Chapter 4
Denise
“Why did you tell him about the hunting ground behind my house Molly? You know that I don’t like guys back here shooting up by the house and spooking them all over the place.”
I didn’t like the very idea of it and had gotten into a shouting match with a couple of guys because they wanted to do that very thing. I had refused and I was reminded that I was just an outsider. I’d been here five years and I hadn’t let anyone on the land since.
“Well you didn’t say much when I was talking about it, so I figured that you didn’t care about Ethan going.”
I closed my mouth to stop the obscenities that were about to come out of it. She knew that I was going to be mad, but it was hard to be mad at her when she was smiling in such a way. It was all part of her master plan and I knew that it was all going to be okay, even if at the moment I fantasized about ringing her neck.
“You like him and he likes you. You’re the one that was talking about having to find a man. Well, here’s one, so practice on him.”
“Ethan is better than just practice. He’s the type of guy that I’m looking for.”
She smiled with this look that told me that she knew she was right all along. I had felt an immediate draw to him, but I was still trying to be mad at her for embarrassing me like she did. Molly had never done that before and I didn’t want it to be repeated.
“There you go. Take the evening off and invite him over. You can romp around for the night and then let him go hunting in the morning. Then you can tell me all about it.”
I groaned loudly to let her know that her idea was pure make believe. I didn’t even know the guy. I wasn’t going to do any of that. I was shy when it came to a guy that I really liked and I wasn’t ready to be around him again. I needed more time.
“Maybe soon.”
Molly looked disappointed and I didn’t know what to tell her.
“Don’t wait too long. Someone else around here will snatch him up if you do. He is a good looking man. I’m with someone I love and I can still see that.”
She had a point, even if I didn’t like it. I didn’t know about tonight, but I was going to try to make it soon for Ethan’s invite. Hopefully I wouldn’t be too late when I finally got the nerve up to invite him.
***
I made it about a week and I saw Ethan every day. He was fast getting to be known around town and it was only a couple of days in that he was sitting with some of the locals. He was taken in quickly and I liked that he was so well adapted to here. Everyone liked him and since he was now the boss to many of them that had picked up some temporary work in construction, there was no one in the restaurant that had a problem with him. Since the town of Nome was notoriously unwelcoming to most newcomers, I was happy to see that the transition had gone so well. Maybe I wanted him to stay around a while if he liked the place and this was just another clue that maybe we were supposed to meet and be together. Or I was just looking into it too much. All of which were a possibility.
Ethan wasn’t the only one that was new to Nome. Every day there were more and more new faces. Most of them were men. A few brought girlfriends, but mainly it was tough and rugged men from all around the state and beyond. Many of them were quite easy on the eyes, but it was Ethan that I was drawn to, no one else in that same way.
Ethan had a smile that made me melt inside and our eyes would meet from across the room several times a day. We were having a conversation without words and he finally came up to me and asked if I was busy this weekend.
“I would like to get some hunting in and I hear that your place is the best place because you won’t let anyone hunt on it.”
He knew that he was special and I didn’t like the smug look on his face. I wish he wouldn’t have asked around and found that out. I didn’t like him thinking he had some sort of upper hand over me.
“Yes, I will be. It has been a while since I’ve hunted back there. I think I will join you.”
Somewhere along the line, it had become a competition. It hadn’t taken long to talk him into and Ethan seemed to be prone to gambling. I wasn’t one to shirk a challenge, so I agreed and we shook hands. I wasn’t sure what the winner got, but I was sure that I was going to win.
It also occurred to me suddenly that he was coming by tomorrow and we were going to be alone. Molly had set it up and now it was coming to fruition. I could barely speak around him and now I was going to be out in the woods, alone with him. I could only see it ending one way and that way made me a little nervous because it had been a long time. A really long time.
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