Hearts in Alaska Read online

  Carter thought about his boyfriend's words, and then nodded. "Maybe you're right, but I have another idea," he added with a grin.

  "Oh God."

  Chapter Eleven

  Carter was up bright and early the next morning, packing his hiking gear as well as lunch and a canteen, by the time Sterling rolled over with a groan.

  "Morning!" Carter called out.

  Sterling got up and peeked over the side of the loft. "You've taken to this early morning thing a little too well," he complained.

  "I even made you some breakfast," Carter teased.

  "Mmmhmm, I can smell it," Sterling quipped. "What is it?"

  "Roasted oatmeal with lingonberries."

  Sterling pulled on a shirt, and climbed down the ladder, his small, agile feet barely noticing the hard bars. He saw Carter watching them, and blushed, just as he'd done the first time his boyfriend mentioned how cute they were.

  "Roasted oatmeal?" he repeated.

  "Yeah, you put it in a pan and stick it in the oven."

  Sterling shrugged, and sat down to eat, disappointed to realize that his boyfriend had already done so. It was obvious Carter was still going into town. In fact, he was practically out the door. Sterling took a bite and let out an appreciative hum.

  "Better than it sounds," he mumbled. Then Carter was there, giving him a peck. "You're leaving already?"

  "Yeah, I want to get back tonight. I have a lot to do," he added with a mischievous grin. When Sterling only groaned, he said, "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

  Sterling clucked and waved him away. "Have fun," he sassed. He tried to make it sound casual, but deep down, he was worried about this plan.

  This time Carter hadn't simply left his car sitting in the national park's parking lot. Instead, Sterling had showed him how to get it to Ralph and Martha's house. Carter remembered the hike well, and quickly followed the trail back. He'd taken the phone too, hoping to get a quick charge on it before going into town. He had a feeling he might just need it.

  Ralph and Martha were glad to see him again, but they gave him puzzled looks at his mysteriousness.

  "Do you know anything about this Davis Jackson?" he asked.

  "Never heard of him," Ralph answered. "What's going on, Carter?"

  He figured they were as good a place as any to start, so he sat down at their kitchen table. "The man wants to build a resort out here, and Sterling's land is right in the middle of where he wants to put it."

  "A resort?" Martha repeated in disbelief.

  "And I suppose Sterling's refusing to sell," Ralph said with a knowing nod.

  "Yeah. His land is the only piece left. Jackson owns the rest of it."

  He went on to tell them the story of Davis Jackson's repeated harassment, and the fire they'd had. When Martha and Ralph agreed to give them any help they could, Carter thanked them, and got up to leave with a big grin on his face.

  "You be careful," Martha warned as he waved goodbye.

  Carter drove the twenty or so miles back into Talkeetna as fast as he dared. His plan went round and round his head as he did so. He doubted a man like Davis Jackson would do his own dirty work, but with any luck, he could track down the people who'd been paid to set the fire. He didn't even know if Jackson himself was still in town, and he wasn't sure he could keep a cool head if he found the man. By the time he pulled in to Wynona's cottages, he'd decided it would actually be best if Jackson had gone home.

  "Well, hello there, stranger," Wynona said with customary charm. "What brings you into town?"

  Carter smiled and nodded, but then let his face fall. This could mean a big change for Sterling's way of life – big enough he may not even appreciate it when it was all said and done.

  "What is it?" the small, graying woman asked, and put a hand on his arm.

  "Have you had anyone in asking about Sterling Decker?"

  Wynona thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, there was a tourist admiring his art. He asked me where he could find Sterling. I told him no one had seen him in ten years."

  Carter took a nervous breath and shoved his hands in his coat pockets. "That's not....entirely true," he said with a grimace.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "You know how I told you I had found a hunting cabin?"

  "Yeah," she answered, slowly.

  "That wasn't what really happened. Actually, someone found me, and took me in. Sterling Decker to be exact."

  Wynona eyed him suspiciously, and for a moment, Carter wasn't sure she was going to say anything. Then she cocked her head and demanded, "You aren't fooling around with me, are you?"

  He simply shook his head shyly and dug out his camera, finding her the photo he’d taken of Sterling.

  Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. "Well, son of a bitch," she breathed. "I knew he had to be out there somewhere, but no one's ever seen him. Well, why did you look so glum? You knew I'd be excited to hear something like that."

  "Because someone's trying to force him off his land. That's why I'm here." He told her the story of the letters and the fire, and how he assumed that the man she'd talked to was the same one trying to buy Sterling out.

  "I haven't seen him since," Wynona admitted. "I can't believe some city sleaze is out here messing with our land. Who needs some big resort out here? We're just fine the way we are, thank you."

  Carter chuckled and nodded his agreement. "Sterling doesn't think there's anything we can do."

  "Well, there's got to be," Wynona countered.

  "If I can prove he had something to do with the fire, and show him he's not wanted here..."

  "That sounds like a plan," she enthused, and gave his arm a little slap. "I see your leg's healed up nicely, though," she ventured. "So, why're you still staying out there?" She winked at him, mischievously.

  Carter only blushed and shook his head.

  "Come on, you can tell me. Have a little meeting of the creative minds, did we? A little artistic collaboration?"

  "Wynona!" Carter exclaimed but couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, something like that."

  "Well, you let him know that we never forgot him, and that we're behind him one hundred percent. Whatever you need us to do, we'll be there."

  "Thanks, Wynona," Carter said, and gave her cheek a peck. As he started to walk out of the store, though, he stopped and turned back to her. "I don't suppose you know any locals who are asses enough to take money to burn someone's property, do you?"

  "You know, I just might."

  It turns out, there were a few ruffians around town, but there just happened to be two men who'd come in to Wynona's place the day before, buying up fire starting supplies.

  "They're bad news, Carter. Be careful."

  He agreed that he would, and then took their addresses from her. She'd pointed out that he'd probably find them at their favorite bar anyway, so he figured he might as well try there first. She'd also given him a general description, but as Carter walked into the sparsely-populated bar, he knew he wouldn't need them. Two men, in torn shirts and jeans, sat in the center of the bar, laughing and sloshing down beers. They didn't pay him any attention as he walked up, instead trying unsuccessfully to flirt with the female bartender. She looked tired and gave him a curt nod as he sat down.

  "What would you like?" she asked as she tore herself away from the other men.

  "These two to go somewhere else," Carter joked. When he got an appreciative smile from her, he added, "Jacob and Garth Hannigan?"

  "Yeah, you have business with them?" she whispered, her voice sounding disappointed.

  "The best kind," he answered with a wink.

  As she slowly realized what he meant, a smile crossed her face, and she said, "Whatever you want, it's on the house."

  "Hey, why does he get free beer?" one of the brothers complained.

  "Oh, you'll see," she answered as she walked by.

  The two brothers looked Carter over, flexing their muscles if not their brains. "
Who are you?" one of them asked.

  Carter shrugged. "Just passing through."

  "What did you say to Jess?" the other demanded.

  "Just that it would be nice if the two of you left."

  The two brothers turned red and looked back and forth at each other. "What the hell you talkin' about?" the first one asked, and the two of them moved down the bar.

  "I hear you're both really good with fire," Carter remarked, throwing them off guard. "Did the two of you set that fire in the woods yesterday? I was out near there. It looked pretty impressive. I was scared."

  The Hannigan brothers' moods changed instantly, and the anger and confusion was replaced by sass and bravado.

  "Maybe it was," Jacob admitted. "You saw it?"

  "Oh yeah," Carter enthused.

  The two of them laughed, and then Jacob admitted, "Yeah, that was us, but don't tell nobody." He and his brother chuckled like they didn't care who knew.

  Carter slowly nodded and turned toward them as Jess backed away from the bar. "That was my friend's place you tried to torch," he informed them in a low, menacing voice. Then he grabbed the nearest one and slammed his head down on the bar. "Davis Jackson hired you, didn't he?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about!" Garth howled.

  Jacob came up behind them, and tried to pull Carter off, but it didn't work. Carter may have been lanky, but his muscles were strong, and he'd studied martial arts when he was younger. He gave Jacob a quick elbow to the nose, sending the man reeling back. Then he pushed Garth back into the bar again as Jacob held his nose and howled in pain.

  "Davis Jackson!" Carter bellowed.

  "Okay, okay. Yeah, he hired us," Garth sputtered.

  "Where is he?"

  "He's not here, man. He flew home yesterday."

  "Shit," Carter hissed, and let the man go. "Get out of here," he grumbled. "And stay away from Sterling's place," he called out after them as they ran for the door.

  "That was impressive," Jess charmed as she walked back up to the bar. "Did they say they burned down some guy's property?"

  "Yeah, my boyfriend's. They tried anyway." He gave her a satisfied grin, and then followed the Hannigans out.

  It wasn’t surprising that Jackson had gone home. A man like that would have no interest in sticking around to get caught. As Carter walked the short streets of Talkeetna, though, his mind began to form a plan. He quickly made his way back to Wynona's place, and burst through the door.

  "Did ya find them?" she asked.

  "Yeah, right where you said they'd be. They told me everything, even bragged about it." Wynona simply huffed, so he added, "You said Sterling was popular around here, right?"

  "Very."

  "And no one's interested in a fancy resort a few miles away, bringing in who knows who from who knows where?"

  "Definitely not," Wynona agreed.

  "Then I think I'm going to need your help."

  Chapter Twelve

  Carter spent the rest of the afternoon with Wynona, getting to know the residents of Talkeetna. He was glad the days were getting longer or he may have had to spend the night at Ralph and Martha's. As it was, it was practically dark by the time he got back to Sterling's cabin.

  "You look tired," Sterling fussed as he walked through the door. He took his pack for him and handed him a cup of hot coffee. "I know it's not really cold out there anymore, but you still look like you could use it."

  "Thank you," Carter breathed, and sat down at the kitchen table to savor it. His stomach quickly reminded him that he hadn't taken the time to eat his packed lunch either. "What's for dinner?" he quipped.

  "I've made fish pie," Sterling called out, and then emerged with two plates.

  "That's ambitious," Carter replied, and then thought that he really should be getting used to it by now. "Did you cook like this when you lived alone?"

  "Nah, not really. It's a lot of fun though. I have some cookbooks back there. You should give it a try sometime."

  Carter blushed while Sterling chuckled into his own cup of coffee. Then they both dug in. As per usual, it was delicious, and Carter rewarded Sterling by doing the cleaning, and handing over the presents he'd brought back.

  "Art books?" Sterling asked. Just touching them after all these years felt strange.

  "Yep. There's some paints in the bottom of my pack too, oh and this," he added, handing Sterling the charged-up cell phone.

  "Oh, nice. I think it's your turn to call home, though."

  Carter shook his head. "I want you to call Davis Jackson and tell him you've reconsidered. Tell him you want to meet about selling your land."

  "You want me to what?" Sterling blurted and got to his feet.

  "Trust me. I have it all worked out."

  ***

  Davis Jackson was back at his desk in Anchorage, happy to be home. He didn't have the slightest qualms about what he'd hired Garth and Jacob Hannigan to do. He'd offered Sterling Decker more than a fair price for his land, and felt his entire livelihood now hinged on him delivering this resort. In his mind, he'd simply done what he had to do. As he opened a folder on his computer, to look over recent schematics for the resort, his phone rang.

  "Davis Jackson," he answered. The line was quiet. "Hello?"

  On the other end, listening over the speaker phone, Carter nodded. Sterling looked up at him, and then down at the phone, before taking a deep breath.

  "Um, Mister Jackson, this is Sterling Decker."

  "Oh, hello, Mister Decker. I hadn't expected to hear from you," Davis charmed.

  Sterling gritted his teeth, but managed to say, "I've reconsidered your offer. I think I'd like to sell."

  "Oh really?" Davis said, and leaned back in his chair. "That's wonderful."

  "Would you be able to come back out, and discuss it further?"

  "Certainly."

  Sterling looked back up at Carter, who was miming something, and then said, "How about the day after tomorrow? We could meet in town."

  "That would be just fine. I'll see you then."

  When he hung up, Carter gave him a thumbs up, but Sterling didn't feel very confident about it. "I hope you know what you're doing."

  Once again, Carter slept like a log, but Sterling was awake most of the night, agonizing over this plan his boyfriend had made. What made it worse was that he was skimpy on the details. He hated not knowing what was going on, especially since it affected his life so much, but he trusted Carter, and tried to put the doubts out of his mind.

  Carter spent most of the next day on the phone, while Sterling and Larry went out to work on the garden and the greenhouse. Luckily, they wouldn't need the greenhouse until the next spring, but it was still going to be a lot of work to fix. The garden still seemed mostly unscathed, and it was a matter of rebuilding the fence so that nothing got in to eat it.

  When he came trudging in at lunch time, having stripped off his layers for the first real heat wave of the season, Sterling spotted his boyfriend up in the loft, squinting at the walls.

  "They're the same ones that were there before," he quipped.

  Carter jumped, and then tried to hide his embarrassment. "Sorry, they're just really good."

  "You don't have to apologize," Sterling countered. He hung up his coat and turned back to the loft. "I'm not above having sex with fans."

  Carter snorted at the image of Sterling as some sex symbol rock star, seducing groupies in his dressing room. He nodded his head to the side and slipped his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

  "Well, thanks for the privilege," he joked.

  "Did you get all of your...whatever you were doing done?"

  "Yeah, just had a few calls to make," Carter answered with a mischievous grin.

  Sterling just shook his head. "I don't think I want to know." Then a thought occurred to him, something he hadn't picked up on the evening before, and his eyes widened in horror. "I agreed to meet him in town!" he blurted out.

  "Yeah, that's what you said," Carter agreed.


  "Why did you have me tell him to meet me in town?"

  "You'll see."

  "Carter, I don't like the idea of going into town. You know that."

  His boyfriend quickly came down the ladder and put his hands on his shoulders. "It'll be all right. I promise. You can do this. You have...friends in town."

  Sterling shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I don't know anybody in Talkeetna."

  Carter smiled. "You will. Do you trust me?"

  "I'm beginning to wonder," Sterling grumbled, but Carter only laughed, and pulled him into his arms.

  The next day, Carter and Sterling left Larry at home, and hiked over to Ralph and Martha's place to get Carter's car.

  "We were just about to head out ourselves," Ralph said with a covert wink at Carter.

  "You're going to Talkeetna today, too?" Sterling said, getting a suspicious feeling.

  "Yeah, gotta venture into civilization now and then," he answered. "Seemed as good a day as any. I can't believe you're heading into town, though, Sterling," he quickly added. "When was the last time you were in Talkeetna?"

  "Ten years ago," Sterling admitted nervously. "When I bought my land."

  Ralph and Martha gave him shocked looks, but didn't push it, which he was grateful for.

  "Well, perhaps we'll see you around then," Martha said, and flashed Carter a meaningful look. Then the two of them climbed into their truck and headed down the drive toward the highway.

  For a moment, Sterling only watched them go, then he looked over the top of the car at Carter. "There's something going on, isn't there?" he asked, but weakly. He knew he wasn't going to get an answer out of his boyfriend, so he simply crawled into the passenger seat.

  Though the drive into town was less than half an hour, it seemed like an eternity to Sterling. He was quiet and stared down at his hands. They were clasped tightly together, and he kept running one thumb down the other, hard enough to cause them to go white.

  Carter noticed his nerves and reached over to cover Sterling's hands with his own. "It's all going to work out, you'll see."