Chapter Five
CHAPTER FIVE
As soon as he spotted Sophia at the bar, Caleb made a beeline in her direction. In the process he left his mother and Hattie with his brothers, Red, and Jacques. He felt a tad guilty, but he knew they were in good hands. Hattie was like royalty in Moose Falls, and she could work a room better than anyone he’d ever known, including Hollywood movers and shakers.
Sophia, dressed in casual clothes, looked just as amazing as she had the other night decked out in formal wear. She was the type of woman who would look good no matter what she was wearing. And she wasn’t wearing much makeup other than a little shine on her lips.
Oh, those lips. What he wouldn’t give to taste those plump, sensual lips.
He wasn’t sure if Sophia even liked him, so the likelihood of locking lips with her seemed negligible. A guy could still dream, though, right? And he could put his best foot forward and try to flirt his way into her good graces. It was worth a shot. Maybe he could get her out on the dance floor.
Sophia was with another woman, and they were sipping drinks, nibbling on appetizers, and looking as if they were having a grand time.
“Hey, Sophia. Nice to see you again,” he drawled, trying his best to sound smooth, even though he was slightly rattled by the sight of her.
“I’m Patience,” the woman standing next to Sophia said, grinning wildly at Caleb.
“I’m Caleb Stone. Sisters, right?” he asked, looking back and forth between the two women. The resemblance was striking. He was shocked that he could focus on anything other than Sophia. She had occupied a great deal of his time lately, with thoughts of her running rampant in his head.
“We sure are,” Patience said, leaning in to put her head on Sophia’s shoulder.
“My better half,” Sophia said, patting her sister on the head.
“Lies,” Patience said, swatting Sophia. “No one’s better than you.”
“Aww,” Sophia gushed. “Right back atcha.”
Their banter reminded him of him and his brothers, although they didn’t gush over one another. They tended to use humor to downplay the way they felt about one another while still always having each other’s backs and staying close. The truth was, they were one another’s best friends. Nothing and no one could ever get in the way of their bond.
“I want to go say hi to Peggy,” Patience said. “Nice meeting you, Caleb.” She let out a loud squeal as she headed in the direction of a tall blond woman.
“Are you both dancing tonight? Or just watching?” Caleb asked. He looked around the place. It was pretty jam-packed. He spotted a few of his co-workers from Yukon Cider and waved in their direction. With each and every day he was becoming more enmeshed with in the fabric of Moose Falls. Establishing those relationships made being in Alaska more palatable. As someone who’d always enjoyed a strong social network, he savored the camaraderie.
“Absolutely,” Sophia said. “I’m wearing my dancing shoes.” She pointed toward her cowgirl boots. “And Patience loves to dance.”
He let out a low whistle. “Those are nice. I’m fully expecting you to tear up the dance floor and show off your moves.” He could imagine her strutting her stuff on the makeshift dance floor, drawing all eyes in the room in her direction.
Sophia made a face. “Don’t get too excited. I’m more of a low-key dancer. I’m not MJ.”
Caleb let out a low chuckle. “Well, who is?” he asked.
“How are the bites?” she asked. “They were pretty bad the other night. They sure made a meal out of you.”
“They’re much better. My mother gave me some salve for them. Apple cider vinegar and baking soda, along with a few other things. She’s a bit of a natural healer. She’s been patching us up since we were kids.”
“I love that,” Sophia said, her eyes lighting up. “She seems like a really cool lady.”
“She is, although when we were growing up she was no joke. Whether it was trying to sneak in after curfew or not keeping up with our grades, she didn’t hesitate to put Xavier and me in our places. Of course Landon was never in any trouble,” he said with a shake of his head. “The only crime he ever committed was reading under the covers with a flashlight after bedtime or turning in library books late and incurring steep fines.”
“I love how the three of you were so different, even as children.” Sophia let out a hearty laugh. He loved the crinkles that formed around her eyes when she laughed, as well as her carefree expression. This was the side of Sophia that her daughter saw each and every day, he imagined. Joyful and lighthearted.
“So how’s Lily?” he asked. He knew that going out on the town was a big deal for Sophia based on her comments from the other night.
“She’s great,” Sophia said, smiling. “I can’t believe you remembered her name.”
“It’s a beautiful name,” he said. “So is she with a sitter?”
A ragged sigh slipped past her lips. “No, she’s actually with her dad tonight.” Something about the way she said it let him know that it wasn’t an easy situation.
“And are you okay with that?” He wasn’t trying to pry, but at the same time he wanted to know how she was feeling. Maybe it was frustration, but she was giving off an unsettled vibe.
“I am. Sort of. Ish,” she said, scrunching up her nose. “I figured coming here tonight would be a great distraction from my reality.”
He leaned in close, immediately getting a whiff of her sweet floral perfume. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was jasmine. “I can be your distraction.” Turnabout was fair play. She had been distracting him ever since the night of Xavier and True’s engagement party.
Her eyes widened in response to his comment. He had her full attention now.
Before Sophia had a chance to respond, the DJ announced the start of the line dancing, as well as asking for any musical requests.
“Let’s go dance,” Sophia said, jumping up and grabbing his hand before pulling him toward the dance floor. Caleb followed along after her as a throng of people headed in the same direction. He ended up standing with Sophia on one side and True on the other. A quick glance around the area showed no sign of Landon. As usual, he was probably hiding out somewhere away from the crowd. Sooner or later, his little brother was going to have to stop avoiding social situations so he could get started on living life to the fullest.
An instructor stood at the front of the formation, demonstrating the specific steps for the first line dance, the Cupid Shuffle. Caleb already knew this one by heart, since he’d had to learn it for a dance sequence in a commercial he had been featured in. As the music filled the tavern, everyone began moving to the beat.
Instead of going left, Sophia went right, banging into him. She covered her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“Keep going,” Caleb said. “No worries. You’ll get in the groove. Just keep moving.”
In the next instant, he felt another crash against him. Sophia was looking at him and mouthing another apology. He had placed his hands on her arms as she fell onto him. Man, this was pretty nice having Sophia in such close proximity. She didn’t need to apologize for a single thing. Line dancing wasn’t as easy as people assumed.
A quick look at Sophia showed him she was still struggling a bit to get it right. She darted a glance around at the other folks dancing, a confused expression etched on her face.
“Let me help,” Caleb said. “Just stand behind me and follow my moves.”
“Okay,” Sophia said as he got in front of her and began dancing along with everyone else.
Her movements were a bit hesitant, but she was moving in the right direction and going with the flow. By the time the song ended, she was crushing it.
As the song concluded, Caleb noticed Hattie and Landon sitting at one of the nearby tables.
“I’m going to check on Hattie,” he told Sophia, raising his voice over the din.
“Let me come say hello,” Sophia said, walking alongside him. “I don’t get to see her nearly enough.”
As soon as they reached Hattie’s table, she gave them the thumbs-up sign. “You two look good out there,” she said.
“Caleb does for sure,” Sophia said. “I got confused with my left and right feet.”
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. And you turned things around. I had my eye on you,” Hattie said with a wink.
“Why are the two of you sitting?” Caleb asked. He lightly kicked Landon with his shoe. “It’s a lot of fun out there.”
Landon wrinkled his nose. “Too many steps to learn. I’m content just to watch.”
“I’m not,” Hattie said. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect song to join in on the action. Jacques just went over to request my favorite line dancing song.” Hattie had a huge grin on her face, which made Caleb happy. She deserved every ounce of joy the world had to offer. He had a feeling it was Jacques bringing her the smiles. Clearly, she was a woman in love. Seeing their love story play out was a wonderful gift for him. Each and every day he was learning more and more about life and love. Between Hattie, Jacques, True, and Xavier, he was getting a master class in how to find a soulmate. Maybe there was hope for him yet.
He’d never thought about love at Hattie’s stage in life, but Hattie and Jacques were the real deal. Their devotion to each other was touching.
Suddenly, Jacques was standing there with an identical grin on his face. “Done, milady,” he announced as the music for the Electric Boogie filled the tavern. “Let me escort you out there.”
Hattie let out a squeal of excitement as Jacques pulled her gently to a standing position before dipping his head down and planting a kiss on her lips. She looped her arm through his before turning toward the group. “I expect to see all of you out there on the dance floor,” Hattie said in a no-nonsense tone as she took off.
“I can do this one with my eyes closed,” Sophia said, following after Hattie.
Caleb turned to Landon. “You can’t disappoint Hattie. Come on!” He beckoned him to join in. When Landon stubbornly shook his head and folded his arms across his chest, Caleb reached out and pulled him to his feet by his shirt.
“I don’t want to dance,” Landon protested. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not a dancer.”
“Do it for Hattie,” Caleb insisted. “It means a lot to her to have us all out there doing the Electric Slide. That might seem silly to you. All I know is that we have to make sure she’s surrounded by love for every moment that she has left.”
Suddenly, all the fight went out of Landon. “Okay, I’ll do it. I understand. Even if I make a colossal fool of myself, I want to make our grandmother happy.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Caleb said as he put his arm around Landon and pulled him into his side as they joined the dancers. Once they got in step with everyone else, Caleb could see that Landon was way better than he’d let on. That was the thing about his baby brother. He kept things close to the vest. If he asked him, he knew Landon would say that simply because he didn’t want to dance didn’t mean he couldn’t dance. He was that kind of frustrating.
The floor was packed, and Hattie was right in the thick of it, beaming as she perfectly executed the moves. All eyes were on his grandmother. The crowd parted, and Hattie was in the center. Everyone stopped dancing and began to cheer Hattie on.
“Hattie! Hattie!” The crowd chanted and clapped as Hattie danced the Electric Slide. She loved the attention, preening and posing as everyone looked on.
Jacques was standing nearby, watching his lady like a hawk. Despite her illness, Hattie was killing the dance moves. Her vivacity was deceiving. Because of her kidney disease, she’d been doing dialysis treatments for decades. At this point, her condition was terminal.
All of a sudden Hattie wobbled as if she’d lost her balance.
“I think that’s enough for tonight,” Jacques said, moving quickly toward Hattie’s side and clutching her by the arm. His brow was furrowed, and his features were tightly drawn.
“But I’m not tired,” Hattie protested. “I could cut a rug all night long.”
“I bet you could, sweetheart, but I think you should quit while you’re ahead,” Jacques suggested. He wasn’t easily swayed by Hattie, despite the pleading tone in her voice.
A mutinous expression was etched on her face. “I don’t want to be treated like an invalid. I’m feeling terrific.”
Uh-oh . She was being feisty with Jacques. Caleb knew that Hattie was struggling to maintain her independence while dealing with the realities of her terminal illness. His heart went out to her. If he were in her shoes, he might not get out of bed in the morning. His grandmother continued to walk around with a smile on her face and an iron will, as well as continuing her leadership role at Yukon Cider. Her fortitude was spectacular.
“I bet you’re feeling on top of the world,” Jacques said to Hattie in a low voice that was barely audible to Caleb. “You love being the center of attention.”
“It’s not my fault I’m fabulous,” Hattie said as she stopped dancing and leaned on Jacques. For all her protestations, she looked winded.
“I would never dispute that in a million years,” Jacques said, leaning down and kissing Hattie on the lips. Once again, the crowd roared. Everyone enjoyed seeing a love story up close and personal.
Caleb could see the signs of wear and tear on his grandmother’s face, as well as noticing her labored breathing. Jacques, who knew her better than anyone, had made a good call. Everyone knew that he cared deeply for Hattie and always watched out for her best interests.
“Come on, Grandmother,” Caleb said, lending her his arm. “Give other people a chance to shine. With you on the dance floor, no one else stands a chance of being a breakout star.”
Hattie patted his cheek. “Oh, you silver-tongued flatterer.”
He winked at her. “You know I’m simply speaking the truth.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll go sit down and take a break.” She looked around the tavern. “This is quite a crowd. True really has done wonders with the place. I’m so glad Northern Exposure will be in good hands.”
Caleb didn’t miss the wistful tone that laced her voice. Hattie knew she wouldn’t be around much longer. She wasn’t the sort of woman to sugarcoat things.
“You laid the foundation for all of this,” Caleb said, bending over and placing a kiss on her temple. “That won’t ever be forgotten.”
And neither will you.
Watching Caleb handle Hattie with such finesse caused a warm feeling to flow through Sophia. She could tell from the expressions on both of their faces that they were sharing a tender moment.
Hattie’s grandson was turning out to be way different than she had imagined. Reality television hadn’t done him any favors, and she had to wonder if production had created a false narrative about him. This version of Caleb couldn’t be a cheater and a liar. He was way too sweet.
Hmm. Or was she simply ignoring her own tendency to focus on the positive. People could be a mix of a bunch of different things. Just because she wanted to believe Caleb was a stand-up guy didn’t mean he was like that in relationships. Everyone had pegged Donny as a nice guy, until he had proven them wrong.
“If you stare any harder, you might end up cross-eyed.” Patience was standing next to her, smirking.
“Shh. Someone might hear you.” The last thing she needed was for people to think she was crushing on Caleb. It was ridiculous feeling this way, since without a doubt she was crushing on Caleb.
“And so what? With the way you’re eyeballing him, I’m sure other folks have noticed by now.”
“I was simply watching him with Hattie. It’s really sweet,” Sophia said, downplaying the way she’d been staring at him. It had been a long time since someone had come along who drew her in like a moth to a flame.
“Mm-hmm,” Patience murmured. “I totally believe you. Not!” Patience stuck out her tongue.
Sophia rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you focus on your own love life?” She jutted her chin toward the bar. “Jason is staring at you. When are you going to put him out of his misery? He’s been chasing you for years now.”
Patience glanced over at Jason and waved. “I’m thinking about going out with him the next time he asks. At least one of us has to put ourselves out there.” She made a face at Sophia.
“If you remember, I did put myself out there,” Sophia responded. “It was a train wreck. Other than the part where I ended up with Lily.”
“You can’t let one bad experience take you out of the game,” Patience said. “I’ve had a few heartbreaks myself, and they haven’t stopped me from hoping and dreaming. You should try it sometime. It’ll do you a world of good.” With a cheeky wave, she took off, walking toward the bar and straight toward Jason. Sophia barely had a moment to check out the interaction between Patience and Jason when Caleb walked over.
“Hey, I have something that belongs to you.” His tone was light and flirty. But maybe she was reading into it. Perhaps she was hoping he was trying to flirt with her. She had the feeling she wasn’t the only one either, considering all the stares he was getting.
“Really? What would that be?” she asked, trying to focus on his words and not his striking features or the way his shirt accentuated his taut chest.
“The Leica. I guess you were so overjoyed to be rescued that you forgot all about it when you made your mad dash out of the attic.”
She slapped her hand to her forehead. “I keep meaning to pop over to the house to collect it, although I have no intention of ever going back in that attic again.”
“Seriously? I thought being trapped with me was a little slice of paradise.”
Sophia placed her hand over her heart. “It was actual heaven on Earth, particularly the part where the ants invaded your pants.” Her lips twitched at the memory of Caleb discovering that he’d been swarmed by the insects.
“Ouch. Making fun of my pain. Not cool, Sophia,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
She reached out and touched his arm. “Sorry about that. Just a little carpenter ant humor. I appreciate you holding on to the Leica for me.”
“No worries. The camera is safely out of the attic. It’s only fitting that you have it in your possession, since it’s the reason we got trapped up there.”
“Well, actually it was because you closed the door behind us. Lest we forget,” she quipped.
“Tomato, tomahto,” Caleb said, showcasing a pearly toothed smile. “Let’s meet up for coffee or tea or baked Alaska so I can give it to you.”
Sophia burst out laughing. “Baked Alaska? That’s kind of random.”
Caleb laughed along with her. “Guilty as charged. But I made you laugh, didn’t I? And you have a terrific laugh.”
She basked in the compliment for a moment, realizing it had been a long time since a man had given her one.
“Let’s exchange numbers,” Sophia said, still chuckling while taking out her cell phone and handing it over to Caleb. He quickly put his information into her phone and handed it back.
His hand lingered on hers as she took the phone back. “Soft hands, warm heart,” he murmured. Their gazes locked and held. For the life of her, Sophia couldn’t look away from him.
Even though Caleb’s comment bordered on being corny, she felt her cheeks getting flushed. This man was making her feel flustered.
“I’m going to make sure Hattie is all settled,” he said. “Hope to see you soon, Sophia.”
“Night, Caleb.” Her eyes trailed after him, lingering on his rugged physique and the huge amount of swagger he exuded.
Caleb Stone was turning out to be someone who intrigued her way more than she had ever imagined. There seemed to be a lot more to him than met the eye, and she was eager to find out more about this mysterious man.