JENNIFER LABRECQUE - Northern Exposure

“Are you okay?” Saunders interrupted her reverie.

“What?”

“It sounded like you moaned.” Was that a strained look on his face?

“I most certainly did not.”

He slid out of the booth and stood. “Let’s go. It’ll take half the night to get your suitcases in.”

Skye was ready. She’d been desperately aware of Saunders’s heat, the breadth of his shoulders and the proximity of his body throughout dinner. She grabbed her jacket and scooted across the wood seat while Bull and Merrilee watched in amusement. “I’d like to thank Gus, if you don’t mind.”

He shrugged into his jacket. “Make it quick, Shanahan.”

Wow, she’d like to smack him. Which was a much better idea than kissing him …Unfortunately, that crazy thought had gone through her head a couple of times over dinner. Instead, she said good-night to the other couple, then stopped by the kitchen, which was open to the rest of the room except for the separating counter. Gus stood at the stove stirring a sauce in a small pan.

“Thank you. That was wonderful.”

“You’re welcome. I saw you looking at Merrilee’s omelet. Want me to send one over to the office tomorrow morning for breakfast? I doubt you’ll have time to whip up much for yourself.”

Time or not, Skye wasn’t much for whipping anything up—she was something of a dud in the kitchen. She ate mainly take-out at home, she’d never had anything that compared to the meal she’d had tonight. “That would be wonderful.”

“I’d suggest chanterelles.”

Ah, the chanterelle versus shitake situation. Skye didn’t volunteer that she wasn’t a mushroom purist and wouldn’t know the difference. Instead she simply beamed at Gus and said, “Chanterelles would be lovely.”

“Sourdough or challah toast? I’m not making the cinnamon rolls until day after tomorrow. I’ll put one of those aside for you. There’s always a run on them.”

Oh. My. God. She might stay for the food alone. Perish that wild, errant thought. No food was that good. However, she was partial to the egg-based bread. “Challah, please.”

“Nelson makes a decent cup of coffee so you’ll be fine on that front.” Without missing a beat, Gus poured the sauce over the contents of the plate.

“Thank you.”

“Nice to have you here, Dr. Skye.”

“Er, um, nice to be here, Gus.” She realized she had no clue what Gus’s last name was. Not that she supposed it really mattered. Convention and ceremony seemed out of place here.

Saunders was waiting by the door, engaged in conversation with Merrilee. Her heart sort of did a trippy kind of thing, which once again, made no sense. He was no taller than any other man in the establishment. In fact there were quite a few who were taller and brawnier. He was dressed the same as most of the other men—blue jeans, flannel shirt and boots. But something made him stand out, stand apart, and sent her heart into arrhythmia. Or maybe she was just suffering a mild case of indigestion. She immediately mentally apologized to Gus.

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