Alaska Heart (36 page)

I held up my hand to stop her. “Violet, it’s okay. I would have done the same thing.”

Violet nodded, looking a little relieved that I wasn’t mad at her. “Sit.”

As I lowered myself onto the desk chair, I noticed the large bag she had on her lap.

“What’s in there?”

“I heard that creep marked you,” Violet began.

“Yeah, and he didn’t finish the job.”

Violet got up and closed the door of the study. “Let me see it.”

“What? No.”

“C’mon. I’ve put tattoos on people’s asses, Alanna. I’ve seen it all. I was thinking I could fix it for you.”

“Fix it?” I unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down.

“Yeah, you know. Make it into something else. Something pretty.” Violet gave me a shrug and pulled her purple hair out of her face as she knelt to inspect my thigh. She bit down on her lower lip, and I was reminded of Meg for a minute. I’d be needing Meg so much when I got back to New York. I hoped she was prepared to glue me back together when I fell apart.

“Do you think you can do something with it? I can’t stand to look at it like this.”

“How about a moon and a star? Like this.” Violet reached for a piece of paper from Dale’s desk. She fished a pencil from her bag and sketched a lovely design, one I wouldn’t mind wearing.

“It’s just right, Violet. Do it.”

Violet nodded once and grabbed her bag. She pulled out her ink gun—one not unlike Brian’s—and I tensed.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Alanna. I’ll be gentle and I’ll be quick, okay?”

“Okay.” I stretched out my leg, and Violet sidled up beside me. She turned on the bright desk lamp and pulled a marker from her bag.

“A rough draft first.” She sketched the design on my thigh, completely covering the wolf ear. She glanced at me, and I nodded my approval. Grasping the ink gun, Violet set to work.

It pinched a little, but mostly Violet’s touch was featherlight and precise. I was amazed at her steady hand and concentration. When she was done, she angled her head, inspecting her artwork.

“What do you think, love?”

I curled my torso down a bit to study the small moon and star she had so artfully rendered. Dainty. Tasteful. Sure beat the hell out of a half-drawn wolf ear.

“It’s perfect. Thank you, Violet.”

Violet nodded, then squeezed my hand before she put away her tools. “Couldn’t have you going back to New York with a terrible example of tattooing. People would think Alaskans didn’t know what the hell they were doing way up here.”

She got to her feet. I grabbed her wrist, and she stopped.

“Violet.” I studied the tattoo, trying to find the right words. “You’ll…you’ll take care of Dale for me, right?”

A soft, yet sad smile slid across her lips. “Of course. Vince will too. I’m not going to lie to you, though. Your leaving is going to screw him up good. He’s not used to letting people in here, you know.” She tapped her chest where her heart would be. “That spot’s been reserved for the dogs and his family. Vince and I got lucky in wiggling our way in. I don’t think he’ll ever get over losing you though.”

“That makes two of us.” I hoisted up my jeans and draped myself over the crutches.

When we emerged from the study, everyone was out in the backyard. Violet grabbed our coats and helped me outside. The sun was shining, and most of the snow in the yard had melted away. Dale’s pack was barking as Mick, Noah, and Riley ran amongst the dogs. The sound of their laughter mixed magically with the sunshine, and I took another mental picture, savoring the carefree looks on the boys’ faces.

Selia touched my arm as Violet walked over to Vince and Dale.

“Alanna, I’m sorry. I had no right to be like that.”

I shook my head. “You have every right. Jake got hurt because of me. I’m hurting your brother. Your kind, generous, loving brother, who deserves so much more than I could ever give him.”

Now it was her turn to shake her head. “No. He deserves you, and you deserve him. Dale’s never let anyone in like he’s let you in. You’re a match, and I’m still hoping it’s going to work out.” She threw her arms around me and hugged me. Stepping back, she looked at me for a moment before turning toward the dogs.

“Boys,” she hollered.

Within moments, all three boys stood beside Selia.

“Say good-bye to Alanna, kids,” she said, her brows creased.

“Aww, Mommy, do we have to?” Mick said.

“Yes, you have to. We’ve bothered Uncle Dale and Alanna enough for one day, and now Pop is going to watch you while I go see Daddy,” Selia replied.

Three sets of little shoulders slumped, but then Riley stepped forward and hugged my knees carefully. “Bye, Banana Alanna. We’ll miss you.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay with us?” Mick said.

“I’m sure.” I gave them both a squeeze, and then they stepped over to Selia.

Noah stood before me silently, looking so much like Dale. “Maybe I’ll come to New York someday to see you, Alanna. Would that be okay?”

“That would definitely be okay, Noah.” I cupped his chin in my hand. “I’ll take you to see the Statue of Liberty. She’s a pretty lady, you know.”

“You’re a pretty lady too.” Noah surged forward almost knocking me off balance. I held onto him as if he were my anchor. Maybe if I held onto him long enough, time would stop, and I wouldn’t have to go.

Selia tugged on Noah’s jacket. “Go play with the dogs until Pop is ready, sweetie.”

Noah allowed his mother to pull him from me, but not before he sloshed a wet kiss onto my hand.

“Don’t wash that off,” he said as he joined his brothers with the dogs.

“Never,” I called back. To Selia, I said, “Thank Jake again for me.”

Selia nodded, waved, and then disappeared to the front yard as Vince and Violet each gave me a hug.

“Hope you have a good flight back.” Vince studied the tips of his boots as he spoke.

“Hope home is worth all the trouble, love,” Violet said. She hugged me again and then took Vince’s hand.

I stared at their backs as they left the yard.

“Why does it seem like it was a million years ago that you walked into my tavern and wanted chicken wings?” Ram blinked as if he were holding back tears.

“It does, doesn’t it?” I turned to face him. His hands were jammed into his pockets. “But it’s only been two weeks.”

He sighed. “If you get a hankering for more chicken wings, you hop on a plane and get your cute little ass over here, you got that?”

“Thanks, Ram. I will.”

His arms enveloped me. He smelled of chicken wings actually, and I breathed it in deeply to remember later.

Releasing me, he called to the boys and ushered them into the house. They would continue out the front door and be gone. It’d be the last I’d see of them.

Now only the two of us stood in the yard. Dale and me. The dogs had run off to a corner of the enclosure. Gypsy and Zynk had followed Ram inside.

“Funny how none of them actually said the word
good-bye
,” I said.

“There’s nothing
good
about
bye
.”

Dale held the gate open for me, and I wobbled past him. We went back into the house, quiet now with everyone gone. We cleaned up the breakfast mess, and Dale offered to take me back to Moose Point to pack my stuff before my flight.

He wanted to carry me to my room, but I insisted on getting there on my own. Something about keeping my distance from him. The less he touched me, the less I’d crumble.

It was a theory anyway. I didn’t say it was working.

“What time is your flight?” Dale asked as he fingered my black camisole—the one he had so enjoyed our first time together.

“Four o’clock.” I jammed things into my bags, keeping my hands and mind busy. Gypsy curled up in the corner of my room, watching with sad puppy eyes. Even she knew what was going on. What was tearing my heart out, however, was the sad puppy eyes on Dale. The green of them was washed out, as if the flame behind them had been snuffed.

He grabbed the black lace panties that went with the camisole. “Maybe I could keep these?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Sure. I won’t need them in New York.”

“You’ll find someone else, Alanna.”

“Will you?”

“No.”

“Then what makes you think I will?” I sat on the end of the bed next to him. Much too close, but what the hell. “How could I love anyone else the way I love you right now? How could I?”

I brushed my lips against his. He teased with slow pecks at first, then brought his hand up, burying it in my hair, while his lips devoured mine. The familiar heat that blazed deep inside me whenever we touched exploded. Our hands searched for something to possess, something to hold on to, something to make sure we never forgot. I was half in ecstasy and half in agony, but I pushed agony away to enjoy Dale’s kiss, the tenderness and heat of his lips, the soft, yet strong, feel of his hands.

He was the first to break away, and, when my gaze met his, I was flooded with love. A shapeless word. Not easy to define. But there it burned in his eyes. I’d never forget that look or how it turned my insides into an oozing river of hot fudge.

Dale rested his forehead against mine and traced a heart on my cheek with his fingertip.

“Drive you to the airport?”

I nodded, and he rose to collect my bags. Gypsy got to her feet when Dale did and trotted on ahead of us. I stopped at the front desk where Bear stood guard as usual.

“You’re actually leaving?” he said as he accepted my room key and the keys to my rented Explorer.

“Got to.”

He furrowed his thick black brows as if I had said something to him in another language.

“Hmph. I would have lost that bet.”

Fairbanks International Airport sprawled out before us.

“That ride was too short,” I said.

“I even drove well below the speed limit.” Dale’s fingers drummed the steering wheel as we sat in the Tribute. “Maybe I should have broken the rules a little. Then a cop would have pulled us over. I could have taken a swing at him while you pretended to be high. He would have hauled us to the station. It would have taken all day to process us. You would have missed your flight. You’d be mine.”

“A good plan.” I chuckled because his thinking was not far from my own. “But there would have been another flight to New York.”

“Yeah. Annoying, isn’t it?”

“We can still email each other, can’t we?” I held my breath while I waited for his reply. “I don’t think I can go without any contact with you.”

The dimple in Dale’s cheek appeared as he looked at me. “Gaia-girl, your inbox is going to be flooded with Sled-dog messages. You’re going to want to shut down your laptop for good.” He twirled a length of my hair around in his fingers.

“I doubt that.”

He moved his hand so it grazed my chin, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his skin against mine. I intertwined my fingers with his and brought his hand to my lips. I pressed a kiss on the back of his palm, opened my eyes, and then groaned as the clock on the dashboard changed from 2:59 to 3:00. Dale looked at the clock and let out a long, shaky breath.

“Let’s go.” He reached for the door handle.

I rested my hand on his shoulder. “No. I think…I think we should say good bye here.”

He nodded, the corners of his lips drooping. My eyes filled. A tear escaped down my cheek.

“Don’t cry, Alanna. Please.”

I managed a nod and a loud swallow to choke back the sobs ready to launch.

Dale brushed at the tear with his thumb and then leaned in close. “I hope you get everything you want, Alanna.”

Maybe I just want you.
“Thanks. I’ll be looking for your name at the top of the next Iditarod Winner list.”

I looked back at Gypsy, who pushed her nose at me to lick my cheeks.

“Okay, okay.” I wiped at her slobbering. “I’ll look for your name too. And Zynk’s.”

I gave Gypsy a good rubbing. She and Zynk were like people to me. They saved lives. How many dogs could claim that feat besides maybe Lassie and Scooby Doo?

“Love you, Dale.”

“I love you.”

Our final kiss was like a movie kiss that goes on forever. I’d always wondered how the characters managed it without coming up for air. I got it now.

If you have a love like that, you don’t need air.

Dale finally got out of the car and flagged a porter to take my stuff. After insisting I did
not
need a wheelchair, we embraced once more, and I turned to enter the airport. Telling myself not to do it, I glanced over my shoulder. Dale, arms folded, leaned against the car. Gypsy hung her head out the back passenger window, her keen eyes trained on me. She let out a woof as Dale raised his hand to wave. I waved back and let the automated doors to the airport swallow what was left of me.

****

My plane to New York was delayed three times. A sign? Probably, but pig-headed as I am, I ignored it and got on when they announced, “Flight 508 Fairbanks to New York now boarding at Gate 3.”

I tried to sleep, because having someone knock me unconscious was an unlikely option. Unfortunately, I got stuck sitting with two newlyweds on their way home from their honeymoon. The way they clung to each other and giggled made my chest ache. I kept picturing Dale leaning against his car, looking so deliciously handsome. My whole body ached. Ached for him.

Giving up on the sleep that wouldn’t come, I fished around in my bag for my laptop. Popping it open, I drummed my fingers on the keyboard, waiting for it to boot. I opened my article document and gave it a read through. I had to admit it was my best work. Evelynne would be pleased.

But then what? Would I get the promotion? Did I really want it anymore?

Shaking my head, I made a few revisions, added a couple personal anecdotes about my time in Alaska. My fairytale time in Alaska with a prince like none other. Knowing it was foolish to do so, I opened my pictures folder and tortured myself with a slideshow of Denali, Dale, and the dogs. The last picture had my mouth turning up in a dopey grin.

A heart had been carved into a patch of snow. Inside the heart were the words
Sled-dog loves Gaia-girl forever
. How he managed to take that shot without me knowing was a mystery, but then again, so was my relationship with him. I mean, who falls in love over the course of a couple of days anyway? It was craziness.