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Chapter One
EMT Louise Wright and her work partner, paramedic Maverick Steen, sipped on coffee Monday morning in the Three Bears Alaska grocery, convenience, hardware, and clothing store. As the only source of supplies for hundreds of miles, this place had it all.
The most critical item? Freshly brewed coffee.
The morning’s steaming drink cut the late August chill. Fall began early in Yukon Valley, Alaska, with cool mornings and warmish days. It was supposed to be sunny and in the sixties today. She’d likely ditch her light EMS jacket by afternoon.
Mav chatted with their friend Tulimak Sampson, who worked the deli counter today. The two exchanged player statistics and debated the chances of the Seahawks going to the Super Bowl. Same conversation every year. Pretty much, same result.
She leaned against the cured meats display. Tuli rested his forearms on the counter while he talked. His short-sleeved Three Bears uniform strained over the thick muscles of his arms. He had let his dark hair grow longer over the summer, and now a wave of it covered one black eyebrow until he pushed it back off his forehead, revealing a twinkle in his brown eyes. His light tan skin, courtesy of an Athabascan heritage, had a much healthier color than last spring when he had nearly lost his leg—and his life. He caught her staring and winked.
Warmth in her chest grew. It was certainly due to her coffee.
Tuli was her closest childhood friend. He had always been there as she went through school and life. From his central location at the deli, he eventually heard everything about every person in Yukon Valley. He was never bashful about talking with anyone … and helping to spread rumors. Surprising how he had never said a word about her breakup with Ryan West last fall.
Truth be told, there was nothing left for Tuli or anyone else to say, because Ryan had broadcast his side of the story to anyone who would listen, both in person and online.
Didn’t matter if Ryan’s side of the story was true. Lou’s personal life had been on display, whether she liked it or not. Now the greater Yukon Valley area population knew how she was a frozen fish in bed and didn’t provide Ryan enough support in their relationship.
Lou’s need for privacy was no match for Ryan’s big mouth.
“You and Doc getting along?” Tuli asked, as he wiped down the deli counter.
Speaking of a big mouth…
Mav’s broad grin made his answer redundant. “Best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“What about us?” Tuli pressed his hand to his sternum. “We’ve been friends for years.”
“That’s different.” He laughed and glanced at his phone.
The lock screen was a picture of Lee hugging one of Mav’s sled dogs.
Dr. Lee Tipton was a new doctor at Yukon Valley Hospital. She had only been here since January but already had made an impact in Mav’s life and in the community. She had spoiled the plans of a speculator who wanted access to a vein of gold and other rare earth minerals on Athabascan corporation land as well as private citizens’ properties. Now the town and village worked together to manage the access rights, respecting the land and the people.
Along the way, Mav had fallen totally in love with her, and from all appearances, the feeling was mutual.
Lee and Mav were perfect together. A great team. Lucky.
Lou stared at her drink, thoughts muddy, like the milk in the coffee. Up until last fall, she had also been heading in the general direction of a committed relationship. However, uncertainty about her future and a sense of something just not being right had been enough to make her take a step back. Thank God. Ryan went from cuddly guy to growling brown bear in the blink of an eye.
Disagreeing with someone—anyone—had taken all of her courage. She never rocked any proverbial boat, always went along with the flow. Never made waves.
Breaking up with Ryan? Talk about a big wave.
Next thing she knew, her privacy was gone, thanks to Ryan and his inability to shut the hell up.
Everywhere she went, Lou sensed the stares and the whispers. Sure, she might be imagining things, but the damage was done. She had been intensely private before. Nowadays, she walked around every day feeling exposed and hated every minute of it.
That failed relationship with Ryan had gotten her thinking about her promise to Tuli those many years ago. A promise between children, but one she had never forgotten.
Tuli. Her always-present option for having a family. For being a mom and dad together.
But dating? No thanks. She had no stomach for that part of the process.
Her chest wall pinched, and she rubbed at it.
Promises didn’t matter. Not now. Until she knew more about her future, there would be no other people in it, and that included Tuli.
She sighed and took another sip of coffee and stayed quiet while the guys talked, as per usual.
Mav leaned a hip against the register countertop. “So, Lee and I are getting along great. But did you hear the latest about Dr. Garrett and Dee?”
Tuli whipped out his ubiquitous cell phone, thumbs poised to type and likely post to his The Real Alaska page. “No! Tell me.”
Lou leaned forward.
Mav said, “They’re getting married next month!”
She was startled into making a comment. “Oh, congratulations to them.”
Tuli looked up from the phone, narrowed his eyes at Mav. “That’s right around the corner. They’re moving along quickly.”
“Dude,” her work partner growled.
“What? It’s an observation.”
Reason number 491 why Lou kept her personal life and innermost thoughts and feelings locked down tight—Tuli’s observations, which he shared out loud and online with reckless abandon. There wasn’t a thought in his head that didn’t shoot directly out of his mouth.
Mav nodded. “I think they realized how much time they had lost over the years and decided not to delay being together any longer.” If he tipped his head toward Lou, she pretended not to notice. “They’re adults. Their timeframe works for them. They are going into this with their hearts and their eyes wide open.”
With a wise nod, Tuli said, “Makes sense.” His gaze slid past Lou, then a broad smile creased his face. “The biggest question is, am I invited? And can I use the wedding for The Real Alaska online content?”
“The invitation list isn’t up to me, but I imagine everyone in town will be there. Most folks seem to ignore RSVPs and just show up for these things.” He pointed a finger. “You’d better clear any social media plans with Dee first. You do not want to get on her bad side. I tried to argue for downgrading my suit to hiking pants and a flannel shirt. That conversation went about as well as you’d expect.”
“I bet.” Tuli grinned. “Boy, oh boy, I can’t wait to see you in a penguin suit.”
Lou smiled as well. The town loved a good wedding event, and this one might take the focus off of her social failure. At least it would give people something else to talk about until their collective memory ran out.
“Hey, at least I won’t have to scramble for a date.” Mav stopped, clamping his mouth firmly shut. The silence was punctuated only by the tiny squeak of a grocery cart wheel coming from somewhere near the front register.
Lou’s face burned as she studied the contents of her coffee mug.
“My bad,” Mav began.
Tuli cleared his throat. “Say, Lou, any interest—”
Her phone buzzed with a notification, and she glanced at the screen. She froze. Time stopped. The email she had been waiting for popped up.
Her heart thudded, and she held up a hand. “Excuse me for a minute.”
“Everything okay?” Mav asked.
“Yes,” she murmured as she walked out of the deli and over to fishing supplies on the far side of the store.
No customers in sight. Ducking behind a rack of waders, she set her coffee cup on the floor and opened the email. As the message from Gensight loaded, she wiped her palms on her EMS uniform pants leg.
Since last fall, when she and Ryan had seriously discussed starting a family, she had wanted this information to help make those kinds of life decisions.
Too bad the decision was moot. No more Ryan.
Actually, no. Not too bad. Good riddance to him and close call for her.
Now Lou really wanted to know the answer. The information could impact everything in the rest of her life.
Dating or no dating.
Kids or no kids.
Career or family.
She glanced toward the deli.
A past promise turned into a future partnership. Or nothing.
She swallowed against a dry, hard lump in her throat and tried to slow her racing pulse.
Like riding a boat up the braided and twisting Yukon River, this email represented a fork in her path. So many possibilities, only she had no control over the result.
Maybe she didn’t have the genetic factor her brother Gordy had.
Maybe she had plenty of choices available to her for when it came time to start a family.
What if her plan B was still an option?
After a deep breath, she opened the email, which contained a few unsatisfying boilerplate lines of text informing her that the test results were not in the email but in the attached document.
Muttering, Lou clicked on the PDF and waited for the download. Yukon Valley had internet coverage supplied through a few cell towers, and Three Bears had Wi-Fi, but internet speeds weren’t quick by any stretch of the imagination. The status bar slowly filled in. Come on. Come on.
The report popped up, and she enlarged it and scrolled up and down, squinting at the small type. So many words. There. She found the section labeled Results.
End of Excerpt
