An Alaskan Family Found by Beth Carpenter

Author:Beth Carpenter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-03-30T17:17:23+00:00

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SATURDAY TURNED OUT to be one of those perfect summer days that Alaskans remember fondly in the middle of January. For once, Fleur was up early and had even volunteered to help Caleb with weeding and harvest in the vegetable garden. “Look at the size of this one!” The zucchini Fleur held up was nearly as big as a loaf of French bread.

“Oops.” Caleb had been so busy with the rest of the farm he hadn’t been here to harvest vegetables in over a week, and sometimes they grew that fast. “Throw it on the compost pile.”

“How about if I take it to the Sullivans’ house next week?” Fleur suggested. “They can feed it to their goat.”

“Good idea!” Come to think of it, he could trace Fleur’s good mood to Thursday afternoon, when she’d suddenly announced he would be taking her to the Sullivans’ house that evening. When Gen had mentioned the Sullivans’ math night, Caleb had figured the chances that Fleur would agree to go were slim, and that she would get anything out of it were slimmer. But he’d been wrong on both counts. When they’d arrived Thursday evening, Fleur had settled right in at the long dining table with the four Sullivan kids, their uncle and a big bowl of popcorn. Meanwhile, Caleb had walked the peony fields with Janet and Brian, helping them debud some of their whites while they chatted about crops, weather and all the things farmers talked about when they got together. On the drive home, Fleur had explained all about her new understanding of quadratic equations and on Friday afternoon had finished off and submitted two math assignments after returning from her babysitting job. She was now more than halfway through her list of assignments. Gen just might be a genius.

Gen. Caleb had never known a woman like her. Smart and pretty. Compassionate and yet practical. Strong. Funny. Adaptable. He could go on all day listing her positive qualities. Not to mention, she was an incredible kisser.

“What?” Fleur’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“What, what?”

“What are you smiling about? Did I do something funny?”

“No. I, uh, was just thinking about the Sullivans’ goat that thinks he’s a dog.” Caleb bent down to pick some of the tender spinach leaves. Shoot. Now he was lying to his daughter, after he’d condemned his parents for doing the same thing. Of course, there was a big difference between not sharing every private thought and not telling your child he’s adopted.

Fleur laughed. “Mark raised the goat for a 4-H project but when the time came to sell, he couldn’t. His brothers were razzing him about it, but I wouldn’t be able to let somebody eat an animal I’d raised, either.”

“Then it’s good we raise peonies instead of cattle.”

Fleur moved on to the yellow squash, and Caleb picked a selection of salad greens and added them to the basket. Later, he would wash and dry them, pack them in plastic bags and take them to the local food bank, along with much of the squash.

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