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“My granny. Gramps was my granddaddy. The way she described falling in love was like fireworks in July and stars exploding in the heavens. Their love story was one for the ages. No matter what life threw at them, they stuck it out together. Fifty-four years of marriage, bless their hearts.” Sophie rubbed her mittens together. “So that’s what I want.”
“Makes sense,” Noah muttered. Humph! About as much sense as women coming all the way to a remote fishing village in Alaska to find single men. He didn’t dare say it out loud. No need to alienate Sophie by making any more cracks about Operation Love.
“So, what brought you to Love, Noah? The cook position at the café? Because something tells me it wasn’t Operation Love.” Sophie’s tone was casual, but her expression reflected her curiosity.
“Pretty much. I needed the money,” he said. He felt bad about stretching the truth, but he couldn’t very well tell her the real reason he was in town. No, Sophie. I was actually hired by your ex-fiancé to keep tabs on you. It seems he hasn’t quite let go of the relationship and he paid me an unbelievable sum of money for the gig.
“Times have been a little rough,” Noah admitted. It was the truth, even if he’d omitted a few parts of the story. Being here in Love was a surefire way to save his company from going belly-up. If nothing else, Sussex was paying him well to keep tabs on Sophie. There was no reason to feel this twinge of guilt, he reasoned with himself. He didn’t owe her anything.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sophie murmured, her eyes mirroring her words. “But Love is definitely the right place to turn things around. Are you new to Alaska?”
“I was born and raised here in Alaska, so it’s home for me, although living in such a small town will be something of a new experience.” It would definitely take some getting used to after being based in Seattle for the last five years. He wasn’t sure where the market was or the gas station or where to go to buy a pair of jeans. By the time he figured it all out it would be time to head back home.
“You’ll love it,” Sophie said. “I’m from Georgia originally, but my family relocated to New York City. Alaska has been like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
Sophie was a Georgia peach! He knew he’d detected a sweet Southern twang. Sussex had forgotten to add that detail in the information he’d provided, which seemed a little odd to Noah.
She jutted her chin straight ahead. “Keep on this road for another mile or so.”
Noah let out a low whistle. “This would have been a mighty far way for you to walk.”
“I truly appreciate the ride.” She let out a giggle. “And so do my feet. You came along at just the right time.” Sophie looked around the interior of the car. “Is this yours or a rental?”
“It’s a loaner from Hank Jeffries. I figured having wheels would be important in order to make it to work and back home every day.”
“Hank is a great guy. He’s a firefighter. And he sure loves cars. He has about half a dozen or so.”
“Wow. That sounds like quite a collection. What about you? Do you own a car?” Noah asked.
Sophie let out a sigh. “I don’t drive, Noah, so a car wouldn’t do me much good.”
He turned toward her, noticing the sheepish expression plastered on her face.
“You don’t have a license?” He tried to keep his voice neutral, but could hear the surprise ringing out in his tone. It was a little unusual not to have your license at twenty-seven.
“No,” she said in a small voice. “I never got mine.”
“I thought Georgia was one of those states where teenagers got their licenses early. Sort of a rite of passage.”
“That’s true, but my family moved to New York City when I was a kid. In a big city getting your license isn’t the same as when you’re living elsewhere. Taxis. The subway. Buses. There are so many ways to get to where you need to be.” She shrugged. “At least that’s how it was for me. I would love to learn to drive, though,” she said in a wistful voice. “Someday.”
“You never know. Someday could be right around the corner,” Noah said, surprising himself by his desire to want to soothe her. There had been something in her voice that alerted him to the fact that she wanted to drive way more than she was letting on. He didn’t blame her in the slightest. It represented the freedom to go where you wanted when the urge struck you. Even though driving in Alaska in the winter was tricky, it would open up a whole new world for Sophie. Once she was behind the wheel she’d never long for her nondriving days, he imagined.
For the next few minutes they sat in companionable silence, until a rusted-out, faded sign announced that they had reached the Black Bear Cabins.
“Make the turn here,” Sophie announced.
Noah turned down a tree-lined, snow-covered road. Stunning white-capped mountains loomed in the distance. Noah knew he had never seen anything quite as spectacular. Not even in Homer. Having grown up in Alaska, Noah knew that his home state was full of stunning vistas. The view from here was a little slice of heaven. He almost wanted to put the car in Park and just sit back and enjoy the landscape for a few minutes.
Dozens of reddish-brown cabins came into view. They exuded a rustic, no-frills air. They reminded him a bit of summer camp at Lake Chilkat when he was ten years old. Noah felt a smile tugging at his lips at the memory of all the good times he’d enjoyed there. He had snagged his first kiss from Penny Adams while they had been enjoying a canoe ride on the lake. By the end of the summer she’d fallen for Jory Banneker and broken Noah’s heart.
Sophie navigated the way to her cabin while pointing out where each of her friends lived along the route. Noah didn’t even try to keep all the names and facts straight. It wasn’t important to his investigation, so he wasn’t going to sweat it.
“This is my place right here,” she finally announced. A bright red birdhouse hung from the rafters of her cabin. A matching Adirondack chair, dusted with snow, sat on the porch. It looked festive and cheery, much like Sophie herself.
“Would you like to come in for some hot cocoa?” she asked. “It’s the least I could do after you rescued me from foot blisters.”
Hot cocoa. It had always been his favorite, ever since childhood. He could almost taste it going down his throat with its sweet, rich flavor.
