Beth Carpenter - An Alaskan Proposal

She looked a little different than she had on the mountain. Her dark hair was down, waving across her shoulders. She wore a multicolored scarf, which looked like a watercolor painting, draped around her neck over a bluish dress that stopped just above her knees. Cute was an understatement. His eyes followed the curve of her calf down to highly impractical pink shoes, before his gaze quickly returned to her face. Big eyes the color of milk chocolate stared back at him, as though she was as surprised to see him as he was to see her. But she was the one who’d come to him.

“Can I help you?”

“Oh, uh, I hope so.” She reached into her bag. “I wanted to return your vest. Thanks for loaning it to me last week.”

“You’re welcome.” Good—now he didn’t have to chase it down. He took the vest, but she wasn’t making any move to go. Now what? “Was there something else?”

“Yes. It’s just, um, you teach classes, right? On outdoorsy stuff?”

He chuckled. “That’s not exactly the term we use, but yes, we do.”

“So, if I were to want to learn about camping and whatever, you know, just the basics, do you have classes on that?”

“Actually, most of our classes are a little more advanced than that. We teach survival techniques, first aid, river rescue, that sort of thing.”

“Oh.”

“Besides—” he couldn’t help a little teasing “—you implied that you already have camping skills.”

“But not necessarily Alaska camping skills. I’d like to learn... Oh, what the heck—I’ve never been camping in my life, and if my manager finds out, I’ll probably lose my job.” Her lip trembled, and her eyes opened wide. He got the uncomfortable feeling she wasn’t that far from tears. He hated tears.

“Okay, so let me get this straight. You told Walter you were an experienced camper when he hired you?”

“You’re on a first-name basis with my boss?” she squeaked. He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but her eyes opened even wider.

“Everyone is on a first-name basis with Walter. Orson Outfitters sponsors practically all the outdoor events in the state, and Walter’s always out there greeting people. Why did you lie to him?”

“I didn’t lie to Walter. My camping skills just never came up. Headquarters hired me as part of their management training program. The first part of the program assigns all the trainees to different stores so we can understand the business at the retail level. In the interview, they asked if I enjoyed the outdoors.” She raised her chin. “I do. I like sunshine and flowers and...all that stuff. If they chose to interpret that to mean I like to camp...” She shrugged.

“I don’t get it. Why would you want to work for a company in a business you don’t even like?”

“I might like it once I learn about it. You never know. But whether I do or not, I need this job. I was a buyer for Cutterbee’s department store, but they went bankrupt, and nobody’s hiring right now. I’m a hard worker. Whether you help me or not, I intend to give this job my all. I just need a little help getting up to speed.”

He remembered hearing about Cutterbee’s going under. He’d never understood why anyone would shop at overpriced department stores full of impractical items, but he could see that clothes with fancy labels would be right up Sabrina’s alley.

Why should he help her? Whether it was a direct lie or only implied, she got the job with Orson Outfitters under false pretenses, and Leith had more reason than most to despise liars. On the other hand, when the cans exploded at the team-builder, Sabrina didn’t try to deflect the blame or make excuses. He respected that. Besides, he could see the desperation in her eyes. For some reason, the thought of losing her job terrified her.

“Look, like I said, we don’t really teach basic woodcraft. Maybe you could register for a course from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, this fall.”

“Fall is too late. My assignment here ends September first, when the store managers send in their evaluations. Only the top half move on to the next level of training. Besides...” She paused, taking a sudden interest in the worn vinyl floor.

“Besides, what?”

She took a breath and looked up. “After putting down deposits on my apartment and utilities, I’m a little short on cash right now. I thought maybe we could work out some sort of barter arrangement?”

This should be good. What possible skills could she have that he would find useful? It wasn’t as though he needed his hair braided. “What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. What do you need done? I’m pretty good at interior house painting.”

His kitchen could use a coat of paint, but that would mean having her in his house and that sounded like a bad idea. Besides, considering her perfectly groomed appearance, he had trouble picturing her doing manual labor. He suspected her biggest talent was looking good. Which, now that he thought about it, might just solve his problem.

“Suppose I offered to spend a day teaching you to be ‘outdoorsy.’ Would you be willing to accompany me to a wedding Saturday after next?”

She took a half step backward, like she was afraid she might be walking into a trap. “You’re asking me on a date?”

“Nope. Strictly a business arrangement. For all appearances, we would be on a date, but actually I just need a plus-one for the wedding to keep my sister off my back. One and done.”

“Why would your sister care whether you had a date for a wedding?”

“It’s a long, boring story. The point is, I need a fake date. Are you game?”

She tilted her head to one side and pressed her lips together while she considered. Pink lips to match her fingernails and shoes, of course. “That doesn’t seem fair. A couple of hours at a wedding versus a whole day of instruction. Is there something horrible about this wedding I should know about?”

“Horrible?” He laughed. “No, it should be very nice. Dinner and dancing afterward. It’s outdoors, so bring a jacket. But I’ll tell you what—if you want to trade hours one for one, I’m teaching a class on Wednesday afternoon, and I could use an assistant. Are you free?”

She checked her phone. “I work Wednesday morning and then I’m off until Friday, when we’re starting the big Memorial Day weekend sale. But I don’t see how I could be of much assistance since I don’t know anything yet.”

“You’ll see. Here, give me your phone number and I’ll text you the address for the class Wednesday. On Thursday, we’ll do a day’s instruction in woodcraft, and a week from Saturday is the wedding. After that we’re square. Agreed?”

“Um, yes. Agreed.” She offered her hand, and he noticed that her fingernails were not only pink, but each one also had a paler pink flower painted on it. She wasn’t going to fare well away from running water and electricity. But that was her problem. He took her soft hand in his and shook it. This should be entertaining, if nothing else.

CHAPTER THREE

SABRINA FOLLOWED THE directions to the address Leith had given her, which appeared to be a middle school. As she turned in, a line of yellow buses pulled out. She found an empty parking spot and got out of her car, wondering how she was going to find Leith somewhere in the building.

She still wasn’t sure why he seemed to think she would be any help as an assistant, unless he just intended for her to fill water glasses and erase whiteboards. Maybe he’d come up with this assignment as a boondoggle, to make her feel she was earning her lessons tomorrow. She hoped not. There were few things Sabrina hated more than feeling useless.

She started toward the main entrance, but as she reached the edge of the parking lot, she heard someone call her name. “Sabrina. Over here.” Leith waved from beside a pockmarked white Land Cruiser two rows over. He walked over to join her, carrying a large duffel. His eyes skimmed over her and he pulled his eyebrows together. “I should have told you to wear pants, but we’ll manage. Ready for the class?”