LOVE COMES TO ALASKA: A Lesbian Romance Read online

  “For you to call me Kayla,” she said with a laugh. “Can you bring the length up to my shoulders?”

  “Let’s see if we can make you more beautiful then you are right now.”

  Kayla laughed to herself. She watched as Marion cut and style her hair. By the time she left the salon, she believed that Marion was right. Her hair never looked so good and she made sure she gave her a tip that represented how happy she was.

  Kayla went back up to her room to change for site seeing with Ann. By the time she returned to the lobby, Ann was waiting.

  “Hi. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long?”

  “Just got here,” Ann said with a smile as her eyes traveled over Kayla’s hair. “I like your haircut,” Ann looked at Kayla from head to toe. Yesterday, she had thought Kayla was pretty, but today she could see how beautiful she was. The blond hair and dark blue eyes highlighted her tan face. Ann knew this was a face that spent a lot of time outdoors. Her long lean frame looked good in tight new jeans. The light sweater and leather jacket finished off Kayla’s outfit.

  “Thanks,” Kayla said touching the ends of her hair. “I really needed it cut.”

  “Well, it looks great on you.” She almost touched Kayla’s arm before her hand retreated. “Are you ready?”

  Ann drove Kayla to all the sites in Seattle. By early afternoon they both were tired. “How about stopping for some coffee and something to eat?” Kayla asked turning to Ann in the car.

  “Sure.”

  Ann drove them to a small café. “After lunch I would like to stop in at the gallery that carries your paintings.”

  Kayla nodded taking a bite of her sandwich.

  As soon as they walked into the gallery, someone greeted them.

  “Hello. I’m Alfred. May I assist you with anything?” He asked wearing a wide smile.

  “Yes. Do you have any Kayla Hopkins paintings?” Ann asked.

  Alfred smiled opened wide. “We have two. Right this way ladies.” They followed behind him. “Her paintings don’t last long and Ms. Hopkins only paints a small number of paintings a year,” he said with a sigh.

  Ann turned to Kayla and shook her finger. Kayla rolled her eyes.

  “Here they are,” he said proudly as if he had painted them himself.

  Ann walked closer looking at the two paintings. One was a landscape in the summer and the other was in the winter. Ann smiled as she stared at the two paintings.

  “Aren’t they magnificent?” Alfred asked.

  “They are,” Ann said turning to Kayla.

  Alfred followed her gaze and his mouth opened. “Oh, my. Ms. Hopkins. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”

  “That’s okay, Alfred. I just got my hair cut today,” Kayla said with a wave of her hand as if that was the reason he didn’t recognize her. She had only met him a few times in the last few years. “Alfred, this is Ann Reynolds. She wanted to see my paintings,” Kayla said with a shrug of her shoulders.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Reynolds. I hope Ms. Hopkins paintings were everything you were expecting?”

  “Better, Alfred. I love the way Kayla captures the light in each of these paintings.” Ann sighed. “I can almost feel like I’m standing in the scene.”

  “Which one do you like better?” Kayla asked softly behind her.

  “I should say the summer because everything is in bloom, but the mountains and snow just comes alive in this one. Is that your cabin?” Ann asked.

  Kayla nodded.

  “It’s bigger then I imagined.” Ann spoke quietly as if she were speaking to herself. She turned to Alfred. “Thank you for showing them to me.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  Ann turned toward the door and walked out.

  “It was good to see you again, Alfred,” Kayla said turning to follow Ann out of the store.

  “It was wonderful to see you too,” he said shaking Kayla’s hand.

  Ann was walking toward the car when Kayla left the gallery. “Hey, hold up.” Kayla called out to Ann.

  Ann stopped and waited for Kayla. “Sorry.”

  “Are you okay?” Kayla asked looking at her.

  “I’m fine. You’re very talented, Kayla.” Ann knew what she had read about Kayla, but seeing her work in person was another thing. Her work evoked joy and sadness all in one painting. Ann only hoped she would somehow find the right words to describe Kayla’s work to the reader.

  “Thank you.” They continued on to the car.

  “Would you mind if we went back to your hotel so I can continue asking you questions?”

  “Sure. I’ll order a pot of coffee and we can go up to my room.”

  Ann parked the car at the hotel and the two women went up to the room. Kayla took Ann jacket and they sat at the table. Ann had brought her briefcase up with her from the car. She laid out her things on the table and started the recorder she had used all day.

  “Is it okay if I ask about your parents?”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “You said they died in a plane crash. Can you tell me about it?” Ann asked cautiously.

  Kayla nodded. “I had started spending the month of July with my grandmother since I was age seven. My parents were archeologists and it gave them an opportunity to travel. They were flying back to get me in their float plane when they had a bird strike.”

  “I’m sorry. A bird strike?”

  “A flock of birds hit the plane and they crashed.” Kayla swallowed back the tears. “I never left my grandmother’s home. She became my parent and teacher.”

  “It must have been hard on you?” Ann asked touching Kayla’s hand. Her fingers rubbed along the strong hands until she realized what she was doing.

  Kayla looked down at the fingers on her hand. “It was in the beginning. The first winter was hard to get through. I no longer had my friends or the modern conveniences of living in civilization.” Kayla grinned. “I could have gone to college, but I didn’t want to leave my grandmother alone.” She shrugged. “Then I found out I had a talent for painting as my grandmother had. She rarely sold any of her paintings and I didn’t start selling mine until just before she passed away.”

  “What did she die of?”

  “Cancer.”

  “Tell me about winters in Alaska with your grandmother?” Ann asked, but there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” she said already out of her chair.

  Kayla thought back to that first winter. She couldn’t believe the amount of snow they had and how going to the outhouse had become an experience. Unfortunately, an unpleasant experience. Kayla learned to shoot a rifle that winter and her fear had always been to run into a bear as she made her way in the night to the outhouse. The cabin had been warm as long as they kept the fire going in the stove. That meant gathering a lot of wood. By the time she was fifteen, she was using a chain saw like an expert.

  “You like your coffee black, right?” Ann asked pouring them both a cup.

  “You have to learn how to do without milk when you live where I do,” Kayla said with a laugh.

  “How often do you get to town?” Ann asked as she sipped her coffee.

  “When the winter snows come, I can’t get to town. So I stock up on supplies all summer and live on it all winter. By the end of the winter, fresh vegetables and fruit I miss the most.” Kayla looked at Ann over the top of her cup. “Are you sure anyone is going to want to read about this stuff?”

  Ann smiled. “Trust me, Kayla. People will love your story. You also have to tell me how you managed to get into the galleries with your art.”

  “The shop in town always wanted to display and sell my grandmother’s paintings, but she wasn’t interested. The woman in town came out to see my grandmother and she saw one of my paintings. Carrie took two of mine and they were sold before the weekend ended.” Kayla shrugged. “I wish I could say it was harder, but it wasn’t.”

  “How did you get into the Seattle gallery?”

  “Carrie knew Alfred.
”

  “Are your paintings anywhere else?”

  “California and New York.”

  “Have you ever thought about moving away from Alaska?”

  “Sometimes in the middle of winter I say I’m going to spend winters in one of the cities, but then I never do it. Summers are glorious and they make the winters worthwhile.”

  “It sounds like you can afford to spend summers in the mountains and winters somewhere else.”

  “I can, but unless you have someone to share those winters with it doesn’t matter.” Her eyes gazed away from Ann. “I’d be alone in the city too.”

  “You might meet someone in the city?” Ann asked.

  “Where am I going to find someone from the city who wants to spend summers in Alaska?”

  “You might be surprised,” Ann said with a laugh. “I think I’ve taken up enough of your time today.” She stood up. “Thanks for a lovely day.”

  “It was my pleasure, Ann.” Kayla walked her to the door. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

  “I’m working on a story and I have your outline to work on.” Ann opened the door. “Can I call you tomorrow night? We can always continue this conversation on the phone.”

  “I’ll be here in the evening.” Kayla nodded. “Give me a call.”

  Kayla felt lonely the moment Ann left her room. It was nice spending the day with someone even though she had spent a good part of that day talking about herself. Ann was good at asking questions, but never volunteered anything about herself. Kayla thought she would do that tomorrow evening when Ann called her.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kayla didn’t know what she was going to do with herself today since Ann wasn’t with her. She had seen the Space Needle and most of the other tourist attractions. Kayla decided she would take a walk through town and see if something caught her eye. Natalie had been helpful in giving her information about the museums in the area. She had even invited Kayla for a drink after she got off from work. If only she could stop thinking about Ann, she might have said yes. Unfortunately, Ann crowded her mind most of the day. This is only going to end in disaster. She’s straight for God’s sake. Right?

  By evening, Kayla was exhausted from all the walking she had done all day. She went into her room and jumped in the shower. As Kayla hit the bed she fell asleep immediately. It was the ringing of the telephone that forced her eyes open.

  “Hello.” Kayla’s voice was groggy.

  “Kayla?” Ann asked.

  Kayla covered the receiver and cleared her throat. “Yes. I’m sorry, Ann,” she said recognizing her voice.

  “Did I wake you?”

  “I was just taking a nap.”

  “We don’t have to talk tonight if you want to go back to sleep,” Ann said sounding disappointed.

  Kayla sat up and turned the light on. “No. Its fine, Ann. How was your day?”

  “Busy.” Ann answered. “How about yours?”

  “Good. I walked my tail off today,” she said with a chuckle.

  “Missed your chauffer today, did you?” Ann asked also chuckling.

  “Yes and no. It was good to walk around. I’m used to doing that back in Alaska.”

  “Oh, so you didn’t miss me?” Ann asked trying to sound insulted.

  Kayla stuttered. “Of course, I missed you.”

  “I’m only teasing, Kayla.”

  Kayla knew this was the time to ask. “Ann, I’ve talked about myself for two days. Tell me about yourself.”

  “What do you want to know?” Ann asked cautiously.

  “Are you originally from Seattle?”

  “I’m originally from Texas. My parents and sister are still there.”

  “So just one sister? Older or younger?”

  “One sibling and Jan is younger.”

  “My dad is a fireman and Jan is a secretary. She’s married with two kids. Her husband is a fireman too.”

  “Your mom doesn’t work?”

  Ann paused. “She used to. She had a stroke six months ago.”

  Now Kayla knew why Ann needed the money. “I’m sorry, Ann. Is she okay?”

  “She’s in a nursing home, but we’d like to bring her home.” Ann sighed. “It’s very expensive to get help for her while my dad is working. My sister is in no position to help, but I’m saving up.” Her voice lowered and admitted. “That’s why I want to write this book. The money would help pay for a caregiver for my mom until she’s back on her feet.”

  “Then I’m glad to hear I can help.” They both were quiet for a moment and Kayla knew that Ann was trying to get her emotions under control. “So do you have any other questions for me tonight?”

  “I do,” Ann said with a smile in her voice.

  Ann went through her questions for Kayla until she heard Kayla yawn.

  “I’m sorry, Kayla. I should let you get some rest. Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

  “Not really.” Kayla answered.

  “Would you like a chauffeur tomorrow? We can get out of town and maybe explore?” Ann asked.

  “I’d like that.”

  “Dress casual and I’ll pick you up at nine.”

  “Okay. See you then.”

  “Good night, Kayla and thank you.”

  “Good night, Ann.”

  Now Kayla knew why Ann needed the money, but she still wondered if her story would bring in enough money for her mother’s care. As she drifted off to sleep, she knew she would there was no choice but to help Ann.

  *

  Ann drove them to Discovery Park the following morning. They had the trails to hike and the beach overlooking the Puget Sound. In her trunk was a picnic basket with snacks, water, soda and sandwiches.

  “Let’s take a walk through the trails and then we can come back to the beach for lunch,” Ann said opening the cooler and handed Kayla a bottle of water.

  “Great. This will almost feel like I’m walking at home.” Kayla chuckled. “Except without a gun.”

  “A gun. Why would you need a gun?” Ann asked stopping on the trail.

  “Bears.”

  Ann nodded without adding anything more.

  The two women walked up the trail side by side. Ann began her questions as they walked. “Have you ever been married?” She asked softly.

  “No. Have you?”

  Ann laughed. “Me either. I was engaged to someone for two years, but neither one of us could pull the trigger. It worked out for the best,” she said with a shrug and changed the subject away from herself. “You’re still young. You have time.”

  “How old are you?” Kayla asked stopping in the path.

  “I’m thirty three.”

  “I’m thirty, but as each year goes by I doubt marriage is in my future.”

  “You may be walking in the woods one day and meet the man of your dreams.” Ann added.

  Kayla started walking again and chuckled. “Wrong gender,” she said softly.

  Ann stopped in her tracks. “You’re gay?” Crap. What am I going to do with that in the book? She’s beautiful, but she does live in the woods. I should have known.

  “Yes and I’m sure you’re now questioning wanting to write a book about my life.”

  Ann started walking again. “The book isn’t about your sexual orientation. It’s about you.”

  “But my being a lesbian is about me.”

  Ann didn’t respond and they kept walking deeper into the woods.

  Kayla could feel the sudden dread spread over Ann’s body. She touched her arm. “Why don’t we go back to the beach where we can talk?”

  Ann nodded and followed Kayla down the path. They took the cooler and a blanket from the trunk and found a spot to eat their lunch. Ann sat staring at the water, but not really seeing.

  “You know, I haven’t been with anyone for a long time.” Kayla chuckled. “So right now I’m basically a non-sexual person. You can write the story and just say I’m unmarried. The reader can make up their own mind as to whether I am just single or a single lesbi
an.”

  Ann turned to Kayla. “The only problem is that I wouldn’t be telling the whole story.” She sat up and crossed her legs. “I’ll have to see what the publisher says. I’ll use the information in my outline and see if they object.”

  Kayla really wanted to say let’s forget the story completely, but she knew Ann needed the money desperately for her mother’s care. “We can deal with it after you meet with your publisher.” Why she even cared, bothered her. Ann was straight so there was no romantic possibility for them. If her publisher didn’t want Ann to write about her, it was no skin off her nose. Right? If only…

  By the time they left the park, the dread that Kayla felt surrounding Ann was still there. The long ride back to Kayla’s hotel was filled with silence. Kayla tried to drag conversation out of Ann, but nothing worked. Ann pulled up to the hotel and turned.

  “Thanks for a nice day, Kayla.”

  “I’m sorry, Ann.” Kayla reached into her wallet and pulled out a piece of paper. “Here is my address and email address. If you want to talk, you know where to find me.” Kayla stepped out of the car and never looked back.

  Kayla spent the rest of her time in Seattle walking the streets and trying to enjoy herself. Ann never called again and by the end of the week, she figured the project was off.

  Saturday morning she went back to Alaska feeling lonelier than she ever had before. She wished she never met Ann Reynolds. Her friendship had meant a lot to Kayla over the few days they had spent together. She thought at least maybe they could correspond via email and maybe she wouldn’t feel so lonely.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Before Kayla went back to the cabin she stopped at the large box store and loaded up on supplies. She knew she would have to make several more trips before the summer ended as she began filling her pantry.

  The next day Kayla took her art supplies down near the lake and began working on a new painting. As the landscape took shape, Kayla automatically began to paint a figure near the water. It was if her hand had no control as the figure became clearer. By the time she put her brush down, she instantly recognized who she had drawn. Sitting back in her chair, she smiled. “Ann,” she said softly. “Is this a vision of what is to be or did my self-conscious put you there?” Laughing, Kayla collected her things and went back to the cabin.