Alaskan Escape by Maryann Landers

Author:Maryann Landers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Maryann Landers

In the evening, Bill spread nautical charts on our large wooden kitchen table. Rob, Daniel, and Laura listened carefully as their dad went over names of islands and coves of the Pacific waters in southeast Alaska.

I sat on the couch with Rayna as she read from her early readers, practicing the first-grade work she needed to complete before the end of the month. We’d set aside schoolwork while fishing, and now it was time to regain momentum before the busyness of summer swamped us. Rayna read with her finger under the word she was sounding out. One last child to climb the mountain of learning to read.

"Mom, what’s this one say again?" she asked as she pointed to the ph consonant blend.

"It makes the sound of an F. I know that seems weird and is probably hard to remember. But you’ll get it." I gave her a side hug and pulled her in close. Not my baby anymore, I enjoyed her cuddles on the couch while they lasted, knowing when she was twice this age, she might not want to do much with me. Like Laura, who’d been my sidekick for years and now drifted toward spending time with her older brothers and competing with them. It was all good. It was supposed to happen that way. But I wanted to freeze this happy moment of us growing together in my mind.

"Thanks, Mom," Rayna said, taking in a deep breath before she continued on. The intense appearance of her furrowed brow revealed the level of concentration she poured into learning so she could read like the big kids.

Could we move together as one unit toward a family goal? Bill believed we already were. I wasn’t so sure. I also wasn’t so sure it was the wisest or safest aspiration to include all of us in the new endeavor. I still shivered, remembering Rob swinging out on the boat rigging over the open water. The concept of a dangerous sea and the respect it demanded were obviously overlooked by most of my kids.

Risk was only one factor in the equation, though. The algebraic rules of one step before another reminded me that we were still new to the business.

Bill folded the charts and cleared his throat. "Let’s all sit in the living room." His familiar nod toward me told me that he wanted to share something important.

I fidgeted with my wedding band, acutely aware of the empty feeling in my stomach. What plan had he conjured up? I was certain that for most of the day his mind had formulated parts and pieces to the puzzle of succeeding at commercial fishing. He was my determined man. I loved him for it, and I bordered on protesting it. He held my views in high regard. If I had fully objected to his vision, he would have reconsidered. But what would I replace it with? I had no goal or vision to promote instead. He wasn't standing in the way of a career I wanted.

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