Across a Thousand Miles Read Online Free PDF

“It’s been a long time since—”
    â€œI wouldn’t go there if I were you, Ellin,” Sam advised his wife. “Rebecca knows her own mind.”
    â€œThank you, Sam,” Rebecca said.
    â€œShe can’t spend the rest of her life grieving.”
    â€œWhen it’s time to move on, she’ll know it,” Sam replied.
    â€œI doubt it. Rebecca’s one of the stubbornnest people I know,” Ellin said.
    â€œNow, just a minute!” Rebecca nudged the sugar bowl in Sam’s direction. “I wouldn’t call myself—”
    â€œWell, you are, my dear, and you might as well admit it. Trying to make a go of it alone here, running Bruce’s business—”
    â€œ My business now, Ellin, and I’m doing just fine with it. Better than Bruce did, if the truth be known.”
    â€œIt’s too much! You need help. Especially with the dogs and the tour business. What if you were out on a training run with a team of dogs and something went wrong? What if you never made it back home? Who would know you were missing? Who would know to come looking for you?” Ellin leaned over the table, herblue eyes earnest. “My dear girl, the lowest possible denominator in this part of the world is two. You simply can’t go it alone!”
    Rebecca sighed and lifted her coffee cup. “Ellin, just what are you getting at? You want me to marry this man? This stranger?”
    â€œHe’s not a stranger. He’s Brian’s brother!”
    â€œThis conversation is getting a little too weird for me,” Sam said, pushing out of his chair. “I think I’ll go see if I can give Mac a hand.”
    â€œYes, you do that,” Ellin said, waving him away as if he were an annoying fly and turning her attention to Rebecca. “Not marriage, my dear. At least, not until you know each other a little better.”
    â€œThank you for that much, at least,” Rebecca said.
    â€œI think you should hire him.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThink about it. He owes you money. He told us the story about the dog food and also that he couldn’t pay Sam for the truck parts. So to work off the parts, he’s going to help Sam with some odd jobs. Maybe he could work off what he owes you for the dog food. You need a man’s help around here. He could get in your firewood, help with the tours, pick up the food in Whitehorse, help take care of the dogs—”
    â€œNo!” Rebecca said.
    â€œOh, I know what you’re thinking. Where will he live? He can’t stay in your guest cabin because most of the time it’ll be occupied with paying clients. Well, don’t you worry, I’ve thought it all out. He can stay with us. We have that log cabin the boys built. It needs some fixing here and there, but he’s perfectly capable of making it livable, and it has a good roof. He can move the junk that’s stored there into the hangar, and in his sparetime he can help Sam with mechanical things, like keeping the snow machines up and running, and working on that old wreck of an airplane.” Ellin sat back in her chair with a self-satisfied smile. “Don’t you see how perfectly that would work out for all of us?”
    â€œNo!” Rebecca repeated. “No, I don’t. If you want to hire him, Ellin, you go right ahead. Be my guest!” She nodded to give her words emphasis. “But I want no part of it.”
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    S AM FOUND Bill MacKenzie wedged beneath the rear axle of his old truck, his booted feet sticking out into the snow. “Well,” Sam said, hunkering down on his heels and peering beneath the truck’s frame. “How does she look?”
    â€œShe looks like a broken U-joint to me,” came the muffled reply. “As a matter of fact, she looks just as broke today as she looked yesterday.”
    â€œYou’ll need to jack her up,” Sam suggested mildly.
    â€œDamn straight, and if I