Page 28 of An Alaskan Wedding (Alaskan Grooms 1)

She peered up at the side of the cliff, uncertain as to what was so special about it. “What am I looking at?”

“You’ll see,” Boone said in a lilting voice that hinted of something wonderful to come.

All of a sudden Grace spotted a bald eagle soaring across the sky. Within seconds, another joined the first one in flight. One after another, eagles majestically flew through the air. They were serene and beautiful. Their movements were powerful and full of grace. She’d never seen one in person, and since they’d been near extinction a few years ago, she’d feared that she might never have the opportunity.

“I can’t believe there are so many of them,” Grace said, her eyes darting all over the sky to catch a glimpse of them.

“We call it Eagle’s Landing,” Boone explained. “For some reason the eagles make their home way up there in a little alcove on the side of the cliff.”

“It’s their little nest,” she said, her voice infused with awe. There hadn’t been many times in her life when she’d felt speechless, but right here in this moment the raw beauty of the eagles stunned her into silence.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” Boone asked, his eyes roaming over her face.

She nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak and ruin the grandeur of the moment. She felt a sudden desire to write about all the things she was discovering about everyday life in Love. The wonderful people. The Moose Café. Wild eagles in flight. Hazel’s comfy boots. Sheriffs who made house calls. There was so much more to this town than a woman shortage and Operation Love. There was pluck and determination and A

laskan pride. There was friendship and heart and fellowship. And she was beginning to think that complete and utter happiness might be here, just within reach.

Boone rubbed his hands together. “The temperature’s beginning to drop out here. It might be time to head back. Hope that offer of hot chocolate still stands.”

She smiled at Boone, knowing there was nothing she’d like better than to sit down with him over a mug of hot chocolate. Little by little her world was changing. Two weeks ago her happiness had centered around her job at the Tribune, adding to her massive shoe collection and planning her next beach getaway. A burst of contentment flooded her at the simplicity of her current wants. Being with Boone, taking a nature walk and the prospect of drinking hot chocolate gave her more joy than she’d ever dreamed possible. But would she be willing to uproot her life in New York City and all the things that went along with it? Would she be content to live a small-town rugged life? What about museums and twenty-four hour diners and towering buildings? How could she leave all that?

“Of course the offer still stands,” she answered, feeling a slight panic at the realization that she was living on borrowed time. All too soon these moments would be nothing more than memories she reflected on from her tiny office in Manhattan. She needed to hold on tightly to these moments before they vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

It seemed to Boone as if the entire population of Love had shown up for the ice-skating event at Deer Run Lake. The welcoming committee had set up a snack table with hot chocolate, white-chocolate-chip cookies, hot apple cider and apple cider doughnuts. By the time they’d arrived, a good number of people were already on the ice, most of them kids who were whizzing around fast enough to make him dizzy.

When he noticed Grace shivering, he purchased two doughnuts and hot chocolates for the two of them. Eyes widened. Eyebrows rose. A few men frowned at him. By tomorrow morning he predicted that his date with Grace would be the talk of the town.

Did you see Sheriff Prescott last night?

I thought he’d never get over Diana.

Oddly, the thought of people gossiping about him didn’t bother him as much as usual. Perhaps that had something to do with Grace being by his side. In her black ski jacket, dark leggings and pink tutu, she looked very fashion forward. Pink leg warmers topped it all off. She held a black bag in her hand that contained her skates. Now came the moment when he would have to break it to her.

“Ready to get out there?” Grace asked, a look of anticipation lighting up her face.

Boone quirked his mouth. “I don’t know how to skate.”

Grace shook her head. “That can’t be true.”

Boone held up his hand. “I promise you, it’s true.”

“But you live in Alaska, home of snow, ice and subzero temperatures. How did you make it through your childhood without knowing how to skate?” Grace’s eyebrows rose by what seemed like inches.

“The Prescotts are fishermen, going back as far as we can trace it. I learned how to fish and mountain climb. And there was white-water rafting, skiing and canoeing. We Prescotts kept busy. We just weren’t skating.”

“Sounds like you Prescotts are a rugged bunch.”

“That’s a fair statement. Pretty much explains why my grandfather is still spelunking in his seventies. Look at you, though,” Boone said as Grace unzipped her bag and pulled out a pair of beautiful white skates. “I’m impressed. You brought your skates and everything.”

Grace’s eyes sparkled as she lightly ran her hand over her skates. “I learned to skate when I was six. I used to love when my grandfather would take me skating at Central Park back home.” Grace’s eyes sparkled. “The cold wind whipping against my face, that feeling of flying as I soared across the ice, a mug of hot chocolate between my mittens as I warmed up afterward. It was as close to perfect as it got. Afterward he would take me to my favorite doll shop and let me pick out whichever one I wanted.”

This was how Grace loved, he realized. Tenderly. Poignantly. With gusto. She shone from the inside out. What would it be like to be loved by this woman? To be her everything? To make it all the way past the wall she had up?

“Those are beautiful memories. Sounds like he’s an important part of your life.”

Grace winced. “He was. We lost him five years ago to a heart attack. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.”

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