Beth Carpenter - The Alaskan Catch

Where life’s currents take you…

Dana Raynott just traveled 3,600 miles to reunite with the brother who changed his name and fled to Alaska nineteen years ago. It’s impossible not to be moved by this wild, breathtaking state, even if Dana’s no closer to finding the answers she came here for.

Her brother’s best friend, Anchorage engineer Sam MacKettrick, might be able to help her. He’s strong and kind—a six-foot, irresistible blend of diverse cultures. He’s also haunted by a tragic family history with a startling connection to Dana’s past...

Sam met her eyes. “I’ve never brought anyone here before.”

Dana reached for his hand. “I’m honored.”

He held her gaze for a long moment before he stepped closer and slowly lowered his head. Her lips parted in a tiny gasp just before he pressed his mouth against hers. She closed her eyes and let her entire focus shift to the sensation of their lips meeting. His hands settled on her waist; her arms reached up around his neck. She pushed her fingers into his thick hair and pulled him closer. He responded, tilting his head and deepening the kiss.

He didn’t rush, simply kissed her as though it was the one and only purpose of his life. Dana had dated a few other men, and yet somehow she’d never truly been kissed.

Not like this.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Anchorage. I’m thrilled to be able to share my hometown with you in my very first Harlequin, The Alaskan Catch. It’s the first story in my Northern Lights series, all about life and love in Alaska.

Anchorage is the kind of city where you can dine on grilled king salmon with béarnaise sauce prepared by a master chef or catch your own salmon in one of the creeks that run through the city—maybe on the same day. This mix of wild and refined is one of the reasons people fall in love with the place. A story I’ve heard over and over is “I came to Alaska for a summer and I never left.” They found home.

I wanted to capture that feeling in this story. Dana, the heroine, has been the glue holding her family together, especially since her brother’s unexplained departure nineteen years ago. After her father’s death, she heads to Alaska to find her brother and get some answers.

But pinning her brother down is more complicated than she anticipated. While she’s waiting, his roommate, Sam, shows up and takes charge. When Sam shares his favorite wild Alaskan places with her, Dana discovers an adventurous streak she never knew she had. And with Sam, she feels confident enough to let it out, knowing she’ll treasure these memories once she returns home. Only her heart isn’t sure where home is anymore.

If you enjoy The Alaskan Catch, keep an eye out for the next Northern Lights novel, coming this Christmas.

Happy reading!

Beth Carpenter

The Alaskan Catch

Beth Carpenter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

BETH CARPENTERis thankful for good books, a good dog, a good man and a dream job creating happily-ever-afters. She and her husband now split their time between Alaska and Arizona, where she occasionally encounters a moose in the yard or a scorpion in the basement. She prefers the moose.

To my mother. For all those Scholastic books you let me order, all the trips to the library, all the years of unwavering support and so much more...thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

NOT AN IGLOO in sight. Dana wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. Somehow she’d expected...maybe not an igloo, but something more exotic than the sage-green split-level at the end of a cul-de-sac. Only the dense spruce forest behind the house and towering mountains in the background hinted she wasn’t in Kansas anymore. That and the salmon-shaped mailbox across the street.

The house number matched the address the private investigator employed by the estate had given her. This was it. She paid the taxi driver, collected her suitcase, climbed the three steps to the porch and stood there, staring at the doorbell. Nineteen years. Fifty-four percent of her life. A lot could change in nineteen years, although apparently not her brother’s taste in vehicles. The battered blue pickup in the driveway wasn’t too different from the one he’d been in the last time she saw him, through the crack in her bedroom curtains. She could still picture Dad scowling in the driveway, his arms folded across his chest, while Chris burned rubber and burned bridges, roaring out of their lives.

How would Chris react after all this time? Clearly, he had no overwhelming desire to see her. He could have gotten in touch with her anytime, right where he left her all those years ago. She wasn’t the one who ran away to Alaska, who changed her name. Who obviously didn’t want to be found.

But, after a long and expensive search, she had found him. Letters from the lawyer had garnered no response, so she came in person. Would she even know him after all this time? What if he slammed the door in her face? But she hadn’t flown thirty-six hundred miles to chicken out now. Maybe he still felt something for the home where they’d been raised. After all, it was only forty-seven percent of Chris’s life since he left. Less than half.

As always, the mental calculation calmed her. She set down her suitcase and reached for the bell, but before she could push the button, the door flew open and a big brown dog rushed out. Dana stepped back and might have fallen down the steps if the man hadn’t grabbed her arm.

“Hey, careful there.” The bean pole she remembered had filled out, with a wide chest and shoulders that looked as though he could carry a moose. In spite of the two inches she’d grown after he left, Chris was still a foot taller than her, his rust-colored hair wild and curly with a beard to match. His blue eyes held an expression of puzzlement as he looked at her.

She studied his face, waiting for a spark of recognition. “Hello, Chris.”

After a moment, a grin spread across his face and laugh lines formed around his eyes. “Dana!” He dropped the duffel bag he was carrying and crushed her into a bear hug, lifting her from the ground, just as he always had when he came home from college and she would run to greet him. The years melted away as she hugged her big brother.

Finally, he set her back on her feet. His eyes skimmed over her. “You grew up.”

“That happens.”

“I guess so.” He shook his head in wonder. “I can’t believe it’s you. How did you get here?”

“The usual. Airplane. Taxi.” She glanced at the duffel at his feet. “I see you were on your way out.”

“Yeah, actually.” His face grew more pensive. “But I have a few minutes. Come in. Do you want something to drink? Coffee, maybe?”

“Okay. Thanks.”

He picked up her suitcase and led her up the short flight of stairs. A brown leather couch and two recliners faced a giant television. Snowshoes decorated the wall above a rough stone fireplace in the corner. Behind them, a butcher-block island with four barstools divided the living room from the kitchen. “Have a seat. Is instant okay?”

“That’s fine.” She perched on the edge of the couch. The dog picked a rubber bone from the floor and dropped it into her lap, then sat and tilted his head, looking up at her.