36. Haven
Chapter Thirty-Six
Haven
I was pacing in the apartment above the barn when I got the text from Elsa.
I grabbed my fishing waders and an extra pair for Elsa in case she didn’t bring hers, along with a change of clothes in case she was wet. After that, I jogged over to the main lodge, hoping to find my brothers.
“What’s up?” Jude and Cole were lounging on the couch in front of the TV.
“Keep it down. I don’t want Tommy to hear us,” I said. “We need to go.”
“Where?” Cole asked, just as Asher came walking into the room.
“I just got a text from Elsa. She’s dealing with a stranded whale. The tide won’t be in for a few hours. She says she’s just north of the mudflats, so we need to get down there.”
Not for the first time, I thanked the stars for my brothers. They didn’t even hesitate to jump into action, with Asher racing to find Grady to come along as well.
We took two trucks and drove through the falling darkness.
“Do you know where she is?” Jude asked from my side. He was with me while Cole, Asher, and Grady were in Cole’s truck. We’d left Tommy home with our mom. Close enough to his bedtime, I’d known it wouldn’t be a good plan to bring him along.
“We should see her car. Cell reception isn’t great there, and I don’t want to drain her battery by calling until we find her.”
“Good point. We’ll find her.”
I added some pressure to the gas pedal.
“You okay?” he asked after silence stretched for a few moments.
“As okay as I can be.”
“You don’t seem all that okay,” Jude pointed out. His tone wasn’t even a little teasing.
“I might be freaking out,” I admitted. “I’m not going to be okay until I know Elsa’s okay.”
“You love her.” His words fell between us, quiet and low.
My heart felt lodged in my throat. “I do. She’s pissed at me because I told that Brad guy to stay the fuck away from her.”
“Ah, I see. Well, he’s an ass,” Jude offered dryly.
I chuckled. “He is an ass.”
Blessedly, Jude dropped any conversation about my feelings after that, thank fuck.
I knew maybe I’d overstepped when it came to Brad, and I was still stewing a little, knowing part of what I’d done was fueled by jealousy.
I knew Elsa could protect herself, butfor fuck’s sake , I wanted to drive my fist into that guy’s face.
Instead, I’d have to make do with making sure he couldn’t fuck with Elsa.
It was close to dark by the time we saw Elsa’s car. Of course, dark in late summer in Alaska was after ten o’clock. Cole parked behind us, and we all tumbled out.
On our way out, we’d grabbed as many lights as we could from the resort—construction lights and large battery-powered flashlights.
“Elsa!” I called.
I was relieved when I heard her voice in return. “Over here!”
We swung the lights around until we saw her standing in the water with a whale and a bucket.
“We called the troopers, right?” Cole asked, his tone dry.
“I already did,” I replied. “They’re headed this way too. We might be here for a few hours.”
“We should ask them to bring takeout,” Grady piped up.
I chuckled, slightly relieved for the humor because my worry was spinning tight inside. I grabbed the wading gear for Elsa after I pulled on my own. She was soaked and shivering as she stood beside the whale.
“Elsa, we need to get you dry,” I said when I reached her side.
“I know. I was in a rush to leave and forgot to get my waders.” Her worried gaze met mine, and my heart twisted.
“You go get dry and change,” Jude ordered her. “We’ll keep pouring water on this whale. We can stay here all night if needed.”
“Troopers are headed down here too,” I added.
Elsa let out a breath, stroking her hand over the massive whale. “I thought they’d be here by now.”
“Whoever reported this just called the wildlife hotline, and they notified the troopers, but the message sat in voice mail,” Asher explained as we walked back to the truck. “That’s what the troopers said when I called.”
Elsa was shivering. “Sweetheart, why didn’t you call me sooner?” I asked.
“I was in a hurry and thought the troopers would be here.” Her breath slipped out. “And you weren’t home, and I yelled at you the last time I saw you.” She blinked, giving her head a quick shake.
“Let’s get you dry and changed.”
“I’m not leaving,” she replied, her words edged with stubbornness.
“I know you’re not leaving,” I returned. “We’re gonna get this whale through the night, and hopefully, the tide rises enough soon.”
“It’s already coming in. I can hear the rest of them waiting for her,” Elsa said.
“I know. She’s got friends, just like you do.”
“I’m worried her calf is stressed,” she fretted.
“Probably.”
While I nudged her away to my truck, Elsa continued rambling with worry about the whale, and all the while, my heart felt split wide open. Elsa loved wildlife as much as she loved humans.
By the time she dried off and changed, I was relieved she wasn’t shivering anymore. She didn’t even want to bother eating when the troopers arrived, having actually done as Asher had requested and brought takeout from a nearby gas station that served pizza.
“We’re here to help and set up as many lights as you need,” one of the troopers called out.
“Thank you. We love you!” Elsa called through the gloaming, with the lights shining on the whale as we poured water over it.
I didn’t even know how long we were out there until the tide rose. Between us and two of the troopers, once we had enough water underneath the whale to get her pushed off the sand, Elsa cheered and burst into tears as the whale swam into the deeper water on her own.
We were all overcome with emotion. She jumped up and down and threw her arms around me. “Thank you!”
She proceeded to hug everybody there. Standing in the water as the lights shone out over it, we watched the pod of whales circling the mama whale, and the calf sidled up to her.
It was kind of hard to tell in the darkness, but I could have sworn they were thanking us when they collectively blew misty air and water from their spouts.
We were all salty and sandy as we climbed back into our trucks.
Standing by the passenger door by Elsa’s car, Jude looked from me to Elsa. “Want me to drive your car back?” he asked.
“Oh!” Elsa gave her head a little shake. “I forgot to consider that. If you don’t mind, that would be great.”
Jude flashed a quick grin. “I offered.” After she fished her keys out, he hopped in and waved.
I waited for a moment after Elsa was in the truck. Relief gusted through me. The whales were safe, and she was safe. I turned to face her. Words were boomeranging around as I struggled to collect my thoughts.
“Elsa,” I finally said, my voice hoarse with emotion rushing through me. “I wanted to talk to you tonight.”
Her eyes were big in the dim glow of the dashboard lights.
I took an unsteady breath, turning to face her and reaching over to palm her cheek. “Are you okay?”
She blinked. “Yes.”
Her hand curled on my wrist, sliding up and down as if to comfort me. Touching her after a few nights of not touching her was like throwing a lit match into dry kindling.
“I missed you,” I murmured as I leaned across the console and pressed a kiss to her forehead. When I lifted my head, she tugged me back and brought her mouth to mine.
I poured so much feeling into that kiss. It was messy and open and hot. It was so much more need than lust. Love didn’t even capture how much she meant to me.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” She blinked, her lips swollen from our kiss. “Our office is the first place they call when there are stranded whales, and my boss is out of town, and some?—”
I shook my head. “You don’t need to explain. I just missed you, and when I couldn’t get ahold of you and saw your text…” I gestured toward the dark ocean inlet. “I was a little worried.”
“I know, but the whale’s fine, her calf is fine, and everybody’s safe.”
I cleared my throat. “Next time, can you text me before you drive out into the darkness?”
She smiled sheepishly. “I will. I wasn’t thinking. It’s been… Well, should we drive home now?” she asked softly.
“Yes.” With my emotions spinning inside, I needed something to focus on and slow my thoughts down.
“We can talk on the way,” she said with a little laugh when I leaned close to give her another kiss.
“We can.” I was reluctant to even drop my hand away from her, but there was only one way to drive. Driving wasn’t going to work with me leaning across the console and kissing her over and over again.
Once I started driving, with the beam of lights on the road ahead of us as we wound through the turn upon turn of Turnagain Arm, I spoke, “I know I overstepped by interfering with Brad. I just?—”
“It’s okay. I overreacted. I could have handled it myself, but I appreciate what you were doing. Brad is a jerk, and he can be pushy. And to be honest, him hearing it from you and knowing that you could be a real nuisance to him is probably best.”
“I know you can handle it yourself,” I replied gruffly. I reached over, squeezing her knee.
When I turned my hand over, she laced her fingers in mine. Just being able to touch her soothed the rampage of emotions and desire coursing through me.
“Sometimes I can be overprotective,” I said with a chuckle.
She squeezed my hand, and I was relieved when she giggled. “As long as you understand that I can take care of myself.”
“Sweetheart, I know you can take care of yourself.”
I took a breath, feeling the tension bundled inside me ease slightly. “How long were you with Brad?”
“You don’t need to worry about Brad at all,” she said quickly.
“I know that. I’m just curious.”
“Are you jealous?” When I slid my gaze to hers, her eyes were wide with disbelief.
I bit my lip, wanting to fib, but this was Elsa. This was us. “Maybe a smidge. Don’t worry. It wasn’t like I thought you still had a thing for the guy, but I was like, what the fuck? Who is this guy? ”
Elsa sighed, the sound deep and heartfelt. “I haven’t had the best judgment in men. Present company excluded.”
“Oh, so I’m a good choice?” I teased lightly, trying to ignore the doubts that so often clamored in my mind. Not specifically about Elsa, but about whether I could be everything she needed and deserved.
“Definitely.” She twisted her lips with an eye roll before shaking her head. “You knew my childhood, Haven. I just… I never felt like I fit in. And that’s saying something when you’re from Alaska, you know?”
“I know. I get it.”
“My dad let my mom down a lot, even though he loved her. My therapist said I might have some issues with feeling emotionally abandoned because of how he died, and that he could’ve tried to help himself, but he didn’t.
She said that sometimes that plays out in feeling like you might literally be abandoned.
Unconsciously, I found men who weren’t like my dad at all.
Like, had their life together. All the traditional trappings, financial success, regular job, all that.
” Elsa circled her hand in the air. “And quirky guys like my dad are a better fit for me. I guess? But you’re not like my dad either. ”
I chuckled. “Uh, no, I don’t think so.”
“When you stepped in with Brad, all my reactions kicked in, so I panicked.” She paused. “I hate admitting the next part.”