Alaskan Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

his son and daughter mixed up.”
    “Now you don’t have to do any grease monkey work. If that truck gives you any problems, you bring it back to me and I’ll have it purring in no time,” Mike told her.
    “He would, too,” John assured her.
    Laurette thought of her bank balance. Her dad had told her to buy a clunker that she could sell cheap when she left Sitka. Wait ’til I send him a picture of this, she thought, laughing to herself. “Will you take my check? It’s on a Seattle bank.”
    “Where are you going to go around this town? Only way you can get out is by boat or by plane, and I doubt the truck is that important.”
    Laurette pulled her checkbook out of her pocket. “May I borrow a pen?”
    Mike led her to his workbench. She marveled at how each tool had been cleaned and put back in place.
    With the paperwork completed, John asked, “Can you find your way home?”
    “Like Mike says, I can’t go far, so how can I get lost?” She laughed with the men.
    She shook hands with the cousins. “I’ll call your mother tomorrow, John. I should be able to move in with her right away.”
    He patted her hand. “I’ll sleep a lot better knowing you’re with her. God bless you,” he said and released her hand. She waved to the men and drove her new vehicle back to town.
    ❧
    Ryan pulled into the parking lot early the next morning. He parked in his usual spot but stopped when he got out. “Now who owns that piece of junk?” he muttered.
    “You like my new truck?”
    “That’s yours?” What will this girl do next? he wondered, shaking his head at Laurette. “It’s a rusted-out wreck. How will you keep it running?” He looked at her and wondered who had sold her this disaster on wheels.
    “I can keep it running.”
    “You?” He shook his head. She’s certifiable. And I’ve got to spend the summer with her.
    “I’ve been working on farm machines since I could see over the hood. I can keep it going.”
    “Farm machinery!” he exclaimed. “You expect me to believe that?”
    “Ryan, I grew up on a big wheat farm in eastern Washington. Machinery is crucial to our way of life, and I learned how to take care of it. My dad didn’t treat me like some weak little girl. He taught me to work the fields and the equipment we used.”
    He just stood there, dumbfounded.
    “Sorry, but I’ve got to get postage stamps,” she said with a smile, pointing her thumb over her shoulder toward a ship. “Mustn’t keep the customer waiting. See you later.”
    Motor sounds good, he thought as she pulled out of the parking lot. Wonder how she found a vehicle so fast. He started to the office, pleased that she was picking up the job so quickly. “Things might work out okay,” he muttered to himself, walking up the stairs to the Southeast Alaska Maritime office.

FOUR
    Laurette stopped by a hardware store before going to the post office. She had to buy a tarp. In Sitka, blue sky or not, it could be raining five minutes from now. She moved her things from the truck’s tiny cab, where she’d hardly been able to see over them, into the cargo bed and tucked the tarp securely around her duffel bag and box.
    As she climbed back into the driver’s seat, she remembered the scene at breakfast. Laurette hadn’t unpacked many of her belongings, so it hadn’t taken her long to stuff everything back in her duffel bag and backpack. Edith had been busy whipping up an omelet when she went into the kitchen.
    “Did you enjoy your card game?” Laurette asked, sitting down with a cup of coffee.
    Edith started describing every hand, allowing Laurette time to enjoy her toast, jam, and omelet before breaking into her landlady’s monologue.
    “I’ve rented a room, Edith. I’ll get my things out of your bedroom this morning. Thank you for your hospitality. I’m sure we’ll meet around town while I’m here this summer.” Laurette picked up her coffee cup and did not look at Edith for fear she’d see that lonely look in her