As it so often did during times of joy or sadness, music flooded into Valerie’s heart. She began to sing softly as she ran her fingers over her belly. She sang a ballad she had written in October after seeing the northern lights for the first time. The whole world seemed full of magic that evening, but it wasn’t the whole world. It was just Alaska.
A loud crack outside caused her to look up. She rose heavily from her chair and moved to the window, where she saw Jeremy out back under the shed overhang. He placed a thick log upright on the ground, gripped the long axe handle, swung it in a wide arc, and split the log in two. Valerie leaned forward to keep him in her sights as he bent to pick up one of the split pieces and swung the axe again.
Eventually, Valerie resumed her washing, but her attention remained fixed on Jeremy. She thought about how Angie had never been able to see him as anything other than a little lost boy who had been her friend since childhood—a boy who had been bullied and pushed around because he was smaller than the others.
He didn’t look small to Valerie that morning. He looked strong and capable. He was a fighter—a scrappy one—with enough agility and street smarts to escape the daily wrath of Joe Brown. Surely that counted for something.
Another blizzard began that afternoon. It blew down from the mountaintops and gusted through the fjord. Blaine insisted that Jeremy stay another night and sleep on the sofa, but he had to be cajoled. He was reluctant to be a bother. In the end, it was the delicious aroma of fresh rabbit stew that convinced him to accept the invitation.
After dinner, Maud suggested a game of cards. They played crazy eights, and Jeremy won all three hands. Valerie wondered whether he was lucky or a skilled cheater. Either way, he was delighted with his success, like a child with a new bicycle on Christmas morning.
Later, when the hour grew late, Maud served cookies and milk by the fire. Then she and Blaine announced they were heading to bed.
“Can I keep the fire going awhile?” Jeremy asked as Blaine stood up.
“You split enough wood today to keep it going until Easter,” he replied. “I think you’ve earned it.”
Valerie stood up as well and followed Maud to the kitchen. “I’m going to take a glass of hot milk upstairs, if that’s okay?”
“Of course, dear. Help yourself to anything, and make a cup for Jeremy too.”
Maud said good night and left Valerie standing at the stove, waiting for the burner to heat up.
When the milk was warm, she poured it into two mugs and carried them to the living room, where Jeremy was adding another log to the fire.
“That’s kind of you.” He picked up his cup, blew lightly on it, and took a careful sip. “It’s delicious. Hits the spot.”
“I’m glad,” Valerie replied. “Now I’m heading off to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She turned to go, but Jeremy stood up. “Wait a second, Valerie. Angie said you play the guitar. Would you play me a song or two?”
Her lips parted with uncertainty. “It’s kind of late. And I haven’t been playing much the past few weeks.” She laid her hand on her belly,hoping he’d understand what she was trying to say. “It’s not easy to hold the guitar. My back’s been bothering me.”
He glanced down at her belly. “Is this why you came to Alaska?”
“Yes,” she answered honestly. “My father sent me here.”
Jeremy nodded. “I know what it’s like to be kicked out. You might be looking at the world-record holder, right here before your eyes.”
Valerie laughed, then covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry. That’s not funny.”
He shrugged it off. “It’s just the way things are.” Jeremy sat back down on the sofa. “I was thinking about getting a dog for company, and I’m working on a cabin in the woods. I don’t have any money for lumber, but I’m good at scrounging up stuff.”
Good at stealing too,she thought but kept her lips zipped about that.
“Does Angie know about your baby?” he asked.
Valerie’s ankles were swollen again, so she moved to the rocking chair with her cup of milk and carefully lowered herself onto it. “Yes, but she’s the only one except for Frank and Carol Brown. I told her when we first started working together because I had to tell someone. I needed a friend.”
“She’s a good friend,” he replied. “I’d trust her with my life.”
“Would you?” Valerie replied. “Even though she’s married to the lawman who wants to lock you up?”
Jeremy waved that off. “What Angie and I have is special. We tell each other everything, and we keep each other’s secrets. I’d never betray her, not in a million years, and she knows that.”
Valerie regarded him curiously in the firelight. “She thinks the world of you.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Did she tell you that?”
