Stay With Me, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 5) (17 page)

J
essa closed
her studio door behind her and headed downstairs to the gallery. Risa had asked her to drop in to see the display area she’d set up for Jessa’s furniture. Jessa glanced around when she entered the gallery from the back hall. Risa was at the register talking with a customer even though it was past closing time for the gallery. She caught Jessa’s eye and gestured toward the front corner of the gallery, immediately turning back to continue her conversation. Jessa wove through the displays, pausing to admire a collection of soapstone carvings, before reaching the front corner.

She stopped and simply stood there. Risa had created a charming display. She’d assembled a miniature rock garden, likely with rocks straight off the beach behind the gallery, and artfully arranged several of Jessa’s pieces around it. She’d included a small tea table set, brightly painted with fireweed flowers. Jessa clasped her hands together and sighed. Relief and joy rolled through her. She knew this was only one step, and certainly not enough of a step to get her back to financial independence, but it was putting her on the path.

The bell to the entrance jingled as the customer exited the gallery. Footsteps sounded on the hardwood flooring as Risa walked to the door to lock it and then came to Jessa’s side. “What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s lovely. I see why your gallery does so well. You have a knack for bringing out the best in everything you display.” She paused and turned to face Risa. “Thank you. I know you didn’t have to give me a chance like this. It means more than you know.”

Risa smiled warmly, her brown eyes twinkling. “Maybe it doesn’t seem that way to you, but this is a mutually beneficial arrangement. I don’t know if you noticed…” She paused and pointed to a small tag on the chair leg. “But, I already sold this set. Fortunately, they didn’t want to pick it up for three days, so I figure you can let me know what you’d like to display next.”

Tears welled in Jessa’s eyes, and she felt silly. It was such a small thing, the sale of one set, but it was huge for her. After the fire, she hadn’t been certain she could pull everything together again. Risa tugged her in for a quick hug. “See! I told you I could sell your pieces. Don’t you dare try to pretend it’s because I’m a good salesperson either. I’ll take the compliment on my displays, but I have to have something good to work with. So…we need a plan for inventory. After I sold this, I had three other requests to buy it today. Please tell me you have some other sets ready. They don’t have to be the same, but anything with an Alaskan theme will probably sell more quickly.”

Jessa turned away, looking back over her shoulder. “Come see what I have so far, and we’ll decide what might be best.”

A while later, Jessa drove up the winding road to Last Frontier Lodge, which was strangely starting to feel like home. She was buzzing with energy after her impromptu planning meeting with Risa. They’d established a plan for inventory Risa had permission to put on the floor when needed, and Jessa had a short list of projects to start. Risa knew what would sell and wasn’t hesitant to let Jessa know. As far as Jessa was concerned, it was an ideal partnership. While she loved to be creative and go off on tangents with her designs, she was also practical.

When she pulled into the parking lot at the lodge, light was spilling out of the front entrance. Harry often propped the double doors open in early evening. The parking lot was close to full, so Jessa took a spot in the back corner before making her way inside. She paused by the reception desk. “Hey Harry, I’ll be down in about a half hour. I need to get the paint out of my hair,” she said, lifting a lock with dried paint streaked on it.

Harry grinned. “See you in a few then.”

After she showered, she was getting dressed when her phone beeped, indicating a text had arrived. She tugged a stretchy blue min-skirt over a pair of black leggings and strode over to the table where she’d left her phone. Picking it up, she saw Eli’s name blinking on the screen. With a swipe, his full message showed.

Hey Jessa, wanted you to know I’m taking Ryan to Juneau in a few days. Between now and then, we just booked a two-day charter trip with an overnight in Halibut Cove. Guess this means I won’t be seeing you for a few days unless you can see me tonight.

She froze, her heart clamoring for her to call down to Harry and ask if she could have the night off. She didn’t want to go that many days without seeing Eli, and just what the hell did that mean for her? Eli was coming to mean so much, it was starting to bother her that they never spoke about anything between them. She glanced at the time on her phone and called downstairs quickly. Harry picked up.

“Didn’t I just see you?” he asked in greeting.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“Um, you know we have caller ID here, right? Gage must’ve listed you, along with the rest of the family, because whenever any of you call, your name shows up. Anyway, what’s up?”

“What are the chances I could leave a little early tonight?” she asked, biting her lip, hoping he would say yes. She didn’t feel right calling out completely, but she thought if she worked the first two hours, the busiest time of the night, that would be a good compromise.

“What are the chances you’ll tell me why you’re asking?” Harry countered.

Jessa could practically feel his sly grin through the phone. She flushed even though she was all by herself in her room with no one to see. “I’m asking because Eli has to go out on an overnight charter trip and then he’s taking Ryan to Juneau for a few days, so if I want to see him before he goes, tonight’s the night.”

“That’s an automatic yes,” Harry said with a chuckle.

“Really?” Jessa couldn’t hide the glee in her voice.

“Of course! I’m all about romance, and Eli has seriously got a thing for you.”

“Yay! Okay, how about I cover until eight?”

“Sounds good.” He paused and she heard him say something to someone in the background. His voice came back on the phone. “Gotta go. See you in a few.”

The line clicked dead in her ear, and Jessa immediately sent Eli a text.
Tonight. 8pm. Meet me at the lodge. 

Eli’s reply was swift, her phone beeping again as she adjusted the small bow at the center of her blouse. Fiddling with the bow with one hand, she spun the phone on the table.
See you then.

He wasn’t much for conversation via text and kept to the basics, but right now, the basics were just fine. She’d have one more night with him before he was gone for more days than she wanted to consider.

* * *

E
li lay
in the dark with a shaft of moonlight falling across the bed. Jessa was curled against him, the feel of her curves and soft skin so damn good he didn’t know what to do about it. He was becoming more and more muddled inside about her. He couldn’t seem to stay away, yet he was unsettled by that fact and by how good he felt with her. This wasn’t supposed to happen for him. Steering clear of relationships had been a simple matter up until now. Even worse, Jessa was so
good
in so many ways that he was terrified of letting this go further because he couldn’t tolerate considering how he might hurt Jessa if he ever became anything like this father.

He figured a few days away from her would be a good thing. Maybe he just needed time to get his footing back under him. He turned to look at her, her skin limned by the silvery light of the moon. His heart clenched and that unfamiliar feeling she elicited—longing mingled with hope—rose inside.

A few days later, Eli slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked alongside Ryan toward the car rental place at the airport in Juneau. Ryan was keyed up and had been ever since they’d boarded the plane to Juneau in Anchorage. Eli himself was wired given this was the first time he’d returned to Juneau since he moved away a decade ago. Situated in Southeast Alaska, Juneau was simply breathtaking. While it shared similarities to Southcentral Alaska, this sliver of Alaska was its own world with rainforests surrounding it and mountains flanking it on all sides. None of this part of Alaska was accessible by road, so one could only travel here by boat or plane. Juneau was the largest city in the area, really the only place that could be called a city. If it hadn’t been established as the state’s capital, it likely would have stayed much smaller due to its geographic isolation. Yet, with legislators flying in each year and its location along the fabled Inside Passage, Juneau was a bustling port city, host to commercial and sport fishing and cruise ships.

Once they were driving away from the airport, Eli took stock. Not much had changed, the mountains rose steeply to one side of the town with the ocean on the other. Driving through downtown with its colorful storefronts and streets busy with tourists, Eli felt detached. He’d spent more time, mathematically speaking, here than anywhere else—a full twenty-two years. Yet, the ten he’d spent in Diamond Creek held so many more positive memories that the place felt like home. While Juneau felt familiar, it didn’t feel like home. Probably because he’d never been comfortable here, always on edge, always waiting for the next blow up.

That evening, Eli waited in the living room of his mother’s apartment. He supposed he should consider it his parents’ apartment, although he never had, even though for most of his childhood his father lived there. At the moment, Ryan was packing up his belongings. Eli had made sure Ryan had two extra duffel bags and assured him they could box up and mail anything he couldn’t fit in the bags. Eli glanced around the living room. Not much had changed since he moved away. The apartment was in a small building with every apartment comprised of the same layout with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. The living room and kitchen were essentially one room with the doors for the other rooms directly off the living room. A couch and a recliner sat against one wall. An old television sat on a small wooden table on the opposite wall. A cluster of daisies sat on the round kitchen table, the only bright spot in the apartment.

His mother, Beverly, came through the front door. She’d gone outside to check the mail in the parking lot. She held a few envelopes in hand and carefully set them on the kitchen table. Her brown hair was held back in a braid that hung hallway down her back. Her green eyes were tired and sad. Eli knew she didn’t want this—Ryan packing up to leave—but he’d steeled himself to tolerate her sadness.

She clasped her hands behind her back and looked over at Eli where he sat on the armrest of the couch. “So how is Ryan adjusting?” she asked softly.

“You might want to ask him, but he’s doing great as far as I’m concerned. He works at my store and helps out on charter trips. He’s a hard worker.” He paused and glanced to the bedroom door where he could see Ryan removing clothes from a dresser. “He’s a good kid, Mom. You get the credit for that. I’m sorry it’s worked out this way, but I’m not leaving him here as long as Dad’s around.”

Beverly nodded, her gaze somber. She gave a small shrug. “I won’t pretend I like it, but I suppose I understand.” She paused and looked away, her eyes traveling out the kitchen windows to the parking lot. Eli guessed she was checking to see if his father’s car was there. His father had lost his license many times due to drinking while driving tickets, but he’d never let that stop him. Eli had no idea if he had his license back right now. Beverly turned back, a hint of anger in her eyes. “Maybe I understand, but you turned out okay and your father was here all the way up until you moved away. I mean, I’m so proud of you. You have your own business, and you’re doing great. I don’t understand why…”

Eli interrupted her because he simply couldn’t take the excuses. “Mom, I’m damn lucky to be in the position I am, but just because I’m running a business doesn’t mean everything’s okay. It’s not likely I’ll ever be in a relationship because I don’t ever want anything like what you and Dad have. I’d give anything to have a family I could turn to. I refuse to force Ryan to deal with the same thing. You know how bad it got when I was old enough to talk back. Why the hell did you let Dad move back in?”

His mother’s eyes widened and her breath came in sharply. She was quiet for several beats. “He got evicted from the place you found for him and didn’t have anywhere to go. Maybe I can see he’s not a good influence, but I couldn’t stand by and leave him without a place to stay.”

As if she had a sixth sense, her eyes traveled to the kitchen window again where Eli saw his father stepping out of his battered hatchback car. Eli’s gut clenched. He’d hoped to avoid this encounter, but he wasn’t so lucky. He stood and strode to Ryan’s bedroom door. The room was almost empty. Ryan was currently checking the dresser drawers.

“Hey,” Eli said softly.

Ryan swung to face him. “What?”

“Just a heads up, Dad’s here.”

Ryan didn’t say a word. He left an empty dresser drawer open and turned to gather up the duffel bags. Eli stepped into the room. “You got everything? We can take however long you’ll need. I’ll deal with Dad.”

Ryan shrugged. “Got everything. I was just checking to make sure.”