Life and Love in Alaska Volume II: Life & Love in Alaska, #2

By Cherime MacFarlane

Stories of life in the Great Land.

Dead End Beach - Ornery wonders if the dude who rode all the way up to Homer on a motorcycle plans to stay when the snow falls. She likes what she sees, but...

Wild in Willow - A mother let things go to far for too long. This Christmas might not happen when the oldest child blows up on his parents.

Price of the Little Blue Pill - Growing old isn't easy.

The Father-In-Law Effect - Between his uncle and his father-in-law, life in their household is in turmoil.

Homesteader Christmas Disaster - Chirstmas will be a little late because of a huge landslide that makes it hard for Jimmy and his oldest boy to get home.

Iceworm - Her best friends parents got a divorce. Are her parents headed in that direction?

Back Bay - A discovery in the cove gives a young woman hope.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cherime MacFarlane
• Release date: Feb 3, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224039074

Cherime MacFarlane

Meet Award-Winning, Best-Selling Author Cherime MacFarlane. A prolific multi-genre author, she has a broad range of interests that reflect her been there-done that life. Romance, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, all sorts of characters and plots evolve from a vivid imagination. As a reporter for the Copper Valley Views, Cherime MacFarlane received a letter of commendation from the Copper River Native Association for fair and balanced reporting. She was part of the Amazon Best Selling in Anthologies and Holidays, and Fantasy Anthologies and Short Stories. The Other Side of Dusk was a finalist in the McGrath house award of 2017.

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Volume II

By Cherime MacFarlane

Copyright 2013 – Cherime MacFarlane

Copyright Notice:

All the stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Author's Note: Alaska can be a hard and dangerous place to live. Finding love in this state has its challenges. Keeping love alive is no less challenging.

License Notes: This collection is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this collection with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your retailer and buy a copy for yourself. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Dead End Beach

Wild in Willow

Price of the Little Blue Pill

The Father-in-Law Effect

Homesteader Christmas Disaster

Iceworm

Back Bay

Other Books by Cherime MacFarlane

Dead End Beach

By Cherime MacFarlane

Chapter One

What a strange summer it had been. On one hand, productive money wise, on the other screwed all to hell and gone. And she couldn’t even discuss the whole pile of fish guts over a bottle of tequila with her best friend.

Which got lumped in with the screwed part. Ally Petrov, her best bud and captain of the FV/Arina, had gone off on a whirlwind tour of God knew where on the hunt for Rurik. Her jerk off brother had taken off with most of the money Ally set aside for repairs and upgrades on the Arina.

Rurik would enjoy his stay in the hospital when Ally caught up with him. Why he did that when the fishing vessel was his only source of income mystified everyone. Not a metropolis at around five thousand people, almost everyone in the community got the news. Rurik took the money, hauled his sorry butt up to Anchorage and boarded the first flight he could get going anywhere.

Ally didn’t bother informing the police or the State Troopers. She hustled out after the creep. Only half a day behind, Ally never got close enough to catch up with him. Ornery got a text saying her best friend wasn’t coming back until she had Rurik in tow.

Irene thought she lived up to her nickname of ‘Ornery’ through all of May, and if she was honest, most of the summer. The hits just kept on coming. Ally left, and then she and Smitty got into it over his planned occupation for the coming winter.

Losing Smitty to fishing on Prince William Sound was bad enough. When he dropped hints about signing on with a crabber for the season, the fight started. It got hideous when he came clean and admitted to having signed on without discussing it with her.

Irene kicked him out. With most of the reasonable rentals snapped up, Smitty wound up camping out across the bay in Seldovia. It got back to her he was telling all their friends she would soften up. He figured everything would be okay when she got a look at his paycheck at the end of the crabbing season.

She didn’t bother to have it out with him and explain what I’m-done-with-your-sorry-ass meant. In retrospect, Irene realized she should have had another talk with the man. Instead, she took all her aggression out on the job.

As the only female bouncer in Homer, she gained a reputation over the summer as being very hard-nosed. The owner of the Old Salt Bar, Hal, said nothing about her being too overbearing. Irene thought he encouraged her because it brought in customers.

Having a blond, blue-eyed female for a bouncer was a big enough draw all in its self. When the woman was only four feet, five inches tall, it shook a few people up. One or two smart boys from out of town attempted to see if they could be the man to shut her down. The local guys all made money on side bets when that happened.

Everyone in town knew her daddy trained her right. Ex-military, Drew Maddox ran the local martial arts school until he retired. With her mother working a nine-to-five job for the city, Irene spent a lot of time at the school and got an excellent education while waiting for her mother. 

Seated on the balcony of the log cabin she and her parents called home for the last twenty-seven years, Irene sipped the cup of tea she had carried out. Sipping the warm liquid, she enjoyed the sun and the view out over Kachemak Bay.

Her parents had taken off at the end of March for an extended tour of the Lower 48. They would be back the following spring. For now, she was the queen of the castle.

She had taken an extra day off. No worries about getting ready for work today, but she had another matter to deal with for her mother. And that one would take all day. Hal, her boss, didn’t argue about her taking the time to help a family friend. Things like that happened in Alaska. You never knew when an emergency would come up.

The friend her mother had made online needed a ride. It seemed this lady lived in Italy but was from India. The woman had come up on a cruise with a friend who had relatives in Halibut Cove. The person with relations in Halibut Cove got ill and would stay there.

Her mother’s friend, Rupa Burnetti, had to catch the last cruise ship out of Seward and needed a ride. Irene was to pick her up at the ferry dock in Homer and drive the woman around to Seward so she could get out of Alaska. Considering it would take three hours one way, Irene didn’t want to do it, but had no choice.

With no bus service, a cab was prohibitive. She couldn’t turn her mother’s request down. Irene’s taxi service would be at the dock on the stroke of 10:00 a.m. to collect the lady and haul butt up the Sterling Highway to the junction with the Seward Highway.

With only four hours to get the traveler to her destination, it would be tight. Irene only hoped they didn’t get stuck behind several slow tourists. She didn’t look forward to the trip.

The only good thing Irene could see was the part about having the long weekend off. Hal planned to close the bar, an unprecedented move for the dude. But he told the staff last Memorial Day’s receipts didn’t come close to covering the costs to repair the damage when a free for all broke out. It cured him. Every one had the weekend off.

The locals planned an enormous bonfire on the beach. The narrow stretch of sand on the Homer Spit was the last beach at the end of the road that came to a deadend in Kachemak Bay. Their Dead End Beach would be the scene of a grand sendoff to the summer. Irene looked forward to putting this season behind her.

One little thing bothered her, Fawke. The Louisiana boy had received the brunt of her anger over Smitty. He hadn’t been as rowdy as some other guys in the past. But he picked the wrong evening to get shit-faced in the Old Salt. And embarrassment at her behavior had her keeping the man at arm's length the rest of the summer.

Her pride compounded the whole mess; she refused to tell the guy she was sorry she got a tad carried away. Fawke didn’t give her a moment’s peace, either. Every night he sat at the bar, nursing a beer and following her around with those chocolate eyes that reminded her of a puppy dog.

But his big brown eyes were the only part of the man, even a little puppyish. He was a hottie; an undisputed fact. One every last female resident over the age of fifteen would agree to if asked.

Having taken a delivery job for the local Mexican restaurant, he rode around town on that Harley of his, with nothing but a vest on. Every female close to the street peered out their window. They all wanted to catch a peek of his well-muscled chest. Irene heard business had picked up for the little restaurant. Lunch deliveries were doing a record-breaking haul for Fawke’s employer.

His olive skin had tanned well, and he didn’t look like a lobster left too long in the sun as Smitty did when trying to tan. Fawke kept his black hair tied back. But when he let it down, it was almost as long as hers. Combined with long legs and a grin that almost sparkled, he kept the local females on their toes.

There were several times Irene wondered if his hair was coarse or as silky as it looked. The urge to find out had her twitching in the chair. No way she would act on her irritating little idea. The man would surely bag everything up and head south soon.

So far, no real accumulation of snow had hit the upper elevations. Termination dust seemed to be in no hurry getting to the surrounding mountains. But it would show up, and Irene bet it wouldn’t be long.

Chapter Two

Irene leaned against her truck as she waited at the ferry dock. She watched the parade of people disembarking from the early morning run from Seldovia. The passengers streamed up the walkway from the ferry.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Irene realized she had been scanning the crowd for Smitty’s tall, fair form, but he wasn’t on board. Nor did she spot any older Indian ladies in a sari. When the crowd thinned out, there was a slim, middle-aged woman standing near the end of the quay with two suitcases and a shoulder bag.

Dressed in a crisp cotton shirt and blue jeans, the dark-haired woman seemed to be waiting for someone. Irene straightened from the hood of the truck and walked toward her. Her stereotypes, the ones regarding a flowing sari and caste mark, got shot all to hell; Irene grinned when she approached the lady.

Rupa?

The woman’s laugh and the answering smile confirmed her identity. You must be Shel’s daughter, Irene. She described you well enough. I’m so thankful for your help.

Irene reached out to take one of the rolling cases. Come on. Let’s get loaded up and get on the road. With her free hand, Irene gestured toward the line of motor homes now making its way up out of the belly of the Alaska Marine Highway ferry. We need to beat them out of here. My guess is some of them are bound to be going to Seward. Let’s roll.

The trip to Seward wasn’t as difficult as Irene thought it would be. Rupa told her all about her home in Italy and her friends there. They discussed Irene’s aversion to working in Anchorage and putting her degree to use. She seemed to understand when the young woman explained she didn’t want to leave her home.

At the wharf where Rupa was to board the cruise ship, the older woman thanked her again. Rupa expressed her amazement at how willing people were to help a stranded traveler. Standing next to the truck after having helped Rupa get her bags on the large vessel, Irene relaxed for a moment. She thought about where to grab a bite before driving home.

The unexpected hand on her shoulder caused her to go into defensive mode. A woof of expelled air told her the elbow she slammed backward made good contact. The hand on her shoulder got the pinky finger bent at an unnatural angle.

Jesus! Damn it Ornery! I can see why Smitty decided pissing you off was a bad idea.

Irene turned to face someone she had met through Smitty, Travis, the barkeep from Ember Cove. Keep your hands to yourself and you won’t get anything damaged. Calling out my name would have been a smarter idea.

I wasn’t sure it was you. Travis rubbed his hand as he grimaced.

Dumber yet. Somebody else might have a big old boyfriend ready to wipe the road with you.

Irene took a step back and looked at the man. Travis wasn’t a bad-looking guy, but being Smitty’s friend put him in the sleaze category in her brain. The last time she had seen Travis in his bar in Ember Cove, she recalled him making a half-hearted pass at her when he knew she was his friend’s girl.

What was the crack about Smitty deciding not to piss me off? If he’s telling everyone he dumped me, I’m going to...

He shook his head, and the brown curls danced. No, he didn’t say that. He commented it was best to let you cool off for a while.

All right, but I have cooled off on him. Rock solid, glacial type cold. We are over and done with. I don’t do well with being lied to.

Travis dropped his hand to his stomach and rubbed it a few times. You pack a mean elbow there, woman. Want to move out to the Cove and work the bar there? Things are a hell of a lot more quiet in my place.

A vision of the daily delight of watching Fawke darting around town on his motorcycle flashed through her head. Not that he would do that come winter, and winter was right around the corner.

No thanks. I’ll stick with the Old Salt. Anyhow, Homer is my town. I don’t plan on leaving it anytime soon.

So what brings you over to Seward? You planning on taking a cruise on the thing? Travis nodded toward the enormous cruise ship.

Nope. A family friend needed a ride to the ship. Friend of my mom, in fact. She got stranded in Halibut Cove and had to get to the ship.

Halibut Cove? She had to hitch a boat ride to Seldovia to catch the ferry. Bet it was a rough trip. Then a three hours plus ride to Seward to grab the liner. Must have been no fun stuck in a truck with some old lady all that time.

With a grin, Irene shook her head. The thought of Rupa classified as an old lady amused her. The hours sped by, and Irene enjoyed Rupa’s company. Naw, we had a good time. I enjoyed the trip a lot.

They both fell silent for a moment. Then Travis took a step closer. Saw Ally in the bar. Said something about looking for Rurik. What’s up with that? I haven’t seen the big Russian all summer. I hear Ally has the boat in drydock for a bunch of work.

Although everyone in the Homer fishing community knew what was going on, no one wanted to be the one to open their big mouths and let the law get wind of anything. It wouldn’t help Ally at all. If she got back with the money to pay for the work on the Arina, everything would be okay.

By mutual consent, no one from the fleet acknowledged the situation existed. Everyone prayed Ally could get the Arina back in the water and fishing for cod before the season closed. If she could get a full sixty days in, Ally would be in the black and ready for salmon season the following summer.

Travis was asking far too many questions. Don’t know a thing. You might ask Ally or Rurik next time you see them.

A long stare greeted her comment. Then Travis grinned. Okay, I get it. Whatever is going on, it’s all a big secret. I’ll get the entire story the first time Rurik wants to get plastered when the Arina is in the Cove. I can wait.

Good enough. Irene turned to walk around the hood of her truck. I’ll see you around. Don’t tell Smitty a word about me. I don’t want the creep to get the idea he has a snowball’s chance in hell.

She didn’t bother to look when Travis acknowledged her statement with a drawled out, Got it.

Chapter Three

Fawke lounged in the canvas camp chair when Irene drove past the area of the beach where he had the tent set up. He noted two things that stopped the hammering of his heart when he first saw her truck.

One, Smitty, wasn’t the passenger in the vehicle. Number two, the passenger seemed to be a woman. He took another sip of the dark coffee he brewed every morning on the camp stove. If Fawke didn’t make coffee, he didn’t get a decent cup all day.

The dark, almost bitter coffee was his one real vice if you didn’t count the Harley and Irene. The owners of the Mexican restaurant he delivered for were kind enough to pick up cans of the coffee and chicory he loved when they went to Anchorage for supplies.

Cut with half and half and sweetened with sugar, it jump started his day. This weekend, almost all the young people in town would turn out for the big blowout bash. He had delayed for far too long. If he left Homer this late in the season, he’d be spending the winter in Anchorage. Where he would go from there was another question.

Fawke didn’t want to go anywhere else. What he wanted sat in the driver’s seat of the pickup, driving away from him. It wasn’t every day a man found a blue-eyed bomb that could hold her own with a bunch of drunks, not to mention toss him out of a bar on his ear. And he wanted Irene.

So it got cold in Alaska. Snow and ice would be a first for him, but what the hell? There were a few good things about it being a cold hole. Lack of snakes was a good start.