Page 4 of Caleb's Salvation
I turned at the sound of his voice. He was standing in the doorway leaning against the frame. Tall, broad chest, dark thick beard, heavy shoulders. Really, really heavy shoulders. I bet they sure could hold a lot.
“Why can’t I get ideas?” I asked him.
“This isn’t a place for a woman not from Alaska. Certainly not one with a baby,” Caleb said.
“Eli, didn’t you just tell me there is a woman named Eve up here who has a little boy?”
“Uh, yeah.” The poor guy, I thought. Talk about being caught between a rock and a very hard place.
“Eli. Wait for me in the truck.”
“You got it, boss.” Obviously, happy for the escape, Eli took off and shut the door behind him leaving me alone with Caleb.
“Everybody around here does what you tell them to?”
He grunted. “Privileges of being the boss.”
“Just remember you’re not my boss,” I told him. I was aiming for sassy. Did older guys like sassy?
“Listen,” Caleb began, then paused as if he’d forgotten my name.
“Vivienne,” I reminded him.
“Obviously, you have some kind of agenda. Why don’t you tell me what that is?”
“I won a contest to go out on a date with you. I got a ticket to Alaska, a cabin and all expenses paid for two weeks, which, I assume, means food. Right now, that’s my only agenda. I’m hungry.”
He sighed, opened his mouth as if to say my name again, but stopped.
“Vivienne,” I said again. “It’s not that easy a name to forget. And yes, my mother did name me after Julia Roberts inPretty Womanbecause I was born with a shock of red hair. Although she spelled it the French way rather than the way it’s spelled in the movie. Not that it matters, I suppose, because little did she know at the time how close to being prophetic that was.”
He scowled at me.
Which was intimidating as heck, but I didn’t come all this way, take this risk, to back down under a little intimidation. “I understand you might be disappointed with me, but I think you owe me a date,” I told him boldly. “And food.”
His scowl deepened and I took a step back.
“I don’t owe you anything. Beyond having nothing to do with that contest, you apparently lied about everything on your profile. You certainly lied about him,” he said pointing to my chest.
“Sam,” I said introducing him, even as I snuggled him closer. “Short for Samuel, after my grandfather who was a good man. This little guy is almost five months old, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“I’m not. Look, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but this isn’t happening. The smart thing to do would be to rest up and then head back home.”
I laughed bitterly at that. “There is nohometo go back to. There was a promise when I signed up for this contest. That promise was at least two weeks, room and board and all expenses paid. You need to honor that.”
“What makes you think I won’t walk out this door right now and tell you to go fuck yourself?”
I blinked. Not just at the language but at the starkness of the sentiment. Because the guy from the profile wouldn’t do that. The guy who I’d built into this modern-day knight in shining armor wouldn’t do that. Because I needed help, damn it! And there was no one around to offer it.
I could feel tears threaten and I pushed them back. Sam was here because I was a fighter. I was here in Alaska because I was a fighter.
I took a deep breath. “I think you’re lying,” I told him, praying I was calling his bluff. “I think you’re going to make a fire in that potbelly stove—because I don’t know how to—so you know I’ll be warm. And I think you’ll find me some food because now you know I’m hungry. Because I’ll bet everything I have that’s who you are.”
He ran his hand through his hair nearly pulling it out by the roots. Then he looked to the ceiling as if there was someone clinging to it who he needed to talk to.
“Wait here,” he barked. “I’ll be back with food.”
He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
