Page 41 of An Alaskan Wedding (Alaskan Grooms 1)

“I’d like for the two of us to tell him together,” Grace said in a soft voice.

“Me, too,” Boone said. “Honestly, I’m a little nervous about his reaction. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to stop believing in something that’s sustained you for a lifetime.”

Grace quirked her mouth. “Well then, I guess you’re talking to the right person. I’ve been struggling with my faith for a while now. It’s so hard for me to believe in God when it felt like He didn’t hear any of my prayers.”

“Did you ever stop to thank God for all your blessings?”

Grace frowned. She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I praised Him at times, but I never stopped to thank Him for all the good things that came my way.”

Boone reached out and caressed the side of Grace’s cheek. It felt as soft as butter. “So how can you blame Him for every heartache and disappointment? If you aren’t lifting Him up in praise for the blessings, how can you turn your back on him with every setback?”

Boone was hoping his matter-of-fact statement would settle around Grace like the warm boots encasing her feet. He wanted her to know, in no uncertain terms, that God hadn’t punished her when her marriage plans had fallen apart and her family treated her so poorly. And even if it seemed as if He hadn’t been listening to her prayers, God would never forsake her.

She nodded as a look of calm passed over her face. “I’m beginning to understand that. Being here in Love has helped me realize that we all go through hard times. No one is immune to it. Jasper. Liam. Honor. And you, too, Boone. It doesn’t mean He doesn’t love me. And it doesn’t even mean He didn’t answer my prayers. It just wasn’t in the way I wanted at that moment. I need to open my heart to realize where God is leading me. Maybe then I’ll know what prayer He answered.”

Boone reached out and cupped her chin in his hand. “He’s led you here for a reason. Maybe one of those reasons is to shine a light on this legend business and to serve as an instrument for Jasper coming to terms with the truth. He needs you, Gracie.” His fingers reached up and gently traced the outline of her full ruby lips. “I need you.”

* * *

Grace’s sweet lips curved upward into a smile. “It’s nice to hear that.” She reached out and laced her fingers with his. “And I need you, too, Boone. More and more every day.” It was a scary thought, since their worlds were night and day. She was a city girl, through and through, while there was no doubt about Boone being a rugged lawman. Although she was falling in love with this town, her heart still belonged to New York City and her job at the Tribune. Boone would be as out of place in the Big Apple as a snowman on a tropical island. It would be painful for either one of them to have to choose.

“So, Gracie, how are we going to break the news to Jasper?”

A dinner date at Boone’s house should have filled Grace with a feeling of anticipation, but as she worked the afternoon shift at the café, all she could do was fret. Boone had invited Jasper to dinner with them so they could talk to him about everything she’d discovered with her research. Over and over again in her head she practiced the words she would use to break Jasper’s heart.

“Why don’t you take a break, Grace? You haven’t even stopped for a bite to eat,” Sophie said as she walked into the kitchen.

“I’m not hungry, Sophie,” she murmured. There were too many butterflies flying around her stomach to leave any room for food. All she’d been doing was offering up prayers for wisdom and discernment.

“A cup of coffee might be the perfect pick-me-up.” Sophie flashed a brilliant smile at her. “There’s love in the bottom of every cup.”

There’s love in the bottom of every cup. It was the slogan for Java Giant, the huge coffee chain she’d worked at four years ago. In the two weeks she’d worked there, a giant-sized picture of the owner’s daughter had greeted her every morning. The smiling, red-haired girl was the poster girl for the company. Over the years she’d become their brand. It was Sophie! Now she knew why Sophie had always seemed so familiar to her.

“Y-you!” Grace said, pointing at Sophie. She took a step backward. “You’re her. Java Giant. You’re—”

Sophie’s face crumpled. “Grace, please. I can explain everything.”

“No! No! Please! I don’t want to hear it,” Grace said in a raised voice, vehemently shaking her head from side to side. “I don’t want to know what a billionaire’s daughter is doing in Love, Alaska, working at a café your father could buy and sell a million times over. I don’t want to know why you ditched the Mattson name, either.”

Sophie took a step toward her. “You’re my friend. I want you to know why I’m here. And why I’m going by Miller instead of Mattson. It’s been so hard sitting on this secret. My family’s business is not who I am. I was so tired of people wanting to be around me because of my father a

nd the family fortune. Everyone in my life wanted something from me, usually money or a high-profile job with my father’s corporation. A man even pretended to love me just so he could marry the Java Giant heiress. I just became so hurt by it all that I wanted to go somewhere and be anonymous so I can find love.”

“And you don’t want anyone here to know who you really are?” Grace asked.

“They can’t know, Grace. Take it from me. People start treating me differently when they find out about the Java Giant connection. I’ve been dealing with it my whole life.” Tears began gathering in Sophie’s eyes. Grace reached out and clutched her friend’s hand, wishing she could take away Sophie’s pain.

Although Grace didn’t completely understand Sophie’s situation or what exactly had led her to hide out in Love, she knew enough about her to know that she was a woman of faith and conviction. She also knew firsthand the pressures in keeping secrets in this type of atmosphere. Love was a tight-knit, small town where newcomers were welcomed with warmth and generosity. It didn’t feel right to lie to them. It led to guilt and fear and shame. She felt all those things. On some level she knew Sophie must be struggling with those issues, as well.

And Grace didn’t want to be in a position to betray Sophie the way she was betraying every single resident of this town she’d grown to love. There was no doubt in her mind that a story about the Java Giant heiress living in a remote fishing village would be a major coup for the Tribune. Tony would salivate at the prospect of getting his hands on a story like that.

“There are people who’ve been hired to find me. I know how my daddy operates. But I trust you not to tell anyone,” Sophie said tearfully.

“You shouldn’t. I am not a trustworthy person,” she said fiercely.

Sophie’s eyes bulged. “But of course you are. You’re one of the finest people I’ve ever known.” Sophie wrapped her arms around her in an embrace of friendship and solidarity. Grace clung to her friend like a life preserver. She now knew she would never betray Sophie. It just wasn’t possible. This woman had kindness and warmth and an almost childlike innocence that Grace refused to exploit. She may have compromised her morals by going undercover in Love, but she wasn’t going to compound her mistakes by revealing Sophie’s secret.

Somehow that knowledge gave her hope. Maybe she wasn’t as bad a person as she believed herself to be. Maybe she could turn this whole thing around and tell Boone the truth before the articles came out. She’d emailed Tony and left a few messages about withdrawing her snarky article about Love. He’d sent her a message telling her not to worry about it and to keep sending more articles his way.

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