“But you’re wrong,” she said, almost desperately. “Peterkins was separate from Steve. I was so afraid you would misconstrue that. You left for the office that day, and I knew my reaction to Ugly Arnie had hurt you. I was angry with myself when later I realized it was at that point that you drew away from me.”

  “That wasn’t it.” His hold on her relaxed, and she heard the deep, uneven breath he expelled. “When I got to the office that day, a letter from Steve was waiting for me.”

  Shock jerked her head back as she stared at Grady. “A letter from Steve? Why?”

  Gently, he kissed her forehead. “He reminded me that you were in love with him. It seemed so logical, especially after the scene that morning with the puppy and you telling Angela that when a person loves someone it takes a long time to forget that person.”

  “But, Grady,” she said in a determined tone, “I was referring to the dog, not Steve.”

  Tight-lipped, he nodded. “But at the time I didn’t doubt the truth of his statement. Steve said that if I had any deep feelings for you, then I would see the truth and would set you free.”

  “No,” she gasped, and tightened her arms around his middle.

  “Steve told me what had happened and how he’d gotten caught in a chain of events that led to the wedding with your sister. He explained how things got so involved and tangled to the point that he couldn’t back out of the marriage. He said it was the same thing that had happened with us.”

  “But, Grady, that’s not true. You know it,” she whispered emphatically. “You were there at the hotel room; you gave me the choice.”

  “But I knew when you came to me you loved Steve. The letter made so much sense. The man admitted what a terrible mistake he made in marrying MaryAnne. But he realized what he’d done and loved and needed you. He begged me, Cathy, he begged me to set you free. A man doesn’t do that kind of thing lightly. He loves you.”

  “No, he doesn’t,” she contradicted forcefully. “If Steve had really cared for me he would never have married my sister.”

  Grady’s look was hard, resolute. “I didn’t expect to love you. After the letter arrived I knew I should probably do the noble thing and send you to Steve. I guess these past weeks I was attempting to drive you away. Then today one look at you with that suitcase and I knew if you left a part of me would die. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love another human being. You’ve brought happiness and joy into my life and Angela’s.”

  “But, Grady.” Both hands cupped his jaw, and she turned his face so she could look into the intense blue eyes. “I wasn’t leaving.”

  A disbelieving look came over him. “But the suitcase—”

  “Is for Angela, she’s spending the night with Linda, Dan, and Katy.” She laughed softly, her heart overflowing with an unrestrained happiness. “Angela’s staying with them so you and I could talk. I couldn’t bear to have things as they were between us. I had to find out what was bothering you.”

  Grady’s look was tender and searching. “For a month I’ve lived with a terrible guilt, knowing I should set you free and holding on to you. For a time I tried to convince myself that I couldn’t let you go for Angela’s sake. But I was only trying to fool myself. I love you, Cathy Thompson Jones. You are my wife and will remain so all our lives.” He spoke in a tone that was almost reverent.

  “And you, Grady Jones, are my husband, the man I want to share my life with, to father my children. You must promise me never, ever to hide anything like that from me again. To never doubt me or my love.”

  “I promise.” The words were emitted on a husky breath just before his lips sealed the vow.

  * * *

  —

  Contentedly, Cathy lay in her husband’s arms. Slowly her eyelids lowered as she suppressed a yawn. Grady’s arm curved around her possessively, and she nestled into the crook of his arm.

  “Are you happy?” he questioned, and brushed his lips over her temple.

  “Blessedly so.” One long fingernail drew tantalizing circles over his bare chest, tangling the curly hairs that grew in abundance there.

  Grady lackadaisically ran his fingers through the long silken strands of her hair and gradually down the fragile hollow of her throat. His lips were pressed against her hair as if he couldn’t yet believe she was here with him in their bed.

  “Don’t ever send me to the guest bedroom again,” she said with a sigh, turning her face so her tongue could provocatively explore his neck and throat. She paused in her examination. “The mattress is lumpy.”

  Grady laughed quietly. “Never again.”

  “Did you notice I moved my things back in here this afternoon?”

  “No.” He raised himself up on one elbow, his gaze doing a sweeping inspection of the room.

  “I wasn’t about to give up on us, Grady. Not when I love you so much.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever noticed how talkative you are,” he murmured, smoothing the hair away from the sides of her face. A moan of anticipation came deep from within him as he lowered his mouth to hers, crushing her body with his.

  Immediately, Cathy was aware of his need and answered with her own, wrapping her arms around him. A long time passed before either of them spoke again.

  “Grady,” she whispered, loving the feel of his hands as they cupped her breasts. “I’m going to have a baby.”

  The room became instantly silent; even Grady’s breathing seemed to have stopped.

  “A baby,” he repeated incredulously.

  The silence grew and grew.

  “How?”

  “How?” She laughed and pressed her lips to the pulse hammering wildly at the base of his neck. “Would you like me to show you…how?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I do?” she teased.

  “A baby,” he murmured huskily. “Why didn’t you say something before? You should never have kept this from me.” He took in a huge, wondrous breath. “I guessed as much when Angela said something about being a big sister not long ago; I even asked you. But you denied it.”

  “Grady,” Cathy attempted to explain, but his arms closed around her fiercely, and she asked, “Are you pleased?”

  “Oh yes, very pleased. When are you due?”

  Laughter bubbled from her throat. “In about nine months, give or take a week.”

  “Nine months?” he shot back with a chuckle. “Should we start now?”

  The sharp trill of the phone broke into the conversation. Instantly, Cathy sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet over her naked breasts. “Angela,” she said in alarm. “I didn’t take her the suitcase.”

  A half-hour later, Grady and Cathy had dressed and were on their way out the back door. Grady carried the large suitcase in one hand and slipped the other arm around his wife’s waist, pulling her close to his side.

  “I’ve been thinking I’d like you to teach me to fly,” she said, a tremulous smile lighting up her face.

  Grady’s look was tender as his gaze rested on her. “Want to learn to soar to unknown heights, is that it?”

  Cathy laughed, leaning against the quiet strength of this man she loved. “When I’m with you, Grady Jones, who needs a plane?”

  The radiant blue heavens drew Claudia Masters’s eyes as she boarded the jet for Nome, Alaska. Her heart rate accelerated with excitement. In less than two hours she would be with Seth—manly, self-assured, masterful Seth. She made herself comfortable and secured the seat belt, anticipating the rumble of the engines that would thrust the plane into the air.

  She had felt some uncertainty when she boarded the plane that morning in Seattle. But she’d hastily placed a phone call during her layover in Anchorage and been assured by Seth’s assistant that yes, he had received her message, and yes, he would meet her at the airport. Confident now, Claudia relaxed and idly flipped through a magazine.

  A warmth, a feeling of contentment, filled her. Cooper’s doubts and last-ditch effort to change her mind were behind her now, and she was free to make her life with Seth.

  Cooper had been furious with her decision to leave medical school. But he was only her uncle. He hadn’t understood her love for her Alaskan oilman, just as he couldn’t understand her faith in the Lord.

  A smile briefly curved her soft mouth upward. Cooper had shown more emotion in that brief twenty-minute visit to his office than she’d seen in all her twenty-five years.

  “Quitting med school is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” he’d growled, his keen brown eyes challenging the serene blue of hers.

  “Sometimes loving someone calls for unusual behavior,” she had countered, knowing anything impractical was foreign to her uncle.

  For a moment all Cooper could do was stare at her. She could sense the anger drain from him as he lowered himself into the desk chair.

  “Contrary to what you may believe, I have your best interests at heart. I see you throwing away years of study for some ignorant lumberjack. Can you blame me for doubting your sanity?”

  “Seth’s an oilman, not a lumberjack. There aren’t any native trees in Nome.” It was easier to correct Cooper than to answer the questions that had plagued her, filling her with doubts. The choice hadn’t been easy; indecision had tormented her for months. Now that she’d decided to marry Seth and share his life in the Alaskan wilderness, a sense of joy and release had come over her.

  “It’s taken me two miserable months to realize that my future isn’t in any hospital,” she continued. “I’d be a rotten doctor if I couldn’t be a woman first. I love Seth. Someday I’ll finish medical school, but if a decision has to be made, I’ll choose Seth Lessinger every time.”

  But Cooper had never been easily won over. The tense atmosphere became suddenly quiet as he digested the thought. He expelled his breath, but it was several seconds before he spoke. “I’m not thinking of myself, Claudia. I want you to be absolutely sure you know what you’re doing.”

  “I am,” she replied with complete confidence.

  Now, flying high above the lonely, barren Alaska tundra, Claudia continued to be confident she was doing the right thing. God had confirmed the decision. Seth had known from the beginning, but it had taken her much longer to realize the truth.

  Gazing out the plane window, she viewed miles upon miles of the frozen, snow-covered ground. It was just as Seth had described: a treeless plain of crystalline purity. There would be a summer, he’d promised, days that ran into each other when the sun never set. Flowers would blossom, and for a short time the tundra would explode into a grassy pasture. Seth had explained many things about life in the North. At first she’d resented his letters, full of enticements to lure her to Nome. If he really loved her, she felt, he should be willing to relocate in Seattle until she’d completed her studies. It wasn’t so much to ask. But as she came to know and love Seth, it became evident that Nome was more than the location of his business. It was a way of life, Seth’s life. Crowded cities, traffic jams, and shopping malls would suffocate him.

  She should have known that the minute she pushed the cleaning cart into the motel room. Her being a housekeeper at the Wilderness Motel had been something of a miracle in itself.

  Leaning back, Claudia slowly lowered her lashes as the memories washed over her.

  * * *

  —

  Ashley Robbins, her lifetime friend and roommate, had been ill—far too sick to spend the day cleaning rooms. By the time Ashley admitted as much, it was too late to call the motel and tell them she wouldn’t be coming to work, so Claudia had volunteered to go in her place.

  Claudia had known from the moment she slid the pass key into the lock that there was something different, something special, about this room.

  Her hands rested on her slender hips as she looked around. A single man slept here. She smiled as she realized how accurate she was becoming at describing the occupants of each room, and after just one day. She was having fun speculating. Whoever was staying in here had slept uneasily. The sheet and blankets were pulled free of the mattress and rumpled haphazardly at the foot of the king-size bed.

  As she put on the clean sheets, she couldn’t help wondering what Cooper would think if he could see her now. He would be aghast to know she was doing what he would call “menial work.”

  As she lifted the corner of the mattress to tuck in the blanket, she noticed an open Bible on the nightstand, followed by the sudden feeling that she wasn’t alone. As she turned around, a smile lit up her sky-blue eyes. But her welcome died: no one was there.

  After finishing the bed, she plugged in the vacuum. With the flip of the switch the motor roared to life. A minute later she had that same sensation of being watched, and she turned off the machine. But when she turned, she once again discovered she was alone.

  Pausing, she studied the room. There was something about this place: not the room itself, but the occupant. She could sense it, feel it: a sadness that seemed to reach out and touch her, wrapping itself around her. She wondered why she was receiving these strange sensations. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.

  A prayer came to her lips as she silently petitioned God on behalf of whoever occupied this room. When she finished she released a soft sigh. Once, a long time ago, she remembered reading that no one could come to the Lord unless someone prayed for them first. She wasn’t sure how scriptural that was, but the thought had stuck with her. Often she found herself offering silent prayers for virtual strangers.

  After cleaning the bathroom and placing fresh towels on the rack, she began to wheel the cleaning cart into the hallway. Again she paused, brushing wisps of copper-colored hair from her forehead as she examined the room. She hadn’t forgotten anything, had she? Everything looked right. But again that terrible sadness seemed to reach out to her.

  Leaving the cart, she moved to the desk and took out a postcard and a pen from the drawer. In large, bold letters she printed one of her favorite verses from Psalms. It read: “May the Lord give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Psalm 20:4. She didn’t question why that particular verse had come to mind. It didn’t offer solace, even though she had felt unhappiness here. Perplexed and a little unsure, she tucked the card into the corner of the dresser mirror.

  Back in the hall, she checked to be sure the door had locked automatically. Her back ached. Ashley hadn’t been kidding when she said this was hard work. It was that and more. She was so glad that had been her final room for the day. A thin sheen of perspiration covered Claudia’s brow, and she pushed her thick, naturally curly hair from her face. Her attention was still focused on the door when she began wheeling the cart toward the elevator. She hadn’t gone more than a few feet when she struck something. A quick glance upward told her that she’d run into a man.

  “I’m so sorry,” she apologized immediately. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Her first impression was that this was the largest, most imposing man she’d ever seen. He loomed above her, easily a foot taller than her five-foot-five frame. His shoulders were wide, his waist and hips lean, and he was so muscular that the material of his shirt was pulled taut across his broad chest. He was handsome in a reckless-looking way, his hair magnificently dark. His well-trimmed beard was a shade lighter.

  “No problem.” The stranger smiled, his mouth sensuous and appealing, his eyes warm.

  Claudia liked that. He might be big, but one look told her he was a gentle giant.

  Not until she was in her car did she realize she hadn’t watched to see if the giant had entered the room where she’d gotten such a strange feeling.

  * * *

  —

  By the time Claudia got back to the apartment, Ashley looked better. She was propped against the arm of the sofa, her back cushioned by several pillows. A hand-knit afghan covered her, and a box of tissues sat on the coffee table, the crumpled ones littering the polished surface.

  “How’d it go?” she asked, her voice scratchy and unnatural. “Were you able to figure out one end of the vacuum from the other?”

  “Of course.” Claudia laughed. “I had fun playing house, but next time warn me—I broke my longest nail.”

  “That’s the price you pay for being so stubborn,” Ashley scolded as she grabbed a tissue, anticipating a sneeze. “I told you it was a crazy idea. Did old Burns say anything?”

  “No, she was too grateful. Finding a replacement this late in the day would have been difficult.”

  Fall classes at the University of Washington had resumed that Monday, and Ashley had been working at the motel for only a couple of weeks, one of the two part-time jobs she had taken to earn enough to stay in school.

  Claudia knew Ashley had been worried about losing the job, so she’d been happy to step in and help. Her own tuition and expenses were paid by a trust fund her father had established before his death. She had offered to lend Ashley money on numerous occasions, but her friend had stubbornly refused. Ashley believed that if God wanted her to have a degree in education, then He would provide the necessary money. Apparently He did want that for her, because the funds were always there when she needed them.

  Ashley’s unshakable faith had taught Claudia valuable lessons. She had been blessed with material wealth, while Ashley struggled from one month to the next. But of the two of them, Claudia considered Ashley the richer.

  Claudia often marveled at her friend’s faith. Everything had been taken care of in her own life. Decisions had been made for her. As for her career, she’d known from the time she was in grade school that she would be a doctor, a dream shared by her father. The last Christmas before his death he’d given her a stethoscope. Later she realized that he must have known he wouldn’t be alive to see their dream fulfilled. Now there was only Cooper, her pompous, dignified uncle.