Alaskan Summer (17 page)

After her friend went to bed, Laurette sat on the window seat enjoying the view. She realized the days were getting shorter as she watched the streaks of color from the approaching sunset.

And I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do when my job ends.

What about Ryan? Again she thought about the difference in their faith. No, he definitely had faith. They’d prayed together. He’d even been the one to suggest prayer on several occasions.

Laurette had often prayed that the Lord would not let her fall in love with a non-practicing Christian, an unequally yoked relationship. And she knew she wouldn’t consciously pursue someone who didn’t follow Jesus. She trusted the Lord to show her if a relationship with Ryan would be unequally yoked, but she was still responsible for her own choices.
Lord Jesus, please show me what to do.

With a sigh, she left her seat by the window and prepared for tomorrow. Work kept her busy, and she knew she would miss the excitement and challenge when it ended.

❧

Ryan was already gone when she arrived early the next morning. “Can you take this?” Debbie called, holding out the phone.

Laurette took it and listened to the caller’s request. “Give me the address, and I’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone. “Are all the company vehicles out?” she asked Debbie.

“Tyler left the truck at the airport, and Ryan’s got the van.”

“I’m going to use my truck to pick up some freight.”

She drove to the address the man had given her. She watched as they loaded crates into her little truck.
Hope there’s room,
she thought. Her cell phone rang.

“Where are you?” Ryan asked.

“Picking up rabbit food.”

“What?”

“We got a call from the barge operator. They had crates of lettuce for a ship, and their truck broke down.”

“So what’s this about rabbit food?” Ryan sounded really confused.

Laurette giggled. “They must have a lot of rabbits on that ship to go through this much lettuce. I’m not sure it will all fit in my truck.”

“Your truck! You think it can handle all that weight?”

“I’ll let you know in about forty-five minutes. They’re through loading here, and I’m on my way to the dock where the ship’s crew will pick it up.”

“Call me as soon as you get there,” Ryan insisted.

“Yes, Boss.” Laurette disconnected.

An hour later, she walked into the office. “The rabbits will eat well tonight,” she announced.

“Rette.” Ryan turned as if to touch her but looked at Debbie and must have changed his mind. “Did you have any problems?”

“No. My truck did just fine.”

Ryan shook his head. “That’s because there were no hills.”

“Diane wants you to call,” Debbie told Laurette, breaking up their conversation.

“When can you come for lunch?” Diane asked when Laurette phoned her.

“Looks like I could grab an hour off tomorrow. Will that work for you?”

❧

“Come see my mouse,” David urged when Laurette arrived the next day.

“Mouse?” Laurette looked at Diane.

“He’s cute and small—the kind of pet I like. He’s supposed to stay in his cage, but you know kids.”

“He likes to hide in my hair,” Katie told her.

After inspecting the small white creature, the women sat down to enjoy a salad and tea. The children had sandwiches in front of the television.

“We need to plan a camping trip,” Diane announced.

“Ryan and I have talked about hiking Mt. Edgecumbe.”

“Good. There’s a cabin on Kruzof Island. We could stay there, and the trail up the mountain is right behind the cabin.”

“Could all of us go?”

Diane sighed. “It will take some planning to get Tyler away, but let’s try. I’ll get him to set the date, and then I’ll contact the forest service to rent the cabin for a night. Do you have a sleeping bag?”

Laurette shook her head. “I don’t have any camping gear.”

“No problem. We have lots of extras. What will we take for food?”

“I could make a pot of stew if we have a way to heat it up,” Laurette offered.

The time flew as the women planned menus. “I’ll sit down with Tyler tonight and get him to name a date.”

Laurette looked at the kitchen clock. “If I don’t get back, I won’t have a job.” She quickly hugged the kids good-bye. “I’ll come see your mouse again soon,” she promised David.

“Her name is Francine,” David reminded Laurette.

“See.” Katie pushed back the hair on her neck, and a small pink nose peeked out.

Diane shook her head at Laurette. “I’ll call you when I have a date.”

“Thanks for lunch.” Laurette waved as she left.

❧

“Tyler tells me we’re going camping,” Ryan said the next morning.

“Do we have a date?”

“You mean to climb Mt. Edgecumbe?”

Laurette felt her face burn. “I didn’t mean to—that is, I meant do we have a date. For camping.” She saw the mischief sparkle in his eyes and knew he was teasing her.

Ryan gave her a quick hug on his way to the coffeepot. “Tyler said Saturday after next. We’ll go out that morning, spend the night at Fred’s Creek, and hike the next day.” He filled his cup. “Tyler, Diane, and the kids will pack up the camp and come back in the company boat. You and I will take my boat over and come back when we get back from climbing.”

“Diane and I started planning menus. I don’t have any camping gear, but she has a sleeping bag I can use.”

“I’ll give you a waterproof bag to pack your clothes in.” He looked at her feet. “Those boots will be fine to hike in.” He gave her a silly grin. “I’ll even loan you a bear bell.”

“Okay, what’s the joke? I can see it in your eyes.”

“If you use a bear bell and register the color, the authorities will know which bear ate you by the color of the bell in their scat.”

“You’re not funny.” Then she thought for a moment. “Seriously, should I carry mace?”

“If you want to make a bear mad, that would be the way to do it. First you get close enough to spray him, and then you try to run faster than he does.”

“I’ll leave you in charge of bear protection. I’ll stick to cooking supper for the group.”

❧

The Saturday of the trip dawned clear. The group met at the dock and packed the two boats. The company boat was bigger, so most of the gear went in it. Ryan and Laurette took only their own packs.

“I brought you a float coat,” Diane said as she handed Laurette a red jacket.

“What’s that for? I took warm clothes and rain gear.”

“It’s a float coat. If you go in the water, you pull this little tab. The gas cartridge fills the coat with air and keeps you floating.”

“Thanks. I’ll put it up front with the other life jackets.”

Tyler and Diane loaded the kids into the boat and took off. They waved as Ryan started to back his boat down the ramp. “See you there,” Tyler shouted.

Ryan and Laurette were soon out of the harbor. “You ordered up good weather again,” Ryan said as they stood together, looking over the windshield.

Laurette looked at the boat speeding across Sitka Sound ahead of them. “They’ll get there first.”

“We’ll be there right after them to help haul stuff to the cabin.”

They seemed to head right to Mt. Edgecumbe, but as they neared the island, Laurette looked from the shore to Ryan. “How do you know where to land?”

“When we get a little closer, you’ll see a stream coming in. Just to the left of it is a sandy beach we can pull onto. I’ll moor the boat out after we get unloaded.”

“Oh, I see the cabin.” Laurette pointed to the weather-beaten A-frame set back against the tree line.

By the time Ryan edged his boat onto the beach, David and Katie were racing up and down shouting a welcome. Laurette had brought short rubber boots to wear in the boat. She jumped out to help pull the boat up on the sand.

It didn’t take long for the adults to carry all the necessary gear to the cabin. Laurette looked at the rustic building.

“We’ll keep the camp stove out here,” Diane said, putting a metal case on a stump.

“Takes a lot of stuff for overnight,” Laurette marveled, seeing the boxes and coolers on the cabin floor. “What can I do to help?” she asked Diane.

“Get Ryan to hand you the sleeping bags; we can spread them out later.” She pointed to a ladder on the wall. “There are mats to go under them. Not exactly a feather bed, but better than sleeping on the hard floor.”

It didn’t take the women long to get the cabin settled. Diane told Laurette the men would moor the boats on lines that would let them float as the tide came in but not get loose.

“Daddy, Daddy, David says he saw a bear!” Katie came racing into the cabin.

“Daddy’s down by the water. Where’s your brother now?”

“He’s gone to hunt the bear.” Katie’s voice quivered with fear.

Diane shook her head. “Your brother is such a tease!” She knelt and took Katie in her arms. “Katie, the bears won’t hurt you. Just stay in the open. Play on the beach, and they won’t come out of the woods.”

The little girl sniffed.

“I’ll come with you, Katie,” Laurette offered. “Did you see any paw prints in the sand?”

The little girl shook her head.

“Did you find any pretty shells on the beach?”

“I didn’t look,” came the weak answer.

“Then let’s go see what we can find.”

As they started down the beach, the men came back toward the cabin. “Have you seen David? Katie’s worried about him.” Laurette said.

“He’s over there with a shovel.” Tyler pointed over his shoulder. “Why?”

“He told Katie he was going to hunt bears,” Laurette explained.

“No bears today,” her dad told her. “With all the noise you kids make, they’re miles away by now.” He patted his daughter’s head.

Some of the little girl’s enthusiasm returned. “We’re going to find shells,” she told her father.

“Looks like your brother is digging a hole.”

“I’ll go check on him,” Ryan offered.

Tyler headed for the cabin while Laurette, Katie, and Ryan walked the beach toward David.

“What are you building?” Ryan asked David.

“A bear trap.” He tossed another shovel full of sand on the pile he’d started. “When that bear walks down the beach, he’s going to fall in my hole.”

Ryan and Laurette continued to play with the children until Diane called to let them know lunch was ready.

Entering the cabin, Laurette saw sleeping bags on the two bunks against the walls of the main floor.

“You and I will give the upstairs to the men and kids. We’ll sleep down here,” Diane told her, putting a paper plate of sandwiches on the table. “I’ve got a basin of water on the shelf to wash your hands.” She herded the children toward the wash water. Katie crawled into her mom’s sleeping bag and fell asleep before she finished her sandwich. David ran out the door, sandwich in hand.

Walking the beach after cleaning up the lunch scraps, Laurette and Ryan found him sound asleep in his bear trap.

The couple stopped to look back at Sitka. The sun shone on the streaks of snow still visible on the mountain peaks. The lower hills were covered with Sitka spruce. Laurette could hear the low sound of wind in the trees towering behind them. “It’s got to be a bit of paradise,” she whispered.

“Tide’s out.” Ryan pointed to rocks on the shore she hadn’t seen when they landed. “Let’s walk out on them.”

They found a spot at the top of a slab of rock and sat to drink in the beauty around them. Ryan took her hand. No words were necessary. They could communicate by touch. I belong here, Laurette said silently. She looked at Ryan. I belong with him.

As if reading her thoughts, he pulled her into his embrace. Their lips touched in sweet communion.

Katie’s laughter broke the spell. “Look, Mommy. The bear caught David.”

That was a short nap, Laurette thought, slightly embarrassed.

Diane and Tyler followed their daughter to where David stretched with a sleepy yawn.

“Up and at ’em, you two. If you want a fire tonight, we have to find driftwood.”

Beachcombing and ball games filled the afternoon. By evening, Laurette’s stew warmed on the camp stove while Ryan and Tyler worked to get a fire going. They sat on the logs they’d placed around the fire pit and ate their supper.

“The only way to clean the dishes,” Ryan declared, tossing his paper plate into the flames.

Laurette watched Ryan take some bread from the kids’ plates and crumble it on a path from the creek to the cabin. “Are you baiting bears?” she asked him quietly while the children were busy toasting marshmallows.

“It’s bait but not for bears.”

Laurette remembered a story her mother had told her and repeated it for the children. They sat quietly listening. Ryan put his finger over his lips and pointed to the path from the creek. “It’s my martin.”