Alaskan Holiday
Page 30

I could hear only part of the conversation.
“Now is not a good time,” Mom insisted.
“You always say that. Gina, if you don’t want me to meet your daughter…”
I couldn’t hear the rest of the exchange.
Finally, Mom opened the door to allow the man to enter.
“Everyone, Josie, I’d like to introduce you to my…friend, Dr. Craig Hunt.”
“Friend?” Craig whispered to my mom, his white brows arching with the question.
Jack released another wild cry of despair and fell against the back of the sofa.
Craig looked at Jack. “Do you need medical attention?” he asked.
“No, my friend’s perfectly fine,” Palmer said, sitting down next to Jack. “Give him a bit of time to recover and he’ll be good as new.”
The physician didn’t appear convinced.
Mom was keeping a close eye on my reaction. I left my chair and came over to hug her and then stuck out my hand to Dr. Hunt. “I’m Josie, Gina’s daughter, and I can’t tell you how pleased I am to meet you…at last.”
Craig Hunt grinned, and we impulsively hugged. I was happy for my mother and hoped she would be happy for me when I explained that I’d had a change of plans in my own life.
CHAPTER 16
Palmer
Our dinner with Josie and her mother hadn’t gone the way I’d wanted it to. Jack’s behavior was bad enough, followed by the unexpected introduction of Gina Avery’s male friend.
The doctor’s arrival had come as a surprise to us all. Although I hated to leave, I needed to get Jack out of the house before he made a bigger fool of himself, even if it meant missing the dessert Josie had made for us. It did my heart good to see that she didn’t want me to go; I was reluctant, too.
Before leaving, I arranged to meet her the following day to talk about our future. I loved her, but I’d had enough of this big-city life to last me for another two years.
Jack was beside himself, suffering with the loss of the supposed love of his life. His words, not mine. I’d had to talk him down once we got to the hotel, which wasn’t easy. He seemed determined to win Gina’s heart until I calmly explained that it looked like she’d already given it to another.
I’d told Josie I’d stay in Seattle for Christmas, but considering all that had happened, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Josie seemed intent on finding a new job in town, which implied she wasn’t ready to make a commitment to us. I’d already mentioned the property I planned to purchase outside of Fairbanks with the hope she’d view that as a compromise. If matters didn’t go as planned when we talked, and every indication told me she wasn’t ready to leave Seattle, then I would rebook my ticket back to Alaska earlier instead of later. The tranquility of Ponder had never called to me louder or clearer. Seattle had way too many people and too much drama for me.
Josie had suggested we meet at a restaurant close to the hotel, which suited me. Jack hadn’t left his hotel room since we’d returned from dinner at Josie’s. I’d tried talking sense into him, but he’d spent the remainder of the night bemoaning his great loss until I couldn’t take listening to him any longer and headed back to my own room.
Now I sat waiting in the restaurant Josie had recommended, reviewing in my mind all that I wanted to say to her. I arrived early and was able to get a booth, thinking that would give us more privacy than a table in the middle of a crowded restaurant. Josie arrived exactly on time. The instant I saw her walk in the door, I felt my heart squeeze with longing. I desperately wanted her in my life. After everything that had happened in the last couple days, I wasn’t sure if it would ever come to be.
The hostess escorted Josie to the booth. She smiled and slid into the bench across from me.
After she removed her coat and gloves, she looked over and smiled. Immediately I felt better.
“Everything okay at home?” I asked.
She released a soft sigh. “Yes. Mom and I were finally able to talk. She’s so in love with Craig, and for the little bit of time the three of us were together, I could see he feels the same way about her. I don’t know why she wasn’t comfortable enough to tell me about him. He’s a widower, and he and Mom have a lot in common. I’m sincerely happy for her.”
“So you like him?”
“I do. He apologized to me for showing up uninvited. He didn’t know Mom had invited you and Jack to dinner. He’d come to meet me. It had frustrated him that she was keeping him a secret from me. Apparently, it had caused a rift between them. Mom had promised to introduce us when I first arrived back from Ponder but kept putting him off with one excuse after another until he took matters into his own hands.
“After you and Jack left, he apologized for barging in,” Josie continued. “Mom had mentioned that I’d quit my job. He assumed I’d be at the house, and he was right. What he didn’t expect was to walk into the middle of our dinner party.”
“Jack’s behavior didn’t help matters any.”
“The way he carried on was crazy. How is he today?”
Resisting the urge to laugh was almost impossible. “Last night he claimed that your mother was the love of his life and he will forever grieve the loss.”
“Poor guy.”
“He hasn’t come out of his room, but don’t worry, he had room service deliver his breakfast. From what I understand, it took two people to bring up his order.”
The cheerful server stopped by with a list of specials for the day and took our drink order. Frankly, I didn’t have much of an appetite. Josie didn’t appear to have one, either. We each chose a salad.
“I suppose I should be more sympathetic toward Jack claiming he’s lost the love of his life.” I picked up my fork to examine the tines, to be sure they were even.
“Jack isn’t serious about Mom, is he?” Josie asked.
“He’ll recover.”
“I feel bad for him.”
“Me, too.” And I did. “I suggested that the strong attraction he felt for your mother was a sure sign he was ready to bring a woman into his life. I urged him to check out one of those online dating sites.”
Josie’s eyes grew dark and serious, as if the thought brought on a case of anxiety. “Have you ever tried one of those sites, Palmer?”
I found the question humorous. “Me on a dating site? No.” I shook my head. “You?”
“No,” she said, and then, in an apparent effort to update me on her job situation, she added, “You might be interested to hear Chef Anton contacted me.”
Learning that came as no surprise. I struggled to hide my irritation. I figured it wouldn’t take him long to admit he needed her and wanted her back. I was curious to find out what he was willing to do to get her to agree to return. “Did he offer you a raise?”
“No, quite the opposite. He assured me I wouldn’t work in this town again.”
The man was an idiot not to recognize what a jewel he had in Josie. “He’s blackballing you?”
“He can try, but I sincerely doubt it will work. Besides, I’ve been having second thoughts about restaurant work altogether. The hours are brutal. The long days and my inability to create, combined with my awful experience with Chef Anton, have really soured my views of a career in this field.”
“But you applied for other restaurant work,” I reminded her. That had been the most discouraging news of my visit.
“I did, but out of obligation.”
“Obligation?”
“Mom and I worked hard to pay for my culinary degree, and I felt I needed to give it another shot.” She hesitated before adding, “Then I realized that this isn’t what I want after all. I want to do more with my talent, more than directing other staff in a hot kitchen or being responsible for preparing other chefs’ recipes.”
My spirits elevated. This was exactly what I’d been wanting to hear before I brought up the idea of us marrying. Silence hung in the air until I approached the subject of us.
“Do you think you’d be happy working at the lodge again next season?” I asked, unable to hide how anxious I was for her answer.