smiled. Obviously the bachelors who lived inside felt it necessary to protect themselves from predatory females. Below the large block letters, she read another phrase. 'Except for Julia,' she murmured.
Perrie stepped back, wondering who Julia was and why she was admitted entrance to the lodge. 'Well, if Julia can go inside, I certainly can,' Perrie said.
She hesitated for a moment and tried to come up with an offhand greeting for Joe. After what had passed between them yesterday, she wanted to make it clear that she would not tolerate any more spontaneous kissing… or touching. She'd be polite and friendly. And when she felt that familiar surge of desire that raced through her whenever he came near… well then, she'd just turn around and walk away.
Her resolve firmly in place, Perrie rapped on the front door and waited for a reply. But when no one came to answer, she knocked again. After the third try, she decided to venture inside.
The interior of the lodge was a complete surprise. She expected something as rough as the exterior. But instead, she entered a huge room that combined a cozy country feel with rugged log walls and a stone fireplace. Brightly colored woven blankets draped the chairs and sofa, and scattered about the room were interesting little pieces of Alaskan art-a carving here, a handwoven basket there. Rag rugs covered the plank floors and a fire snapped and popped in the fireplace. Compared to her bare-bones cabin, the lodge was backwoods luxury.
'Hello?' she called. 'Is anybody home?'
Her call was answered by a high-pitched voice and a flurry of footsteps. A small boy, pale-haired and wide- eyed, appeared from the rear of the other side of the great room. 'I'm here!' he cried.
When he saw her, he stopped short then adjusted his glasses on his upturned nose. 'Who are you?' he asked.
'I'm Perrie. Who are you?'
'I'm Sam. I live here. Are you looking for my dad?'
Perrie frowned. 'That depends on who your dad is,' she said. Joe hadn't said a word about having a son, and Hawk didn't seem like the fatherly type. One of the brides had mentioned that the third partner in the lodge had recently married, but he hadn't been married long enough to have a child so old. 'I'm looking for Joe.'
Sam sauntered up to her side and studied her unabashedly. 'Joe isn't my dad, he's my uncle. Well, he's not really my uncle, he's more like a big brother. Or maybe my best friend. My dad's name is Tanner. He's really my stepdad. We flew in from Fairbanks this morning.' His eyes twinkled. 'Boy, are my arms tired.' A giggle burst from his lips and Perrie couldn't help but smile. His laughter was infectious. 'That's a joke,' he said.
'I know,' Perrie replied, joining in his delight.
'What is going on in here?' A slender blonde appeared next to Sam, a dish towel clutched in her hands. 'I can hear you all the way in the kitchen!' She stopped when she saw Perrie, then regarded her with a curious. gaze.
'I'm sorry,' Perrie said. 'I knocked, but there was no, answer. I'm looking for Joe.'
A smile touched the woman's lips. 'Are you Joe's Perrie?'
Perrie returned her smile hesitantly. 'No. I mean, yes. I'm Perrie… but I'm not…' Her words trailed off. Trying to explain exactly what she was to Joe Brennan was becoming more complicated every day.
'I was just going to walk up to your cabin and meet you!' the woman cried. 'I'm Julia Lo-I mean, Julia O'Neill. I've only been married a month. It's strange getting used to the new name.' She paused. 'So, how has your stay been? Have you been comfortable? I hope Joe has been taking good care of you. He's not usually in charge of hospitality, but Tanner and I have been at loose ends this last month, with the wedding and the move and-' Julia paused again. 'Would you care for some breakfast? I've made some muffins.'
'Is Joe here?' Perrie asked.
'He's down at the airstrip with my husband. They're unloading all our things. Sam and I just closed up our apartment in Chicago. We're going to be living here now. Is there something I can help you with?'
'I was wondering if the lodge has a fax machine,' Perrie asked.
'We sure do. Tanner just put one in last month. It really helps with the reservations and trip details. It's in the kitchen.' Julia motioned Perrie to follow her and they walked through a large dining room filled with old tables and a hodgepodge of antique and handmade chairs. Beyond a swinging door was a huge kitchen, as rustic and cozy as the rest of the lodge.
'The fax machine is over there by the phone,' Julia said. 'Why don't you send your papers and then we'll sit down and visit?'
Like Ann, Julia seemed anxious for female company. Perrie suspected that adjusting to life in Muleshoe was difficult, especially coming from a city like Chicago. Yet Julia seemed incredibly happy and excited, the same as Ann had been. They had their husbands and their families and a life full of challenges.
Perrie had her job. That had always been enough, more challenge than she could handle at times. But when compared to carving out a life in Alaska, Perrie's twenty-four-hour-a-day job as an investigative reporter seemed to lose a bit of its luster.
Sure, people in Seattle knew her name and they waited to read her stories. And she waited, impatiently, for someone to do something wrong. That summed up her whole career. She preyed on the indiscretions of others, exposing their foibles to the entire city of Seattle and delighting in their punishment. Without criminal intent and old-fashioned greed, she wouldn't have a job.
When she looked at it like that, she suddenly saw her career unfold in front of her. What would she be doing in a year… five years… ten years? Would she still be watching and waiting, hoping that some prominent person might take a step on the wrong side of the law? Would she still eat, breathe and sleep her work? Or would she find a new road to take, the way Ann and Julia had?
'Perrie? Do you know how to operate this machine?'
Startled from her musings, Perrie turned and nodded to Julia. 'Yes. I-I was just trying to remember the number.'
Page by page, her story went through the phone lines from Muleshoe, Alaska, all the way to Seattle. Within a few hours, Milt would read it. She could already hear his tirade as he wondered where her brides story was. In another few days, she'd take part in the Muleshoe Games and she'd finish the story she'd been assigned. And then she'd go home to her comfortable apartment and her exciting career.
'Would you like to sit down and have a cup of coffee?' Julia asked.
Perrie stared down as the last pages slipped into the machine. 'I-I can't. I really have some tilings to take care of.' The truth be told, now that she'd avoided Joe's company, she wanted to get out of the lodge before he returned. She wasn't at all sure that she had enough resolve to keep from wanting him as much as she had the last time they were together.
'I can't believe you're comfortable up at that cabin,' Julia said. 'We have an extra room here in the lodge. You're welcome to stay down here.'
'My cabin is fine,' Perrie replied.
'But traipsing to the outhouse and hauling in that tub to take a bath… '
'It's all part of the wilderness experience.'
'Well, I certainly couldn't put up with it,' Julia said.
Perrie frowned. 'But you live here.'
'And we have a bathroom,' Julia said.
A gasp broke from Perrie's throat. 'A bathroom? An indoor bathroom? You don't have to walk to the outhouse in the middle of the night?'
'Of course not,' Julia said. 'That's why I couldn't understand why you'd choose to live in one of the cabins when you could have stayed down here.'
'I could have stayed here in the lodge?'
'I did when I first came here,' Julia said. 'Although I'm not surprised that Joe put you out in one of the cabins, considering the legend.'
'What legend?'
'There's a carving above the door. The prospectors that lived here during the gold rush believed that any woman who crossed the threshold of the lodge would marry one of the inhabitants.'
'And I've been hiking to the outhouse in subzero weather and bathing in the sink because Joe Brennan thinks I might decide I want to marry him?'
Julia considered Perrie's words for a moment, then nodded as if the logic were quite acceptable. 'Yes, I
