Northern Escape

Startled, Gus dropped her spoon, sending it clattering to the stove.

“Oops, sorry about that. I didn’t think I’d scare you,” Jenna, one of Good Riddance’s newest citizens, said.

“No worries. I was just zoned out.” Normally, it wouldn’t have startled Gus. Her kitchen was an open-to-the-dining-room design and she loved it that way but she was definitely on edge tonight. “How’s it going, Jenna?”

“Um, pretty good,” Jenna said, glancing over her shoulder toward the front door, obviously looking for someone.

“Are you meeting someone?” Gus asked.

“No. I’m not waiting on anyone in particular.”

Jenna had shown up with Merrilee’s husband, now ex-husband, Tad as his fiancée. Jenna had, despite her airheadedness seen Tad for the creep he was, not to mention the cradle robber had been twice her age. She’d elected to stay in Good Riddance rather than go back to Atlanta and had started herself quite the thriving nail business over at Curl’s.

“Could I help you with something, Jenna?” She liked Jenna but she was too busy tonight to stand at the counter chatting.

“Um.” Jenna angled herself so she could talk to Gus and watch the doorway. “I just thought I’d tell you since the Ms. Chrismoose Pageant is coming up, I’ll give you a mani/pedi for half price. Seeing as how you’re the reigning Ms. Chrismoose, you want those nails looking nice when you hand off your crown … well, antlers or whatever they are.”

“That’s sweet of you to offer, Jenna—” the woman truly had a big heart “—but I don’t think I’m going to have time and the kitchen’s pretty rough on my nails. Manicures are usually a waste of time for me.”

Jenna looked horrified. “But you can’t hand off your crown with your nails looking like that. Sorry, but your cuticles are a hot mess.” Gus glanced down at her hands. They weren’t bad. Short but clean. Jenna leaned over the counter separating the kitchen from the dining room, and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I want to keep it quiet because I don’t want the other ladies to think that I have a big advantage over them in the pageant, but I have had some previous pageant experience.”

Gus nodded solemnly. That was no shocker. The perfect makeup and shoulder-length blond hair bespoke a pageant history. “Okay. I’ll keep it quiet.”

“Thanks. So, you just can’t go up there with those nails. And you’ll want to rub a little Vaseline on your teeth beforehand to make ’em shine when you smile.”

When hell froze over. The very thought almost gagged her.

“Thanks for the tip.” It was impossible not to like Jenna—beneath those silicone breasts beat a heart of gold, just like now when she was all wigged out over Gus’s plain nails—but sometimes it was hard not to gape in amazement at some of things that came out of her mouth. Since Jenna seemed in no hurry, Gus started inching her way back to the stove.

The front door opened and Nelson Sisnuket walked in. Nelson qualified as one of Gus’s favorite people in Good Riddance. A native who wore his long, straight hair pulled back in a ponytail, he assisted Dr. Skye Shanahan. On Thursday night’s he emceed karaoke at Gus’s place. Nelson was good people. A shaman-in-training in his clan, there was always a good vibe rolling off of Nelson with his calm demeanor and wry humor.

He looked tired tonight but she knew he and Skye had been swamped with flu patients.

“Okay. Nice chatting with you. See ya, Gus.” Jenna pushed away from the counter and timed it so that she nearly bumped into Nelson. “Oh … hey, Nelson. How’s it going?” The blonde fell into step beside him.

Nelson sent a wave Gus’s way. “It’s going fine. How are you, Jenna?”

Gus double-checked to make sure her mouth wasn’t hanging open. Jenna had been waiting on Nelson? Apparently so. Not that Nelson wasn’t an attractive man—in fact, he was downright handsome—but Gus would’ve never pegged him as Jenna’s type. And poor Jenna, if she was crushing on Nelson, and it looked as if she was, that dead-end street could only lead to heartbreak for her.

Interracial marriage wasn’t widely accepted in Nelson’s clan. His cousin Clint, a guide, had fallen in love with and was engaged to Tessa Bellingham, a white woman, but it had caused quite a stir with his family. Both Clint and Tessa had had to fight for Clint’s grandmother to accept their relationship. That had been one thing, especially since Clint, even though he looked full native, was the product of an interracial marriage and subsequent divorce. But it wasn’t a remote option for Nelson. As a shaman-in-training, it was out of the question for him to date outside his race and Nelson took his tribal responsibilities as sacred duty.

Gus didn’t want to burst Jenna’s bubble, but she’d talk to Jenna in the next day or so and just drop the information out there. Gus was nothing if not practical and in Jenna’s shoes … well, Gus would want to know if she didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with a particular man.

She understood Jenna’s dilemma, though. Lately, Gus had become very much aware she’d been in a four-year sexual drought. The problem was none of the men in Good Riddance did a thing for her. As much as she liked Good Riddance, and she did, four years later and she still felt something like a fish out of water. And really that was just as well because if you started dating, or to be blunt, sleeping with someone in Good Riddance and things didn’t work out, well it was going to be awkward bumping into one another afterward. And in a town this size, avoiding someone was nearly impossible. Not to mention keeping an affair quiet. Everyone in town would probably know before the act itself was even consummated.

She had placed two plates on the counter for pickup and had turned back to the stove to fill yet another order when the strangest tingling sensation swept over her, through her. She shook her head slightly. Perhaps it was some kind of weird static electricity … Dear God, don’t let her be coming down with the flu. But this didn’t feel like any flu she’d ever had before. She didn’t feel achy, she simply felt tingly.

Behind her Teddy said, “Oh, you made it.”

“I did.” It was a male voice, rich like a mole sauce—dark, but not sweet, with velvety chocolate undertones. A faint shiver chased down her spine.

She knew. Before she even turned around, she knew she’d find Nick Hudson, the man who could wreck her world, on the other side of the counter.

Fixing a smile on her face, she turned … and nearly forgot how to breathe. Of course she recognized him. She’d seen his photos. A little age had settled well on him. His dark hair was shorter than in his photos and laugh lines fanned out from the corners of piercing blue eyes set in his lean, ruggedly handsome face, but he was familiar.

No, she recognized him on another level. Something snapped into place for her. A rush of sexual energy surged through her. She was looking at the man she wanted.

And he was the man she’d sworn to avoid while he was here.

Nick felt as if he’d been slammed in the gut. He wasn’t prepared for the impact of meeting her. He’d thought he was. He’d been sure of it. He was wrong.

He’d caught a glimpse of Gus Tippens earlier and had looked forward to meeting her, but ….

She was an arresting study in black and white and shades in between. Her short hair was so dark it was almost black except for one chunk of pure white. Her eyes tilted slightly at the corners, giving her a faintly exotic look, which was furthered by eyes an unusual shade of gray, almost silver, fringed with dark lashes. But it was her mouth that nearly did him in. She had a perfect bow of a mouth and she wore red lipstick. Beneath her apron, she wore trim black slacks and a white top. More striking than beautiful, something inside him responded in a way he’d never experienced before. It was like stumbling across an orchid in a field of daisies.

Teddy snapped him out of whatever the hell he’d fallen into with an introduction. “Nick, this is Gus Tippens. Gus, Nick Hudson.”

“Hello,” she said, her voice like water flowing over smooth stones. “I’ve certainly heard a lot about you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Nick said. “I’ve been looking forward to dinner. Your reputation preceded you. It smells great. My parents own a diner in New York so I’ve always appreciated good food and it certainly smells good.” Dammit, he’d already said that. “I’m sure it will be good.”

Okay, he was ready to kick himself in the ass. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d traveled all over the world. For the most part he managed some measure of sophistication but here he was babbling away like a spring brook.

Although she was friendly enough and offered another smile, he sensed a wariness in her. “Your reputation preceded you, as well. I hope you enjoy your meal.” She turned to the other woman, clearly dismissing him. “Teddy, will you please seat Mr. Hudson?”

“Nick. Please call me Nick.”

She nodded, a shimmer of a smile curving her red lips. “As you can guess, we don’t stand on a lot of ceremony here in Good Riddance. Teddy, will you seat Nick?”

“Sure thing. He hung out today with Dalton so he’s going to eat with the crew,” Teddy said. “He just wanted to meet you before he went to the table.”

“You’re in good company, Nick. I hope you enjoy your meal. And now if you’ll excuse me ….” She turned back to her stove.

In the interest of not making a bigger fool of himself than he had up to now, he said to Teddy, “I see Dalton over there. It’s no problem seating myself.”

“Okay. I’ll be right over in a sec to get your drink order.”

It was cold outside and maybe a drink was just what he needed to get himself back on track. “No need to make an extra trip. Whiskey. Neat.”

“Gotcha,” Teddy said.

He made his way across the room to where three couples sat at two rectangular tables put together. The empty seat was on the side that afforded him a clear view of the room … and the kitchen. Once Nick was seated Dalton launched into the round of introductions.

The two native men were cousins. Clint Sisnuket worked as a guide, while Nelson Sisnuket was part of the local healthcare system. There was Dalton’s fiancée, Skye Shanahan, a pretty redhead. Clint was engaged to Tessa Bellingham, the petite blonde next to him who’d just moved to town a couple of weeks ago after visiting to shoot video footage. And the statuesque blonde Jenna Rathburne was also a newbie and also obviously had a thing for Nelson.

“If you can’t remember all the names, no worries,” said Tessa. “We threw a lot at you.”

Nick grinned. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got it.” Teddy walked up and delivered his drink and took dinner orders. Nick had already learned that while a short-order cook worked from a standing menu for breakfast and lunch, dinner was prepared by Gus and she had two offerings to choose from each evening.