Page 32 of Dr. Alaska
Crawling to a stop, she sat, unable to move, hands still gripping the wheel, heart thumping against her ribs. What the heck?
Another peek in the rearview mirror—the SUV had nearly disappeared. Lee flicked the turn signal with a shaking hand and eased her sedan onto the plowed gravel dirt road that led to Mav’s home. Next to the narrow drive, towers of snow rose higher than her vehicle’s roof.
After a few hundred feet, leafless trees and dark green spruces rose on either side of the drive, creating a cocoon out of the wilderness. The state highway was only a short distance behind her, but as she wound around gentle switchbacks that seemed fitted around the stands of trees, it felt like she traveled to the very end of the Earth.
A few more minutes of carefully navigating up and over a hillside, then the road finally leveled into an open parking area.
As she pulled up near to what looked like the front door, she leaned forward and peered out. “Wow.”
A massive rustic log home appeared as if it rose from the forest. It was surrounded by snow-covered trees. A steep roof with frozen icicles off metal eaves capped a covered front entrance that projected out to a small porch with three stairs leading to the ground. She identified the feature as a typical Arctic entry that held boots and coats before opening into the rest of the main house. The two-story lodge—more like a lodge than a simple house—had a one-story section added to the right side of the structure, only half-visible due to the feet of snow on the ground.
She parked and opened her door, snagging her backpack that contained even more winter gear. With this many layers on, the cold didn’t touch her.
Wind gusted over her.Brr. Except for her exposed face.
Frantic yaps rose from behind the house. The babies.
Off to the left of the lodge stood three small cabins, their roofs barely visible with the snow all around. A clear path was plowed to the first cabin’s porch. Six snowmobiles with covers on them were parked nearby.
She glimpsed distant mountains, partially visible through breaks in the stands of trees next to the lodge. Crisp, fresh air with a hint of woodsmoke enticed her to inhale again. Back in northeast Georgia, she had vacationed in a rental cabin that was tucked in the picturesque southern Appalachian mountains, but she’d never experienced a remote, stark, and beautiful setting like this one.
The front door opened, and Maverick stepped out. He wore a pine-green-and-black-checked button-down shirt with leather patches on the shoulders. The shirt tucked into dark gray pants that hugged his hips and muscled thighs with rugged perfection. The thick boots he wore were halfway unlaced and loose at the calf, like he’d quickly pulled them on to greet her. He leaned against the doorframe, like he was a part of the Alaskan scenery.
“You found it.” His low voice cut through the cold morning like a clear bell.
“Almost didn’t survive the trip.” She closed the door and tromped in her new insulated boots on the snow-packed gravel.
Stopping at the foot of the three steps, she looked up. Maverick stood, feet shoulder width apart, like a hardy mountain man in his domain and utterly unfazed by the subzero temperatures.
He extended his bare hand to help her ascend the steps. She stopped on the small square entry porch, and he released the firm grasp.
“Can I take your bag?” he asked.
She handed it to him. “Sure.”
“What happened that you almost didn’t make it here?”
“An SUV just about ran me over coming out of this driveway. Were those the guests?”
“Damn it.” A scowl marred his appearance as a congenial host. “Sorry.”
“Yikes. Well, they must be enjoying their stay.”
“A little too much.” He ran a hand over surprisingly tame hair and shrugged. “Come on in.” A wary, uneasy expression furrowed his brow as he looked at the entry then back to Lee.
As though he worried what she would think.
Lee stepped into the entry and sat on the bench to tug off her boots and hang her coat. Thick, quickclacksand awhuffpreceded two paws on her knee with a small wolfish head studying her.
“Oh, hi there, honey.” She smiled. The dog had gray around the muzzle, brown eyes that gazed up at her, and a wildly whipping tail. Short, scruffy hair covered her head, but that tail was a waving flag of long fluff.
“Kenai, down, girl.” The dog reluctantly complied with a baleful expression toward Maverick.
“It’s okay.” Lee took off her mittens and glove liners and set them on the bench. She gave the dog the back of her hand to sniff. After receiving an approving lick, Lee scratched behind the dog’s ears and jowls and crooned, “You’re a pretty one, Kenai.” The dog put her paws right back up on Lee’s leg and huffed. “My goodness, so friendly.”
“Not to everyone. Usually she’s shy around strangers.” He gestured. “This is different for her.”
“Seems perfectly social to me.” Lee gave several solid pats against Kenai’s flank. “Wow, she’s solid.”
