Water's Edge (Alaskan Frontier Romance Book 1) Read online

“Aren’t you cold?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nora winced inwardly at her blunt question. She hadn’t bothered to say hello or how are you.

  Jake chuckled and glanced up at the sky. The sun was shining. “No. Not at all.” When he turned back toward Nora, he realized he’d obviously woken her.

  “Is this a bad time?” Jake asked, only mildly concerned he had come too early. In spite of the bad impression Nora gave him the day before, Jake wasn’t the kind of man to leave a woman stranded. Nora might had come across as spoiled and selfish, but she did need his help.

  Seeing her now, he wasn’t at all sorry he’d caught her in such a state. Her hair was untidy. It draped softly down her back and seductively over her shoulders reaching down to her breasts. He wouldn’t mind running his own hands through her hair, twisting it around at the nape of her neck, and pulling her in close. Maybe he could kiss the spoiled brat out of her.

  A lock of hair slipped out from behind her ear and Jake had to suppress the urge to reach out and tuck it back into place. If this was how Nora looked every morning, it would be a pure pleasure to wake up next to this woman, in spite of the fact she was a general pain in the ass to be around.

  Nora shook her head. “No, of course not,” she said reassuringly. “I just wasn’t expecting any visitors.” The previous day had been a little awkward, traveling to her new home with a complete stranger. Even though it was only a day later and Nora still didn’t really know Jake, she was eager to see a familiar face. Any face would do, in fact, after the sleepless night she’d had in that spooky cabin. “I’m glad you came. I honestly wasn’t expecting to see another person until the next time I go into town. And since I don’t have a boat, I figured that would be a very long time.”

  “Well, that’s kind of why I’m here,” Jake said. He stepped aside and pointed toward the water. “I brought you a skiff.”

  Looking past him, Nora saw he had towed a small boat behind his own. Both were pulled up onto the shore.

  The sight of the boat brought a smile to Nora’s face. A little aluminum skiff had never looked so good. It was a beacon of hope, a lifeline to civilization. She lit up at the mere thought of being able to make runs into town to get the rest of her things from her car.

  Then she realized she really shouldn’t accept it. Things had begun the same way with Conner. A handsome man. Gifts. Before long, she’d lost herself. She wasn’t going to let that happen again.

  “Jake…,” she began. She was thankful for the kind gesture and didn’t want to offend him by turning down his offer of a boat, but for the first time in a long time she had an opportunity to forge a life of her own, without anyone’s help, most especially without the help of a man. “It was very nice of you to bring it out here, but I think I’d rather repair the one I have,” she said.

  “It’s not that big of a deal,” he responded casually. “It’s just on loan.

  Jake could tell she was still hesitant to accept the boat, but he wasn’t about to take no for an answer. He hadn’t felt right about leaving Nora alone at the cabin the day before. Pete had been a friend and Jake knew how much Nora had meant to him, even if Nora didn’t realize it. Jake owed it to Pete to make sure Nora was taken care of. She was too delicate for this kind of life, too ill-prepared. The boat wasn’t much, but it was a necessity for anyone living so far from town and it was the least Jake could do.

  “Look. I brought you out here with next to nothing. I couldn’t leave you alone in the wilderness with no way to survive. It wouldn’t be right. If anything happened to you, it would be my fault for leaving you here unprepared and unequipped,” he tried to explain. “At the very least, you need a way to get back into town,” he added.

  Nora had to admit she needed the boat. The only way to repair the boat she had was to run into town and buy supplies, and she couldn’t get to town without a boat. She just wasn’t sure how much help she should accept from Jake… or if he would expect anything in return.

  When Nora didn’t object further, Jake took her silence as acceptance. “Come on,” he said, turning and walking toward the boats. Nora slipped on her shoes and followed him out the door. The boat was almost exactly the same as the one Pete had left behind, a simple aluminum boat with three wooden seats, except it didn’t have a huge gaping hole in it like Pete’s did. As they got closer, Nora saw the skiff was loaded up with cage-like wire contraptions, along with a box of supplies and a casserole dish. She looked over at Jake questioningly.

  “Okay, so I also brought a couple other things I thought might come in handy,” he said, explaining the supplies. “Lily sent a few things she thought you’d need. There’s a chicken casserole. And I also brought a couple crab traps.”

  “Crab traps?” Nora said incredulously, wrinkling her nose at the thought of trying to catch crab. “I assume I’d need to go out on the water to catch crab, and you already know I don’t know how to drive a boat.”

  Jake grinned, a gleam in his eye. There was a dimple in his left cheek when he smiled. She hadn’t noticed that before, either. “In case you don’t remember, I told you yesterday I would show you how to use the boat. I tend to keep my promises.” Jake saw the uncertainty on her face. “Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “A little skiff like this is pretty easy to handle.”

  “Okay,” Nora said, giving in to the boating lesson. “But catching crab? I’m not sure I’m up to that. Don’t they have pincers?”

  Jake laughed at her, glad to see some of her arrogance from the day before had disappeared. She seemed more relaxed now, certainly less irritating. “Just stay away from the pincers. And if one happens to catch a hold of you, think about how good that little bugger is going to taste with melted butter. I think it’s worth the risk.”

  The thought of fresh crab for dinner brought a smile to Nora’s face, even if the idea of catching them herself made her a little uneasy.

  “Alright,” Nora said, agreeing to go crabbing. “When do you want to go, then?”

  “Just let me unload this stuff and then we can get started,” he said, picking up the box and the casserole dish from inside the skiff and carrying it to the cabin. Nora rushed to get ahead of him so she could hold open the door, since his hands were full.

  Inside, the cabin looked exactly as it had when they’d arrived the day before. Jake looked at her curiously.

  “You haven’t unpacked anything?”

  Nora didn’t know what to say. “I was just so tired,” she said lamely.

  “That’s understandable. It’s a long trip getting out here,” he said, sitting the box and the casserole on the table. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get this place aired out?”

  “No, don’t,” Nora said. “Really, I’d rather you didn’t...”

  “Sit,” Jake commanded, placing his hands on her shoulders and moving her in the direction of the couch. “I insist.”

  The tone of control in his voice reminded her of Conner and, out of habit, Nora did as she was told. She sat there while Jake opened the window, letting a cool breeze waft through the room. Almost instantly, the stuffy smell of the wood stove dissipated and was replaced by the scent of salt water. Looking around at what else needed to be done, Jake picked up Nora’s suitcases and hauled them up the ladder and into the loft. He sat them next to the dresser alongside the bed. Then he quickly removed all the bedding from the bed and tossed it down on the floor below and dusted out the cobwebs in the loft. Coming down from the loft, Jake scooped up the old bedding, took it outside, and hung it on a clothesline to air out.

  “That’s better,” he said when he entered the cabin a few minutes later. “Oh. One more thing.” He reached behind Nora and grabbed the old throw blanket from the back of the couch. He trotted outside and tossed the blanket over the clothesline, as well, and then came back in. “Now there’s no more Pete stench in here,” he said, satisfied.

  “I could have done that myself.”

  “A simple thank you would suffice.”

  �
�Thanks,” she said grudgingly. Nora had to admit the cabin looked and felt a lot better. It still needed a good cleaning and Nora still needed to sift through her late uncle’s possessions to see what she could use and what she should give away. But at least some of the “Pete stench” was gone, as Jake had said.

  “You’re welcome,” Jake said, pleased. “You ready for that boating lesson?”

  Nora nodded her head and stood up. She wasn’t feeling particularly confident about it, but she forced a smile anyway. “Now’s as good a time as any. Just give me a few minutes to change my clothes. I’ll meet you out there.”

  After Jake walked out of the cabin, Nora climbed up into the loft and opened one of the suitcases. Most of the clothes were completely impractical, but she managed to find a pair of skinny designer jeans, a plain white blouse, and a pair of barely worn sneakers. She also found a hair brush and quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Feeling at least a little better about her appearance, Nora climbed back down from the loft and trotted down to the shore.

  It took three pulls before Nora managed to start the outboard motor. The final pull, she tugged so hard she almost lost her balance. For a split second, Nora thought for sure she was going overboard. Even if the water was only a couple feet deep, she didn’t like the thought of falling into the icy water. Thankfully, Jake reacted quickly. He caught her by the arm and helped her into the seat. Then he sat back down in the middle seat, directly in front of Nora.

  “Okay,” Jake instructed, “Now gradually turn the lever, just a little bit at first.”

  Nora turned the throttle too quickly and the boat lurched forward. Shocked at how fast the boat had moved, she released the throttle and the boat slowed instantly.

  “That’s alright,” Jake reassured her. “You’ll get used to it. Now try again.”

  This time, she did a little better. The boat took off slowly with Nora steering it away from the shore. Gradually, she opened up the throttle a little more and the boat began to pick up some speed. Nora was careful not to open the throttle all the way, though, unsure if she would be able to handle the boat at its top speed.

  Jake expertly guided her through turns and directed her where to go. He pointed out areas of the inlet Nora should avoid, especially the few spots where rocks jutted up almost to the surface and could catch unknowing boaters unawares.

  Nora still didn’t feel very confident, but she was starting to get the hang of it by the time they reached a small cove on the opposite side of the inlet. Just as Jake instructed her, Nora let up on the throttle and the boat slowed.

  The rise and fall of the boat on the waves was calming and, now that Nora wasn’t so focused on her disappointment in the cabin, she began to really appreciate the beauty of her surroundings. It was like she was seeing it for the first time. Lily wasn’t kidding... it really is beautiful out here, Nora thought as the sun’s rays lit up the mountainside, bringing out the colors of the trees and the rocks and the snowcapped peaks. Everything looked so much more beautiful and inviting than it had the day before when it had been shrouded in cloud cover. Maybe it was the sunshine or maybe it was the scenery, but Nora was beginning to feel more optimistic than she had when she’d first arrived.

  “Can we just sit here for a while?” Nora asked.

  “Sure,” Jake said, “Just let the motor idle.” Even as he said the words, he could tell Nora wasn’t paying attention to him. She was focused on the sound of the water lapping against the slate shoreline, the beauty of the towering mountains and the sight of a pair of bald eagles circling overhead.

  “Look,” he said, pointing toward a disturbance in the water about 50 feet away. “Sea lions.”

  Nora’s eyes turned in the direction Jake pointed, toward the edge of the cove. Sure enough, there were five little bodies floating on the surface. One dipped under the water and two more surfaced. Then Nora noticed, if she looked really hard, she could see others swimming below the surface.

  Living out here might not be so bad, Nora thought, relaxing a bit. At least she would have sea lions, and who knows what else, to keep her company. It was breathtaking, watching them float on the surface, lounging on a bed of seawater. Nora counted nine more sea lions before the weird-looking creatures dipped back underwater and disappeared from sight.

  When Nora turned back toward Jake, she was smiling. “That was amazing,” Nora said, grinning from ear to ear. Her excitement was infectious.

  “You’ll see a lot more of those,” Jake promised her, forgetting he’d ever thought she was a spoiled brat. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And the way she delighted in something as simple as sea lions, well that had him second-guessing his first impression of her. “Along with the occasional whale and porpoises.”

  Almost on cue, Jake spotted movement in the water ahead. He pointed in the direction of the wake left by two dolphin-like creatures as they moved closer to the skiff. “Speak of the devil,” Jake said, surprised by their sudden appearance.

  “What are they?” Nora asked excitedly, glimpsing only a bit of their dark-colored flesh as they skimmed the surface and descended back under water.

  “Porpoises.”

  Nora leaned over the edge to get a better look.

  “I’ve never seen porpoises before,” Nora said, delighted at the sight. “Not in real life, anyway.”

  “Really?” He found that hard to believe.

  “Like I said, I’ve only been on a boat a couple times. I’d rather lie on a beach somewhere than go out on the water.”

  “Well you’ll have to get used to it, being out on the water. It’s the only way to get around out here. And you’ll see a lot more of these things.”

  One of the porpoises surfaced a few feet away from Nora, leaping out of the water and splashing her with the frigid waters of the inlet. Nora let out a squeal and she couldn’t help but laugh. “I wasn’t expecting that,” she said, giggling. Jake was laughing, too. He had narrowly escaped the porpoise’s splash.

  “They don’t usually come up quite so close,” Jake explained.

  Nora watched as they swam away, thinking about how awesome it would be to experience this every day. “It’s beautiful here,” Nora said, all of her apprehension about living in the cabin slipping away, at least for the time being. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cool ocean air, the feeling of serenity enveloping her.

  “Gorgeous,” Jake agreed, but he wasn’t referring to the outdoor scenery.

  She opened her eyes and saw Jake was watching her closely.

  “Anyone would be lucky to live here,” Nora said, ignoring the look in Jake’s eyes and turning her attention back to the water. The day before, Lily had said it would be nearly impossible to sell the property, but looking around, Nora decided to give it a try. A place this beautiful couldn’t be too hard to sell. It might be tucked away from the world, but that could be a selling point, Nora thought. There was an indescribable amount of natural beauty there. It was virtually a playground for the outdoor lover. Taking in the beauty of the inlet, Nora was almost sorry she’d never been much of an outdoorsy person. But for the right person, this could be a paradise. “Paradise,” she whispered, thinking of how to word the listing.

  Jake smiled at her. It was paradise. And he was glad she could see it that way. He hadn’t thought Nora was cut out for living in the wilderness, but she seemed content out there on the water, bobbing up and down on the waves as the boat drifted, lost in thought.

  Nora reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cell phone. Out of habit, she still carried it around with her, even though she hadn’t gotten a cell phone signal since she’d left Juneau.

  “Planning to make a phone call?” Jake chuckled.

  She smirked back at him mockingly. “Maybe.”

  Nora knew there were no cell phone towers. There was no signal. But she turned the phone on anyway and used the built-in camera to snap some photos, one of the mountains with their snowcapped peaks glistening in the su
n and one of the cove. Then Nora pointed the phone toward the eastern shore. Across the inlet, the old cabin stood tucked under the shadow of the tall trees. From this distance, it looked rather quaint. It was a picturesque scene, Nora realized as she took several photos of the cabin in the distance.

  The photos would be perfect for an advertisement. Maybe she’d get lucky and someone would see the advertisement and buy the property. The beauty of the inlet alone would be enough to catch the attention of potential buyers. It was at least worth a try. And she felt certain now, she would be able to sell it. No matter how long it took, Nora would find a buyer. In the meantime, she had no choice but to live in the cabin. But with surroundings like this, it might not be too much of a hardship.

  Nora decided that when she got back to the cabin she would take some more pictures of the property, perhaps a few snapshots of the cabin from the right angle to make it look bigger than it was. If she could just show people how beautiful it was out there, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to sell the property after all.

  Spontaneously, then, she turned the camera toward Jake. She snapped a shot of him sitting at the bow of the skiff, leaning over the edge and running his fingers through the water. His eyes were focused on the shore and the edges of his lips were turned up in a faint smile. When she snapped the photo, Jake looked up at her and grinned. He looked comfortable there, like it was absolutely where he belonged.

  “No fair,” Jake said, playfully reaching for the phone. “You have to be in at least one of the pictures.” He held the phone up and clicked the shutter button, capturing the image of Nora smiling with her cabin far off in the background. Then he turned and leaned over next to Nora, holding the phone out as far as he could. He smelled good, Nora noticed. Maybe too good. She felt the rhythm of her heart pick up the pace as he leaned in closer and snapped a photo of the two of them. The close contact only lasted a second before Jake moved back to his own seat, and Nora was grateful for that. She didn’t want to be attracted to Jake, whose actions had more than once reminded her of Conner’s controlling ways. She wasn’t going to let herself end up in another relationship like that, no matter how good Jake smelled or how he looked at her… or the way his eyes seemed to smile at her.