The sound of an approaching car was a welcome distraction. Hoping it was Chase, she hurried onto the front porch—to see Pete driving toward the house in his four-wheel-drive vehicle.
“Howdy,” he called, waving as he climbed out of the truck. “Chase sent me to check up on you.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
“He had me pick up a few things on the way.” He reached inside the cab and lifted out two bags of groceries and carried them into the house.
“I could’ve gone myself.” She was disappointed that Chase didn’t trust her enough to find her way around. Just how lost could she get?
“Chase wanted to introduce you around town himself,” Pete explained. He seemed to have read her thoughts. He set the bags on the kitchen counter and Lesley investigated their contents. For a bachelor, Pete had done a good job.
“What do I owe you?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Chase’s friend responded, helping himself to a cup of coffee. “Chase took care of it. He’s got an account at the store and they bill him monthly.”
“How…quaint.”
Pete added two teaspoons of sugar, stirring vigorously. “Chase said you like to cook.”
“I do,” she responded. Since he didn’t show any signs of leaving, she poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the kitchen table.
“There’s plenty of deer meat in the freezer.”
“Deer?”
“You never cooked deer before? What about caribou?”
“Neither one.” Didn’t anyone dine on good old-fashioned beef in Alaska?
“Don’t worry. It cooks up like beef and doesn’t taste all that different. You’ll be fine.”
Lesley appreciated his confidence even if she didn’t share it.
“So,” Pete said, relaxing in his chair, hands encircling the mug, “what do you think of the cabin?”
Lesley wasn’t sure how to answer. It was certainly livable, but nothing like she’d expected. However, as she’d said to herself countless times, she’d adjust. “It’s homey,” she said, trying to be diplomatic about it.
“Chase bought it ’specially for you.”
Lesley lowered her eyes. That couldn’t possibly be true. He hadn’t known her long enough to have chosen this cabin for her.
“He’s only been living here a few months,” Pete went on. “He decided back in March that he wasn’t going through another winter without a wife, so he started getting ready for one. The first thing he did was buy this place and move off the station.”
“Do you live at the station?”
“Nope. I bought myself a cabin, too, year or so ago.
“Chase has lots of plans to remodel, but he wanted to wait until he found the right woman so they could plan the changes together.”
Lesley looked around, the ideas already beginning to form. If they knocked out the wall between the living room and kitchen, they could get rid of the cramped feeling.
“Chase did all right for himself,” Pete said, sounding proud of his friend. “I gotta tell you, I laughed when he told me he was going to Seattle and bringing himself back a wife.”
“Why didn’t he marry someone from around here?” Lesley asked. She already knew the answer but wanted to see what he’d say.
“First off, there aren’t any available women in Twin Creeks. He might’ve met a woman in Fairbanks—used to go out with a couple different ones—but he figured his chances were better in Seattle. And he was right!”
“I’m glad he did go to Seattle.”
“He seems pleased about it. This is the first time I’ve seen Chase smile in a year, ever since his father died. He took it hard, you know.”
Lesley pretended she did. Although she’d told him about her own parents, Chase hadn’t said much about his, just that they were both dead.
“So soon after his mother—that darn near killed him. He’s all alone now, no brothers or sisters, and he needed someone to belong to the way we all do. I don’t know that he’s ever said that, but it’s the reason he was so keen on marryin’.”
“What about you?” Lesley asked. “Why haven’t you married?”
“I did once, about ten years back, but it didn’t work out.” Pain flickered in his eyes. “Pamela didn’t last the winter. I hope for Chase’s sake you’re different. He’s already crazy about you, and if you left him, it’d probably break his heart.”
“I’m not leaving.” It would take a lot more than a harsh winter to change her mind about her commitment to Chase. She’d never taken duty lightly and she’d pledged before her friends and God to stand by Chase as his wife, his lover, his partner.
“Good.” Pete’s twinkling blue eyes were back.
“Chase sent you out to babysit me, didn’t he?”
Pete laughed. “Not exactly. He was a little afraid you were gonna get curious and do some exploring.”
“Not after the conversation we had about the bears.” Lesley shuddered dramatically.
“They aren’t gonna hurt you. You leave ’em alone and they’ll leave you alone. You might want to ask Chase to take you to the dump and that way you’ll get to see ’em firsthand.”
“They hang around the dump?”
“Sure do, sorting through the garbage lookin’ for goodies. We’ve tried plenty of ways to keep ’em away, but nothing seems to work and we finally gave up.”
“I see.” Lesley wasn’t impressed. “Has anyone thought to bury the garbage?” The solution seemed simple to her.