The edge in her voice cut through the silence in the cabin.

  “You read minds too?” His voice reeked with sarcasm.

  Bryce stood up. “I’d like to turn in for the night. If you still want to use my room, I’ll take you there.”

  He could have been the weatherman announcing the advent of a cold front, judging from his sudden detachment.

  That suited her just fine. So why did her heart ache? She’d give anything to feel the indifference that Bryce obviously did.

  Leanna nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

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  He scooped her up as easily as a child would pick up a toy, pushed the bedroom door open with his foot, and deposited her on the bed. “There. Now, try and get some sleep.” He moved toward the door.

  The thin aura of the nightlight threw his features into detailed relief, making them appear like those of a statue.

  Obviously, he wasn’t going to give her an inkling of what he was thinking.

  “Do you want an aspirin?”

  “I think I’d better have one.” The throbbing would probably continue all night.

  He went into the kitchen and brought back a couple of aspirin, and handed them to her with a glass of water.

  She swallowed them and handed back the glass. “Thanks.”

  “Goodnight.” He stepped out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him.

  Leanna yanked the light sheet over herself and glanced at the clock. Two o’clock. Her ankle ached. How long would she be detained in this outlandish cabin?

  She turned her head on the pillow and let out a sigh. She had no wish to share the cabin with Bryce. She lay there, mesmerized by the faint glow of the nightlight. The first thing tomorrow, she’d see about getting home.

  * * * *

  Back at her house, Leanna went out into the patio with the day’s mail after lunch, and savored the delight of being home these past few days. She laid the mail on the table and, sitting on one of the chairs, raised her foot to examine her ankle. The swelling had subsided, and so had the pain.

  A breeze shimmied off the lake, lifting her hair, and she squinted her gaze down the hill to the lake. A few boaters sailed idly. She glanced at a stack of mail on the white wicker patio table and plucked a long, white envelope from the pile.

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  She was almost afraid to open it in case they’d refused her the loan. She held the envelope as if it were a rattler she was holding by the tail. Then she got a hold of herself, slit open the envelope and shook out the letter. The letterhead of the Citywide Bank grabbed her attention.

  “Dear Ms. Reed,” it said, “We are pleased to offer you the loan in the amount of…” It stated the amount requested and advised her to call for an appointment.

  Leanna breathed a sigh of relief. She could now go ahead with her plans. She laid the letter on the table and placed a copper paperweight on it. Her dream of adding a snack bar to The Tug would be a reality. She would contract Additions Inc., a small-scale home building company, to do the job.

  Since her father had worked for them she knew they were a strictly no frills outfit that simply did good work.

  Leanna looked up at the hunter green sunshade with white tassels above the patio and drew in a deep breath. The scent of honeysuckle filled the air. It felt good to be out here, recovering from her sprained ankle! Bryce had advised taking a week off to recoup and return when she felt better. That would be tomorrow. In today’s report she’d told him that her ankle felt fine and she couldn’t wait to get out of her enforced idleness.

  She sorted through the rest of the mail, mostly bills. Then she stood up and pressed her foot to the floor. It felt good.

  Relieved, Leanna pushed the patio door open and went into the kitchen to fix roast chicken sandwiches and salad for lunch. The large kitchen clock showed one. When Alice came by to drop off Kai, they could all sit out on the patio and eat lunch.

  She took out thick slices of roast chicken from a medium-sized plastic container, set them aside, and then made a salad.

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  A car pulled up outside. They were here, just in time for lunch. She arranged slices of wheat bread in the toaster.

  Leanna heard Alice’s quick tread and Kai’s short, shuffling one and opened the door.

  “Hi, there.” She bent down to hug Kai. “Have fun at the daycare?”

  Leanna smiled at Alice. “Lunch is ready. Why don’t you stay and eat with us?”

  “Love to.”

  They all piled into the kitchen. “Help me carry the plates out to the patio.” Leanna handed plates and napkins to Alice.

  “Mommy, can I play with Cody?”

  “After lunch, sweetie.”

  Sandwiches made, and the salad tossed, they sat down to eat on the patio. A bullfinch fluttered busily near the bird feeder.

  “My loan’s come through. I can start work on the snack bar.”

  “What about your job with Bryce.” A meaningful glint showed in Alice’s eye.

  Leanna didn’t want to think of what she’d have to tell Bryce when it came time to take over her new snack bar. “I’ll have to stay till I finish it. Once the contractors finish working on The Tug, I’ll have to leave to run the snack bar. I hope my work with Bryce and the remodeling finish at the same time.”

  Leanna watched Kai munch on her sandwich vigorously.

  She knew her daughter wanted to be finished with lunch and play ball with Cody.

  “If you’re through eating, you can go and play. Looks like Cody is anxious to run out.” She patted Cody’s head and he stood up with his tongue hanging out.

  Kai crumpled her napkin and laid it on her plate.

  “C’mon, Cody.”

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  “Now.” Alice leaned forward, a conspiratorial look stealing over her face. “What really happened on your first day at work?”

  “If you want to know if Bryce proposed marriage to me, you can forget it. We had a rip-roaring fight.”

  Alice looked disappointed. “No! And I was hoping…”

  “You’re wasting your time.” Leanna’s mouth set in a determined line. “We don’t have a meeting of minds. Or anything else in common.” Her heart raced as she remembered the kiss they shared. If she reminded herself often enough that they had nothing in common, maybe she could stop her heart from doing cartwheels whenever his name was mentioned

  “Oh, but you do.” Alice put her work-hardened hand on Leanna’s. “Your child.”

  “He doesn’t have to know that.”

  “Aren’t you going to tell him?” Alice’s eyes opened wide in shock.

  “I can’t…yet.”

  “Then when?”

  “I…I don’t know.”

  Alice’s face tightened into an expression of sympathy.

  “Sorry, I’m doing it again. Asking questions, when I know I shouldn’t.”

  Leanna gave her an encouraging smile. “Thanks for caring about Kai and me.”

  “You’re easy to love.”

  “Thank you, Alice. Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl now.”

  Leaving the island after that eventful night hadn’t been easy. Wondering and guessing if the aviation fuel would arrive on time kept her temper short, and as if she didn’t have enough to worry about, the thought of spending another night 134

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  in proximity to Bryce had the ability to charge her senses and make her light headed.

  Leanna took a sip of her lemonade. “I was glad when the fuel plane finally arrived. That was my ticket to get home.”

  “Was Bryce sorry to see you go?” Alice asked in a teasing voice.

  “I don’t think so. I was a liability.” Leanna remembered the grim expression around his mouth as he helped her up the portable s
teps placed by the side of the plane.

  She knew they’d both chosen to ignore the episode of the night before. At least, she could see it in his cool manner.

  The warm sunshine poured over Leanna and Alice as they sat back in the wicker-back chairs and watched Kai and Cody chasing each other.

  Leanna folded her napkin and let it drop onto her plate.

  “I’d better see about the loan today, and then call Additions Inc. about the remodeling.”

  “You’re a busy gal this afternoon.”

  “I want to get it all done so I can head back to the island tomorrow.”

  “Need any help with Kai?”

  “No, just with The Tug. Once the remodeling is complete, I’ll take over. You’ve been a great help, Alice.”

  “Chester’s been spending quite a lot of time at The Tug.

  So I’ve not had to be there too much.”

  “I’m glad Dad’s been helping out with the store.” Maybe Chester would start to notice Alice. No harm in hoping! Still she didn’t expect him to come out of his reclusive state easily.

  Alice got up and shook out her tunic-style blouse. “I’d better be going. Thanks for lunch.” She gave Leanna a hug and went around to the front where her car stood parked.

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  After Alice left, Leanna went indoors and called Additions Inc. to let them know that she wanted a remodeling job done.

  “My father will give you the measurements, since he’s familiar with all that,” she told the chief contractor and owner of the company. “And you can start the job anytime.”

  “Next week suit you?”

  “That’ll be fine.” Feeling relieved, Leanna hung up the receiver. At least now the contractor was on standby to do the job. Now to call Citywide Bank about the loan.

  * * * *

  “I’m taking you on some field work today.” Bryce’s eyes crinkled as he welcomed Leanna with a broad grin.

  She got off the plane with a light step. After several weeks, she was better able to cope with the flight to the island. Today, the lake appeared greener than usual, the sky bluer than her previous plane rides. Even though her fingers gripped the hand rest of her seat, she breathed easily.

  Curiosity about what work Bryce would have her do filled her mind more than the agitation about flying.

  “Don’t you want anything put into the computer today?”

  Leanna looked around at the familiar, floppy duffel bag lying in readiness to be picked up and hauled along.

  “That can wait. I want you to see something of what we do.” Bryce barely looked at her, appearing to be preoccupied with gathering the equipment and shoving folded sheets of paper into his pocket.

  “Are we using the plane?”

  He looked at her and grinned. “No plane this time.

  We’re walking.”

  For a moment, they stared at each other as if Fred and the student assistants did not even exist. Bryce turned abruptly to pick up his duffel bag. “Better get going.”

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  “What about Kip?” Leanna had just seen him going into the shed.

  “He stays here and holds down the fort. Besides, he has his own thing to do. We pay him to keep the plane in tip top condition, which is what he’ll be doing, I expect.”

  As the sun climbed higher in the sky, a haze sifted in through the clump of trees. In the distance, toward the Ridge, it lay like a translucent canopy.

  Fred and the student assistants walked on ahead, carrying a contraption of some sort.

  “What’s that they’re carrying?” Leanna pointed at them.

  “Number four foot locks to catch wolves with. No, don’t look so alarmed. They’re not like bear traps where the bear has no way out, and the only outcome is pain. Once we get one, we earmark them, examine their teeth to determine age, and inject them against parvo virus. After that, we radio-collar them and let them go.”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  “We set a few of these within the home range of the wolves.”

  “Home range?”

  “Where the wolves are likely to be found according to previous studies.”

  Leanna walked alongside of Bryce, taking longer strides than she usually did, trying to keep up with him. A surreptitious glance at him revealed the quickened pace of his breathing, and his eyes gleamed with the hidden excitement that his work obviously gave him.

  “You do like your work. I’ll give you that,” Leanna muttered.

  He let out a loud guffaw. “That’s the closest you’ve come to giving me a compliment, Leanna.” But the surprised 137

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  manner in which he said it implied he didn’t laugh it off as easily as he pretended.

  “I like to give credit where it is due.” Leanna concentrated on the trail, which grew less clearly marked now. They entered deeper into the woods.

  “Set one right here,” Bryce called out to the threesome ahead of them.

  “You got it,” somebody replied.

  “What happens now?” Leanna asked.

  “We wait and then split up to see if we’ve caught any wolves, examine them, inoculate them, and let them go.” He looked at her. “Tired?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Okay, no need to snap my head off. You feminist women!”

  “Feminist! You wouldn’t even begin to understand the meaning of the word.”

  “Whoa. Don’t get so rattled because the word defies definition. Remember, we’re out in the woods tracking wolves. One thing about you, you’re not predictable.

  Onward.” He pointed ahead with his index finger and waved her on.

  Leanna walked on, furious at herself for losing her calm and letting him see her vulnerability.

  “You know what you remind me of?” Bryce held a map with odd markings as they resumed walking.

  “No, what?”

  “A female grouse. In early spring, the male does a dance to impress her. There he stands near the chopped off cherry plants nearby, purple throat sacs distended, wings outstretched, beating the ground in a frenzied dance. Out there in the clearing, the grouse lek, as it’s called.”

  “So how does that remind you of me?”

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  “By just being you. You think you have this power over me, don’t you?” He moved toward her and gave her a caressing look.

  “Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.”

  “How would you know what I’m thinking?”

  “I can tell when you’re trying to find a parallel between us and something totally different. I’m not a female grouse and this is not a mating dance,” Leanna said with fire in her voice.

  He laughed. “We are all in the same scheme of things, whether bird, animal or human. Which means, we’re all doing a ritual mating dance in one form or another. For instance, take you and me, out here in the woods. If you didn’t have your armor of wariness about you to protect yourself, where would you be?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Bryce.” She whirled around and stared at him, her hands on her hips. “My wariness is not an armor I wield against you or anyone else. I have my priorities laid out clearly.”

  Bryce held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Seems to me, you protest too much.” He took a step back and leaned against a tree, his arms crossed. “Just what are your priorities, Leanna?

  Kai, for one, I think. You’re a good mother.”

  She threw him a quick glance, her chest thumping like a noisy fire engine at the mention of Kai. “Thanks.”

  “What’s the matter? Are you surprised I should say that?”

  A look of curiosity skimmed his face.

  “I’m just surprised you’d have anything complimentary to say about me, that’s all.” Leanna willed herself to calm down and wondered if this would be a good time to tell him about Kai. No, he was just paying her a casual compliment. What had come over her? Her va
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  premature revelations. She had to overcome her need to be patted on the head where Kai’s well being was concerned.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  Bryce’s voice jolted her from her thoughts.

  “It’s for you to find out if you really wanted to,” she said, trudging behind him.

  “I’ll find out one of these days. And then I’ll have you all figured out,” he said.

  “Why’s it so important that you should figure me out?”

  She couldn’t resist the slight dig.

  “I ask myself that, and I can’t come up with an answer,”

  he said. There was a dullness in his voice that surprised her.

  “And when I figure you out, then I’ll also know why you ran away.” He stopped and looked back at her, then walked slowly toward her, his features mirroring the convolutions of his thoughts.

  “I’ve told you all you need to know, Bryce.” She looked directly at him even though the sunlight pierced her eyes through the trees.

  Bryce let out a breath and shook his head with heightened impatience. “Some landmarks here signal the dispersion of the wolves,” he muttered. He glanced at his map and then looked around him, his forehead furrowing. Work claimed his attention now. He looked as if he was walking in a trance following the trail that would lead him to wolf dens.

  Fred and the student assistants were several hundred yards ahead of them. In the distance, through the foliage, Leanna saw them stop and unload their bag.

  “Looks like they found a site to place one of the footlocks,” Bryce said, squinting through the afternoon glare.

  “Better keep away so they can do their job. Two set so far.

  One to go.”

  “And then what?”

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  “We go back to the first one to see if we’ve got a wolf.”

  Bryce folded the sheet of paper and jammed it back into his pocket.

  * * * *