5. Skylar
Chapter Five
SKYLAR
Don’t miss the turn. There’s no sign.
I laughed softly at the last two lines in Tucker’s text with the directions to the lodge. It was a practical, entirely straightforward text—just a list.
My belly shimmied a little. “You’re being stupid,” I said to myself as I lifted my head and set my phone down on the coffee table.
I curled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my forearms as I stared out the window. Although my apartment was tiny, I didn’t need more space. I also preferred cozy places. I felt like I could manage them.
The view was, simply put, spectacular. Midnight Sun Arts Gallery was in a row of shops on a boardwalk along the beach near Otter Cove Harbor.
It offered a view of the boats in the harbor where I could watch as they came in and out, morning and evening.
Beyond that, Kachemak Bay shimmered under the sunrise.
This morning’s colors were washed out—soft pastels brushed across the sky, pink and gold with just a hint of lavender.
Mount Augustine was in the distance in the inlet, standing tall and alone.
I couldn’t explain it, but the volcano itself felt alive, even from this far away. I felt as if it knew secrets the rest of the world didn’t. A few clouds encircled its peak, one of them shot through with pink.
I took a breath and uncurled my knees, standing and walking across my living room into the bathroom.
My apartment consisted of a living room and efficiency kitchen, a small bedroom, and a single bathroom.
The kitchen was to one side with the counter facing directly out the windows over the view.
When I washed dishes, I could enjoy the view.
The only dividing line was where the hardwood floor shifted to tile in the kitchen area.
It was a pretty blue tile, creating a splash of color in the space.
Off to the side of the living room was a bathroom with the bedroom immediately beside it.
Emily had found this apartment online. We were supposed to stay here together.
She was the planner. My heart pinched as I glanced over my shoulder once more to catch another glimpse of the morning sky.
She would have loved it. She’d wanted to travel the world.
She told me the one good thing she got out of years in foster care was accepting that she might never feel settled. Alaska had been on her bucket list.
She’d wanted to become a pilot to get over her fear of flying.
She’d said it would be like exposure therapy.
After the awful thing that had happened where we’d both been sexually assaulted by one of our foster brothers in a foster home, we went to therapy, and both went through exposure therapy to address our trauma.
Of course, we’d gotten kicked out of the foster home, not him.
It was his parents’ home. The only comfort was the family lost their foster care license.
Emily thought she’d create her own exposure therapy to treat her fear of flying.
Instead, her fear had been borne out completely when she died from complications in the hospital after a plane crash.
Now, I was trying to fulfill her dreams and get through to the other side of the grief that swamped me sometimes.
I showered and got ready for work, rolling my eyes at myself as I mulled over what to wear.
Since I was going to leave work and go out to dinner, I wouldn’t have time to come back home.
Before I left, I checked on my pair of guinea pigs, Squiggly and Pigley.
They had quite the setup with three cages and connecting tunnels.
When I was home at night, I would let them out and giggle while they scampered about the small space.
While feeding them some lettuce, I offered, “I’ll be a little late tonight, so I’ll leave a light on.”
I turned on the light in the kitchen. They probably didn’t care, but it made me feel better. A short drive later, I parked at work and glanced around, cataloging the vehicles and noting that Tucker’s truck was here. He was probably already up in the air.
I hurried across the parking area into the large corrugated steel building at one end. The door clanged shut behind me, and I hustled down the hallway.
“Hey!” I called out.
Ludie and Dan Hill ran this place. Ludie was a blunt-talking woman who seemed ageless, though I’d guess her to be past eighty. Dan was on the gruff side, but his love for Ludie shone so brightly, it was obvious he was a secret softie.
She looked up from her desk. “Morning. Dan has a headache. If you could relieve him right off, that would be awesome,” she called.
Dan had the occasional headache, but he was always working no matter what. “Morning, Skylar,” he offered with a nod.
I shrugged out of my jacket and dropped my purse on the corner of the desk, moving swiftly.
“Good morning.” I slipped into the chair at the other end of the L-shaped desk, immediately putting my headset on and adjusting to the volume I preferred.
Monitoring the coordination and communication for transport for the small planes in this part of Alaska was an interesting job.
I loved it. It was busier than you might think.
Diamond Creek was a hub town for smaller villages. As many as fifty flights came and went here daily, with many carrying cargo to smaller communities.
“I got it, Dan,” I said, glancing over.
He slipped his headset off and cast me a wan smile.
“Thank you.” Dan was also a plane mechanic and stayed busy helping a number of the businesses here.
There were officially six small airlines, along with charter companies.
Those were a little different. They solely handled official chartered flights for tourists.
Walker Adventures, where Tucker worked, did charter flights, but they also handled cargo and mail and flights among villages on the other side of Kachemak Bay.
I swung into my day, monitoring communication about transport, reporting about weather changes, and on occasion, chatting with pilots when there were breaks in the action.
I was finishing up when Ludie came in to take over for the last hour. She rested her hips against the desk and eyed me. “So I hear you’re having dinner out at Walker Adventures.”
My cheeks got hot as I spun around in my chair. “Yeah, Daphne invited me.” That wasn’t specifically true.
“I thought Tucker invited you,” she said immediately.
My cheeks got even hotter, and I felt flustered. “He, uh, passed along the message from Daphne.” That was true.
Ludie’s eyes took on a sly gleam, crinkling at the corners with her half-smile. “I suppose so. That man likes you.”
“What? Ludie!” I finally sputtered.
She grinned. “And you like him.”
“I haven’t even spent much time with him, Ludie.”
She shrugged. “Whatever you say, darlin’. I like Tucker, though.”
I tried to be all nonchalant and cool, something I’d never succeeded at, ever , in my entire life. “Um, he seems nice.” Sheesh. Nice didn’t even come close. Sure, he was nice, but he was also sexy in an easy, relaxed way that set my nerves alight and sent me spinning inside.
Blessedly, Ludie didn’t dwell on Tucker. “It’s a beautiful place.”
“You’ve been out there?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh, sure. I knew Flynn, Nora, and Grant’s mom. Nice lady. Her husband was an idiot and an ass. After she passed away, Flynn came back from the Air Force and took over. He brought that place up to snuff and then some. Anyway, don’t miss the turn.”
Noticing the time, I stood and slipped on my jacket. “I’ll try not to,” I replied.
“There’s no sign,” she called as I walked out.
I smiled to myself. “See you tomorrow, Ludie.”
“That you will.”