Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
Caleb was more excited than he’d been in a very long time. On his way to work he drove leisurely along the lake area, enjoying the stunning view of the mountains and the last remnants of thawing snow. He couldn’t ignore the raw beauty of his surroundings. Sometimes he felt as if he was living in a postcard or a vivid painting. Being back in Moose Falls was full of discoveries, mostly good ones. His favorite thing about Alaska was the abundance of trees—spruce, evergreen, hemlock, and birch dominated the area. The other day during their hike his mother had identified several species of eagles, which excited her to no end.
He could tell that she had been a bit emotional about revisiting the places in Moose Falls that had once meant the world to her. Despite being a tough cookie, Daisy had a marshmallow at her center. She was sentimental like Landon. Caleb was going to miss her a lot, but he was happy she’d been in Moose Falls to celebrate True and Xavier.
Feeling upbeat, he turned on the radio and let it blast. Driving on Alaskan roads was so much easier, now that the roads weren’t covered in snow and ice.
This morning’s meeting with Hattie was full of so many possibilities. Coming to Alaska to explore an inheritance had been a no-brainer, but doing so had delayed him from trying out for acting roles in Hollywood. If he could be the face of Yukon Cider, it would fill a void in his life and allow him to pursue his creativity in front of the camera. He didn’t want to assume anything, but if the campaign was even a modest success, he would be grateful.
As he headed into the corporate building, Caleb was greeted warmly by various employees. He loved the social atmosphere here more than anything. Everyone treated him and his brothers like they were old friends. That was a true benefit of living in a small Alaskan town. People weren’t strangers for very long. He had come across so many folks who remembered him from when he was little. They always had a story about his parents or memories of Caleb with his brothers. It served to remind him that he was part of the fabric of Moose Falls. He hadn’t expected to be so accepted by the townsfolk after being MIA for two decades. All of a sudden he was being inundated with a lot of sensory memories from childhood. Moose Falls had been his happy place.
He made his way quickly to the conference room after dropping his leather work bag in his office. The last thing he intended to do was make Hattie wait for him. She wasn’t the type of person who responded well to tardiness. It didn’t matter if they were blood relations. She wouldn’t hesitate to dress him down in public.
When he crossed the threshold of the conference room, Caleb stopped short. Sophia was standing by the table, sipping a cup of coffee. She was dressed professionally in a beige-colored suit and black heels. He sucked in a deep breath. Sophia should come with a warning sign like the ones he saw in Arizona. Dangerous Curves Ahead .
“What are you doing here?” Caleb asked, his tone radiating surprise.
“Hattie invited me. I’m going to be one of Yukon Cider’s employees,” she explained. “I’m super excited to be working for such an amazing company.”
He hadn’t been prepared to see Sophia this morning at a meeting Hattie had set up for him to attend. As far as he’d known, the meeting was just for the two of them. Wasn’t it classic Hattie to throw him a curveball?
“As a photographer?” he asked, taken aback by this turn of events.
“No, as a taste tester,” she said with a smirk. “Of course as a photographer. It is my profession. Sadly, I don’t have many other skills.”
“I find that very hard to believe.” He locked gazes with her, tumbling headfirst into her beautiful brown eyes. They were like a vortex, pulling him in.
Something hummed and pulsed in the air between them. He wondered if she felt the sparks. Honestly, how could she not? There always seemed to be a layer of tension between them that had everything to do with attraction. Although he was still wary of getting involved with anyone, it was going to be impossible for him to ignore his feelings for this woman.
Just then Hattie walked into the conference room dressed all in green, leaning heavily on her cane. Caleb wasn’t sure if it was her pride or stubbornness, but she rarely used her electric scooter at work. Everyone respected Hattie, but he sensed she was worried about being perceived as a weakened leader. His wish for his grandmother was that she could spend the rest of the time she had left doing all the things she couldn’t from within the confines of her office. Yukon Cider was a magnificent accomplishment, but he wasn’t sure Hattie should spend her remaining time consumed by work. It wasn’t his decision to make, but he wondered if she would rather be playing blackjack in Vegas or canoodling with Jacques.
“Good morning, beautiful people. It’s a wonderful day to have a wonderful day.” Hattie was grinning from ear to ear.
“Morning, Hattie. That color looks gorgeous on you,” Sophia said, warmth radiating from her voice.
Hattie patted her on the hand. “Thank you, Sophia. I love colors. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve chosen to wear vivid hues.” She let out a throaty chuckle. “It used to frustrate my mother something fierce trying to find yellows and oranges and lilacs. Talk about a challenge.”
“I can imagine,” Sophia said, her eyes widening. “I guess that I should be jumping for joy that Lily isn’t a fashionista.”
“Yet,” Hattie said. “That could change in the blink of an eye.”
Caleb pulled a chair out for his grandmother and said, “Here you go, Grandmother.”
Hattie looked over at Sophia as she sank down into the leather seat. “Isn’t he a gorgeous boy?”
Sophia’s lips twitched. “He sure is,” she said in a chirpy voice. He sensed she was holding back a fit of laughter.
Her response flowed over him like warm honey. It didn’t matter that Hattie had put Sophia on the spot. For Caleb it was a win. Sophia thought he was good-looking! Since when had he needed affirmation about his looks? He couldn’t recall a single instance.
“Let’s get down to business,” Hattie said in a crisp tone as both Caleb and Sophia sat down. “I figured the two of you should meet in a professional capacity since you’ll be working together.”
Caleb hadn’t seen this one coming. Not at all. He and Sophia?
Hattie must have seen his confusion. “Sophia will be working on the ad campaign we discussed.” She turned her gaze to Sophia. “What I didn’t mention is that Caleb will be the star of the new campaign. He’ll be featured in the print ads and some commercials. I know it’s going to be difficult, but it’ll be your job to make him look like the most desirable man on the planet.” Hattie’s tone was full of mirth. Her lips were twitching. She was cracking herself up with her own jokes.
Sophia looked over at Caleb. “I’ll try to make you look decent, Hollywood,” she teased.
“I would appreciate that,” he quipped. He turned his head. “This is my good side.”
“Who are you trying to fool?” Hattie asked, rolling her eyes. “You have no bad side. Am I right, Sophia?”
“Yeah, your grandson is pretty easy on the eyes,” Sophia acknowledged.
“And you’re a bona fide bombshell,” Hattie said to Sophia. She turned toward Caleb. “Isn’t she stunning?”
“Flawless,” Caleb said. And he meant it. Sophia was the most surprising thing yet about Moose Falls. Her ex was beyond foolish to allow a woman like her to slip through his fingers.
He wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, but his grandmother seemed to be trying to establish something between him and Sophia. She was coaxing compliments from both of them at an alarming rate.
Hattie wiggled her eyebrows. “By the way, I have no rules about employees dating.”
Sophia’s cheeks flushed and she said, “I-I’m good, Hattie. I have my hands full raising my daughter. I’m not looking for any romantic entanglements.”
I’m good? He tried to shake off her comment, but he felt insulted. Was he beneath her high standards that she wouldn’t consider the possibility of dating him? It wasn’t as if having a child excluded a person from romantic entanglements, as she’d called them. Hmm. In his mind he was replaying the events at the tavern. She’d given him her number, hadn’t she? Now he was confused, but unwilling to look like an idiot. If she wasn’t interested, then neither was he.
“I’m good too,” he answered in a clipped tone. “I’m on a relationship-free diet.”
Sophia’s lips twitched until she couldn’t hold her laughter in any longer. There was no doubt in his mind that she was laughing at him .
It didn’t sit well with him that she considered him a punch line. He’d believed that coming to Alaska would allow him to get away from all the ridicule and fallout from Love Him or Leave Him . “Seriously? You find that funny?”
Sophia cracked up. “Sorry, it’s just the way you said it.”
Caleb sat back in his chair and folded his arms around his chest. “I’m still traumatized by being on reality television, in case you were wondering.”
“What is all this business about the reality show? Tell me exactly what happened,” Hattie requested. “It’s never made a bit of sense to me. All I know is that you were on this show and the star picked you out of all the other men to be her forever. Is that right?”
“Pretty much,” Caleb muttered. He’d gone this far without Hattie hearing the nitty-gritty details. Thank goodness she didn’t watch television or comb the internet. It was humiliating to have to spill the beans with Sophia listening.
“Then something went disastrously wrong, as life sometimes does.” Hattie made a tutting sound. “From what I heard they did a number on you.”
“You’ve got the major points, Grandmother,” Caleb said. He just wanted this conversation to end. Although he knew the experience had made him a stronger man, Caleb wasn’t particularly proud of his time on the show. He cringed at the thought of his grandmother thinking poorly of him based on an editor’s cut.
“Well, you’re skipping the best part,” Sophia said, correcting him. “Just as Gillian picked Caleb as the man of her dreams, it came out that Caleb was having sexy times with her twin sister, Abby, who was supposed to be there providing support for her sister.” She paused to take a breath. “Then Caleb confesses his love to Abby and tells Gillian he doesn’t love her. Pandemonium ensues. Gillian is devastated. Twin sisters are torn apart by a man.” Sophia made a face. “Your grandson.”
Hattie appeared to be horror-stricken. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes went wide. She raised a hand to her chest. “Did you do all of that?” Hattie let out a distressed sound. “Oh, my goodness. Good thing I wasn’t tuning in.”
Caleb let out a groan. He glared at Sophia. “I thought you said you were only casually watching. Sounds like you were the show’s number one fan.”
Sophia shrugged. “What can I say? It was highly entertaining. I was hooked.”
He arched an eyebrow in Sophia’s direction and clenched his teeth and glared at her. Was she seriously saying all this in front of Hattie? At his expense? “I’m glad I could entertain you, even though you really don’t know what went down.” He couldn’t hide the note of anger in his voice. It had been almost two years of this crap, with everyone painting him as the bad guy. A mixture of fury and hurt caused his eyes to moisten. He was seeing things through a red haze.
“Okay, you two. Back to business,” Hattie said with a clap of her hands. “We’re going to have meetings all this week with the marketing and PR departments. I would like to hit the ground running on this campaign so we can have everything lined up for the launch of the new ciders in the fall.”
“I’m all in, Hattie,” Sophia said. “I’m really excited about working for Yukon Cider. I think Caleb is going to make a great lead for the campaign.”
The words coming from Sophia’s mouth surprised him. Was she actually giving him a genuine compliment? So far he hadn’t exactly been feeling the love from her, especially when she gave Hattie the recap of his time on Love Him or Leave Him . Although he had kept his mouth shut, he’d really wanted to set her straight. Sophia didn’t have a clue as to what had actually gone down behind the scenes. And based on her armchair analysis, he was the bad boy of reality television. A two-timer.
That wasn’t him at all. Never had been. Never would be.
Caleb wasn’t prepared to revisit the past and bare all to Sophia about what had really transpired. Nope, he barely knew her, and if she was going to judge him unfairly, then Caleb wasn’t really interested in getting to know her any better.
He was better off alone anyway. The fewer complications, the better.
Hattie clapped her hands together. “Well, I’m glad we’re all on the same page. This campaign is going to be wonderful. Stay tuned.”
Caleb stood up and pulled out his grandmother’s chair for her, then handed the cane to her for support. He resisted the urge to help her to her feet, knowing she would frown on the gesture. She stood up under her own steam, let out a ragged breath, then made her way to the door. With a little wave, she disappeared down the hall.
And then it was just Caleb and Sophia with another kind of tension crackling in the air between them. He felt some kind of way about her dragging him through the mud with Hattie. It wasn’t cool at all. He couldn’t even look in her direction at the moment.
The sound of Sophia clearing her throat drew his attention. “Caleb, is something wrong? You seem a bit withdrawn all of a sudden.”
He glanced over at her. Caleb wanted to choose his words carefully instead of lashing out at her. “You really went on a tear during the meeting. The way you portrayed me was in a very unflattering light. I’ve had a lot of negativity like that, but I didn’t expect to be blindsided by you.” His voice shook a little as he spoke. He wasn’t good at hiding his emotions.
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings when I was talking about the show. I didn’t mean to insult you or put you in a bad light in front of Hattie.”
He studied her expression. Sophia’s face was a mask of contrition. From what he could tell she was being sincere. But, honestly, what did he know about Sophia? She was proving to be a mass of contradictions. And he wasn’t an expert in the female department. Not by a long shot. In his past he’d been made a fool of by someone he’d cared about. His feelings had been completely overlooked. He was sensitive to being an object of ridicule. That probably hadn’t been Sophia’s intention.
“Forgive me for going too far,” she said. “We’re just getting acquainted and trying to feel each other out, so I learned something today about you. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Her tone was way softer than he’d ever heard before and a little bit shaky like his own.
Before Caleb could say anything, Sophia had sailed out the door, leaving him feeling a bit thunderstruck. Just when he thought that Sophia couldn’t throw him any more off-kilter, she did or said something to surprise him. Sophia had reeled him back in, reaching into his chest cavity and tugging with all her might.
Sophia left the meeting at Yukon Cider feeling like a complete jerk. This wasn’t the first time she’d opened up her mouth in an attempt to be witty and funny, only to have it backfire on her. But blabbing about Caleb’s stint on Love Him or Leave Him to Hattie without considering his feelings on the matter was a new low. If only she had stopped for a moment to consider the fact that he might not have wanted his grandmother to know all the details.
So far, she had mostly seen the jovial, always laughing Caleb. Even after being bitten by angry ants he hadn’t lost his ability to joke around. She’d never imagined that his experiences on the show were so painful.
Clearly, there was a lot more to Caleb’s stint on reality TV than she had ever considered. The wounded expression stamped on his face had spoken volumes. Something bad had gone down, and it wasn’t anything viewers had seen.
“Big mouth,” she said out loud as she stepped into her vehicle. She had been too embarrassed to stick around and see his response to her apology. She let out a sigh. Why had she been so eager to believe that Caleb had been deceptive in his on-air relationship? Her relationship with Donny had messed her up. It was difficult for her to believe the best of people. She needed to let those feelings go. They were clearly holding her back.
How in the world was she going to work with Caleb after this? Tears of frustration pricked her eyes. This job was a wonderful opportunity that could legitimately change her life. A nice salary. Health. Dental. Ample vacation time. All Caleb would have to do was tell his grandmother that he didn’t want to work alongside her. As lovely as Hattie was, Sophia knew who she would pick if pressed. All Hattie had wanted for many years was to be reunited with her three boys, her grandsons. Being terminally ill meant her time with her family was more precious than ever. Sophia may have just killed her chances at the job of her dreams, and she had only herself to blame.
Sophia pulled up to her sister’s house and honked her horn to announce her arrival. As a journalist, Patience worked at home and normally didn’t allow for interruptions during her work hours. She knew that Patience would make an exception for her.
Before she had even made it to the door, Patience flung it open. With her cinnamon-colored skin and light brown eyes, she looked like a mixture of Sophia and their mom. She was dressed in a flannel robe and pajamas, her shoulder-length dark hair swept up in a high ponytail. Her sister always said that working in her pajamas was a great perk that came with being a writer. “What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting with Hattie?”
Sophia let out a groan as she walked over the threshold and headed straight to the kitchen. Patience trailed after her. “Hello. Aren’t you going to say good morning and tell me what brings you here?”
She sat down at Patience’s kitchen table, put her head down in her arms, and let out a wail. “I am an absolute fool.”
“Uh-oh. Do I need to break out the Oreos?” Patience asked. She began rummaging in her pantry.
“It’s way too early for Oreos, but I will not say no to a mimosa.”
“Coming right up,” Patience said. “While I’m making them, tell me what’s going on. And don’t dramatize. Just give me the cold, hard facts.”
Sophia dragged her head up. Patience was uncorking a bottle of champagne. “I don’t dramatize, Patience.”
Patience didn’t have to say a word. She just sent Sophia a look that spoke volumes.
“At least not much,” Sophia acknowledged. “Just a smidgen.”
“Okay, talk. I’m almost done.”
“I went to Yukon Cider for my meeting with Hattie.”
Patience began pouring champagne into the flutes, holding the glasses at an angle until they were filled halfway. She then slowly poured orange juice into the flutes until they were filled to the rim. “Well that’s good news. Working for Hattie could be a game changer.”
Sophia let out another groan. “Unless a person flaps their gums and ends up insulting the CEO’s grandson.”
“You didn’t.” Patience placed a filled champagne flute in front of Sophia.
Sophia reached for the glass and guzzled down the contents. “I sure did,” she admitted. “And it wasn’t until I saw his expression that I realized what I’d done. I talked about his appearance on the reality show and the sordid details. I said way too much about things Hattie didn’t know about.” She covered her face with her hands. “He was mortified. And angry.”
“What in the world!” Patience exclaimed. “I hate to say I told you so, but I knew that your love of reality TV was going to come back to bite you.”
Sophia pushed her glass toward Patience. “Hit me up again. I can’t believe you’re lecturing me when I’m so down.”
“You know I like to keep it real, sis. Tough love, baby.” Patience refilled her flute with another mimosa.
“What if Caleb isn’t comfortable working with me now? Or what if he tells Hattie to give me the boot? As you said, working for Hattie could change my life… and Lily’s.” She let out a sob. “What if I blocked this blessing by running my mouth?”
Within seconds Patience was wrapping her arms around Sophia and murmuring words of comfort in her ear. “Don’t assume the worst, Soph. It sounds bad but not earth-shattering bad. I mean it’s kind of cringey that you brought up the reality show, but I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker.”
“Hattie asked, but I should have kept my mouth shut,” Sophia muttered.
“So tell Caleb that. Do a mea culpa and make sure he doesn’t cut you off at the knees. And, honestly, you have no indication that he would do something like that.”
“I already apologized, but he didn’t seem like he accepted it.” His silence had spoken volumes. She’d left the conference room out of sheer embarrassment.
“Well, Soph, it might be time to level up and grovel,” Patience suggested, taking a sip of her mimosa. “Look at it this way. At least you’ll get some more face time with a gorgeous Stone brother.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You wouldn’t have to tell me twice.”
Ugh. Sophia hated the thought of chasing Caleb down to beg for forgiveness. Maybe it wasn’t that deep, after all. She flashed back to the angry look on Caleb’s face. Nope, this was pretty bad. She needed to smooth things over before it all exploded in her face. Unless of course it already had. She’d beaten a fast path out of the conference room due to extreme embarrassment, but maybe she should’ve stuck around to talk to Caleb.
She wouldn’t forgive herself if she’d ruined her chances of a once-in-a-lifetime position. She truly needed this job.
Her dwindling bank balance depended on it.