The Dating Resolution

The boy stared at her. “I live on the other side of school. Way over there!” He pointed east. “I ride the schoolbus.”

“Simon lives with his mother and stepdad,” Jordan explained. “But he spends a lot of his time over here with me.”

Hailey decided to feel less embarrassed about the stun gun incident. “I see.”

“Miss Laudin is a really cool teacher. She’s prettier than you, too. And she’s a Miss, not a Mrs.”

The small pout in the child’s face and the petulant tone had some alarm bells ringing. If the children adored their regular teacher, she might be in for some rough times. It might take a while for them to accept her.

But, well, that was part of the package. Part of the challenge.

“Simon!” Jordan put his hand on his son’s shoulder, gently shaking him. “You know very well that was a rude thing to say. Apologize to Mrs. Rutherford.”

“Sorry,” the boy said, with that unique expression children wore when they were not sorry at all.

“I know you didn’t mean to hurt my feelings,” she said to the child. “Apology accepted.”

The child grunted and ran away again. Hailey dug into her pocket for the rusty key. “Well, I suppose I’ll go inside and explore my new home.”

“Of course. Will your husband be joining you soon?” Jordan asked.

This was the drawback of spur-of-the-moment decisions. She didn’t have a story yet. “No. He’s…ah…he’s away. We won’t be seeing each other again until Christmas.”

Jordan nodded. “That’s rough. He’s away on a job?”

“Yes.”

“What sort of a job takes him away so much?”

Questions, questions—and a considerable lack of answers on her part. She peered at him, trying not to notice how well that sweater fit. Could she say it was none of his business?

No. That would be way too rude for the new elementary schoolteacher in such a small town. He was a helpful neighbor, a friend of Jane’s. Not good for her image in the neighborhood.

What sort of occupation took husbands away from their wives for months on end? A flash of inspiration struck, and not a moment too soon, judging from the puzzled look dawning on Jordan’s face as he waited for an answer. “He works on an oil rig.”

“Oil rig? Is that a fact?”

“Yes.” Jordan seemed to be waiting for an elaboration, so she elaborated. “You see, he’s far away. Siberia. So he can’t come home very often.”

Jordan raised both eyebrows. “He’s in Siberia?”

She started praying Siberia had oil rigs. That would teach her to do her homework in good time. “Yes. Siberia. Oil rig.”

“Fascinating. I know very little about oil rigs. What kind of work does Mr. Rutherford do?”

Hailey desperately worked at conjuring up a quick image of her fictional husband. Oil rig guy, so her preferred look—a suit and a tie, polished shoes and neatly combed hair—probably wouldn’t work. “He’s an engineer,” she said, hubby’s occupation coming to her in a second spark of inspiration. “He maintains their machinery and such.” Not bad! She smiled, proud of herself. Excellent save. A vague answer, yet detailed enough not to arouse suspicion. She could do this. Yup. She could lie like a pro.

She could lie like a man.

“I see. Well—the house should be okay. If there is a problem, you can talk to me—or call the landlord if it’s something serious.”

“Serious? Like what?”

Jordan shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just reciting Jane’s message. She left some basic stuff in the fridge. And there are some frozen meals in the freezer.”

“That’s great. Very nice of her.”

He nodded. “Jane is a nice person. She told me she’d left plenty of notes around to explain everything—but if you have a problem, my number is on the speed dial.” He pushed himself away from the fence and grinned at her. He had a killer grin, though of course she wasn’t noticing such things either. “But in fact, yelling out the window works just as fine,” he added as he turned away. “Take care!”

Jane had this guy on speed dial?

And Simon adored Jane.

Hmm. This was interesting.

“Thanks!” She waved at the little boy hanging on the fence between their houses. “I’ll be seeing you in school, Simon!”

The boy frowned, but reluctantly waved back. Hailey grinned, looking forward to seeing the little guy in her class. It was natural for a child to miss a teacher he’d liked, but she’d win him over eventually.

Nowhere—she’d named the house in honor of her parents’ complaints about their daughter taking a position out in “nowhere”—was bigger and more elaborate than she had expected; larger than it looked from the outside too. Certainly a lot of room for one person. Jane had left everything very neat and clean—although some surfaces bore a distinct tinge of yellow from all the explanatory sticky notes.

The house seemed sturdy and well-built, and once she had the furnace going, it would no doubt be toasty no matter how cold it got out there. Of course, houses would need to be sturdy to withstand the weather up here in winter.

It was quiet, too, as she’d noticed while waiting outside. Six houses lined the cul-de-sac, each with a large yard. When the children had vanished inside their houses for dinner, it was so quiet she constantly heard the rush of her own blood in her ears. That would go away after a while, of course. She’d get used to the silence, just as she’d before been used to the constant whine of traffic, the pollution in the air and never seeing a clear sky. Then when she got back, she’d have to get acclimatized to L.A. again. It wouldn’t be a problem. Homo sapiens was a resilient species. He—she—could get used to anything.

Just like she was getting used to being a single woman not seeking a man. It had been going great. It was going great. She wasn’t even looking at men any differently than she looked at the sky or the trees, or that big bag of M&M’s on the counter. She wasn’t even noticing sexy silver eyes or killer grins or cute—

Nope. She ripped the candy bag open and poured the colorful contents into a glass bowl. She wasn’t noticing such things at all.

She grabbed a handful of candy and walked toward the back door. The backyard was huge. It vanished into a forest behind the house. She opened the door and stepped out on the porch, taking a deep breath of the fresh, clean air. What would it be like in winter, with a thick blanket of snow on the ground suffocating the branches on the trees, a steely sky above?

Beautiful. Frightening.

Just how bad did winter get up here? her sissy California side whispered.

Well, she’d find out soon enough. It would be an adventure.

There was a hot tub, out on the deck. Interesting. She couldn’t quite see herself in there in the midst of winter, with snowflakes falling into the steaming water, but you never knew. It might be fun. Or at any rate, an experience worth trying. She’d never relaxed in a hot water tub with icicles hanging from her hair before.

Adventure, right? her internal California girl asked with a sarcastic twist to her voice. Hailey ignored her. She jumped down off the porch and jogged over the grass toward the low wooden fence and peered over it. Yes. No scrawny decorative trees. It was really a forest. A real forest with real, huge trees. No sissy city trees either.

Just a few steps out of her own backyard and she’d practically be out in the wilderness.

Hailey smiled.

This was so cool!

To: All

From: [e-mail]

Subject: Miss me?

Hi, guys! Guess where I am! No, you’ll never guess, so I’ll just tell you—ALASKA!

I’m taking part in the teacher exchange program, and before you ask: I didn’t tell you because you’d try to talk me out of it. Now it’s too late! Don’t worry—I’m fine. This is going to be fun.

I’ll be here one semester only, so I’ll be back before Christmas. Hardly enough time to miss me, but I know you’ll try. I’m including my address and phone number—but e-mail is easiest for destitute schoolteachers, isn’t it?

Love from up north,

Hailey

The phone rang only a couple of minutes after she’d located Jane’s computer and sent an e-mail to all her friends off in cyberspace. As she picked up the phone, Hailey made a mental bet with herself about the identity of the caller.

“You are where?”

Yup. Ellen.

Hailey grinned, and in self-defense held the phone several inches away from her ear. She’d done this on purpose—not telling any of her friends what she was up to. They were far too good at talking her out of things. Now, it was too late, but she didn’t doubt they’d give it their best shot anyway. Well, they could try all they wanted—it was too late. She had committed to staying here for the next five months. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t come back until Christmas. It was perfect.

“Hi, Ellen!”

“Please tell me you were delusional or drunk—or both—when you sent that e-mail.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in Alaska,” she repeated. “Just like it says in my e-mail.”

Ellen cursed. “I was hoping it was one of your stupid practical jokes. What the hell are you doing, moving to Alaska? Without even telling me!”

“I’m not moving. It’s only for one semester.”

“What will you be doing there?”

“Same thing as I’m doing at home. Teaching third grade. Their teacher is replacing me back home, you should meet her next week. She’s living in my apartment too.”

“A total stranger is living in your apartment?”

“Yup. And I’m living in her house. Isn’t this teacher exchange program a brilliant idea?”

“What teacher exchange program?”

“The new experimental scheme. We all got e-mails about it a few months ago, remember? Opportunity to expand your horizons, seek new challenges, return with new visions, blah blah blah.”

“But…but…Alaska?” Ellen shrieked. “Hailey, have you lost your marbles?”

“Why? What’s wrong with Alaska?”

“There is nothing wrong with Alaska—except that it’s as far as you can get away from here without emigrating.”

“We have phones. E-mail. It’s no worse than being a state away.

“You don’t know anyone out there!”

“That’s the good part. I get away from all the people who have a problem with my decision to stay away from men this year.”

“Is that what this is about?”

“Partly.”

“I see. So your plan is to become a hermit—see the problem?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ellen! I’m not becoming a hermit!”

“Moving to Alaska where you don’t know anybody—without even consulting your closest friends…. Well, either you’re having a nervous breakdown, an early midlife crisis, or you’ve simply decided on a lifestyle change to go with your new no-men policy and thought a hermit sounded like a nice vocation in life.”

Hailey chose to ignore all jabs about a midlife crisis. The turning-thirty crisis was bad enough. “See? You’re part of the worldwide conspiracy! I’m not a hermit just because I’m not dating and decided I needed a change of scenery for a while!”

“Why did you need Alaskan scenery?”

“It sounded interesting. A small Alaskan town—something completely different from what I’m used to.”

“Alaska is cold!”

“Alaska is beautiful,” she countered. “The snow, the ice, the northern lights, the landscape…it’s gorgeous. I’ve always wanted to come here. I can’t wait for winter to march on.”

“It’s freezing!”

“It’s fascinating. You should see the forest behind my house! It’s amazing. Looks like something Tarzan could hide in.”

“Tarzan? Now you’re talking, if on a different continent. What are Alaskan men like?”

Hailey ignored that. “And I can’t wait to see the northern lights!”

“You’re a California girl, remember? You’ll die of cold!”

“Nah. I’ll just need a few more layers of clothes, that’s all. It’s the most wonderful excuse to buy cashmere!”

“But…but…there are no shopping malls!”

Hailey rolled her eyes. “Ellen, I’m in Alaska, not at the North Pole. I’m quite close to Anchorage. Of course there are malls.” She’d just have to hitch a ride there. Or get a car and learn about winter driving.

“Hailey, Alaska is a million miles away!”

She grinned into the phone. “Exactly.”

Ellen’s sigh was eloquent. Hailey could almost visualize her taking her glasses off and pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t think you fully understand the gravity of the situation. You’re a million miles away!”

“Yes. I heard you the first time. That’s the point.”

“Away from me!” Ellen wailed.

“Well, there is that.” Yes. She would miss her friends. “But I’ll e-mail you. All the time. I’ll nag and moan and whine and complain, just like normal. You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“Bah! Why Alaska? There are men in Alaska, you know. There are men everywhere, thank God.”

“I wanted to go to a different environment for a while, get to know different people. Here I won’t have my well-intentioned friends to send me on horror dates, no relatives to look at me with sad eyes and talk about marriage and babies—see why this is perfect?”

“You’ll make new friends who’ll be just as eager to help you find true love. You’ll be in the same situation within a month. This does not solve a thing.”

“I’m telling everybody I’m already married. I’ve already set things in motion.” A ring. She needed to get a ring. And find a gossipy neighbor to do the job. Jordan didn’t seem the type.

“Oh, really? And where’s your fictional husband? You keep him up in the attic?”

“This is the brilliant part. He’s on an oil rig somewhere off the coast of Siberia and is only home for a few weeks every six months.”

“Siberia?”

Hailey grimaced. Why did everybody say Siberia in that tone of voice? “Yup.”

“Why Siberia?”

“I don’t know. It was the first thing that came to mind. Oil rig—Siberia. Maybe I saw something about it in one of those Discovery documentaries I watch when I can’t sleep.”

“Did the documentary show lots of hunky guys on those oil rigs?”

“I don’t remember. But now it has one. My husband, Robert.”

“Robert?”

“Yes. Robert.”

“Are you nuts? Would you seriously marry a guy who was on the other side of the world most of the time? What kind of relationship is this anyway?”

“That’s not really relevant, is it? He’s not real. This is fiction.”

Ellen snorted. “Very creative. I need a drink. Does Siberia even have a coast?”

“Of course it does! It’s huge. It has to have a coast.”

“A real coast, or just a frozen chunk of ice?”

There was an awkward silence filled with mutual embarrassment over their geographical shortcomings. “Sure it has a coast,” Hailey said uncertainly. “I mean, of course it doesn’t have sunny beaches, but it has to have a coast!”

“A husband in Siberia. How convenient. He’ll be right next door. All you have to do is cross the North Pole. But let’s get back to the important issue. Me.”

Hailey chuckled. “I’m going to miss you too, Ellen.”

“Who’s going to watch black-and-white movies with me Sunday evenings? Huh?”

They went a few more rounds before Hailey hung up, breathing a sigh of relief. Everybody would know soon, even those she hadn’t e-mailed.

CNN had nothing on Ellen when it came to broadcasting news.

The sticky notes were all over the house, everything from explaining eccentricities of the dishwasher to a motherly reminder to wear sunscreen in the winter sun. Hailey gathered them together as she came across them, smiling as a mental picture of Jane came together in her mind. She knew Jane was about her age, but with all the maternal advice littering the house she couldn’t help but picture a gray bun and pince-nez glasses. Maybe her suspicions about Jane and Jordan were way off base.

She plucked a note off the kitchen faucet and stuck it under a refrigerator magnet with a bunch of other kitchen messages. She’d probably be coming across additional ones for weeks to come.

The phone rang again, only minutes after she’d finished unpacking and was in the process of choosing a yellow note—marked frozen dinner to zap.

“Okay, you’ve had two hours. Ready to come home now?” Ellen asked without preamble.

Hailey laughed. “No.”

“Do you know the male to female ratio up in Alaska?”

“Um…no.”

“I just looked it up for you. It’s not in your favor. You’re much better off back here where there aren’t enough men to go around.”

“There may be more men here, but I’m not available here, and there is no one to contradict me on that. This is perfect.”

Ellen snorted. “This isn’t going to work. You must know, Hailey, that if you swear off men, you’re going to have Mr. Rights lining up on your doorstep. It’s a cosmic law.”

“Cosmic laws are meant to be broken.”

“Just remember, don’t walk away from true love if it comes knocking.”

“True love again?”

“I’m serious. Principles aren’t worth such a sacrifice. If the right guy comes knocking—don’t send him away without a test drive. Promise?”

There was a sound at the door. Hailey raised an eyebrow, for a second wondering if Ellen could have staged this. “Hold on, I think True Love may be knocking on my door right now.”

“I’ll hold,” Ellen replied, but Hailey took the cordless phone with her. She checked the peephole, but didn’t see anything. She opened the door, irritated to notice the lack of a security chain.

“Meow,” said someone politely, and she lowered her gaze to meet a green gaze from about ankle level. It was a tiny kitten, adorable with its narrow orange and white stripes. It squeezed through the opening and bolted into the house. Hailey peered around outside, but saw no one, so she closed the door again.

“Well, we seem to have True Love,” she told Ellen. “A kitten just came asking for asylum and I have no idea where it went.”

Ellen oohed. “Great. Boy or girl? Is it a stray looking for a home? I hear they make great self-cleaning litter boxes these days.”

“I can’t keep it,” Hailey protested, walking from room to room looking for the cat. “I don’t know anything about animals. And I can’t take it with me when I go back home. Pets aren’t allowed at my apartment.”

“Don’t panic. You probably won’t be able to keep it anyway. Most likely it’s a neighbor’s cat.”

Hailey squeezed the phone between ear and shoulder and dove after a swinging tail into a kitchen cupboard. “Out of there, you little thief,” she muttered. “How can you smell the tuna inside the can? And how did you manage to open the cupboard?”

“The cat opened a cupboard?”

“Well, I didn’t leave it open, and now he’s inside.” Hailey grabbed hold of the cat by the middle and pulled it out of the cupboard. A small tail flicked in anger, and then the kitten hissed at her.

“It’s a he?”

“I don’t know.” She held the cat up and tried to check out the relevant body parts. “I have no idea. Is there an easy way to tell?”

“Hmm. Pink or blue collar? Or a name tag?”

“No collar. Hold on—someone’s knocking again.” She flung the door open, phone cradled between her ear and shoulder, cat digging its claws into her other shoulder. This time, there was a human on her doorstep. A hot, scruffy one.

Of course it would be his cat.

“Hi again. Did you get a feline visitor recently?” Hailey shifted, and Jordan caught a look at the cat hanging from her shoulder. “I see you two have met.”

“This your cat?” Hailey tried to remove the kitten, but the claws were stuck to her sweater—and a few embedded in her skin. “Ouch! Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Female.”

“Are you sure? She’s behaving an awful lot like a boy.”

“I’m a vet, I should know. She’s female.”

“And she’s yours?”

“No, she’s not my cat. That’s Helena. And she seems to be stuck to you. Can I help?”

Helena meowed, digging her claws in deeper. Hailey yelped. “Yikes! What’s she trying to do, give me a paw-shaped tattoo? Get her off me!”

“I’m trying.” Jordan leaned closer as he dug Helena’s claws one by one out of Hailey’s shoulder. After a small eternity he finally straightened up with the tiny kitten in his arms. Hailey noticed she didn’t dig into his skin with her lethal little claws.

Instead she was purring.

Typical female.

“You okay?” Jordan asked.

“Huh?” Much like Helena, she’d gotten distracted. It was the way he smelled. No sophisticated cologne, of course, it wouldn’t go with the rest of him—but something even better. Outdoorsy scent. Natural and fresh. Primitive. Masculine. Undeniably sexy.

Okay, Hailey, for that thought you spend an extra half hour on the treadmill.

Dammit! This wasn’t boding well.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think.” She rubbed her shoulder. “No lasting damage. She’s so cute! Orange cats are so cute. Does she live nearby?”

“She’s nobody’s cat. She showed up a couple of weeks ago and begs food from everybody in the street.” He stroked the kitten and she meowed on top of her purr, butting his palm with her tiny head. “She’s used to hanging out with Jane, so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of her.” He put the cat down on the doorstep, and she sped back inside, with only a short pause to rub against Hailey’s legs, leaving another fine layer of soft orange hair.

“She found a can of tuna in the kitchen. A whole pile of cans in fact. She seemed to know the way.”

His lips quirked. “That would explain her love for Jane. And her sudden love for you.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug, drawing her unwilling attention to some excellent hidden physique under that sweater, and then he started to turn away. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about her, since I saw her heading your way.”

Hailey looked back. The cat was prancing back and forth by the kitchen cabinet, impatiently waiting for her to come and dish out the tuna. “What do I do with her?” she called after Jordan.

He turned back, shrugging again, his hands in the pockets of his worn—but damn well-fitting—jeans. “She’s a house-squatting stray. Let her stay if you like, else just show her the door. She’ll get the picture if you don’t feed or pet her, and find another prey.”

“Throw her outside?” That seemed a bit cruel. “Where will she sleep?”

Jordan chuckled as he jumped over the fence. “Anywhere,” he called back. “She’s a cat. Cats know better than anyone that there’s a sucker born every minute.”

Hailey shut the door and leaned against it, eyes closed. No, no, no, no.

Why did a guy like that have to live next door? Why did she have to feel drawn to the first man she met up here? Was it her addiction, already pushing her toward the first available man?

Well, she would damn well fight it. She could, and she would.

She’d completely forgotten about Ellen when there was a sound from the phone, still clenched in her hand. She brought it to her ear. “Hi. Sorry to leave you hanging.”

“I didn’t mind. I heard the entire thing. Who was that?”

Hailey gritted her teeth to keep her voice steady. Nonchalant but not too nonchalant, or Ellen would catch on. Ellen was far too good at reading voices, faces—thoughts, even. “Nobody. Just a neighbor. Someone Jane sent over to give me the key.”

Ellen’s voice turned smug. “For a nobody, he sounds pretty sexy.”

Right. Utter failure. What had she expected? “Nope. Not sexy at all. He’s sixty-nine, bald, toothless and absolutely not my type.”

“You’re lying. He sounds hunky. All that low timbre…Mmm. Oh, yes, I like him.”

“It’s just a voice! We all have one!”

“I bet he could give you goose bumps if he were to whisper something sweet into your ear. Like, say, on a dance floor? Holding you close, your head resting on his shoulder breathing in his masculine scent as you softly sway together to a romantic ballad, your bodies in perfect synchrony…”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Ellen! Shut up! Go write a poem!”

“In a minute. I just need a few vital statistics, then I’ll stop, promise. What’s his name?”