Sam refused to take his eyes off Julie while they waited for Vern and August to return from caring for the dogs. He was captivated by this woman as he’d never been by any other. She was so graceful and fluid in her motions, yet the knowledge that she had saved him out on the ice gave Sam a heartfelt respect for her.
As Julie moved about the room and tried to avoid his gaze, Sam couldn’t help but smile. She was uncomfortable in his presence—that much was obvious—and Sam wondered why.
Julie ignored Sam as she went about the cabin, reacquainting herself with the home she’d left so long ago. Vern and August, true to their Swedish ancestry, hadn’t changed things except to add a portrait of Julie that she’d mailed them while at school in Seattle.
Julie circled the room, touching the things her mother had loved, cherishing the memory of days spent in her company. The house seemed empty without her. She grimaced as she remembered the day months earlier when the telegram had arrived. Because it was February, passage to Nome had been impossible.
Julie blamed herself for not being at her mother’s side. Her schooling had been complete in time to return to Nome before ice isolated it from the rest of the world. But because Julie had decided to become a public health nurse, there were certain additional requirements she had to meet.
When word reached her of her mother’s death, Julie had had no other choice but to stay on at least until April, when the ports reopened. By then, her mother’s body would have long since been cared for, so Julie decided to finish her government training and return in the fall as a fully certified public health nurse.
Julie glanced up to find Sam’s eyes fixed on her. His presence made her feel awkward. For the last few years, Julie had spent most of her time with women. Outside of the men she’d helped care for, Julie hadn’t allowed herself the luxury of gentlemanly companionship.
The silence grew unbearable, but just as Julie began to fear she’d have to start talking with Sam, the front door burst open in a flurry of snow and fur.
“Father!” Julie ran across the room to embrace the elder Eriksson.
“Julie, it’s so good to have you home. Let me look you over,” Vern said as he put his daughter at arm’s length. “You look more like your mother every day, God rest her soul. Of course, I see a bit of your grandmother Eriksson as well.”
“Oh, Father,” Julie said with a smile, “come get warm by the fire. Here, let me help you with your parka.”
“You’re just like your mother. She was always fussing and worrying about me, even when she was…” Her father’s words trailed into silence.
Julie took the parka as her father pulled it over his head. “Even when she was dying?” Julie finished her father’s words.
“Yes.” Vern Eriksson seemed to age with the statement. “It hasn’t been a year, and it seems forever. Wish it didn’t have to be so for your homecoming.”
“I thought I’d die for want of home,” Julie stated evenly. Her voice strained slightly. “I’d rather it not be this way, but I’ve still got you and August.” The young woman threw herself into her father’s open arms. Her eyes grew misty.
“I see you brought Sam home with you,” August said as he threw his coat aside.
“I think it was more the other way around,” Julie said. “That blizzard hit hard, and I was still at least an hour from home. Sam appeared out of nowhere and, well, here we are.”
Julie studied Sam for a moment. His brown eyes were so intense in their evaluation, however, that she quickly looked away.
“Don’t you dare believe her,” Sam’s deep voice boomed out. “She saved my life. Pulled me out of the Nome River when the ice gave way.”
“Are you all right, Sam?” Vern questioned with the voice of a concerned father.
“I’m just fine, Vern. Julie’s quick thinking and my sealskin pants kept me from getting too wet. That daughter of yours is quite a dog driver. You ought to be proud of her.”
“We are, to be sure,” Vern said as he squeezed Julie’s shoulders. “I’ll bet you two could use something hot. Why don’t you kick back, and August and I will get something on the stove.”
“I’d like to unpack first,” Julie said as she picked up her mukluks.
“Your things are already in your room,” August offered. “I could pretty well figure out which crates were yours and which weren’t.”
“Thanks, August,” Julie said as she walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “I could get used to being cared for,” she said with a smile.
“Somebody as pretty as you ought to be cared for,” Sam offered seriously. There was only the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. Julie blushed crimson, uncertain what she should say.
“Don’t let her looks deceive you, Sam. She’s wild enough to handle when she’s got her steam up. I remember the time we were going to have to shoot one of the pups and—”
“I don’t think Sam needs to hear about that,” Julie interrupted as she shifted uncomfortably. She looked almost pleadingly at Sam, melting his heart and any protest he might have voiced.
“All right, all right,” Vern said with a chuckle. “I guess anyone who’s worked as hard as you have today deserves extra consideration. Go ahead and do what you need to. August and I will get lunch.”
“Sam, you might as well put your things in my room. From the looks of the weather, you’re going to be here tonight,” August added.
Julie’s head snapped up and turned to face Sam. He’s staying the night, she thought as she met his laughing eyes.
A smile played at the corner of Sam’s lips, and Julie was shocked to realize she was paying attention to them. It was even more shocking to wonder what it would be like to kiss those lips.
Julie lifted her gaze to Sam’s eyes and found they had sobered considerably under her scrutiny. What is he thinking? Does he know what I’m thinking? Julie felt her cheeks grow hot and dropped her gaze.
“I think I’d better get busy,” she muttered and left the room. Why did he make her feel so strange? Julie chided herself for even caring. She was a nurse now, and her mother’s dream for her was finally realized. There was no way Julie was going to jeopardize that dream by getting involved with a man. Even if the man was the handsome Lucky Sam Curtiss.
Julie marveled that her room hadn’t changed in her absence. Her bed was still made up with the crazy quilt her mother had given her for her fourteenth birthday. Julie reached out and stroked the quilt as if it somehow allowed her to touch her mother.
“Remember, Julie,” she could hear her mother say, “God only lends us to this world for a short time. What we do with that time, what we leave behind, is our representation of our love for Him. It doesn’t matter that we make the most money or have the finest homes. What matters is that we can stand confidently before our Lord and King, knowing that we lived as He would have us live and gave Him our best.”
This quilt was only a small part of what Agneta Eriksson had left behind, Julie realized. She’d lived her life for God and had brought both her children to an understanding of salvation. Surely God had welcomed her as a faithful servant.
Julie sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. She loved the simplicity of her room. A picture of Jesus praying, a small mirror, and a cross-stitched sampler were the only ornaments decorating the walls, while delicate, flower-print curtains framed her window. A small desk and chair completed the room.
Julie stretched out on her bed and listened to the wind howling outside her boarded window. The pulsating rhythm soon put her to sleep, leaving her to dream of penetrating brown eyes and a man she feared would change her destiny forever.
“Julie,” Vern called softly as he gently shook his daughter. “Wake up. Dinner’s on.”
Julie wiped her eyes and sat up. “It’s sure been a long time since I’ve had a wake-up call like this.”
Vern smiled and Julie noticed the wrinkles that lined his face and the gray in his beard. When had he grown old? she wondered.
“Come on. The food will be cold by the time you make it to the table.”
“I’ll be right there,” Julie said as she got up. “Just let me brush out my hair and change my shirt.”
“All right, but it won’t be easy to hold back August and Sam. They look mighty hungry,” Vern said with a laugh.
“I’ll hurry,” Julie promised and went to her closet.
The clothes that hung there were those she’d left behind when she’d gone to Seattle. They seemed foreign to her. Finally settling on a navy print with long sleeves and a softly rounded, feminine collar, Julie dressed hastily and dug her hairbrush from her unpacked baggage.
Studying her reflection in the mirror, Julie thought she’d aged a great deal since leaving home. Maybe it was the trials of nursing duty or the loss of her mother, but she looked older than her twenty-two years.
She brushed back her dark hair and decided to let it fall just below her shoulders. There’d be plenty of time to pin it up when she was back at work. For now, Julie was determined to enjoy being a civilian without any obligation to a uniform or dress code.
She finished buttoning the cuffs on her sleeves as she made her way to the table. “Sorry to have kept you waiting,” she said, taking her place.
“It was well worth it,” Sam said with admiration in his eyes.
“Shall we say grace?” Vern asked and waited for everyone to bow their heads. “Father, we thank You for Julie’s safe return, and we praise You for bringing Sam and her through the storm. Thank You for the bounty You’ve placed before us. Bless this house and all who pass here. Amen.”
Julie whispered, “Amen,” and lifted her head.
Across the table, Sam lifted a plate of bread and handed it to Julie. When their eyes met, she swallowed uncomfortably and accepted the plate. Sam offered a broad grin before turning his attention to the reindeer steaks that Vern passed his way.
“So,” Sam began the conversation while Vern and August occupied their mouths with food, “your brother tells me that you’re about to embark on a new career. How soon will you have to report to work?”
“I, uh,” Julie stammered, trying to think of what to say. “I told Dr. Welch that I needed a rest. I’ve been working almost nonstop since I left Nome in order to study nursing.”
“That’s true, Sam,” August said as he paused to take a drink. “My sister never does anything halfway. She completed her courses at the top of her class. She was suggested by none other than the hospital administrator for her position as a public health worker.”
“I’m impressed,” Sam replied with growing admiration.
It was exactly what Julie didn’t want. She tried desperately to steer the conversation in another direction. “I know the need of the people in the villages. My mother was a good example. A doctor can only do so much. As a nurse, I can travel from village to village, and as a native, I’m already known to many and related to a great many more.”
“Your mother would be proud,” Julie’s father said with a smile.
“I only wish I could have finished soon enough to help her.” Regret darkened Julie’s voice.
“Regret will only grow bitterness, Jewels,” Vern said using his daughter’s nickname.
Julie nodded. “I know. I’m not going to let it tarnish Mother’s dream for me. I want to share more than medicine with the natives.”
“Just what did you have in mind?” Sam questioned.
“Well,” Julie began slowly as she put her fork down, “I would like to share the Gospel with them. Mother and I talked many times about caring for more than wounded bodies. We felt that there was a need to care for their wounded spirits, as well.”
“Do you think folks in the villages will accept your ideas? They might not think too highly of a woman showing up to offer a cure for what ails them.”
Sam’s voice was lighthearted, but Julie resented his interference in her dreams. Instead of answering, she turned her attention back to the meal.
Vern realized Julie’s silence was her way of dealing with things that hurt her. “I believe if the Lord lays a ministry upon your heart, He’ll also open the necessary doors,” he stated quietly. “Julie’s felt this call for a long time. I have to believe that because she’s gotten this far, God has been in it from the start. She’ll do just fine.”
Julie flashed a grateful look in her father’s direction before allowing herself to look at Sam’s face. She expected to find sarcastic laughing eyes staring back at her, but instead Sam’s face seemed sober, almost apologetic.
The conversation took many turns after that, but Julie sensed that Sam wanted to say something more. When dinner was over, Julie insisted the men allow her to clean up the mess. She waited until all three had moved to the front room before she got up from the table.
The wind was still howling outside, and Julie knew without the benefit of an open window that the blizzard was raging. Part of her hated the long, dark winters when windows were boarded up to insulate against the cold, but another part of her loved the raw wildness of it. Days, even weeks, would pass when the only people she would see were those who shared a roof with her. This isolation was part of the region’s attraction, and Julie knew she could never leave it for good.
“Still mad at me?”
Julie looked up from the dishes and met Sam’s dark brown eyes. “I wasn’t mad at you.”
“Good,” Sam replied, sounding relieved. “I’d hate for you to think lowly of me, especially when I think so highly of you.” Julie’s puzzled expression amused Sam. “You don’t think a guy like me could think highly of a woman like you?”
“I don’t know,” Julie whispered. “I guess I never thought about it.”
“Too busy with your studies and all?”
“I suppose,” Julie answered.
“Well then, it’s about time you heard it from someone who cares enough to be honest with you,” Sam said as he put his hand on Julie’s shoulder.
Julie grew painfully aware of Sam’s closeness. She had no experience with this. What should she do? Before she could do or say anything, however, Sam leaned down.
“I think I’ve looked for someone like you all of my life.”
His breath was warm against Julie’s ear, causing her to shudder. She needed to move away from him, but in order to do so, she’d have to turn and face him. Making her decision, Julie turned quickly and found herself in Sam’s arms.
“Don’t. I mean, I…,” Julie stammered. Why couldn’t she say what she wanted to say? Then again, what was it she wanted to say?
“Don’t be afraid of me,” Sam whispered as he lifted Julie’s face to meet his. “I’d never hurt you, Julie.”
Julie felt her breath quicken at the sound of her name on Sam’s lips. She could feel her heart in her throat. “I know,” Julie managed to whisper just before Sam lowered his lips to hers.
The kiss lasted only a moment, but when Sam pulled away, Julie realized she’d wrapped her arms around his neck. Frozen in the shock of what she’d done, Julie met Sam’s surprised stare.
“Sam,” August’s voice called out from the front room, “we’ve got the chess board set up. If you’re going to play, you’d best get in here.”
The tension was broken by the sound of her brother’s voice, and Julie quickly dropped her arms and moved around Sam. “I’d better get back to work,” she said as she left the kitchen with Sam staring silently after her.