“Not in those exact words,” Valerie replied, “but I know she trusts you and thinks you’re a good person.”
He looked down at his milk. “She’s about the only one in Valdez who thinks that. She and her mom, who was the best person I ever met. I was sad when they moved back to the Lower Forty-Eight.”
Valerie remembered the story Angie had told her about Jeremy getting caught for stealing a candy stick. Angie’s mother had said it was a gift.
They sipped their hot milk and watched the fire burn, listened to it snap and hiss in the grate.
“Do you intend to marry the father?” Jeremy asked. “Or is that a rude question?”
“It’s not rude,” Valerie replied, rocking back and forth in the chair. “And the answer is no, I don’t think so. He won’t talk to me.”
Jeremy chewed on his lower lip. “Well, if he doesn’t want to do right by you, you’re probably better off without him.”
Valerie smiled warmly. “That’s what Blaine says. And Angie. I’ve been trying to convince myself of it for months.”
“But you still love him?”
She nodded. “I probably always will, in a way. He was my first love.”
Jeremy sat back and rested his arm along the back of the sofa. “We’re in the same boat, I guess.”
A log shifted in the grate and sent a flurry of sparks up the chimney.
“Because you love Angie?” Valerie asked bluntly.
“Always will,” he replied. “Even though she’s married to Joe, I’ll never leave her.Especiallybecause she’s married to Joe.” He sat forward. “I hope it doesn’t come to blows between him and me one of these days, but it might if he keeps on breaking her heart.”
“Come to blows?”
Jeremy shrugged and finished the last of his milk. “If I ever saw him cheating on her, I don’t know what I’d do. But it would be something.”
Valerie studied his expression. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Maybe after the baby comes, he’ll stay home more.”
“I doubt that.” Jeremy set his cup aside and changed the subject. “So what are you gonna do after your baby comes? Will you stay here or go home?”
Valerie tipped her head back and continued rocking. “My father expects me to put the baby up for adoption and start over. But if Drew—that’s the father’s name—wanted to be with me, I never would have agreed to come here. I would have wanted to keep the baby. But ...” She paused and let out a breath of frustration. “I wrote letters to him, but he’s never replied. And after I came here, I started to change my mind about adoption, even if I don’t have Drew. I’ve come to realize that I can take care of myself, and I want to keep my baby and raise him myself.”
Jeremy wagged his finger at her. “If you can get through a Valdez winter, you can get through anything.”
Valerie chuckled and looked at the window, where snow was piling up on the sill outside. “Being here has been good for me. There’s so much beauty, even when we’re buried in snow or there’s only four hours of daylight. I’ve been happy here, and I’ve been able to focus on my music and getting ready for the baby. And Blaine and Maud have been incredibly supportive. Everything feels so right and comfortable here. I feel safe.”
“Does that mean you’re going to stay?” Jeremy asked.
Valerie experienced a feeling of weightlessness, as if the burden of the past was falling away. “I think so, yes. Maud and Blaine have agreed to keep me on at the lodge if that’s what I want.”
“It sounds like you have it all figured out,” Jeremy said.
Valerie rubbed her belly and wondered what the future might hold. “It appears that way.”
“Angie would be happy if you stayed,” he added. “Your babies could be best friends.”
Valerie smiled. “Wouldn’t that be nice.”
Jeremy moved to attend to the fire. He knelt, picked up the poker, and prodded a burning log to allow more oxygen to flow. The flames grew bright and lively and danced in the hearth.
“I suppose I should say good night now,” Valerie said with a yawn.
Jeremy rose to his feet. “Thank you for the milk.”
