Dad's E-Mail Order Bride (14 page)

She’d briefly thought of calling Graham. The only time Courtney had seen Graham since leaving the lodge was two weeks ago when he’d arrived at The Wooden Nickel to say goodbye to Peg and Hal. He’d been polite, but he’d basically ignored her.

So, no. She was not calling Graham for help.

It didn’t matter that Rachel had told her Graham’s schedule had been filled with back-to-back fishing parties. He was trying to prove a point by avoiding her, and Courtney knew it. Whether she’d stayed in Port Protection or not, Graham was making it clear that he
still
wasn’t interested.

But summer wasn’t over. And Graham couldn’t avoid her forever.

Courtney gave another bold turn with the wrench she was holding. And another. Still, the bolt didn’t budge.

She finally looked over at Broadway, who’d been sitting beside her the entire time. “You realize we’re running out of wrenches. Right?”

Broadway whined before he suddenly bounded off.

Courtney let out a sigh and turned her attention back to the generator. She pulled another weapon of choice out of Hal’s toolbox. When the wrench still didn’t fit, Courtney banged it against the bolt.

“I hate you, hate you,
hate
you!”

“Are you talking to me, or the generator?”

Courtney popped up from her crouched position.

Graham was staring at her, Broadway right beside him.

Crap.
Why did he have to show up
now?

She didn’t want Graham gloating over her not being able to fix the generator. And she definitely didn’t want him seeing her like this, wearing one of Hal’s old shirts she had taken from the rag bin, a pair of dirty sweats and with a smear of grease across her brow from when she’d dragged her arm across her forehead earlier to push her hair out of her eyes.

“Need some help?” he asked, stating the obvious.

Courtney wanted to tell him not just no, but hell no.

But she wasn’t stupid.

“I think the fuel valve’s clogged.”

She stood behind Graham, peering over his shoulder and watching every move he made. She took note of the wrench he used, and the way he loosened the valve which happened to be the opposite way from how she was trying to loosen the blasted thing. And when he removed the valve and tapped it against the ground to clean it, Courtney made a note of that, too.

After Graham replaced the valve, he walked over to the breaker box and flipped the switch. He seemed pleased when the generator instantly came to life and started purring like a kitten.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” he said. “I stopped by to tell you it’s going to be after lunch before Rachel can come to work today. Our guests left this morning, so she’s got extra chores. She tried to call earlier, but…” His voice trailed off as he purposely looked at the generator, then back at her.

“No problem,” Courtney said, stealing his own line.

“And,”
he added as he took a slip of paper from his shirt pocket, “Peg always makes up my grocery order for me. Since you’re going to be shorthanded, I thought you might want to get an early start before the lunch crowd shows up. I’ll stop by for those things later on my way home from Point Baker.”

Courtney accepted Graham’s list. She didn’t comment on the fact that since his guests had already left, it would have been nice if he’d allowed Rachel to work during the busiest part of the day when customers dropped by for a hot dog or a burger from the short-order grill, then finish her chores at the lodge later. Nor did she point out that, regardless of the arrangement he had with Peg, she
wasn’t
Peg. And even though Courtney had to bite her tongue to keep from saying it, she also didn’t tell Graham that for the rest of the summer he could get his own grocery order together—she wasn’t his damn maid.

She simply wouldn’t give Graham that satisfaction. Instead she said, “I’ll have everything ready.”

“Wonderful.”

“Glad you think so.”

“I wasn’t trying to be smart about it, Courtney.”

“Nor was I, Graham.”

“Is this the way it’s going to be between us?”

Courtney feigned surprise. “I have no idea what you mean.”

He frowned. “I think you know exactly what I mean.”

Courtney crossed her arms. “Well, I’m sorry, but you’re wrong.”

“I’m talking about this whole friction thing that seems to be developing between us,” he explained. “I’d hoped we would be mature enough to skip all that.”

“I couldn’t agree more. And to prove it, I’ll fix dinner for you and Rachel tomorrow night. Seven-thirty okay?”

The look on his face was priceless.

He stalled for a second before he said, “I have a rescue squad meeting this Saturday night. But you’re welcome to come to the lodge and have dinner with us tonight if you want.”

“Sorry,” Courtney said. “I already have plans.”

She could tell he wanted to ask with whom.

“Some other time, then,” he said.

“Definitely.”

He turned and walked away.

“You will be back by six, right?” Courtney called out.

Graham turned back around. “Why six? The store doesn’t close until seven.”

“Tonight I’m closing at six,” Courtney said with authority. “I have plans, remember?”

“If I’m not back, I’ll pick up my order tomorrow,” was all he said.

When Graham disappeared around the side of the building, Courtney smiled. He’d be back at six. She’d bet money on it. And when he did come back for his groceries, she didn’t intend to look like some grease monkey.

And talk about quarrelsome. You could probably open the dictionary and find her smiling face right next to that word. Yeah, she was scrappy, all right. Too scrappy for him.

Graham didn’t like controversy.

He liked to live and let live. No drama. No one person always trying to outwit the other. Just plain old peace and solitude. That’s the life he wanted. And he didn’t give a flip about Courtney’s Friday-night plans.

He was glad she had plans. He hoped she had plans every night of the week. The busier she stayed, the less trouble for him.

But the longer he thought about Courtney’s plans, the tighter Graham’s grip got around the throttle. Before he realized it, the skiff was bouncing along on top of the water like a supercharged Jet Ski.

Graham eased up on the throttle. Any other time he would have been soaking up such a glorious day like a thirsty sponge. Yet today the brilliant sunlight dancing across the water only reminded him of the highlights in Courtney’s hair.

Who was he kidding?

There were few hours in the day that he
didn’t
think about Courtney. Of course, he had himself to thank for that, reading all those damn e-mails.

He should have known better.

He didn’t need to know the intimate details about Courtney that she’d e-mailed in her top ten favorites list. Such as fall being her favorite time of year. Fall had always been his favorite time of year, too. Now he’d think of her every time the damn season rolled around.

She’d also stolen his pleasure over having a white Christmas for the rest of his life. And he’d never be able to look at peanut butter again without thinking about how Courtney loved to eat it straight from the jar.

He wouldn’t let himself think about a hot bubble bath being number one on her list of favorite things. If he let himself think about that, he’d be reminded of Peg and Hal’s old-fashioned bathtub with the big claw feet. And that would only lead to thoughts of Courtney sitting in that tub
naked.

Thoughts like those would drive any man insane.

Insanity,
Graham thought and frowned. He’d been teetering on the edge of insanity from the moment Courtney stepped off the plane. He needed to get himself grounded again. And with that thought in mind, Graham throttled the motor down on low as he approached the fifth cove past The Wooden Nickel.

He’d make a stop before going to Point Baker. See the one person who could get him grounded again.

Graham steered the skiff into the cove and toward the dock in the distance. When he got closer, he could see Yanoo standing outside his workshop a few yards below his house. One of Yanoo’s skiffs was up on sawhorses. His best friend was busy sanding the bottom of the boat.

Brothers in spirit.

That’s what his grandfather had called them when Graham and Yanoo were boys. They’d been joined at the hip, running loose on the island and loving every minute of it.

They were still brothers in spirit, which was the reason Graham was pulling up to Yanoo’s dock now.

Yanoo’s wife waved from her doorway when Graham climbed up on the dock. Graham waved back, and was glad when Hanya walked inside the house instead of approaching to chat. As much as Graham loved Hanya, what he needed right now was man talk.

Straight man talk.

Yanoo saw him coming, put down the sandpaper and took off his work gloves. He went into the workshop, then shortly emerged with a thermos in one hand, two cups in the other. Yanoo handed Graham a cup, unscrewed the top of the thermos and poured coffee for them.

“Fishing’s been good this week, I hear,” Yanoo said.

“Yeah, I had a good week and my guests went home happy. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

“Now you’re the only fish left on the hook.”

And that’s why they were brothers in spirit. Without asking, Yanoo knew why Graham had come.

“I’m
not
on the hook.”

“Yet,” Yanoo said. “I’ve seen the bait.”

“That’s my problem.”

“Maybe she’s your solution.”

Graham frowned. “To what?”

“The emptiness you brought back with you,” Yanoo said.

Not
the straight talk Graham wanted.

“That’s why I need to leave her alone. Courtney didn’t stay to have some summer fling. She wants what I can’t give her.”

Yanoo took a sip from his cup. “Can’t give her? Or won’t give her?”

“Can’t. Won’t. Same thing.”

“I like her.”

Graham laughed. “You don’t even know her.”

“Hanya invited her to dinner last week,” Yanoo said. “It gave me a chance to get to know her.”

“And what did you like so much about her?”

“Her staying means she can see through your bullshit.”

“Whose side are you on?”

“I remember asking you the same thing about fifteen years ago,” Yanoo reminded him.

“That was different. You’d been in love with Hanya since we were kids. You were just too ornery and stubborn to admit it. And you almost lost her in the process.”

“Then I’ll tell you what you told me then. If you make the wrong decision, don’t whine about it later.”

“Have you ever known me to whine about anything, Yanoo?”

“No. You like to suffer in silence.”

Graham tossed the coffee onto the ground and handed Yanoo his cup, signaling this discussion was over. He’d come for support. Not a lecture. And if he preferred to suffer in silence, it was nobody’s damn business but his own.

“I’ll see you later,” Graham called over his shoulder as he headed back toward the dock.

Yanoo comparing his relationship with Hanya to the situation with Courtney was just plain stupid. Graham had known Courtney, what? A little over two weeks now? You didn’t fall in love with someone in two weeks’ time.

He was attracted to her, yes.

In love with her, no.

He wasn’t capable of falling in love.

And that wasn’t bullshit.

“Oh, what do you know,” Courtney grumbled. “You have one blue eye and one brown eye. I’m pretty sure that disqualifies you as any kind of fashion expert.”

Okay, so maybe the short white jacket and the low-cut red camisole were a bit much for Port Protection. But they dressed up her jeans perfectly. And so did the red sling-back pumps she was wearing that also weren’t the norm in her new locale.

Courtney didn’t care.

She liked the look and she was wearing it.

Besides, she’d ordered a ton of other stuff online that was suitable for her summer in Alaska, and she’d paid exorbitant postage fees to have those things express mailed. She now had a pair of sensible hiking boots. She’d purchased khaki pants and long-sleeved shirts to keep the bugs away. She’d gone all out in the rain gear department. She’d even purchased several pairs of flannel pajamas—a first—since even in June the nights were chilly in Port Protection.

Of course, she’d also ordered a few things that weren’t within the sensible realm for her new lifestyle. Like the ton of sexy new underwear she absolutely refused to do without regardless of where she was living. And there were a few sexier-style tops and jackets like the outfit she was wearing now.

Did her new outfit show her every curve?

You betcha!
Courtney thought with a smile.

And when Graham finally showed up for his supplies, she hoped he noticed she had a body made for more than gathering up his grocery order.

Broadway’s ears perked.

Seconds later, the bell on the front door sounded below. When the husky left the bathroom, Courtney glanced in the mirror one last time.

“Hey, big fellow,” she heard Graham say as she walked toward the spiral staircase that led from the loft down to the store.

Chin up. Boobs out. Stomach in.

Courtney started down the stairs. When she reached the lower level, however, Graham’s reaction wasn’t what she’d hoped for. He barely even looked in her direction. Instead, he headed for the five large sacks she had waiting for him on the counter next to the cash register.

“All ready and waiting,” Courtney told him cheerfully.

“Thanks,” he mumbled when she walked up beside him. “You do know the importance of using the incinerator daily, don’t you?”

The incinerator?

Was he kidding?

She was standing here, looking pretty hot if she had to say so herself, and all Graham wanted to know was if she used the incinerator daily. Unbelievable.

“Yes, Graham,” Courtney said. “I know the importance of using the incinerator daily.”

“Good,” he said. “Even one scrap of garbage left overnight can attract the kind of customers you don’t want hanging around here.”

Courtney folded her arms across her chest—the chest Graham
wasn’t
looking at. “Got it,” she said.

He frowned. “If you think I’m joking, I’m not. You aren’t in Manhattan, Courtney. Finding a bear at your back door is no laughing matter.”

“Tell me, Graham,” Courtney said. “What’s it going to be tomorrow? The big bad wolf? A giant comet plummeting through outer space headed straight for The Wooden Nickel? A tidal wave that’s going to pick me up and wash me back to New York?”

“Cute.”

Courtney didn’t care. “I’m here for the summer. And nothing you come up with from bears at my back door to the bubonic plague is going to scare me into leaving.”

Anger flickered in his dark brown eyes. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. I was only stating the facts. And you being cavalier about the incinerator tells me I should have warned you about how important it is to dispose of your garbage every day.”

Courtney sighed and said, “Look, I’m sorry if I sounded cavalier about the incinerator. I’ll use it daily. Okay?”

“Okay,” he said. “That’s the answer I wanted.”

Courtney could tell he wanted to say something else.

But Broadway barked. The bell on the front door came to life again.

And the Barlow twins strolled inside the store.