Page 47 of One Night in Alaska

“Do you think my new hat will look good with this?” she asked as she spun around.

Sliding a plate of eggs and bacon to her, I said, “Definitely.” I poured us each some coffee and we sat down in the breakfast nook to eat.

We didn’t chat too much over breakfast. I could tell she knew something was still bothering me. I didn’t want to talk about it, but I also hated the awkward silence. When Sven rang the doorbell right as we finished eating, I was relieved to have something else to do.

Sven had grown up here in Lauterbrunnen. A friendly guy who always wore a smile on his face, he was about my age, maybe a little older, and I trusted him with my entire operation here in Switzerland. I had two other houses in various parts of the country, and he traveled to make sure that everything was going smoothly there.

He filled me in on how things were going in all three properties. Then, we did a quick walk around the house so he could show me the results of a few projects that had recently been finished. “This is where the college student rammed his head through the wall,” he said in the formal den upstairs. “It’s patched now, as you can see. Good as new.”

I ran my hand over the wall where the repair had been done. It was impossible to tell anything had happened.

“College kids in Switzerland are as crazy as the American variety?” Georgia asked, giggling at the situation.

“Nah, he was from California,” Sven said, shaking his head. “The Swiss are much more respectful than most Americans.”

It did irritate me that Americans got such a bad rap, but I didn’t argue with him, and neither did Georgia. I knew many other cultures in the world that were just as problematic, though the Swiss were almost always polite and respectful.

After that, Sven took me into another bedroom to show me where the fireplace had been fixed after a leak. This room was sacred to me. It was the room Kaylee and I used to stay in when we visited because she liked the view of the mountains more from this part of the house than the main bedroom. A framed picture of us sat on the nightstand still. Kaylee looking gorgeous in the sunlight at the top of a mountain we’d just hiked up, me doing my best to get us both centered in the selfie and looking a little constipated from concentrating so hard. It was difficult for me to draw my eyes away from the picture to listen to Sven, but I managed. Just like in the last room, this repair was well done, and there was no way to tell there had ever been a problem at all.

No one else seemed to notice the picture, which was a good thing. I imagined that Georgia might’ve seen a picture or two of Kaylee in my house back in Sitka, but if she had, she hadn’t mentioned it. She said nothing now, and the three of us walked out of the room and back to the living room.

Sven continued to talk, and I did my best to listen to him, but in the back of my mind, I couldn’t shake the constant thoughts of Kaylee. Was I doing the right thing? Would she really be happy for me if I moved on, or was I just fooling myself?

A quick glance at Georgia told me she knew something was the matter. I tried to force a smile in her direction, but she only arched an eyebrow at me.

When Sven was finished, I thanked him for his service, and he left. He was a good guy, and I was lucky to have him. He always said he enjoyed working for me, and I paid him well, but at the end of the day, I was the lucky one for having him and the other people who worked for me take such great care of my properties.

When I turned back to face Georgia, I could tell she had something on her mind. “What is it, Georgia?” I asked, thinking I was probably opening a can of worms, but she obviously wanted to ask me something.

She sank down on the edge of the couch, and I took a chair near her. “I’m sorry,” she began, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to pry. It’s just that something seems to be bothering you lately, and I wanted to know if you’re feeling okay. Is everything all right? Last night at dinner, you seemed upset. Did I do something?”

My heart twisted when I heard her ask that last question. “No, no, of course, you didn’t do anything, Georgia. You’re amazing. You’re right. I have had something on my mind, but it’s really nothing.” I hoped I’d dissuaded her from feeling bad for me, but I could tell by her expression, she wasn’t buying what I was selling.

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me?” Her eyes were wide with concern. “Maybe it would make you feel better?”

Talking about Kaylee never made me feel better, but I could tell she wasn’t going to let this go until I explained. “All right. It’s just that being back here makes me think about my wife who died. Kaylee.”

“Oh,” she said with a nod. “You visited here with her?”

I nodded. “That’s right. And I miss her sometimes.”

“Of course, you do.” She reached over and squeezed my hand, even though it was a stretch. “I’m so sorry that you lost her, Beau. I can’t imagine what that would be like. It had to be just awful losing the person who meant the most to you in the world.”

“The two people,” I corrected. Georgia’s forehead furrowed in confusion. I may as well tell her the whole truth, now that I was making confessions. “At the time of her death, Kaylee was pregnant with our first child.”

Georgia gasped and pulled her hand up to cover her mouth. “Oh, God. Beau, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” I saw tears beginning to glisten in her eyes.

All I could do was shrug. “Thank you.” Really, there was nothing more I could say. “Anyway, now you know. It was years ago, and I’m moving on from it, but sometimes it becomes more difficult than others.”

“I understand.” I could see in her eyes that she did.

“If it’s all the same to you,” I continued with a sigh, clapping my hands down on my knees, “I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”

“Whatever you want,” she said with a nod. “But if you change your mind, I want you to know, you can talk to me about anything, Beau.”

I knew what she said was true. “Thank you.” We locked eyes for a moment, and I knew that this woman was special to me for more reasons than just the fact that I was attracted to her sexually. She was becoming a true best friend to me—just like Kaylee had been.

Georgia turned to look out the window at the mountains, and that became my cue. Pulling myself up from my chair, I said, “Why don’t we grab our jackets and some backpacks, load up some essentials, and get out of here? I think you’re really going to like the trail I’ve got in mind for us today.”