WILD MEN OF ALASKA

chapter EIGHT

“The woman is nuts,” Lynx said, slumping on the barstool in his sister Raven’s kitchen. It had been a few days since the failed canoe trip, and he needed to figure out a way to get Eva talking to him again.

Much like his house, Raven’s was built of logs, with a loft above the kitchen area, leaving the living room open with a cathedral ceiling. But her place overlooked the Chatanika River with floor to ceiling windows. She had a stunning view. While his cabin was more nestled in the trees. Cozy and hidden.

“Really?” Raven raised a brow over the mug of tea she held to her lips, her long black hair pulled up into a clip. She was dressed in jean overalls with smears of clay all over the fabric. She supported herself and son Fox with her pottery and spent a good portion of her day in the studio connected to the cabin. “Is she nuts or driving you nuts?”

“Both.”

“Hmm.”

He hated it when she did that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you worked up like this over a woman. Heck, over anything.”

She had a point. He was normally a very patient kind of man, but he could have wrung Eva’s neck the other day.

“You know, you shouldn’t have laughed,” Fox piped up from the couch.

Lynx had thought the kid was playing a video game or something. He knew better than to underestimate that Fox could keep track of a conversation while he fought some virtual war in a far off galaxy.

“You should have seen her.” Lynx chuckled at the memory, all his anger evaporating into nothing. “Damn, she was cute.”

Fox set down his game controller, shut off the TV, and turned to face Lynx. “You need to apologize.”

“Me?” He glanced from Fox to Raven.

Raven smiled and patted his shoulder. “Fox is right.”

“B-but—”

“You laughed, making her feel like an idiot, and then you left her alone,” Fox pointed out. “She’s not from around here. She’s probably never been alone like that in her life.”

Damn, the kid made sense. Lynx wasn’t going to get into Eva’s bed with her mad at him like this. Not that he needed to tell his nephew that.

How did he apologize? She wasn’t talking to him. He’d tried when he’d dropped her back at her place, but all he’d gotten was the door slammed in his face again.

“Take her some chocolate,” Fox suggested, and then went into the kitchen and lost himself in the contents of the refrigerator.

Raven shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt.”





“What kind of woman doesn’t like chocolate?” Lynx shouted through the slammed door.

“The kind of woman who likes caramel,” was the muffled—though impressively loud—reply from Eva.

Lynx stood there on the doorstep, one hand clutching the box of chocolates he’d bought in Fairbanks. Did she have any idea how much time he’d given to this venture? Shouldn’t he get points for that?

If he could just get her to open the door long enough to get close to her, kiss her, shut up that mouth of hers, he might be able to apologize.

Instead, he turned and stomped off her porch, tore open the box of chocolate and ate all of them on the short walk to his place. He liked chocolate just fine. And he’d done a great job picking them out. They tasted rich and dark with all manner of nuts. No creams for the lady he was lusting after.

Hell, he’d failed on the chocolate and didn’t even know enough about her to know if she liked nuts. And he wanted to know.

It wasn’t just lust he was feeling or he wouldn’t care. She fascinated him, and not just sexually, though that did occupy a large part of his day. He wanted to know little things too. Like why she moved to Alaska. Did she have family? Did she want a family?

Whoa. This was getting serious if he was thinking kids.

Yeah, he loved kids. Loved his nephew Fox and wanted a bunch of rug rats running around. He’d always thought that would be for someday. Could someday be here?

Could Eva be his someone?

His stomach churned. He shouldn’t have eaten so many chocolates. The sugar overload wouldn’t help him with all he needed to think about.

He’d cut through the trees and came out of the woods into his backyard. He could see that a path would be worn between her house and his before whatever was between them was resolved. He climbed up on the back deck and found Fox with the ever present puppy, Kiski.

He rubbed Kiski’s ear and let her gnaw on his hand for a bit before taking a seat next to Fox.

Fox indicated the empty box of chocolates. “I take it they weren’t a hit?”

“Turns out she doesn’t like chocolate.” He tossed the empty box aside. Kiski scrambled out of Fox’s arms to attack it.

“Hmm, well that’s a new one.”

Lynx harrumphed in agreement.

They sat quietly watching the puppy destroy the box. At least one female enjoyed the box of chocolates. And this one a real bitch.

“What’s your next step?” Fox asked.

Next step? He was at a loss on how to deal with Eva. Alaskan women loved him. A few international ones had too. But this spitfire from the Midwest left him stumped.

“I don’t have a clue what to do with Eva.” And he shouldn’t be confiding in his ten-year-old nephew. But it was either that or the woodland creatures.

“Have you told her how pretty her hair is?”

“Uh...no.”

Fox made a tsking sound. “Women like to be complimented, to know they are thought of.”

“So then what do you suggest I do? I can’t get her to keep her door open long enough to tell her how pretty she is.”

“Take her some flowers. How hard is this?”

Hell, no. “I’d have to drive back to Fairbanks to buy her flowers.” With his luck she’d hate roses. Would she prefer daisies? Lilies? Ugh, too many choices. Flowers were way more difficult than chocolate. He’d never survive it.

Fox pointed to the field of wildflowers that made up Lynx’s backyard. “Pick her some flowers.”

“Huh, would you look at that.” He reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. “How’d you get so smart anyway?”

Fox shrugged. “Mom watches a lot of chick flicks.”